How to best use Windward Arts in Genshin Impact’s Windtrace event

Taking advantage of Windward Arts at the right time can be the difference between a victory or failure in Genshin Impact's Windtrace.

Windward Arts replaces a character's Normal Attack, Elemental Skill, and Elemental Burst. The player can't change all of them, but they have a few options depending on whether they're a Hunter or a Rebel. Hunters' abilities are designed to capture Rebels, whereas the Rebels use theirs to evade capture.

Some minor notes to keep in mind:

• Some Windward Arts are better than others.
• Hunters have to use Capture! (the Elemental Skill) to win.
• Every ability has a cooldown.

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Genshin Impact guide: Windward Arts in the Windtrace event

It's worth starting off with how Hunters should best utilize their Windward Arts. Their current options are:

• Normal Attack: Sensor Aura or Mysterious Hunch
• Elemental Skill: Capture!
• Elemental Burst: Imprisoning Curse, Insight, or Hunter's Intuition

Out of these three options, Travelers cannot change the Elemental Skill. They still have to decide which Normal Attack or Elemental Burst option to use. Sensor Aura versus Mysterious Hunch is a tough choice, as both options provide useful utility.

By comparison, Rebels have the following options in Windtrace:

• Normal Attack: Lay Bait or Transparency
• Elemental Skill: Disguise
• Elemental Burst: Starstep

It's only one choice for the Rebels, with it being largely up to the player's personal preference.

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Hunter Windward Arts

This screen will allow Genshin Impact players to switch between the various options (Image via Genshin Impact)

Sensor Aura notifies the player if a Rebel is nearby, whereas Mysterious Hunch shows the directions of the remaining Rebels. If the player already knows the location and where the good hiding spots are, Sensor Aura will be more valuable. By comparison, Mysterious Hunch will be extremely valuable if the player doesn't have the slightest clue of where to begin.

The Hunter should take advantage of both skills whenever they're off cooldown. Knowledge is power in a game like Windtrace, and that's why having a general idea of where the Rebels are is always valuable.

Capture! cannot be changed (Image via Genshin Impact)

By comparison, Capture! can never be changed. It has three charges with a cooldown of five seconds. It's a low cooldown, but it shouldn't be spammed for no apparent reason. It only captures nearby allies in a small circular radius around the player.

This Elemental Skill will work on players with an active disguise. Capture! is the most important Windward Art in Genshin Impact's Windtrace, so try to save a few charges in case one has to pursue a Rebel.

Hunters have three choices here (Image via Genshin Impact)

All three choices for a Hunter's Elemental Burst are good. The first one is Imprisoning Curse, which will dispel a Rebel's disguise at random and restrain them. This effect is especially potent when combined with Mysterious Hunch, as it provides a general location of where to find them.

Up next is Insight, which removes all Rebel disguises and marks their location on the minimap, along with a pillar of light. Insight is extremely powerful for general usage, making it the most useful under general gameplay.

Finally, there's Hunter's Intuition. It also randomly removes one Rebel's disguise while marking their location on the map. The target also can't use disguises, and a pillar of light will reveal them if they are nearby.

All three effects are potent, but the main limitation is that players need to pick up a Favor to use them. Once they're obtained, the player should use them as soon as possible.

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Rebel Windward Arts

This is the only choice Rebels have to make regarding Windward Arts (Image via Genshin Impact)

Rebels only have one choice regarding which Windward Art they wish to use; their Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst cannot be changed. As far as Normal Attacks go, Rebels have two options.

First is Lay Bait, which places a piece of bait in the form of a disguise and blinds the Hunter if it's captured. It will use the same disguise as the player, if applicable. It's a decent effect, especially since it isn't hard-countered like the next option.

Transparency makes a player invisible. However, any Hunter's Elemental Burst that reveals a Rebel's location will still affect them. As a result, Transparency is more useful at the beginning of the game.

These skills don't need to be spammed like a Hunter's Normal Attacks, especially since Transparency removes a Rebel's disguise.

There are several disguises to choose from (Image via Genshin Impact)

Disguise is the main Windward Art that Rebels will use in Genshin Impact's Windtrace event, replacing their Elemental Skill. There are several to choose from once the player is in the game, so just use the most appropriate for where one wishes to hide and stay there.

Starstep is the only option here (Image via Genshin Impact)

The final Windward Art in the Windtrace event to discuss is Starstep. It replaces a Rebel's Elemental Burst, and it simply boosts their Movement SPD. Simply use it to evade a Hunter and move to the next hiding spot to win in Windtrace. It also involves the player collecting a Favor to use it in Genshin Impact 2.4's Windtrace.