If you pull for Itto, then he’ll perform great. If you don’t, then you’re not missing out on anything. At baseline, he’s not among the top DPS units in-game. But he has a high damage potential because of his supports. Having a C6 Gorou and Albedo significantly increases his damage output and value. Because of this, there are times when he can be a good or bad pull depending on your account. Here’s a summary of these scenarios: Note: This is based on meta only. If you like Itto regardless of his power level, don’t let this stop you from pulling him.
Pros & Cons
Itto Strengths
Itto has a very well-designed and straightforward kit. He does have attack combos that further increase his damage, but they aren’t significant. You will always deal good damage as long as you maximize his charged attacks. Plus, multiple parts of his kit make his gameplay very smooth – namely:
Increased resistance to interruption – This lets him continuously perform attacks without getting staggered by opponents’ hits. No stamina issues – His Superlative Strength stack mechanic lets him perform charged attacks without consuming stamina. Auto-tracking – His charged attacks automatically shift him towards opponents. Great survivability – Stacking DEF inherently makes him tankier than most characters.
These make him feel great to play for most players – both for casuals and min-maxers. Itto uses niche supports that aren’t often used – namely, Gorou and Albedo. This makes team drafting a lot easier. It lets you comfortably build another Abyss team without sacrificing the teams you already use. For instance, Bennett is a highly contested unit – most teams want him in their team. Since Itto isn’t reliant on him, you can easily use Bennett for another team. Because of this, Itto’s an especially good pull if you need another Abyss team. Itto is a hypercarry unit. This means that he spends the most field time and deals most of the team’s damage. So Itto’s the only unit you need to heavily invest in – unless you’re using a sub-DPS teammate like Albedo. This is especially great for players who may lack the time and resources for building multiple characters. And even with Albedo who needs decent investment, he shares the same artifact with Itto. You’ll very likely get an artifact set for Albedo while farming for Itto. Whiteblind is Itto’s standard 4-star weapon. This is a craftable Mondstadt claymore that’s accessible to all players. Itto benefits a lot from its DEF% secondary stat. It’s basically a strong option that outperforms most 5-star and 4-star weapons.
Itto Weaknesses
Itto does have great particle generation, but he still needs a good amount of Energy Recharge and energy management. 140% Energy Recharge is generally enough to comfortably charge his burst every rotation. Still, proper energy management is needed. This can be done in two notable ways:
Funneling Equipping Gorou with the 4-piece Exile artifact set and a Favonius Warbow
Funneling refers to casting a teammate’s skill and then switching to Itto. This lets Itto catch the generated energy particles to charge his burst. Characters gain more energy when on-field, so collecting energy particles on-field is especially important. Gorou’s skill and burst are often cast before Itto’s burst, so you’re likely already funneling particles by default. Equipping the 4-piece Exile artifact set on Gorou helps him charge the entire team’s bursts. Plus he also benefits from its 2-piece passive:
2-piece: Increases Energy Recharge by 20% 4-piece: Upon casting the wielder’s burst, regenerates 2 Energy for all teammates (excluding the wearer) every 2s for 6s. This effect can’t stack.
The same applies with Favonius Warbow. Using a CRIT rate circlet lets Gorou more consistently proc its passive. This generates energy particles that further help charge the team’s bursts. Two of Itto’s best teammates are limited 5-star units – Albedo and Zhongli.
Albedo is a significant damage boost to Itto’s overall team DPS. His energy generation can also decrease Itto’s Energy Recharge requirements. Zhongli is a very comfortable teammate. His strong shield enables 100% uptime on Geo Resonance buffs and removes the need for a healer.
Unlike Albedo, Zhongli can effectively be replaced by other units like Bennett and Diona.
Are Itto’s Constellation’s Worth Pulling?
Itto’s early constellations (C1 and C2) are mostly quality-of-life buffs. So if you’re already comfortable with a C0 Itto, these constellations simply aren’t worth it. Instead, you’re better off pulling for his 5-star supports, Albedo and Zhongli. Itto’s most notable constellation is his C6 – this is a really strong constellation that gives a massive, guaranteed damage boost. However, C6 is very expensive. And there’s no content in-game that will ever require 5-star constellations – pulling for C6 characters generally isn’t recommended. But! It is among the stronger C6’s in-game. If you already intend on pulling for a C6 character, Itto’s a good option. If not, then here’s a closer look at each one to help you decide.
C1: Stay a While and Listen Up
After casting Itto’s burst, he gains 2 Superlative Superstrength stacks. After 1s, he gains 1 more stack every 0.5s for 1.5s. This basically adds more charged attacks or slashes to Itto’s attack combo – but it’s not a big damage gain. There’s barely any damage difference between C0 and C1. If you already have a C1 Itto, his C2 can be worth considering.
C2: Gather ‘Round, It’s a Brawl
After casting his burst, each Geo teammate reduces Itto’s burst cooldown and restores energy. It has a maximum of 4.5s cooldown reduction and 18 energy refund. This is mainly a quality-of-life buff that mainly decreases Itto’s energy requirements. If you’re comfortable playing Itto at C0, his C2 isn’t worth it.
C3: Horns Lowered, Coming Through
Increases his elemental skill talent by 3. This buffs Ushi’s damage. Ushi does deal a decent portion of Itto’s damage, but it’s not big enough to justify pulling for C3.
C4: Jailhouse Bread and Butter
When Itto’s burst ends, all nearby teammates gain a 20% DEF and 20% ATK for 10s. This is a good constellation that lets Itto buff himself and his teammates – but it only takes effect after his first rotation. So it’s only activated starting from the second rotation onwards. Against content that you can finish within one rotation, C4 is irrelevant.
C5: 10 Years of Hanamizaka Fame
Increases his elemental burst talent by 3. This buffs the ATK buff gained from Itto’s burst – it’s simply a big damage boost.
C6: Arataki Itto, Present!
His charged attacks deal +70% CRIT damage. And, when Itto uses his slashes, he has a 50% chance of not consuming Superlative Superstrength stacks. This is a significant damage boost – and it’s Itto’s strongest constellation. The additional stack mechanic is also good, but it’s entirely RNG and less reliable than the CRIT damage buff. So it’s harder to gauge how much of a damage gain it is.
Is Redhorn Stonethresher Worth Pulling for Itto?
Redhorn Stonethresher is Itto’s best weapon by far. It’s a great weapon that works well with every DPS claymore user, but it’s only significant for Itto. Redhorn’s main competition is the 4-star battlepass weapon, Serpent Spine – which is Itto’s 2nd best weapon option. Serpent Spine is a strong weapon that can outperform 5-star claymores at higher refinements. Plus, its passive is a lot more versatile than Redhorn. Because of this, it’s less recommended to pull for Redhorn Stonethresher if you already have Serpent Spine – especially at R5. Saving your pulls for another character or stronger weapon can be better for your account. Still, Redhorn can be a great pull depending on its rate-up banner.
Whiteblind vs. Serpent Spine for Itto
Serpent Spine is better than Whiteblind. Even at R1 with full stacks, Serpent Spine outperforms an R5 Whiteblind. So if you already have Serpent Spine, there’s no need to craft Whiteblind. It already works great on Itto.
