Clorinde is a sword character whose Normal Attack talent barely matters. That one sentence breaks most of the sword-DPS instincts people bring to her, and it is why so many Clorinde accounts underperform despite correct artifacts.
She is also the most build-worthy character you can currently get for nothing: in Version 7.1 she sits on the free event-exclusive 5-star list and on the free-constellation roster at once, the only overlap of that kind live right now. Both windows shut in early November 2026.
This Clorinde build is worked out from her printed talent values and the live in-game announcements, current as of 11 October 2026, Version 7.1. Where the big community sites disagree, that is stated rather than smoothed over.
Quick answer: what is the best Clorinde build?
- Weapon: Absolution > Haran Geppaku Futsu / Mistsplitter Reforged > The Black Sword or Finale of the Deep for free-to-play
- Artifacts: 4-piece Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy; 4-piece Thundering Fury for reaction teams after its two 7.x buffs
- Main stats: ATK% sands / Electro DMG goblet / CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG circlet
- Substats: Energy Recharge to your requirement, then CRIT, then ATK%
- Talents: Skill first, Burst second. Normal Attack is the lowest priority of the three
- Hard requirement: an Electro teammate to apply Electro before she takes the field
- Free right now: claim her before 3 November 2026, 14:59 server time; bank training goals for a free constellation before 2 November 2026, 03:59
Why build Clorinde in Version 7.1 specifically?
Clorinde is not on any Version 7.1 wish banner - those belong to Vesna, Vodyanitsa, Skirk and Escoffier. Her relevance this patch is entirely free-acquisition.
She is one of the free event picks. The in-game announcement for "Tabletop Troupe: A Gathering on Adventure's Eve" lists Clorinde among the characters you can invite for free. It needs Adventure Rank 18 and Archon Quest Chapter VII Act IV, grants one invite - the announcement's wording is that you can invite a character only once during the event - and closes 3 November 2026 at 14:59:59 server time. It sets no window past that date, so treat 3 November as the hard stop.
She is also newly on the free-constellation roster. The announcement for "To Temper Thyself and Journey Far" added Clorinde to the Stella Fortuna list this cycle, alongside Lyney, Wriothesley, Navia, Sigewinne, Emilie, Chiori, Xianyun and Yumemizuki Mizuki. The cycle runs 10 August 2026 at 04:00 to 2 November 2026 at 03:59 and requires Adventure Rank 14. Clorinde, Chiori and Yumemizuki Mizuki are the only three characters on both lists - the only ones you can currently get free and give a free constellation to.
How much time is actually left for the free constellation?
The announcement's progression chain is strict, so do the arithmetic rather than trusting a vibe:
- 4 Daily Commissions plus 120 Original Resin spent in a day completes one daily goal
- 5 daily goals completes one weekly goal
- 8 weekly goals earns one Stella Fortuna
Weekly progress resets Monday at 04:00, so the 10 August to 2 November window contains 12 weekly windows. Today, 11 October 2026, you are inside the ninth of those twelve - four windows left including the current one. With fewer than four weekly goals already banked, eight is no longer reachable this cycle.
Two clauses get misreported constantly. A Stella Fortuna "cannot be obtained for characters you have not obtained," so claim Clorinde first; and it cannot be obtained for characters who already received one in a past cycle. One widely-read build site states that owning Clorinde before Version 7.1 grants free access to both her Constellation 1 and Constellation 2. The live announcement does not support that - eight weekly goals yield one Stella Fortuna, which is one constellation. Plan for C1.
Note the ordering trap: the Temper cycle closes on 2 November, one day before the 3 November selector deadline. Claiming the character on the selector's final day leaves no time to redeem.
More free primogems and deadlines this patch
- Genshin free 5-star selector in 7.1 - every pick explained
- Genshin Impact codes for October 2026
- Genshin 7.1 banners and phase line-up
How does Clorinde actually deal damage?
This changes the whole build, so it comes before the gear. Clorinde is a 5-star Electro sword user from Fontaine, aligned with Ousia, released in Version 4.7 on 5 June 2024. At Level 90 she has 12,956.17 base HP, 337.24 base ATK and 783.93 base DEF, and her ascension stat is CRIT Rate, maxing at 19.2%.
Her Elemental Skill, Hunter's Vigil, puts her into a 7.5-second Night Vigil state on a 16-second cooldown. Inside it, her attacks become pistol-and-rapier strikes dealing Electro damage, and the official wiki description of that conversion carries the key line: the damage done through that method is considered Normal Attack DMG.
