Updated for Version 5.7

Kaveh is a 4-star Dendro Claymore character in Genshin Impact who acts as a supportive on-field driver, especially in Bloom teams. Learn about Kaveh’s best builds, Talent priority, best weapons, best artifacts, and best teams in this in-depth review.

Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress.

The full-length guide is available here. It is currently up-to-date.

Table of Contents

Infographic

Credits to: cuppacote, latiwings, irokei, and KQM Staff

Character Overview

Playstyles

Bloom Driver

Kaveh acts as an on-field Dendro driver for Bloom teams. His AoE Dendro application, frontloaded and buffed Bloom damage, and self-healing all make him a comfortable pick here.

Burgeon & Hyperbloom Driver

Kaveh can drive any Dendro team, not just Bloom compositions. While his utilities are not as useful in these teams, his consistent AoE Dendro application is valuable nonetheless.

Talents

Level and Talent Priority

Burst > Normal Attack = Skill

Additionally, leveling Kaveh to 90 is recommended if he has some ownership in Bloom teams

Talent Overview

Normal Attack

Elemental Skill

Elemental Burst

Ascension 1 Passive

Ascension 4 Passive

Normal Attack

Normal Attack | Schematic Setup

Talent Description

Normal Attack
Uses Mehrak to perform up to 4 consecutive attacks.

Charged Attack
Drains Stamina over time to perform continuous slashes.
At the end of the sequence, performs a more powerful slash.

Plunging Attack
Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.

Kaveh’s Normal Attacks are generally unremarkable, but he gains a Dendro Conversion upon using his Burst, allowing him to drive teammates. His range as a Claymore user allows him to deal AoE damage.

Elemental Skill

Elemental Skill | Artistic Ingenuity

Talent Description

Uses Mehrak’s mapping ability for offensive purposes, initiating a radial scan that deals AoE Dendro DMG. It will also scan all Dendro Cores in its AoE and cause them to immediately burst.

Kaveh’s Skill causes any Dendro Cores in the area to immediately Rupture. However, this does not mean Kaveh gains ownership of these Dendro Cores. Generally, Kaveh will be able to fit 2 – 3 Skill uses per rotation.

Elemental Burst

Elemental Burst | Painted Dome

Talent Description

Completely unleashes Mehrak’s energy and creates a cubic scanned space, dealing AoE Dendro DMG to all opponents within it, causing all Dendro Cores in its AoE to immediately burst, and granting Kaveh the following enhanced combat abilities for a specific duration:

Increases Kaveh’s Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack AoE, and converts his attack DMG to Dendro DMG that cannot be overridden.
All Dendro Cores created by all your own party members through Bloom reactions will deal additional DMG when they burst.
Increases Kaveh’s resistance to interruption.

These effects will be canceled once Kaveh leaves the field.

The core of his kit, Kaveh’s Burst immediately Ruptures Dendro Cores in the area, grants him a Dendro Conversion, and increases Bloom DMG. Additionally, Kaveh gains increased interruption resistance, improving his functionality as a driver.

Note that despite the Talent’s wording, the buff only applies to Bloom and not Hyperbloom and Burgeon.

Ascension 1 Passive

Ascension 1 Passive | An Architect’s Undertaking

Talent Description

When DMG dealt by a Dendro Core (including DMG from Burgeon and Hyperbloom) hits Kaveh, Kaveh will regain HP equal to 300% of his Elemental Mastery. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s.

This healing only applies to Kaveh himself. Nevertheless, it improves his survivability — this is incredibly useful in Bloom and Burgeon teams where he acts as a driver.

Ascension 4 Passive

Ascension 4 Passive | A Craftsman’s Curious Conceptions

Talent Description

During Painted Dome, after Kaveh’s Normal, Charged, or Plunging Attacks hit opponents, his Elemental Mastery will increase by 25. This effect can be triggered once every 0.1s. Max 4 stacks.
This effect will be canceled when Painted Dome’s effects end.

A straightforward EM increase. This Passive only applies to Kaveh himself.

Constellations

Constellation 1

Constellation 2

Constellation 3

Constellation 4

Constellation 5

Constellation 6

Constellation 1

Constellation 1 | Sublime Salutations

Constellation Description

Within 3s after using Artistic Ingenuity, Kaveh’s Dendro RES and Incoming Healing Bonus will be increased by 50% and 25% respectively.

Kaveh’s C1 is a simple survivability boost. However, it makes him an even better holder of 4pc Ocean-Hued Clam, improving his damage output.

Constellation 2

Constellation 2 | Grace of Royal Roads

Constellation Description

Kaveh’s Normal Attack SPD increases by 15% during Painted Dome.

