Bronya, the best support unit, is undeniably an impressive buffer for just about any other character.
However, she comes with a unique set of challenges that can leave players feeling perplexed.
This article offers a detailed guide on how to build Bronya, optimizing her skills and abilities to maximize her potential in your team.
Guide to Mastering Bronya: Best Builds and Team Compositions
Understanding Bronya: Stats, Abilities, Traces, and Eidolons
Bronya is a 5-star Wind character who follows the Harmony path, a path dedicated to buffing allies. She is a unit that many players specifically reroll for, despite some minor issues like speed tuning and sub-optimal recommended sets.
At level 80, Bronya boasts a high base HP of 1241, the 6th highest in the game. However, her base attack of 582 places her in the bottom 10 for base attack.
She compensates for this with a high base defense of 533, the highest among all non-Preservation units. Her base speed is 99, the 9th slowest in the game, and she has an average energy cost of 120.
Let's dive deeper into her abilities:
- Basic Attack (Windrider Bullet): Her basic attack deals a moderate amount of Wind Damage to a single enemy, inflicts 30 toughness damage, and regenerates 20 energy and 1 skill point.
- Skill (Combat Redeployment): This is a support skill that removes a debuff from a selected ally and allows them to take action immediately after Bronya's turn, while increasing their damage by a certain percentage (66% at level 10).
- Ultimate (The Belobog March): At level 10, Bronya's ultimate boosts the attack of all allies by 55%, and increases their crit damage equal to 16% of Bronya's own crit damage plus 20% for 2 turns.
- Talent (Leading the Way): This talent advances Bronya's action forward when she uses a basic attack, gaining 30% of a turn extra with each basic attack at level 10.
- Technique (Banner of Command): This support technique increases all allies' attack by 15% for 2 turns at the start of the next battle.
Bronya also has ascension passives that enhance her basic attack, increase all allies' defense, and boost all allies' damage when she is on the field.
Her eidolons grant her a 50% chance of recovering 1 skill point when using a skill, provide a 1-turn 30% speed buff to the target of her skill after they take action, and increase the duration of the DMG% buff from her skill by 1 turn.
Pros and Cons of Using Bronya
Bronya offers a plethora of benefits:
- She provides high DPS buffing capabilities.
- She has a cleanse in her skill kit.
- Her talent is beneficial for maintaining speed parity with her DPS.
- She has a strong buffing technique applicable to any fight.
However, she also has certain downsides:
- She can't buff two DPS like other units can.
- Her toughness damage is relatively weak.
- She has lower damage compared to other Harmony units.
- Her speed tuning can be tricky and potentially problematic.
The Mechanics of Speed and Bronya
Speed is a critical factor in determining the order of actions in battles. With a base speed of 99, Bronya is one of the slower characters in the game. However, her unique abilities and mechanics can turn this seemingly negative trait into a strategic advantage.
Bronya's talent, "Leading the Way," advances her action forward when she uses a basic attack. In other words, every time she uses her basic attack, she essentially gains 30% of a turn extra. This mechanism can be a strategic advantage, enabling Bronya to take actions more frequently than her base speed would suggest.
Your action value is calculated as 10000 divided by your speed, meaning the higher your speed, the lower your action value, and thus you take turns faster. For instance, if you have 100 speed, your action value would be 100. Your first turn takes place at action value (AV) 100, and your second at AV 200. If you use Bronya's basic attack at level 10, you advance your second action by 30%, meaning your AV for this turn is multiplied by 0.7. Therefore, you would take your second turn at AV 170.
Understanding this interaction is essential for utilizing Bronya effectively, especially if you want to maintain her skill point neutrality, where she regains as many skill points as she spends.
Fast Bronya vs. Slow Bronya
You can build Bronya to be "fast" or "slow," depending on your team composition and strategy.
Fast Bronya is built with enough speed to use her basic attack and end up behind your DPS to then skill them, instantly being skill point neutral. The specific speed needed varies depending on the speed and buffs of your DPS. While Fast Bronya can enable quick DPS bursts in the first wave and deal with enemy crowd control effectively, it can also ruin your turn order if your DPS is faster.
