Controlled dilution experiments were conducted in a novel manner that allowed for precise dilution of base material into the wire consumables, enabling for a prompt analysis of microstructural trends as dilution is altered. Different heat cycles and cooling rates of the wire material, without base metal additions, were shown to cause different microstructures, varying from parallel plates to random or interlocking[SR1]  orientation, with varying size of packets. The proposed method enables more controlled conditions with a known dilution value from mass percentages. Chopped filler wire is weighed and added to the base metal crucible, base metal chips are also weighed and added to the filler wire in specific mass percentages. A pulsed laser irradiates the metal, melting the mixture into a sample nugget. Lack of fusion is a benefit in this method as contamination from the base plate is negligible. The cooling rate is influenced by the pulse shape, and can be used to reheat the nugget, demonstrating the microstructural evolution in a complex thermal cycle. This method is demonstrated for S960QL steel with under-matched wire consumable, generally used for laser-arc hybrid processes to obtain high toughness, where a representative thermal cycle is needed. The thermal cycle is measured via a remote process, Dualscope, to evaluate the spacial temperature of the surface. The microstructures found using the snapshot method are similar to those found in the narrow gap multi-layer weld, different only in the size of the grains and packets.