Three ways to play Arataki Itto as a DPS character in Genshin Impact

Befitting of someone with the title of gang leader, Arataki Itto boasts a great amount of strength on the battlefield, acting as the main damage-dealer for the party. Because of his abilities, Itto is also a bit more versatile than he may initially seem. Here are three ways to play Arataki Itto as a Main Damage-Per-Second character.

Artifacts

Wielding a claymore and the Geo element, Arataki Itto's passive ability allows his Attack to be increased by a percentage of his Defense. His Critical Rate will increase with leveling. While using his Elemental Burst, Itto's attacks are all overridden with the Geo element, causing Geo Damage. Because of all this, players will want Itto's equipped artifacts to have the following Main Stat effects:

• Timepiece - Defense Percentage
• Goblet - Geo Damage Percentage
• Circlet - Critical Damage Percentage

The desired sub-stat effects for Arataki Itto's artifacts will depend on the type of build that players are going for, but Defense stats will always benefit Itto.

Related: Who is Arataki Itto in Genshin Impact?

Sturdy Oni King

The Sturdy Oni King build goes all-in on maximizing Arataki Itto's Defense, which in turn increases his Attack when using Arataki Kesagiri or his Elemental Burst. This increase in Defense will also help with Itto's survivability in battle.

Players will want to get their hands on a four-piece Husk Of Opulent Dreams artifact set and Itto's signature weapon, the Redhorn Stonethresher, which provide the following benefits:

• Set - Increases Defense by 30 percent
• Set - While on the field, the equipped character gains one Curiosity stack after successfully hitting opponents with a Geo attack. When not on the field, the equipped character will gain one Curiosity stack every three seconds. Up to four Curiosity stacks can be held at once, each stack providing a six percent increase to both Defense and Geo Damage
• Weapon - Increases Defense by 20 percent
• Weapon - Critical Damage sub-stat
• Weapon - At the first refinement level, increases Attack and Charged Attack Damage by 28 percent of the equipped character Defense

For this artifact set, players should focus on Defense Percentage and Attack Percentage as the sub-stats. With the max amount of stacks built up, the base benefits provided by this artifact and weapon combo will increase Itto's Defense by 74 percent and Geo Damage by 24 percent.

Team

This build won't be relying much on Itto's Elemental Skill since it's focused on slashing away, so it benefits from a team capable of creating elemental reactions or coordinated attacks. An example would be:

• Gorou - Both his Elemental Skill and Burst will increase Itto's defense, while his Passive Skill grants a 25 percent increase to defense for the whole party after using his burst
• Raiden Ei - Her Elemental Skill creates a small ball of Electro, firing off coordinated attacks alongside Itto and applying the Electro status to opponents while also increasing Itto's Burst damage
• Xingqiu - His Elemental Burst creates floating Hydro swords, providing coordinated attacks alongside Itto and applying the Wet status while also absorbing some damage from opponents

Gorou will raise the team's Defense, while Raiden Ei's Elemental Skill and Xingqiu's Elemental Burst will attack alongside Itto, mixing and applying the Electro-Charged Elemental Reaction to opponents.

Energetic Oni King

The Energetic Oni King focuses on building up Energy Recharge, increasing the rate of Elemental Particle collection and allowing Arataki Itto to use his Elemental Burst more frequently. Players should still invest in Defense, though, as this will increase Itto's Attack while using his Burst.

The best artifacts for this build are the two-piece Husk Of Opulent Dreams and two-piece Emblem Of Severed Fates sets, along with the Favonius Greatsword as the chosen weapon. They provide the following benefits:

• Set - Increases Defense by 30 percent
• Set - Increases Energy Recharge by 20 percent
• Weapon - Energy Recharge sub-stat
• Weapon - At the first refinement level, Critical hits have a 60 percent chance to generate a small amount of Elemental Particles, regenerating six energy for the equipped character once every twelve seconds

For the artifact sub-stats of this build, players will benefit from focusing on Defense Percentage and Energy Recharge. The base benefits provided by this artifact and weapon combo will increase Itto's Defense by 30 percent and Energy Recharge by 20 percent overall.

