Materials, Weapons, Artifacts, Abilities, Playstyle, and Team Comps
Genshin Impact Version 4.4 debuts “Passerine Herald” Xianyun (anemo/catalyst). This guide will explain everything about how to build Xianyun and play her in her best teams in Genshin Impact.
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Abilities description
Talent upgrade priority
No need to level her Normal Attack.
Elemental Burst > Elemental Skill
Normal Attack: Word of Wind and Flower
Normal Attack
Summons swirling winds to perform up to 4 attacks, dealing Anemo DMG.
Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina and launches a Breeze Bolt in a straight line that deals Anemo DMG to opponents along its path.
Plunging Attack
Gathers the power of Anemo and plunges towards the ground from mid-air, damaging all opponents in her path. Deals AoE Anemo DMG upon impact with the ground.
Elemental Skill: White Clouds at Dawn
Xianyun enters the Cloud Transmogrification state, in which she will not take Fall DMG, and uses Skyladder once. In this state, her Plunging Attack will be converted into Driftcloud Wave instead, which deals AoE Anemo DMG and ends the Cloud Transmogrification state. This DMG is considered Plunging Attack DMG. Each use of Skyladder while in this state increases the DMG and AoE of the next Driftcloud Wave used.
Skyladder
Can be used while in mid-air. Xianyun leaps forward, dealing Anemo DMG to targets along her path.
During each Cloud Transmogrification state Xianyun enters, Skyladder may be used up to 3 times and only 1 instance of Skyladder DMG can be dealt to any one opponent. If Skyladder is not used again in a short period, the Cloud Transmogrification state will be canceled
If Xianyun does not use Driftcloud Wave while in this state, the next CD of White Clouds at Dawn will be decreased by 3s.
Elemental Burst: Stars Gather at Dusk
Brings forth a sacred breeze that deals with AoE Anemo DMG and heals all nearby characters based on Xianyun’s ATK. It will also summon the “Starwicker” mechanism.
Starwicker
- Continuously follows the active character and periodically heals all nearby party members based on Xianyun’s ATK.
- Starts with 8 stacks of Adeptal Assistance. While Adeptal Assistance is active, nearby active characters in the party will have their jump height increased.
- When the active character completes a Plunging Attack, Starwicker will consume 1 stack of Adeptal Assistance and deal AoE Anemo DMG.
Only 1 Starwicker can exist simultaneously.
Ascension 1 Passive: Galefeather Pursuit
Each opponent hit by Driftcloud Waves from White Clouds at Dawn will grant all nearby party members 1 stack of Storm Pinion for 20s. Max 4 stacks. These will cause the characters’ Plunging Attack CRIT Rate to increase by 4%/6%/8%/10% respectively. Each Storm Pinion created by hitting an opponent has an independent duration.
Ascension 4 Passive: Consider, the Adeptus in Her Realm
When the Starwicker created by Stars Gather at Dusk has Adeptal Assistance stacks, nearby active characters’ Plunging Attack shockwave DMG will be increased by 200% of Xianyun’s ATK. The maximum DMG increase that can be achieved this way is 9,000. Each Plunging Attack shockwave DMG instance can only apply this increased DMG effect to a single opponent. Each character can trigger this effect once every 0.4s.
Utility Passive: Crane Form
Increases gliding SPD for your party members by 15%. Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the same effects.
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Abilities explained
Normal Attack: Word of Wind and Flower
This is useful for Swirling and triggering Viridescent Veneerer since her Normal/Charged/Plunging attacks do anemo DMG by default. Other than that, it serves no other purpose.
Elemental Skill: White Clouds at Dawn
Pressing her Skill once uses Skyladder once. Pressing it two more times uses Skyladder two more times. Skyladder can be used a maximum of three times. Using Skyladder makes her leap forward and upward. It damages enemies caught in the path. Xianyun does not take fall DMG for a certain height during this state.
Pressing Normal Attack after any number of Skyladders will cause her to transform into her Crane form and do a special Plunging Attack called Driftcloud Wave. The number of Skyladders used increases the DMG of the Driftcloud Wave. If Driftcloud Wave is not used, the cooldown of the next use of her Skill is reduced by 3s. It is advised to use the Driftcloud Wave. It is not required to use all three Skyladders.
Elemental Burst: Stars Gather at Dusk
The initial cast of her Burst heals the entire party and summons the Starwicker mechanism. Starwicker follows the active character and periodically heals them every 2.5. It also lets the active character jump high enough to do a Plunging attack.
This is restricted to 8 Plunges and the counter is shared by the entire party. Only jumping does not consume the counter, a complete Plunging attack does. The healing scales off Xianyun’s ATK.
Ascension 1 Passive: Galefeather Pursuit
Each opponent hit by Driftcloud Wave grants 1 stack of Storm Pinion, max 4 stacks. These stacks increase the Plunge Attack CRIT Rate of the entire party by 4%/6%/8%/10%.
Ascension 4 Passive: Consider, the Adeptus in Her Realm
During her Burst, the active character’s Plunging DMG is increased by 200% of Xianyun’s ATK. The maximum obtainable DMG increase is 9000. This DMG increase works the same way as Yun Jin and Shenhe’s. It is a number added to the base DMG of the character, which is further multiplied by EM, Elemental DMG%, and CRIT DMG.
