Complete Build Guide For Xiao In Genshin Impact 3.4

Xiao is a 5-star Anemo Polearm DPS, whose main role is Hypercarry. This means he will be taking most of the field time and covering the whole team's damage. Xiao is rather f2p friendly because of that - you don't need to invest too much on Supports to be effective if you already have a good build on him.

With the release of Faruzan, Xiao has come back stronger than ever. In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase a complete guide for Xiao in Genshin Impact 3.4, including talents, artifact builds, and team compositions.

Xiao Elemental Burst — Xiao's playstyle of using plunge attacks is fairly unique.

1. Xiao Talent Priority & Constellation

10AA > 8Q > 8E

As Xiao's main tool for combat is his plunge attack, maxing his AA talent first is a must. Leveling his Elemental Burst only gives a small additive increase to his DMG Bonus% (which he already has aplenty). In comparison, leveling Xiao’s Normal Attack increases his plunge’s base modifier and leads to a significantly higher DPS increase.

Getting 8Q before 10AA is also an option if you want to reduce the HP drain during Xiao’s Burst.
Leveling up past 8Q and 8E should mostly be done out of love for Xiao, as it is a minimal DPS increase.

Constellation

Overall Xiao is strong right out of the box. Players can either stop at C0/C1 or commit to C6 if they like him.

C1: Softens his ER needs by enabling Xiao to obtain his second Burst much more reliably, while also being a decent source of extra energy in comps featuring Faruzan and/or additional Anemos.
C2-C5: Xiao has some of the worst C2 and C4 constellations in the game, offering stats he doesn't need. As his kit focuses on plunge attacking, C3 and C5 are also pretty bad.
C6: It is one of the few constellations that change the character's playstyle drastically. This constellation changes Xiao’s main damage source from spamming plunges to Elemental Skills, assuming that he faces 2 or more enemies. His optimal attack string becomes 1 plunge followed up by 3-4 Elemental Skills, heavily increasing his damage output.

2. Xiao Artifact Sets & Stats

Main Stats

Timepiece: ATK%
Goblet: Anemo DMG% > ATK%
Circlet: Crit Rate% or Crit DMG%. Try to get at least 70% Crit Rate.

Sub Stats

20-40% ER > Crit Rate = Crit DMG > ATK% > Extra ER%

Xiao is a relatively simple character whose damage scales purely from ATK, Crit Rate and Crit DMG (as well as DMG Bonus). While Energy Recharge may not affect his damage, a large chunk of his gameplay is reliant on utilizing his Elemental Burst, so obtaining ~20-40 ER% from substats can be invaluable.

Recommended Sets

Genshin Vermillion Hereafter — Vermillion Hereafter

4pc Vermillion Hereafter

Its effect is easily proccable by Xiao, and possesses more stat value than any 2pc combination. It is also one of the few ATK sources that last till the end of Xiao’s Elemental Burst.

Alternatively, players can use 2pc Venerer, Desert Pavilion, Shimezawa, Emblem, Gladiator... as long as the substats are good.

Xiao deals the majority of his damage in his Elemental Burst, so make sure Xiao has enough ER to enable smooth Burst rotations. He mainly gains energy via his Skill and Battery.

3. Best weapon for Xiao

Best 5-Star weapons: Jade Spear / Staff of Homa

Maxresdefault — Jade Spear vs Staff of Homa

In actual practice, the average Xiao will find both weapons similar in performance. To the point that picking one or the other is simply a matter of whichever you pull first. Determining which is better for your account depends entirely on your artifact selection, team comps and skill.

The other polearms are suboptimal for Xiao. Below is the 5-star tier list:

Jade Spear / Staff of Homa > Vortex Vanquisher / Calamity Queller > Other 5-star Polearm Options

Best 4-star weapons: Deathmatch / Blackcliff

Generally speaking Deathmatch is the superior 4-star weapon, with its unconditional passive and large amount of Crit rate. However, deciding between the two ultimately depends on what you can afford. Blackcliff is a true F2P Option, while Deathmatch requires you to purchase the Battle Pass.

