The one and oni boss of the Arataki Gang drops on the scene again in Version 2.2 and the illustrious Test of Courage Festival Event. One of the biggest damage dealers of just about everyone in Inazuma, it’s a surprise that the Raiden knew so little of what trouble he can get up to. Whether you’ve had him on his first run or just saw him home during 3.3, here’s a detailed guide to some of the best ways to build up your boy to deal good chunks of damage.
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Itto’s Superlative Superstrength Attack
Itto’s got a peculiar arrangement, unlike the other claymores that are wielded by tall characters. It confused many of us upon his first release, but eventually, we grew to understand the benefits of building up your Superlative Superstrength Attacks. For each attack Itto gets on an enemy, a portion of the Superlative Superstrength stacks up to a total of five. You keep track of it based on the floating Oni head on Itto’s back. For each stack, it’ll feed up a portion of the mask and give off a brighter glow when complete. Switching your normal attacks to Itto’s Charged attack will start off a barrage of specialized swings that deal increased damage. Planning these stacks with your Skill and around Itto’s Burst will optimize your damage to its fullest potentional.
Utilizing The Skill and Burst to the Max
Masatso Zetsugi: Akaushi Burst centers around the mascot of the Arataki Gang, Ushi. Ushi is a pint-sized but strong little bull that’s based on Itto’s Max HP. While not a stat you’d want to have as the main on your artifacts, it’s a ghost boost as an extra sub-stat. Having Ushi on the field will not only lure enemies into attacking him, but each time that they do land a blow, it’ll add to Itto’s Superlative Superstrength Stack. And Once Ushi does run out of stamina since his HP equals that of Itto’s, he’ll add another stack to Itto before retreating from the field.
Royal Decent: Behold! Itto the Evil! Is his burst and once activated, converts all of Itto’s attacks to Geo Damage whether you use his Normal Attack, Charged Attack, or Plunging. While in this state, he’ll gain a ton of boosts that only add up when you include his passives. Altogether, the list includes:
- His Geo Damage cannot be overridden, such as from Chongyun’s Burst, C6 Bennett or other attack-altering characters.
- Increased Attack Speed as well as Attack based on his Defense.
- His 1st and 3rd charged attacks will resupply a stack to his Superlative Superstrength Stack. This will help you get in a second barrage of charged attacks during his Burst.
- Decreases Itto’s Elemental and Physical Damage Resistance by 20 percent. This will help keep from Itto getting interrupted while he’s on his damage-dealing spree.
The Triage of Weapons
As a DPS, Itto’s got a pretty unique way about him. Like Albedo, his damage is further increased by the amount of Defense built into him. Because of this, there are only a handful of claymores that will actually do Itto justice. At the same time, that makes it incredibly easy for you to build him. For his best option, naturally, you’re going to want his Signature weapon, Redhorn Stonethresher, which is built on Crit Damage and increases the character’s Defense by 28 percent just by equipping. His normal attack damage is further increased by 40 percent of Itto’s Defense so building your characters with the right artifact sets will boost Itto’s damage. Two other weapons that are good for just about any DPS that is left on the field long-term are going to be Blackcliff Slasher and Serpent Spine. Both are based on Crit Rate and Damage, with passives that increase the damage the longer the character is on the floor and taking down enemies. However, since these are considered options where you likely have to spend more money or save up for Paimon’s Bargains, they aren’t the most Free-To-Play friendly. So one of the best options thereafter for Itto is Whiteblind. Whiteblind is a weapon you are able to craft right from starting with Mondstadt and has the main stat of Defense, which will give a hefty boost to Itto’s damage. Not only does this weapon further increase Attack and Defense whenever it hits enemies, but because Whiteblind can be crafted at the table, it can be refined to its highest peak of five. This will only increase the percentage of the damage increased for Attack and Defense and prove to be a strong secondary option for Itto.
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Artifact Set You Need and a Half To Get You By
Luckily, if you were expecting Itto’s run then you could have prepared for the artifact domain. Unlike many of the characters that are released now, Itto’s domain is readily available for grinding without any more exploration or puzzle-solving on your part. Husk of Opulent Dreams, in the Inazuman Domain Slumbering Court, is the best set that you can put on Itto and it’s recommended that you go ahead and try for the four pieces even if you have some that are not all that good and ready yet. At two pieces, Husk boosts the character’s defense by 30 percent and at four pieces, it’ll increase both defense and Geo damage.
Although Husk was one of the artifacts that was created at the time that Hoyoverse was experimenting with very long and detailed descriptions. Along with the on-screen effect that often gets lost along with the very pretty, but very blasphemous numbers that will explode across your screen. Husk of Opulent Dreams at four pieces uses an effect called the Curiosity that can work in two ways, by keeping the character on the field and dealing damage with Geo attacks. Each Geo attack will gain a Curiosity stack that has a max of five but will increase both Geo Damage and Defense. The other path is when the character is off the field, they will gain stacks every few seconds so they can be ready at full damage potential when they are brought to the field. Whether you have Itto off the field or on the field at all times, his cooldown for Ushi is fairly short and his damage will only increase if you continue to deal damage with him while he’s in his Burst stage.
The only issue with Husk of Opulent Dreams is that it’s pretty far into Inazuma and not every player has gotten there. Good second choices for Itto are going to be a bit closer to home and easier to access by way of Liyue. The Domain of Guyun in the Guyun Stone Islands has a set called the Archaic Petra that boosts Geo Damage by 15 percent. Its four-piece stats won’t do much for Itto, but combined with Noblesse Oblige that will increase Elemental Burst damage by 20 percent and you’ll have a steady build for Itto until you can venture further into Inazuma.
Artifact Stats to Focus for DPS
As a DPS, Itto is pretty straightforward when it comes to building up his sub-stats. Crit Rate and Crit Damage are going to be the way to go, but instead of going for Attack, you’re going to want to aim more toward Defense. Attack won’t hurt, but Defense will offer Itto a better boost and as mentioned before, HP percentage is a good cushion for Ushi. The longer that Ushi is on the field, the more he is able to take hits and help you build up your Stacks. For your Main Stats, Defense Percentage is going to be what you want for your Sands. And for the Goblet, you’re going to want to try and nab a good Geo Damage Bonus. Depending on how much Crit Rate or Crit Damage you have, you can for either when it comes to the crown. But Itto is one of the characters in Genshin Impact that deals a lot of attacks, so unless your Crit Rate is 13 percent, then you’re going to want your find a Crit Damage Crown.
Talent Focus and Priority
Optimally, because Itto’s attacks are going to be his Normal Attack and Burst, those are the talent trees you are going to want to focus on. Itto’s damage can come from his Normal Attack and his Geo Damage so whether you are using his Superlative Superstrength Stacks off or on his burst, he’s still going to do some hefty damage to your opponents.
But if you’ve pulled for Itto, then you didn’t pull for him alone and by this time, you must have seen the incredible damage that can come from flinging Ushi onto the field of battle. You thought your supports were going to down your enemies before your DPS did, but Ushi is the one who can easily steal the limelight away from Itto by butting heads with any poor Hilichurl that happens to get in your way.
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So when ascending his Talent trees, you’re going to want to focus on his Burst, then his Normal Attack, and lastly, his Skill because if you’re going to pull for a five-star, what’s the harm in spoiling them?
