As a 5-star catalyst, Hymn of the Maelstrom is tailored to Vodyanitsa. It builds Max HP, provides a modest Healing Bonus, and turns her massive HP total into an attack boost for whoever is active. It is her best-in-slot weapon in theory, but the real issue is whether pulling it is worthwhile when nearly every account already has the free alternative.
Quick answer: For most players, no. Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, a 3-star catalyst, lands within a few percent of Hymn of the Maelstrom on Vodyanitsa, so the signature is a luxury rather than a requirement.
Hymn of the Maelstrom stats and passive
At level 90 the weapon carries a 542 Base ATK and a secondary stat of 66.2% HP. The low Base ATK barely matters here, because Vodyanitsa scales off HP rather than attack, and that big HP% substat feeds directly into her buffs.
At R1, the passive starts with a flat 4% Healing Bonus. Healing with the weapon equipped activates “Vatsamonga’s Vatic Vintage”: the wielder gains 4% Max HP, while the active party member receives 0.4% ATK per 1,000 Max HP the wielder has over 40,000, up to 8% ATK. This effect remains for 10 seconds and can build to three stacks. If a nearby ally triggers Frozen or Stellar Swirl, the Max HP and ATK bonuses each rise by 75% for 5 seconds.
Crucially, the whole effect keeps running while Vodyanitsa is off-field. That is what makes it reliable in rotations where she buffs and then leaves the front line.
Refinement scaling (R1 to R5)
Higher refinements raise the Healing Bonus, the Max HP boost, and the ATK cap the weapon can pass to the active character. The Frozen/Stellar Swirl bonus stays at 75% across all ranks.
| Refinement | Healing Bonus | Max HP | Max ATK gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 4% | 4% | 8% |
| R2 | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| R3 | 6% | 6% | 12% |
| R4 | 7% | 7% | 14% |
| R5 | 8% | 8% | 16% |
Hymn of the Maelstrom vs Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers
The comparison that decides the pull is against Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (TTDS), a 3-star catalyst you can pull on the standard banner. Both weapons give Vodyanitsa an HP stat and hand the team an ATK buff, so they occupy the same slot in her kit.
| Weapon | Base ATK | Secondary stat | Team ATK buff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hymn of the Maelstrom | 542 | 66.2% HP | Up to 8% ATK, always active off-field |
| Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers | 401 | 35.2% HP | 48% ATK for 10s, once every 20s |
The signature’s advantage is reliability rather than raw size. TTDS applies its 48% ATK only to the character who swaps in, it fires once every 20 seconds, and it needs Vodyanitsa to be the last unit on the field before the main DPS. Hymn of the Maelstrom keeps buffing the active character no matter how often you rotate, and its bonus never goes on cooldown.
In a Stellar Swirl team of Vesna, Odette, Faruzan, and Vodyanitsa, the gap is small. Moving from R5 TTDS to R1 Hymn of the Maelstrom raised Vodyanitsa’s Max HP from 59,457 to 64,045, lifted her ATK from 903 to 1,067, and added the 4% Healing Bonus. The team’s damage climbed only marginally, with Vesna’s charged sword hit going from 288,684 to 291,266 and her burst from 408,901 to 409,505. The domain clear dropped from 76 seconds to 74 seconds.
A refined TTDS costs nothing but standard wishes, so pairing it with a full HP build and the Tenacity of the Millelith artifact set gets you close to the signature’s ceiling for free.
Should you spend wishes on it?
Because the free alternative keeps pace, the signature is worth it only in a few cases. Pull it if you want Vodyanitsa’s most consistent, no-cooldown buffing for endgame content, or if you land it as the off-piece while chasing another weapon on the same banner. Skip it if you are budgeting wishes, since the two-second clear difference does not justify the cost for most accounts.
If you are choosing between investing in Vodyanitsa’s first Constellation or her weapon, the Constellation gives the stronger return. C1 adds a team-wide ATK buff worth 0.8% of her Max HP whenever she heals, which outperforms what the catalyst provides for ATK-scaling damage dealers.
How to get Hymn of the Maelstrom
The weapon is an Event Wish exclusive, so the Epitome Invocation banner is the only way to obtain it. It is featured in Version 7.1 Phase 1 alongside Beyond the Chrysalis, and the banner runs through October 13, 2026. Once the phase ends, it leaves the rotation until it returns in a future weapon banner.