The Attack SPD provides a minor increase to Kaveh’s damage by allowing him to execute a few more Normal Attacks per rotation.

Constellation 3

Constellation 3 | Profferings of Dur Untash

Constellation Description

Increases the Level of Painted Dome by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.

A straightforward Burst Talent increase. Provides Kaveh with a minor increase in DPS through improving his Burst’s Bloom DMG Bonus.

Constellation 4

Constellation 4 | Feast of Apadana

Constellation Description

Dendro Cores created from Bloom reactions Kaveh triggers will deal 60% more DMG when they burst.

Kaveh generally does not trigger most of the team’s Blooms, so in practice, this is not an impactful Constellation. If played as solo Dendro, C4 gains more value as Kaveh gains greater Dendro Core ownership.

Constellation 5

Constellation 5 | Treasures of Bonkhanak

Constellation Description

Increases the Level of Artistic Ingenuity by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.

A straightforward Skill Talent increase, and an insignificant DPS increase for Kaveh.

Constellation 6

Constellation 6 | Pairidaeza’s Dreams

Constellation Description

When Kaveh’s Normal, Charged, or Plunging Attacks hit opponents during Painted Dome, it will unleash Pairidaeza’s Light upon the opponent’s position, dealing 61.8% of Kaveh’s ATK as AoE Dendro DMG and causing all Dendro Cores within that AoE to burst. This effect can be triggered once every 3s.

Kaveh’s C6 has good value in non-Nilou Bloom teams, frontloading team damage by allowing more frequent, consistent Ruptures of Dendro Cores. In Nilou teams, this Constellation does not provide much due to her Bountiful Core mechanic already causing Dendro Cores to Rupture almost immediately. Nonetheless, the additional Dendro application is greatly appreciated no matter which team you play him in.

Combos

Combo Notation

N# = Corresponding number of consecutive Normal Attacks
E = Elemental Skill
Q = Elemental Burst
D = Dash

Kaveh EQ / Q E N# E N# (E N#)	Standard Kaveh combo. Kaveh wants to cast his Skill three times per rotation to manage his Energy, so it is recommended to use his Skill once at the beginning of his field time and twice during his Burst state. The last Skill use and some Normal Attacks can be skipped for shorter rotation length but at the cost of Kaveh’s Energy requirements. After C2, Kaveh will use different amounts of Normal Attacks due to its increased ATK SPD.
Kaveh EQ N3D N4 E N4D N4 E (N2)	For C2+ Kaveh.
Kaveh EQ 2[N3D] N1 E 2[N3D] N2 E (N2)	For C1-C0 Kaveh.
E > Team > Q N# + 2 Es	By casting the first Skill earlier during the rotation’s setup and using the other 2 Skills when Kaveh is in his Burst state, we can cut short his field time while also guaranteeing 3 Skill uses per rotation. Players should still use the Kaveh combos mentioned above, but with some action deductions to fit field time better.

Note: The last N2 can be omitted to save rotation length.

Artifacts

ER Requirements

Calcs for ER requirements can be found here (last updated for Version 5.2).

Assumptions:

Kaveh uses his Skill three times per rotation, and he catches ⅔ of his particles.
Kaveh triggers Favonius passive two times and catches them.
One Favonius proc from his teammates.

Team	Other Weapons	Favonius Greatsword
Solo Dendro	210–285%	160–200%
Double Dendro	210–245%	160–180%
Double Dendro (w/ Yaoyao or Emilie)	175-195%	140-150%
Double Dendro (w/ Nahida)	145–165%	120–130%
Double Electro (w/ Fischl or Raiden)	195–220%	150–165%

Sacrificial Greatsword can allow Kaveh to use his Skill 1 more time per rotation and produce extra particles for himself.

Each Favonius proc from teammates takes off ~10-40% from ER requirements.

Use the Energy Recharge Calculator to determine exact requirements for your team and rotation. For more details on how Favonius weapons will affect your team, please use Ac1d’s Favonius Mastersheet.

Artifact Stats

Stat Priority: ER > CRIT Rate (if using Favonius Greatsword) > EM >= ATK% >= CRIT

After hitting a comfortable ER threshold, the next stat to invest in is EM. While Kaveh does not trigger Bloom often in most teams, EM is still his most synergistic stat as it directly influences his healing. As a general rule of thumb, C0 Kaveh appreciates ~700 EM for general Bloom teams, and ~900 EM for Nilou Bloom teams to heal comfortably. At C1, these numbers can be lowered to ~500 EM for the former, and ~600 EM for the latter.

