Updated for Version 3.6
Thoma is a 4-star Pyro Polearm character typically used off-field either as a shielder or to proc Burgeon.
More extensive testing is in progress. Note that the information given is subject to change if and when new discoveries are made.
The full-length guide (currently in the process of being updated) is available here. Join our Discord to check on and participate in the theorycrafting process.
Table of Contents
Infographic
New Content
| Alhaitham, Baizhu, Kaveh, and Yaoyao | Some great new options for the Dendro flex spot on Burgeon teams – most notably Baizhu. |
| Vourukasha’s Glow | Can be a helpful 2-piece for Shieldbot Thoma however the 4-piece should not be used on him. |
Talents
Normal Attack: Swiftshatter Spear
Description
Normal Attack
Performs up to four consecutive spear strikes.
Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to opponents along the way.
Plunging Attack
Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Low scalings, generally not leveled.
Elemental Skill: Blazing Blessing
Description
Thoma vaults forward with his polearm and delivers a flame-filled flying kick that deals AoE Pyro DMG, while also summoning a defensive Blazing Barrier.
At the moment of casting, Thoma’s Elemental Skill applies Pyro to himself.
The DMG Absorption of the Blazing Barrier scales off Thoma’s Max HP.
The Blazing Barrier has the following traits:
- Absorbs Pyro DMG 250% more effectively.
- When a new Blazing Barrier is obtained, the remaining DMG Absorption of an existing Blazing Barrier will stack and its duration will be refreshed.
The maximum DMG Absoprtion of the Blazing Barrier will not exceed a certain percentage of Thoma’s Max HP.
Creates a Blazing Barrier, a shield that lasts for 8 seconds. Provides a cleanse for Thoma.
Elemental Burst/Ultimate: Crimson Ooyoroi
Description
Thoma spins his polearm, slicing at his foes with roaring flames that deal AoE Pyro DMG and weave themselves into a Scorching Ooyoroi.
Scorching Ooyoroi
While Scorching Ooyoroi is in effect, the active character’s Normal Attacks will trigger Fiery Collapse, dealing AoE Pyro DMG and summoning a Blazing Barrier.
Fiery Collapse can be triggered once every 1s.
Except for the amount of DMG they can absorb, the Blazing Barriers created in this way are identical to those created by Thoma’s Elemental Skill, Blazing Blessing:
- Absorbs Pyro DMG 250% more effectively.
- When a new Blazing Barrier is obtained, the remaining DMG Absorption of an existing Blazing Barrier will stack and its duration will be refreshed.
The maximum DMG Absorption of the Blazing Barrier will not exceed a certain percentage of Thoma’s Max HP.
If Thoma falls, the effects of Scorching Ooyoroi will be cleared.
Creates a Scorching Ooyoroi that deals AoE Pyro damage through Fiery Collapses, and is the source of his compatibility with Burgeon. Fiery Collapses also summon Blazing Barriers identical to his Skill when the on-field character Normal Attacks — these can stack, allowing Thoma to have the strongest 4-star shield in-game at Max Stacks.
Ascension 1 Passive: Imbricated Armor
Description
When your current active character obtains or refreshes a Blazing Barrier, this character’s Shield Strength will increase by 5% for 6s.
This effect can be triggered once every 0.3 seconds. Max 5 stacks.
Increases the Shield Strength of the active character.
Ascension 4 Passive: Flaming Assault
Description
DMG dealt by Crimson Ooyoroi’s Fiery Collapse is increased by 2.2% of Thoma’s Max HP.
Slight increase in the damage dealt by his Burst based on his HP; doesn’t affect Burgeon, insignificant in a Shieldbot build.
Constellations
C1: A Comrade’s Duty
Description
When a character protected by Thoma’s own Blazing Barrier (Thoma excluded) is attacked, Thoma’s own Blazing Blessing CD is decreased by 3s, while his own Crimson Ooyoroi‘s CD is decreased by 3s. This effect can be triggered once every 20s.
Reduces his cooldowns. A good quality-of-life Constellation.
C2: A Subordinate’s Skills
Description
Crimson Ooyoroi’s duration is increased by 3s.
Increases his Burst’s duration; combined with C1, this offers 100% shield uptime.
C3: Fortified Resolve
Description
Increases the Level of Blazing Blessing by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Skill Talent upgrade.
C4: Long-Term Planning
Description
After using Crimson Ooyoroi, 15 Energy will be restored to Thoma.
Thoma’s best Constellation; reduces his ER requirements significantly.
C5: Raging Wildfire
Description
Increases the Level of Crimson Ooyoroi by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Burst Talent upgrade.
C6: Burning Heart
Description
When a Blazing Barrier is obtained or refreshed, the DMG dealt by all party members’ Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks is increased by 15% for 6s.
Buffs the on-field character; useful for both Shieldbot and Burgeon builds.
Burgeon Thoma
This is Thoma’s best place to shine as a DPS. One caveat to note is that Burgeon Thoma has high ER requirements, and usually cannot run a second Pyro character to battery him.
