We have released a long series of guides for every new character that gets released, but we also couldn’t neglect the ones who were there since the game began. These characters in the ‘standard pool’, like Mona, have served their time in the ever-changing meta of Genshin Impact, and we thought they deserved a guide of their own. This time, our resident astrologist takes the spotlight.
Mona is a 5-star catalyst-wielding Hydro character, specializing in crowd control and damage amplification. Having an AoE taunt and imprison allows her to control entire groups of foes, and she also possesses a huge potential for burst damage when built properly. Mona was once seen as a character who can only deal burst damage as her role, but has slowly risen up to become one of the best supports for perma-freeze teams. She is part of the infamous Morgana team comps, who utilize her Stellaris Phantasm to significantly improve the damage of Cryo hyper-carries.
Abilities Overview
Mona’s Elemental Skill is Mirror Reflection of Doom. She creates a hydro decoy that taunts nearby enemies, and deals Hydro damage over the duration. It’s a simple ability that has a great use for grouping up multiple foes, especially melee ones. This ability doesn’t have full uptime due to its relatively lengthy cooldown, but it’s a good way to apply Hydro consistently unto enemies.
Mona’s Elemental Burst is Stellaris Phantasm. She bathes a large area in thick water, imprisoning enemies in an Illusory Bubble for 8 seconds. The bubble will apply Omen during (and five seconds after release), which amplifies damage dealt to the enemy. Dealing any damage will immediately release the Illusory Bubble, dealing huge amounts of Hydro damage.
Stellaris Phantasm has a unique bug that is being abused by meta perma-freeze teams. If the Illusory Bubble target is frozen, the bubble will not pop during the frozen state even after dealing damage. This massively extends the Omen duration, allowing for more damage to be dealt. A team consisting of Ganyu, Venti, and Mona, does this best, with both supports applying damage amplification, and Ganyu’s burst dealing high amounts of Cryo damage for a long period of time.
Best Weapon Builds for Mona
Skyward Atlas – This catalyst has a lot of good things for Mona. High base ATK, great ATK% substat, Elemental DMG Bonus, and a passive that can deal a good bit of damage even when off-field. Lost Prayers is also a good option, but Mona’s low field time means she really can’t make use of the weapon’s passive.
The Widsith – With Mona’s quick-swap play style, The Widsith is probably the perfect catalyst for her. It takes a bit of practice to properly use the weapon, but learning it allows for very high burst damage even for a support. An R1 Widsith might not beat an R1 Skyward Atlas, though it most likely can at max refinement.
Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers – The definitive support-role catalyst. This is why catalyst users are always relevant–they can carry this tome and still be a big help to the team even without doing anything. This complements her quick-swap play style, and can set up massive burst damage for her carry with minimal effort.
Best Artifact Builds for Mona
Emblem of Severed Fate (4-piece) – The definitive artifact set for Mona. Since Mona’s second talent provides her with Hydro DMG bonus based on her Energy Recharge, this set provides huge damage output from ER stacking. Aim for ER% Sands, Hydro DMG Goblet, and Crit Rate/DMG Circlet for optimal performance. You can opt for ATK% Sands if you have an ER catalyst like Favonius Codex, for a bit more damage.
Noblesse Oblige (4-piece) – This artifact set is meant for a purely supportive role, and is best used with the Thrilling Tales catalyst. The Elemental Burst bonus is good, but the party-wide 20% ATK boost is what makes this applicable for a lot of teams. Aim for ER% Sands, Hydro DMG Goblet, and Crit Rate/DMG Circlet for optimal performance.
2-piece Exile, 2-piece Scholar – The two artifact sets mentioned above can only be accessed later in the game, especially the Emblem set which can only be found in the third island of Inazuma. If you’re new to the game and want a set that’s accessible and great for Mona, this mixed set is the best one for you. More ER just means more frequent Bursts and a bit more damage from the talent. Aim for ER% Sands, Hydro DMG Goblet, and Crit Rate/DMG Circlet for optimal performance.
Best Team Compositions for Mona
Morgana – Recommended Lineup: Mona, Venti/Kazuha/Sucrose, Diona, Ganyu/Ayaka
The infamous Morgana comp got its name from the original Venti-(Mo)na-(Ga)nyu-Dio(na) team that demolished multiple Abyss floors throughout the game. As discussed in the Abilities section, this team abuses the Omen bug when enemies are frozen, thus providing massive damage amplification for longer periods of time. Nowadays, Morgana is a blanket term for comps that utilize perma-freeze with Mona and Venti/Kazuha/Sucrose.
Damage Showcase – Recommended Lineup: Mona, Sucrose, Bennett, [literally almost anyone]
This trio has been notorious for being present in a lot of damage showcase videos in the past. Mona’s Omen, Sucrose’s Res shred and EM buff, and Bennett’s ATK buff, all provide massive bonuses to any character who wants to deal massive damage in one screenshot. Memes aside, this comp is also great for a general quick swap team, and performs better when all each member has been built properly.
Mona is a character who has seen much use throughout the months since the game’s release. What used to be an underwhelming 5-star character, has now become an important enabler in the most meta teams in the current game. If you happen to have a Mona lying around, build her from the ground up, and she won’t disappoint.
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