For other stats, CRIT Rate is recommended if running Kaveh with Favonius Greatsword to reliably proc its passive. Generally, Kaveh needs around 30% CRIT Rate to reliably proc 2 instances of Favonius passive at R3 against a single target.

A Healing Bonus Circlet is optimal for his healing, especially when his Bloom ownership is not high, so the trade-off with EM Circlet is minor. It can also be optimal for his damage when using 4pc Ocean-Hued Clam.

Artifact Sets

Weapons

Teams

Rotation Notation

N = Normal Attack
C = Charged Attack
A = Aimed Shot
P = Plunging Attack

E = Elemental Skill
tE = Tap Skill
hE = Hold Skill

Q = Elemental Burst

D = dash (cancel)
J = jump (cancel)
W = walk (cancel)

> = switch character
( ) = these actions are optional; please refer to the notes below
[ ] = repeat these actions the specified number of times

Teambuilding

Kaveh has low personal damage. His teams generally revolve around him enabling teammates to deal reaction damage, rather than the other way around.
Kaveh needs to be on-field for his utilities to be useful. Therefore, his teammates will generally be off-field units.
Another Dendro unit makes it easier to recharge Kaveh’s Burst, but is not necessary.
Kaveh can heal himself but not his teammates in Bloom or Burgeon teams. Some players might find this uncomfortable, so an extra healer is preferred.

Bloom

**Kaveh — Nilou / Hydro — Hydro / Flex — Hydro / Dendro / Flex**

Kaveh’s utilities are geared towards Bloom teams — he can drive, heal himself, buff Bloom damage, and instantly detonate Cores. Due to Bloom’s mechanics, the Hydro unit(s) will often be the reaction trigger. Depending on how much Hydro and Dendro application you have, Kaveh can still claim ownership of a few Dendro Cores here and there.

A second Dendro unit can be used to supply extra Elemental application, contribute to Dendro Resonance, and provide Energy to Kaveh. Bear in mind that without a second Dendro character, Kaveh becomes Energy-deficient and he becomes the one triggering Blooms. You can play him as a solo Dendro, but he will not generate many Cores anyway due to his slow Dendro application, especially before C6. Alternatively, you can use a Flex unit such as Kazuha or Sucrose to provide grouping and buffs. It is recommended to play Bloom compositions in AoE content.

One of Kaveh’s best teammates is Nilou, as she makes up for his sparse Bloom detonation. His AoE Dendro application and ability to tank Blooms allow him to function well as a driver in her teams.

Building Nilou teams is similar to building a regular Bloom team, except you cannot use any units that aren’t Dendro or Hydro. Nilou should run full HP, and your other Hydro character should run EM. Furthermore, it is recommended to also run a second Dendro in Kaveh-Nilou teams. Kaveh is built with high EM to maximize his Bloom damage and healing. Just like regular Bloom teams, Nilou Bloom excels in AoE content.

Shatterbloom

Shatterbloom teams make use of the “Fridge” interaction to slightly increase Bloom generation while introducing an additional source of damage — Shatter. As a Claymore user, Kaveh’s Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, and Plunging Attacks can Shatter Frozen enemies. Shatter damage scales with EM, synergizing well with Kaveh’s usual EM build. Moreover, because of how Fridge affects the Bloom reaction, Hydro units tend to have more if not most of the Bloom ownership, making builds that focus on Bloom damage more significant to DPS.

Another advantage of Fridge is that it enables Frozen, which keeps enemies in place and prevents them from attacking or moving. This further enhances Kaveh’s exceptional survivability while also preventing enemies from moving away before Dendro Cores can Rupture.

Shatterbloom is only recommended against groups of enemies that can be gathered and Frozen in place to maximize Dendro Core generation.

Burgeon

Relies on a high EM Pyro unit to trigger Burgeon damage. Although Kaveh’s Burst only buffs Blooms, his self-healing and interruption resistance make him a comfortable driver for Burgeon teams. His detonations can steal Burgeon procs, but it is possible to delay your Skill and Burst casts to minimize this problem. However, his C6 procs cannot be controlled unless you do not use his Normal Attacks at all. The extra Bloom damage or increased Bloom generation may partially compensate for the loss of Burgeons.

Hyperbloom

Relies on a high EM Electro unit to trigger Hyperbloom damage. Due to Hyperbloom’s small AoE, Kaveh will rarely be hit by them and therefore cannot heal himself. Like Burgeon, his instant Ruptures from Skill/Burst/C6 procs can steal Hyperbloom procs, but that is partially mitigated by Bloom damage. Again, Kaveh does not buff Hyperbloom damage.