Burgeon is best suited to content with multiple enemies.
Additionally, Thoma can run HP%/HP%/HP% artifacts with Burgeon focused weapons and artifact sets to eliminate the need for another defensive option while still dealing significant Burgeon damage.
Talent Priority
For Burgeon Thoma, Talents do not considerably increase his damage. However, leveling his Burst and Skill may provide some sustain and Interruption Resistance in the form of a stronger shield; when Thoma is the sole defensive unit on the team, doing so becomes necessary. To that end:
Skill = Burst
His Normal Attacks can remain unleveled as playing Thoma on-field is not recommended.
Artifacts
ER Requirements
Estimates assume solo Pyro, two Favonius weapons or 1 Favonius and 1 Sacrificial weapon in party.
ER requirements provided below are dependent on whether Thoma uses his Skill once or twice each rotation.These numbers are approximate; your mileage may vary. For a more accurate estimate of your requirements based on your team and gear, use Zakharov’s Energy Recharge Calculator.
| 1 Skill Uses | 2 Skill Uses | Situation |
| ~240 | ~210 | C0 – C3 Thoma, R3 Kitain Spear, no additional particles. |
| ~190 | ~165 | C4+ Thoma, R3 Kitain Spear, no additional particles. |
| ~215 | ~190 | C0 – C3 Thoma, R3 Kitain Spear, receiving Favonius particles from a teammate. |
| ~170 | ~150 | C4+ Thoma, R3 Kitain Spear, receiving Favonius particles from a teammate. |
Kitain helps lower ER requirements. Favonius or Sacrificial weapons on the team help reduce ER requirements. In some teams, Thoma may be able to use 2 Skills per rotation, further lowering requirements. Batteries like Fischl also help lower teamwide ER requirements.
Artifact Stats
 Sands |  Goblet |  Circlet |
| EM / ER% HP%/ER% | EM HP% | EM HP% |
Substats: ER until requirement > EM
Triple HP% mainstats allow Thoma to be run as the sole defensive unit, letting a more offensive unit like Childe or Ayato run with the team; Thoma still does decent Burgeon damage, and the team as a whole suffers a minimal DPS loss. Artifact set and weapon recommendations remain the same as an EM/EM/EM Burgeon Thoma.
Artifact Sets
GD = Gilded Dreams
WT = Wanderer’s Troupe
EoSF = Emblem of Severed Fates
CW = Crimson Witch
FoPL = Flower of Paradise Lost
| Artifact Set | Description |
| 4pc FoPL | BiS by a slight margin compared to 4pc GD. Generally, farming GD will be more resin efficient. |
| 4pc GD | The BiS for Burgeon Thoma. The 2pc provides Thoma with 80EM, and the 4pc another 150 EM.* |
| 2pc GD, 2pc WT | Provides 160EM; useful while farming for 4pc GD as you may already have good WT pieces farmed passively. |
| 2pc EM (GD/WT), 2pc EoSF | EoSF’s ER% makes building Thoma easier, with GD/WT still providing some EM. |
| 4pc CW | Technically benefits Burgeon damage, but inferior to 4pc GD. Only use it if you already have a set on hand and don’t want to farm another. |
*Note that this assumes all Thoma’s teammates are Elements other than Pyro; pairing Thoma with a Pyro teammate is generally not recommended.
It is highly recommended that a team member (typically the Dendro unit) carries 4pc Deepwood Memories as Burgeon benefits from the Dendro RES Shred.
Weapons
| Weapon | Description |
| Kitain’s Cross Spear | Reduces Thoma’s personal ER needs and provides him with EM. When using Kitain, Burst first. Refines are recommended. |
| Dragon’s Bane | Provides EM and some additional damage; however, it makes meeting ER requirements harder. |
| Favonius Lance | Reduces team’s ER needs, but does not provide any EM. |
Teams
Team-Building
- Thoma is paired with a Dendro and Hydro character, and a Flex slot.
- When not running triple HP% mainstats, you must bring a defensive unit, as Burgeon damages the player character. Since the viability of Hybrid Thoma as the sole defensive unit in a team is still being investigated, our current recommendations are to bring a healer/shielder other than Thoma.
Thoma Dendro Hydro
Your typical Burgeon Thoma team comp.
Notable Teammates
| Character | Description |
| Dendro MC / Collei / Nahida / Alhaitham / Kaveh | Carries 4pc Deepwood Memories. |
| Baizhu / Yaoyao | Carries 4pc Deepwood Memories and acts as a healer/shielder (in the case of Baizhu). |
| Kokomi / Barbara | Can act as both healer and on-field driver. Kokomi brings added personal damage. |
| Xingqiu / Yelan | Provides personal damage and off-field Hydro application; however, this is single-target. |
| Childe / Ayato | Acts as an on-field DPS. This requires running a healer in the flex slot, or building triple HP% Thoma. |
| Sucrose / Kazuha | Buffs the on-field Hydro DPS and provides grouping. In addition, Sucrose shares EM. |
| Fischl | Batteries team, brings personal damage, and steals a minimal number of Dendro Cores. |
‘Fridge’ comps that utilize a Cryo character alongside Dendro and Hydro are currently being tested.
