Wriothesley FAQ

Credits:

• Athena - Lead, Author | Overview, Talents, Constellations, Combos, ER Requirements, Artifacts, Weapons | Mastersheet Calcs
• Leifa - Author | Teambuilding
• sirvaughan - Framecounting
• KB - Consulting
• raikh / valien - Consulting
• fianwens - Writing Verification
• natc - Calcs Verification

For all Wriothesley Calcs you can reference: Wriothesley Mastersheet by Athena

Pre-TC is volatile and, as always, perpetually subject to change until release (and sometimes later!). Please note that these are theoretical suggestions. Everything described in this FAQ is a good faith analysis based on the little information about the character’s kit that we know. Team calcs, additionally, are not established yet, and as with everything in TC, the content in this FAQ should be taken with a grain of salt.

Character Overview

Authored by Athena

Wriothesley is a Cryo catalyst that focuses on enhancing and dealing damage with his Normal and Charged Attacks, and takes up the majority of the team’s field time in order to dish out high amounts of damage. He can either be played in a Cryo team (Mono Cryo or Freeze) that emphasize on buffing him, or in a Reverse Melt team where he can melt his Cryo Attacks. In either of those, Wriothesley teams will focus on having teammates that increase Wriothesley’s damage values while taking little field time.

Talents

Authored by Athena

• Leveling Priority: Normal Attacks > Skill = Burst

Talent Overview

Normal Attack: Forceful Fists of Frost

Wriothesley performs a 5-hit combo that cannot be reset by dashing or using his Elemental Skill. This talent should be prioritized, since this is his main source of damage, which further gets buffed by his Elemental Skill – which provides additional NA DMG Bonus (same as Yoimiya/Wanderer’s Skill). It's important to note that even though he is a Catalyst user, his punches have hitlag like Heizou, which may make his combo feel slower than expected. Note that his enhanced Charged Attacks also follow the scaling of his Normal Attacks.

Elemental Skill: Icefang Rush

After using his Skill, he enters the Chilling Penalty state, increasing his interruption resistance (on par with Hu Tao) and enhancing his Normal Attacks. Additionally, it comes with a penalty that makes him lose 4.5% of his Max HP per hit. His Energy generation also comes with his Skill, generating one Cryo particle if his NA/CA hits per two seconds. Hitlag from his Normal Attacks may extend the Chilling Penalty state, however it depends on the scenario to conclude if that would favor him or not.

Note that when he gets lower than 50% of max HP, the Chilling Penalty state will stop working, therefore it is important for him to keep his HP high to not lose out on buff uptime.

Elemental Burst: Darkgold Wolfbite

Wriothesley hits five times in quick succession, dealing decent damage. It is usually not worth building enough Energy Recharge to Burst every rotation, but rather focus on other offensive stats to buff his Normal and Charged Attacks even further. However, this should still be considered for leveling since he will generally get buffed and contribute most of the team’s damage.

Ascension 1: There Shall Be a Plea for Justice

This is what makes Wriothesley stand out from Yoimiya and Wanderer. When Wriothesley's HP is less than 60%, his next Charged Attack will become Rebuke: Vaulting Fist, which deals additional damage, costs no stamina, and heals for 30% of his max HP with a 5-second cooldown.

The long cooldown between enhanced Charged Attacks makes it difficult to get more than two Charged Attacks per rotations for C0 Wriothesley, even with ATK SPD. Note that means after attacking and/or getting lower than 50% Max HP, the remaining Normal Attacks will not get enhanced until he gets healed back up, but on the other hand, adding a healer may keep him too healthy to the point that he cannot get lower than 60% of his max HP meaning that you cannot reliably proc his empowered CA at all.

Ascension 4: There Shall Be a Reckoning for Sin

When Wriothesley’s current HP changes, he gets 6% ATK, up to five times. A simple yet effective buff for him.

Utility Passive: The Duke's Grace

When Wriothesley crafts Weapon Ascension Materials, he has a 10% chance to receive double the product.

