This article includes:
1. Best Build for Thoma
2. Thoma Character Review:
- Thoma's Constellations
- Thoma VS Other Shielders
- Is Thoma good with Hu Tao?
- Is Thoma a Pyro Xingqiu?
- Is Thoma worth it?
Intro
After a few months of waiting, Thoma, the dear friend of Kamisato Ayaka, is finally playable in Genshin Impact 2.2. Previously, this character was rumored to be a "Pyro Xingqiu," one that offers protection and damage at the same time.
Now that Thoma is finally released, how many of these rumors are actually true?
Conclusion
Thoma can either be built as a Shielder or a Sub-DPS. In both builds, he'll need Energy Recharge to quickly refill his Burst. For shielder build, you can use Staff of Homa or Black Tassel for extra HP, but please remember that he'll still need help to get his Energy back, making these two weapons less optimal compared to ER weapons.
Best Artifacts for Shielder Thoma
• Artifact Set:
1. 2-Emblem of Severed Fate + 2-Tenacity of the Millelith
2. 2-Noblesse Oblige + 2-Tenacity of the Millelith
3. 2-Crimson Witch of Flames + 2-Tenacity of the Millelith
• Artifact Main Stat:
Energy Recharge or HP / HP / HP
• Sub Stat focus:
HP, Energy Recharge
Best Artifacts for Sub-DPS Thoma
• Artifact Set:
1. 4-Emblem of Severed Fate
2. 2-Emblem of Severed Fate + 2-Noblesse Oblige
3. 2-Noblesse Oblige + 2-Crimson Witch of Flames
• Artifact Main Stat:
Energy Recharge or Attack / Pyro / Critical Rate or Critical Damage
• Sub Stat focus:
Critical Rate or Damage, Energy Recharge, Attack
For the Sub-DPS build, Attack still performs better than HP.
Best Weapons for Thoma
1. Engulfing Lightning
2. The Catch
3. Skyward Spine
4. Favonius Lance
5. Prototype Starglitter
6. Staff of Homa
7. Black Tassel
Thoma's Elemental Skill doesn't generate enough Energy for Thoma to battery himself. Therefore, ER weapons can perform better in long-term DPS, despite having "smaller numbers."
Staff of Homa can compete with Engulfing if there's a battery in the team. However, don't expect Black Tassel to boost your damage.
Choosing the Artifact
Tested Sets:
• 2-Noblesse + 2-Crimson
• 2-Noblesse + 2-Emblem
• 4-Emblem of Severed Fate
Tested Main Stat:
• Atk/Pyro/Crit
• HP/Pyro/Crit
• ER/Pyro/Crit
I also tested HP/HP/HP and 2-Noblesse + 2-Tenacity, but since it performs less than the others, I won't be showing the damage result.
Choosing the Weapon
1. Blackcliff Pole (Zero Stack)
2. Black Tassel
3. Deathmatch (+24% Attack)
4. R5 The Catch
5. Favonius Lance (Passive is considered)
6. Dragon's Bane (Passive is always active)
7. Kitain Cross Spear (Passive is considered)
8. Prototype Starglitter
9. Wavebreaker's Fin (38.4% Burst Damage Bonus)
10. Primordial Jade (Zero Stack)
11. Staff of Homa
12. Skyward Spine
13. Engulfing Lightning
Simulation and Assumptions
1. Thoma is level 90.
2. Enemy is one Hilichurl level 80.
3. Talent lv8, C2.
4. Critical will occur 60% of the time, this is to give Crit build less edge.
5. Normal Attack is not considered.
6. Burst hits 18 times.
7. Elemental Burst is cast according to Energy Recharge.
8. Passive 1 is not considered, Passive 2 is considered.
Stat Overview
ER Overview
Damage Overview
Simulation Result
Sorry about the border. The bot will hide it otherwise.
Thoma Character Review
Thoma's Constellations
C1: When a character (other than Thoma) gets hit while his skill is active, reduces Thoma's Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst Cooldown by 3s.
• Skill Cooldown at C0: 15s (12 with C1 reduction)
• Burst Cooldown at C0: 20s (17 with C1 reduction)
C1 is a small addition, but it's a warm-up for his C2.
C2: Increases Elemental Burst's duration by 3s
• Burst Duration at C0: 15s (18 at C2)
With C2, Thoma's Burst now has an 18s duration and a 17s Cooldown. This allows Thoma to be a mini-Zhongli with 100% burst uptime.
Edit: Small insight from SleepyArtist: With C0, you can theoretically keep up 100% shield uptime too. I still won't recommend using Thoma at C0, tho!
C4: Restores 15 Energy after using Elemental Burst
A huge help to Thoma's Energy issue.
C6: When gaining shield (or refreshing it with Elemental Burst), buff party's Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack by 15%.
A small buff for the team, not that good but not bad either.
C2 Thoma VS Zhongli, C2 Diona, Noelle, and Xinyan
At talent level 8, assuming they're on full HP (Thoma, Zhongli, and Diona) or full DEF (Noelle and Xinyan) build, we have:
• 139.8% HP Main Stat + 31.5% HP Sub Stat + 4780 Flower
• 174.9% DEF Main Stat + 39.36% DEF Sub Stat
This translates to:
So we found that, at C2, Thoma has the second-best shield (when his Elemental Burst reaches a full stack). Luckily, this can be maintained if you can keep 100% uptime on his Burst.
However, without his Elemental Burst, Thoma's shield is under everyone else's, even Xinyan. This shows that Thoma's main feature is his 100% shield uptime on his C2.
Personal Opinion
Is Thoma good with Hu Tao?
TL;DR, if you have C2 Thoma, yes. If you don't, I wouldn't do it.
The idea for Thoma with Hu Tao is to enable resistance reduction via Viridescent Venerer. Previously, you had to use Bennett/Xiangling to apply Pyro to an enemy before an Anemo shreds their resistance.
The problem is, Xiangling often steals Hu Tao's Vaporize while Bennett is not a popular choice with the Director. Therefore, since Thoma has a 3-hits ICD on his Burst, many have said that he's a good option for this comp.
Furthermore, Hu Tao needs protection as she'll be in low HP most of the time. Usually, Zhongli is her best pair, but now, C2 Thoma can replace the Geo Archon.
So instead of:
Hu Tao + Xingqiu + Zhongli +1
You can now do:
Hu Tao + Xingqiu + Thoma + Sucrose
But, a more important question now arises: Other than Hu Tao, who's Thoma good with?
Honestly, we haven't tried enough to know, since Thoma is a new character. But so far, my BF likes the combination of Chongyun and Thoma. Other than that, we both think that Thoma currently doesn't have a spot anywhere else.
Is Thoma a Pyro Xingqiu?
No, not even the slightest bit. I don't think we'll see another OP support like Xingqiu anytime soon.
Is Thoma good or worth it?
I wouldn't say he's bad, but I would say he's not worth it. Unless you're lucky enough to get his C2, I would refrain from using him.
Penny For Your Thoughts
What do you think of Thoma so far? Do you think he fits in other team comps outside Hu Tao's?
Do you think he's worth being called the Pyro Xingqiu?
As usual, if you have any questions, corrections, or feedback, feel free to throw them in the comment! 
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