Genshin Guide | Noelle

Beginners and veterans of Genshin Impact are no strangers to Noelle. She’s available in the Beginner’s Wish banner you get as a starting player. Because of her weapon, new players get access to the ability to break shields and ore easier, both important quality of life abilities to have in the early game.

Noelle: Overview

Noelle is a Geo greatsword user, and that has a lot of advantages and benefits. Designed to teach new players the concept of shields, she is able to cast one as well as give to allies via the Crystallize elemental reaction, when geo reacts to any other element except Anemo. A crystal is generated and anyone can pick up these crystals to gain a shield against the element that reacted to Geo (color-coded for easier identification).

Her normal attacks are a little slower than a one-handed sword user’s, but pack more damage. Like other greatsword users, Noelle’s charged attack allows her to spin, dealing melee-ranged AoE physical damage.

Her Elemental Skill, Breastplate, grants a shield and deals Geo damage around her. The shield procs Crystallize when enemies get hit, as well as having 250% absorption efficiency against Geo damage. Enemies hit by her normal and charged attacks while under the effects of the shield grant her the chance to heal all allies based on her Defense stat.

Her Elemental Burst, Sweeping Time, deals Geo damage in a large area and gives Noelle a giant version of her greatsword. During the duration of her Burst, her attacks deal Geo damage and she gains a damage buff based on her Defense stat.

Noelle is able to utilize Defense as a way to boost her offensive and support capabilities, which are beneficial in the early game. While reliance on her as a main DPS will taper off once players gain access to more characters, she proves to be a solid support and secondary DPS with a few adjustments to her build.

Noelle’s Builds

Noelle has several build paths you can take, depending on the artifacts you have. Surprisingly, players don’t need a lot of Defense investment in Noelle to make her effective in her different roles.

Weapon: Whiteblind/Wolf’s Gravestone/Serpent’s Spine
Artifacts:
4pc Gladiator
DEF% hourglass
GEO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)

Noelle can become a great DPS character thanks to the 4 set bonus of Gladiator plus her signature weapon, Whiteblind. Whiteblind is a craftable 4 star weapon from the blacksmith, and has Defense as a substat. It’s ability to give a 30% (on Refinement Rank 2) increase to Attack and Defense after four normal attacks benefits her greatly, as the Skill’s healing and her Burst’s damage scale with Defense. Combined with a Defense percentage hourglass, Noelle can take a lot of hits and her Skill will constantly keep her going, grinding enemies down with consistent damage.

Serpent’s Spine is also a great option for those with access to the Battle Pass. Because of the weapon’s ability, it benefits greatsword users who have reliable access to shields, which Noelle has in her kit as well as healing. Being able to not take damage while you attack is very important in order to get around the Serpent Spine’s self-damage ability.

Weapon: Whiteblind/Wolf’s Gravestone/Serpent’s Spine
Artifacts:
4pc Archaic Petra
DEF% hourglass
GEO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)

For more of a team-oriented build, Noelle can use a full set of Archaic Petra. Using her Skill to trigger Crystallize will allow your whole team to gain a damage bonus against the element that reacted with Geo. This is particularly helpful for your main DPS character. While Noelle won’t particularly enjoy the buff since DPS won’t be her main role, having two shields on your DPS isn’t a bad tradeoff.

Weapon: Skyward Pride
Artifacts:
2pc Archaic Petra + 2pc Bloodstained Chivalry
DEF% hourglass
GEO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)

For players lucky enough to get a Skyward Pride, Noelle can be built as a main DPS favoring physical damage bonuses. Pride’s Vacuum Blades deal physical damage, so the two-piece set bonus from Bloodstained Chivalry will apply and boost their damage. Since her abilities have a slightly longer cooldown, you will be doing physical damage bonus often. Ideally, you want to activate both her Skill and Burst at the same time in order for the Archaic Petra set bonus to trigger and give her an edge in battle.

Team Compositions

For Noelle to become a productive DPS or support, her skills need to have consistent and fast uptime. Having energy generators in your team can help her get her Skill and Burst online faster. These “battery” characters’ main task is to use their Elemental Skills then swap out in order for Noelle to gain the energy particles for herself to pop her shield and Burst.

Bennett is a good support for a DPS Noelle. His Skill produces three energy particles for Noelle to absorb, which will help a lot in fueling her Burst for maximum DPS. Bennett’s Burst also provides a damage bonus and healing when needed, but with Noelle having her own healing, it won’t be as important.

Xingqui is a good support DPS pair with Noelle’s own type of support. Since his Burst easily procs hydro on enemies, Noelle can take advantage of this thanks to her Skill triggering Crystallize, which can be another shield for your main DPS.

Diona’s Skill provides an additional shield to alternate with, and her Burst provides cryo procs, as well as additional healing for your main DPS.

Fragile DPS characters like Keqing can greatly benefit from Noelle’s support. Her Skill gives a very strong shield that will absorb a lot of damage, allowing your Keqing to tank a few big hits while dishing out big damage numbers on her own.

Diluc is another main DPS that pairs well with Noelle. Since Diluc can easily fall prey to his own element, Noelle’s shield will make sure that he is protected from burning grass in the open world, as well as enemy hits that could potentially take him out of the fight.

Razor is also a good DPS character for Noelle to support. Since Razor wants to be on the field almost all the time, popping Noelle in for her Skill will greatly help Razor stay in the fight longer.

Ningguang is also a DPS that can work very well with Noelle. Since they are both Geo, any energy particles Ningguang receives will also benefit in filling up Noelle’s Burst faster. Noelle’s Skill can definitely help mitigate damage from a Ningguang on the field as well as provide much-needed healing.

Summary

Noelle is a solid tank for players who want to just go around hitting enemies until they die without having to worry about their health. She provides good support with her Skill, and her weapon of choice is easily obtainable even for free to play players. She has a few shortcomings, such as having very long cooldowns on her Skill and Burst as well as her element not being offensive in nature, but when it comes to tanking hits and consistently large damage, the dutiful maid is a reliable pick.

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JD Pablo Editor-in-Chief

JD Pablo is the current Editor-in-Chief of twenty8two. Enjoys video games, pizza, banana bread, and tea. Takes coffee black.