Constellations

Authored by Athena

Constellation 1 - Terror for the Evildoers

• The Gracious Rebuke from the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Plea for Justice" is changed to this: When Wriothesley's HP is less than 60% or while he is in the Chilling Penalty state caused by Icefang Rush, when the fifth attack of Repelling Fists hits, it will create a Gracious Rebuke. 1 Gracious Rebuke effect can be obtained every 2.5s.

• Additionally, Rebuke: Vaulting Fist will obtain the following enhancement:

  • The DMG Bonus gained will be further increased to 200%.

  • When it hits while Wriothesley is in the Chilling Penalty state, that state's duration is extended by 4s. 1 such extension can occur per 1 Chilling Penalty duration.

• You must first unlock the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Plea for Justice.".

Arguably one of Wriothesley’s best Constellations. This shortens the long 5-second cooldown of his Ascension 1 passive to 2.5 seconds, ensuring he gets healed through his enhanced Charged Attacks more frequently, while also giving it a massive buff.

After Wriothesley’s Vaulting Fist hits an enemy, the duration of the Chilling Penalty state will be extended by another 4 seconds, totaling its duration to 14 seconds (and can even get extended up to 16 seconds with hitlag extension). Nevertheless, it is usually not worth extending his field time since most buffs, such as VV, will run out before the Chilling Penalty state ends.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 18.25%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 10.41%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C0: 14.21%

Rating: 3.5/5

Constellation 2 - Shackles for the Arrogant

When using Darkgold Wolfbite, each Prosecution Edict stack from the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Reckoning for Sin'' will increase said ability's DMG dealt by 40%. You must first unlock the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Reckoning for Sin."

This turns Wriothesley’s Burst into a nuke after finishing his combo. However, it is still not worth building Energy Recharge to burst every rotation. Still a decent constellation nonetheless.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C1: 13.84%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C1: 7.66%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C1: 13.91%

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C1: 34.60%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C1: 18.86%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C1: 30.09%

Rating: 2/5

Constellation 3 - Punishment for the Frauds

Increases the Level of Normal Attack: Forceful Fists of Frost by 3.Maximum upgrade level is 15.

Wriothesley’s C3 provides a great boost to his Normal and Charged Attacks by increasing his Normal Attack’s Talent level.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 16.69%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 16.15%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C2: 16.36%

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 57.06%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 38.05%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C0: 51.38%

Rating: 2.5/5

Constellation 4 - Redemption for the Suffering

The HP restored to Wriothesley through Rebuke: Vaulting Fist will be increased to 50% of his Max HP. You must first unlock the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Plea for Justice." Additionally, when Wriothesley is healed, if the amount of healing overflows, the following effects will occur depending on whether he is on the field or not. If he is on the field, his ATK SPD will be increased by 20% for 4s. If he is off-field, all party members' ATK SPD will be increased by 10% for 6s. These two methods of increasing ATK SPD cannot stack.

C4 will further ensure Wriothesley’s survivability by giving him even more healing through the Vaulting Fist. Additionally, overheal will increase Wriothesley’s ATK SPD when he is on-field, which shortens his combo time. He can easily maintain this just by using his Vaulting Fist off cooldown. When he is off-field, overheal increases other character’s ATK SPD instead.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 9.02%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 8.13%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C2: 10.83%

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 71.22%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 49.28%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C0: 67.78%

Rating: 2/5

Constellation 5 - Mercy for the Wronged

Increases the Level of Darkgold Wolfbite by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.

C5 increases his nuke potential. Nonetheless, it remains negligible when he doesn't Burst every rotation.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 3.19%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 2.04%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C2: 3.21%

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 76.67%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 52.33%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C0: 73.16%

Rating: 1/5

Constellation 6 - Esteem for the Innocent

The CRIT Rate of Rebuke: Vaulting Fist will be increased by 10%, and its CRIT DMG by 80%. When unleashed, it will also create an additional icicle that deals 100% of Rebuke: Vaulting Fist's Base DMG as Cryo DMG. DMG dealt this way is regarded as Charged Attack DMG. You must first unlock the Passive Talent "There Shall Be a Plea for Justice."

