Understanding 4★ Craftable Claymores in Genshin Impact
Let’s cut straight to what’s available. The craftable claymore roster isn’t exactly overwhelming, but each weapon serves a distinct purpose.
Prototype Archaic sits at 565 base ATK with 27.6% ATK substat – your classic damage-focused option. Whiteblind delivers 510 base ATK with a hefty 51.7% DEF (defense scaling characters only, obviously). Snow-Tombed Starsilver offers 565 base ATK with 34.5% Physical DMG Bonus, which feels increasingly niche in today’s meta.
Then we get to the interesting stuff. Katsuragikiri Nagamasa features 510 base ATK and 45.9% Energy Recharge with this fascinating energy management passive that actually generates more energy than it consumes. Forest Regalia provides 565 base ATK with 30.6% Energy Recharge plus an Elemental Mastery buff mechanic that transforms it into something special.
Standard crafting cost across the board: 500 Mora, 1 Northlander Claymore Billet, 50 Crystal Chunks, and 50 White Iron Chunks. Pro tip – if you’ve got Diluc, his passive talent gives you a 15% ore refund when crafting claymores. Small benefit, but it adds up.
Base Stats and Passive Abilities Comparison
Forest Regalia’s passive is where things get spicy. After triggering Dendro reactions, it generates these leaves that grant 60-120 EM (depending on refinement) for 12 seconds. Essentially, you’re getting a pseudo-EM weapon while maintaining that crucial Energy Recharge for burst consistency. Pretty clever design, honestly.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa does something I find genuinely clever – it plays an energy exchange game. Using your Elemental Skill costs 3 energy upfront but regenerates 9 energy over time. That’s a net gain of 6-12 energy per skill use (R1-R5). Combined with that 45.9% ER substat? This becomes the premier choice for energy-hungry support characters.
Prototype Archaic just… delivers damage. 240-480% ATK as AoE damage every 15 seconds. The problem? This ATK-scaling mechanic doesn’t align with how modern support character kits actually work – they prioritize EM and utility stats over raw attack.
Crafting Requirements and Material Costs
Here’s where patience becomes essential. Northlander Claymore Billets drop from weekly bosses at a 12% chance per boss – not exactly generous. Your guaranteed sources include the Frostbearing Tree, Sacred Sakura, and those Souvenir Shops (225 Anemo/Geo Sigils each).
Crystal Chunk farming routes can yield 100+ chunks daily if you know where to look. Prime locations include Mingyun Village, Guyun Stone Forest, and Mt. Hulao. Regional weapons like Katsuragikiri Nagamasa throw a curveball by requiring Amethyst Lump from Inazuma’s crystalline formations instead.
Full R5 refinement demands 5 billets, 250 Crystal Chunks, and 250 White Iron Chunks per weapon. We’re talking approximately 2-3 months of consistent weekly boss farming. Plan accordingly.
Hydro Claymore Character Analysis
Current Hydro Claymore Users Overview
Aino represents this new breed of off-field support with EM-scaling damage. Her Level 90 stats tell the whole story: 11,201 HP, 242 ATK, 607 DEF, with 96 EM as her ascension stat.
That remarkably low base ATK isn’t a mistake – it reinforces her support role and makes ATK-scaling weapons fundamentally suboptimal.
Her Structured Power Booster passive increases Elemental Burst damage by 50% of total EM. Meanwhile, Precision Hydronic Cooler burst costs 50 energy with a 14-second duration, demanding 160-180% Energy Recharge for consistent uptime. The math is pretty unforgiving here.
The Moonsign mechanic enhances effectiveness with Nod-Krai characters, activating Ascendant Gleam for improved burst frequency. This regional synergy makes burst uptime even more critical than it already was.
Character-Specific Weapon Synergies
For Aino’s EM-focused build, Forest Regalia provides exceptional value in Dendro reaction teams. The weapon’s EM buff (60-120 based on refinement) stacks beautifully with her natural EM scaling, while that 30.6% ER contributes toward her energy threshold. In Hyperbloom teams, this combination can boost personal damage by 30-50%. Not bad for a craftable weapon.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa excels as the energy solution with its 45.9% ER substat and energy regeneration passive. That net 6-12 energy gain per skill use significantly reduces ER requirements from artifacts, allowing you to run ER/EM/EM artifact distributions instead of pure ER stacking.
