Noelle

Noelle

4★GeoClaymoreMain Damage

TL;DR

Noelle's Skill throws up a stone shield, and while it's up, hitting things heals the whole party. Her Burst turns her into a spinning blender for 15 seconds: wider swings, everything she does becomes Geo, and her attack goes up by a chunk of her defence. She's free, and she's the damage, the shield and the healing in one slot, so she doesn't need much of a team built around her.

Rotation

  1. Skill (E) for the shield.
  2. Burst (Q) to start the 15 seconds.
  3. Three normal attacks, then dash to cut the recovery short. Repeat until the burst ends.
  4. Skill (E) again the moment it's back. Hitting things pulls its cooldown in.

Abilities

Skill (E) A shield for about 12 seconds, sized off her defence, and it blocks 50% more than the number on it suggests. While it's up her normal and charged attacks have a chance to heal the whole party. 24 second cooldown, but every four hits she lands knocks a second off it.
Burst (Q) Costs 60 Energy, lasts 15 seconds, back in 15. Bigger swing radius, all her damage turns Geo and nothing can overwrite that, and her attack climbs based on her defence.
Normal attacks Her actual damage. Three swings then a dash is the loop, because the fourth swing is slow and you'd rather start the next three.
Charged attack A continuous spin that eats stamina. Better than the normal string when you're surrounded, and it triggers the healing just the same.

The one mechanic to understand

Defence is a damage stat on her, up to a point.

The shield's size, the healing and part of her attack during the burst all read off her defence, which isn't true of anybody else you'll play. That means defence substats are genuinely good rolls rather than dead ones. It doesn't mean you dump attack: the conversion only gets big once her burst talent is levelled well past 9 or she's at C6, so until then an attack sands still beats a defence one. Treat defence as a stat you're happy to see, not as the whole build.

What actually matters

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

  • She has to be on the field. The healing only happens off her own swings and the burst only works while she's swinging. There is no version of Noelle who does her job from the bench.
  • Keep the shield up. Four hits shaves a second off its cooldown, so a full burst window brings it back nearly on its own. No shield means no healing, which is usually why a Noelle team suddenly falls over.
  • Energy Recharge. The burst is the damage window and it costs 60. A second Geo character makes the particles far easier and gives you the resonance on top.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Attack and defence both do work, so Whiteblind is the pick. It's craftable, its own stat is defence, and landing hits stacks both. Serpent Spine from the battle pass hits harder if you have it and can hold the stacks.
Artifacts 4-piece Husk of Opulent Dreams. It stacks defence while she stands there fighting and turns some of it into Geo damage.
Main stats Attack sands, Geo goblet, Crit circlet. Defence substats count as damage here, which they don't on anyone else.

Works well with

Geo

One other Geo character is the only thing she really asks for, for the energy and the resonance. Past that she covers her own healing and her own defence.

Don't bother

  • The fourth normal attack. Dash out of the third.
  • Elemental Mastery. Her burst makes everything Geo, and Geo isn't reacting for damage worth building around.
  • A Healing Bonus circlet. Her healing comes off defence and happens by itself.
  • Leaving her on the bench as a shielder. The shield does cover whoever is on the field, but it's 12 seconds on a 24 second cooldown and only her own attacks bring that cooldown down, so half the fight is uncovered. The healing needs her swinging too. All she gives you from the bench is one emergency shield when your active character drops below 30% health, once a minute.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Noelle on KeqingMains.