Once you’ve been lucky enough to pull Xiao from his banner in Genshin Impact’s version 2.7, you’re probably wondering what’s the best build for the Anemo character. The Yaksha, who relies on his proficiency with polearms, is most suitable in the role of the main DPS character on your team – in layman’s terms: he’s the one doing the most damage. He has a strong elemental burst that deals area damage, and does not depend on triggering reactions to inflict devastating harm.
However, there is only a limited selection of support characters that really suit Xiao, so you should definitely make sure you have the right supporting cast to go along with him. Otherwise, even a well-built Xiao won’t be very effective, unfortunately.
This guide will show you the best weapons, artifacts, and team members for a main DPS Xiao.
Xiao: Best Weapons – Genshin Impact
With Xiao you don’t need to pay attention to any extraordinary scaling with certain stats – for more damage, simply maximize his Attack value to boost his standard attacks. Primordial Jade Winged-Spear is therefore the best weapon for him. It increases his Attack value and Weapon Damage a little after each hit – this effect can be stacked seven times. This is fantastic for a long series of hits while Xiao’s elemental burst is active.
Xiao’s best weapons:
Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (5-Star-Polearm)
Staff of Homa (5-Star-Polearm)
Deathmatch (4-Star-Polearm, Battle Pass)
Blackcliff Pole (4-Star-Polearm, Starglitter)
White Tassel (3-Star-Polearm, Chests)
Xiao: Best Artifacts – Genshin Impact
Xiao benefits from a new release in update 2.6, which you can find in a domain in the Chasm. Vermilion Hereafter initially increases your Attack value by 18 percent at two pieces, and provides the Nascent Light effect when a special ability is triggered at four pieces. This further increases the Attack value by up to 40 percent while the wearer takes damage – this happens automatically with Xiao as soon as he activates his elemental burst, so you don’t even have to get hit on purpose.
The flower should provide HP and then Critical Damage and Critical Hit Rate. The plume ideally has a high Attack value and then Critical Damage and Critical Hit Rate as well. The sands should provide a percentage boost to Attack and then Critical enhancements. The goblet should increase your Anemo Damage and secondarily the Critical values. Last, the circlet ideally focuses on Critical Damage or Critical Hit Rate primarily.
Xiao’s best artifacts:
Vermilion Hereafter (x4)
Gladiator’s Finale (x2) plus Viridescent Venerer (x2)
Xiao: Best Team – Genshin Impact
Xiao is a strong main DPS character, but needs special support for it. He moves around the field a lot, which doesn’t make energy recharge easy, and he continuously loses HP during his ultimate. These weaknesses need to be compensated for.
Xiao’s best team:
Xiao (Main DPS)
Albedo (Sub DPS)
Jean (Support)
Zhongli (Support)
This team increases Xiao’s survivability thanks to the consistent shield generation of Albedo and Zhongli, who also contribute area damage with their constructs. Jean heals Xiao and provides the necessary energy recharge to power his burst as a battery. In addition, the two of them combine to generate a higher movement speed for the entire squad through their Anemo synergy, which increases Xiao’s mobility – this is important for him because he often pushes enemies away and has to chase after them. If you have a C4 Jean, she even provides additional damage for Xiao, making this combination even more efficient.
Individual components of this squad are replaceable, though the general structure should remain intact. For example, Diona is a perfectly fine alternative to Zhongli, as she also contributes shields and even provides additional healing. Jean’s place can also be taken by characters such as Bennett or Qiqi, which are two affordable options, especially for free-to-play users. Bennett heals Xiao and increases his damage, Qiqi has a quite mobile healing ability that fits well with the Yaksha.
How to play Xiao in this team
Start off with Xiao and a series of his special ability to charge up his energy. Once you’ve gathered enough energy to trigger his elemental burst, switch Xiao out. One by one, bring all the other characters onto the field to trigger all the boosts and elemental bursts that support Xiao. Then put Xiao back in and activate his burst. Spam his plunge attack to maximize your damage. Once that’s done, start over again by recharging Xiao as quickly as possible.
Written by Marco Wutz on behalf of GLHF.
How to play Xiao in this team
