【Math】Empyrean vs Moonlit - Which is better?
How does the new Empyrean Anthem set compare to Moonlit Clouds? Let’s look at the math!
Video Version
Check the comments for a video version of this post :3
Empyrean Anthem Basics
This set provides (2) 10% Energy Regen, and (5) 80% Coordinated Attack Damage, with a 20% ATK buff to the current active resonator on crit of a Coordinated Attack, lasting for 4 seconds.
Note that "increased coordinated attack damage" is additive with other damage bonuses, such as Skill Damage Bonus or Elemental Damage Bonuses.
Here are the simulated uptimes of this attack buff with various crit rates with a 1s delay coordinated attack. As you can see, even if you have a scuffed 50% crit rate, you still reap most of the potential of this buff - though, for reference, this buff itself contributes roughly 6% team DPS in the upcoming calculations.
| Crit Rate | Simulated Uptime |
|---|---|
| 40% | 86.98% |
| 50% | 93.74% |
| 60% | 97.44% |
| 70% | 99.19% |
Heron was... ninja buffed?!
In 2.0, Heron was given an implicit buff. Previously, you would always devote an entire swap to it, as dodge canceling out of it would leave you mid-air, which would be inconvenient for most Resonators, causing a long uptime loss. Now, you can dodge cancel it and remain on the floor, which is HUGE for some teams, as you can now swap cancel a skill with a longer cast time instead.
Yinlin x Empyrean Anthem... with XLY
Let’s start with Yinlin’s performance, as she has the largest variety of use cases with the new sets. She can use the Empyrean set, or Void thunder, with one of two Echoes - Nightmare Tempest Mephis, which passively boosts skill and Electro, or Hecate, which passively boosts coordinated attack damage by a larger amount. In the following chart, we’ll look at her performance in a team with Xiangli Yao and Verina.
Here, you can see the expected team DPS performance with varying sets and main Echoes.
Note that these calculations assume equal investment in both your sub and main DPS. If your sub DPS is at a relative disadvantage, e.g. no signature weapon vs a main DPS with, then the value of Empyrean set / elemental sets decrease relative to Moonlit Clouds.
In this example team, Hecate pulls slightly ahead of Nightmare Tempest Mephis as a main summon, and both of the new sets outperform the Moonlit Clouds and Heron combo. With the Hecate + Empyrean combo, there is a concern of too much damage bonus dilution the +120% coordinated attack bonus that it grants - however, running 43311 Electro/Atk is still just a bit less than 43311 double Electro in this case, as 60% of Yinlin’s damage is non-coordinated still.
"Wait, what about 44111?"
Woops, I completely forgor to add it in the image. But, it's less than 1% weaker than 43311 Ele/Ele, so it's a very resource-efficient way to build your Empyrean set.
Yinlin x Empyrean Anthem... with Jinhsi (more Yinlin field time)
Note that this performance can vary between different teams. In a team with Jinhsi and Verina, Yinlin can contribute more due to Jinhsi not requiring as much field time as Xiangli Yao. In this example, the Nightmare Tempest Mephis main summon outperforms Hecate slightly, due to Yinlin being able to contribute more damage outside just her coordinated attacks.
IS IT YOUHU TIME?!
However, there are also teams where coordinated attack damage is weighted higher - that is, with Youhu, who offers a 100% amplify on them. In a team with Yinlin, Xiangli Yao, and Youhu, here are the comparisons. Hecate as a main summon pulls ahead much further than Nightmare Tempest Mephis in this case, but at the end of the day, the total team damage is still just a bit lower than a team with Verina… which is, kinda lame. The blue brat deserves her spotlight!
Zhezhi x Empyrean Anthem
And this is where I'd put some Carlotta numbers.... IF I HAD THEM (yes I'm still behind)
Anyway, let’s also look at Zhezhi’s performance with the new set. Hecate offers a substantial upgrade over the Moonlit set, though the post 2.0 Heron optimization is also a decent step up from before. Similar to Yinlin, 43311 Glacio/Attack is less than 1% off from double Glacio when running Hecate + Empyrean, so just use whichever you have better rolls for!
TLDR
For coordinated attacker supports such as Yinlin, Zhezhi, and Mortefi, Empyrean Anthem is a decent upgrade over Moonlit - around a 5-8% increase. 43311 double element is ideal, if only by a small margin - 43311 element + attack is nearly identical. For Yinlin, Empyrean is recommended over Void Thunder, but Nightmare Tempest Mephis is a competitive echo with Hecate and can be prioritized higher in teams where she has more field time, or lower in teams with Youhu.
And that wraps up this mini analysis! See you guys in the next one where we’ll break down more sets… or Carlotta… we’ll see! Bye bye~