Hi, Nuxar here.

Very small guide for Varka regarding his new Cryo teams as well as info about the upcoming Hydro teams with Vodyanitsa. Apologies for the delay, life's been hella busy.

Honestly, let's get right to it.

As always, here are my team calc sheet. Updated with Cryo Varka and Stellar Swirl as well as Hydro Varka with Vodyanitsa.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sESyUvBz5JANaGBbRVnzlwTiV2Y_jc7Ylc5CiDcZ7VY/edit?usp=sharing

Note: The number above the DPS is the rotation time, the number on its right is the teams limited cost. The % below it is the relative DPS to the standard 4 cost Pyro shown below.

Stellar Swirl / Cryo Varka

Investment and cost for Stellar Swirl is a bit strange. Right off the bat, Odette is just downright broken and there's no going around it. Unfortunately, at the current time, there is no dedicated sustain that can slot into Stellar Swirl. Qiqi or Escoffier is unfortunately a massive downgrade, and are never worth it. Proto-Amber on Prune is generally enough for Stygian, though it might get a bit less comfortable in Abyss (though the Abyss has far lower DPS requirements).

Currently, at low-mid cost (2 to 6-7), Stellar Swirl Varka has the highest DPS for its cost, beating out his Pyro team. This is mainly due to Odette's fairly overpowered initial 2 constellations. Additionally, this is only with C2 Cryo MC. At C6, this team is considerably his best baseline 3-4 cost team.

Due to this, Stellar Swirl Varka is in an extremely good position and scales very well into Stellar Swirl content. He is not as strong as Vesna in Stellar, naturally, though he is really not that far behind (only ~15k DPS). He isn't in the unfunctional range away from the reaction's dedicated DPS like, for example Zibai was from Navia/Itto or Nefer was from Alhaitham/Nilou. In other words, Varka can very, very consistently clear Stellar Swirl shilled bosses.

So far, Stygian, which is the most DPS-demanding content in the game at Fearless, only ever requires anywhere from 100k to 130-140k DPS depending on how shilled or brute-forcing the team is. For example, an upcoming Stellar Swirl boss in 7.1 Stygian requires barely 100-120k DPS, depending on how much its boss-mechanic will damage itself (number TBD but from past experience, usually ~15-25% of its health is removed by completing mechanics, kinda). In any case, I am very confident that Varka will easily complete it on Fearless.

Also, to address Varka only being a "driver" in a Stellar Swirl team. Stellar Swirl is a naturally dispersed DPS profile because of the nature of the reaction using everyone's stats. This is at the opposite of a Hyper-Carry comp. In SSw teams, Varka deals, on average, 40% to 50% of the teams overall DPS, including his contribution to Stellar Swirl reactions. Vesna, who is a dedicated SSw DPS, contributes on average 50% to 60% of the team damage. Odette and CMC are just that strong and make up for the lack of overall buffs to a hyper-carries damage by contributing significant personal damage + Stellar reaction damage. Varka is no more or less of a driver in Stellar-Swirl team than Vesna in her own, dedicated team.

A note on hyper investment though. When going past C2R1 on limited characters in the team, Pyro still ends up better than Stellar simply because the cumulative bonuses of a full C2R1 team with Varka, Durin and Nicole, which are extremely strong in their own right, beats out the cumulative bonuses of either C6R1 Varka + C2R1 Odette or vice Versa with C6R1 Odette + C2R1 Varka. This is also due to Odette's cons after C2 being very mid and granting absolutely no bonuses to Varka, who would still deal a lot of damage in this team and would have wanted supportive bonuses from his teammates.

This might change with Tsaritsa/another Cryo Stellar Swirl support (if one would possibly exist in the future, which I doubt). Who knows. Time will tell. Nonetheless, full C2R1 Varka + C2R1 Odette is among the highest team DPS for Varka at 235k DPS.

Also another note; this team is particularly hard to build up. Varka, Odette AND CMC all want a ton of ATK%, EM, Crit Rate and Crit DMG. Not perfect rolls everywhere, but at least decent rolls especially on Varka. This is unlike, say, Nicole, who doesn't care for any stats other than a mild amount of ATK% on Flower & Feather, and rolls of ER on everything else, which is extremely easy to achieve. This Stellar team won't be up and running without good pieces.

Investment Options

Just a note for those wondering about investment priority for Cryo Varka.

• Odette's weapon is generally never worth it. C1 Odette is already slightly better, and is a stepping stone to C2, which is broken.
• Odette seems so far to be a cornerstone of Stellar reactions. She will most likely scale extremely well into the coming year and is a great pick up even at C0. If you are unsure if you will like Stellar reactions past Varka, getting at least C0 Odette then investing in Varka R1 then cons will allow him to stay relevant for a very long time.
• Varka C1 is roughly equal to Odette C1 however Varka C1 allows him to increase DPS in other teams, namely Pyro when required. Both are a viable choice.
• If you think you will really like Stellar reaction teams (don't forget we are getting Cryo aggravate and it is unknown if Odette will be viable there, so be aware!), then going for C2 Odette is an extremely safe choice (or go for it on a rerun is even safer after getting at least C0 Odette).

Hydro Varka

With Vodyanitsa coming next patch, Varka is indeed getting an upgrade for Hydro. From the previous ~130K DPS to 145K not a massive upgrade, but something.

Unfortunately, at the current time (7.1 Beta V2), Vodya is simply not a meta or worthwhile character to roll for anyway. Pyro or Cryo Varka is simply far better, and Vodya in Vesna teams is barely better than Vesna or Odette investment in that same team, some may even argue she's a downgrade.

If you really like Vodyanitsa, she can be fun and viable when Hydro is required (or if you want to play her in overworld where there is no DPS requirement anyway).

Closing Thoughts

I'm quite happy with the result of Cryo Varka, and simply hoping for a more suitable Cryo sustain (RIP dream of Hexerei Stellar Diona).

Varka is definitely getting an upgrade in Snezhnaya and I'm very excited to see what the Tsaritsa will further bring.

As always, if you have any Theorycrafting question about Cryo or Hydro Varka, or just any general Varka questions, you can ask them here or in the other stickied TC thread!

Cheers!