[Guide] Genshin Impact – Should You Pull For Wriothesley

The Lord Incognito of the murky depths, Wriothesley unleashes a destructive freezing punch to make his way into Genshin Impact.

Formerly an inmate, Wriothesley has since become the “Duke” of the Fortress of Meropide, serving as the administrator of the prison, now overseeing and enforcing a series of reforms under his rules.

Wriothesley is a 5★ Cryo Catalyst user from the region of Fontaine in Genshin Impact, thus also possessing the new Arkhe alignment mechanic which aligns him with Ousia.

Talents

Normal Attack – Forceful Fists of Frost

For his Normal Attack, Wriothesley coalesces frost around his fist and unleashes the powerful Repelling Fists combo, performing up to 5 rapid punches that deal Cryo DMG.

Unique to Wriothesley, his Normal Attack combo count will not reset for a short time after he dashes or uses his Elemental Skill, Icefang Rush.

When performing the Charged Attack, Wriothesley will consume some Stamina to leap and unleash a Vaulting Fist, dealing AoE Cryo DMG.

Elemental Skill – Icefang Rush

Wriothesley adjusts his breathing, rhythm, and pace, sprinting a short distance forward and entering the Chilling Penalty state.

While in the Chilling Penalty state, Wriothesley is greatly enhanced and gained the following effects:

• Boosts resistance against interruptions
• When Wriothesley is above 50% HP, increases the damage of the Repelling Fists of Normal Attack: Forceful Fists of Frost, and whenever such attack hits, consume some of his HP once every 0.1 second.

Elemental Burst – Darkgold Wolfbite

Power boosting his boxing gloves, Wriothesley strikes out a powerful icy straight, following up with Icicle Impact to cause multiple instances of AoE Cryo DMG in a frontal area.

After Icicle Impact ends, a Surging Blade will then be summoned and descend upon the enemy’s position, dealing Ousia-aligned Cryo DMG.

Passive Skill (1st Ascension) – There Shall Be a Plea for Justice

When Wriothesley’s HP is less than 60%, he will gain the Gracious Rebuke buff, enhancing his next Charged Attack to become Rebuke: Vaulting Fist.

This enhanced Charged Attack will not consume Stamina, deal 50% more damage, and restore HP for Wriothesley equal to 30% of his Max HP.

The Gracious Rebuke buff can be obtained once every 5 seconds.

Passive Skill (4th Ascension) – There Shall Be a Reckoning for Sin 

When Wriothesley’s current HP increases or decreases and if he is in the Chilling Penalty state conferred by Icefang Rush, he will gain a stack of Prosecution Edict, up to a maximum of 5 stacks.

Each stack of Prosecution Edict will increase Wriothesley’s ATK by 6%.

Ability Breakdown 

Catalyst users in Genshin Impact are typically spellcaster-like characters, however, Wriothesley differs from the others and chooses to punch his enemies extremely hard instead. Letting his fists do all the talking and taking advantage of being a Catalyst user, Wriothesley’s punches are infused with Cryo and allow him to regularly apply the element to enemies for Elemental Reactions.

Indeed, a slugger he is, Wriothesley’s abilities generally focus on enhancing his punches, making his Normal and Charged Attacks hit harder. In other words, Wriothesley relies on his Normal Attacks to inflict constant damage and is best played as an on-field main DPS if you want to make full use of him.

Ideally, his health should be kept somewhere around 60% of his Max HP to utilize his 1st Ascension Passive, There Shall Be a Plea for Justice, for maximizing his Charged Attack. However, the 1st Ascension Passive is also his biggest weakness as without Constellation 1, he can only gain Gracious Rebuke every 5 seconds, thus healing himself less and requiring a dedicated healer or shielder to protect him at Constellation 0.

Constellations 

While most 5★ characters can perform relatively well without Constellations, one of Wriothesley’s weaknesses is solved by his first Constellations, and thus feels as though it is required for him to be on par with other DPS.

When ranked at Constellation 1, Wriothesley does pack a punch while boasting better survivability especially how it alters the 1st Ascension Passive effect, allowing him to gain a stack of Gracious Rebuke not only when his HP is less than 60% but also when he is in Chilling Penalty state conferred by Icefang Rush.

