Arlan vs Phainon
Arlan vs Phainon — two Destruction characters competing for the same roster slot.
TL;DR — Quick Pick
Pick Arlan if…
- You need a Lightning Destruction unit and Arlan's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer Main DPS gameplay over Phainon's Main DPS identity.
- Situational—Arlan is an HP-cost Lightning Destruction starter.
Pick Phainon if…
- You need a Physical Destruction unit and Phainon's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer Main DPS gameplay over Arlan's Main DPS identity.
- Yes—Phainon is a top Physical Destruction carry.
Arlan and Phainon are both Destruction investments that answer different account needs. Arlan (Lightning, Main DPS) shines when Situational—Arlan is an HP-cost Lightning Destruction starter.. Phainon (Physical, Main DPS) is the better commit when Yes—Phainon is a top Physical Destruction carry.. Compare signature builds, team requirements, and your existing supports before pulling either.
At a Glance
Strengths & Weaknesses
Arlan
- “Frenzied Punishment” dumps a huge single-target Lightning multiplier into one elite—boss and Apocalyptic Shadow checks are where this Ultimate earns its trace levels.
- Skill “Shackle Breaker” spends HP as a deliberate self-damage cost—this is the spend that keeps the rotation honest.
- Talent “Pain and Anger” Based on Arlan's current missing HP percentage—miss the stack conditions and the burst window feels empty.
- HP-spend skills mean Arlan can soft-lock if sustain is weak or if a healer tops them up at the wrong time and breaks a low-HP / Charge condition.
- As a 4★ Destruction unit, Arlan is easy to gear for early/mid game but usually loses the niche race to a modern limited option once that banner is built.
- Spamming “Shackle Breaker” every turn without watching Skill Points strands the rest of the team—Arlan is often the SP sink.
Phainon
- Ultimate “He Who Bears the World Must Burn” hits every enemy on the field in one cast—most of the kit’s damage lives inside that window, not on filler Basics.
- “Let There Be Light” Blast-hits the main target plus adjacent enemies, so adjacent elites still take meaningful chip without waiting for Ultimate.
- Talent “Pyric Corpus” buffs allies’ damage for a short window—ignore it and Phainon plays like a worse generic Destruction unit.
- E0 without “Thus Burns the Dawn” is still clearable, but the gap versus a signature copy is larger than a single eidolon for most Destruction carries—plan the cone before deep eidolon hunting.
- If Energy or Skill Points starve “He Who Bears the World Must Burn”, Phainon spends turns on Basics and the kit’s advertised multipliers never show up on the combat log.
- Spamming “Let There Be Light” every turn without watching Skill Points strands the rest of the team—Phainon is often the SP sink.
Shared Team Members
With Arlan
Sunday is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Phainon
Sunday is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Arlan
Tingyun is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Phainon
Tingyun is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Arlan
Pela applies DEF shred / vulnerability so the carry’s multipliers actually land.
With Phainon
Pela applies DEF shred / vulnerability so the carry’s multipliers actually land.
Best Builds (Signature)
Light Cone
On the Fall of an Aeon
Relics
Band of Sizzling Thunder (4pc) + Inert Salsotto (2pc)
Body
CRIT Rate%
Feet
ATK%
Sphere
Lightning DMG%
Rope
ATK%
Substats
CRIT Rate ≥ CRIT DMG > ATK% > SPD
Light Cone
Thus Burns the Dawn
Relics
Scholar Lost in Erudition (4pc) + Inert Salsotto (2pc)
Body
CRIT Rate%
Feet
ATK%
Sphere
Physical DMG%
Rope
ATK%
Substats
CRIT Rate ≥ CRIT DMG > ATK% > SPD
Who Should You Pull?
- You need a Lightning Destruction unit and Arlan's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer Main DPS gameplay over Phainon's Main DPS identity.
- Situational—Arlan is an HP-cost Lightning Destruction starter.
- Ultimate “Frenzied Punishment” Blast-hits the main target plus adjacent enemies.
- “Frenzied Punishment” dumps a huge single-target Lightning multiplier into one elite—boss and Apocalyptic Shadow checks are where this Ultimate earns its trace levels.
- You need a Physical Destruction unit and Phainon's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer Main DPS gameplay over Arlan's Main DPS identity.
- Yes—Phainon is a top Physical Destruction carry.
- Ultimate “He Who Bears the World Must Burn” hits every enemy on the field in one cast.
- Phainon is a stronger general pull priority for your roster.