Team

Energetic Oni King will see players using Arataki Itto's Elemental Skill more often than Sturdy Oni King, but Itto will still benefit greatly from a team that generates Elemental Particles. Like Sturdy Oni King, though, Gorou and Xingqiu fit his team well. An example would be:

• Gorou - Both his Elemental Skill and Burst will increase Itto's defense, while his Passive Skill grants a 25 percent increase to defense for the whole party after using his burst
• Xingqiu - His Elemental Burst creates floating Hydro swords, providing coordinated attacks alongside Itto and applying the Wet status while also absorbing some damage from opponents
• Kaeya - His Passive Skill allows his Elemental Skill to generate extra Elemental Particles when freezing opponents

Gorou plays the same role in this team: raising the team's Defense. Xinqiu's Elemental Burst will attack alongside Itto and apply the Wet status to opponents, while Kaeya's Elemental Skill will apply the Frozen status to Wet opponents and generate Elemental Particles for Itto.

Related: How to farm Riftborn Regalia in Genshin Impact

Healthy Oni King

The Healthy Oni King build focuses on raising Arataki Itto's Health, increasing the duration of Itto's Elemental Skill. This allows Ushi to remain on the field for a longer period of time, granting Itto more Superlative Stacks and providing a distraction for opponents. Defense remains important here, as it will increase the Attack of Itto's Arataki Kesagiri slashes.

The artifacts that fit Healthy Oni King best are the two-piece Husk Of Opulent Dreams and two-piece Tenacity Of The Millelith sets, and The Bell as Itto's weapon of choice. They provide the following benefits:

• Set - Increases Defense by 30 percent
• Set - Increases Health by 20 percent
• Weapon - Health Percentage sub-stat
• Weapon - At the first refinement level, taking damage generates a shield, absorbing damage up to 20 percent of the equipped character's max Health. This shield can only be triggered once every 45 seconds and will last for ten seconds or until broken. The equipped character's Damage will be increased by 12 percent while protected by a shield

Players should invest in Defense Percentage and Health Percentage as the main artifact sub-stats for this build. With a shield active, the base benefits provided by this artifact and weapon combo will increase Itto's Defense by 30 percent, Health by 20 percent, and Damage by 12 percent overall.

Team

Arataki Itto's Elemental Skill will be heavily relied upon with the Healthy Oni King build. Ushi will draw in opponents while granting Itto Superlative Stacks, allowing Itto to use continuous Arataki Kesagiri slashes more often. As such, this build benefits from a team that can create shields and help Itto's Damage output. An example would be:

• Zhongli - His Elemental Skill creates a shield with 150 percent damage absorption against all Elemental and Physical Damage. This shield also decreases opponent Elemental Resistance and Physical Resistance in a small Area of Effect by 20 percent
• Bennett - His Elemental Burst is an Area of Effect attack with the ability to either heal characters or buff their Attack, all depending on how much Health the character has remaining
• Beidou - Her Elemental Burst increases the character's Resistance to interruption and decreases Damage taken. Normal and Charged Attacks create a lightning discharge that can jump between opponents

Zhongli Elemental Skill will create shields to protect Itto and decrease opponent's Resistance, while Bennett's Elemental Burst will typically buff Itto's Attack. Beidou's Burst will attack alongside Itto, dealing damage and applying Electro to opponents.

You can't go wrong

Remember: as long as you invest at least a little into Arataki Itto's Defense, there isn't a wrong way to build him. The builds listed above are meant to be helpful suggestions, so don't be afraid to experiment with different ideas. Use Itto in a way that works for you and how you want to play Genshin Impact. No matter how you choose to build him, playing as Arataki Itto is sure to be a smash!

Looking for more great Genshin Impact content? Check out Archaic Petra Artifact Set: Stats, how to get, and who can use it in Genshin Impact on Pro Game Guides.