Wriothesley Genshin Impact Guide for Artifacts, Weapons, and Skills

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With its robust judicial system, it’s hardly surprising that one of the focal points of interest in Genshin Impact‘s newest region is its underwater prison, the Fortress of Meropide. Housing numerous prisoners, the fortress maintains remarkable order, courtesy of its diligent warden, Wriothesley.

Introduced as the latest 5-star character in Version 4.1, Wriothesley stands out as Genshin‘s inaugural Cryo catalyst user. His combat style mirrors that of a skilled brawler, swiftly advancing toward his foes and delivering chilling, ice-cold punches. Interestingly, Wriothesley himself was once an inmate within the very prison he now oversees. Upon assuming the role of warden, he spearheaded transformative reforms that significantly improved the lives of those incarcerated, enabling them to turn a new leaf.

Learn how to roll with the punches and raise Wriothesley right by following this Genshin Impact guide.

The Best Artifacts for Wriothesley

Equipping the proper artifact sets can go a long way in making your Genshin Impact characters powerful. With so many sets to choose from, here’s our recommendation for Wriothesley.

Marechaussee Hunter

• 2-Piece Set: Normal and Charged Attack DMG +15%.
• 4-Piece Set: When your current HP increases or decreases, your CRIT Rate will be increased by 12% for 5s. Max 3 stacks.

So far, all Fontaine characters have a distinct characteristic to their kit that involves trading a portion of their HP to deal lots of damage with their Elemental Skills or Bursts. Because of this, the new artifact set, Marechaussee Hunter, stands out as their go-to artifact. This set gives Wriothesley’s Normal and Charged Attack some extra damage as well as making his critical hits more consistent with its full set bonuses.

Blizzard Strayer

• 2 Piece Bonus – Cryo DMG Bonus +15%
• 4 Piece Bonus – When a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, their CRIT Rate is increased by 20%. If the opponent is Frozen, your CRIT Rate is increased by an additional 20%

With Wriothesley wielding the Cryo element, he also gains access to the Blizzard Strayer set. This set also fixes his CRIT Rate, allowing players to go all out with maximizing CRIT DMG and ATK%. While he seems like a melee character, he’s actually a catalyst user, which makes all of his attacks infused with Cryo. This benefits greatly from the additional Cryo DMG Bonus that Blizzard Strayer gives.

Artifact Stats to Prioritize

Aim to get these stats on Wriothesley’s artifacts:

1. Cryo DMG Bonus (Goblet)
2. CRIT DMG / CRIT Rate (Circlet and substats)
3. ATK% (Sands and substats)
4. Energy Recharge (substats)
5. Elemental Mastery (substats)

An Elemental Goblet is the perfect choice for catalyst users like Wriothesley, as a fully leveled piece significantly boosts his damage. His second most important stat is his CRIT stats, and players will want to aim for a 1:2 CRIT ratio for best results.

You’ll also want to pick up as much ATK% in his substats. Some Energy Recharge on him is nice but not necessary, especially if you’ll be running him with another Cryo character on the team. Lastly, a few points of Elemental Mastery will allow for his elemental reactions to hit harder.

Best Weapons for Wriothesley

Genshin Impact has a separate gacha banner for premium 5-star weapons, which are often called a scam by its community. If you happen to get lucky, here are the weapons most suitable for Wriothesley.

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• Cashflow Supervision (CRIT Rate) – ATK is increased by 16%. When current HP increases or decreases, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 16%, and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 14% for 4s. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. When the wielder has 3 stacks, ATK SPD will be increased by 8%.

This is his signature weapon, and although it’s probably his best-in-slot weapon, it is far from being essential in building a good Wriothesley. It triggers similarly to Marechaussee Hunter, where HP fluctuations will give him an increase to his Normal and Charged attacks, with an additional ATK SPD buff after reaching max stacks.

• Tulaytullah’s Remembrance (CRIT DMG) – Normal Attack SPD is increased by 10%. After the wielder unleashes an Elemental Skill, Normal Attack DMG will increase by 4.8% every second for 14s. After this character hits an opponent with a Normal Attack during this duration, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 9.6%. This increase can be triggered once every 0.3s. The maximum Normal Attack DMG increase per single duration of the overall effect is 48%. The effect will be removed when the wielder leaves the field, and using the Elemental Skill again will reset all DMG buffs.

Another great catalyst for Wriothesley will be his fellow catalyst Wanderer’s signature weapon, the Tulaytullah’s Remembrance. It increases his Normal Attack damage just like Cashflow Supervision but requires you to use his Skill in conjunction to fully take advantage of the effect. It also requires him to be on the field for the entire time, as switching out will reset his buffs.

• Skyward Atlas (ATK%) – Increases Elemental DMG Bonus by 12%. Normal Attack hits have a 50% chance to earn the favor of the clouds, which actively seek out nearby opponents to attack for 15s, dealing 160% ATK DMG. Can only occur once every 30s.

