Welcome! This Guide will cover every aspect of Xiao build in Genshin Impact. Talent, Weapons, Artifacts, Constellations, Team Comps, etc.
Xiao Overview – Genshin Impact Guide
Xiao is a burst-oriented Anemo damage dealer with high mobility. He can sacrifice his health to gain a short-term boost in damage and jumping ability, which is used to perform Plunging attacks for damage.
Xiao Level-Up Materials Chart – Genshin Impact
Talent Analysis Xiao – Genshin Impact Guide
Talent Priority – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
Normal Attack > Elemental Burst > Elemental Skill
Prioritize upgrading Normal Attack and Elemental Burst when below 6 Constellation. After unlocking 6 Constellation, prioritize upgrading Elemental Skill followed by Normal Attack and Elemental Burst. It is recommended to upgrade all three skills to at least level 8 during cultivation.
Normal Attack
- Unlike Cyno and Raiden Shogun, after Xiao uses his Elemental Burst, the damage from his Plunging Attack still needs to be calculated based on the Plunging Attack multiplier in his Normal Attack. Therefore, prioritize upgrading Normal Attack when upgrading skills.
- The first hit of Xiao’s Normal Attack is very fast, and even if the combo is interrupted after hitting an enemy, it can still deal damage. At Constellation 6, consider using the “Normal Attack > Elemental Skill” combo with fast fingers to trigger Yelan’s Co attack.
Elemental Skill (E)
- When below 6 Constellation, this skill deals relatively little damage, and it is better to use Plunging Attacks after using Elemental Burst for damage output. You can choose to upgrade Normal Attack and Elemental Burst before upgrading this skill.
- After unlocking 6 Constellation and facing two or more enemies, use Elemental Burst and Plunging Attacks for output. At this time, prioritize upgrading the damage of Elemental Skill.
- This skill generates three Anemo particles when hitting an enemy. In addition, when Xiao is in the “Yaksha’s Mask” state from his Elemental Burst, the skill does not generate particles when hitting enemies. It is recommended to use the “Elemental Skill twice then immediately use Elemental Burst (Elemental Skill > Elemental Skill > Elemental Burst)” technique in combat to generate particles before using Elemental Burst.
- The skill deals weak Anemo application(1 Gauge Unit Aura, 9.5s), and can be applied every time the skill is used.
- When using Elemental Skill in the air, follow up with a Normal Attack to perform a Plunging Attack directly.
Elemental Burst (Q)
- Xiao’s Elemental Burst is a “status effect” that increases the damage dealt by Xiao’s normal attacks/charged attacks/plunging attacks and makes these attacks immune to be overwritten by Skills (such as Chongyun’s Elemental Skill, Candace’s Elemental Burst, Bennett’s 6th constellation effect, etc.).
- The amplification effect of Yaksha’s Mask applies to the damage amplification interval and is added together with the Anemo damage bonus.
- Xiao’s normal attacks/charged attacks/plunging attacks during her Elemental Burst state are all weak Anemo application(1 Gauge Unit Aura, 9.5s).
- Xiao’s normal attacks/charged attacks/plunging attacks after using her Elemental Burst do not count as Elemental Burst damage, so artifacts such as the Noblesse Oblige set and the Emblem of Severed Fate set, the Raiden Shogun’s Elemental Skill, and weapon passives such as the Catch’s effect cannot trigger.
- There is no Snapshot mechanism on the damage calculation during Xiao’s Elemental Burst, and the damage is calculated in real-time based on her own buffs.
- In actual output, the damage of plunging attacks from a high altitude is higher than those from a low altitude. Therefore, it is recommended to use more high-altitude plunging attacks for output. To reduce the backward movement caused by plunging attacks, it is possible to use a combination of plunging attacks and charged attacks. In addition, after reaching the 6th constellation, one can choose to use low-altitude plunging attacks to reduce the time spent plunging and increase the time spent using Elemental Skill.