On the other hand, Slow Bronya first uses her skill and then basic on her next turn, if you run the skill point neutral playstyle. You would aim to have enough speed to be behind your DPS by a certain amount. The specific amount varies depending on the speed and speed buffs of your DPS. Slow Bronya is more susceptible to DPS being crowd-controlled, but you can still cleanse them and get their turn back.
In essence, whether you choose to build a Fast or Slow Bronya depends on the specific circ*mstances of your team and the enemies you're facing. Regardless, understanding Bronya's speed mechanics is crucial to utilizing her to her fullest potential.
Selecting the Right Relics and Planar Sets for Bronya
While the Wind set seems like a natural choice for Bronya given her elemental alignment and supportive capabilities, it can potentially ruin her skill in certain cases. You should try these ones instead:
Musketeer Set: Before version 1.2, the Musketeer set is recommended for Bronya. This set doesn't interfere with Bronya's action value, allowing for better control over her speed tuning and rotation.
Hackerspace Set: When version 1.2 hits, it's recommended to farm the new Hackerspace set. The Hackerspace set increases the speed of all allies by 6% and a further 12% after using the Ultimate, including Bronya, without messing up any speed tuning. It's a beneficial set that not only improves her speed but also allows you to go less speed substats to tune to your DPS.
Celestial Differentiator or Fleet Set?: The Celestial Differentiator set is not recommended because it only offers a small crit damage buff to her ultimate for allies. Instead, the Fleet set is suggested for its superior attack percentage buff, which lasts for the entire fight.
Broken Keel Set: In version 1.2, the new best in slot will be the Keel set, giving crit damage to all allies for the entire fight, as well as buffing her crit damage buff on her ultimate. This set also provides effect resistance, which pairs nicely with her traces and promotes more effect resistance stacking on her, helping to avoid crowd control (CC) and debuffs in general from ruining her turn order and overall performance.
Penacony Set is also a viable option for extra 5% ERR and damage for other wind units like Black Swan or Blade.
For main stats, a mix of crit damage, speed, tank stats, and energy regen are recommended. Substats should focus on speed, crit damage, tank stats, and effect resistance.
Optimal Late Game Stats for Bronya
Speed:Slower than Carry or 161+
Energy Regen: 20%+
Crit DMG: 200%+
Light Cone Options for Bronya
Signature Light Cone: Bronya's signature light cone is, of course, a strong choice. The energy it provides is useful, allowing for a different rope in her 4 turn rotation if you run Vonwacq. Even with her signature, it's still recommended to use an energy regen rope unless you want to go for a Fast Bronya build. This light cone also includes a damage% boost, which is perfect for Bronya, increasing her DMG% buff on skill to 96% at S1. It also regenerates a skill point every 2 ultimates, which isn't as amazing as it sounds due to the delay.
Past and Future: Until S2 of her signature light cone, Past and Future provides a better DMG% buff and serves as an excellent free-to-play option.
Planetary Rendezvous: If you're running a wind DPS like Blade, she can use the Planetary Rendezvous light cone. This will give him even more DMG%, making it stronger than her signature light cone damage-wise unless you're skill spamming, which is acceptable with Blade.
Other Options: Since Bronya can maintain a 2 skill, 2 basic rotation with an energy rope, you can use any light cone on her to buff your allies. Depending on your team composition, she could also use Carve the Moon or Dance! Dance! Dance!.
Building the Perfect Team Around Bronya
Bronya can synergize with almost any DPS. She's excellent with Dan Heng, enabling him to activate his talent frequently, and with Seele, she can boost her buffs in her Resurgence state. Bronya is also likely to be the best support for Blade, the new unit releasing in 1.2.
In terms of team composition, you could pair Bronya with a solo sustain, your chosen DPS, and a debuffer for maximum DPS output. Alternatively, she can work with two DPS and two weaker sustain units if needed.
In conclusion, Bronya is a versatile and powerful unit that can be a game-changer when used effectively.
Understanding her abilities and how to optimize them will allow you to maximize her potential, strengthening your team and leading you to victory.