Notable Teammates

Hydro

Dendro

Pyro

Electro

Cryo

Anemo & Geo

Hydro

Provides off-field Hydro application, a Hydro unit is necessary in all of Kaveh’s noteworthy teams. In Bloom teams, your Hydro units will trigger Bloom and appreciate EM stats. In Burgeon and Hyperbloom teams, they mostly enable reactions.

Dendro

Because Kaveh needs to be on-field to apply Dendro, having a second Dendro unit allows the team to trigger Blooms during his downtime. Additionally, they help enable Bloom reactions for the team’s Hydro character(s), especially when Kaveh is not C6. Finally, they reduce Kaveh’s ER requirements while enabling Dendro Resonance.

Pyro

In Burgeon teams, you want an off-field Pyro unit with moderate Pyro application like Thoma or Pyro Traveler. This unit uses a full EM build.

Electro

Electro characters with frequent off-field application to trigger Hyperbloom (such as Shinobu, Raiden) are preferred. Other off-field Electro units such as Fischl and Beidou can be used to deal extra damage, or to mitigate Burning aura in Burgeon teams while not stealing many Dendro Cores themselves.

Cryo

Cryo units are used to enable Shatterbloom, keep enemies in place with Freeze reactions, or weaken Burning aura in Burgeon teams for more Dendro Core generation. They can also fulfill the role of a sustain unit.

Anemo & Geo

Some Anemo and Geo characters are useful for their buffing, healing, shielding, or other utilities. Anemo units are particularly valuable as they can group enemies while providing additional elemental application to assist reactions.

Example Teams

This is not a comprehensive list of teams. The inclusion or exclusion of any given team does not necessarily reflect its power level.

**Kaveh — Nilou — Xingqiu — Nahida / Baizhu**

A standard Pure Bloom team with Nilou. Nahida is recommended due to her consistent multi-target off-field Dendro application and good personal damage. Baizhu’s off-field application persists over multiple waves despite being slower in terms of application rate. He also heals the team so that Nilou and Xingqiu can stay on-field more comfortably.

Sample Rotation (Nahida)
Nilou E 3[E] > Nahida E (Q) > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Kaveh Combo (> Nilou Q)

Sample Rotation (Baizhu)
Nilou E 3[E] > Baizhu EQ > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Kaveh Combo (> Nilou Q)

This Bloom team runs Triple Hydro to grant high Bloom ownership to Kaveh. Yelan and Furina deal good Talent damage thanks to Furina’s DMG Bonus buff and low ER requirements in a Triple Hydro team.

Sample Rotation
Nilou E 3[E] Furina ED Q > Yelan EQ N1 > Kaveh Combo (> Nilou Q)

A Pure Bloom team without Nilou. Nahida is required to maintain enough Dendro aura to grant Bloom ownership to the two Hydro units. Kokomi’s healing is enough to keep the team alive even with an EM build.

Sample Rotation
Kokomi E > Nahida E Q > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Kaveh E N1 > Kokomi Q > Kaveh Combo

The go-to team for Shatterbloom. Kaeya is used for his good off-field Cryo application and low ER requirements (which improve with more Constellations).

Sample Rotation
Nahida E Q > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Kaeya E N1 Q N1 > Kaveh Combo > (Kaeya E)

This team trades Core generation for grouping by swapping Nahida for Kazuha. Rosaria at C2 has more base Burst uptime than Kaeya, and her Cryo application has better AoE. Even though Furina’s Fanfare stacking is rather slow, her Hydro application is still decent in multi-target, resulting in high Bloom damage.

Sample Rotation
Furina ED Q > Rosaria EQ > Kazuha hEPQ > Kaveh Combo (> Kazuha tEP)

Kaveh acts as a tanky driver / enabler in this team with his interruption resistance, self-healing from A1 and additional defensive utilities from teammates such as Thoma’s shield and Xingqiu’s damage reduction. Fischl deals good off-field damage and helps manage Burning aura.

Thoma should use Kitain Cross Spear for his Burgeon damage and ER requirements. As such, he should cast Burst before Skill for the Polearm’s passive.

Sample Rotation
Thoma Q E N2 > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Fischl N2 E/Q > Kaveh Combo

**Kaveh — Xingqiu — Kuki Shinobu — Dendro Traveler**

A standard and accessible Hyperbloom team with Shinobu.

Sample Rotation
Kaveh E > Xingqiu EDQ N1 > Shinobu E N1 > Dendro Traveler EQ N1 > Kaveh Combo > Dendro Traveler E (> Shinobu Q)

**Kaveh — Furina — Raiden Shogun — Baizhu**

Furina’s DMG Bonus and Baizhu’s Spread damage buff increase Kaveh’s personal damage, making an ATK / DMG / CRIT build viable. Meanwhile, Raiden maintains Quicken aura and triggers Hyperbloom for respectable damage.

