Xianyun is a 5-Star Catalyst-wielding Anemo character who’s a recent addition to Liyue’s large roster of characters. Debuted as a playable character in Genshin Impact Version 4.4, Xianyun was previously known as the Crane named “Cloud Retainer,” who appeared as an Adeptus in the Liyue storyline.
In this guide, we’ll discuss her talents, constellations, weapons, the artifacts that best suit her, and whether or not Xianyun is worth pulling or not. So, without further ado, let’s get right into it.
Xianyun Ascension Material
Total cost of Upgrading Xianyun to Ascension 6 is as follows:
Morax420,000 | Vayuda TurquoiseSilver x1 | Vayuda Turquoise Fragment x9 | Vayuda Turquoise Chunk x9 | Vayuda Turquoise Gemstone x6 |
Cloudseam Scale x46 | Clearwater Jadex168 | Divining Scroll x18 | Sealed Scroll x30 | Forbidden Scroll x36 |
Xianyun Talents
To make the most out of Xianyun, you need to know about her kit and which talent takes priority when building her the right way. Her talents are given below:
Word of Wind and Flower
Word of Wind and Flower includes her Normal Attack, Charged Attack, and Plunging Attack.
Normal Attack
Xianyun performs 4 consecutive attacks, dealing Anemo DMG to the opponents.
Charged Attack
Consuming a certain amount of stamina, Xianyun launches a Breeze Bolt, moving in a straight path that deals Anemo DMG to opponents along its path.
Plunging Attack
While airborne, Xianyun plunges to the ground, dealing AoE Anemo DMG to the opponents in the area. Her Plunging Attack is an important part of her kit when building her as a Main DPS of the party.
White Clouds At Dawn
Talent Type: Elemental Skill
Cooldown Duration: 12 seconds
Pressing the Skill button transforms Xianyun into her semi-adeptus form, activating the Skyl adder effect, which lifts her from the ground and locks on to an enemy. In this state, her Plunging Attack will deal with enhanced AoE Anemo DMG and generate 5 Anemo Particles.
Skyladder can be triggered three times during the Skill, with each successive one dealing more DMG than the previous one. Moreover, at a higher Talent level, the Plunging Attack will apply Crowd Control in a small area.
Apart from replenishing her Energy, Xianyun’s Elemental Skill also gives a CRIT Rate buff to all her party members as part of her Ascension 1 passive. But if you haven’t unlocked it yet, you can always use it to ease exploration across Teyvat!
Stars Gather At Dusk
Talent Type: Elemental Burst
Cooldown Duration: 18 seconds
Energy Cost: 70
Xianyun’s Elemental Burst deals AoE Anemo DMG while healing her party members based on her ATK on top of giving them 8 stacks of Adeptal Assistance for 16s. Each stack provides a higher vertical leap to any party member and is consumed after they perform a Plunging Attack, which is also infused with Anemo to deal AoE Anemo DMG.
With the Healing and the boosted Plunging Attack DMG it provides to her party members, Xianyun’s Elemental Burst is an excellent ability designed to make her one of the best supports for characters with high Plunging Attack scaling like Diluc.
Galefeather Pursuit
Each opponent hit by a Plunging Attack enhanced by Xianyun’s Skill will give every party member a stack of Storm Pinion for 20s. This effect can be maximally stacked 4 times, increasing the party’s Plunging Attack CRIT Rate by 4% / 6% / 8% / 10%.
Unlocked at Ascension 1, this passive ability allows Xianyun’s Skill to buff her party members, increasing their CRIT Rate. This way, Xianyun’s ability becomes more than just her personal DMG and Energy generation.
Consider, The Adeptus In Her Realm
When Starwicker, created by Xianyun’s Burst has Adeptal Assistance, party members’ Plunging Attack shockwave DMG is increased by 200% of Xianyun’s ATK. The maximum DMG that can be boosted this way is 9,000. This shockwave DMG can be applied on a single opponent at a time and can be triggered once every 0.4s.
Unlocked at Ascension 4, this passive ability gives Xianyun’s party members a huge DMG buff during her Burst. Beyond this point, there really isn’t much of how you can upgrade her support abilities. After this, it’s just a matter of how you want to play her.
Crane Form
Xianyun’s utility passive increases her party’s Gliding Speed by 15%. However, do note that this effect is unstackable.
