A detailed new analysis from Zajef77 on YouTube offers deep first impressions of two of Genshin Impact’s newest characters—Skirk and Dahlia—highlighting both their strengths and potential caveats. While Skirk may be shaping up as a top-tier Cryo DPS option with the right support, Dahlia appears more specialized, mainly existing to enable Skirk’s optimal performance.

Let’s break down how these two characters are designed to work and what players should know before investing.

Skirk: Mono-Freeze Exclusive Powerhouse

Skirk is a Cryo sword user with Crit DMG ascension and a powerful but tightly constrained kit. Her performance hinges on two key aspects:

🔹 Reliance on Mono-Freeze Teams

Skirk’s entire kit scales dramatically—by roughly 70% total damage—when she’s used in a Mono-Freeze team, defined as a full party composed only of Hydro and Cryo characters. If this condition isn’t met, her damage plummets. Moreover, she’s heavily reliant on Escoffier, who provides the resistance shred and healing necessary to unlock Skirk’s full potential.

🔹 Two Playstyles: Normal Attack or Burst Focus

Skirk can follow two main playstyles:

  • Normal Attack Stance: Entered via her tap skill, which boosts her basic attacks using a unique resource called Serpent Subtlety.
  • Burst Mode: Triggered through a hold skill, it stores Serpent Subtlety to unleash a massive Cryo burst based on the amount saved.

Each mode has trade-offs:

  • The normal stance drains Serpent Subtlety, shortening burst uptime.
  • The burst requires saving Subtlety, meaning no stance-enhanced attacks before the burst.

Her damage scales sharply with the amount of Subtlety used—reaching up to ~6,000 motion value at level 9, significantly outpacing even Ayaka’s burst in a properly built Mono-Freeze team.

🔹 Void Rift System and Energy Concerns

Skirk generates Void Rifts when party members trigger Frozen, Superconduct, or Crystallize. These must be absorbed manually through charge attacks or a placeholder burst to regain Serpent Subtlety.

However, her burst mode generates no team energy, making external battery support (like Fina or Yelan) crucial in burst comps.

Skirk vs Ayaka: Who Wins?

While Ayaka remains a top Cryo unit, Skirk’s performance with optimal teammates (Escoffier, Fina) allows her to edge out Ayaka in raw personal damage. Additionally, her:

  • Simplified rotations
  • Resistance to interruption
  • Frontloaded burst damage
  • No reliance on enemies staying frozen

…all make her more reliable in boss fights.

However, team cost is higher—without Escoffier, Skirk’s damage falls off sharply, whereas Ayaka can still function with more flexible supports like Shenhe or Mona.

Dahlia: A Support Custom-Built for Skirk

Dahlia is a Hydro 4-star support designed almost exclusively to synergize with Skirk. His value lies in:

🔹 Conditional Shield and Attack Speed

His burst provides a refreshing shield that isn’t strong by itself but satisfies the condition for Calamity of Eshu, a weapon that grants 40% DMG and 16% Crit Rate when the user is shielded.

He also provides attack speed based on HP, capped at 37.5k HP—a stat that benefits Skirk due to her tight attack windows and reliance on fast combos.

🔹 Limited Flexibility Outside Skirk Teams

Dahlia’s Hydro application is minimal, and his off-field value is weak, meaning he doesn’t synergize well with other reaction-based DPS like Hu Tao or Yoimiya. He’s mostly a stat stick, ideal only when you want to enable Calamity of Eshu on normal-attack-based characters like Skirk.

Skirk Builds, Sets, and Constellations

  • Best Artifact Sets:
    • At C0, Skirk’s best is Marechaussee Hunter, not her signature set.
    • At C1, her Void Rift explosions count as charge attacks, which her signature set doesn’t buff—making Desert Pavilion Chronicle surprisingly viable.
  • Signature Weapon vs Alternatives:
    • Calamity of Eshu (4-star): Only ~3% weaker than Mistsplitter and superior if shield conditions are met.
    • Her 5-star signature weapon may overcap Crit Rate on specific setups but remains strong.
  • Constellations:
    • C1: Adds significant damage via Void Rift explosions.
    • C2: Boosts either her burst or normal playstyle scaling dramatically.
    • Later constellations further specialize her based on chosen playstyle.

Dahlia’s Kit Summary

  • Elemental Skill: Purely for energy generation.
  • Burst: Grants a stack-refreshing shield and attack speed buff.
  • C1–C5: Modest quality-of-life boosts (energy, shield strength).
  • C6: Adds 10% more attack speed and revives a fallen character once during his burst.

He fits best as a fourth-slot support in Skirk comps, but outside that, his utility drops sharply.

Final Verdict

  • Skirk is incredibly powerful, especially for players who can build Mono-Freeze teams with Escoffier and Fina. Her performance surpasses Ayaka in ideal setups, but she’s team-locked and inflexible, making her a risky investment for newer players.
  • Dahlia is a niche enabler, mostly useful for unlocking Skirk’s weapon potential. He’s not a must-have but can be a solid free-to-play option in specific builds.

For more Genshin character deep-dives and team builds, check out ExploreGenshin.gg

Frequently Asked Questions about Skirk and Dahlia