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Wanderer is an average unit at baseline. He’s definitely one of the better DPS units in-game, but he’s still not top meta. So he works great if you have him, but he’s never worth pulling to clear any content.
He’s mainly a character that you pull for because you like him – not for his strengths.
However, he does get a significant DPS boost when paired with Faruzan, especially with constellations.
Wanderer is also a very easy unit to use and build a team around. He synergizes really well with plenty of units, so he also has plenty of team comps to choose from.
For instance, pairing him with Xingqiu and Yelan forms a powerful team against single-target. While pairing him with Venti is especially good against AOE. And outside of combat, he’s an exceptional unit in overworld exploration.
Still, he has his fair share of weaknesses – namely, heavy reliance on Faruzan to buff personal damage, lack of resistance to interruption, and high energy needs.
But this is based on meta only. So if you like Wanderer regardless of his power level, don’t let this stop you from pulling him.
Wanderer works really well with plenty of different units, so he also has a wide variety of team comps to choose from.
His nature as an Anemo unit and skill effects let you use him with any element. You’ll gain the buff effects of his skill regardless of what swirl-able element you play.
Plus – although it’s just not recommended – he can equip the 4pc. Viridescent Venerer set. It lets him act as both a buffer and on-field DPS of the team.
2. Excels in Overworld Exploration
Wanderer’s elemental skill
Wanderer is easily one of the best units for overworld exploration – he can fly, sprint, and float without consuming any of his regular stamina.
This is all thanks to his elemental skill. It basically lets you traverse through and climb terrain with ease.
3. Long-Range AOE Attacks
Wanderer’s normal attack range
Wanderer’s normal attack has both a long-distance range and homing ability.
You can easily attack opponents at a safer distance, which is great against enemies that float or move a lot. His auto-targeting also helps you make sure that you actually hit the opponents.
Wanderer Weaknesses
1. Relies on Faruzan to Buff Personal DPS
Faruzan’s idle animation
Faruzan is a dedicated Anemo DPS buffer released alongside Wanderer, and she can significantly buff his damage.
However, she heavily relies on constellations to function well enough in a team. A C0 Faruzan can easily have energy problems in most teams – and her energy needs are not early-game or new-player-friendly. It’s basically hard to reach.
Relying on a 4-star unit and all 6 of their constellations is a disadvantage for Wanderer. He simply won’t reach his peak personal damage potential without it.
Plus there’s currently no other character that can replace C6 Faruzan in this role.
2. Lack of Resistance to Interruption
Wanderer getting staggered by an opponent’s attack
Wanderer has absolutely no resistance to interruption during his elemental skill.
This means that he will easily get staggered by enemy attacks, and his kit does nothing to prevent this. Plus getting staggered triggers a pretty long animation that you can’t cancel.
You can’t attack opponents during this, but you’ll still continuously spend stamina. It’s a sizable damage loss, especially if you get staggered often.
However, this can also be solved by using shields or damage reduction from teammates. He does have a few team comps that have these defensive options.
3. High Energy Requirements
Wanderer’s energy generation
Wanderer generally doesn’t generate enough particles to charge his burst every rotation.
So he needs a bit more Energy Recharge to get his burst up often, which is not recommended before his C2. At C0-C1, you can just cast his burst every other rotation instead of sacrificing damage stats for ER.
But at C2 onwards, it’s essential for you to get his burst energy rotation. The maximum 200% burst damage bonus gained from it incentivizes building more ER.
Are Wanderer’s Constellations Good?
Wanderer’s constellation screen
Wanderer is already a perfectly functional unit at C0 – none of his constellations are ever needed.
However, he does have pretty good constellations for those planning to pull for them. His cons are mostly just damage buffs and a few quality-of-life upgrades.
C2 is the best early constellation to pull for – and stop pulling.
It’s a significant buff from his C0. His C1-C2 basically buffs his attack speed, passive damage, and burst – aka most of his kit.
Additionally, it’s not recommended to pull past C2 unless you’re already going for C6. His C3-C5 have relatively smaller, underwhelming buffs compared to his C1-C2.
C1: Shoban: Ostentatious Plumage
During Wanderer’s elemental skill, the attack speed of his Kuugo: Fushoudan and Kuugo: Toufukai is increased by 10%. The wind arrows of Gales of Reverie also deal an additional 25% of his ATK as damage.
This is a sizable damage increase from the additional normal attacks you can perform per skill cast (thanks to the attack speed) and passive damage.
It’s highly recommended to go for his C2 if you already have C1.
C2: Niban: Isle Amidst White Waves
During Wanderer’s skill, his burst will have its damage increased by 4% per point of the stamina or Kuugoryoku Points spent from his skill. A maximum of 200% damage bonus can be gained this way.
This is a massive buff to his burst damage – just make sure to cast it at the end of his skill duration to get the maximum damage bonus.
C2 is the best place to stop pulling for constellations.
C3: Sanban: Moonflower Kusemai
Increases his elemental burst talent level by 3.
This increases the damage dealt by his burst. It retroactively makes his C2 slightly better, but the damage gain isn’t significant enough to justify pulling for C3.
C4: Yonban: Set Adrift into Spring
When casting his skill and triggering the Jade Claimed Flower passive, Wanderer will gain an additional random untriggered buff. A maximum of 3 such corresponding elemental buffs can exist simultaneously.
The damage gained from this heavily depends on RNG. Some elemental buffs are better than others and provide bigger damage increases.
When ranked, the best elemental buffs to get from his C4 are:
Cryo > Pyro > Electro > Hydro
C5: Matsuban: Ancient Illuminator From Abroad
Increases his elemental skill talent level by 3.
Like his C3, this is a very small damage – it’s basically his worst constellation. So it’s never recommended to actively pull for C5.
C6: Shugen: The Curtains’ Melancholic Sway
When Wanderer actively hits an enemy with Kuugo: Fushoudan during his skill, the following effects will occur:
Deals an additional instance of Kuugo: Fushoudan at the position hit. This deals 40% of the attack’s original damage and is considered normal attack damage.
When his Kuugoryoku Points fall under 40, he regains 4 points. This can only occur once every 0.2s and up to 5 times per skill duration.
This is his best constellation by far, as it significantly increases his personal damage. Plus its second effect also functions as a quality-of-life buff. It gives him more stamina to dodge or perform attacks while in mid-air.
Maeri is an avid gacha player currently in the clutches of Genshin Impact. She mainly focuses on character analyses, underlying game mechanics, and occasionally reading game code. She also yearns for the day that Dainsleif is finally playable.