Talent Priority
Xianyun’s Talent Priority varies drastically based on how you want to build her. For instance, building her as a Support/Healer will give priority to her Elemental Burst as it gives your party that extra Plunge DMG Bonus and Healing. Next comes her Elemental Skill, with little contributions to her DMG before C6, and, of course, Normal Attacks can be ignored as she isn’t given much field time in this build.
On the other hand, her DPS build gives the least priority to her Burst, even though leveling it up to a certain level is important. To enable her as a DPS, leveling up her Normal Attack before C6 is important to boost her Plunging Attack, which would be the main source of her DMG. Her Skill isn’t that important, but it enables Xianyun to boost her DMG in certain instances. With that said, here are the talents you should be focusing on:
Support build
Burst > Skill
On-field Main DPS build
Normal Attack ≈ Skill > Burst
Xianyun Constellations
Even though she is a great support at C0, Xianyun’s early constellations can definitely be utilized to maximize her utility. With that said, C3, C4, and C5 are not really what you should be focusing on, as they’re just there for the sake of existing and don’t provide much benefit to her kit.
Lastly, for anyone who wants to build Xianyun as a Main DPS they should definitely consider her final constellation, C6, which enables her to play on-field for a much longer time, allowing her to be the Main DPS of the party. But before you start doing that, here are some details about her constellations:
C1: Purifying Wind
Xianyun’s Elemental Skill, White Clouds at Dawn gains an additional charge.
Having C1 Xianyun is definitely a plus point, as it allows you to use her Skill two times, doubling the Energy particles generated.
C2: Aloof From the World
After using Xianyun’s Elemental skill, her ATK increases by 20% for 16s. Moreover, it also enhances the effect of her passive talent, “Consider, The Adeptus In Her Realm” by boosting the Plunging ATK Shockwave from 200% to 400% and increasing the maximum limit of DMG Buff from 9,000 to 18,000.
As mentioned above, C2 Xianyun gets two buffs. Increased ATK, and boosted passive talent, practically doubling the DMG dealt from the Plunging Attacks. This is, by far, the most important constellation for Xianyun, making her one of the ultimate supports in the game.
C3: Creations of Star and Moon
Xianyun’s C3 constellation increases her Skill level by 3, the maximum level being 15.
There’s nothing much to C3 Xianyun since her Skill already provides minimal utility. Increasing the Skill level at this point just feels unnecessary unless you’re aiming for C6.
C4: Mystery Millet Gourmet
After using Skyladder 1 / 2 / 3 during her Skill, using Plunging ATK will heal Xianyun’s party members by 50% / 80% / 150% of her ATK. This effect can be triggered once every 5s.
A decent constellation buff that allows more consistent healing to her party members. However, since she can heal her teammates with her Burst just fine, there really isn’t a need to unlock this one.
C5: Astride Rose-Colored Clouds
Xianyun’s C5 constellation increases her Burst level by 3, the Maximum level being 15.
Although it’s a decent constellation, it’s not something that you should be aiming for unless you want to unlock C6. Yes, it increases her Burst’s stats, something Xianyun really needs for her utility, but it definitely isn’t worth spending your Primogems on.
C6: They Call Her Cloud Retainer
After using Skyladder 1 / 2 / 3 during her Skill, using Plunging ATK will increase Xianyun’s CRIT DMG by 15% / 35% / 70%. Furthermore, after using her Burst, Xianyun’s Skill won’t go on cooldown for 16s unless 8 stacks of Adeptal Assistance are consumed.
C6 Xianyun, like many other support characters, is designed to enable her to be a Main DPS. Boosting her own DMG and allowing Xianyun to use her Skill using her Burst boosts her damage to a great extent.
Best Weapons For Xianyun
Choosing a suitable weapon for any character is a challenging task, even for Xianyun. With all the variety there is in Catalysts, one has to think hard before opting for a certain weapon as you’re spending your time and currency on it. Don’t worry because we’ve got you covered in that regard.
Crane’s Echoing Call (741 ATK • 16.5% ATK)
Cloudfall Axiom: Hitting an opponent with a Plunging Attack, all nearby party members’ Plunging Attacks will deal 28% / 41% / 54% / 67% / 80% increased DMG for 20s. When party members hit opponents with Plunging Attacks, they will replenish 2.5 / 2.75 / 3 / 3.25 / 3.5 Energy for the equipping character. This effect resets every 0.7s and can be triggered even if the equipping character is off-field.
