The air crackled with anticipation as the livestream chat spammed “VARKA WHEN?!” A grainy screenshot surfaced on Reddit: Varka, Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, rendered in-game. Could this be it? The wait for one of Genshin Impact’s most storied figures might finally be over. If you’re ready to examine the rumors swirling around Varka’s kit, then let’s get started.
Genshin Impact: When Will Varka Arrive?
Online forums are ablaze with speculation. The current consensus points to a potential Varka debut around Genshin Impact Luna V, predicted to drop around February 25, 2026. The whispers suggest he’ll be the physically largest playable character to date. Want to learn about the release dates of upcoming characters from Nod-Krai? Several online resources track release schedules.
Here is a countdown timer for Varka’s Genshin Impact release:
The North Wind: Who Is Varka?
Think of the classic war movie trope: the legendary general spoken of in hushed tones, always just off-screen. That’s Varka. He’s the Grand Master and Knight of Boreas of the Knights of Favonius, celebrated as Mondstadt’s strongest warrior. Varka departed roughly six months before the Traveler’s arrival, leaving Jean to manage things. He led a substantial expedition to Nod-Krai, taking 80% of the Knights with him.
Varka played a key diplomatic role, requesting Barbatos (Venti) to arrange a conference with Hexenzirkel, fostering a strong alliance with Mondstadt. His motivations for being in Nod-Krai remain a mystery, presumably to be revealed in the Luna V Archon quest.
Genshin Impact Varka: Kit Leak Rundown
Word on the street (or rather, the subreddit) is that Varka’s kit is in the works, and some details have leaked from the Luna V beta. Treat the following as preliminary; Hoyoverse may change things before release. Remember to bookmark this page for updates.
What kind of character is Varka?
Here’s a breakdown:
- Scaling: ATK
- Role: Anemo DPS
- Skill: Enhances Varka’s basic Attack and Skill and does AoE Anemo damage to enemies.
- Enhanced Basic Attack: Using Varka’s Skill enhances his Basic attacks with increased damage and elemental infusion. His dual claymore deals corresponding Elemental damage based on the elements of his allies in the party. This elemental damage cannot be overridden by other infusions.
- Enhanced Skill: With Pyro, Hydro, Electro, or Cryo characters in the party, Varka’s skill is enhanced and deals corresponding Elemental DMG and Anemo DMG together. He can also use multiple charges of his elemental skill to perform a special charged attack that doesn’t consume stamina while dealing the corresponding element damage and Anemo damage.
- Burst Explained: It does two powerful slash attacks, one of which deals Anemo DMG while the other deals Elemental damage based on the element of the allies, between Pyro, Hydro, Electro, and Cryo.
- Passives: His passives allow his Anemo damage and the corresponding elemental damage to increase based on his ATK stat.
- Hexerei Mechanic: Varka is a Hexerei character, and playing him alongside other Hexerei characters would decrease the cooldown of his Skills significantly.