The Skyward Atlas is a 5-star weapon obtainable from the standard pool of 5 stars. It’s readily available compared to the weapons discussed so far. The Elemental DMG Bonus further improves Wriothesley’s Cryo DMG, but its weapon effect is a little underwhelming because of its long cooldown.

Budget Alternatives

While 5-star weapons are inherently strong, players shouldn’t sleep on great 4-star weapons. They can still synergize with your character’s kit and, at times, can even be better than 5-stars when it reach its maximum refinements. 

• Flowing Purity (ATK%) – When using an Elemental Skill, all Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 8% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 24% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond Of Life is cleared, every 1,000 HP cleared in the process will provide a 2% All Elemental DMG Bonus, up to a maximum of 12%. This effect lasts 15s.

Flowing Purity is one of the new craftable weapons made available in Fontaine. This weapon gives its wielder some needed survivability with its HP restore while also making elemental attacks more powerful. It also comes with an ATK% scaling, which the Duke of Meropide can certainly use to his advantage.

• The Widsith (CRIT DMG) – When a character takes the field, they will gain a random theme song for 10s. This can only occur once every 30s. Recitative: ATK is increased by 60. Aria: Increases all Elemental DMG by 48. Interlude: Elemental Mastery is increased by 240.

The Widsith has been a popular pick for most catalyst characters due to its CRIT DMG scaling and its assortment of helpful effects. It is not the most consistent of weapons due to its RNG-dependent buffs, but Wriothesley can work with pretty much all three buffs, especially in Melt teams.

• Solar Pearl (CRIT Rate) – Normal Attack hits increase Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 20% for 6s. Likewise, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst hits increase Normal Attack DMG by 20% for 6s.

The Genshin Impact Battle Pass has an array of special weapons to choose from, with Solar Pearl belonging to its first set of weapons. It has a desirable ascension stat of CRIT Rate, and its weapon effect is heavy on buffing Normal Attack and Skill damage if they’re used one after the other. Overall, it is a solid weapon for the low price of spending on the Battle Pass.

Skill Priorities for Wriothesley

Wriothesley’s skills are as follows:

1. Forceful Fists of Frost (Normal Attack) – Coalescing frost about his fist, Wriothesley will unleash powerful Repelling Fists, performing up to 5 rapid attacks that deal Cryo DMG. Apart from this, the Normal Attack combo count will not reset for a short time after using Icefang Rush or sprinting.

2. Icefang Rush (Elemental Skill) – Adjusting his breathing, rhythm, and pace, Wriothesley sprints forward a short distance, entering the Chilling Penalty state and unleashing more powerful attacks than before. This increases Wriothesley’s interruption resistance when his HP is above 50%, it will enhance the Repelling Fists of Normal Attack: Forceful Fists of Frost and increase its DMG. When such an attack hits, it will consume a fixed amount of Wriothesley’s HP. HP can be lost this way once every 0.1s. This effect will be canceled should Wriothesley leave the field.

3. Darkgold Wolfbite (Elemental Burst) – Activating his boxing gloves, Wriothesley strikes out with an icy straight, then uses Icicle Impact to cause multiple instances of AoE Cryo DMG in a frontal area. After Icicle Impact ends, a Surging Blade will descend upon the opponent’s position, dealing Ousia-aligned Cryo DMG.

His Normal Attacks are his main source of damage; thus, leveling this skill takes the highest priority. You’ll also be weaving in a couple of Charged Attacks here and there, so you’re in luck that it also scales with that talent. His Skill comes in a close second as it empowers his Normal Attacks and enables his HP fluctuations. Players can leave Wriothesley’s Elemental Burst for last, as it is his least impactful skill despite its Ousia-aligned damage.

Wriothesley Team Comp

Wriothesley runs a tight ship in the Fortress of Meropide, and he’s not afraid to quell any trouble that arises. He can function as a crit-centric main DPS or as a Cryo driver for elemental reaction teams. In general, you’ll want to bring along another Cryo character in his team to solve his energy problems and give him access to his Elemental Burst quicker.

He can recruit the following characters to join his crew of misfits:

• Kazuha (Great for crowd control and elemental damage buffer)
• Layla (Cryo shielder for cryo resonance)
• Xingqiu (Hydro enabler for Freeze compositions)
• Shenhe (Premium Cryo buffer and battery)
• Kokomi (Hydro healer with AoE hydro application)
• Bennett (Pyro buffer that heals and increases ATK)
• Xiangling (Off-field Pyro enabler with a powerful Burst)
• Yelan (Hydro Burst support for Permafreeze)

His most popular team compositions are Melt or Permafreeze teams. Melt teams rely on off-field Pyro application with Wriothesley as the Cryo driver triggering these reactions. On the other hand, pairing him up with a lot of Hydro can stop enemies in their tracks permanently due to his constant Cryo attacks. This allows Wriothesley to wail on enemy bosses without fear of getting knocked out himself.