Xianyun’s Best-in-Slot weapon, which was also released as her signature weapon, has an extremely high Base Attack with ATK% as the secondary stat to provide DMG Buff to her teammates. Moreover, recovering Energy from a Plunging Attack is a great way of supporting her party members.
Oathsworn Eye (565 ATK • 27.6% ATK)
People of the Faltering Light: After using an Elemental Skill, the Energy Recharge is increased by 24% / 30% / 36% / 42% / 48% for 10s.
For an F2P weapon, Oathsworn Eye is one of the best options for Xianyun, as it has all she needs as support. With ATK as a substat and boosted Energy Recharge from its passive, Xianyun can compete with her Signature weapon for the first spot.
Favonius Codex (510 ATK • 49.9% Energy Recharge)
Windfall: CRIT hits have a 60% / 70% / 80% / 90% / 100% chance to generate a small amount of Elemental Particles, able to replenish 6 Energy for the character. This effect can only occur once every 12s / 10.5s / 9s / 7.5s / 6s.
Xianyun can make use of Favonius Codex as a battery for her party. It truly is a great weapon for a supporting character like her.
Skyward Atlas (674 ATK • 33.1% ATK)
Wandering Clouds: Elemental DMG is increased by 12% / 15% / 18% / 21% / 24%. Furthermore, Normal Attacks have a 50% chance to summon a “Wandering Cloud” which actively seeks out opponents for opponents for 15s, dealing the equipping character’s 160% / 200% / 240% / 280% / 320% ATK DMG. This effect has a cooldown of 30s.
Unlike the above weapons, which focus on Energy Recharge, Xianyun can support her party by utilizing its passive. With the ATK artifacts stacked on her, the DMG, the Wandering Cloud, will deal is boosted to a great extent.
Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayer (R5) (401 ATK • 35.2% HP)
Heritage: When the equipping character is switched out, the next character has their ATK increased by 24% / 30% / 36% / 42% / 48% for 10s. This effect can only occur once every 20s.
Thrilling Tales provides a huge ATK buff to her party, making up for the fact that her ATK isn’t boosted, which is the main source of her healing. It’s only ideal to run Thrilling Tales if you want to purely buff your ATK-scaling DPS units, Diluc being an example.
Best Artifacts For Xianyun
Xianyun can use a variety of artifact sets. However, these are the best artifacts she can use to maximize her kit:
Viridescent Venerer (4-Piece)
2-Piece Bonus: Anemo DMG is increased by 15%
4-Piece Bonus: Swirl DMG is increased by 60%. Moreover, the opponent’s Elemental resistance is decreased by 40% for 10s on a swirl reaction.
Viridescent Venerer fits Xianyun as it debuffs the enemy by decreasing their Elemental resistance and increasing the Swirl DMG. All in all, this set can be considered Xianyun’s Best-in-Slot.
Song Of Days Past (4-Piece)
2-Piece Bonus: Healing Bonus +15%
4-Piece Bonus: Records the amount of healing done by the wielder or 6s (Max 15,000 HP). After 6s, 8% of the HP healed is given as an ATK Buff to the party for 10s.
Xianyun can make use of its 4-piece passive to help her party deal with considerably high DMG, easily reaching the upper limit of 15,000 HP with her healing ability.
Ocean-Hued Clam (4-piece)
2-Piece Bonus: Healing Bonus +15%
4-Piece Bonus: After healing a party member, a Sea-Dyed Foam appears for 3 seconds, storing HP recovered from healing, including any overflowed healing. After these 3 seconds, the Sea-Dyed Foam will explode, dealing 90% DMG of the accumulated healing. The healing stored has an upper limit of 30,000 HP, and this effect can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.
Putting aside the lengthy explanation given above, Ocean-Hued Clam is a great artifact set for Xianyun as the healing she provides will turn into DMG, where the HP limit of 30,000 hardly limits her DMG buff. All things considered, Xianyun can make use of this artifact set to improve her support game by contributing to your party’s overall DMG.
