Source: HoYoverse
The second half of Genshin Impact’s Version 5.3 is here! And with it, the reruns of Arlecchino and Clorinde.
Still wondering if you should pull for Arlecchino or wish for Clorinde? We’ve got you covered. Let’s weigh their strengths and weaknesses, as we compare what these two characters can bring to your team compositions.
Arlecchino is a powerful and nigh-unstoppable Pyro DPS who’s guaranteed to destroy enemies in your path, no sweat. Clorinde on the other hand, focuses on more agile and team-oriented gameplay as an Electro DPS.
Need an unbeatable Pyro DPS? Pull for Arlecchino
Arlecchino proves to be a formidable ally and one of the Fatui’s strongest members, making her a must-pull character if you’re struggling to clear endgame content like Spiral Abyss or Imaginarium Theatre. Arlecchino is a Pyro polearm DPS who focuses on self-sufficient gameplay, only needing buffers to maximise her damage and shielders to protect her from attacks.
Arlecchino’s kit focuses on her Bond of Life mechanic, which may make her a bit more technically demanding to play, as she cannot be healed during the amount of time when Bond of Life is active. However, Arlecchino also provides players with intuitive combinations which will allow for consistent damage with little downtime, as well as high raw scalings and self-buffing that will allow players to build her into their strongest character easily.
As Arlecchino focuses on dishing out a combination of attacks, it’s important to keep her protected from enemy onslaught given that she’ll be prone to interruptions. You can do so by pairing her with a strong shielder like Zhongli, or pulling for her C1: “All Reprisals and Arrears, Mine to Bear…” which increases her resistance to interruptions while affected by the Masque of the Red Death.
But besides looking into getting her C1, Arlecchino can also do well with unlocking her C2 “All Rewards and Retributions, Mine to Bestow…” which transforms Blood-Debt Directives to Blood-Debt Dues when first applies, allowing Arlecchino to unleash a Balemoon Bloodfire that deals 900% of her ATK as area-of-effect Pyro DMG, and increases her All Elemental RES and Physical RES by 20% for 15 seconds.
Looking for a thrilling playstyle? Pull for Clorinde
Clorinde on the other hand, relies heavily on quick action and agile movement thanks to her being Fontaine’s champion duelist. As an Electro sword user, Clorinde is capable of dishing out quick Electro application from both her elemental skill and burst, making her an ideal on-field driver for Electro-based reactions.
Clorinde also makes use of the Bond of Life mechanic, which greatly increases the damage dealt by her pistolet as long as a healer can keep her HP at 100%, allowing players to essentially spam her shots. Clorinde is capable of self-healing as opposed to Arlecchino, so team compositions don’t need to heavily rely on keeping her alive and active during fights, and instead can focus on providing her with the necessary buffs to further enhance her damage.
Although she does have those benefits, considering the limited uptime of her skill, Clorinde will need to be kept in a very strict rotation to fully utilise her abilities, making her more technical to play than Arlecchino. And since Clorinde flourishes best with a team-oriented gameplay, she’s not the typical selfish DPS character whom players tend to get used to.
When it comes to constellations, the best one to gun for is Clorinde’s C2 “Now, As We Face The Perils of the Long Night," which increases her Electro DMG when a party member triggers an Electro-related reaction, while also increasing Clorinde’s resistance to interruption.