Prototype Archaic just… doesn’t work. The ATK-scaling passive and substat provide minimal benefit to EM-scaling damage while offering absolutely nothing for energy management. It’s not that it’s bad – it’s just designed for a completely different character archetype.
Top Craftable Weapon Recommendations
Forest Regalia: The Dendro Synergy Champion
Forest Regalia brings 565 base ATK and 30.6% Energy Recharge to the table. Its passive generates leaves after Dendro reactions, providing 60 EM at R1 that scales to 120 EM at R5 for 12 seconds.
The scaling here is what makes refinement so attractive.
Getting the blueprint requires completing Sumeru’s Aranara questline and exchanging Stories of You and the Aranara with NPC Aravinay. It’s a bit of a journey, but the payoff is substantial. Effectiveness scales dramatically with refinement – we’re talking about doubling the EM buff from R1 to R5.
This enables Aino to reach 850+ EM while maintaining 160% ER through smart artifact optimization. The EM buff activates consistently in Hyperbloom teams with nearly permanent uptime, resulting in 15-25% damage increases. For teams requiring Genshin Impact Top Up to acquire supporting characters, Forest Regalia offers excellent F2P value by maximizing reaction damage without gacha dependency.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa: The Energy Management Solution
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa provides 510 base ATK and 45.9% Energy Recharge. That passive creates a net energy gain of 6-12 per skill use (R1-R5), effectively reducing ER requirements by 20-30%.
It’s energy management made simple.
Blueprint location in Mikage Furnace requires completing the Tatara Tales questline. Uses Amethyst Lump instead of White Iron Chunks, so you’ll need those Inazuma-specific mining routes. Small inconvenience for a substantial benefit.
Refinement priority ranks extremely high due to doubling energy gain from R1 to R5. Players can reduce ER requirements from 180% to 140%, freeing artifact substats for 100-150 additional EM. This often translates to 20-30% damage increases – pretty significant for what amounts to passive energy generation.
Excels on characters with low-cooldown skills, providing consistent energy supplementation throughout rotations. Burst availability every cycle becomes achievable without artifact set compromises.
Weapon Crafting Guide: Step-by-Step Process
Obtaining Northlander Claymore Billets
Weekly bosses are your bread and butter here. Stormterror, Childe, Azhdaha, Raiden, Signora, Scaramouche – each offers those 12% drop rates. Running all six provides roughly one billet every 1.5-2 weeks. Not fast, but predictable.
Your guaranteed sources: Frostbearing Tree (Level 8), Sacred Sakura (Level 25), Mondstadt and Liyue Souvenir Shops (225 sigils each). Battle Pass occasionally includes billets as premium rewards, though don’t count on it for planning purposes.
Priority should always be weekly boss completion over other activities. Missing weekly runs significantly delays weapon crafting timelines – there’s no making up for lost RNG opportunities.
Required Crafting Materials
Standard recipe stays consistent: 1 Northlander Claymore Billet, 50 Crystal Chunks, 50 White Iron Chunks, 500 Mora. Regional weapons substitute White Iron with area-specific materials like Amethyst Lump, but the principle remains the same.
Crystal Chunk farming yields 100-150 chunks daily from optimized routes with that 72-hour respawn timer. White Iron Chunks spawn more frequently with shorter respawn timers, making them less of a bottleneck.
Diluc’s passive provides a 15% chance to refund crafting materials when forging claymores. Co-op mining can triple daily ore gathering efficiency if you coordinate properly.
Forge Locations and NPCs
Wagner in Mondstadt serves as your primary blacksmith with 24/7 availability. Master Zhang in Liyue Harbor offers identical services. Hajime in Inazuma City provides access to regional weapons requiring local materials.