"Considered Normal Attack DMG" is not the same as "uses your Normal Attack talent." The theorycrafting reference KQM puts it bluntly: her skill "codes her Skill damage as NA damage (but not as a NA animation)," and "Normal Attack Talent levels do not increase the damage of her Normal Attacks while in her special Skill state." Its guide states outright that "Clorinde does not use her Normal Attack Talent as part of her main playstyle."
Three consequences:
- Normal Attack talent levels are close to worthless on her. Level Skill and Burst.
- Normal-Attack-DMG buffs - 4-piece Gladiator's Finale, The Black Sword, Echoes of an Offering - still work, because the damage is categorised as Normal Attack damage.
- Pyro infusion from Bennett's C6 cannot override her Electro. KQM again: "As the Night Vigil state is a Conversion and not an Infusion, Clorinde's Electro cannot be overridden by Infusion effects such as Bennett's C6."
Her kit also runs on Bond of Life. Swift Hunt grants Bond of Life equal to 35% of Max HP; her Burst, Last Lightfall, grants 120% of Max HP at talent level 10, deals 228.38% of ATK five times, costs 60 Energy and has a 15-second cooldown. Impale the Night heals for 0%, 104% or 110% of current Bond of Life depending on the strike, and 80% of that healing converts back into Bond of Life - raised to 100% by her fourth ascension passive.
Those passives are where her ceiling lives. Dark-Shattering Flame adds 20% of ATK to Impale the Night damage for 15 seconds, stacking three times, with a hard cap of 1,800 reached at 3,000 ATK. Lawful Remuneration grants +10% CRIT Rate each time Bond of Life increases or decreases, stacking twice for +20%.
What is the best weapon for Clorinde?
| Weapon | Rarity | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|
| Absolution | 5-star | Signature: 674 base ATK, 44.1% CRIT DMG. Deathly Pact gives +20% CRIT DMG, and each Bond of Life increase grants +16% DMG for 6 seconds, up to 3 stacks |
| Haran Geppaku Futsu | 5-star | Honed Flow gives +12% all-Elemental DMG and +20% Normal Attack DMG for 8 seconds per Wavespike consumed |
| Mistsplitter Reforged | 5-star | +12% all-Elemental DMG plus Emblem stacks of 8/16/28%, reaching up to 40% Electro DMG at refinement 1 |
| Finale of the Deep | 4-star | Craftable: 565 base ATK, 27.6% ATK. An End Sublime gives +12% ATK for 15 seconds and 25% of Max HP as Bond of Life, up to 150 flat ATK when clear |
| The Black Sword | 4-star | 27.6% CRIT Rate secondary. Justice gives +20% Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG, which her converted damage benefits from |
Absolution is the obvious first pick because both halves of its passive key off things Clorinde does automatically. For free-to-play accounts, KQM calls Finale of the Deep "generally Clorinde's strongest free-to-play weapon."
One caution: while researching this guide, a popular third-party stat site returned a completely wrong Absolution entry - different passive name, a Dendro effect, different base ATK. Cross-check weapon passives against a second source before spending refinement materials.
What artifacts should Clorinde use?
4-piece Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy is the default. Two pieces give +18% ATK; four pieces give +18% DMG each time Bond of Life changes value, stacking three times for 6 seconds. Clorinde changes her Bond of Life constantly, so the set is close to permanently maxed on her.
4-piece Thundering Fury is the reaction-team alternative, and it is far stronger in Version 7.x than its old reputation suggests - it was buffed twice, once in 5.8 and again in Luna VIII. Two pieces give +15% Electro DMG. Four pieces now read: Overloaded, Electro-Charged, Superconduct and Hyperbloom damage +40%; Aggravate +20%; Lunar-Charged and Stellar-Conduct +20%; and Elemental Skill cooldown reduced by 1 second, once every 0.8 seconds. The cooldown clause matters on a 16-second skill.
Two more sets worth knowing: 4-piece Echoes of an Offering (36% chance on Normal Attack to add 70% of ATK as extra Normal Attack damage - works because of the damage coding, but the proc chance makes it inconsistent) and 4-piece Gladiator's Finale (+35% Normal Attack DMG, farmable from world bosses at zero resin cost, the best placeholder while you farm a real set).
Main stats and substats
KQM's priority list, verbatim in order: sands "ATK% / (EM)", goblet "Electro DMG Bonus", circlet "CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG". Substats: "ER (until requirement) > CRIT >> ATK% >> (EM) ≥ Flat ATK".
Remember the 1,800 cap on Dark-Shattering Flame at 3,000 ATK. Past that point, extra ATK% stops feeding the passive and only scales her base multipliers, so CRIT substats pull further ahead than a calculator with no cap modelling will tell you.
