Kazuha is one of the most popular characters in Genshin Impact, known for his powerful Anemo abilities and crowd control potential. Many players aim to maximize Kazuha’s damage output, which leads to the question: Does Kazuha need Marionette Cores to reach his full potential? Marionette Cores are a special ascension material that can further strengthen characters beyond level 90. In this article, we’ll dive into whether farming these scarce materials is necessary for Kazuha.
What are Marionette Cores?
Marionette Cores are rare materials that are used to ascend characters from level 90 to level 100 through Ascension Phase 6. Each Ascension Phase requires 1 Marionette Core along with other materials like Mora, talent books, elemental gems, and boss materials.
Marionette Cores can only be obtained from weekly boss fights against Maguu Kenki, the Golden Wolflord, and Anemo Hypostasis. The drop rates are low, around 20-30% chance, so these materials take time and resin to farm.
Ascending to level 100 grants the following bonuses:
- Increased max HP
- Increased max Attack
- Increased Defense
- 3 additional talent levels
So Marionette Cores provide a way to further strengthen characters beyond the normal limitations. But are they required for Kazuha?
Evaluating Kazuha’s Kit
To determine if Marionette Cores are important for Kazuha, we need to evaluate what he gains from leveling up through Ascension Phase 6. Here are the key things to consider about Kazuha’s kit:
Base Attack Scaling
Kazuha’s abilities scale primarily off his Elemental Mastery, not his Attack. Leveling to 100 will provide some Attack increase, but this doesn’t boost his damage as much as EM or Anemo DMG Bonus.
Talent Scaling
Upgrading Kazuha’s Normal/Charged Attack is generally low priority, so those bonus talent levels don’t add much value. However, his Elemental Skill and Burst do have good scaling. Those extra 3 levels could noticeably increase his skill/burst damage.
Support Capabilities
Kazuha provides team buffs through his A4 passive talent and Freedom Sworn’s weapon effect. Those buffs are based on Kazuha’s EM, not his level. So Ascension Phase 6 does not directly improve his support potential.
HP/DEF Gains
The increased HP and Defense from levels provide some bulkiness, but Kazuha naturally wants to avoid taking damage as much as possible. So these are minor benefits compared to other gains.
Farming Marionette Cores
Based on Kazuha’s kit, the main benefits from Marionette Cores and Ascension Phase 6 are:
- Increased Elemental Skill and Burst talent levels
- Somewhat higher Attack
Are those gains worth the resin cost to farm Marionette Cores? Here are some key points about farming these materials:
- Must defeat level 90+ Maguu Kenki, Golden Wolflord, or Anemo Hypostasis
- 20-30% drop rate per 60 resin
- Need 46 total Marionette Cores from Phase 6 to 10
- Can only obtain 1 Core per week per boss
So farming enough Cores will take 23 weeks minimum just for Ascension Phase 6 to 10. The total resin cost is very high – around 9,200 to 14,000 for 46 Cores.
This steep resin investment means that for most players, investing that resin into talent levels, artifacts, or weapon ascension will provide more damage. The return on investment for Marionette Cores is quite low outside of hardcore min-maxing.
Is Ascension to 100 Needed?
Based on Kazuha’s kit and the high farming cost, reaching Ascension Phase 6 is generally considered low priority and not necessary for most players and teams. Here’s a summary of the key points:
- Kazuha’s damage scales primarily off of EM and Anemo DMG%
- The Attack increase from level 100 is minor for him
- His Normal/Charged Attack talent level is not very impactful
- Marionette Cores take a tremendous amount of resin to farm
You will see much better returns from investing that resin into:
- Level 90 Ascension for the Anemo DMG% bonus
- Talent levels 9+ on his Skill and Burst
- Getting his BiS 5-star weapons like Freedom Sworn or Mistsplitter
- Farming for optimal Viridescent Venerer artifacts
Maxing out those areas will provide much more damage for Kazuha than the minor gains from Marionette Cores and Ascension Phase 6.
When to Consider Marionette Cores
Here are some cases when farming Marionette Cores could be worthwhile:
- You have already fully maximized Kazuha’s standard build first
- You are a hardcore Kazuha main and want to push his potential to the max
- You have a surplus of resin and want long-term future investment
- You use Kazuha in difficult lategame content like Spiral Abyss Floor 12
For most other situations, investing resin into his artifacts, weapons, and standard talent levels will offer much better returns. Marionette Cores are an extremely endgame min-maxing option.
TLDR Summary
- Marionette Cores only grant minor Attack, HP, and talent level increases for Kazuha
- His damage scales much better with EM, Anemo DMG%, and level 9+ talents
- Marionette Cores require a tremendous resin cost to farm
- They provide minimal damage gains for the huge resin investment
- Recommended to focus on his standard artifacts/weapons/talents first
- Only farm Cores if you have already fully built Kazuha and want to min-max
Conclusion
In summary, Marionette Cores are not required at all for Kazuha to excel in Genshin Impact. He gains much more from properly built artifacts, weapons, and standard talent levels. Players should prioritize maximizing those first before considering the resin-heavy investment into Marionette Cores for minor stat increases. Treat Ascension Phase 6 as an optional endgame min-max goal, not a core need for Kazuha. With his versatile kit and powerful Anemo abilities, Kazuha will perform fantastically with or without Ascension Phase 6.
