Genshin Impact Wanderer Build and Lore
Wanderer is the long-awaited playable version of Scaramouche in Genshin Impact. Despite everybody predicting he’ll have/has had an Electro Vision, his gaining an Anemo one is a surprise. Still, it doesn’t make him less dangerous than his Fatui counterpart.
Wanderer’s E, Hanega: Song of the Wind, lets him hover in the air. Using the skill puts him in the Windfavored state. While it’s active, he gains Kuugoryoku Points, the ‘stamina bar’ for the state. Actions he makes cost points, and even hovering will drain it.
In the Windfavored state, Normal and Charged attacks turn into Kuugo: Fushoudan and Kuugo: Toufukai. These improved versions have more significant damage and AoE while remaining Normal and Charged attacks, respectively. The latter won’t use stamina, as well.
Further, in the Windfavored state, Wanderer can accelerate when ‘sprinting’ at the cost of draining Kuugoryoku Points faster. He can also increase his hovering height at the same cost.
With his first ascension passive, Jade-Claimed Flower, coming into contact with specific elements when activating Hanega: Song of the Wind will give him buffs:
- Hydro: +20 Kuugoryoku Points to the cap
- Pyro: +30% ATK
- Cyro: +20% Crit Rate
- Electro: When Normal and Charged attacks hit an enemy, 0.8 Energy is restored (0.2-sec delay between successive triggers)
You’ll see this in the ‘halo’ behind Wanderer. One of its points will glow the element’s color when it happens, though only two can be active at every use. It goes up to three with a constellation upgrade.
His other ascension passive also involves this attack. Gales of Reverie causes every Kuugo: Fushoudan and Kuugo: Toufukai to have a chance to trigger the Descent effect. The latter will cause four wind arrows to attack the enemy the next time Wanderer accelerates during the Windfavored state. Descent must be regained to trigger that effect again.
Wanderer’s Burst, Kyougen: Five Ceremonial Plays, compresses the air into a vacuum, dealing multiple instances of Anemo DMG. It also has a mild suction effect, causing small enemies to be grouped up. When used during the Windfavored state, the ability’s duration ends despite how many points are left.
A constellation upgrade turns it into an advantage. With it, Wanderer’s Burst gets stronger the higher the difference between the maximum Kuugoryoku Points and the amount left upon use. A maximum of 200% increase in damage is possible in that way.
From the descriptions, your priority must be increasing his AA and Elemental Skill (E), with his Burst as the least prioritized. Still, it’s okay if you want to triple-crown him.
Table of Contents
Genshin Impact Wanderer Builds
Wanderer’s best-in-slot set is the Desert Pavilion Chronicles. The Viridescent Venerer is a good substitute, especially if you take advantage of elemental reactions. A combination of VV, Desert Pavilion, or Gladiator’s Finale is your last resort.
If you’re using VV, give him some Elemental Mastery. Otherwise, the usual DPS stats of Crit Rate/Crit DMG and ATK are what you need to build. He isn’t made for support, so he’s an on-field DPS.
His Ascension stat is Crit Rate, so you can build it less than Crit DMG.
Best: Desert Pavilion Chronicles (4-set)
Okay: Viridescent Venerer (4-set)
Last resort: DP/VV and Gladiator’s Finale or both of the former two
Main Stats: ATK, Anemo DMG Bonus, Crit DMG
Substats: Crit DMG/Rate, ATK, EM
Weapons
He has a signature weapon called Tulaytullah’s Reminiscence. However, some other catalysts will also do:
- Skyward Atlas
- Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds
- The Widsith
- Mappa Mare
- Blackcliff Agate
- Wandering Evenstar
- Solar Pearl
Make sure your weapon matches the build you want for him!
Genshin Impact Wanderer Lore (Backstory)
The majority of his background has been revealed already. He’s a failed prototype for the Raiden Shogun, a puppet to hold the power of the Gnosis. Along the way, Raiden Ei decided that he was too gentle for her purposes, as he had cried upon his creation. She didn’t want to control him, so she left him to decide. The shogun even left him an ornament signifying his status to help him. The puppet believed this made him a failure, which wasn’t Ei’s intention.
This was the first betrayal he felt.
After waking up, he wandered near Tatarasuna and met the managers of the furnace. He met:
- Niwa, the Armory Officer, and leader
- Miyazaki, the Vice Armory Officer
- Kinjiro
- Nozomu
- Katsuragi
- Mikoshi Nagamasa the Inspector
They all became close friends with the puppet. However, a particular event caused trouble for all of the Tatarasuna. Niwa went missing, and Nagamasa cut down Katsuragi for specific misconduct. Hurt by the circumstances, the puppet left.
This was the second betrayal.
Sometime afterward, he befriended a sick child who lived near Tatarasuna. The latter’s parents were affected by the plague that spread due to the proximity to the furnace. The puppet and child had promised something together, but the kid succumbed to the sickness before it could be fulfilled.
This was the third betrayal. The puppet considered it the last one and started wandering all over Inazuma. At that point, he adopted the name Kunikuzushi.
During his time as Kunikuzushi, he gradually dismantled the bladesmithing arts, culminating in the fall of the Raiden Gokaden. It was likely an act of revenge against the bladesmith, the one that caused his second betrayal.
It is unknown whether the above happened before or after he joined the Fatui and became Scaramouche the Balladeer, sixth of the Harbingers.
The rest is as players know and experience. He first appeared at the Unreconciled Stars event, introducing himself as a wandering vagrant from Inazuma. He later appears in the Inazuma Archon quests as part of the Fatui overseeing the creation of Delusions. Afterward, he became the Eternal Lord of Arcane Wisdom or Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal.
(From here, spoilers for the interlude chapter begin.)
Following those events, he entered the Irminsul on an errand for Nahida. He found the truth in the heart of the great tree of knowledge. The Doctor had orchestrated everything to destabilize Inazuma in the future. Also, the puppet became a prized lab rat for the fellow Harbinger. The Balladeer resolved to atone for the mistakes. Like Rukkadevata, he erased himself from the tree, changing the course of history.
Of course, the people he loved still died, only in different circumstances. He hadn’t saved anybody, although he didn’t experience the same pains in this new life. He was only a Wanderer and always felt something was missing from him.
The Traveler found him and was able to return his memories with Nahida’s help. It was his choice to atone and bear the sins of his ‘past.’ Afterward, the Dendro Archon suggests picking a new name, which he defers to the Traveler’s choice.
Genshin Impact: About Wanderer’s Vision
Wanderer gets his Vision in the Interlude chapter. In that moment of danger, he realized that he was still himself, even in a new incarnation. Wanderer would walk the same path and share the same fate. He achieved nothing with what he did and acted like a coward. Yet, he had accepted his past and became who he was.
That choice granted him a Vision that blocked the fatal attack. Looking at it at that moment, it seemed to ask, “Can you, who have desires of such intensity, still be considered a being without a heart?”
In a meta sense, he had already lost many people throughout his long life, making him very eligible for an Anemo Vision. The Tatarasuna group, especially Niwa (a descendant of Kazuha) and the sick child, are the most prominent examples. The Celestial gods deem something about tragedy fit for that boon. Although some don’t fit that criterion, it happens often enough for it to be a pattern.
That’s all for Wanderer! Hope you find his redemption arc satisfying, and may you have good luck pulling him. Enjoy Genshin Impact!