【Additional Content】 Damage Calculation for Xiao’s Plunging Attacks after Using Elemental Burst
- Plunging Attack (normal/charged attacks follow the same formula)
Xiao’s Attack × Plunging Attack damage multiplier × (1 + Anemo damage bonus + damage increase from Yaksha’s Mask state) × Critical Damage multiplier × Enemy Defense multiplier × Enemy Resistance multiplier
- When paired with a 6C Faruzan (assuming this attack triggers its 2nd-passive talent by default)
(Xiao’s Attack × Plunging Attack damage multiplier + 32% of Faruzan’s base Attack) × (1 + Xiao’s Anemo damage bonus + Xiao’s Burst damage increase + Anemo damage bonus from Faruzan’s Burst) × (1 + Xiao’s critical damage + 40% Anemo damage bonus from Faruzan’s Burst while at 6 C) × Enemy Defense multiplier × Enemy Resistance multiplier (after being reduced by Faruzan’s Burst)
- When paired with Bennett’s “Inspiration Field”
(Xiao’s Attack + Bennett’s base Attack × Attack Bonus Ratio) × Plunging Attack damage multiplier × (1 + Anemo damage bonus + damage increase from Yaksha’s Mask state) × Critical Damage multiplier × Enemy Defense multiplier × Enemy Resistance multiplier
Passive Talent
The damage increases of passive 1 and passive 2 belong to the increased damage range and are calculated by adding to the Anemo damage bonus.
Weapons – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
Weapon selection explanation
When teaming up with Bennett, it is still recommended to use weapons such as Primordial Jade Winged-Spear that have better appearance adaptation and stronger attack power. Alternatively, one can consider using other output-focused 5-star weapons such as Calamity Quellerd, Staff of Homa, and Vortex Vanquisher.
When selecting 4-star weapons, priority should be given to weapons such as Lithic Spear, Deathmatch, and Blackcliff Pole that can increase both Critical Rate and Critical Damage. Alternatively, one can choose weapons with ATK as their substat, such as Royal Spear, Missive Windspear, etc., taking into account their refinement level.
In addition to damage-oriented weapons, one can also choose to optimize the Elemental Skill cooldown using energy recharge weapons such as Engulfing Lightning, Skyward Spine, and Favonius Lance.
Xiao’s normal attacks/charged attacks/plunging attacks after using her Elemental Burst do not count as Elemental Burst damage, so weapons that increase Elemental Burst damage such as the Catch cannot benefit from their weapon passive effects!
Artifact Introduction – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
Recommended Artifact – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
Substats Priority – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
Critical rate ≥ Critical damage > Percent Attack > Elemental Recharge > Others
Artifact selection and attribute explanation – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
- When considering Xiao’s artifact set, the “Vermillion Hereafter” 4-piece set is preferred, but if you already have a set with good stats, such as “Viridescent Venerer” (Dendro DMG) *2+ “Gladiator’s Finale”/”Vermillion Hereafter”/”Echoes of an Offering”/”Shimenawa’s Reminiscence” (ATK)*2, you can choose not to aim for the “Vermillion Hereafter” 4-piece set.
- The new artifact set “Desert Pavilion Chronicle” introduced in version 3.3 is still inferior to the “Vermillion Hereafter” 4-piece set when paired with Xiao, so it is not recommended to farm it specifically for Xiao.
- Critical rate is recommended to be at least 75%, and critical damage is recommended to be at least 170% when using non-double critical weapons, and at least 210% when using double critical weapons. In addition, you can stack a little Elemental Recharge to optimize your ultimate skill cycle (around 130%).
- For individual artifacts, the “2+2” combination, besides “Dendro DMG 2 / Attack 2”, can also consider “Attack 2 + Attack 2” or “Dendro DMG 2 + Dendro DMG 2”. The difference between these combinations is not significant.
- In the early stages, you can choose the “Berserker” set to increase Xiao’s critical rate.
【Additional Content】Comparison of The Dendro DMG Cup and The Attack Cup
Explanation of the Goblet of Eonothem Choice
When not using a 6-star artifact, Xiao’s main output is the falling attack damage after using his ultimate skill, which provides a significant amount of Anemo DMG Bonus. Therefore, the difference between Dendro DMG and Attack cups is not significant due to the dilution effect. You can choose according to the substats of your Attack/Dendro DMG cup.
Xiao’s Constellation Effects Guide in Genshin Impact
Xiao’s Constellation – Genshin Impact Guide
Explanation of Constellation Effects – Genshin Impact Xiao Guide
- After unlocking the first constellation, the number of times that the elemental skill can be used will increase, and the damage output will be improved.
- After unlocking the second constellation, the charging efficiency of Xiao’s elemental burst will be increased in the background. However, in the current environment, the value of this constellation is relatively conservative, and it is not recommended to unlock it specifically. It is more of a prerequisite for unlocking the sixth.
- After unlocking the third and fifth constellations, the skill level of the elemental skill and elemental burst will be increased, respectively.
- After unlocking the fourth constellation, Xiao’s defense will be increased when her health is below 50%. However, the current team composition for Xiao mainly cooperates with shield support and healing characters, so the effect of this constellation is relatively small.