Sample Rotation
Raiden E > Furina ED Q > Baizhu EQ > Kaveh combo

Credits

miannes, jukoist, emiliabyss, fritz, latiwings, chasing_haze, idkanonymized, seima, casdela, acerbus114, baloopy, idkanonymized, plumetra

Team images made with the KQM portrait generator.

Sands	Goblet	Circlet
ER / EM	EM	EM / CRIT Rate / Healing%

4pc Deepwood Memories (DM)	A generalist support set for Dendro teams; Kaveh can have full uptime on the 4-piece effect by using his Skill every 6-8s. It is highly recommended that at least one team member holds 4pc DM. Thus, if Kaveh is not holding 4pc DM, another teammate should.
4pc Ocean-Hued Clam (OHC)	If there is another consistent 4pc DM holder in the team, Kaveh can hold this set to contribute more damage. However, Kaveh’s healing only triggers when damaged by Dendro Cores, so it is recommended he only runs 4pc OHC in Bloom or Burgeon teams.
4pc Instructor	Provides a useful teamwide EM buff. As a 4-star set, 4pc Instructor lowers Kaveh’s personal damage; however, his personal damage is rather low to begin with.
4pc Flower of Paradise Lost (FoPL)	Functions well, but only when Kaveh has a moderate to high ownership of Blooms.
4pc Gilded Dreams (GD)	Also only useful when Kaveh has a moderate to high ownership of Blooms. Slightly worse than 4pc FoPL and has uptime issues, but may be more Resin-efficient to farm.
2pc EM & 2pc EM	Decent options while transitioning to a suitable 4-piece set, 2-piece combinations still offer a sizable amount of EM.

Favonius Greatsword	Favonius Greatsword shows considerable synergy with Kaveh’s kit due to his high ER needs and his on-field playstyle. Its passive can be triggered 2-3 times per rotation.
Makhaira Aquamarine / Mailed Flower / Rainslasher / Bloodtainted Greatsword	Due to their EM stat, these weapons function well when Kaveh is triggering Blooms. Makhaira Aquamarine additionally provides team members with some Flat ATK. Mailed Flower’s passive is easy to maintain 100% uptime on and provides Kaveh with additional ATK% and EM. Bloodtainted Greatsword, despite being a 3-star, has a higher EM stat than both other weapons mentioned here. However, its passive provides very little.
Sacrificial Greatsword	The main draws of Sacrificial Greatsword are its ER% secondary stat and the ability to recast Kaveh’s Skill for additional Dendro Particles. In non-Nilou Bloom teams particularly, this weapon allows Kaveh to apply more Dendro with the additional Skill use and helps front-load Bloom damage.
Forest Regalia	Provides Kaveh with much needed ER. The passive can be difficult to trigger with Kaveh, and picking up the Leaf of Consciousness may interrupt rotations.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa	Provides Kaveh with much needed ER, but lacks the team utility of Favonius Greatsword and Forest Regalia. Furthermore, this weapon generally requires refinements to function well.
Ultimate Overlord’s Mega Magic Sword	Only obtainable during the event in Version 4.3, this Claymore has ER% as its secondary stat and a passive that provides a hefty amount of ATK%. However, as Kaveh’s Talent damage is poor outside of his Hypercarry playstyle, the passive remains rather useless in Bloom teams.
*5 Weapons**	Generally all good stat sticks for personal damage. However, Kaveh’s personal DPS is generally insignificant to overall team DPS. Skyward Pride is particularly noteworthy for its ER.

Nilou ★	Nilou further increases Bloom damage and allows all Dendro Cores to instantly Rupture. However, you can only play her with Dendro and Hydro units for these benefits to take effect.
Xingqiu ★	Xingqiu applies the most Hydro application in single-target while also dealing solid personal damage. His interruption resistance and damage reduction buff along with small healing pair well with Kaveh’s role as a tanky, comfy driver.
Yelan ★	Yelan exchanges Xingqiu’s Hydro application and defensive utilities for higher personal damage, especially with buffs from other teammates. She may not be able to enable Burgeon teams without another Hydro, Electro or Cryo unit.
Furina ★	Despite not being able to capitalize on Furina’s DMG Bonus buff, Kaveh still appreciates her as the team’s Hydro enabler. She goes well with other off-field Hydro damage dealers such as Xingqiu and Yelan for their combined Hydro Particle generation.

Nahida ★	Baizhu ★	Dendro Traveler	Yaoyao
Collei	Kirara	Emilie