She’s also an amazing defensive option that can slot into almost any team. However, she’s not needed in these teams – she works, but she’s still replaceable. This is mostly due to other better healers/shielders/buffers/batteries and her lack of personal damage. Her value comes from all her utilities. If you only need one of them, it’s generally better to go for another unit. For instance, if you only need her shielding, Layla and Zhongli are better alternatives. These two offer more damage and higher uptime on their shields. Similarly, Rosaria and Kaeya are better Cryo batteries, Kokomi and Bennett are better healers, and so on. Note: This is based on meta only. If you like Diona regardless of her power level, don’t let this stop you from playing her.
Pros & Cons
Diona Strengths
Most of Diona’s value comes from her ton of utility. She’s basically a very versatile unit that can heal, shield, battery, and many more all in one. This makes her a great option for any team that can use her abilities. Plus, she has plenty more potential locked behind constellations. Upon reaching C6, you unlock her other abilities like shield-sharing in co-op, healing bonus buff, and Elemental Mastery buffs. Diona is also very easy to build and use. For her weapon, the Favonius Warbow is a great free-to-play option that basically any player has – and the Sacrificial Bow works too. As for her artifacts, just stack HP. This increases her shield strength and healing. So simply building enough HP is enough to make her work – but she also has more support potential. For instance, equipping her with 4pc. Noblesse Oblige lets her buff the entire team’s ATK every burst cast. Plus Diona is very easy to use since she stays mainly off-field. Just cast her skill if you need a shield or energy particles and cast her burst if you need healing – that’s it!
Diona Weaknesses
Diona contributes basically no damage to her teams – she’s just there as a defensive option. This is generally not a problem if your team already deals enough damage. However, she can compete with other damage dealing Cryo units if otherwise. For instance, if shielding is enough to keep your team alive, Layla is often better than Diona. This is thanks to her strong shield and respectable damage. Diona often competes with other Cryo units in her roles as a battery and shielder. And because she contributes almost no damage to her teams, it can be better to just use other damage dealing Cryo units. Her most notable competitors in these roles are Kaeya, Rosaria, and Layla. Here’s a deeper comparison between Diona and these Cryo characters.
Are Diona’s Constellations Good?
Diona has generally good constellations, but C1 is the only one worth actively pulling for. This constellation regenerates energy for Diona, thus making it easier to charge her expensive burst. It’s also her best constellation. Her C2-C6 are also good, but they’re not worth risking your banner pity on. Plus you’ll naturally get them from pulling on any of the gacha banners.
C1: A Lingering Flavor
Regenerates 15 energy when her burst ends. C1 helps you get her 80 energy cost burst much faster – and it’s Diona’s best constellation. This is because she’s very often equipped with the 4pc. Noblesse Oblige set. This gives a 20% ATK buff to the entire team whenever Diona casts her burst. So C1 also makes it easier to activate this effect.
C2: Shaken, Not Purred
Increases Diona’s skill damage by 15% and its shield damage absorption by 15%. Additionally, when paws hit their targets, she creates a shield for other nearby characters. This additional shield has 50% of her original shield’s damage absorption for 5s. C2 is mainly great for co-op content. It makes Diona an even better support thanks to her extended shielding.
C3: A-Another Round?
Increases her elemental burst talent level by 3. This increases her burst’s healing. It’s a nice constellation to have.
C4: Wine Industry Slayer
Within the radius of Diona’s burst, her charge time for aimed shots is reduced by 60%. This is very often a useless constellation. Diona doesn’t perform charged attacks in almost all her teams, so C4 is never needed.
C5: Double Shot, on the Rocks
Increases her elemental skill talent level by 3. This increases her shield strength – aka free shield upgrade.
C6: Cat’s Tail Closing Time
Characters within Diona’s burst gain the following effects based on their HP:
When their HP is at or below 50% HP, they gain a 30% Incoming Healing Bonus. When their HP is above 50%, they gain 200 Elemental Mastery.
This basically gives Diona additional buffing abilities. It makes her an even better defensive and support unit. C6 Diona is most often used for damage showcases that use Elemental Mastery.
Is Elegy for the End Good on Diona?
Elegy for the End is an overall great weapon for Diona. It’s especially good in teams that don’t need the extra energy particles generated by Sacrificial Bow or Favonius Warbow. In this instance, Elegy becomes Diona’s best weapon.
