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.

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 for 30% of his Max HP on hit.
  4. Burst (Q) whenever it's up. It doesn't interrupt anything.
  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.
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.
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

His health is on a loop by design.

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

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

  • 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.
  • Energy Recharge, a little. 60 Energy is cheap and his Burst is a bonus rather than the point. Take whatever the substats roll.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Crit and Attack. Blackcliff Agate out of Paimon's shop is pure Crit DMG and gets stronger as things die.
Artifacts 4-piece Marechaussee Hunter. It hands him Crit Rate every time his health moves, which is every punch. Blizzard Strayer instead if your team freezes things, since the set gives free Crit against frozen enemies.
Main stats Attack sands, Cryo damage goblet, Crit circlet.

Works well with

HydroCryo

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.

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.
  • Physical builds. His punches are already Cryo.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Wriothesley on KeqingMains.