Character Guide#
The Seven Paths#
Destruction: All-round characters that combine offense and defense. Representative characters: Jingliu, Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Clara, Blade. Works well as a team’s core DPS.
The Hunt: Single-target specialists with very high single-target damage and speed. Representative characters: Seele, Topaz, Dr. Ratio, Yanqing. Ideal for elite enemies and boss fights.
Erudition: AoE specialists built to handle multiple enemies at once. Representative characters: Argenti, Himeko, Jing Yuan, Herta. Best for mob clearing and Pure Fiction.
Harmony: Buff supports who boost teammates’ attack, speed, crit and more. Representative characters: Bronya, Tingyun, Ruan Mei, Sparkle. Almost every team wants one.
Nihility: Debuffer supports who weaken enemies with negative effects or DoT damage. Representative characters: Kafka, Black Swan, Silver Wolf, Acheron. The core of DoT teams.
Preservation: Shield-based defenders who protect teammates with shields. Representative characters: Fu Xuan, Gepard, Trailblazer (Preservation), Aventurine. Provides the team’s survivability.
Abundance: Healers who restore teammates’ HP. Representative characters: Luocha, Huohuo, Bailu, Lynx. Keeps the team’s health line healthy.
The Seven Combat Types#
Physical: Break applies Bleed (ongoing Physical damage). Representative characters: Clara, Sushang, Argenti.
Fire: Break applies Burn (ongoing Fire damage). Representative characters: Himeko, Topaz, Firefly, Guinaifen.
Ice: Break applies Freeze (target cannot act). Representative characters: Jingliu, Yanqing, March 7th, Herta.
Lightning: Break applies Shock (ongoing Lightning damage). Representative characters: Jing Yuan, Kafka, Serval, Tingyun.
Wind: Break applies Wind Shear (ongoing Wind damage). Representative characters: Bronya, Black Swan, Dan Heng, Blade.
Quantum: Break applies Entanglement (extra delayed damage). Representative characters: Seele, Fu Xuan, Silver Wolf, Sparkle, Qingque.
Imaginary: Break applies Imprisonment (heavily delays enemy actions). Representative characters: Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Luocha, Dr. Ratio, Yukong.
Tier Ratings Reference#
Please note: the ratings below are based on the current version meta and are for reference only. Character performance varies by scenario.
S Tier#
Jingliu (Destruction, Ice): High-burst Ice DPS with strong self-buffs, covering both AoE and single target. A top-tier main DPS this patch.
Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae (Destruction, Imaginary): A powerful Imaginary main DPS with extremely high enhanced basic attack damage. Costs a lot of skill points.
Bronya (Harmony, Wind): Advance-forward support who lets a teammate act immediately and adds big damage buffs. One of the strongest universal supports.
Fu Xuan (Preservation, Quantum): Shares damage taken and grants crit rate. A top sustain slot that also supports.
Ruan Mei (Harmony, Ice): Team-wide damage buff, break efficiency and speed boosts. The core support of break teams.
Kafka (Nihility, Lightning): The core of DoT teams, triggering and amplifying DoT applied by teammates. A unique kit.
Acheron (Nihility, Lightning): A special damage mode that needs no skill points; her Ultimate ignores weakness types for toughness damage. Independent carry.
A Tier#
Seele (The Hunt, Quantum): Resurgence grants an extra turn on kill; strong single-target pressure. Needs kills to keep her rhythm going.
Argenti (Erudition, Physical): Strong AoE DPS with flexible Ultimate energy. A top Pure Fiction character.
Luocha (Abundance, Imaginary): Automatic healing that dispels debuffs. High healing output that never costs skill points.
Sparkle (Harmony, Quantum): Skill point recovery plus single-target advance and damage buff. Great for SP-hungry teams.
Black Swan (Nihility, Wind): Arcana stacking mechanics with high DoT burst. Needs Kafka as a partner.
Firefly (Destruction, Fire): Break-specialized DPS with enormous damage into Fire-weak enemies. The backbone of break teams.
F2P-Friendly Characters#
The following characters are easy to obtain and still perform well.
Trailblazer: Switchable between Destruction, Preservation and Harmony paths, free to obtain.
March 7th: Preservation, Ice — provides shields and counters, beginner-friendly.
Natasha: Abundance, Physical — a free healer, good enough for the early game.
Tingyun (4★, Harmony): A top-tier 4★ support with strong energy charging and damage buffs.
Pela (4★, Nihility): AoE defense-shred support, extremely versatile.
Herta (4★, Erudition): Excellent mob clearing, great in Pure Fiction.
Leveling Priority#
Recommended investment order: main DPS (Lv 80 fully ascended) > sustain (Lv 70+) > supports (Lv 70+). Max out the main DPS’s key traces first; for supports, prioritize their functional traces.
