For instance, Xiangling is a free character who’s miles ahead of Diluc in damage. And since they often use the same teammates (like Bennett and Xingqiu), it’s always optimal to just use Xiangling. However, Diluc does have the benefit of being very easy to play. He’s an excellent pick for early-game players that don’t want to deal with building enough Energy Recharge, deeper game mechanics, and stricter rotations that often come with stronger DPS units. Instead, Diluc is a very safe unit to build. His gameplay is straightforward with a bit of min-maxing potential – but that’s also not necessary. He will deal decent damage whether you know what you’re doing or not. In summary, he’s great for casual and early-game players but falls far behind when it comes to meta. Note: This is on meta only. If you like Diluc regardless of his power level, don’t let this stop you from playing him.
Pros & Cons
Diluc Strengths
Diluc’s main strength is his ease of use – there’s basically no way you can play him ‘wrong’. But although his playstyle is very straightforward, there’s still room for min-maxing or mechanically improving. For instance, weaving normal attacks in between his skill casts to proc Xingqiu’s rain swords lets him trigger Vaporize reactions – thus buffing his damage by 1.5x. Additionally, there are also some fun but less practical techniques that can be integrated into his gameplay. The most notable one is called dragonstrike. This refers to dashing and attacking at the same time and then canceling that animation with a jump. Upon hitting an opponent, Diluc causes a hitlag that will push him upwards. Pressing attack while he’s mid-air lets him deal plunge damage – aka dragonstrike. Plunge attack multipliers have very high multipliers, so consistently chaining plunge attacks or dragonstrikes will significantly increase Diluc’s DPS output. However, this takes a lot of practice, so it’s less practical if you can’t do it consistently. Diluc’s short skill cooldown and low-cost energy give him access to consistent Pyro application. This makes him a good unit for breaking elemental shields, especially Cryo, Electro, and Dendro. Plus the heavy hits of his claymore are also great for breaking non-elemental shields – like Geo shields. This is a decent quality-of-life bonus that makes him better and more versatile against different shielded opponents.
Diluc Weaknesses
This weakness is very straightforward: Diluc has relatively lower damage multipliers and damage output. He just falls behind other DPS units in-game, so there’s simply no meta reason to use him if you already have the other better options available. Diluc’s kit requires a lot of field time to cast his skills and burst, so he’s locked into the role of being an on-field Pyro DPS. This essentially limits his playstyle and team-building options. Diluc can work as an on-field driver, but there are far better units for this role – like Sucrose, Ayato, Raiden, and many more. Diluc often competes with other Pyro DPS units. Here’s a closer look at Diluc vs other relevant Pyro characters.
Are Diluc’s Constellations Good?
All of Diluc’s constellations focus on dealing more damage – and they’re definitely nice to have but never needed. Regardless, you’ll naturally get his cons while pulling in the limited and standard banner. So here’s a closer look at each one.
C1: Conviction
Diluc deals 15% more damage against opponents who are above 50% HP. This is a decent damage gain, especially against opponents with higher HP, such as bosses. This guarantees a longer uptime on the effect.
C2: Searing Amber
When Diluc takes damage, his ATK increases by 10%, and his attack speed increases by 5%. These effects last for 10s. This can also stack up to 3 times and can only be triggered once every 1.5s. It’s a situational damage gain, so it’s harder to gauge its value. Regardless, the 30% ATK and 15% attack speed buff are always appreciated.
C3: Fire and Steel
Increases his elemental skill talent level by 3. This is a small but unconditional damage increase.
C4: Flowing Flame
2s after casting Diluc’s skill, his next skill cast in the combo will deal 40% additional damage. This effect lasts for 2s. C4 effectively buffs his skill damage when casting it 2s-4s after the previous combo. This small window before the buff takes effect lets him perform a few normal attacks to proc Xingqiu’s burst and prepare for a Vaporize reaction. However, waiting for 2s between skill casts is generally not recommended. This is because it greatly extends the team’s rotation – enough so that Diluc runs out of buffs from sources with a short uptime, such as Bennett’s burst or Kazuha’s passive. C4 is mainly a damage gain in easier content that doesn’t need proper rotations.
C5: Phoenix, Harbinger of Dawn
Increases his elemental burst talent level by 3. This increases his burst multipliers – which is a decent, direct damage gain.
C6: Flaming Sword, Nemesis of the Dark
After casting Diluc’s skill, the next 2 normal attacks within the next 6s have their damage and attack speed increased by 30%. His skill also won’t interrupt his normal attack combo. C6 is Diluc’s best overall constellation mainly because of its second effect. Diluc’s normal attack string has increasing damage multipliers, so the next hit basically deals more damage than the previous. However, it’s always optimal to just perform 2 normal attacks in between skill casts, so Diluc doesn’t use his 3rd and 4th normal attack hit – aka the ones with the highest multipliers. But thanks to his C6’s second effect, he can now perform his 3rd and 4th normal attack hit a few times per rotation. This is a notable damage gain. The first effect is also good, but its buffs reset whenever Diluc dashes or gets staggered out of an animation. Assuming this doesn’t happen, then the first effect is also a nice damage gain.
Is Redhorn Stonethresher Good on Diluc?
Redhorn Stonethresher is a great weapon on Diluc – and it’s one of his best options. However, its low Base ATK requires some compensation from external ATK buffs, specifically Bennett. Without Bennett, Redhorn becomes a slightly worse weapon option. Additionally, its passive is basically an unconditional damage gain – but don’t build him with DEF because of it! Is it worth pulling Redhorn Stonethresher for Diluc? Absolutely not. There are better and more accessible options that don’t require a gamble of up to 240 intertwined fates. Other good alternatives include Serpent Spine, Rainslasher, and Wolf’s Gravestone.
Prototype Archaic vs. Serpent Spine on Diluc?
Serpent Spine is easily among Diluc’s best weapons – it can even outperform all 5-star claymores at Refinement Rank 5 (R5) with full stacks. But it is a paywalled weapon from the battlepass. Prototype Archaic is only a decent option on Diluc – and it’s far behind Serpent Spine. So to help you out, here are some weapon options that are better than Prototype Archaic and more accessible than Serpent Spine:
