I really wanted to pull for Dehya. I really did. She seemed like everything I would want in a Genshin Impact character — a buff lady with cat ears, a giant flaming sword, and a protective streak. I soon realized her kit just wasn’t going to do it for me, though.
It was late on February 28, just after the Genshin Impact 3.5 update went live. I played her in the trial run and nodded along with the damage, thinking she didn’t have much firepower but whatever. I was about 20 pulls in before I thought, wait, wasn’t that not mcuh damage? What am I even going to use her for? She didn’t seem to fit into any of my teams. Even in the ones I could shove her into, I couldn’t help but feel she paled compared to my other units.
My gut was right. It seemed like the internet decided that Dehya was the new worst Genshin Impact 5-star character overnight. Many Genshin Impact content creators have agreed that she’s underwhelming at the very least. Many of us expected that even before her banner from her leaked kit information, but now it’s official.
Dehya was marketed as a “tank” character, which she is to some extent. Her Elemental Skill increases resistance to interruption, the ability to keep attacking without being knocked over by an enemy attack, so that teammates can attack as if they are shielded without actually having a shield. However, her abilities don’t do much else to serve her teammates or even her own kit.
Her Elemental Burst, her main source of damage, empowers her with Pyro-charged fists for a short time. However, it limits her damage to what’s directly in front of her and can even push enemies away. It also only lasts 4 seconds, which doesn’t give her much time to rack up damage before a long cooldown. You also can’t use other normal attacks or her Elemental Skill while her Burst is active.
She needs tons of Energy Recharge in the form of artifacts, weapons, and teammates to keep her Burst charged enough to do as much damage as possible. Many testers resorted to mono Pyro teams to buff her attack and generate more energy to charge her skills. One popular comp uses Dehya, Xiangling, Bennett, and Kazuha, but even then, that means teaming Dehya with three of the best characters in the game to just make her work. Other characters like Childe or Ayato could easily do more damage with the same teammates.
Dehya’s Elemental Skill is probably the most useful, considering it intermittently applies Pyro to enemies while it’s active and triggers the resistance to interruption. That’s why some players are using her as a sub DPS. There are many other characters that can more consistently apply Pyro like Xiangling and Thoma, though. Dehya’s skill only applies Pyro every 2.5 seconds, while Thoma’s can do it every 1 second. She can work as a sub DPS, but she simply isn’t as efficient as existing characters.
Most Pyro characters (sorry, Amber) will be better worth your investment. Hu Tao, a Pyro reaction-based powerhouse, excels in teams with characters that can consistently apply Hydro like Xingqiu and Yelan. Yoimiya, while arguably not as efficient as Hu Tao, can do the same and work in teams where long-range is necessary. Dehya can’t trigger reactions with these popular sub-DPS characters because her Burst translates her attacks into Burst DMG.
It doesn’t help that there’s already a decent Pyro Claymore DPS on the roster: Diluc. The Dawn Winery tycoon has been part of Genshin Impact roster since launch and was considered a “carry” for the first few updates before other 5-stars outclassed him. Even then, at least his kit focuses on attack power and can more easily react with other elements.
The bottom line? Dehya isn’t meta. Of course, that shouldn’t stop you if you really like her as a character. I personally think her character design is one of the most appealing in the game, but I’d prefer to spend my gems on a more flexible 5-star that can fit into many teams.
I knew I should’ve pulled for Alhaitham instead.
