Is Al Haitham a 5-star? Absolutely, Here‘s Why

Al Haitham is undoubtedly a coveted 5-star character in Genshin Impact. As miHoYo‘s first playable male Dendro DPS, he‘s one of the most hyped characters coming in Version 3.4. During his announcement at the 2022 Genshin livestream, fans were excited to finally meet this handsome sword-wielding Dendro character.

Other recent new 5-stars like Tighnari and Nilou also generated buzz, but Al Haitham has arguably seen the most anticipation. Now, with his official debut approaching on January 18th, theorycrafters are proving that the hype is justified. Al Haitham has the abilities, multipliers, and damage potential to be a top-tier 5-star DPS.

In this extensive guide, we‘ll analyze all of Al Haitham‘s capabilities to see why miHoYo rightfully made him a coveted 5-star. Let‘s dive into his skills, optimal rotations, weapons, teams, and future prospects to explain why he fully deserves 5-star status.

An In-Depth Introduction to Al Haitham

Hailing from Sumeru Academia, Al Haitham serves as the director of the institution‘s Investigation Team. He takes a scientific approach to justice in Sumeru, wielding a sword imbued with Dendro energy in battle. Some key facts about this new 5-star:

• Released – January 18, 2023 in Version 3.4 update
• Rarity – 5-star character (highest rarity in Genshin Impact)
• Element – Dendro
• Weapon – Sword
• Role – On-field main DPS

Al Haitham follows the trend of recent new Dendro characters occupying the main DPS role, alongside Tighnari and Nilou. Let‘s analyze his talents to see why miHoYo made him a rare 5-star DPS.

Evaluating Al Haitham‘s 5-Star Talents

Al Haitham‘s abilities provide strong personal Dendro damage from his sword strikes, Elemental Skill, and Burst. Here are the highlights of his 5-star talent kit:

Normal Attack – Ritual of seven threads

• Normal Attack – Performs up to 4 rapid sword strikes. At talent level 10, these deal damage scaling from 101.6% to 206.4% of Al Haitham‘s ATK.
• His 4-hit combo has excellent hit lag between each strike, allowing him to efficiently vaporize enemies.
• Charged Attack – Consumes stamina to perform a Spinning Slash dealing 222.4% ATK damage. Can be aimed.
• Plunging Attack – Standard plunging strike dealing 130% ATK AoE damage. Excellent motion value.

Elemental Skill – Tribunal of Vainglory

• Upon activation, Al Haitham will enter the Tribunal state for 10s, granting a 75% Dendro DMG Bonus to his attacks.
• During this state, hitting opponents with Normal and Charged Attacks will generate spiritual Chisel-Light Mirrors that will orbit around him up to a maximum of 3.
• When his Tribunal state ends or when his Burst is cast, the Chisel-Light Mirrors will explode dealing 90% of Al Haitham‘s ATK as AoE Dendro DMG each.
• At talent level 10, the Tribunal state lasts for 10s and generates a mirror every 1s. This provides strong sustained Dendro application for reactions.

Elemental Burst – Court of Silent Sand

• Al Haitham unleashes a coordinated summoning ritual, creating a Sand Palace Court that deals AoE Dendro DMG.
• This field remains for 10s, dealing 145.6% Dendro DMG per second to opponents inside.
• It also immediately detonates all existing Chisel-Light Mirrors, causing additional AoE Dendro damage based on the number of mirrors.
• Provides high Dendro application through the field and mirror detonation, enabling strong Dendro reactions.

Passives

• Imperatrix Umbrosa – Increases Crit Rate by 10% against enemies with 50% HP or less.
• Sands of Eon – Opponents hit by Chisel-Light Mirrors have their DEF decreased by 15% for 10s.
• Princeps Lucis – Using the Elemental Burst refunds 10 energy for all Tribunal states activated prior (max 30 energy).

As we can see from these detailed talents, Al Haitham has outstanding multipliers tuned for a main DPS role. Between his normal attacks, Tribunal state buffs, Burst field, and exploding Chisel-Light Mirrors, Al Haitham can consistently inflict heavy instances of Dendro damage to maximize reactions.

Now let‘s quantify his talent scaling at different levels to showcase his 5-star-worthy potential:

Talent	Lv. 1 DMG	Lv. 10 DMG	DMG Increase
Normal Attack	101.6% – 206.4%	191.52% – 386.72%	88.3%
Elemental Skill	90%	168%	86.7%
Elemental Burst	145.6%	271.68%	86.7%

As we can see, Al Haitham gains over 85% additional Dendro DMG from ranking his talents up to level 10. Investing in levels and ascensions is rewarded with sizable boosts.

Optimal Rotations and Playstyle

To maximize his 5-star potential, Al Haitham takes some practice to master. Here are some optimal tips for his rotations:

• Activate his Elemental Skill to enter his enhanced Tribunal state.
• Build Chisel-Light Mirrors with normal attacks during the 10s duration.
• Use his Burst when Tribunal expires to detonate the Mirrors for huge Dendro AoE damage.
• Weave in aimed Charged Attacks between slashes to build Mirrors faster.
• Rotate supports like Fischl and Zhongli around his Tribunal uptime windows.
• Utilize animation cancels, dashing, and jump cancels seamlessly maintain DPS.

Al Haitham has a high skill ceiling, rewarding players who can expertly manage his Tribunal windows to unleash devastating Dendro damage in AoE scenarios.

