Wriothesley

Wriothesley

5★CryoCatalystMain Damage

TL;DR

Wriothesley punches things. His Skill gives him 10 seconds of upgraded Cryo fists, each hit costing a little of his own health. Once he's dipped below 60% his next Charged Attack turns into a heavy uppercut that heals it back. Skill, punch, uppercut when it lights up, repeat. Once his Witch's Revelation quest is done, standing in a Polestar Field makes the uppercut and two of the punches hit a second time as Stellar-Conduct damage. That changes his gear.

Rotation

  1. Skill (E). He dashes a short way forward and his fists light up for 10 seconds.
  2. Normal Attack. Each hit shaves a bit off his own health.
  3. Charged Attack once the uppercut is available. It heals him back up on hit.
  4. Burst (Q) whenever it's up. It doesn't interrupt anything. In a Stellar-Conduct team skip it and keep punching.
  5. Swap off when the 10 seconds end, or press Skill (E) again if the cooldown allows.

Abilities

Skill (E) 16 second cooldown, 10 seconds of the state. A dash forward, then his Normal Attacks are upgraded and hit harder while he's above 50% health, spending a slice of health on each hit. He's harder to interrupt throughout. Leaving the field cancels it.
Normal Attacks Five punches, Cryo without needing anything from the Skill. The combo counter also holds over the dash and a sprint, so you can keep a string going through them. With his Witch's Revelation quest done, the third and fifth punches of the Skill state hit a second time as Stellar-Conduct damage while he's in a Polestar Field.
Charged Attack A leaping Cryo hit. Below 60% health it becomes the upgraded version: no stamina, 50% more damage and 30% of his Max HP healed back on hit. Available again every 5 seconds. In a Polestar Field, with the quest done, the upgraded version instead hits a second time as Stellar-Conduct damage, heals the same 30% and comes back every 2 seconds.
Burst (Q) 60 Energy, back in 15 seconds. A straight punch and then a shower of icicles in front of him.

The one mechanic to understand

The upgraded punches need him above 50% health and the upgraded uppercut needs him below 60%, which sounds like a contradiction and is actually the loop: punching drops him into the window, the uppercut lifts him back out of it. On top of that, every time his health moves in either direction while the Skill state is up he gains 6% Attack, stacking five times, so the bleeding is a buff. Nothing here needs managing. Punch, uppercut when the icon changes, punch again.

What actually matters

  • Level his Normal Attacks first. The Skill and the Burst are both a long way behind the punches.
  • Don't out-heal him. A healer topping him off constantly keeps him above 60% and stops the uppercut appearing. Healing on a timer, or a shield, is easier to live with.
  • Crit and Attack. His own Max HP only decides how much the uppercut heals, so HP main stats are a waste. The Stellar-Conduct hits ignore Cryo damage bonus, so in that team Attack replaces the Cryo goblet.
  • Do the Witch's Revelation quest. Level 70, then play it. Inside a Polestar Field his third and fifth punches and the uppercut each add a Stellar-Conduct hit. He also deals 30% more of that damage. The field needs an Electro teammate and a Snezhnaya character who upgrades Superconduct.

Gear

Weapon Crit and Attack. The Widsith from the standard banner has Crit DMG and a big random buff every time he swaps in. Flowing Purity is craftable in Fontaine and nearly as good, as long as someone on the team is healing him.
Artifacts 4-piece Marechaussee Hunter. It hands him Crit Rate every time his health moves, which is every punch. In a Stellar-Conduct team 4-piece Disenchantment in Deep Shadow is built for that damage and edges ahead, but Marechaussee Hunter is close enough to keep if you already have it.
Sands Goblet Circlet Substats
ATK Cryo DMG / ATK Crit Crit / ATK

Cryo damage goblet in a freeze or Melt team. In a Stellar-Conduct team the extra hits ignore Cryo damage bonus, so take Attack there, or Elemental Mastery if that is the better piece, never both as main stats. Energy Recharge comes from whatever the substats roll: 60 Energy is cheap in other teams. In a Stellar-Conduct team he skips the Burst altogether.

Works well with

HydroCryoElectro

His fists apply Cryo on every punch, so Hydro freezes things almost immediately. A second Cryo character covers his Energy and the resonance hands him free Crit Rate against anything frozen. Electro plus a Snezhnaya teammate makes Stellar-Conduct and the field his extra hits need.

Don't bother

  • HP builds. His health is a resource, not a stat to grow.
  • Charged Attacks outside the healing window. They cost 50 stamina for an ordinary hit.
  • Watching his health bar. It sits in the middle by itself.
  • The Burst in a Stellar-Conduct team. The punches it would replace are worth more.

Want the full deep dive? Read Wriothesley on KeqingMains.

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