The first event weapon in the Fontaine era of patches for Genshin Impact is the Ballad of the Boundless Blue, a 4-star Catalyst which you get for free by playing the 4.1 main event Waterborne Poetry. It shines brightly in the right hands, and here are some of its best users.
Genshin Impact: Ballad of the Boundless Blue Weapon Overview
| Base ATK | 44 (at Lvl 1), 565 (at Lvl 90) |
| Substat | Energy Recharge% |
| Base ER% | 6,6% (at Lvl 1), 30,2% (at Lvl 90) |
| Passive Description | Within 6s after Normal or Charged Attacks hit an opponent, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 8 ~16% and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 6 ~12%. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. |
With emphasis on more active, on-field gameplay, this catalyst is similar to the also event-exclusive old Dodoco Tales catalyst. The difference is a more Burst-focused gameplay thanks to the ER% substat and, of course, current availability as the previous weapon is likely not coming back so soon.
Its biggest problem is that most on-field DPS aren’t that energy-hungry, so the substat goes unused for most of them. Regardless of that, characters that enjoy staying in the field and dishing out some normals are perfect for this blue book, and we can easily get some candidates to mind.
Best Characters for Ballad of the Boundless Blue in Genshin Impact
While more offensive weapons are usually better for the following characters, Ballad of the Boundless Blue is a great F2P option for any of them if you don’t have any other good option available.
1 – Neuvillette
With his first banner happening right next to the weapon’s release, it only makes sense to immediately think of him. Charged Attacks are his field of specialty, and there’s probably no other on-field that requires Burst that much. It also fits his outfit, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
2 – Wriothesley
Similar case to Neuvillette, but with a slightly lower Energy cost. His Charged Attacks are highly favored by his passive talents and Skill, so this weapon is still useful if you’re on a budget.
3 – Wanderer
With the same Burst cost as Wriothesley, the same can be said for the Wanderer. He’s ranked lower as he usually has even fewer energy problems since he’s usually paired with Faruzan, who’s usually built as an Anemo battery anyway.
4 – Shikanoin Heizou
Heizou likes to use his Burst often, so this weapon could be a nice fit for him if you’re building him. He usually doesn’t have that many problems with that, but there’s no hurting in giving the weapon a fit user.
5 – Klee/Yanfei
With very similar gameplay loops, the Pyro girls don’t present many energy problems, so the weapon’s passive is the only (but important) reason you would use it on them.
Honorable Mentions
If all you’re looking for is a simple stat stick, giving it to anyone who likes Energy Recharge (Lisa, Mona, etc) is a fine choice until you get a better option. Ballad is unfortunately coming to the game in a point where other better, more optimized weapons are already available.
All Ascension Materials for Ballad of the Boundless Blue
Some of its ascension materials are directly granted to you through the Waterbourne Poetry event, but that’s only a small portion of the total needed. If you’re curious, here’s a complete list.
- x3 Boreal Wolf’s Milk Tooth
- x9 Boreal Wolf’s Cracked Tooth
- x9 Boreal Wolf’s Broken Fang
- x4 Boreal Wolf’s Nostalgia
- x15 Fragile Bone Shard
- x18 Sturdy Bone Shard
- x27 Fossilized Bone Shard
- x10 Treasure Hoarder Insignia
- x15 Silver Raven Insignia
- x18 Golden Raven Insignia
After including ascension basic prices and leveling costs, you’ll also need a bit more than 900,000 Mora in total.
Where to Get Boreal Wolf’s Items
The main source for those items is the Cecilia Garden domain in Mondstadt. Those fangs will be available on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, but you can also randomly get them from the Parametric Transformer and also from Mondstadt-related events occasionally.
Where to Get Bone Shards Items
These are probably the hardest on the list as they’re dropped from Geovishaps enemies. They’re not hard to get, and they also come in great quantity for each Vishap slain. The problem is how far from each other they’re usually placed, so you’ll need to walk a bit more than expected for those drops if you’re low on them.
Where to Get Insignia Items
Same case as the Bone Shards, but Insignias are obtained from Treasure Hoarder enemies, which are always easily found around the maps, especially in Liyue. They’re often featured in Daily Commissions too, so you probably have some extra insignias to spare.
If getting all of those is still too hard, don’t worry – you can always buy these from the Paimon shop. It might be the easiest way since you’ll always have some extra Starglitter from rolling for those sweet new characters.
