Anemo Claymore

Varka

Knight of Boreas

TierS
RolesMain DPS
Release6.4

The Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius fights with two claymores at once. After his Skill, one blade deals Anemo DMG while the other takes the element of his Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo teammates, and his special Skill and Charged Attack hit very hard. With two Anemo and two same-element teammates, his attacks deal 220% DMG, which makes him a strong Hexerei carry.

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Varka

Sturm und Drang DPS

Weapons

Gest of the Mighty Wolf BiS
5★ · CRIT Rate
Signature and best in slot: ATK SPD for an extra Normal Attack per rotation, stacking DMG and +30% CRIT DMG under Hexerei: Secret Rite.
+10% ATK SPD; attacks stack up to +30% DMG, plus +30% CRIT DMG with Hexerei: Secret Rite.
Serpent Spine
4★ · CRIT Rate
Battle Pass claymore, excellent at R5: Nicole's shield makes keeping its stacks trivial.
Battle Pass: gains up to +30% DMG while on the field, but each hit taken removes a stack.
A Thousand Blazing Suns
5★ · CRIT Rate
Great CRIT Rate stat stick, especially in Hydro and Cryo teams.
Skills and Bursts grant +20% CRIT DMG and +28% ATK, boosted by 75% and extended during Nightsoul's Blessing.
Redhorn Stonethresher
5★ · CRIT DMG
CRIT DMG stat stick; do not build DEF for it.
+28% DEF; Normal and Charged Attack DMG increased by 40% of DEF.
Blackcliff Slasher
4★ · CRIT DMG
Starglitter-shop CRIT DMG option.
Defeating an opponent grants +12% ATK for 30s (max 3 stacks).
Tidal Shadow
4★ · ATK%
Craftable fallback, only with a healer.
Craftable: +24% ATK for 8s after being healed.

Artifacts

A Day Carved From Rising Winds ×4
Undisputed best: ATK plus 20% CRIT Rate once his Witch's Homework is done.
Set effects
2pATK +18%.
4pNormal/Charged Attack, Skill or Burst hits grant +25% ATK for 6s, plus +20% CRIT Rate if the wearer has completed Witch's Homework.
Shimenawa's Reminiscence ×4
Close second if you already own a good set; use his special Charged Attack rather than the special Skill.
Set effects
2pATK +18%.
4pCasting a Skill with 15+ Energy drains 15 Energy and grants +50% Normal/Charged/Plunging Attack DMG for 10s.
Desert Pavilion Chronicle ×4
Also viable with special Charged Attacks.
Set effects
2pAnemo DMG Bonus +15%.
4pCharged Attack hits grant +10% Normal Attack SPD and +40% Normal, Charged and Plunging Attack DMG for 15s.
Gladiator's Finale ×2
Shimenawa's Reminiscence ×2
Placeholder while farming.
Set effects
2pATK +18%.
2pATK +18%.

Main stats

Sands of Eon
ATK%
Goblet of Eonothem
ATK% / Pyro DMG Bonus / Cryo DMG Bonus
Circlet of Logos
CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG

Substat priority

1CRIT Rate 2CRIT DMG 3ATK%

Stat targets

  • ATK 2,500+ (caps his 25% DMG Bonus passive)
  • CRIT Rate 70%+ in combat (A Day Carved From Rising Winds adds 20%)
  • CRIT DMG 200%+
  • Energy Recharge 100%: his Burst is normally skipped

Talent priority

Elemental Skill
Elemental Burst
Normal Attack

Goblet: ATK% and the converted element's DMG Bonus perform closely, so keep the one with better substats. Pyro teams without Nicole and Cryo teams slightly prefer the DMG% goblet; from C2 onward (more Anemo damage), always use ATK%. Never use an Anemo DMG goblet. All his converted attacks use his Skill multipliers: max the Skill and his level before anything else.

Teams

Recommended teams

Premium Hexerei Pyro

Varka
Nicole
Durin
Prune

His best team: 2 Anemo + 2 Pyro for the 220% multiplier, Nicole's shield and team ATK, Durin's off-field damage and RES shred, Prune's DMG buff.

Pyro with Bennett

Varka
Nicole
Bennett
Prune

Replaces Durin with Bennett: about 83% of the premium team, still very strong.

Hydro Varka

Varka
Xingqiu
Mona
Prune

Alternative if you lack Pyro units: Mona enables the Hexerei passive and Xingqiu adds Hydro and damage reduction. Clearly weaker than Pyro.

Guide

How to play

How he works

  • Windbound Execution (tap Skill) enters Sturm und Drang: his Normal and Charged Attacks hit with both claymores, one dealing Anemo DMG and the other converted to Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo (in that priority order) depending on the party. This conversion cannot be overridden by infusions.
  • In this mode, his Skill becomes the special Skill Four Winds' Ascension, and its charges can also be spent on the special Charged Attack Azure Devour (no Stamina cost). Its 11s cooldown drops by 0.5s per Normal Attack hit, or 1s with Hexerei: Secret Rite.
  • Dawn Wind's March: +10% Anemo and converted-element DMG per 1,000 ATK (max 25% at 2,500 ATK). With 2 Anemo or 2 same-element PHEC characters, his Sturm und Drang attacks deal 140% DMG; with both, 220%. Build the team around this.
  • Wind's Vanguard: each Swirl from the party gives +7.5% DMG to those attacks (4 stacks).
  • Northwind Avatar (Burst) is usually skipped: it is a DPS loss, only useful for AoE or to squeeze in extra damage before a phase change.

Rotation

  1. Set up supports (for example Durin E E Q, Prune E Q, Nicole E Q).
  2. Varka E, then alternate Normal Attacks and his special Skill/Charged Attack. Simple combo: E N1C N4E N4E N1C. Long rotation with Nicole: E N4C N1E (N1C)×3 N1E N1C.
  3. The special Skill is faster and hits in AoE; the special Charged Attack deals more single-target damage but is slower, can be interrupted and must be buffered.

Holding the walk key during his Charged Attack lets him cancel into the next Normal Attack sooner.

Strengths

  • Accessible damage floor with flexible, forgiving combos
  • Good elemental application and heavy hits for breaking shields
  • His best teammates do not overlap much with other top teams
  • Nicole's shield makes his combos very comfortable

Weaknesses

  • Very rigid team building: 2 Anemo + 2 same-element PHEC, or he loses a lot
  • Lower ceiling than the top archetypes of 7.1
  • Electro teams are not worth running

Notable dupes · Constellation

C1
Solid upgrade

An extra special Skill use when entering Sturm und Drang, and the first one deals 200% DMG.

C2
Big upgrade

Each special Skill or Charged Attack adds an 800% ATK Anemo strike: C1 and C2 together raise team damage by about 25%.

C4
Solid upgrade

His Swirls give the whole party +20% Anemo and swirled-element DMG.

C6
Big upgrade

Chains special Skill → special Charged Attack → special Skill and adds 20% CRIT DMG per Swirl stack: about +40% personal damage over C5.

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Updated September 25, 2026 · Version 7.1
Sources & references
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