Lithic Spear or Missive Windspear are also decent options, but are rather hard to use. For F2P players, we also recommend Favonius Lance as a strong contender due to its high base ATK and ER oriented Passive and Substat.

4. Best Supports for Xiao

Faruzan	Faruzan is Xiao’s best support. She offers a vast range of utility from immense buffs to non-5*-locked Anemo RES Shred, all of which Xiao benefits from. She single-handedly raises Xiao’s personal damage by an approximate 40%-60% depending on buffs and team. She enables other Crit-built Anemo units to be run alongside Xiao as they can benefit from the aforementioned buffs too. Before C6, due to her limited particle generation, it’s recommended to run her along with another Anemo battery.
Jean	Jean’s main strength lies in her multi-purposeness. She can be built as a Sub-DPS, while still being an excellent Healer and good battery.
Sucrose	Sucrose is the best possible Battery one can have for Xiao. At C0 she should use Sacrificial Fragments, but at C1+ she can equip whatever Catalyst suits your needs (generally TTDS or Prototype Amber).
Zhongli	His shield is the strongest in the game, allowing Xiao to resist stagger from enemies and focus on plunging safely, even permitting healerless comps. It also offers Anemo Res Shred at C0.
Diona	Provides a solid shield that is the most practical after Zhongli’s. Solid healing, though ticks are slower than other options.
Bennett	Elemental Burst offers fast healing. Offers ATK buff from both his talent and 4pc NO.
Raiden	Enables Xiao to continuously burst with minimal ER requirements and provides flexibility with rotations by eliminating the need to funnel.

5. Xiao Team Comps

Faruzan Has Great Debuff Ability — Having Faruzan is the easiest way to make Xiao powerful.

Xiao Basic team

Xiao + Battery + Flex + Flex

The basics of Xiao’s team is pairing him with a Battery and then two Flex characters, who you can pick from the Supports section above depending on investment or need. Note: Elemental Resonances are generally overrated and not necessary with Xiao, which is why it’s better to prioritize the character’s value in the team comp over resonances.

Xiao Faruzan Triple Anemo

Xiao + Faruzan + Anemo + Flex

Faruzan benefits Triple Anemo teams in that she buffs ALL Anemo party members. With that, Anemo supports who were previously unideal batteries can now be run alongside him as Sub-DPSes. Because they are Anemo, they can also passively contribute Anemo particles to the team. This team is recommended for both pre-C6 and C6 Faruzan players. The last flex slot can be any good support like Bennett or Zhongli or Fischl.

Xiao Double Geo

Xiao + Battery / Healer + Zhongli + Geo

A classic Xiao Comp featuring the very Archon that Xiao devoted his life to. Zhongli ensures easy access to Geo Resonance for a stronger shield and 15% DMG Bonus for everyone in the party. His shield is also one of the few sources of Anemo Resistance Shred that can potentially last for the entire duration of Xiao’s Burst. The main restriction of this comp is the necessity of a battery for the 4th slot.

Xiao Double Cryo

Xiao + Battery + Diona + Cryo

A simple, non-Zhongli-haver friendly welfare Xiao comp that begins with pairing him with Diona. Diona will serve as a multi-purpose support with her shield, healing, batterying capability through Favonius Bow, and providing particles to the secondary Cryo character. A secondary Cryo will be inserted for Cryo Resonance, which will provide Xiao with 15% Crit Rate against enemies applied with Cryo.

Xiao Double Pyro

Xiao + Battery + Bennett + Pyro

A comp that is heavily reliant on the usage of Bennett. Bennett is ideal for this comp simply because he is a Pyro Healer, and can battery other Pyro characters through his Tap Elemental Skill. A secondary Pyro will be inserted for Pyro Resonance, which will provide Xiao an additional 25% ATK.