Updated for Version 5.0
Mualani is a 5-star Hydro Catalyst character in Genshin Impact who chews up her enemies with hefty on-field nukes, all while surfing around on a very cute shark. Learn about Mualani’s best builds, best weapons, best artifacts, and best teams in this quick guide.
Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress.
Join our Discord to participate in the theorycrafting process.
Table of Contents
New Content
 Kachina | A 4-star Geo Polearm user released with Mualani. Kachina can slot into several of Mualani’s teams as a buffer with the new Natlan 4pc Scroll set. |
 Obsidian Codex | Natlan’s new artifact set for DPS characters. It offers a universal 15% DMG Bonus and a hefty buff of 40% CRIT Rate with its 4pc effect. An excellent set for Mualani. |
 Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City | Another new Natlan artifact set. A great option for supports, especially if they are from Natlan and can trigger the passive’s extra Elemental DMG Bonus. |
 New Natlan Catalysts | Surf’s Up, Ring of Yaxche, Ash-Graven Drinking Horn Surf’s Up is Mualani’s signature and Best-in-Slot weapon, while Ring of Yaxche is a solid free option. Ash-Graven Drinking Horn is not recommended. |
Infographic
Character Overview
Pros
- Mualani’s Sharky’s Bites nuke for very satisfying big blue numbers.
- Mualani scales well with vertical investment.
- Her AoE damage is good.
- She has excellent utility for overworld exploration.
- Her shark is really cute.
Cons
- Mualani’s damage ceiling and teambuilding are limited by a lack of synergistic teammates.
- She really only has one recommendable playstyle, as non-Vaporize teams deal noticeably lower damage.
- Her surfing mechanic can feel clunky to play.
Playstyles
On-Field DPS
Mualani is played as an on-field DPS who uses the Nightsoul mechanic that’s characteristic of Natlan characters. She surfs around on-field during her Skill state and collides with enemies to get stacks that increase her damage, before launching a massive Sharky’s Surging Bite nuke with her Normal Attack.
Talents
Level and Talent Priority
Character Level = Skill > Burst
Mualani scales with HP and heavily benefits from Level 90 to increase her damage. Although Mualani’s Sharky Bite is considered Normal Attack DMG, its multiplier scales with her Skill Talent, so her Normal Attack doesn’t need to be leveled. Her Burst is a nice source of damage and can be leveled afterwards.
Talent Overview
Normal Attack | Cooling Treatment
Talent Description
Normal Attack
Performs up to 3 attacks that deal Hydro DMG.
Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to smack a Pufferball into the air that deals AoE Hydro DMG upon landing.
Plunging Attack
Gathers the power of Hydro and plunges towards the ground from mid-air, damaging all opponents in her path. Deals AoE Hydro DMG upon impact with the ground.
Mualani’s Sharky’s Bite does not scale with her Normal Attack Talent, so this Talent is irrelevant to her damage.
Elemental Skill | Surfshark Wavebreaker
Talent Description
Combining her mastery of speed and the waves and water, Mualani can surf anytime, anywhere.
After using this skill, Mualani will gain 60 Nightsoul points and enter the Nightsoul’s Blessing state.
Nightsoul’s Blessing: Mualani
Continuously consume Nightsoul points. When they are depleted or when the skill is used again, Mualani’s Nightsoul’s Blessing will end. The state itself has the following traits:
• Mualani mounts her Sharky Surfboard, increasing Mualani’s Movement SPD and interruption resistance. Mualani can move on water and liquid Phlogiston while this state is active, and she will take no DMG from the latter.
• Normal Attacks will be converted to Sharky’s Bites, dealing Nightsoul-aligned Hydro DMG based on Mualani’s Max HP. Sharky’s Bites can be used in mid-air. DMG dealt this way is considered Normal Attack DMG.
• When she makes contact with opponents in this state, Mualani applies “Marked as Prey” to them and gains 1 Wave Momentum stack. Max 3 stacks. 1 stack can be gained from the same opponent every 0.7s.
Wave Momentum and Marked as Prey
When Mualani uses Sharky’s Bite, her DMG dealt increases based on Wave Momentum stacks. When she has 3 stacks, a Normal Attack will use Sharky’s Surging Bite instead, further increasing her DMG and removing all her stacks when hitting an opponent.
When Sharky’s Bites hit opponents Marked as Prey, that mark will be removed, and she will fire Shark Missiles at up to 5 nearby opponents Marked as Prey, dealing DMG to them equal to this Sharky’s Bite instance and clearing their Marks. If more than 1 opponent is the target of Sharky’s Bite and Shark Missiles, the DMG dealt will decrease, decreasing to 72% of the original DMG when at least 3 opponents are targeted.
Mualani’s Skill grants her 60 Nightsoul points and lets her enter her Nightsoul’s Blessing state, during which she surfs around on her pet shark while consuming Nightsoul points. While in the Nightsoul’s Blessing state, Mualani’s Normal Attack is transformed into Sharky’s Bite. This state lasts 6s at base, and it can be extended to last 10s with her A1 Passive.
