Diluc Genshin Impact Guide for Artifacts, Weapons, and Talents

In this article:

• Diluc Ragnvindr is a 5-star DPS character from Monstadt with secret ties to an underground intelligence network.

• Known as the Dark Knight Hero, Diluc remains one of the most loved DPSes of the game because of his straightforward play style and build needs.

• Diluc relies strongly on elemental reactions like Vaporize and Melt to make the most of his Pyro application.

---

It’s not uncommon for gacha games to release characters that are stronger than the previous ones — a process called power creep — together with increasingly tougher enemies. Eventually, this gets to a point where older characters and gear become useless in new dungeons or areas of the map, forcing a player to obtain newer items. The effects of power creep can be strongly felt in games with PvP aspects such as CCGs and MMORPGs.

But not in Genshin Impact. While it’s true that newer 5-star characters are noticeably stronger than earlier ones, the game never gets to a point where old characters become useless.

Many players have already benched Diluc, the oldest 5-star DPS in the game, in favor of newer characters. Yet his integral role in the game’s lore and fun, straightforward playstyle keep him a favorite among old and new players alike.

Diluc Ragnvindr 101: An Overview of the Dark Knight Hero

We first meet Diluc Ragnvindr during the Monstadt Archon Quests. The Traveler gets tasked with looking for Kaeya’s grandfather’s sword. The cavalry captain promises that the sword is a pirate treasure that can make the Traveler stronger but it later turns out to be a farce so that Kaeya can draw out the Abyss mage plotting against Monstadt in one of the domains. The Abyss mage attacks Kaeya but he’s saved by Diluc who remarks that the Knights of Favonius aren’t great at their jobs.

We later learn that Diluc was once a knight himself and used to hold the position of Cavalry Captain. He used to be a mentor for Jean but he left the order after an incident that revealed ideological differences between him and the order.

These days, he serves as Monstadt’s very own Batman and the developers don’t shy away from this, going as far as to dedicate a quest to him titled Dark Knight Hero. Today, Diluc uses the wealth generated by his wine-making empire to fight the Abyss and the Fatui.

Clearly, he’s a man of many talents so you can have him fulfill many roles:

• Single target attacker: Diluc has a beautiful burst that involves a flaming phoenix coming out of his sword and applying Pyro damage. However, it’s one of the most badly designed bursts in the game, giving him practically zero usability as an AoE damage dealer.

• Main damage dealer: Diluc is a Claymore user so his Normal Attacks are powerful. His passives help him conserve stamina, making his attacks easier to use versus other Claymore characters.

• Pyro applier: Though Diluc doesn’t have a good AoE Pyro application, he does get a Pyro infusion on his Claymore after using his Elemental Burst. This is part of why he is often paired with Xingqiu, the best Hydro applier in the game, to trigger the Vaporize reaction.

When building your Diluc, you want to prioritize his Normal Attacks, Pyro Damage, Attack stat, and Crit Ratio. To a lesser extent, you need him to have decent Elemental Mastery for his Vaporize reactions.

What Are Diluc’s Talents, Priority Talents, and Stat Priorities?

Diluc has six talents or abilities as is standard for Genshin Impact characters. Passive talents, which are fixed, can be gradually unlocked by Ascending your Diluc while active talents require materials to upgrade. These active talents can be leveled up to 10 with a Crown of Insight, which can only be obtained during in-game events, and up to 15 if you have Constellations, additional copies of Diluc.

We’ll talk about Constellations later in this article.

Diluc Genshin Impact Active Talents

Diluc has three active talents: Tempered Sword, Searing Onslaught, and Dawn. Each of these incorporate the use of Diluc’s claymore, regardless of how stylized the application is. Tempered Sword uses it as a regular sword, Searing Onslaught has him bring it down on enemies as it spews flames, and Dawn features a phoenix flying out of his Claymore.

• Normal Attack: Tempered Sword (Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks): Diluc performs 4 consecutive Claymore strikes. Charged attacks will consume his stamina so use them sparingly if you’re in Spiral Abyss.

