Arlecchino enters the fray in Genshin Impact version 4.6! Here's how ...

Genshin Impact version 4.6 is finally here, and with it comes the long-awaited debut of the fan-favourite Fatui Harbinger Arlecchino! As the fourth-ranked Harbinger, Arlecchino boasts power rivaled by very few in Teyvat, and she fittingly looks to be a very powerful Main DPS character.

Arlecchino is a 5-star Pyro Polearm user and is the first character in the game to make use of the 'Bond of Life' mechanic in her kit, using it to empower her normal attacks and heal herself. And as a Pyro character, Arlecchino can also take advantage of the powerful Pyro-related elemental reactions like Vaporize, Melt, and Overload to further boost her damage output.

If you were lucky enough to have pulled Arlecchino, then read on as we break down everything you need to know in order to build this powerful Fatui Harbinger!

Arlecchino is a main DPS character that uses the Bond of Life mechanic to empower her attacks and heal herself, as she is unable to receive any other forms of healing when she is in battle.

If you don't know what Bond of Life is, it absorbs healing for the character based on its base value and prevents the character from being healed, and clears after healing equal to its value is obtained. Before Arlecchino became the first character to apply Bond of Life to herself, it was only previously applied by certain weapons and enemies.

When Arlecchino has a Bond of Life active that is equal to 30% of her Max HP or more, then her normal attacks, Invitation to a Beheading, will be turned into Masque of the Red Death, which allows her normal, charged, and plunging attacks to deal Pyro DMG. This Pyro infusion cannot be overridden.

When in the Masque of the Red Death state, Arlecchino's normal attacks will deal extra DMG to enemies that scales off her ATK multiplied by a certain ratio of her Bond of Life percentage. This will also consume 7.5% of her current Bond of Life and reduce the cooldown of her skill.

Arlecchino's skill, All is Ash, lets her summon forth Balemoon Bloodfire as she dashes forward and deals area-of-effect Pyro DMG to any opponents hit while also applying the 'Blood-Debt Directive' debuff on them.

Blood-Debt Directive lasts for 30 seconds and deals 1 instance of Pyro DMG to the enemy that has the debuff every 5 seconds for 2 instances. And when Arlecchino uses her charged attack or her burst, she will absorb and clear nearby Blood-Debt Directives, with each Blood-Debt Directive granting her a Bond of Life equal to 65% of her Max HP.

The maximum value of the Bond of Life Arlecchino can gain through Blood-Debt Directives within 35 seconds of using her skill is 145% of her Max HP. Using her skill again during this duration will restart its duration and the limit on the value of Bond of Life she may gain from Blood-Debt Directives.

Meanwhile, Arlecchino's burst, Balemoon Rising, unleashes her great wing of Balemoon Bloodfire as she absorbs and clears Blood-Debt Directives around her. She also deals area-of-effect Pyro DMG before clearing the cooldown of her skill and healing herself.

The healing Arlecchino receives from her burst is also based on her Bond of Life value and ATK.

Arlecchino's A2 passive, The Balemoon Alone May Know, gives her a permanent 40% Pyro DMG Bonus in battle but makes it so that she can only be healed through her burst.

Her A4 passive, Agony Alone May Be Repaid, makes Blood-Debt Directives have the following characteristics:

Arlecchino will be granted a Bond of Life worth 130% of her Max HP when an opponent to which she herself applied a Directive is defeated.

5 seconds after a Directive is applied, it will be upgraded to a Blood-Debt Due. When absorbed, it will instead grant Arlecchino a Bond of Life worth 130%.

A Bond of Life created in the aforementioned ways cannot exceed the original limit on the value of Bonds of Life obtained through All Is Ash.

Finally, Arlecchino's A6 passive, Strength Alone Can Defend, gives her 1% All Elemental and Physical RES for every 100 ATK she has in excess of 1,000. The maximum RES increase she can gain this way for each stat is 20%.

When leveling up Arlecchino's abilities, focus on her skill and normal attacks first before her burst, though you want to have them all maxed out eventually.

