Gameplay tips and character summary
We’ve discussed Thoma’s weapons, artifacts, and talent priorities in an in-depth manner already. So, do we actually want him in our squad?
Thoma can definitely help out our team thanks to his kit. He’ll primarily act as a “shieldbot” character thanks to his Blazing Barrier utility. This shield, created by his elemental skill, as well as a proc from his elemental burst, scales off his max HP. Moreover, his Flaming Assault passive/ascension talent ensures that the proc (Fiery Collapse) gets stronger based on a percentage of his max HP, too. In short, we should be fine as long as we stack HP% stats.
Another key factor is that the Blazing Barrier shield can have its absorption stack and its duration refreshed, as long as you’ve got a decent rotation. The Fiery Collapse procs are triggered every second by normal attacks from any active character, and the entire ability itself lasts 15 seconds. Meanwhile, his elemental skill spawns a shield once it’s cast.
Thoma is somewhat like Zhongli due to HP-based shield scaling. However, his burst procs will be akin to the off-field DPS that you get from Albedo. If you alternate between Thoma’s skill and burst, and ensure regular procs, you can have long-lasting shields and extra DPS throughput. You should do fine with Thoma acting as support/off-field DPS. You’ll want to pair him with characters that rely often on normal attacks, like Hu Tao (Pyro resonance + pop skill + normal/charged rotation + shielded for survivability), Yoimiya (Pyro resonance + pop skills + quick-firing ranged shots), or Childe/Tartaglia (Vaporize + pop skill + hits with the Hydro daggers still count as normal attacks).
Genshin Impact is available via its official website. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
