Dehya Build and Lore

Dehya can be compared to a Pyro Albedo, with damage mitigation instead of shields. Still, if you have the alchemist, she can be passed over. Her kit isn’t as strong as other 5-stars, something Dehya fans are protesting over in Genshin Impact.

Her Elemental Skill (E), Molten Inferno, creates a Fiery Sanctum around the target. Enemies that get hit in the AoE receive Pyro DMG based on Dehya’s ATK and HP. This effect triggers every 2.5 seconds.

Allies within the Sanctum have increased resistance to interruption, and some of the damage they take will be redirected to Redmane’s Blood. Dehya will then take this redirected damage over 10 seconds. If the damage goes beyond a specific limit, she will stop mitigating it, letting the character receive the full brunt.

You can change the position of the Fiery Sanctum once by pressing E again after making one. This new Sanctum will not have its timer reset but will continue the previous one’s duration.

Her Burst, Leonine Bite, puts her in the Blazing Lioness state. While under its effects, Dehya can only punch enemies, dealing Pyro DMG. This happens automatically, though you can slightly speed up her attacks by clicking with the right timing. When the state ends, Dehya performs an Incineration Drive, a dive kick that deals AoE Pyro DMG. All her hits here scale off her ATK and HP.

If a Fiery Sanctum is active when the Burst is used, Dehya retrieves it and places it at the center of the Incineration Drive. Again, this does not reset the timer on it, making it continue from the current duration of the previous one.

If you’re worried about damage mitigation, Dehya’s 4th Ascension Passive heals her for about 50% of her HP when triggered. She only heals herself, though, and not her allies. Its effects can be activated every 20 seconds.

Genshin Impact Dehya Builds

As you may have gathered, Dehya favors HP and ATK in her abilities. Which one to build more depends on various other factors and whether you’re making her a DPS or a Support.

DPS Builds

For DPS, you can use Crimson Witch of Flames, or if wanting to use her Burst for damage, Emblem of Severed Fate. For some budget options, you can mix 2-sets of Gladiator’s Finale (or other +18% ATK sets), Noblesse Oblige (for more Burst damage), and Tenacity of the Millelith.

Main Stats: ATK% (Energy Recharge for EoSE), Pyro DMG Bonus, Crit Rate/DMG

Substats: ATK, HP, Crit DMG/Rate, Energy Recharge

Reaction Support

Gilded Dreams or Flower of Paradise Lost will be suitable for this role if you want to use her skills for reactions. An alternative would be a mix of any of the Elemental Mastery 2-sets. This increases all the damage of any Pyro-related reaction, which is what you want, anyway.

Main Stats: 3x EM

Substats: EM, ATK, HP, Crit

DMG Mitigation/Buff Support

Only one artifact set fits this build, the Tenacity of the Millelith. This significantly boosts HP and lets her buff allies whenever her skill goes off. It’s also the set HYV gave her in the Test Run event, suggesting it is the best-in-slot for her currently. Since you’ll also be taking advantage of her DMG mitigation abilities, the more HP, the merrier. Her skill has quite a long cooldown, so you won’t have consistent uptime on the Tenacity buff, but still, it’s worth using on her.

Main Stats: 3x HP

Substats: HP, ATK

Weapons

Dehya, being a 5-star character, definitely has a signature weapon. It’s called the Beacon of the Reed Sea. The Claymore is part of the weapon series that also includes the Key of Khaj-Nisut (sword) and the Staff of Scarlet Sands (polearm), explaining the resemblance between the three.

Here are other weapons Dehya can use.

As a DPS:

• Wolf’s Gravestone
• Skyward Pride
• The Unforged
• Akuoumaru
• Luxurious Sea-Lord
• Blackcliff Slasher
• Serpent Spine

As a Reaction Support:

• Mailed Flower
• Rainslasher

As a Tank (DMG Mitigation):

• The Bell

General Use:

• Favonius Greatsword
• Forest Regalia
• Sacrificial Greatsword

Remember to match the weapon and the build!

Genshin Impact Dehya Lore (Backstory)

The Eremites are not a unified whole. Though they embody the might of the desert people, they are broken up into mercenary bands. They may end up fighting each other for jobs. Dehya takes pride in her heritage as a sand dweller, and though she might take up jobs in the rainforest, she longs to return to her home. It’s something she can never change about herself.

When she was younger, she lived with her father and his band of mercenaries. He told her of legends of lions and their people, though they had a falling out some time before Dehya established her own group. Now, the “Blazing Beasts” are her family.

As a mercenary, she’s amenable to any job if the pay is good. However, there will be no relationship past the job. It is purely contractual and transactional, and she will not be tamed. Though in a way, mercenaries sell their bodies, their dignity and honor are theirs. Dehya will only follow her heart.

