Highlights
- Wriothesley is the long-awaited Cryo catalyst in Genshin Impact, making him a highly anticipated DPS unit with a normal attack-oriented kit.
- Players should focus on building Wriothesley with Crit Rate, Crit DMG, and ATK stats, and aim for 130-140% energy recharge if they want to use his burst regularly.
- It is important to keep Wriothesley's HP above 50% to receive a buff that enhances his normal attacks, making healers crucial for maintaining his damage output.
Cryo catalysts have been missing since Genshin Impact's launch. With Wriothesley's introduction, however, players finally have their long-awaited Cryo catalyst. His normal attack-oriented kit makes him a DPS, following right after the other five-star catalyst DPS players just got in the form of Neuvillette. Wriothesley is a highly anticipated unit already as a Cryo catalyst, but many players also enjoyed his personality seen in the most recent chapters of the Genshin Impact Fontaine quest.
To get a very basic understanding of his kit, he could be likened to Genshin Impact's Yoimiya, in that his normal attacks receive a powerful buff under certain circumstances. However, unlike the Pyro bow user, he receives this buff when his HP is above 50%. Wriothesley can be confusing on the surface level, but with some digging, he becomes easier to understand for players who've pulled for him.
Genshin Impact's Wriothesley's Kit
Wriothesley's best builds are that of a typical DPS: Crit Rate, Crit DMG, and ATK. For ER, energy recharge, he doesn't need much, since his burst isn't a priority for players. If players intend to use his burst every rotation, they should aim for 130-140% energy recharge. When looking at his talents, even though he is a DPS, his most important skill is his normal attack. In order of prioritization, players should level his normal attack, then his elemental skill, and finally his burst.
For artifacts, Genshin Impact players should focus on the latest Marachaussee Hunters set. Not only is it Wriothesley's best-in-slot artifact set, but most Fontaine characters use this set. It's a good way to spend any extra resin--not to mention the other set, Golden Troupe, is good for other top-tier supports like Fischl due to its skill damage boost. Players may think to put Wriothesley on that set since his skill can be used during his normal attack combo, but this is not advised. Even though his normal attacks are supposed to be fine with the skill interruption, currently, it is inconsistent and possibly even a bug.
When pairing Wriothesley up with other teammates, keeping him at the core of the team is important. No matter which of Wriothesley's team comps players use him in, he is going to be the on-field driver or DPS. One of his better and largely affordable team comps would consist of Bennett, Xiangling, and Shenhe. However, since Shenhe is a five-star that some players may not have, she could easily be swapped out with an Anemo support like Sucrose.
With his teams, it is important to keep one of Genshin Impact's many healers on the team. Since he drains his HP like other recent Fontaine characters, and he gets a buff when above 50% HP, it's important to keep his health up for better damage. His damage will suffer if he can't keep his HP high enough to receive the buff his kit gives him. Shielders are not recommended for this same reason, as they only protect him from enemies, but sadly not himself.
Players may worry that because of this new HP drain mechanic Genshin Impact has been adding into so many new units that there may not be enough weapons for him. However, the Fontaine craftable catalyst and current event weapon, Ballad of the Boundless Blue, are both wonderful options. Genshin's Wriothesley's weapons are free-to-play friendly. However, players willing to dish a little out should consider his signature weapon. Even Wanderer's signature weapon, Tullaytullah's Remembrance, could serve Wriothesley just fine.
Genshin Impact is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and mobile devices. A Switch version is in development.