While surfing in her Skill state, Mualani can collide with enemies to tag them with a mark and gain stacks that add to the damage scaling of Sharky’s Bite; this does not deal damage to the enemy. The number of stacks is visible with a bar on the screen, and she can gain up to 3 stacks total — obtaining the third stack upgrades Sharky’s Bite to the more powerful Sharky’s Surging Bite.
Mualani can perform a Normal Attack at any time in her Skill state to consume the stacks she currently possesses, launch a Sharky’s Bite, and fire shark-shaped missiles at up to 5 nearby enemies she has previously marked. Sharky’s Bite and Shark Missiles have no ICD, which lets Mualani Vaporize each of them for some impressive damage-per-screenshot hits. Notably, Mualani’s Sharky’s Bite and missiles deal reduced damage if they hit more than 1 target, down to 72% of the original damage at 3+ targets.
Note that you should always try to use fully stacked Sharky’s Bites; they both maximize Mualani’s damage and trigger her A1 Passive to extend her Nightsoul’s Blessing state.
Elemental Burst | Boomsharka-laka
Talent Description
Fires a Super Shark Missile that can track opponents, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Hydro DMG based on Mualani’s Max HP.
A powerful single-hit nuke that scales with Mualani’s HP and deals Nightsoul-aligned damage. Although Mualani’s Burst deals high damage, especially when Vaporized, it’s still a much smaller share of her damage compared to her Sharky’s Bites. As such, it is not worth building the ER% to cast her Burst every rotation.
Ascension 1 Passive | Heat-Resistant Freshwater Floater
Talent Description
When Sharky’s Surging Bite hits an opponent, a Puffer will be generated nearby. Mualani will restore 20 Nightsoul points when she picks up a Puffer. Only 2 such Puffers can be created in this way during a single instance of being in Nightsoul’s Blessing.
When Mualani hits an enemy with Sharky’s Surging Bite, she spawns a floating pufferfish (Puffer) near her. She can generate a maximum of two Puffers per Skill, and picking one up restores 20 Nightsoul points to Mualani. This lets Mualani extend her Skill duration from 6s up to 10s.
Ascension 4 Passive | Natlan’s Greatest Guide
Talent Description
After a nearby party member triggers a Nightsoul Burst, Mualani will gain 1 stack of Wavechaser’s Exploits, which lasts for 20s. Max 3 stacks. When she uses Boomsharka-laka, Mualani will clear all Wavechaser’s Exploits stacks and increase the DMG of this Boomsharka-laka by 15%/30%/45% of her Max HP based on the number of stacks cleared.
When Mualani’s teammates (including non-Natlan characters) trigger Nightsoul Burst by dealing Elemental damage, the next use of her Burst deals increased damage. Each stack lasts for 20s and increases the damage scaling of Mualani’s Burst by 15% HP per stack (additively), up to a maximum of 3 stacks.
Nightsoul’s Burst can trigger more often in teams with multiple Natlan characters, generating more stacks for Mualani. However, maximizing this passive’s effect is not worth it over running synergistic teammates that increase her main source of damage (her Sharky’s Bites).
Nightrealm’s Gift | Crests and Troughs
Talent Description
After her Nightsoul points are depleted, Mualani will switch to consuming Phlogiston to maintain her Nightsoul’s Blessing.
While in an area with Phlogiston Mechanics within Natlan, she can use Nightsoul Transmission: Mualani. When the active character is currently sprinting, swimming, in a movement mode caused by certain Talents, or at a certain height in the air, the following will trigger when switching to Mualani: Mualani will enter the Nightsoul’s Blessing state and gain 40 Nightsoul points. Nightsoul Transmission can be triggered once every 10s by your own team.
Additionally, Mualani’s Nightsoul point or Phlogiston consumption while moving on water and Liquid Phlogiston during Nightsoul’s Blessing is decreased by 75% while in Natlan, and her Nightsoul point consumption is decreased by 35% while doing the same outside Natlan.
Night Realm’s Gift is a new special passive for Natlan characters that increases their quality of life in overworld exploration. After consuming all her Nightsoul points, Mualani starts consuming Phlogiston instead of exiting her surfing state, which essentially gives her a special Stamina bar while in Natlan.
Mualani’s Nightsoul or Phlogiston consumption is also reduced by 75% while surfing on water or liquid Phlogiston in Natlan, and by 35% outside of Natlan, which allows her to explore in her surfing state for longer. Additionally, when swapping to Mualani in an area with Phlogiston mechanics, she gains 40 Nightsoul Points and immediately enters her Nightsoul state. This can happen at most every 10s.