Current T0 Characters#
| Character | Path | Type | Role | Why recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jingliu | Destruction | Ice | Main DPS | Self action advance + weakness-ignoring toughness damage |
| DHIL | Destruction | Imaginary | Main DPS | High-multiplier enhanced skill — 3-stack burst |
| Luocha | Abundance | Imaginary | Healer | Auto healing — cleanse |
| Bronya | Harmony | Wind | Support | Action advance + damage buff — fits everywhere |
| Fu Xuan | Preservation | Quantum | Sustain | Damage sharing + crit buff |
| Kafka | Nihility | Lightning | Sub-DPS/detonator | DoT detonation — whole-team DoT |
Character Investment Priorities#
| Stage | Suggested investment |
|---|---|
| Level | Main DPS → 80, fully ascended |
| Traces | Main DPS key traces → max |
| Light Cone | Main DPS signature → first |
| Relics | Correct main stats first → substats as they come |
| Trace branches | Spend spare resources on these |
Best 4-Star Characters#
| Character | Path | Type | Why recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tingyun | Harmony | Lightning | Attack buff + energy charge — the universal 4★ support |
| Yukong | Harmony | Imaginary | Attack + crit buffs — pairs with slow main DPS |
| Herta | Erudition | Ice | Follow-up attack specialist — Pure Fiction T0 |
| Xueyi | Destruction | Quantum | Break specialist — playable even at low Eidolons |
| Pela | Nihility | ||
| Lynx | Abundance | Quantum | A 4★ sustain — cleanse + steady healing |
Ascension Materials Quick Reference#
| Character | Ascension materials | Farm location |
|---|---|---|
| Jingliu | Iceblade + Newly Wrought Fang | Jarilo-VI — Echo Cavern |
| DHIL | Brahma Voice + Immortal Dragonfly | Xianzhou — Artisanship Commission |
| Kafka | Demon-Slaying Arrow + Void Particles | Herta Space Station |
| Luocha | Amber + Refined Gold Slag | Xianzhou — Alchemy Commission |
Character Roles Explained#
Main DPS Roles#
The main DPS is the team’s damage core and gets first claim on every resource. By damage mode there are three kinds:
- Single-target specialists: best against elites and bosses — Seele and Dr. Ratio are prime examples. They shine against the high-HP elites of Memory of Chaos.
- AoE specialists: mob-clearing experts — Argenti, Himeko and Herta. The darlings of Pure Fiction.
- All-rounders: damage plus survivability — Jingliu and Clara. Good for high-pressure environments.
Support Roles#
Supports are the engine of the team and set the ceiling for the whole squad’s damage. Harmony provides buffs, Nihility provides debuffs, and the two divide the work clearly.
- Advance supports: Bronya lets an ally act immediately, hugely improving damage tempo.
- Energy supports: Tingyun charges teammates’ energy, speeding up Ultimate rotations.
- Shred supports: Pela and Silver Wolf lower enemy defense, indirectly boosting everyone’s damage.
Sustain Roles#
Sustain characters are the team’s foundation — no survivability, no damage. Preservation shields, Abundance heals, and the two can be combined.
- Auto healing: Luocha heals without spending skill points, extremely versatile.
- Damage sharing: Fu Xuan concentrates the team’s incoming damage on herself, and her crit buff makes her exceptional value.
- 4★ options: Natasha and Lynx are practical 4★ healers, plenty for the early game.
Team Composition Analysis#
The Standard Team Frame#
A complete team usually has four slots: main DPS, support, sustain and flex.
| Slot | Job | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Main DPS | Core damage | Jingliu, DHIL, Seele, Argenti |
| Damage support | Raises whole-team damage | Bronya, Tingyun, Sparkle, Ruan Mei |
| Sustain | Healing or shields | Luocha, Fu Xuan, Huohuo, Natasha |
| Flex slot | Cover weaknesses or add damage | Pela, Black Swan, Topaz |
Choosing Your Sustain#
| Scenario | Recommended sustain | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| High-pressure Memory of Chaos | Fu Xuan | Damage sharing reliably protects the whole team |
| DoT teams | Huohuo | Provides energy and cleanse |
| Early-game transition | Natasha | Free to obtain with enough healing |
| Skill-point-hungry teams | Luocha | Healing costs no skill points |
Path Pairing Ideas#
Paths define a character’s basic role; when building a team, make sure the path functions complement each other:
- Harmony and Nihility: nearly every team needs at least one buff or debuff support, and both can run together.
- Preservation and Abundance: in high-pressure environments run double sustain, trading a bit of damage for stability.
- The Hunt and Erudition: the single-target versus AoE tradeoff — Memory of Chaos favors The Hunt, Pure Fiction favors Erudition.
Type Coverage Planning#
Every enemy has weakness types; the more types your team covers, the wider the range of enemies you can handle. When planning a team, try to have your four characters cover at least three different types, prioritizing the weaknesses of commonly farmed enemies this patch.
Sample Type Combos#
| Team direction | Type combo | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Physical-Lightning-Ice | Physical + Lightning + Ice | Balanced progression through all content |
| Fire-Wind-Imaginary | Fire + Wind + Imaginary | Covers Xianzhou and Penacony enemies |
| Quantum-Lightning-Wind | Quantum + Lightning + Wind | Targeting quantum-weak elites |
Common Type Coverage Mistakes#
Chasing full four-type coverage sometimes costs you team strength. The right approach is to first make sure your damage and sustain structure is complete, then fine-tune type coverage to the current patch’s enemy roster.