Thoma Guide and Best Builds for Genshin Impact

Strengths

• Powerful shield from both his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst.
• Consistent Off-Field Pyro application making him great for Burgeon reactions.

Weaknesses

• Extremely high Energy requirements for his Elemental Burst.
• Elemental Skill has a long cooldown.
• Low damage outside of the Pyro he brings for Burgeon reactions.

Thoma's main role since the release of Dendro is as a support for Burgeon-related reactions. His slow Pyro application reduces the chances of Burning occurring with his shields reducing any damage as a result of the reactions.

Thoma's best weapons focus on improving his Energy Recharge with Kitain Cross Spear also increasing his Elemental Mastery which helps with Burgeon reactions. Ideally you want Kitain Cross Spear to be at higher Refinements to further help with Energy generation.

Favonius Lance is also a great option for Thoma and can often be better at higher refinements. That being said, it does require you to also build CRIT Rate on top of other stats so that you can proc the weapons effects. This can ultimately make him harder to build or require additional investment.

Flower of Paradise Lost is Thoma's best artifact set with this build. Not only does it increase Elemental Mastery, it also increases Burgeon DMG. Energy Recharge advice have been listed below the second build.

Normal Attack: Swiftshatter Spear is not an important talent to level, you will very rarely use it.

In non-Burgeon groups, Thoma can be solely played as a shielder used to support your team. This focuses on HP instead of Elemental Mastery with entirely different artifact sets.

Thoma's best weapons are Favonius Lance, Dialogues of the Desert Sages and Engulfing Lightning. Desert Sages provides better shielding due to its HP % stat however Thoma is unable to benefit from the Energy passive. Favonius is regardless, still better due to also providing additional utility for the rest of the team. Both Favonius and Engulfing are great at lowering your Energy requirements.

Noblesse Oblige is the best artifact set to use on Thoma when played as a support. This allows him to further support the team by providing a great ATK buff.

Normal Attack: Swiftshatter Spear is not an important talent to level, you will very rarely use it.

Thoma has various Energy Recharge breakpoints depending on his weapon choices and what Constellations Thoma has. Generally you want around 220 - 230% with Long-Term Planning helping to reduce requirements by around 25%.

Favonius Lance lowers your requirements by around 20% or alternatively Kitain Cross Spear lowers requirements by roughly 5% per Refinement.

Both Blazing Blessing and Crimson Ooyoroi create shields when used which scale based on his max HP. They also have a unique effect of allowing Thoma's shields to stack on each other further increasing your shield strength instead of replacing them like other shield characters. With the effects of Imbricated Armor, the first 5 stacked shields gain increased shield strength.

Thoma is great for Burgeon! With his Elemental Burst Crimson Ooyoroi, you can slowly apply Pyro DMG when your active character uses a Normal Attack. This provides Thoma with the perfect amount of Pyro application to create Burgeon without Burning too frequently.

Thomas passive Snap and Swing provides a 20% chance of doubling your fishing yield in Inazuma. Thoma does not need to be in the party for this to take effect, simply having Thoma makes it easier to catch Inazuman fish.

Listed below are several team comps for Thoma. The first being based around Burgeon reactions and the rest he primarily focuses on shielding.

Burgeon teams require 1 Hydro, 1 Dendro and 1 Pyro (in this case Thoma). The final position can be filled by various characters with a second Dendro character such as Yaoyao and Kirara being great choices. Fischl is often one of the best non-Dendro options due to their powerful off-field Electro DMG.

The first example uses Kamisato Ayato as a Hydro DPS but various Dendro characters can be used on-field instead such as Alhaitham and even Baizhu.

Thoma can be an excellent support for Hu Tao providing not only shielding but also Pyro Resonance to increase damage. Either Xingqiu or Yelan work best here to facilitate Vaporize reactions while Anemo characters such as Sucrose and Kaedehara Kazuha provide Swirling and the effects of Viridescent Venerer.

Thoma can be a great support for Wanderer by ensuring Wanderer does not get knocked out of the air when trying to deal damage and also by offering Pyro Resonance due to being paired with Bennett.

Thoma is a capable support for Arlecchino teams for both Overload and Vaporize being possible. Arlecchino can not be healed through normal means making a shielder perfect, Thoma specifically helps due to Arlecchino being a Normal Attack DPS so you can easily trigger Fiery Collapse.