Genshin Impact Thoma build takes advantage of his powerful Pyro shields

Thoma is a man of many talents. Genshin Impact's newest four-star serves as the Kamisato clan's caretaker, haggling for groceries at the market, and just generally being the perfect househusband. He’s also handy with a polearm, whacking enemies, and incinerating them with his flaming attacks.

For a Pyro character, Thoma’s playstyle leans more defensive than you might expect. Similar to Xinyan, his elemental skill provides a Blazing Barrier—a shield that stacks for increased duration and Pyro damage absorption. His burst summons Scorching Ooyoroi, imbuing his attacks with AoE Pyro and granting him even more of these Blazing Barriers. One thing's for sure: he really likes shields.

As we bid farewell to Childe and the Labyrinth Warriors' event, and get ready for Hu Tao and Thoma's banner, the season of Pyro polearm users is truly upon us. If you're looking for a decent Thoma build, or one that's free-to-play friendly, you’ve come to the right place.

Genshin Impact best Thoma build

There is such a thing as too much shielding, and Thoma comes pretty close to the mark. Not only does his elemental skill summon a stackable shield, but his burst also applies an effect that means he can summon a new one every second he's attacking. The damage absorption of these Blazing Barriers scales on Thoma's max HP.

With that in mind, there isn't much point building Thoma entirely towards shield strength if you want him to deal damage, because beyond a certain point it'll offer negligible returns. You're better off increasing his HP, and looking for artifacts that add bonuses based on a shield being active. Our build below does both:

• Weapon: Staff of Homa
• Artifact: (4) Retracing Bolide

Hu Tao is another Pyro polearm character for whom HP is important, as it affects her ability to deal damage. It's no surprise, then, that her HP-boosting Staff of Homa works well for Thoma. This five-star polearm provides a 20 percent boost in health, extra crit damage, and an attack boost based on max HP that increases when it's below 50 percent. Most important of all, it's available on the new weapon banner, and it suits Thoma's aesthetic perfectly.

In terms of artifacts, Retracing Bolide is great for Thoma, since it offers a shield strength boost of 35 percent, and a 40 percent increase in normal and charged attacks when protected by a shield. Considering Thoma can have a shield active most of the time, this four-piece set offers some excellent utility. On the whole, this build should allow him to deal damage while also being an effective shielder.

Genshin Impact F2P Thoma build

Of course, a lot of people won't want to wish on the weapon banner, and that's where this free-to-play Thoma build comes in, using weapons you can find and forge in the world:

• Weapon: The Catch or Kitain Cross Spear
• Artifact: (2) Noblesse Oblige (2) Crimson Witch of Flames

If you want to build Thoma as a burst damage-dealer, then The Catch is an obvious choice. You can purchase this four-star polearm from the fishing association in Inazuma for six Raimei Angelfish, twenty Golden Koi, and twenty Rusty Koi. You can also refine it to increase its potency via Ako's Sake Vessels, which cost three Raimei Angelfish, ten Pufferfish, and ten Bitter Pufferfish a piece. This polearm increases elemental burst damage by 16 percent, and burst crit rate by 6 percent. It also boosts energy recharge, so Thoma can use his burst more.

A possible second choice is the Kitain Cross Spear, especially if you want to build Thoma towards Pyro reaction damage instead. This four-star polearm strengthens elemental mastery, but also boosts elemental skill damage by 6 percent, and regenerates three energy every two seconds for six seconds when you use the skill. You can get its blueprint by completing the Orobashi's Legacy quests to dispel the lightning storms on Yashiori Island.

If you go with The Catch, we recommend two pieces of Noblesse Oblige and two of Crimson Witch of Flames as artifacts. The first strengthens burst damage by 20 percent, while the second boosts Pyro damage by 15 percent. This grants a decent increase to Thoma's Pyro burst.

If you opt for the Kitain Cross Spear and a reaction damage build instead, replace Noblesse Oblige with two more pieces of Crimson Witch of Flames. This will strengthen damage from Overloaded and Burning reactions by 40 percent, as well as 15 percent for Vaporise and Melt. When you trigger an elemental skill, the two-piece effect is also boosted by a further 50 percent.

This allows Thoma to cause some powerful reactions with his AoE Pyro attacks, especially if he's in the right party. We recommend pairing him with Xingqiu if possible, as the four-star sword-user is essentially the Hydro version of Thoma, and his Raincutter ability should pair well with Thoma's Pyro burst.