Al Haitham‘s Best 5-Star Weapons

To push his damage into 5-star territory, Al Haitham‘s best weapons provide Crit DMG or DMG bonuses:

Signature: Light of Foliar Incision

• 542 Base ATK
• 88.2% Crit DMG secondary stat
• Gains stacks from Normal Attacks to increase DMG by up to 40%

This signature sword synergizes perfectly with Al Haitham‘s playstyle, rewarding you for building Chisel-Light Mirrors. It consolidates both crit and DMG buffs in one tailored weapon.

Primordial Jade Cutter

• 542 Base ATK
• 44.1% Crit Rate secondary stat
• Increases HP by 20% and DMG by 1.2% of Max HP

Jade Cutter‘s high crit rate lets you focus on stacking Crit DMG in artifacts while still maintaining a 1:2 ratio. The HP scaling also provides some tankiness.

Mistsplitter Reforged

• 674 Base ATK
• 44.1% Crit DMG secondary stat
• Provides a 12~40% Elemental DMG Bonus based on stack mechanics.

Mistsplitter‘s passive rewards elemental skill and burst usage, aligning smoothly with Al Haitham‘s rotations. The Universal DMG buff applies nicely to his Dendro damage.

While F2P options like Iron Sting are sufficient for low spenders, his signature Light of Foliar Incision is the best way to maximize his 5-star scaling. The tailored stats provide a significant boost over 4-star weapons.

Evaluating Al Haitham‘s Best Artifact Builds

Al Haitham‘s artifacts should focus on stacking Crit Rate and Crit DMG to fuel his DPS potential. Here are his best 5-star artifact setups:

2pc Gilded Dreams + 2pc Gladiator‘s Finale

• +80 Elemental Mastery
• +18% ATK

This combination provides a balance of damage and Dendro reaction optimization. Gilded Dreams has quickly become the Dendro DPS staple.

4pc Deepwood Memories

• -30% Dendro RES (if no one else holds Deepwood)
• +15% Dendro DMG

Deepwood shreds Dendro resistance to amplify both his personal damage and Dendro reaction damage. Useful if team lacks another Deepwood holder.

Ideal main stats for a 5-star build are:

• Sands: ATK% or Elemental Mastery
• Goblet: Dendro DMG Bonus%
• Circlet: Crit Rate% or Crit DMG%

And strong substats to aim for are:

Substat	Priority
Crit Rate%	💚💚💚💚💚
Crit DMG%	💚💚💚💚
Dendro DMG Bonus%	💚💚💚
ATK%	💚💚
Energy Recharge%	💚

Building 60:120 Crit ratios with an Anemo character providing Viridescent Venerer resistance shred enables Al Haitham to hit 5-digit Dendro damage easily.

How Strong is Al Haitham Compared to Other DPS?

Based on early theorycrafting and impressions, here is how Al Haitham ranks among the top DPS characters at C0 potential:

• Slightly below Ganyu and Hu Tao in raw damage ceilings
• More flexible to build and play than Xiao, less reliant on batteries
• Better AoE Dendro application than Tighnari
• More straightforward than Cyno‘s unique playstyle
• Brings Dendro flexibility lacking in Ayaka freeze teams

Al Haitham may not definitively exceed those meta characters in sheer damage potential. But he still occupies an excellent spot as a universally flexible Dendro DPS option to build teams around.

Highlight Reel of Al Haitham‘s Strengths

In summary, here are the standout traits that make Al Haitham a fantastic 5-star main DPS:

• 💚 Exciting swordplay animations and effects
• 💚 High talent scaling on normal attacks, skill, and burst
• 💚 Gains significant DMG buffs from his Tribunal state
• 💚 Detonating Chisel-Light Mirrors causes huge AoE Dendro damage
• 💚 Works well in both Spread and Aggravate reaction teams
• 💚 More beginner friendly than Cyno or Tighnari
• 💚 Solid f2p weapon and artifact options available
• 💚 High skill ceiling rewards animation cancels and combos

Al Haitham brings a balanced blend of strong personal Dendro damage and team synergy through his unique Tribunal mechanics. Mastering his optimal rotations provides some of the most satisfying Dendro AoE demolition in the game.

Example Aggravate Team Composition

Here is an example of a powerful team leveraging Al Haitham‘s Dendro application to trigger Aggravate reactions:

• Al Haitham – On-field Dendro DPS
• Fischl – Off-field Electro enabler for Aggravate
• Zhongli – Shield support, resonance, and resistance shred
• Jean – Healer, Viridescent Venerer shred, crowd control

This composition provides shields and healing to sustain Al Haitham‘s melee playstyle, while also shredding resistances with Viridescent Venerer to amplify his Dendro damage. Fischl can continuously Apply Electro off-field while Al Haitham is in his Tribunal state, causing frequent Aggravate reactions that provide damage bonuses. Jean groups enemies together, allowing his Chisel-Light Mirrors to devastate in AoE.

Final Verdict: Al Haitham is a Top-Tier 5-Star DPS

After analyzing all of his abilities in-depth, I believe Al Haitham undoubtedly lives up to his coveted 5-star designation. Though he may not dominate every DPS chart, he brings very competitive personal damage along with uniquely satisfying Dendro AoE demolition. Al Haitham carves out a comfortable niche between newer characters like Tighnari and Cyno due to his more straightforward playstyle and flexible team synergies.

For players wanting a Dendro main DPS to build around, Al Haitham is arguably the most well-rounded and beginner friendly option currently available. He only needs a touch of Electro application to start dishing out huge numbers. Considering future Dendro supports like Baizhu could further elevate Al Haitham‘s potential, his future prospects look quite bright.

In summary, don‘t let his handsome scholarly looks deceive you – Al Haitham has all the skills and talents expected from a top-tier 5-star character. I can‘t wait to pull him as my new main Dendro DPS! Let me know if you have any other questions about our first 5-star male Dendro character.