Looking for the best Genshin Impact Noelle build? This maid who dreams of being a knight is arguably the most valuable starter character in Genshin—a veritable Geo tank who is guaranteed to drop with your first ten wishes on the beginner banner when you start the game.
Noelle offers loads of early game utility as a character who not only creates shields and heals your party, but also deals out some decent damage since her abilities scale with a single stat: defence. That makes her a pleasure to build.
Just as the Traveler teaches players about Anemo and elemental absorption, Noelle is a great 101 in how to build Genshin Impact characters and get the most from their abilities by prioritising the stats with which they scale. This Genshin Impact Noelle build guide has some weapon and artifact suggestions, but also info on her abilities, Constellations, and Ascension materials.
Builds
The best Genshin Impact Noelle build
Noelle's strength lies in her strong shields and her abilities that all scale with her defence stat. My builds take both into account:
DPS Shield
Weapon: The Unforged
If you want to get fancy with Noelle then The Unforged is the way to go. This five-star claymore increases shield strength by 20%, but also grants an attack bonus of 4% for eight seconds every time you hit an opponent. This can stack up to five times. While you're protected by a shield, your attack increase effect also scales by 100%.
Considering Noelle's Breastplate shield, her increased AoE attack range from Sweeping Time, her defence-based attack increase effect, and her need to hit lots of enemies to make the most of her healing, this weapon is pretty much tailor-made for her.
Genshin Impact guide: Beginner tips
Genshin Impact map: All Anemoculus locations
Genshin Impact build: Equip your party
Artifact: Retracing Bolide
This artifact set further increases Noelle's already significant shield strength. A two-piece set gets you a 35% boost, while a four-piece grants a 40% normal and charged attack damage bonus when protected by a shield. This overall set means that with Breastplate and Sweeping Time active, Noelle can deal out some nasty numbers to a lot of enemies, while also gaining attack boosts, and topping off the party with healing.
Defence Utility
Weapon: Whiteblind
Noelle is a rare character as all of her abilities scale with a single stat. This means that even without the rarest weapons and artifacts, you can still get lots of utility from her if you prioritise defence. Whiteblind is a four-star claymore that offers bonus defence, but also boosts defence by 6% for eight seconds whenever you land a normal or charged attack.
This effect stacks up to four times, which synergises well with Noelle's Sweeping Time AoE, and that she needs to hit lots of enemies to maximise healing.
Artifact: Lucky Dog/Defender's Will
If you're looking to purely boost defence, a half-and-half split between the Lucky Dog and the Defender's Will artifact sets works wonders. Two-pieces of Lucky Dog boosts defence by 100 and Defender's Will increases defence by a further 30%. When you add this to the buffs from Whiteblind, Noelle's defence-scaling abilities gain some decent power.
How to unlock
How to get Noelle in Genshin Impact
It's very hard not to get Noelle in Genshin Impact. The only way you could've missed out on her is if you didn't use ten wishes on the Beginner's Wish banner when you started the game. Even then, you could still go back and wish for her now—unless you exhausted the banner with 20 individual wishes.
Noelle is a guaranteed drop in your first ten wishes using that early banner, making her Genshin Impact's second starter character after Amber.
Abilities
Noelle's abilities
Here are Noelle's abilities, passives, and Constellations:
| Normal | Perform up to five consecutive strikes. |
| Charged | Consumes stamina to perform continuous slashes, ending in a powerful slash. |
| Plunging | Plunges to strike the ground dealing AoE damage and striking enemies along the way. |
| Breastplate | Summons a shield whose damage absorption scales with Noelle's defence, also dealing Geo damage to nearby enemies. While active, Noelle's attacks have a chance to heal characters, with the amount based on her defence. The shield has 150% damage absorption efficiency against all elemental and physical damage. |
| Sweeping Time | Noelle performs a wide AoE slash dealing Geo damage. While Sweeping Time is active, her attacks gain a larger AoE, are converted to Geo damage, and she gains increased attack based on her defence. |
| Maid's Knighthood | When a defence boosting dish is cooked Perfectly by Noelle, you have a chance to gain double the amount. |
| Devotion | If HP drops below 30% when Noelle is in your party but not on the field, you gain a shield that lasts for 20 seconds and absorbs damage equal to 400% of Noelle's defence. The shield has 150% damage absorption efficiency against all elemental and physical damage, and can only be triggered once every 60 seconds. |
| Nice and Clean | Every four normal or charged attack hits decreases the cooldown of Breastplate by one second. |
| I Got Your Back | When Sweeping Time and Breastplate are both active, the chance to heal is increased by 100%. |
| Combat Maid | Decreases Noelle's charged attack stamina consumption by 20% and increases its damage by 15%. |
| Invulnerable Maid | Increases the level of Breastplate by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| To Be Cleaned | When Breastplate expires or is destroyed, it deals 400% attack of Geo damage to nearby opponents. |
| Favonius Sweeper Master | Increases the level of Sweeping Time by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| Must Be Spotless | Sweeping Time increases Noelle's attack by an additional 50% of her defence, and every opponent defeated during adds one extra second, with a maximum of ten seconds. |
Ascension materials
Noelle Ascension materials
Character
As with most Geo characters, Noelle needs Prithiva Topaz, but also Basalt Pillars, and you can get both from the Geo Hypostasis. She also needs two world materials:
- Hilichurl Masks
- Valberries
Both of these resources are easy to find. Hilichurl Masks and their upgraded forms are gained by defeating Hilichurls of different world levels, while Valberries can be found all over Mondstadt, though the Stormbearer Mountains are the best place to look.
Talent
Here's what you'll need to ascend Noelle's talents:
- Teachings of Resistance
- Hilichurl Masks
- Dvalin's Claw
- Crown of Insight
Teachings of Resistance-series items can be found in the Forsaken Rift on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Dvalin's Claw is a reward for defeating level 70+ Stormterror in the trounce domain. The Crown of Insight is gained through seasonal events, and by levelling either the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine, or the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma.