Crafting takes 10 seconds regardless of location with no quality differences between blacksmiths. All forges provide identical results for the same input materials – pick based on convenience, not performance.
Material Farming and Resource Management
Crystal Chunk and White Iron Chunk Routes
Liyue’s premium route: Mingyun Village → Guyun Stone Forest → Mt. Hulao → Cuijue Slope. This yields 80-100 Crystal Chunks and 150+ White Iron Chunks in 20-25 minutes of focused farming. Highly efficient.
Mondstadt’s supplementary route: Stormbearer Mountains, Wolvendom, Dragonspine. Provides 40-60 Crystal Chunks and abundant White Iron for topping off your reserves.
Inazuma’s Amethyst Lump route: Narukami Island’s crystalline formations and Seirai Island. Yields 30-50 Amethyst Lumps daily for those regional weapons. Different material, same farming principles.
Co-op mining in 3-4 worlds can provide 300+ Crystal Chunks daily through accessing fresh ore spawns. Just remember to ask permission – common courtesy goes a long way.
Weekly Boss Billet Farming Strategy
Optimal priority: Newer encounters (Raiden, Signora, Scaramouche) provide dream solvents and materials alongside billet chances. Legacy bosses (Stormterror, Childe, Azhdaha) offer faster clear times if you’re purely farming billets.
Total resin cost: 180 resin for all six weekly bosses (after discounts), representing 1.5 days of natural regeneration. Track your acquisition over 4-6 weeks for reliable planning purposes.
Refinement Strategies for F2P Players
Refinement Priority Rankings
Forest Regalia ranks highest due to doubling EM buff from R1 to R5 (60 to 120 EM). That 100% increase provides substantial damage improvements for reaction teams – it’s genuinely transformative.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa follows second, with energy generation scaling from 6 to 12 per skill use. That additional 10-15% ER reduction frees more artifact substats for optimization.
Prototype Archaic refinement provides diminishing returns, scaling damage from 240% to 480% ATK every 15 seconds. The practical impact is minimal compared to utility weapon refinements.
Resource Allocation Best Practices
Craft one copy each of Forest Regalia and Katsuragikiri Nagamasa before considering refinements. This requires 2 billets for maximum flexibility across different team compositions. Your next 3 billets should focus on the weapon matching your primary team composition.
Players using Buy Genesis Crystals for character acquisition should prioritize Forest Regalia refinement for expanded roster benefits across multiple Dendro reaction teams.
Long-term planning: 2-3 months per R5 completion through weekly farming. Maintain 1-2 spare billets for future releases while focusing current priorities. Balance is key.
Damage Optimization and Build Synergies
Stat Priority for Different Playstyles
Reaction-focused builds: Energy Recharge to threshold (160-180%), then stack Elemental Mastery for maximum reaction scaling. Hybrid support builds: Balance ER, EM, and CRIT Rate for particle generation efficiency.
Burst support builds: Focus heavily on ER (200%+) for 100% burst uptime, treating the character as a pure enabler rather than damage dealer.
Artifact Set Combinations
4-piece Silken Moon’s Serenade: 20% ER (2-piece) and party-wide EM buffs of 60-120 based on Moonsign level (4-piece). 4-piece Noblesse Oblige: Universal 20% ATK team buffs after burst – never goes out of style.
4-piece Flower of Paradise Lost: 80 EM and 40% Bloom damage bonuses for active reaction triggers. Mixed 2-piece: Wanderer’s Troupe (80 EM) + Emblem (20% ER) for balanced stats when 4-piece effects aren’t optimal.
Team Composition Optimization
Lunar-Charged teams: Aino, Flins, Ineffa, Anemo support maximize those Moonsign synergies. Hyperbloom compositions: Aino, Nahida, Kuki Shinobu, Kazuha for consistent Dendro Core generation and trigger control.
Bloom teams: Aino, Nilou, Lauma, Baizhu focus on Dendro Core damage through character synergies rather than individual performance. For players utilizing Genshin Top Up Online services, weapon choice should align with your primary team composition investment.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Weapon Selection Pitfalls
Prioritizing base ATK over utility stats: Choosing Prototype Archaic for that 565 base ATK completely ignores that Aino scales with EM and requires ER for functionality. Ignoring refinement scaling: Forest Regalia’s EM buff literally doubles from R1 to R5, while Prototype Archaic provides minimal impact improvement.