Artifact Stats Priority
Unless there’s an Anemo battery in the party, Xianyun has trouble fulfilling her Energy needs. For this purpose, you should be focusing on ER as the primary stat to maintain Burst uptime. Once Xianyun reaches a minimum of 210% ER as a sole Anemo unit, you can focus on ATK% and that’s pretty much it. Overall, these are the Main Stats that you should be building your artifacts on:
Sands:
Support Main Stat: Energy Recharge / ATK% (ER is more important to maintain burst uptime)
DPS Main Stat: ATK%
Goblet:
Support Main Stat: ATK%
DPS Main Stat: Anemo DMG Bonus
Circlet:
Support Main Stat: ATK%
DPS Main Stat: CRIT DMG / CRIT Rate
Support Substats:
Energy Recharge > ATK% > Elemental Mastery
DPS Substats:
CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG > Energy Recharge > ATK%
Team Compositions
Xianyun’s Team Comps have no limit, and this is no understatement. You can play her as a support in numerous teams and even as a decent Main DPS. With that in mind, here are some of the Team Comps Xianyun can utilize to showcase her kit at maximum utility.
Xiao Anemo Team Comp
Xianyun | Xiao | Faruzan | Furina |
Xiao, with Xianyun can make a formidable Team Comp. With Xianyun and Faruzan providing DMG buffs and generating elemental particles, Xiao can maintain his Burst uptime, all while getting buffed greatly, given how Plunging Attacks are his speciality. Moreover, Furina acts as the Sub DPS and another support for the party, which can be swapped out for other similar units.
Party Members And Their Roles
- Xianyun is the healer and a Plunge Buffer.
- Xiao is the Main DPS of the team, making use of the Plunge Buff from Xianyun.
- Faruzan provides Anemo support to Xiao.
- Furina is the Sub DPS of the team (Flexible).
Diluc Vaporize Team Comp
Xianyun | Diluc | Bennett | Furina |
Diluc also has a great synergy with Xianyun, having the ability to infuse Pyro in his attacks and having one of the highest Plunge DMG scaling in the game. Bennett and Furina are supporting characters, where Furina provides a great Hydro Application to facilitate Vaporize reactions.
Party Members And Their Roles
- Xianyun is the healer and a Plunge Buffer.
- Diluc is the Main DPS of the team, making use of the Plunge Buff from Xianyun. Alternatively, Gaming can also be played to achieve similar results.
- Bennett provides healing and a huge ATK Buff.
- Furina provides Hydro Application, enabling the Vaporize reaction.
Hu Tao Vaporize Team Comp
Xianyun | Hu Tao | Yelan | Furina |
Hu Tao also has a great synergy with Xianyun as she can jump cancel her attack and infuse Pyro in her attacks with her Elemental Skill, making her similar to a Pyro-infused Xiao. Here, Yelan and Xingqiu enable the Vaporize reaction, and Yelan acting as the Sub DPS.
Party Members And Their Roles
- Xianyun is the healer and a Plunge Buffer.
- Hu Tao is the Main DPS of the team, making use of the Plunge Buff from Xianyun.
- Yelan is the Sub DPS and a Hydro applicator.
- Furina is a Sub DPS and a great Hydro applicator.
Main DPS Xianyun Team Comp
Xianyun | Furina | Bennett | Faruzan |
Main DPS Xianyun is also a formidable team comp if built right. Faruzan is the battery and buffer for Xianyun, Bennett provides Pyro application, healing, and an ATK Buff and Furina, having great synergy with Xianyun, acting as the Sub DPS and a Swirl enabler; Xianyun can dominate the field with her Buffed Plunging Attacks.
Party Members And Their Roles
- Xianyun is the team’s Main DPS.
- Furina is the Sub DPS and provides Hydro application.
- Bennett is the healer and provides a huge ATK Buff.
- Faruzan boosts Xianyun’s Anemo DMG considerably, also decreasing the enemy’s Anemo resistance.
Is Xianyun worth pulling?
The one-word answer to that is, “Yes!” However, it’s not that simple, particularly if you’re saving for more universal units like Nahida and Kazuha. To help you make your decision, here are some pros and cons about her:
Pros:
- She heals the party members and Buffs DMG considerably, making her mark as one of the best supporters among the characters.
- She can be played in a lot of Plunge Attack-focused Team Comps.
- She maximizes her Support in early constellations, not needing much after C2.
Cons:
- Plunging mechanics may not appeal to players.
- Restricted rotations may be a turn-off for players.
- As a Main DPS, C6 is vital to Xianyun’s development, costing a lot of Primogems.
Ending Notes
In the end, how you build your Xianyun is based on what your playstyle is. This build guide gives you a holistic approach to building her. Nevertheless, there may be more ways to play her and other ways to build her. If you think we missed a crucial point when building Xianyun, do let us know in the comments.