As stated before, including a Pyro character in the flex slot is generally not recommended.
Example Team
Testing on the viability of Burgeon Thoma teams are still in progress. The inclusion of a certain team/character or lack thereof does not necessarily indicate the power level.
Baizhu — Thoma — Xingqiu — Yelan
Kokomi — Dendro MC — Collei — Thoma
Thoma — Ayato — Nahida — Fischl
Shieldbot Thoma
Thoma provides a shield for his teammates, and may buff them using support-oriented artifacts. His shield is fairly strong, but requires an on-field character to Normal Attack in order to stack it. His Burst’s Fiery Collapses may interfere with reactions in some teams.
Talent Priority
Skill = Burst
His Normal Attacks can remain unlevelled as playing Thoma on-field is not recommended.
Artifacts
ER Requirements
Estimates calculated for 2 Pyro units and a Sacrificial Sword in party.
These numbers are approximate; your mileage may vary. For a more accurate estimate of your requirements based on your team and gear, use Zakharov’s Energy Recharge Calculator.
| ER Requirement | Situation |
| ~210 | C0 – C3 Thoma with R3 Favonius Lance |
| ~170 | C4+ Thoma with R3 Favonius Lance |
| ~220 | C0 – C3 Thoma with R3 Kitain Cross Spear |
| ~175 | C4+ Thoma with R3 Kitain Cross Spear |
Artifact Stats
Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
| ER / HP% | HP% | HP% |
Substats: ER until requirement > HP% > (CRIT Rate if using Favonius Lance) > Flat HP
Artifact Sets
NO = Noblesse Oblige
HP = Tenacity of the Millelith or Vourukasha’s Glow
EoSF = Emblem of Severed Fate
| Artifact Set | Description |
| 4pc NO | A useful buff for teammates. |
| 2pc HP 2pc EoSF | The 2pc EoSF makes it easier to build him, and the 2pc ToTM gives him a stronger shield. |
Additionally, any combination of HP, EoSF and rainbow sets (pieces from different sets and lacking set bonuses) may be used depending on requirements, as better substats may be more useful than set bonuses.
Weapons
| Weapon | Description |
| Favonius Lance* | Useful ER% mainstat. Passive reduces team ER requirements. |
| Kitain Cross Spear | Wasted EM mainstat but reduces Thoma’s ER requirements. If using Kitain, Burst first. Refines are recommended. |
| Black Tassel | HP% mainstat makes for a stronger shield, but doesn’t help with ER requirements. |
*Note: for consistent Favonius Lance passive procs, it’s recommended that Thoma has around 40 CR at R3, and 30 CR at R5. This number assumes 2 – 3 NAs are weaved in.
Teams
Team-Building
- It is recommended to use Thoma on a team with a character that uses on-field Normal Attacks to stack his shield.
- On some teams, Thoma’s Fiery Collapses may interfere with reactions.
Double Pyro Hydro Flex
Shieldbot Thoma’s most popular team comp. He acts as a support for a Pyro on-field DPS (e.g., Yoimiya or Hu Tao) by providing a shield, Pyro Resonance, and often as a set up for VV.
Notable Teammates
These list the Pyro on-field DPSes Thoma has synergy with; for an understanding of the supports used alongside them, please refer to their respective Guides or Quick Guides.
| Character | Description |
| Yoimiya | Thoma has great synergy with Yoimiya due to her using NAs, requiring Interruption Resistance, and her range in cases where Thoma’s Fiery Collapses may interfere with reactions. |
| Hu Tao | Provides a strong shield and Interruption Resistance — especially useful due to Hu Tao’s anti-synergy with healers. Useful for setting up for VV teams; however, Thoma may steal Vapes from her if Xingqiu is pre-C6. This is not a concern in double Hydro Hu Tao teams. |
Example Teams
This is not a comprehensive list of teams, and the inclusion of a certain team or lack thereof does not necessarily indicate the power level of the team in question. This list is not ranked.
Yoimiya Thoma Yelan Yun Jin
Thoma — Yoimiya — Yelan — Yun Jin
Thoma — Hu Tao — Xingqiu— Sucrose
Hybrid
Another option currently being tested is a hybrid build consisting of building Thoma with HP% artifacts for a decent shield while still also doing Burgeon damage by using an EM weapon. This allows for a Burgeon team to run without another defensive option, with DPS shared across teammates as each brings their own damage to the table. However, the specifics of a hybrid build are still being worked on; more information can be found on the main KQM Thoma Guide once updated.
Credits
juko#9385, mina#4448, Praetor#3981, Dorkshadow7R#8025, Raven#9205, Cuzimori#1535, Rathalos#2875, Mystathi#9705.
Team images courtesy of the KQM portrait generator.