Every Genshin Impact character has some unique colors defining their personalities. Freminet, a character that was introduced as part of the playable cast for the region of Fontaine, is no exception. This shy and socially awkward boy easily stands out in a few ways, really marking his differences from all your other companions in Teyvat.
The most distinctive thing about this presumed Fontainian has to be his play style, which delivers a dynamism and pace that is rarely found in other Claymore wielding characters in the game. Sure, his damage multipliers are nothing to write home about, but building Freminet can still be a rewarding experience if you’re looking for a fun damage dealer who is surprisingly versatile.
Freminet’s Kit Breakdown
What’s so special about Freminet’s kit is that he can go from a Cryo unit to a Physical unit with the touch of a button. That does make for a kit that is a little confusing and a play style that has quite the leaning curve, but it also makes for a really fun experience when taking this little diver out for a spin.
To get the most value out of Freminet as the on-field DPS he is meant to be, you should both build and play him to cater to one damage source at a time. Trying to balance both of these abilities to deal steadily big numbers from both sources is nigh impossible, so you want to either build him as a Cryo DPS, or a Physical DPS, but not both at once.
Freminet’s Elemental Skill, Explained
Freminet’s Elemental Skill is the heart of his combat capacity. Casting it will allow him to build Shattering Pressure with every Normal Attack, which is really just an in-game term for saying his Physical DMG output grows as he swings.
There are also a couple important things about his skill that you will want to learn by heart:
- Each of the four stacks in the Pers Counter represents a damage type of sorts. At zero pressure, he will unleash his most powerful Cryo attack, while at four pressure he will unleash his most powerful physical attack. Each level has a different multiplier.
- You need to watch the counter and learn to time your attacks in harmony with it, regardless of your build. You can still play him if you don’t, but he will be less efficient.
Freminet’s Elemental Burst, Explained
Freminet’s Elemental Burst is not a huge source of damage by itself. Instead, it serves to support the functions of his Elemental Skill. The Subnautical Hunter State (also known as Stalker Mode) has the following characteristics:
- Pers Counter will move two spots instead of one per Normal Attack when this state is active.
- This state provides Freminet with a 70 percent cooldown reduction on his Elemental Skill, making him able to cast every three seconds instead of every ten seconds.
Playing Freminet will require that you use his Elemental Skill a lot, which in turn makes his Burst necessary due to its massive downtime reducing effects. Therefore, he can have some energy requirement issues. These are easily mitigated through different sources like stats and sub-stats in his artifacts.
Freminet Physical DPS Build
- Best in Slot (BiS) Weapons: Skyward Pride, Song of Broken Pines.
- Other Weapon Options: The Unforged, Snow-Tombed Starsilver, Prototype Archaic.
- Best Artifact Set: Pale Flame.
Freminet is a fairly decent on-field DPS when you focus on his capacity to deal Physical DMG as his main source of DMG. Paired with a good Atk or Crit DMG weapon, he can easily give you good performance.
To use Freminet as a Physical Unit you will need to play him by triggering his Elemental Skill, then immediately triggering his Burst. This will allow you to reach level four pressure in less than half the time, with only two Normal Attacks in-between instead of four.
Skyward Pride is specially good for Freminet at C0. If you have built his constellations you can aim for another five-star Claymore, like Song of Broken Pines, which is actually his best weapon for a Physical build, in terms of the DMG he can dish out with it.
Freminet Cryo DPS Build
- Best in Slot (BiS) Weapons: Serpent Spine (R5), Skyward Pride.
- Other Weapon Options: Wolf’s Gravestone, Redhorn Stonethresher, The Unforged, Prototype Archaic, Tidal Shadow, Favonius Greatsword.
- Best Artifact Set: Blizzard Strayer.
Freminet can also achieve good personal DMG with his Cryo play style, even if it’s a slightly less popular option than a Physical build. This build does use some of the same weapons as his other build, save for those that directly benefit his Physical DMG output, since that will take a back seat if you’re going for a Cryo build. You still want to focus on his CRIT potential and high attack values for a Cryo build. Unfortunately, nothing in his kit scales with Elemental Mastery, so he is still not the shatter DPS the community has been waiting for.