While at C1, Wriothesley can gain a Gracious Rebuke stack everything the fifth punch of his Repelling Fists hits and the stack can now be obtained every 2.5 seconds rather than a long 5 seconds.

But wait, that is not all as Rebuke: Vaulting Fist, the special Charged Attack will also gain the following enhancement:

• The DMG Bonus gained will be further increased to 200%.
• When Rebuke: Vaulting Fist hits an enemy while Wriothesley is in the Chilling Penalty state, the duration of the buff will be extended by 4 seconds once.

Packed with so many benefits, this Constellation does feel as though it should have been part of his kit rather than a Constellation.

Meanwhile, the other Constellations of Wriothesley are as follows:

Constellation
	C2 - Shackles for the Arrogant
Each stack of Prosecution Edict increases Elemental Burst damage by 40%.
This Constellation is great if you are investing in using more of his Elemental Burst.
	C3 - Punishment for the Frauds
Increases the level of Normal Attack by 3.
A worthwhile Constellation to pick up considering how important Normal Attack is for Wriothesley.
	C4 - Redemption for the Suffering
Increases the HP healing from his 1st Ascension Passive by 50% of his Max HP. Additionally, any healing overflows will increase ATK SPD for him or his allies depending on whether he is on-field or not.
A nice-to-have Constellation for its healing boost and ATK Speed increase, otherwise not worth aiming for if you are not targeting higher-tier Constellations.
	C5 - Mercy for the Wronged
Increases the level of Elemental Burst by 3.
Since Elemental Burst is not used as often, it is a welcome Constellation but not a must-have.
	C6 - Esteem for the Innocent
Bolster the CRIT Rate of Rebuke: Vaulting Fist by 10% and CRIT DMG by 80%. Furthermore, unleash an additional icicle that deals 100% of the special Charged Attack DMG.
Turns Wriothesley into a Charged Attack monster.

Recommended Artifacts

When building Artifact sets for Wriothesley, aim to maximize his damage output through offensive stats such as hitting the recommended 1:2 CRIT Rate CRIT DMG ratio as well as boosting his ATK stats, especially since he will be staying on the field the majority of the time.

We would recommend teaming him up with another Cryo character for the Cryo Resonance that boosts CRIT Rate by 15%, thus allowing more leeway when building up his stats.

Main Stats Priority
ATK%	Cryo DMG Bonus	CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
Substats Priority	CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG → ATK% → Elemental Mastery → Energy Recharge
Recommended Artifact Sets
	2 Piece - Normal and Charged Attack DMG +15%.	Probably the best build for Wriothesley due to his HP shifting mechanic, enhancing his CRIT Rate as he fights.
Marechaussee Hunter	4 Piece - When current HP increases or decreases, CRIT Rate will be increased by 12% for 5s. Max 3 stacks.
	2 Piece - Cryo DMG Bonus +15%	The go-to option if you opt to ignore his HP mechanic and focus solely on Cryo DMG, amplifying CRIT Rate greatly and empowering each of Wriothesley’s punches.
Blizzard Strayer	4 Piece - When a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, their CRIT Rate is increased by 20%. If the opponent is Frozen, CRIT Rate is increased by an additional 20%.
	2 Piece - ATK +18%.	Considering Wriothesley relies on Normal Attack, this Artifact set is a good alternate option.
Echoes of an Offering	4 Piece - When Normal Attacks hit opponents, there is a 36% chance that it will trigger Valley Rite, which will increase Normal Attack DMG by 70% of ATK. This effect will be dispelled 0.05s after a Normal Attack deals DMG. If a Normal Attack fails to trigger Valley Rite, the odds of it triggering the next time will increase by 20%. This trigger can occur once every 0.2s.

Recommended Weapon 

As with any limited 5★ characters in Genshin Impact, Wriothesley follows the same pattern, and his best-in-slot is his signature Catalyst, Cashflow Supervision. However, there are other great alternate choices for Wriothesley as well.

