Itto

Itto

5★GeoClaymoreMain Damage

TL;DR

Itto banks stacks by swinging, then spends them by holding the attack button, which turns into a run of big slashes that cost no stamina. His Burst makes all of that Geo, speeds it up and adds a slice of his defence to his attack for 11 seconds, and his Skill throws a bull out to tank things and hand him more stacks. So the loop is swing, hold, repeat. Build defence rather than attack, which is not a typo.

Rotation

  1. Supports first, especially anything that buffs defence or shields him.
  2. One normal attack, then Burst (Q).
  3. Skill (E) to throw the bull, then normal attacks up to the fourth swing.
  4. Hold for charged attack until the stacks are gone, then back to step 3. The skill fits twice in one burst.

Abilities

Skill (E) Chucks the bull, which lands for Geo damage and then stands there for about 6 seconds taunting enemies. It gives him a stack when it hits, another every couple of seconds while it is being beaten on, and one more when it leaves. 10 second cooldown. Hold to aim it.
Burst (Q) Costs 70 Energy, lasts 11 seconds, back in 18. He swaps to the big club: everything he swings becomes Geo and nothing can override that, his swings get faster, and part of his defence gets added to his attack. The 1st and 3rd hits of the string each give a stack. It also drops his own resistances by 20%, so he takes slightly more damage while it is running, and it ends the instant you swap off him.
Normal attacks The 2nd swing gives one stack and the 4th gives two. This is what you do between slashes.
Charged attack Hold it. With stacks banked it becomes a chain of slashes that spend one stack each and cost no stamina, each one a bit faster than the last, with a heavier finisher on the last stack. With no stacks it is one slow swing that eats 20 stamina instead, so do not.

The one mechanic to understand

Bank stacks by swinging, spend them by holding.

The stacks cap at five, so swinging while you are already full throws them away. The shape that works is normal attacks up to the fourth swing, which fills you back up, then hold until they are all spent. They last a full minute, which is longer than any fight cares about, so there is no timer to watch and no reason to carry them around. Just do not sit on five while you keep swinging.

What actually matters

The two or three real decisions. Everything else is noise.

  • Defence is his attack stat. His burst converts some of his defence into attack, and his slashes add another 35% of his defence to their damage on top of that. Defence sands, defence substats, and an attack goblet is a downgrade.
  • He needs the burst up. Outside it his swings are physical, slow and unbuffed, so the fight is really 11 seconds long and then a wait. 70 Energy on an 18 second cooldown is expensive: around 140% Energy Recharge on his own, noticeably less if a second Geo character is feeding him particles.
  • Level the normal attack talent first. The slashes count as normal attack damage, so that talent is where the books go. Burst second, and the skill can sit where it is.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Crit first, then defence. Whiteblind is craftable and stacks both attack and defence as he hits things, which is about as on-theme as a free claymore gets.
Artifacts 4-piece Husk of Opulent Dreams. It stacks defence and Geo damage as he fights, and it also stacks while he is sitting on the bench, so he usually walks into the fight with it already full.
Main stats Defence sands, Geo goblet, Crit circlet. Elemental Mastery does nothing for him, since Geo barely reacts with anything.

Works well with

GeoAnemo

Geo is the one that counts: another Geo character halves his energy problem, and the buffs that read off defence live on Geo characters. Anemo is only there to bunch enemies up, because his slashes sweep a fairly narrow arc.

Don't bother

  • Holding the attack button with no stacks banked. Slow, weak, and it drains the stamina you wanted for dodging.
  • Attack sands and attack goblets. Defence is the stat.
  • Keeping the bull alive. It is there to eat a few hits and hand you stacks, and it gives you one more on the way out.
  • Physical damage builds. His burst overwrites his swings with Geo and that is where he lives.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Itto on KeqingMains.