Talents and Passives: The Nitty-Gritty
Let’s move on to a detailed look at Varka’s rumored talents and passives:
| Talents | Description | DMG Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack | Normal Attack: Imitating an ancient knightly war-dance, Varka wields dual claymores to perform up to 5 consecutive strikes. | 1-Hit DMG: 129.4% |
| 2-Hit DMG: 47.42% + 88.06% | ||
| 3-Hit DMG: 64.12% + 119.08% | ||
| 4-Hit DMG: 109.57% + 59% | ||
| Charged Attack: Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to charge forward and perform an especially powerful dual blade slash toward the front. | 5-Hit Damage: 137.88% + 74.24% | |
| Charged Attack DMG: 169.29% + 91.15% | ||
| Charged Attack Stamina Cost: 50 | ||
| Plunging Attack: Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact. | Plunge DMG: 147.44% | |
| Low/High Plunge DMG: 294.82% / 368.25% | ||
| Skill | Manifest the true essence of Favonius Bladework with absolute power. Produces different effects depending on whether the skill is Tapped or Held. | Skill DMG: 501.12% |
| Skill Duration: 12s | ||
| 1-Hit DMG: 129.4% | ||
| 2-Hit DMG: 59.27% + 110.08% | ||
| Tap: Leap forward and slash in one fluid motion, dealing AoE Anemo DMG and switching to Stormward Charge mode. While in Stormward Charge, Varka’s Normal Attack DMG is increased, and he cannot perform Plunging Attacks. When performing Normal or Charged Attacks, Varka’s dual-wielded claymores will deal corresponding Elemental DMG based on the Elemental Types of the characters in the party, respectively. This Elemental DMG cannot be overridden by infusions. Additionally, when in Stormward Charge, if there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, Varka’s Elemental Skill Windbound Execution will be converted to the special Elemental Skill, Four Winds’ Ascension, dealing corresponding Elemental DMG and Anemo DMG. Additionally, Varka can also expend uses for the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension to perform a special Charged Attack, Azure Devour, that does not consume stamina to deal corresponding Elemental DMG and Anemo DMG. | 3-Hit DMG: 80.15% + 148.85% | |
| Hold: After charging for a while, leap forward. The duration of the charge will increase the distance of the leap. | 4-Hit DMG: 136.97% + 73.75% | |
| 5-Hit Damage: 172.35% + 92.8% | ||
| Charged Attack DMG: 211.61% + 113.94% | ||
| Follow-up Skill DMG: 236.81% + 127.51% | ||
| Follow-up Charged Attack Bonus DMG: 126.36%×2 + 68.04%×2 | ||
| Follow-up Skill CD: 11 | ||
| CD: 16s | ||
| Burst | In the name of the mightiest Knight of Boreas, unleash a powerful double slash attack toward the front, dealing 2 instances of Anemo DMG. If there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, the first slash will be converted to deal corresponding Elemental DMG according to the priority order of the aforementioned Elemental Types. | 1-Hit DMG: 606.53% |
| 2-Hit DMG: 326.59% | ||
| CD: 15s | ||
| Energy Cost: 60 | ||
| Homebound Wind’s Paean | For every party member from Mondstadt, the Elemental Skill Windbound Execution’s CD is decreased by 5%. This effect does not trigger in Domains, Trounce Domains, or the Spiral Abyss. | – |
| Dawn Wind’s March | When there are Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, every 1,000 points of Varka’s ATK will grant Varka a 10% Anemo DMG Bonus and corresponding Elemental DMG Bonus (among the aforementioned Elemental Types, only one element can gain bonus DMG this way), which can gain up to 25% of bonus DMG this way. | – |
| Additionally, if there are at least 2 Anemo characters, or at least 2 characters of the same Element among Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo in the party, the Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, Special Charged Attack Azure Devour and the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension that Varka deals or unleashes while in Stormward Charge will deal 140% of their original DMG. If there are at least 2 Anemo characters and at least 2 other characters of the same element among Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo present in the party at the same time, the aforementioned effect will be increased to 220%. | ||
| Wind’s Vanguard | When nearby party members trigger Swirl reaction(s), Varka gains one stack of Azure Fang’s Oath, increasing the DMG dealt by his Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, special Charged Attack Azure Devour and special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension while in Stormward Charge by 7.5% for 8s. Max 4 stacks. Each character can grant Varka with 1 stack of Azure Fang’s Oath every second this way. | – |
| Witch’s Eve Rite: Dawn’s Return | After completing Witch’s Homework: The Untitled Question, Varka will become a Hexerei character. When the party includes at least 2 Hexerei characters, you will gain the Hexerei: Secret Rite effect, which enhances Hexerei characters. | – |