Her professional and well-balanced nature makes her one of the most sought-out mercenaries to hire. She can be brave without being reckless and strong without being prideful. She has gained much combat experience while living in the desert, but she would not use brute force as a first resort. Anyone wanting to hire her must make haste, as she has many other potential clients clamoring for her attention.

Though females have a disadvantage in physicality compared to males, all mercenaries hold Dehya in high regard. She may not be the strongest, but she has enough force, as evidenced by her blade. The greatsword is not a slight weapon, yet she can swing it about in smooth, flowing motions.

Another reason mercenaries appreciate her is her combat instinct. Greatswords trade speed for power, which can burden the wielder. Dehya has the insight to overcome any problem this or the enemy presents. She’s not afraid to cast her weapon or use it as a projectile in favor of her fists when the situation demands it.

Lastly, as a desert-dweller, she knows how to survive in the ever-shifting sands. Handling sandstorms, scorpion swarms, vultures, and negotiating with robbers are all under her belt. Clients love mercs that can solve problems practically and have more to offer than brute force.

As her reputation grew, her mercenary band started trying to give her a nickname. It has to be spectacular, encapsulating her growing name and deeds. The alias should strike fear into enemies by hearing it. While Dehya was skeptical, she let her band have their fun.

The first few suggestions got Dehya laughing. The youngest members tried making some vicious titles stick, placing ‘bloody’ or ‘terror’ in them. As the merc chattered away, shouting their offerings, it reminded her of her father’s group. These camaraderie-filled sessions had the same atmosphere as back then.

One night, after brushing away several suggestions good-naturedly, she was about to stop the fun altogether when an older merc jumped in. He suggested ‘Flame-Mane,’ inspired by the old story ‘The Legend of the Lion.’ Although Dehya hated being reminded of her father, she hesitated to refuse the name. She did like the legend as it gave her the courage to see the world for what it is.

That’s how she got the name ‘Flame-Mane.’

Dehya may be a mercenary, but she’s also a woman. She takes great pains to take care of her beauty. When she has the opportunity, she takes a bath, washing the sweat (and sand) off her body. In her free time, she shops around for cosmetics and jewelry. With how much she uses the former, her supplies are constantly dwindling.

This is in direct contrast to other mercenaries, who don’t bother with boring things like hygiene and professionalism. Seeing this anomaly, some of Dehya’s mercs asked her about it. Her answer lies in the choking haze of unwashed, sweaty, rank mercenaries.

Therefore, Dehya sticks to an ironclad hygiene routine. It lets her create a professional front and make a good impression on clients. The clients also appreciate not having to choke on breaths when jobs leave them in close quarters. It’s also a glimpse of the carefree lovely woman she is under the facade of a ferocious, mighty mercenary.

She’s all too aware of how her heritage and blood disadvantage her. She’d grown up without any formal education besides what the desert had taught her. Such was the situation for many other Eremites. They earn Mora to spend on food and drink, but without being taught proper management, their money flows like sand through their fingers.

She sees how her people can’t see beyond the sands of the desert like there was nothing beyond it. The few that do cast away their heritage and elevate only themselves. Dehya realizes that as much as the desert made them, it also traps them there. She wishes to break free from that and bring her people along for a better life.

Her path may lead her away from the red-tinged golden sands, but it will always be her home.

Click here for lore of other Genshin characters.

How Dehya Got Her Vision

Truthfully, she doesn’t remember the exact moment she got this ‘divine gift.’ However, if she were to estimate when it happened, it would be when she started to walk her own path. At the time, she was consumed with a need to get stronger. Without strength, she cannot take on jobs to make the Mora she needs to survive.

It was bad enough that Dehya almost exchanged her Vision for some Mora. Still, she kept it and understood that for all the power it could bestow, it was nothing if it caused her to become arrogant. She knew that led to punishment and used it only as another tool, along with her wit, training, and grit.

Although it’s been established that a character has to be passionate about something to receive a Pyro Vision, it’s subtle on Dehya. Still, if her initial drive to become stronger was the catalyst, the Celestia gods might’ve thought she was someone to watch in the future.

A Warning About Playing Dehya

As she is now (her release in 3.6), there’s only one reason for you to pull for her: if you really like her as a character or her design. Her abilities are lackluster and need some rework, and she only performs well when you get her C6 or buffed to high heaven. That’s not mentioning the effort you need to get the absolute best artifacts for her.

HoYoverse usually has detailed plans, so there seems to be one for Dehya that we don’t know yet. Still, you’re better off saving your Primogems for now.