Grants additional CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG for Wriothesley’s Vaulting Fist, as well as creates an additional hit that scales just like his enhanced Charged Attacks and does not share ICD with his initial CA.

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 52.62%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C2: 32.96%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C2: 29.41%

Unbuffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 169.63%

Buffed Cryo DPS Increase from C0: 102.53%

Reverse Melt DPS Increase from C0: 124.09%

Rating: 4/5

Combos

Authored by Athena

Generally, you want to use Wriothesley’s Vaulting Fist (indicated by the red Aura around him) as soon as it is available to make use of all existing buffs before they run out.

For C0, it is a bit tricky since you may need to do up to 8 consecutive Normal Attacks before getting his HP low enough for the enhanced Charged Attack to take effect. Even when you get his HP lower than 60% for the second time, the cooldown might not be finished, in which you either want to Burst while waiting for the Vaulting Fist, or accept that some Normal Attacks will not be getting the buff from his Skill.

With C1+, not only is the empowered CA cooldown cut down by half, but you also just need to reach the fifth Normal Attack for the Vaulting Fist rather than wait for either the cooldown or HP reduction. This makes N5C his best combo after C1.

ER Requirement

Authored by Athena

Wriothesley’s long field time makes it hard to maintain buffs after he is done with his combo .When combined with his long Burst animation, it lessens the value of building ER on him.

He also only generates particles while he is still in his Chilling Penalty state, which also means he would not generate particles when his HP is lower than 50%. Note that for most cases, instead of funneling particles to him, it's usually worth more for other support characters to catch their own particles instead to cast their Burst and further support him while also dealing damage.

Assuming a 20 seconds rotation, Wriothesley will generate 5 Cryo particles

Each Favonius proc will approximately reduce his ER Requirement by ~20 – 25%.

Energy requirements will vary based on your team and rotation. For a more accurate estimate, please use the Energy Recharge calculator linked here.

Artifacts

Authored by Athena

Artifact Stats

Sands of Eon: ATK%/EM (only for Reverse Melt) Goblet of Eonothem: Cryo DMG% Circlet of Logos: CRIT DMG > CRIT Rate (unless you are not using 4pc MH or 4pc BS)

Substats: CRIT%> ATK% = EM (for Reverse Melt) > ER

Artifact Sets

4PC Marechaussee Hunter:

4pc MH synergizes really well with Wriothesley’s kit when he’s in the Chilling Penalty state. Each hit in this state will reduce Wriothesley’s current HP, thus he can easily maintain its 4pc effects for up to 36% CRIT Rate. When using this set with his Signature (or any weapon with CRIT Rate as a secondary stat), he can easily overcap his CRIT Rate, hence, a CR Circlet is not recommended with 4pc MH.

4pc Shimenawa’s Reminiscence:

4pc SR will drain Wriothesley’s energy in exchange for 50% NA/CA DMG Bonus, making Bursting frequently even harder (up to once every four rotations rather than two). It also has anti synergy with his C2 that buffs his Burst.

4pc Blizzard Strayer:

4pc BS is only useful for Wriothesley when there’s a consistent Cryo Aura (i.e Freeze/Mono Cryo). It has the potential to outperform 4pc MH when the enemy can be frozen for an extended period and not get affected by Shatter coming from his empowered CA. Similar to 4pc MH, a CR Circlet is not recommended for this set due to overcapping CRIT Rate.

2pc ATK%/Cryo DMG%/NA CA DMG%

They are weaker options compared to 4pc sets, but still usable if the pieces have good substats.

Weapons

Authored by Athena

5* Options:

Cashflow Supervision:

Wriothesley’s BiS, providing him NA and CA DMG% per stack when his current HP changes, as well as ATK SPD after 3 stacks, allowing for faster combos, shorter field time, and potentially a shorter rotation. Note that with its secondary stat (CRIT Rate) and either 4pc MH or BS, you can easily overcap his overall CRIT Rate, thus using a CRIT DMG Circlet is recommended.

Tulaytullah’s Remembrance:

Performs similarly to Cashflow Supervision, but without the CA DMG%. The CRIT DMG secondary stat is appreciated, especially when using 4pc MH or BS.

