Genshin Impact's new artifact sets for 4.6, explained

Two new artifact sets are coming to Genshin Impact Version 4.6: Unfinished Reverie and Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy. Let’s take a look at the new gear and see if they’re worth farming for any of your characters.

Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy effect explained

Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy’s 4pc effect grants up to 54% DMG bonus when a character’s Bond of Life increases or decreases.

Bond of Life is a debuff that prevents a character from receiving a certain amount of healing. Any healing they receive will reduce their Bond of Life bar instead of replenishing their HP. Bond of Life must be fully cleared before they can begin filling their HP bar.

Bond of Life can be applied by certain enemies (like Fatui Operatives) or from certain weapon effects (some Fontaine craftables). Unless a character can apply Bond of Life to themselves, they are unable to activate Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy’s 4pc effect.

Who can use Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy?

As of Version 4.6, there’s only one character in Genshin Impact who consistently uses the Bond of Life mechanic: Arlecchino. Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy is tailor-made for Arlecchino, and is likely to be her best artifact set. However, Gladiator’s Finale or Echoes of an Offering are also good artifact sets that may be easier to farm. Both sets can be obtained through artifact strongboxes.

Since few characters can use either Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy or Unfinished Reverie, it might be better to farm for an alternate artifact set for Arlecchino, even if it’s not her best-in-slot.

Unfinished Reverie effect explained

The 4pc effect for Unfinished Reverie has several parts to it:

• Gain 50% DMG bonus when out of combat for more than 3 seconds.
• When you start combat, if there are no Burning enemies nearby, this buff starts to decrease.
• If there are Burning enemies nearby, this buff increases up to 50%.

Note that the buff caps out at 50%. Having Burning enemies nearby doesn’t double the buff; it just maintains it at 50%.

Being on-field or off-field doesn’t matter. The text specifies “in combat,” which means enemies have noticed you and you hear battle music.

Who can use Unfinished Reverie?

As of Genshin Impact Version 4.6, I don’t recommend pure Burning teams in general. Burning has a lot of potential for self-damage and there are other reactions that make better use of Dendro.

That said, Unfinished Reverie might have a niche use in Burnmelt teams. Burnmelt uses Burning to establish a Pyro aura, then triggers Melt with a Cryo DPS character. You could, in theory, use Unfinished Reverie for Burnmelt Ganyu. However, this locks Ganyu to Burnmelt teams, and she would be better off with Shimenawa’s Reminiscence or Wanderer’s Troupe instead.

Are the new artifacts in 4.6 worth farming?

As of Version 4.6, Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy and Unfinished Reverie are not worth farming for. Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy might be worth it for Arlecchino if you’re intent on getting the absolute best gear for her, but there are more efficient places to spend your Resin.

This may change in the future as Genshin Impact adds new characters, weapons, and mechanics. But for now, you can skip the new domain.