Boss Overview
The boss has 9,996,870 HP for Fearless and 20,201,856 HP for Dire.
- Requires clean shield break
- Ideally high frontloaded damage
The Glacial Wolf’s normal resistances are standard at 10%, but it has much higher Anemo RES at 50%. During the down phase, all resistances drop by 70%. At the beginning of the fight, the boss has extremely high resistance but it is only for a very short window so mostly won't affect the fight.
Mechanic
The core mechanic is Ancestral Wolf Spirit: Manifestation.
Around 5s after the battle starts, the Glacial Wolf summons an Ancestral Wolf Spirit. While the spirit is active, the boss is protected and becomes effectively impossible to damage normally. The spirit has a special 24U Cryo shield that can only be broken by Pyro Swirl or Electro Swirl reactions. Once the Ward is shattered, the spirit disappears, the boss becomes temporarily stunned for 12s, and it takes backlash damage (60% of Anemo and Pyro dmg). During this down phase, most resistances drop to -60%, and 60% of Anemo and Pyro damage dealt during the shield phase is immediately dealt to the boss after the shield breaks.
That means the optimal fight plan is:
- Use the opening seconds to set up.
- Apply Pyro or Electro so your Anemo unit can Swirl it into the Cryo Ward.
- It is important to note that Pyro or Electro aura that is weakened will result in the shield being broken by a smaller amount
- Set up your rotation for the full 12-second down phase.
The most common mistake is bringing a strong team with no reliable Pyro Swirl or Electro Swirl trigger unless at EXTREMELY high vertical investment.
Best Team Archetypes
Pyro Teams
This is the BEST archetype for a fast shield break and Pyro carries can easily slot in an Anemo unit without losing much damage
C0 Mavuika
R5 Serpent
C0 Citlali
R5 Fav Codex
C6 Bennett
R1 Alley Flash
C6 Sucrose
R5 TTDS
Electro Teams
This archetype ONLY works when your Electro application is consistent and your Anemo unit can Swirl repeatedly because Electro swirl destroy the shield slower. However, this option still viable with a strong enough Electro DPS
C0 Flins
R5 Prospector's
C0 Ineffa
R5 Missive
C6 Aino
R5 Fav Greatsword
C6 Sucrose
R5 Sac Frag
Other Carries
This option will likely only work if your characters are very well invested because you have to sacrifice a team slot to deal with the boss' shield
C2 Nefer
R5 Sac Frag
C0 Columbina
R5 Fav Codex
C6 Fischl
R5 Fav Bow
C6 Sucrose
R5 Sac Frag
Required DPS
Baseline DPS
The baseline DPS requirement is simply the HP divide by the 120s timer, resulting in:
- 83.3k for Fearless
- 168k for Dire
However the actual DPS needed is higher due to having to deal with the boss mechanics.
Actual DPS
The actual DPS check is best understood with this formula:
Actual DPS = Required damage / DPS window
Where:
- Actual required damage = Boss HP − backlash damage - damage gain from lower RES phase
- DPS window = 120s - shield break time
For Pyro teams that can naturally slot in an anemo unit, the actual DPS requirement won't be too much higher than the baseline because the lower RES phase will somewhat make up for the loss time due to shield breaking. However, teams that rely on electro swirls like Flins should expect at least 25% higher than baseline due to shield breaking taking roughly 40s in total.
Tips and Tricks
- Start the fight as a setup phase
The beginning resistance values are extremely high so focus on getting all your bursts ready and damage down the shield to a sliver. - Plan the shield breaking
You need a reliable way to Swirl Pyro or Electro. A team with Anemo but no stable Pyro/Electro aura can still fail the mechanic. - Pyro Swirl is usually easier to execute than Electro Swirl.
Electro Swirl works, but Pyro swirls are twice as fast at breaking the shield.
- Time your shield break.
The boss only stays weakened for 12 seconds, so the best clears line up major buffs and DPS cooldowns for that exact window. This is why you should leave the shield on a sliver on the set up rotation. - Use Favonius and Sacrificial weapons.
Both Favonius and Sacrificial weapons can be triggered even while shielded so this will heavily alleviate your energy requirements. - Fast shield breaks
If Bennett and Lynnett are both C6 then you can actually start your rotation immediately because they can break the shield extremely fast. Thus, allowing you more DPS window. Sac weapons on Kazuha and Sucrose is decently fast but generally not enough to start your rotation immediately.
Character-Specific Tech
Sucrose
Sucrose is one of the best answers to this fight because she can repeatedly trigger Swirl as a catalyst user. Be sure to use different sources of attack to maximize her Swirls as they don't share ICD. Essentially use Normal, Charge, Skill and Burst alternately to maximize the number of Swirls.
Kazuha
Kazuha works best when you can control the absorbed element. Make sure the enemy or nearby target has Pyro or Electro before using his Skill and Burst. If you use Sacraficial Sword then he can do 2 skill into Burst. You can then set up the rest of the rotation and another E will be enough to take the shield down.
Lynnett
Lynnett's C4 allow her an extra skill cast and C6 gives her Anemo infusion, this combine with Bennett's C6 will allow for the fastest shield break if you do E > NA > E > NA > Q
Arlecchino
Arlecchino is one of the few character that can have extremely flexible rotation so you should take advantage of this by rotating between her and the Anemo unitto both damage the boss and get the shield down.
Also Arlecchino can use her skill against the Spirit to maximize her Bond of Life