Overlooking energy requirements: Aino requires 160-180% ER for consistent burst availability. No exceptions. Weapon-team misalignment: Dendro teams benefit massively from Forest Regalia’s EM, while energy-hungry compositions need Katsuragikiri Nagamasa’s generation.
Resource Waste Prevention
Premature refinement: Test R1 versions thoroughly before committing additional billets to refinement. Material preparation neglect: Farm ascension materials and enhancement ore before crafting to avoid bottlenecks.
Inefficient farming routes: Establish consistent mining routes that maximize Crystal Chunk yield per time invested. Overlooking co-op mining: Coordinate with friends to triple daily ore gathering efficiency through world hopping.
Alternative Options and Future Considerations
Gacha vs Craftable Weapon Comparison
Favonius Greatsword: 61.3% Energy Recharge with team particle generation makes it Aino’s overall BiS 4-star, but requires gacha luck and maintaining 60% CRIT Rate. Sacrificial Greatsword: Skill reset mechanics can exceed Katsuragikiri Nagamasa’s energy generation but relies entirely on RNG procs.
Makhaira Aquamarine: Substantial EM substats and team ATK buffs based on wielder’s EM can outperform Forest Regalia in specific scenarios, but it’s gacha-exclusive with no refinement guarantees.
Craftable weapons provide guaranteed acquisition and refinement control without RNG dependency or monetary investment. That reliability factor shouldn’t be underestimated for long-term planning.
Future Character Compatibility
Upcoming Nod-Krai characters will benefit from those Moonsign mechanics, potentially increasing Energy Recharge weapon value across more team compositions. Dendro reaction evolution continues expanding, making Forest Regalia’s EM buff increasingly valuable with each update.
Weapon design trends emphasize utility stats over raw damage for supports, suggesting current recommendations remain competitive with future releases. The meta’s moving toward these designs, not away from them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best craftable 4★ claymore for Hydro characters like Aino?
Forest Regalia for Dendro reaction teams (30.6% ER, 60-120 EM buffs) or Katsuragikiri Nagamasa for energy management (45.9% ER, 6-12 energy gain per skill). Both absolutely outperform Prototype Archaic for support-oriented builds. No contest.
How do I efficiently farm Northlander Claymore Billets?
Run all six weekly bosses for that 12% drop chance each – roughly one billet every 1.5-2 weeks. Collect guaranteed sources from Frostbearing Tree Level 8, Sacred Sakura Level 25, and Souvenir Shops (225 sigils each). It’s a grind, but predictable.
Should I refine craftable weapons or save billets?
Craft one copy each of Forest Regalia and Katsuragikiri Nagamasa first for flexibility. Then focus refinement on whichever weapon matches your team composition. Forest Regalia’s EM doubles from R1 to R5, Katsuragikiri’s energy scales from 6 to 12 per skill use – both are substantial improvements.
What materials do I need for crafting and leveling?
Each weapon needs 1 billet, 50 Crystal Chunks, 50 White Iron Chunks (or Amethyst Lump for regional weapons), and 500 Mora. Plus weapon-specific ascension materials and enhancement ore for leveling. Plan 2-3 weeks of material farming per weapon if you’re starting from scratch.
How do craftable weapons compare to gacha options?
Favonius Greatsword provides superior energy generation but requires gacha luck and maintaining 60% CRIT Rate for particle generation. Craftable weapons offer reliable progression with guaranteed refinement control – excellent for F2P players despite potentially lower performance ceilings in optimal scenarios.
What are the most common building mistakes?
Prioritizing ATK-scaling weapons over utility options, completely neglecting energy requirements (160-180% ER needed for burst uptime), using ATK/CRIT artifacts instead of ER/EM distributions, and choosing weapons without considering team composition synergies. The biggest mistake? Treating support characters like DPS carries.