Intro:
I've always been intrigued with Kaeya. I know a lot of people didn't bother to raise him (including myself cause I prefer catalyst and polearm), but I believe he has a lot of potential, especially considering he has the highest basic attack scaling compared to other sword users.
With the thought of raising Kaeya, Chongyun continuously comes in mind.
We all know that Chongyun is terrible if paired with a physical DPS, but what if I'm building Kaeya with cryo build?
Will Chongyun be viable, then?
P.S. Please don't bring up Diluc. He's irrelevant!
What's in this analysis?
1. Comparison between physical build and cryo build.
2. Simulation of physical build with Chongyun's support, to show how much he can lower your damage output.
Assumptions:
The calculations below will follow the following assumptions:
1. Kaeya is lv90.
2. The enemy is a lv80 hilichurl.
3. The weapon considered will be Lv90 Black Sword (BP weapon)
I tested Physical Build with Prototype Rancour as well, but it came out lower than Black Sword because of the lack of Critical Rate, so I will use Black Sword on all the cases.
4. Talent lv6, C0.
5. It'll be assumed that all of the hits crit.
6. 2 artifacts sets will be tested:
• 4-Blizzard Strayer for cryo build
• 2-Gladiator + 2-Bloodstained for physical build
The physical build will have 40% less Critical Damage. This is because it has to make up for the 20% Critical Rate bonus provided by Blizzard Strayer.
Simulation:
I usually put this on assumption, but this time, the simulation is slightly more complex than usual.
1. The "Normal Attack" will follow this pattern: 4 normal hits, then charge attack. So he won't do his fancy, time wasting blink.
2. It takes ~4 seconds for one "Normal attack" sequence. Considering Chongyun's infusion last ~12 seconds, the charged attack on the third sequence will NOT be cryo-infused.
This is the approximate timing of the simulation:
- With Chongyun:
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya ult = 1 second
Chongyun (swap + skill cast)= 2 seconds
Kaeya 1 (normal attack sequence) = 4 seconds
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya 2 = 8 seconds (Last charge attack NOT cryo-infused)
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya ult = 1 second
Chongyun = 2 seconds
Kaeya 1 = 4 seconds
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya 2 = 8 seconds (Last charge attack NOT cryo-infused)
• Total time: 34 seconds
• Total attacks: 6 Normal, 4 Skill, 2 Ult
- Without Chongyun:
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya ult = 1 second
Kaeya 2 = 8 seconds
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya 2 = 8 seconds
Kaeya ult = 1 second
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya 2 = 8 seconds
Kaeya skill = 1 second
Kaeya 1 = 4 seconds
• Total time: 34 seconds
• Total attacks: 7 Normal, 4 Skill, 2 Ult
Results:
Stat and damage overview for 4-Blizzard set.
The "Charged" under the table represent the non-cryo-infused charge attack damage.
Stat and damage overview for 2-Gladiator + 2-Bloodstained.
Simulation result:
Please note that the "total" value does not include Chongyun's skill damage.
Here you can see Chongyun greatly decrease damage output of the physical build.
Difference for each table:
I also tried simulating with only one burst, to give the cryo build less edge. This is the result:
With the difference for each table:
Pro VS Cons:
Cryo Build
Pro:
- Easier to get Critical Rate, both from cryo set and cryo resonance.
Slightly off-topic:
• Kaeya can easily play without critical rate artifacts:
5% Base Crit Rate (Thanks to Athrae for reminding me!)
15% from cryo resonance
20% from cryo set
20% if enemy is frozen
15% if you have Kaeya on C1
= 75% Critical Rate
If you also use Black Sword, that's +27% Critical Rate
Giving him 102% Critical Rate total!
- You can focus on boosting critical damage
- Easier to trigger reaction like melt
- Has more damage potential on physical-resistant enemy
Cons:
- Heavily rely on Chongyun
- Chongyun will take up one character slot
Physical build
Pro:
- Easier to use
- Has more damage potential against weak-to-physical enemies (Like the fatuis)
- Superconduct can further enhance physical damage
Cons:
- Has little elemental reaction potential
- Has to sacrifice critical damage for critical rate
Conclusion:
Chongyun is definitely viable to use as cryo DPS support.
Personal Opinion:
Ooo that was fun!
I can't wait to test this calculation on the upcoming cryo units like Rosaria and Ayaka.
Ice breaking (See what I did there?):
Bennett bullying a frostarm lawachurl
I'm sorry, Mr. Lawachurl. Perhaps you should try standing further from me so you don't catch my bad luck.
Click hereto see my other analysis