| Hexerei: Secret Rite: Enhances the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension: When Varka hits an enemy with Normal Attack(s) in Stormward Charge, the CD of Four Winds’ Ascension will be reduced by 1s. | – |
Varka Constellations
Let’s examine the constellations tied to Varka:
| Constellations | Description |
|---|---|
| “Come, Friend, Let Us Dance Beneath the Moon’s Soft Glow” | When Varka switches to Stormward Charge, he will obtain an additional use of the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension. Additionally, after switching to Stormward Charge, Varka will gain the Lyrical Libation effect: When unleashing the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension, or when performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, Varka can consume this effect to deal 200% of the original DMG dealt by Four Winds’ Ascension or Azure Devour. |
| “When Dawn Breaks, Our Journey Shall Take Flight” | When unleashing the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension, or when performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, Varka will perform an additional strike, dealing AoE Anemo DMG equal to 800% of Varka’s ATK. |
| “O Friend, Quaff Not the Bitter Wine That Brings Tears of Woe” | Increases Elemental Skill Windbound Execution Level by 3. |
| “For None May Take From Us Our Freedom of Song” | When Varka triggers a Swirl reaction, based on the Elemental Types involved in the reaction, all nearby party members gain a 20% Anemo DMG Bonus and the corresponding Elemental DMG Bonus for 10s. |
| “Fill High the Cup With Fine Wine, for Tyrants Come and Go” | Increases Elemental Burst Northwind Avatar Level by 3. |
| “Beloved Mondstadt, Steadfast You Shall Shine” | Stormward Charge is enhanced: |
| For a short time after unleashing the special Elemental Skill Four Winds’ Ascension, Tapping on Varka’s Elemental Skill or Holding his Normal Attack will not expend any uses of Four Winds’ Ascension, and perform the special Charged Attack Azure Devour. | |
| After performing the special Charged Attack Azure Devour, tap on Varka’s Elemental Skill to unleash an instance of Four Winds’ Ascension without expending any uses of Four Winds’ Ascension. | |
| Additionally, the Azure Fang’s Oath effect in Passive Talent Wind’s Vanguard is enhanced: Every stack of Azure Fang’s Oath will increase Varka’s CRIT DMG by 15%. |
Ballad of the Mighty Wolf: Varka’s Signature Weapon?
A signature weapon allegedly crafted for Varka, the “Ballad of the Mighty Wolf,” has surfaced online. Here’s what we know:
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Ballad of the Mighty Wolf |
| Rarity | 5-star |
| Weapon Type | Claymore |
| Base ATK | 608.07 |
| Bonus Crit Rate | 33.08% |
| Skill | Increase ATK SPD by 10%. Gain Four Winds’ Hymn every time the equipping character’s Normal Attack(s) hit enemies: DMG dealt is increased by 6% for 4s. Max 5 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.1s. Additionally, when the party has the “Hexerei: Secret Rite” effect, each stack of Four Winds’ Hymn will increase the CRIT DMG of the equipping character by 6%. |
Varka Overview: Rarity, Weapon, Element & Stat Leaks
Putting it all together, here’s an overview of Varka’s rumored base stats, rarity and other details:
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Rarity | 5-Star |
| Weapon Type | Catalyst |
| Element | Hydro |
| Voice Actors | English: Emi Lo Japanese: Lynn |
| Attack | 117.2 |
| Defense | 551.53 |
| HP | 15740 |
| Bonus Stat | 19.2% Crit Rate |
Leveling Up: Varka’s Ascension Materials
If you’re planning to main Varka, gathering his materials ahead of time is a pro move. Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
| Material | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Vayuda Turquoise Sliver | 1 |
| Vayuda Turquoise Fragment | 9 |
| Vayuda Turquois Chunk | 9 |
| Vayuda Turquoise Gemstone | 6 |
| Wolfhook | 168 |
| Broken Drive Shaft | 18 |
| Reinforced Drive Shaft | 30 |
| Precision Drive Shaft | 36 |
| New Boss Material | 46 |
| Mora | 420,000 |
Here are the talent materials required:
| Material | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Broken Drive Shaft | 6 |
| Reinforced Drive Shaft | 22 |
| Precision Drive Shaft | 31 |
| Teachings of Freedom | 3 |
| Guide to Freedom | 21 |
| Philosophies of Freedom | 38 |
| Ascended Sample: Rook | 6 |
| Crown of Insight | 1 |
| Mora | 1,653,000 |
Who are Varka’s voice actors?
Voice acting breathes life into characters. Here are Varka’s confirmed voice actors:
- English: Joseph May
- Japanese: Tomokazu Sugita
- Chinese: Hao Xianghai
So, these are the details circulating about Varka in Genshin Impact. Given what you’ve seen, do you think Varka’s kit will live up to the hype?