5★ Weapon(s)
	ATK is increased by 16~32%. When current HP increases or decreases, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 16~32% and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 14~28% for 4s. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. When the wielder has 3 stacks, ATK SPD will be increased by 8~16%.	Best-in-slot. Designed specifically for Wriothesley as the effect synergizes well with his overall kit and can boost his overall damage up to approximately 30%.
Cashflow Supervision
	Normal Attack SPD is increased by 10~20%. After the wielder unleashes an Elemental Skill, Normal Attack DMG will increase by 4.8~9.6% every second for 14s. After this character hits an opponent with a Normal Attack during this duration, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 9.6~19.2%. This increase can be triggered once every 0.3s. The maximum Normal Attack DMG increase per single duration of the overall effect is 48~96%. The effect will be removed when the wielder leaves the field, and using the Elemental Skill again will reset all DMG buffs.	Wanderer’s signature weapon and considering that he shares the Normal Attack-focused playstyle with Wriothesley, the Catalyst effect synergizes with the overall kit, albeit without the Charged Attack boost.
Tulaytullah's Remembrance
4★ Weapon(s)
	When using an Elemental Skill, All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 8~16% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 24% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond Of Life is cleared, every 1,000 HP cleared in the process will provide 2~4% All Elemental DMG Bonus, up to a maximum of 12~24%. This effect lasts 15s.	Obtainable for free through forging. Boost Elemental DMG after using Elemental Skill and more if Wriothesley can clear the Bond of Life.
Flowing Purity
	When a character takes the field, they will gain a random theme song for 10s. This can only occur once every 30s. Recitative: ATK is increased by 60~120%. Aria: Increases all Elemental DMG by 48~96%. Interlude: Elemental Mastery is increased by 240~480.	Great CRIT DMG substat. Also grants ATK and Elemental DMG, useful regardless of team compositions or matchups.
The Widsith

Team Comps & Synergies 

At a glance, Wriothesley may feel fairly limited in his flexibility, however, there are quite a few efficient team compositions he can fit in and be the damage driving force.

If we take his Normal Attacks playstyle and him as a Catalyst user into account, he easily fits in a Perma-Freeze team with Hydro application powerhouses such as Yelan and Xingqiu. Both characters’ Elemental Burst synergize very well with Wriothesley, allowing him to trigger Freeze with practically every hit.

For damage buffs, both Shenhe and Kazuha are amazing in this composition while Mika can contribute to boosting ATK Speed. Since Wriothesley’s health drains constantly, Diona and Kokomi will be great for the heals while Zhongli‘s and Layla‘s shields are as formidable as ever.

Look, another Xiangling and Bennett team. Indeed, another great team that elevates Wriothesley’s damage potential is through the Elemental Reaction of Melt, thus requiring him to be paired up with Pyro supports.

As long-time players may know, Xiangling is undoubtedly one of the best Pyro applicators in Genshin Impact while Bennett reigns supreme as a support, helping in boosting damage as well as healing up Wriothesley whenever he is in critical health.

Once again, Kazuha serves as a great damage booster but also as a Swirl trigger. Alternatively, you can run Sucrose or Lynette as the Anemo support while Thoma can be a good Pyro stand-in for reliable shields.

Final Thoughts 

It is without a doubt that Wriothesley is a cool character, puns intended. Being Genshin Impact’s first Cryo Catalyst character, Wriothesley indeed gains all the weapon’s benefits such as consistent Cryo usage to enable more frequent Elemental Reactions like Freeze as he punches Treasure Hoarders in the face with his Normal Attacks combo.

However, since a lot of his damage output is locked behind the enhanced Rebuke: Vaulting Fist Charged Attack from his 1st Ascension Passive, which only triggers once every 5 seconds and requires him to be at 60% of his Max HP or lower.

This caused him to be far less efficient compared to other DPS who have a much clearer game plan, as you see, Wriothesley drains health as he attacks while under the Chilling Penalty state from his Elemental Skill, and Rebuke: Vaulting Fist helps restore the lost HP.

Since the duration is considered quite long in the game’s pace while his health can fluctuate in extremes depending on the situation and that building HP means sacrificing a good chunk of his damage potential, it is best to pull for Constellation 1 as well if you are aiming for him.

Such constraints do make him unfit in some scenarios and his damage output does not particularly stand out especially considering his focus is on single targets. Because of this, I would argue that Wriothesley is safe to skip but can be extremely fun to play if you can pull for his Constellations and maximize his Artifacts.

So what do you think of Punchy Boy Wriothesley from Genshin Impact? Join the GamerBraves Discord server and share your thoughts.

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Genshin Impact

Publisher: miHoYo

Developer: miHoYo

Release Date: 2020-09-28

Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

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