Teyvat Tales: The Wanderer’s Troupe

There was once a group of wandering performers who traveled the world. They danced, played, and made music for some time, but their travels ended tragically. Here is their story and what part they played in the history of Teyvat.

The Wanderer’s Troupe Artifact Set

The set consists of the Troupe’s Dawnlight, Bard’s Arrow Feather, Concert’s Final Hour, Wanderer’s String Kettle, and Conductor’s Top Hat. A set of weapons is also related to them, though it’s less obvious. The weapons are The Flute, The Widsith, The Stringless, and The Bell. These weapons are four-star weapons from the ‘wish’ gacha mechanic.

Equipping two of the artifacts gives an 80 point bonus to Elemental Mastery, great for Anemo users. However, the four-set bonus is only applicable to bow and catalyst users. It boosts the damage of Charged shots for those weapons by 35%.

Sucrose and Venti can make use of both set bonuses, though a majority of players still prefer the Viridescent Venerer set for Anemo support. Charge attackers Yanfei and Ningguang (and Klee too, to an extent) benefit greatly from the Charged attack boost, but less from the Elemental Mastery.

It does increase elemental reaction damage, but the Crimson Witch does that better. Geo isn’t a reactive element either, so it’s a bit of a waste just to get the 4-set bonus. EM does increase the shield strength generated from Crystallize reactions, though.

Ganyu is another character who can make use of the 4-set bonus. However, that’s only for when you’re using her as an active DPS. When using her for support (leaving behind her ice flowers and ice rain), it’s better to use the Blizzard Strayer set.

It depends on your preference and playstyle whether you’d equip this set on a character or not. The Wanderer’s Troupe artifacts drop from Trounce Bosses (Stormterror, Azdaha, Childe) and World Bosses (Andrius, Ascension material bosses). It drops in 4 or 5-star qualities. Higher World Levels guarantee at least one 5-star artifact drop (either WT or Gladiator’s).

Some Introduction to the Troupe

The Troupe consists of four people, the Conductor, the Sword-dancer (also called the Dawnlight), the Harpist, and a fallen noble from the Lawrence family. Each of them wielded their signature weapon, the Conductor had the Widsith, the Dancer had the Flute, the Harpist used the Stringless, and the Noble used the Bell.

The group started in Mondstadt as a rebellion against the oppression of the Aristocracy. The latter had restricted the creation of poems and songs as a bid to keep bards from recording their corrupt deeds. According to the Resolution of Sojourner artifact set (which is about the Harpist), he first met the Conductor, then the dancer, and then the noble.

Thus, the Wanderer’s Troupe was formed. They traveled throughout the world and made music for two kinds of audiences. The first listened to the music they made with joy and watched their performances with wonder. The second audience is less fortunate because the troupe’s performance is the last thing they ever see and hear.

This Troupe had also garnered the name the Swordsman’s Troupe, as every one of them is accomplished in the martial arts. The Dancer’s Flute doubled as a sword, and it sang every time it was swung. The Harpist’s lyre doubled as a bow, and he rarely ever missed. The Conductor held the Widsith, always performing a concerto whether as a performance or a fight. They all followed the rhythm of the Noble’s Bell, whose weapon’s clockwork acted as a metronome.

The Final Act

The Wanderer’s Troupe had traveled far and wide, even into the windless Mare Jivari and the desert before it. They played and performed for friends and foes alike. However, all good things must come to an end, and they returned to Mondstadt one final time.

It was during the Aristocracy’s rule over Mond that they returned. It was an oppressive and cruel period for the citizens of the city. For three of the members, it was the only place they could call home. One was, after all, a noble from the Lawrence family, even if he has been outcasted. The Conductor is presumably also from Mond, as all references to the origins of the Troupe point to it. Lastly, the Harpist fell in love with a maiden from the city, and so has enough motive to return.

Only the Dancer has the vaguest origins. Nothing hints at her place of birth nor where she met the Conductor and Harpist.

At the time, the Ludi Harpastum festival of Mond was corrupted by the Aristocrats. The maiden that was chosen to be the ‘princess’ always ends up used by the greedy, cruel nobles. The Harpist’s love had been picked for the ‘honor’ and it’s probably the reason why they planned a coup.

The four of them attempted to overthrow the Aristocracy, but they were not successful.

The Aftermath

The Troupe disbanded after the failed coup. The Harpist stayed behind so the others could flee, and rained arrows upon the approaching enemy forces. He fell to the attack, and his lyre’s strings were cut, leaving only the bowstring. His only regret is not being able to sing another love song after finding true love.

The Dancer was captured and then, perhaps in respect to her abilities, became an enslaved gladiator in the arenas. Her matches inspired a young Ragnvindr ancestor, eventually taking up a title similar to hers,  ‘the Dawn Knight’. When she finally fell in the arena, her sword was buried to avoid it being defaced like the others’ weapons. 

The Noble had also been seemingly captured. However, his punishment was never referred to anywhere else, perhaps owing to his bloodline even as an outcast. His claymore had been soaked in acid, rusting the gears so it never made noise again. Afterward, he set up a secret society to take down the Aristocracy from within. It later became an organization that protects Mond from the shadows.

The Conductor’s demise has no records, but the Conductor’s Top Hat’s description describes that he clutched the Widsith and never let it go until his death. That book held all the experiences of the Troupe, their adventures, and all that they saw and heard.

While they were unsuccessful in this attempt, this paved the way for the famed hero Vennessa to finish what they started. She, with the help of Barbatos, the Ragnvindr ancestor (the Dawn Knight), and the Noble’s secret organization, finally toppled the Aristocracy. If there’s a related item to this, we’ll cover it later. However, it is depicted in the game’s manga, as a prologue to some events that happened before the start of the game.

Further Speculations

While this story happened before the cataclysm, it builds up the events of the first part of the manga. It gives context to the events that led up to Venessa’s rebellion and the freedom of Mondstadt from the oppression.

Furthermore, it provides the origin of a very important secret society related to the Wolf Pup Rostam who was the friend of Grand Master Arundolyn. It may even still be active in the game’s present, probably headed by Kaeya or even Diluc. Between the two of them, it’s more likely for Kaeya to be part of it unless it was also the secret spy network that recruited Diluc.

At any rate, their story is an important one due to the restrictions the Aristocracy placed on all kinds of art. They didn’t want their corrupt deeds to be immortalized in a song, so there rarely are any records of that time. We aren’t even too sure about what led to or caused the corruption of the nobles, as they were once the protectors of the people. We hope you enjoyed this tidbit of Teyvat’s history. Have fun and continue playing Genshin Impact!