• Searing Onslaught (Elemental Skill): An especially unique Elemental Skill, Diluc’s Searing Onslaught is the only one in the game that has multiple phases. You can use his skill to perform three forward strikes of Pyro before needing to wait for a 10-second cooldown.

• Dawn (Elemental Burst): Diluc’s burst attack releases a flaming phoenix from his sword that deals AoE Pyro damage and knocks back enemies. It also gives his Claymore a Pyro infusion that you can attack with.

There are no fancy gimmicks in Diluc’s kit so you won’t have to worry about buff systems and timers like the ones we’ve seen on the likes of Yanfei and Ningguang.

Diluc Genshin Impact Passive Talents

Diluc’s passive talents are designed to help you preserve your resources both in and out of the battlefield.

• Relentless: Reduces the Stamina Cost of Diluc’s charged attacks by 50% and lets you perform charged attacks for an extra 3 seconds.

• Blessing of Phoenix: Extends the duration of Dawn’s Pyro Infusion by 4 seconds and gives Diluc an additional 20% Pyro Damage Bonus during this period.

• Tradition of the Dawn Knight: Refunds 15% of the ore used when crafting Claymore weapons.

Diluc Genshin Impact Talent Priority and Stat Priority

As a DPS character, Diluc’s priority stats are Attack, Crit Damage, and Crit Rate with Elemental Master being a low priority consideration. Diluc’s Normal Attacks and damage all scale off his Attack in tandem with his Pyro Damage Bonus. Keep his Attack stat close to 2,000 and you should be fine.

Aim for a decent Crit Ratio of roughly 1:2. Diluc needs to make his crit hits and deliver them with a punch to be a good DPS.

Lastly, there’s Elemental Mastery. Some players opt for an Attack Sands or an Elemental Mastery Sands depending on how they want to play their Diluc. If you want to utilize him in a Vaporize team, Elemental Mastery may be worthwhile for you, but otherwise, stick to Attack.

Energy Recharge won’t be necessary as Diluc does a decent job of generating his own energy particles. He also has a very low Burst cost of 40 energy, making ER a negligible stat for him.

What Weapons Should Diluc Have?

Since Diluc is a traditional DPS character, he’s pretty simple to build and has an uncomplicated selection of usable weapons. If you can’t get decent artifacts that provide a good spread of Attack percent and Crit substats, a weapon can help you balance these stats out.

Diluc’s best in slot weapon is undoubtedly the Wolf’s Gravestone. A standard banner obtainable weapon, the WGS has always been known to be Diluc’s best weapon and the fact that it’s red and black like his design is just icing on the cake.

WGS has a high base attack, since it is a 5-star Claymore, and has an Attack percentage substat so you can easily get your Diluc to above 2,000 Attack with this. Its passive also buffs the wielder’s Attack stat and that of other party members.

If you have Skyward Pride, another 5-star Claymore that can be obtained on the Standard Banner, you could also use that. It has a comparable base attack to WGS and gives Diluc additional Energy Recharge. Because Diluc has such a low-cost Elemental Burst, this can get quite fun for Vaporize comps, even if it isn’t the most ideal weapon.

The Unforged is not recommended because it has an irrelevant passive that Diluc can’t get much use of unless he’s paired with the likes of Diona, C4 Yanfei, and Zhongli. Even then, if you have a different weapon with a better-suited passive, that would be better than the Unforged.

Now, Song of the Broken Pines is a 5-star alternative that could work because of increases Attack by 16% when a Normal or Charged Attack hits opponents. It’s basically a one-size-fits-all for all Claymore users, barring Noelle and Itto.

When it comes to 4-star weapons, you’re better off giving Diluc a Prototype Archaic. With a full refinement Prototype Archaic, you can give Diluc a 50% chance to deal an additional 480% Attack Damage within a small AoE.

If you have it from the events, Luxurious Sea-Lord is a fantastic option that has an Attack Substat and a passive that buffs Elemental Burst Damage by 24% if you have it at full refinement. It also provides an additional 200% attack of AoE damage.

What Artifacts Should I Use for Diluc?