Which Clorinde constellations are worth it?
- C1, From This Day, I Pass the Candle's Shadow-Veil - Nightvigil Shades fire two coordinated attacks at 30% of ATK each as Electro, once per 1.2 seconds, counted as Normal Attack damage. Applies 1 unit of Electro on a 1-second internal cooldown shared with C6. KQM estimates "usually 5 Shades per Skill combo, for a total of 10 extra damage instances."
- C2, Now, As We Face the Perils of the Long Night - raises Dark-Shattering Flame from 20% to 30% of ATK and its cap from 1,800 to 2,700, plus interruption resistance at 3 stacks. KQM's verdict: "C2 is a good stopping point."
- C4, To Enshrine Tears, Life, and Love - every 1% of current Bond of Life adds 2% Last Lightfall damage, up to 200%.
- C6, And So Shall I Never Despair - +10% CRIT Rate and +70% CRIT DMG for 12 seconds, a Glimbright Shade dealing 200% of ATK, and 80% damage reduction, up to 6 times per Night Vigil.
One correction, because the misreading is everywhere: C2 raises the cap, not the ATK threshold. The saturation point was 3,000 ATK at C0 and stays 3,000 ATK at C2 - you just get a bigger number out of it. The C1 valuation is contested too: the outlet that puts C1 at roughly a 10% total-DPS increase on its build page writes elsewhere that "both her C1 and C2 can be a personal DPS increase of 20-25%." Treat any single C1 percentage as one model's output.
What are the best Clorinde teams right now?
Start from the hard constraint. KQM: "In most, if not all, teams, Clorinde needs an Electro teammate to apply Electro for her prior to taking the field."
Quicken / Aggravate - Clorinde, Fischl, Nahida, Kazuha. The long-standing default, and still a top-three pick for her on at least one tier list updated 10 October 2026.
Overload - Clorinde, Chevreuse, a second Electro (Sara, Fischl, Ororon or Iansan) and a Pyro (Mavuika, Pyro Traveler, Xiangling or Thoma).
Electro-Charged - Clorinde, Furina, Kazuha, plus Ororon or Fischl.
Stellar-Conduct - Clorinde, Odette, Yae Miko, and either Xilonen or Alyosha. Her newest shell, and one that only exists because of the 2026 reaction rework.
Lunar-Charged is the other 7.x route - the reaction that replaces Electro-Charged when Electro meets Hydro with a Moonsign Benediction character in the party. It spawns a Thundercloud dealing Electro damage every 2 seconds within 5 metres, consumes 0.4 Gauge Units of both elements, lasts 6 seconds, one at a time, can critically hit, and scales off every character who applied an element during the reaction. Current enablers are Ineffa, Columbina and Flins; our Lunar reactions explainer covers the gauge mechanics in full.
Clorinde ascension and talent materials
| Category | What you need |
|---|---|
| Ascension gems | 1 Vajrada Amethyst Sliver, 9 Fragment, 9 Chunk, 6 Gemstone |
| Boss material | 46 Fontemer Unihorn from the Millennial Pearl Seahorse |
| Local specialty | 168 Lumitoile, gathered in Fontaine |
| Common drops | 18 Transoceanic Pearl, 30 Transoceanic Chunk, 36 Xenochromatic Crystal |
| Ascension Mora | 420,000 |
| Talent books | 9 Teachings of Justice, 63 Guide to Justice, 114 Philosophies of Justice for all three talents to level 10 |
| Weekly boss drop | 6 Everamber |
| Crown | 1 Crown of Insight |
| Talent Mora | 1,652,500 |
Justice books come from the Pale Forgotten Glory domain, open Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Everamber is the hardest gate on her - a weekly boss drop from the Guardian of Apep's Oasis, six needed across three talents, one attempt per week. Even maxing only her Skill costs six Everamber, so start the weekly run the same week you claim her. Our Crown of Insight guide covers the other bottleneck.
Where the guides disagree on Clorinde
Publishing these rather than picking a side, because the spread is large and it decides your artifact rolls:
- Energy Recharge requirement. KQM: 200%+ solo-Electro for the Burst every rotation, 110-130% every other rotation, 120-140% double-Electro. Mobalytics: 100-110%. GameWith: 140-200%. Traveler.gg: "No significant ER requirement needed." A 100-point spread on the one substat you must commit to first - decide it from your own team's particle generation.
- Talent priority. KQM orders it Character Level, Skill, Burst. GameWith rates her Normal Attack talent four stars out of five. Genshin.gg puts Burst above Skill. The damage coding above is why we land on Skill first, Normal Attack last.