- After unlocking the sixth constellation, Xiao will undergo a qualitative change. When the plunging attack hits at least two enemies, he immediately gains 1 use of the elemental skill, and can continuously use the elemental skill multiple times within seconds.
It should be noted that using the elemental skill three times in a row before activating the burst will increase the number of stacks of the 2nd passive talent. After the first plunging attack, use the elemental skill three times, and then use the elemental skill four times after at least 1 stack is applied. When the burst is about to end, accumulate 3 stacks of skill uses to continue the output cycle.
Overall, Xiao’s 0 constellation already has a complete output mechanism. As an old character released during the closed beta, the first 5 constellations do not provide much improvement and are not recommended to be specifically unlocked. True fans can target unlocking the sixth constellation, which is the most powerful gameplay for Xiao.
Xiao’s Best Team Comps – Genshin Impact Guide
With the introduction of “Faruzan,” Xiao’s team is more likely to be composed with Faruzan. Other positions can consider shield support, healing characters to improve team fault tolerance, or choose amplifying characters to enhance Xiao’s output.
When there is no Faruzan, other Anemo elemental characters (such as Jean, Sucrose, etc.) can be selected to form a double Anemo team, or consider energy-recharge characters or background-output characters, etc.
Double Anemo Team Comps – Genshin Impact Guide
Xiao + Faruzan + Zhongli + Bennett
Faruzan can provide Xiao with Anemo damage bonus through her skill mechanism (increases with the level of her burst), decrease enemy’s Anemo resistance (by 30%), increase Xiao’s Anemo damage multiplier (passive talent 2), and unlock the Anemo critical damage bonus (40%) after 6 constellations. These bonuses can significantly improve Xiao’s damage output.
Zhongli can provide a shield to prevent interruptions during Xiao’s attacks and reduce the enemy’s elemental resistance, increasing Xiao’s output ability.
The fourth character can be an amplifying support character. Bennett is still a powerful support character for traditional attack module characters, and should be prioritized. Then, you can consider using Yelan as an alternative.
▶ Shield replacement for “Zhongli”: Diona, Layla, etc.
▶ Replacement for “Bennett”: Yelan.
Recommended Output Rotation
Zhongli’s E → Faruzan’s E → charged arrow, then use Q → Bennett’s Q and E → finally use Xiao’s E E and then Q to output damage.
[Note] When Faruzan reaches 6 constellations, she can directly use her burst without using E and charged arrow.
Relevant Character Guide
Zhongli Build
- For Support Role, prioritize stacking HP to increase shield strength.
- For DPS Role, consider choosing weapons and artifacts with dual critical stats.
- If using the Favonius Lance, focus on stacking critical hit rate.
Bennett Build
- Prioritize weapons with high base attack and energy recharge.
- For support in a monochrome team, choose the Noblesse Oblige artifact set, and for a reaction-based team, choose the Instructor artifact set.
- For high-end weapon configurations, you can choose a setup that focuses on stack the stats of Energy Recharge/Pyro DMG/CRIT.
Yelan Build
- When Yelan has low constellations, it is better to choose weapons with energy recharge, and when her constellations is at 1, it is recommended to choose weapons with double critical.
- For a Hydro character with 0 constellations, it is recommended to have an energy recharge of 240% or higher for a single character and around 200% for a team with two Hydro characters. For a Hydro character with 1 or more constellations, it is recommended to have an energy recharge of 200% for a single character and 150-180% for a team with two Hydro characters.
Triple Anemo Team Comps – Genshin Impact Guide
Xiao + Faruzan + Jean + Bennett
In this team, it is recommended to choose a high constellation Jean (at least C2). C2 increases the attack speed of Xiao’s normal/charged attacks, C4 further reduces enemy’s Anemo resistance, and C6 reduces the damage taken. The fourth character can still be an amplifying support character.
Recommended Output Rotation
Yelan’s Q and E, Faruzan’s E to charge attack, Jean’s Q, and Xiao’s E E and then Q to output damage.
Relevant Character Guide
Faruzan Build
- The main mechanism of Faruzan is the element burst, priority stacking Energy Recharge to optimize the burst output cycle.
- 4-piece set of Tenacity of the Millelith can also be considered when 6 constellations unlocked.
Jean Build
- Prioritize weapons with Attack and Energy Recharge.
- When pairing her with Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro characters, prioritize using a Viridescent Venerer artifact set for its 4-piece effect that reduces enemy resistance.