Genshin Impact: How to Build Alhaitham

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Best Position – Main DPS
Best Weapons+−
Best Artifacts+−
Best Teams+−

If you don’t like using Bows or Catalysts, rejoice. Alhaitham is the latest addition to the Genshin Impact lineup and he is an absolute unit. He is a fantastic Main Dendro DPS and a Sword character. So if you’re not comfortable using Tighnari or Nahida, you have a new contender for your team.

Overall, focus on Alhaitham’s Elemental Reactions. He both applies Dendro and deals high Dendro DMG. Just make sure to keep his Energy Recharge in mind.

Genshin Impact: How to Ascend Alhaitham | Genshin Impact: How to Ascend Xiao | Genshin Impact Showcases New Dendro Character Yaoyao

Best Position – Main DPS

Alhaitham’s Ascension substat is Dendro DMG, which works well with the Dendro Infusion aspect of his Elemental Skill. This man was built for Dendro reactions, and he does it fast. However, keep in mind that Alhaitham’s buffs only work while he’s on the field – he doesn’t have much by way of off-field Support. You need to be ready to keep him on the field as long as possible. If you rotate quickly between characters, you may have to adjust your playstyle.

Also, he has next to no interruption resistance, meaning that a Hilichurl can send him flying pretty easily. You may want to consider having a Shield Support on your team to protect Alhaitham while he’s on the field.

Best Weapons

Pair Alhaitham with a Weapon that increases his Elemental Mastery or either of his CRIT stats. For the best results, a Weapon’s Skill Effect should add to his Elemental DMG, Normal Attacks, or Elemental Skill.

5 Star – Light of Foliar Incision

Alhaitham’s signature Weapon is his best. The Light of Foliar Incision increases CRIT DMG by a percentage. Its skill will also increase CRIT Rate by a percentage, and add some fun effects to Infusion attacks.

After Normal Attacks deal Elemental DMG, the wielder gains the Foliar Incision effect. This effect increases Normal Attack and Elemental Skill DMG by 120% of the wielder’s Elemental Mastery. The effect ends after 28 DMG instances or after 12 seconds. The Foliar Incision effect can occur once every 12 seconds.

For Alhaitham, the Foliar Incision effect will activate every time Alhaitham uses his Elemental Skill. And you’ll be using that Skill a lot. His 4th Ascension Passive also provides a buff based on his EM points, so increasing Alhaitham’s EM would help increase the potency of both effects.

If you have the Primordial Jade Cutter lying around, this is a good substitute due to its CRIT Rate and ATK bonuses. The Haran Geppaku Futsu could work too for its Elemental DMG Bonus.

4 Star – Iron Sting

As a craftable Sword, the Iron Sting is highly accessible to all players. It increases the wielder’s Elemental Mastery and provides a DMG buff when the wielder deals Elemental DMG. This lasts for 6 seconds and has a maximum of 2 stacks. This effect can occur once every second.

With Alhaitham’s reliance on Dendro Reactions and his 4th Ascension Passive, Iron Sting is the best F2P weapon for Alhaitham. Also, because it’s a craftable Weapon, it’s easy to ascend for a higher DMG buff.

Sapwood Blade can work as well, but Iron Sting has better benefits. If you can pay for the Battle Pass, then use the Black Sword instead of the Iron Sting. Finally, if you find yourself needing a little more Energy Recharge and don’t want to sacrifice your Artifacts for it, Xiphos’ Moonlight is a good option.

3 Star – Harbinger of Dawn

Harbinger of Dawn is very easy to get, both through Chests and through the gacha. It increases the wielder’s CRIT DMG by a percentage. When the wielder’s HP is above 90%, Harbinger also increases CRIT Rate. Alhaitham can easily benefit from both stats, so Harbinger can help you cover for any lackluster Artifacts you may have.

The Fillet Blade is slightly harder to get (it’s only found in Chests), but it can provide a significant ATK DMG buff once every 15 seconds.

Best Artifacts

Focus your attention on Artifacts with Elemental Mastery, Dendro DMG Bonus, and CRIT Mainstats. Offensive stats will help Alhaitham the most.

For Substats, keep Alhaitham’s Energy Recharge in mind, especially if you choose to forgo a Battery on your team. But if your ER looks ok, go for Elemental Mastery, CRIT stats, and ATK% Substats.

4PC Gilded Dreams

This is Alhaitham’s best set for optimal damage. At 2 pieces, Gilded increases Elemental Mastery by 80 points. At 4 pieces, Gilded grants buffs based on Elemental Reactions.

Within 8 seconds of triggering an Elemental Reaction, the character equipped with Gilded will have their ATK increased by 14% for each party member with the same Element as them. For every party member with a different Element, the equipped character instead gains 50 Elemental Mastery points. This can be triggered once every 8 seconds. The equipped character does on have to be on the field to receive these buffs.

Gilded will count up to 3 characters – basically, all of your team members minus Alhaitham. Potentially, the best team split for this set would be one Dendro character and two characters of other Elements. This would give Alhaitham 50 EM points and a 28% ATK bonus. But if Alhaitham is pre-Ascension 4, your team composition doesn’t matter as much.

4PC Deepwood Memories

If Alhaitham is the only Dendro character on your team and you have a solid Deepwood set, use it. Otherwise, if you plan to have two Dendro characters, do not equip Deepwood to Alhaitham.

At 2 pieces, Deepwood increases Dendro DMG by 15%. At 4 pieces, after Elemental Skills or Bursts hit opponents, they receive a 30% Dendro RES debuff for 8 seconds. This effect can occur even when the equipping character is not on the field.

The strategy with two Dendro characters is to have the Sub DPS equipped with Deepwood and Alhaitham with Gilded. This allows the Sub DPS to grant the off-field Dendro debuff to enemies while Alhaitham does his thing on the field. Also, that Sub DPS can act as a Dendro Battery for Alhaitham.

2PC Gilded Dreams + 2PC Wanderer’s Troupe

Both 2 pieces of Gilded Dreams and 2 pieces of Wanderer’s Troupe increase Elemental Mastery by 80 points. Putting them both together gives your character 160 Elemental Mastery points. If you don’t have a full Gilded Dreams set and Alhaitham is at or above Ascension 4, consider using this combination over Deepwood Memories.

If you’re in a pinch, you can use 2 pieces of the Instructor set for 80 EM points. You’ll receive pieces for this as Adventure Rank rewards.

Best Teams

Your one goal is to trigger any and all Dendro reactions, so build your team around the reaction you like best. But you want to adjust your team composition based on the Artifacts you have…or vice versa. For example, if you have a good set of both Deepwood Memories and Gilded Dreams, you’ll want another Dendro character to support Alhaitham.