To play Cryo Freminet you also want to make use of his Burst, except you will be weaving less normal attacks into the mix, as you will need to instantly trigger his Elemental Skill once and then again, being careful not to accidentally build any Shattering Pressure.
Freminet’s Artifacts And Best Stats
Artifacts are the heart and soul of a character build, marking the difference between bad and good DMG. Freminet is a character that uses fairly standard artifacts according to each of his builds, so he is not that difficult to build, all in all; especially if you have other characters that use these same artifacts.
Best Artifact Sets For A Physical Build
Given that his capacity to deal Physical DMG is not limited to his Normal Attacks, pairing Freminet with a four-piece set of Pale Flame is super viable for him.
You have other alternatives like doing a two + two piece set for Pale Flame and either Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, Emblem of Severed Fate, or Gladiator’s Finale; but these will ultimately not give you an optimal performance when compared to a four piece Pale Flame set.
Best Artifact Sets For A Cryo Build
When it comes to a Cryo build, the best option is Blizzard Strayer, even if Freminet does not gain the 20 percent CRIT Rate increase against Frozen enemies because of his weapon type and Shatter mechanics. Another viable option is Golden Troupe, but this will perform underwhelmingly with Freminet who has no off-field capacity at all.
You can also replace a four piece build with two + two with all the aforementioned sets, as in the former case. Just be aware that you’ll be giving up some performance and should, if possible, still aim for a four piece build.
Artifact Stat Priority
There is no big difference in Freminet’s potential builds, despite the fact that one utilizes the elements while the other is just Physical. Therefore, his stat priority for his artifacts will remain roughly the same.
|
Piece |
Main Stat |
Sub Stat Priority |
|---|---|---|
|
Circlet |
CDMG/CR |
CR/CDMG > ER > ATK% |
|
Sands |
ATK% |
|
|
Goblet |
Physical DMG Bonus OR Cryo DMG Bonus |
You do want to make sure that his Goblet matches his build type, though. So, if you’re building him as Physical, use a Physical Goblet, and if you’re building him as Cryo, use a Cryo Goblet.
Freminet’s Best Constellations
Most of Freminet’s constellations provide increases to his personal DMG. While they are good to have, they won’t particularly make or break a character with this play style. His most important constellation, and the one worth aiming for is his second constellation, Penguins and the Land of Plenty, which helps to significantly manage his Energy Requirements as it increases his energy particle production. If you can manage that, you shouldn’t be too worried about the rest.
Having a constellation that helps you manage Energy Requirement issues also gives you great freedom to play with the stats and substats for his artifacts.
Freminet Talent Priority
Freminet’s entire kit depends heavily on the way you use his Elemental Skill, and most of his DMG stems directly from it. As such, his second talent, Pressurized Floe, is his biggest level-up priority. This is closely followed by his Normal Attack talent, which also plays a big part on his play style, especially for a Physical build.
Leveling up his third talent, corresponding to his burst, is not an urgent matter since leveling it up does not extend its duration or increase the cooldown reduction it provides.
|
Talent |
Level Up Priority |
Should You Level It Up? |
|---|---|---|
|
Normal Attack |
First Priority |
Yes |
|
Elemental Skill |
Second Priority |
Yes |
|
Elemental Burst |
Third Priority |
It doesn’t matter |
Should You Build Freminet?
The thing about Freminet is that he will not be a big carry, no matter which of his builds you choose. His damage is just okay, mainly due to the fact that he was designed not to be game-breaking. Nevertheless, he can be decently strong.
If you are expecting him to shoulder an entire team by himself, then he is probably not the right character for you. On the other hand, if you want a Claymore wielder that can pull his weight and has a quirky play style that breaks convention, then Freminet is well worth building.
The beauty of games like Genshin Impact is that there are countless combinations you can try for character builds, teams, rotations, strategies, etc., and the pool only grows bigger with each update. Perhaps you may yet build a Freminet that can rival the gods of Celestia. If you love this character, don’t let middling multipliers deter you from doing your best to main him.