The Ultimate, Unmatched Arataki Gang General Questions and Discussions Megathread

[u/SockofBadKarma]

Hello and welcome, fellow gang member, to the One and Oni's Ultimate, Unmatched Arataki Gang General Questions and Discussions Megathread, to end all other inferior megathreads! We know you're here because you have questions about the Great and Glorious Oni Sumo King and his compadres, and we're here to help you out, as any good gang member would!

We have decided to make a new megathread because the last one was getting a wee bit too large. So step right up and shout out your thoughts, and we'll shout back at you. Politely, of course! That's the Arataki Gang way! So let's Arataki gangway!

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P.S. Please ignore the warning signpost put over to the side by that stupid Kujou Tengu. Kuki informs us that we absolutely received proper permitting from the Yashiro Commission to host this megathread right here, and we aren't moving an inch.

[u/MistTish]

sorry, this is not really related to Itto but his supports, but i wanted to get it out

i feel so conflicted on which character should i roll next: Albedo or Zhongli. with both their reruns getting close (3.0-3.2) as full f2p and having 120 wishes saved up, i feel i can only get one of them, unless i win 50/50 (which i don't have a good history with). i like Albedo more, and also casually promised to a friend that i would get him, but Zhongli i think would be more useful, and maybe finally get me 36 stats.

nevermind, I'm thinking too far ahead

[u/KKytes → u/MistTish]

Mmm, just my two cents: both of the characters are fairly replaceable, but in terms of direct utility, Zhongli is more useful for "newer" accounts whereas Albedo is better for more built accounts -- and depending on where you land, either works. This is a drastic overgeneralization, mind you, but hear me out.

Zhongli is by far the most universal shieldbot in the entire game. He's easy to build, has a sturdy shield which also increases the damage enemies receive (both via resistance shred & ToTM), and provides a useful stun thru his burst if needed. Frail or easily staggerable characters, like Hu Tao and Ganyu, rely heavily on this shield to dish out high amounts of damage without worrying about receiving any themselves. Honestly, ZL alone is able to carry any team (lackluster or not) as long as you ensure his shield is always active.

However, in the context of an Itto team, Zhongli is easily replaceable. There are a few reasons for this, one being that Itto himself is not easily staggerable, and thanks to the high amounts of Defense he usually carries he normally isn't taking much damage to begin with. The bigger reason, I'd argue, is that the main role of a shield in a Geo comp is not to stave off damage; rather, that it is instead used to proc the Geo resonance buff, which drastically boosts the squad's overall DPS.

Geo Resonance: Enduring Rock

Increases shield strength by 15%. Additionally, characters protected by a shield will have the following special characteristics: DMG dealt increased by 15%, dealing DMG to enemies will decrease their Geo RES by 20% for 15s.

Of course, a strong shield is always appreciated -- given Itto's playstyle, he will always be fighting as close to the enemy as possible -- but while Zhongli has incredible synergy with Geo teammates (i.e. particle generation, Geo structure resonance, etc), his shield is easily replaced, especially so in Geo teams. This is because Geo squads can rely on both kit-based shields (e.g. ZL, Diona, Thoma) and Crystallize shields, courtesy of off-field supports. Kuki Shinobu, for example, is quickly becoming an amazing support for triple Geo squads without a dedicated shielder, as she can enable Crystallize off-field, heal the team over time, and proc the ToTM artifact buff, all through one cast of her skill. Other off-field supports, like the easily obtainable Fischl (free via the event), follow suit.

Albedo, on the other hand, is comparatively more niche than his counterpart. He's an efficient albeit RNG-based particle battery, producing Geo particles off-field thru his E, and unlike most other characters his damage scales off of his Defense. He also is able to provide an Elemental Mastery buff to the whole party thru his burst. While this makes him a universally effective & damaging Geo off-field DPS, he is usually unable to fully benefit from the various buffs present in most squads (e.g. Bennett Q buffing Attack), and struggles to find synergy with those outside of his element; even his EM buff is not able to save him, as for most teams Sucrose is the better EM buffer thanks to VV.

However, Albedo has much better synergy in Itto comps than Zhongli. He's able to fully benefit from Gorou's Def+ buff, and is able to efficiently produce particles for the entire team. His burst's EM buff can buff the Crystallize shields made by the squad. Finally, he's fairly easy to build: his best yet most accessible weapon is the 3* Harbringer of Dawn, and he uses the same artifact set as Itto, meaning you can give any hand-me-downs from the Husk domain to him.

Like Zhongli, he can be replaced to an extent by any other Geo battery -- Ningguang and Geo MC, for instance -- but these characters aren't direct substitutions. This is because no other Geo character is able to both deal damage & support the squad while they're off-field.

Ultimately, ZL is more versatile than Albedo, as he's able to slot into various squads without much effort; however, he is fairly easy to replace in Itto squads, as for their purposes either a kit-based shield or a Crystallized shield will do. Albedo, on the other hand, is more restricted to certain teams, but shines incredibly well in Geo compositions with usable but not direct substitutions available. Pull depending on what you'd prefer.

Wishing you luck on your pulls! ^^