Other 5 stars options:

All of them perform very similarly. Depending on the scenario, you may choose your weapon accordingly. Please check out the mastersheet for more info.

4* Options:

Flowing Purity:

The new Craftable from Fontaine works extremely well with Wriothesley, providing tons of additional Elemental DMG% after he clears the Bond of Life passive, either through his Vaulting Fist or heals from teammates. Please note that when running this weapon, Wriothesley will be unable to sustain himself at all with just Charged Attacks due to the Bond of Life passive preventing healing, making a healer mandatory.

Ballad of the Boundless Blue:

The 4.1 event weapon is another excellent F2P choice for Wriothesley that provides NA and CA DMG% for him. An ER secondary stat is occasionally useful if it is enough for him to Burst every rotation.

The Widsith:

Widsith really shines when he gets ATK% or DMG% and can clear the content in one rotation. Nonetheless, it is still a decent option for longer battles due to the nice CRIT DMG secondary stat. EM is only useful when played in a Reverse Melt team.

Team Building

Authored by Leifa

Due to Wriothesley’s long field time, he wants to be paired with characters that either buff his personal damage or sub DPS characters who can deal their damage whilst taking minimal field time. At C0, Wriothesley is unable to self-sustain himself with his A1 Passive, meaning he will eventually reach 50% HP or below, even if he doesn’t get hit. Because of this, it is recommended to run a healer with him in all teams and ignore his special Charged Attacks unless he ends up proccing one. At C1+, Wriothesley’s special Charged Attack is not only easier to proc, but also gains increased healing, allowing his teams to use more offensive options over dedicated healers.

Mono Cryo

Wriothesley | Shenhe | Cryo | Anemo

Thanks to the existence of Shenhe, Mono Cryo teams can be a strong option. Wriothesley can use all of Shenhe’s quills quickly whilst making use of both the Normal and Charged Attack DMG% and Cryo RES Shred provided by her Hold Skill and Burst respectively. Characters such as Kazuha can further increase the team’s damage output, although any Anemo holding 4pc Viridescent Venerer also works just to shred Cryo RES. Diona not only fills the required role of a healer, but also provides interruption resistance through shields and large amounts of Cryo particles, lowering the amount of Energy Recharge Wriothesley needs to consistently use his Burst.

• Cryo options: Ganyu, Rosaria, Ayaka, Kaeya, Diona, Mika, Layla
• Anemo options: Kazuha, Sayu, Jean, any Anemo with 4pc VV

Freeze

Wriothesley | Hydro | Anemo | Flex

Freeze teams follow many of the same conventions as Mono Cryo, but have the addition of increased safety through freezing enemies. Unfortunately this doesn’t prevent Wriothesley constantly reducing his own HP but it can help players by stopping enemies from attacking, removing the risk of taking any additional damage. Due to his fast Normal Attacks, Wriothesley can drive Xingqiu and Yelan particularly well.

• Hydro options: Xingqiu, Yelan, Kokomi, Barbara
• Anemo options: Kazuha, Sayu, Jean, any Anemo with 4pc VV
• Flex options: Zhongli, Diona, Mika, Layla, Yun Jin, any above Hydro or Anemo

Reverse Melt

Wriothesley | Pyro | Flex | Flex

Another team Wriothesley can take advantage of is Reverse Melt teams due to characters like Xiangling, or mechanics such as Burning or Sunfire, providing a consistent Pyro Aura for Wriothesley to melt his attacks. Characters such as Bennett provide both healing and large Attack buffs, which Wriothesley really appreciates, alongside large amounts of Energy for Xiangling. Given that Sunfire consists of both Bennett and Jean, it may be more comfy for players to use this due to the large amounts of healing, with the downside of being very Circle Impact (effects are limited to a certain area).

• Pyro options: Xiangling, Bennett
• Flex options:

  • Anemo options: Kazuha, Jean, Sayu, any Anemo with 4pc VV

  • Cryo options: Shenhe, Rosaria, Diona, Mika, Layla

  • Other Flex: Zhongli, Nahida, Yun Jin, any above Pyro, any above Anemo