Diluc’s options for artifacts are fairly limited and while that may feel limiting, it is good for keeping things simple when it comes to building him. The only thing you need to keep in mind is the stat priorities (Attack, Crit Ratio, and Pyro Damage Bonus) and which artifact sets have these.

• Crimson Witch of the Flames: The 2-Piece set gives you an additional 15% Pyro Damage Bonus while the 4-Piece set buffs Overload, Burning, and Burgeon Damage by 40%. You also increase your Vaporize and Melt damage by 15%. The real kicker is that the 4-piece set buffs the 2-piece set bonus by 50% of its starting value when you use your Elemental Skill.

• Gladiator’s Finale: The 2-Piece set gives you an 18% Attack increase while the 4-Piece set increases Normal Attack damage by 35% if you’re using a Claymore, Polearm, or Sword. The damage isn’t as overwhelming as with CWotF but it’s resin efficient and provides consistent damage.

• Vermillion Hereafter and/or Echoes of an Offering: Both provide an 18% Attack increase if you use the 2-Piece set. If you’re having a hard time getting a good full set of CWotF artifacts, you can split your set into 2-Piece Vermillion Hereafter/Echoes of an Offering/Gladiator’s Finale and use only 2 CWotF artifacts.

As usual, you want a Pyro Damage Bonus Goblet, Crit Rate/Damage Circlet, and an Attack or Elemental Mastery Sands.

Diluc’s Constellations

Because Diluc is a 5-star standard banner character, it’s easy to get him over time from the free Acquaint Fates (blue wishes) that you get from the game and from failing the 50/50 on limited-time banners. If you’ve been playing for a while, there’s a chance you already have constellations so let’s go over them.

• Conviction (C1): Diluc deals 15% more damage to opponents if their HP is over 50%.

• Searing Ember (C2): Increases Diluc’s Attack by 10% and his Attack speed by 14% for 10 seconds if he gets damaged by an enemy.

• Fire and Steel (C3): Increases the level of Searing Onslaught (Elemental Skill) by 3, making your maximum upgrade level 15.

• Flowing Flame (C4): Casting the next Searing Onslaught after the last one increases the damage of that next hit by giving it an additional 40% damage.

• Phoenix, Harbinger of Dawn (C5): Increases the level of Dawn (Elemental Burst) by 3, making your maximum upgrade level 15.

• Flaming Sword, Nemesis of the Dark (C6): After casting Searing Onslaught, your next 2 Normal attacks will get an additional 30% Attack damage and speed. These can be changed within Searing Onslaught as the attacks will not interrupt the combo.

Team Compositions for Yanfei: Elements, Roles, and More

Diluc has trouble making the most of his Pyro application on his own, making comps that capitalize on Vaporize and Melt his best teams. Xingqiu is an indispensable member of Diluc’s teams but you can substitute him with the likes of Yelan, Mona, Kokomi, and Ayato. Of course, the latter two aren’t as ideal, but if you have no one else, they’ll work.

Remember how Diluc’s burst knocks his enemies away? This is actually bad in Genshin Impact since scattering enemies means they require more stamina to run to and hit, drastically increasing your Abyss run time. Consider pairing Diluc with a crowd control character like Venti, Sucrose, and Kazuha.

You can get crowd control and elemental reactions in one go with a Freeze and Melt-focused team that freezes enemies in place with Hydro and Cryo so that Diluc can hit them with Pyro. For this, try Ayaka, Ganyu, Chongyun, and Rosaria together with a Hydro character.

You can also increase Diluc’s damage by adding Bennett to his team. Bennett not only provides healing and damage buffs but is also a team member for completing the Pyro resonance effect. Alternatively, you can try a C4 Yanfei or Diona if you want a shield with the potential for healing and elemental damage bonuses.

Purchasable Skins for Diluc

With the introduction of Skins to Genshin Impact during the Midsummer Island Adventure event, characters are now getting alternative outfits that their fans can purchase and equip. Diluc’s is currently the only skin in the game that has new attack animation effects and new idle animation effects.

Red Dead of Night is a black, white, and gray outfit that Diluc wears during covert operations against the Fatui and the Abyss Order so don’t be surprised if you see him burning a scroll delivered by a messenger eagle.