In battle, use Arlecchino's skill first before switching to your supports and activating any abilities and buffs they may have. You will then switch back to Arlecchino, use her charged attack to absorb Blood-Debt Directives from nearby enemies before using her normal attack combo.

After that, use Arlecchino's burst to deal more DMG, heal her, and reset her skill's cooldown in order to restart your rotation until your enemies have been reduced to ashes.

Arlecchino's best weapon is her signature, Crimson Moon's Semblance, not just because it's designed to synergise perfectly with her kit, but also because it turns into a scythe when wielded by her! Best-in-slot and best-in-drip.

Arlecchino's signature has a 674 base ATK and a 22% Crit Rate substat at max level. It also grants her a Bond of Life equal to 25% of her Max HP when her charged attack hits an opponent. This effect can be triggered once every 14 seconds.

In addition, when she has a Bond of Life, they gain a 12% DMG Bonus; if the value of the Bond of Life is greater than or equal to 30% of Max HP, then gain an additional 24% DMG Bonus.

If you don't have Arlecchino's signature, then 5-star alternatives you can go for are the Staff of Homa, Primordial Jade-Winged Spear, Staff of the Scarlet Sands, and Calamity Queller.

If you only have 4-star Polearms available, then your best bets are the Deathmatch from the Battle Pass or the event-exclusive Missive Windspear. You can also go for the 3-star weapon White Tassel since it has a Crit Rate substat and a passive that buffs normal attacks.

Arlecchino's best-in-slot artifact set is the new 4-piece Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy set. It gives her a 18% ATK buff with its 2-piece bonus while its 4-piece bonus gives her a stacking 18% DMG bonus for 6 seconds and 3 max stacks whenever the value of Bond of Life on the wearer increases or decreases.

But since Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy is a new set and will take time to farm, you can go for the 4-piece Gladiator's Finale set as a placeholder. It also grants her a 18% ATK buff with its 2-piece bonus while its 4-piece bonus gives her a 35% normal attack DMG buff.

The main stats you should go for in Arlecchino's artifacts are ATK% for the sands, Pyro DMG Bonus for the goblet, and a Crit Rate/DMG circlet. Substats you should go for in order of priority are Crit Rate/DMG, ATK%, Energy Recharge, and Elemental Mastery.

As a Pyro character, Arlecchino's best teammates are those that can help her take advantage of the powerful Pyro-related elemental reactions to boost her damage output. And since she is only able to heal herself using her burst in battle, you can't run her with any healers and must instead go for a shielder for protection.

For a Vaporize Arlecchino team, you should team her up with either or both of Yelan and Xingqiu. For Overload, go with Chevreuse and Fischl or the Raiden Shogun. For Melt, go with Rosaria or Layla.

The fourth slot in an Arlecchino team will either go towards an Anemo buffer or a shielder. Her best bet for an Anemo buffer is obviously Kazuha, but you can also go with Sucrose. Your best bet for a shielder will be Zhongli, though you can also go with Layla or Beidou if you want Arlecchino in Melt or Overload teams, respectively.

Finally, you can also slot Arlecchino into a Mono Pyro team alongside Bennett and Xiangling. While Arlecchino can't be healed by Bennett's burst, its massive ATK buff is very much welcome alongside his ability to act as a battery for both Arlecchino and Xiangling. The fourth slot in this team can then go to either a shielder or Anemo buffer, depending on whether you want more survivability or damage.

Genshin Impact version 4.6 was released on 24 April and features the debut of Arlecchino alongside reruns for Lyney, Wanderer, and Baizhu. It also features a new weekly and world boss, two new areas in Fontaine, and tons of other new content.

For more information on what's new in version 4.6, check here.

After version 4.6 comes version 4.7, which will feature three new characters in Clorinde, Sigewinne, and Sethos. Genshin Impact version 4.7 is expected to be released in June.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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Arlecchino is finally playable with the release of Genshin Impact version 4.6! Here's how you build Arlecchino plus her best weapons, artifacts, and teams. (Photo: HoYoverse)