Harmony MC vs Fugue - who is better?

Foreword

In this guide we’ll briefly offer a comparison between Fugue and Harmony Trailblazer to highlight each of their benefits when played alongside certain characters. Our assumptions:

• Both characters have 280% Break Effect (In Combat)
• Harmony Trailblazer is E6 Fugue is E0

Super Break

When it comes to granting the team Super Break, Harmony Trailblazer wins, granting up to a 20-60% stronger Super Break buff with the higher end of that being when it’s most relevant (on single target).

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue - 100%
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony - 120% - 160%

Toughness Damage

When comparing Toughness Damage output, Harmony Trailblazer wins again in most cases. Trailblazer usually uses their Skill as frequently as possible and it deals a whopping 50 Toughness each time at E6. Compared to this Fugue’s enhanced Basic Attack - which she’ll have to weave in between Skill uses - only deals 10/20 depending on targeting. It’s not all bad news for Fugue though her Ultimate deals 20 Toughness to all enemies and completely ignores elements meaning she can deal up to 100 Toughness unconditionally. In game modes with multiple enemies like Pure Fiction this equalizes the comparison somewhat, but Fugue’s Ultimate isn’t one that is always easily accessible.

Primary Attack:

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue - Enhanced Basic (10 Toughness - 20 in Blast)
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony - Skill (50 Toughness)

Ultimate:

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue - 20 Toughness per enemy
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony - 0

Break Effect % Buffs

When it comes to Break Effect buffs, it’s a question of teams and investment. It’s important to note that Fugue’s Break buffs are tied to first breaking enemies and her skill Foxian Prayer - while Trailblazer’s is tied half to their Ultimate and half to a passive bonus. Comparing the two, Harmony Trailblazer has a slight edge as their buffs can apply to the whole team effective immediately at the start of combat while Fugue must select only a single target for Foxian Prayer and has to wait for enemies to be broken first. The downside of waiting for enemies to be broken isn’t a big deal in most fights and most Break teams generally only have 1 carry so while it’s a difference it isn’t a major one.

At modest investment Fugue and Harmony Trailblazer’s Break buffs offer similar increases but it’s important to note that Harmony Trailblazer’s buff has the potential to scale much higher as it grants Break Effect% based on their own while Fugue’s is a static amount.

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue - 36% (66% for target of Foxian Prayer)
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony - 30% (72% With E4)

Additional Action Delay

For Action delay bonuses both characters are nearly the same. Harmony Trailblazer grants an extra 30% action delay on Break whilst Fugue grants 15% but allows enemies to be broken twice thanks to her Exo Toughness. Technically Fugue has the edge here as 2 breaks will not only give her 2x 15% delay but also the base delay associated with breaking enemies in the first place.

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue - 15% (30% Including Double Break)
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony - 30%

Extra Bonuses

When it comes to extra bonuses this is where Fugue shines as she has many more over Harmony Trailblazer - with each of them being potential game changers for your team.

Fugue’s Exo Toughness “Cloudflame Luster” is an absurdly strong mechanic, allowing enemies to be Broken twice triggering break damage, any character based on Break Effect and break delays at double the value. For some characters this is quite literally a full transformation in how they feel to play allowing Fugue a huge edge over Trailblazer in these cases.

Fugue also possesses a DEF Shred Debuff in her kit - something all Break damage dealers appreciate and something which gets stronger the more you have. Many Break damage dealers have DEF Shred on their Eidolons, Light Cones and Relics Sets making this bonus more powerful than it might seem.

Fugue can grant a teammate of her choice the ability to deal 50% of their Toughness Damage as though they ignore enemy weakness types, allowing them to effectively break any element at any time opening up serious flexibility. This is an ability many of the premiere Break damage dealers have baked into their kit but is invaluable for those who don’t.

Finally Fugue is more Skill Point friendly than Harmony Trailblazer, allowing for a little easier time in some team compositions which previously were incredibly tight on resources.

When it comes to equipment there is a little more of a discussion as things don’t all go Fugue’s way. Harmony Trailblazer is able to equip and maintain the 4P Watchmaker set, granting a further 30% Break Effect and allowing them to pull further ahead of Fugue in the buffing department. Trailblazer can also equip Dance! Dance! Dance! - an absurdly powerful supportive Cone which absolutely can make the difference especially for min-maxers. As a Nihility Fugue has some specialized equipment choice of her own - she can catch up in the buffing/debuffing department with a further 16% DEF Shred from S5 Pearls of Sweat or 36% Break damage taken debuff from her signature.

• 
  Tingyun • Fugue
• 18% DEF Shred,
• Allows 1 team member to strike non element weak enemies for 50% of Toughness damage,
• Applies Exo Toughness allowing for double breaks,
• More Skill Point Friendly,
• Strong Nihility Light Cone Options:
• Further 16% DEF Shred From S5 Pearls of Sweat,
• 36% Break DMG Taken from S1 Long Road Leads Home.
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony
• Can use and reliably keep active the 4P Watchmaker set for 30% Break Effect,
• Able to equip Dance Dance Dance! for frequent team wide advances.

Conclusion

To conclude, Harmony Trailblazer has the edge when it comes to raw numbers on Super Break, increases to Break Effect and Toughness Damage output with some great equipment options which Fugue doesn’t have access to. But Fugue has an incredible array of potent specialized effects which in certain teams make it an auto-in for her due to pure mechanical advantage. For characters that can take advantage of one or multiple of Fugues special advantages, she’s the clear winner no question. But for characters that don’t particularly lean into any of them, Harmony Trailblazer regains ground and can even serve as equal or a bit stronger option.

Here's how it looks for some characters:

• 
  Rappa wants to score as many Breaks as possible. Fugue’s Exo Toughness allows her to do just that at twice the effectiveness. This alone gives Fugue the edge in her team,
• 
  Boothill can take advantage of Fugue’s Exo Toughness to deal far more initial Break damage to each enemy, but more importantly can also ramp up his Pocket Trickshot stacks faster as it’s possible for him to Break an enemy twice in one shot. The ability to grant Boothill the 50% Toughness ignore is also handy for the ranger, as it reduces his reliance on his Ultimate. All this combined gives Fugue the edge in Boothill teams.
• 
  Firefly doesn’t benefit from Fugue’s Exo Toughness as much as other characters - only gaining the additional Break damage that comes with breaking twice. She also already has her own 50% Toughness ignore and a Fire Implant which means most enemies should be Fire Weak already and if they’re not she has what Fugue offers already. What Fugue can help with though, is DEF Shred and Skill point economy - two things Firefly appreciates greatly especially at higher investment. With that said Harmony Trailblazer’s additional Buffs and Super Break Multipliers for Firefly are a big deal. Fugue’s special benefits aren’t as much use to Firefly as other characters and she benefits more from the higher Multipliers Trailblazer offers. Because of this which is better will come down to the circumstances of your account, the enemy encounter and player preference.
• 
  Himeko - Similar to Rappa, Fugue's "Cloudflame Luster" turbo charges Himeko's talent and Charge gain, allowing her to do what she does best - deploying the pizza cutter more often. Fugue also grants Himeko the ability to finally deal with non-fire weak enemies thanks to the 50% Toughness ignore. The edge goes to Fugue in solo Himeko teams,
• 
  Xueyi
  
  Sushang &
  
  Luka will all benefit from the Exo-Toughness, drastically improving their potential and performance. Harmony MC doesn't really do much for them.