- Best archetype. KQM, written for Version 5.7, leads with Quicken and Aggravate. Mobalytics in 2026 argues the opposite - "without notable vertical investment… such teams will generally underperform" - and leads Overload, Electro-Charged and Stellar-Conduct. Traveler.gg on 10 October 2026 still has Aggravate in her top three.
- Where she stands. Mobalytics says she is "typically outdone by either Flins or Cyno." Genshin.gg's usage-based 7.1 tier list places Clorinde and Cyno both at B, with Flins and Ineffa at S.
A freshness note: KQM's quick guide is marked "Updated for Version 5.7," predating Lunar and Stellar reactions entirely, and its extended Clorinde guide is still an unwritten stub. Its mechanics notes are the best available; its team lists are a patch era behind.
What this guide does not claim
- Any level cap above 90. All 40 live in-game announcements were searched for "Lv. 95", "Lv. 100", "level cap" and "Ascension Phase" - zero hits. Stat rows above Level 90 circulating on wikis are unconfirmed.
- Beyond the Chrysalis refinement-1 numbers. The live announcement confirms only the structure: each Elemental Skill or Burst grants one of three effects in sequence - increased CRIT DMG, increased Stellar Swirl DMG, or restored Elemental Energy - resetting when the holder leaves the field. The circulating percentages are not in that text. One third of that rotating buff is Stellar Swirl damage, which does nothing on an Electro on-fielder, and the reset clause restarts the cycle every rotation - so treat high rankings for it on Clorinde sceptically. Timing matters here too: the Epitome Invocation featuring Beyond the Chrysalis ends 13 October 2026 at 17:59 server time, and the next phase promotes Azurelight and Symphonist of Scents from 13 October 18:00 to 3 November 14:59. If you were weighing that sword for her, the window shuts two days after this guide publishes.
- Refinement-1 values for Uraku Misugiri, Calamity of Eshu and Harbinger of Dawn, and the specific enemies dropping Transoceanic Pearl, Transoceanic Chunk and Xenochromatic Crystal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clorinde free in Genshin Impact right now? Yes, as one pick from the Tabletop Troupe: A Gathering on Adventure's Eve event, which needs Adventure Rank 18 and Archon Quest Chapter VII Act IV and closes 3 November 2026 at 14:59:59 server time. You get one invite, and the announcement sets no window past that date, so treat it as the hard stop.
Can I get a free Clorinde constellation? Yes. She joined the Stella Fortuna roster of To Temper Thyself and Journey Far this cycle. Eight weekly training goals earn one Stella Fortuna - one constellation - and the cycle ends 2 November 2026 at 03:59. You must already own her to redeem it, and she is ineligible if she received one in a previous cycle.
Does Clorinde need her Normal Attack talent levelled? No. Her Night Vigil attacks are coded as Normal Attack damage but do not scale with the Normal Attack talent, making it the lowest of her three priorities. Level Skill first, Burst second.
What is the best Clorinde weapon if I am free-to-play? Finale of the Deep - craftable, 565 base ATK with 27.6% ATK, and a passive that grants Bond of Life her kit actively uses. The Black Sword is the other strong 4-star, because its Normal Attack damage bonus applies to her converted damage.
Should I use Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy or Thundering Fury on Clorinde? Harmonic Whimsy for solo carry, since her constant Bond of Life changes keep it at three stacks. Thundering Fury for reaction teams in 7.x, where it now gives +40% to Overloaded, Electro-Charged, Superconduct and Hyperbloom, +20% to Aggravate, Lunar-Charged and Stellar-Conduct, and shaves 1 second off her skill cooldown every 0.8 seconds.
Is Bennett a good Clorinde teammate? For the attack buff and healing, yes. For Pyro infusion, no - her Night Vigil state is a conversion, not an infusion, so Bennett's C6 cannot override her Electro.
The short version
Clorinde's biggest build mistake is treating her like a normal sword user. Level her Skill, not her Normal Attack. Run 4-piece Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy unless you are on a reaction team, where Thundering Fury is genuinely competitive again. Give her an Electro battery, and set your own Energy Recharge number because nobody else agrees on it.
Then watch the calendar. Claim her before 3 November, and for the free constellation you need four weekly training goals already banked today to reach eight before the Temper cycle closes on 2 November. The constellation deadline lands before the character deadline, which is exactly the wrong way round - so claim first, grind second.
More Genshin Impact guides, including the full 7.1 free 5-star selector breakdown and how pity actually works, are on the timesaver.gg blog.