There is a small catch, this increased DMG can only be applied to ONE opponent who is caught in the shockwave of a Plunging Attack. This is very useful in boss battles but nothing too special while fighting multiple enemies. Not all of them will take the increased DMG and the increased DMG will probably be overkill for one single enemy.
Utility Passive: Crane Form
The gliding speed increase is useful for exploring.
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Playstyle
Before C6, Xianyu’s best role is that of a healer/buffer/plunge enabler. Her rotation is very simple.
- User her Skill and Burst whenever they are ready
- Switch to other teammates
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Materials
As an Anemo character, Xianyun uses Vayuda Turquoise stones for ascension and they can be obtained from the Anemo Hypostasis. Her other ascension material, Cloudseam Scale can be obtained from the Solitary Suanni. The boss materials for her talents can be obtained from the All-Devouring Narwhal weekly boss. Players can check this out for a detailed breakdown of Xianyun’s materials.
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Best Weapons for Xianyun
Xianyun’s best weapon is her signature Crane’s Echoing Call. However, the effects of this weapon are tailor-made for plunge attack playstyles. If you don’t care about plunge attacks and only use her as a healer/buffer, then this weapon is not that important.
5* weapons
| Crane’s Echoing Call | Base ATK: 741 2nd stat: 16.5% ATK Reason: |
| Skyward Atlas | Base ATK: 674 2nd stat: 33.1% ATK Reason: |
| Memory of Dust | Base ATK: 608 2nd stat: 49.6% ATK Reason: |
4* weapons
| Oathsworn Eye | Base ATK: 565 2nd stat: 27.6% ATK Reason: |
| Favonius Codex | Base ATK: 510 2nd stat: 45.9% ER Reason: |
| Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers | Base ATK: 401 2nd stat: 35.2% HP Reason: |
| Prototype Amber | Base ATK: 510 2nd stat: 41.3% HP Reason: |
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Best Artifacts for Xianyun
For Sands, use ATK% or ER% if you cannot reach her ER needs. Try to reach her ER needs from substats. You can use a Healing Bonus% Goblet if you want more healing. She requires 200-230% ER if she is the only Anemo character. This requirement drops to 170-190% if there is an Anemo teammate. With two Anemo teammates, this drops to 150-170%.
| Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
|---|---|---|
| ATK% or ER% | ATK% | ATK% or Healing Bonus% |
| 4pc Viridescent Venerer | 2-Piece Bonus Anemo DMG Bonus +15% 4-Piece Bonus Reason: |
| 4pc Noblesse Oblige | 2-Piece Bonus Elemental Burst DMG +20% 4-Piece Bonus Reason: |
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Best Team Compositions for Xianyun
Xiao teams
Since Xianyun specifically buffs plunge DMG, one of her best uses is in Xiao teams.
| Xiao | Xianyun | Bennett | Faruzan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anemo DPS | Healer/plunge buffer | Healer/ATK buffer/Pyro Battery | Anemo DMG buffer |
This team heavily benefits from Xianyun’s healing that follows the active character.
| Xiao | Xianyun | Bennett | Furina |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anemo DPS | Healer/plunge buffer | Healer/ATK buffer/Pyro Battery | All DMG buffer/sub DPS |
This team loses Faruzan’s Anemo DMG buffs but greatly benefits from Furina’s all-purpose DMG bonus and her off-field DMG.
Furina teams
Xianyun has great synergy with Furina where she helps her gain Fanfare stacks as well as offset the HP drain. Xianyun and Furina as a pair can be used with almost any DPS. Moreover, since plunge DMG has the highest DMG multiplier, almost any character can become a plunge specialist like Xiao.
One specific character that deserves a mention is Diluc. He has the highest plunge DMG multiplier out of all the characters. Considering plunge attacks have no ICD, Diluc can Vaporise almost all of his plunges.
In this team, Furina can be replaced with Yelan or Xingqiu but it requires a normal attack to apply Hydro. Kokomi is another option for Hydro applier but she is also a healer, this team doesn’t need 3 healers. Mona is not a reliable off-field Hydro applier.
Gaming is another plunge-oriented DPS that has great synergy with Xianyun. With Furina’s off-field Hydro application, he can Vaporise most of his plunges.
Replacing Furina with Yelan/Xingqiu means you need to do normal attacks in between plunges.
Hu Tao/Klee/Yanfei can all benefit from the plunge DMG bonus from Xianyun. Especially for Hu Tao, jump canceling is part of her gameplay. With Xianyun, jump cancels can be ended with a plunge which results in more DMG.
A Mono-Pyro version of the previous team.
Aggravate/Spread teams
Plunge attacks do not have any ICD and Aggravate/Spread benefits from constant elemental application. This makes Xianyun a great choice for these teams.
Genshin Impact Xianyun Guide: Constellations
Xianyun is a complete unit at C0. C2 is a great stopping point. C6 unlocks her true potential as a DPS. Players can check this piece out for a detailed breakdown of Xianyun’s constellations.
What are your thoughts about our guide on Xianyun in Genshin Impact? Let us know in the comments below!
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