Constellations
Constellation 1 | The Leisurely “Meztli”…
The DMG dealt by the first Sharky’s Surging Bite after Mualani enters Nightsoul’s Blessing and the Shark Missiles it triggers is increased by 66% of Mualani’s Max HP. This instance of increased DMG is subject to the diminishing DMG rules of Surfshark Wavebreaker.
In addition, while out of combat, Mualani’s Nightsoul’s Blessing state consumes 30% less Phlogiston and Nightsoul points.
Significantly increases the damage of Mualani’s first Surging Bite every rotation. Mualani’s C1 is a noticeable increase to her main source of damage, and it makes for a good stopping point for free-to-play players. As an added bonus, Mualani’s Nightsoul Blessing state now consumes 30% less Nightsoul and Phlogiston, so she can surf around for even longer in the overworld.
Constellation 2 | Mualani, Going All Out!
Mualani gains 2 of Surfshark Wavebreaker’s Wave Momentum stacks when she enters Nightsoul’s Blessing state. She will gain 1 stack when obtaining a Puffer.
In addition, whenever Mualani obtains 2 Puffers within a single instance of the Nightsoul’s Blessing state, she will recover an additional 12 Nightsoul points over 2s. This effect requires the Passive Talent “Heat-Resistant Freshwater Floater” to be unlocked first.
Mualani’s C2 increases the Nightsoul regeneration from Mualani’s Puffers and grants Sharky’s Bite 2 stacks when she enters her Nightsoul’s Blessing state, plus 1 stack every time she obtains a Puffer. This lets her perform an additional Sharky’s Surging Bite per Skill — a nice damage increase.
Constellation 3 | Surfing Atop Joyous Seas
Increases the Level of Surfshark Wavebreaker by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A Talent level increase for Mualani’s Skill, which is the largest share of her damage. Her C3 is another good stopping point unless you are going for her C6.
Constellation 4 | Sharky Eats Puffies
Mualani regenerates 8 Energy when obtaining a Puffer. Must first unlock the Passive Talent “Heat-Resistant Freshwater Floater.”
Additionally, Boomsharka-laka deals 75% increased DMG.
Mualani’s Puffers now restore 8 Energy for her, and her Burst gets a damage increase. A fairly mediocre Constellation since, even at C0, Mualani does not build ER% for her Burst, and her Burst is a much smaller part of her damage output than her Sharky’s Bites.
Constellation 5 | Same Style of Surfboard on Sale!
Increases the Level of Boomsharka-laka by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Talent levels for Mualani’s Burst. Similarly to her C4, this is only a minor damage increase.
Constellation 6 | Spirit of the Springs’ People
The DMG increase from the Constellation “The Leisurely ‘Meztli’…” is no longer limited to being triggered once every Nightsoul’s Blessing.
At C6, the buff from Mualani’s C1 now applies to all her Sharky’s Bites. This is a hefty damage increase from her previous Constellations on paper, but in practice her C6’s damage potential is limited because she can already one-shot most enemies without it. Barely anything survives long enough for a second Surging Bite at this level of investment, so her C6 really only sees use in multi-wave content.
Combos
Combo Notation
- N = Normal Attack
- C = Charged Attack
- A = Aimed Shot
- P = Plunging Attack
- E = Elemental Skill
- tE = Tap Skill
- hE = Hold Skill
- Q = Elemental Burst
- D = dash (cancel)
- J = jump (cancel)
- W = walk (cancel)
- > = switch character
- ( ) = these actions are optional; please refer to the notes below
- [ ] = repeat these actions the specified number of times
| 3[3-stacked bite] | Mualani’s “standard” combo. She uses 3 fully stacked Sharky’s Bites. |
| 1-stacked bite + 3[3-stacked bite] | The above combo but with an extra single-stack Sharky’s Bite. This combo deals some extra damage, but the timing for picking up the second Puffer can be tight. |
| 4[3-stacked bite] | At C0, this combo is only possible against AoE content, as such scenarios let Mualani stack her Sharky’s Bites faster. At C2, the added Nightsoul regeneration lets her perform the combo in single-target as well. |
| 5[3-stacked bite] | A possible combo for C2+ Mualani in AoE content. |
Nightsoul
Nightsoul’s Blessing
A special mechanic unique to Natlan characters that increases their mobility and combat ability. Nightsoul’s Blessing can be used in or out combat, and it consumes special types of Stamina called Nightsoul and Phlogiston points to enhance the character’s damage or exploration capability; Phlogiston is only available outside of combat. Most Natlan characters, Mualani included, enter the Nightsoul Blessing state by using their Skill.
Nightsoul’s Blessing can also be used to activate artifact set effects like those of Obsidian Codex and Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City.
Nightsoul Burst
When your team has at least one Natlan character, teammates (including non-Natlan characters) can trigger Nightsoul Bursts by dealing Elemental damage to enemies. The more Natlan characters in the team, the more often Nightsoul Bursts can be triggered: the cooldown between triggers is 18s / 12s / 9s in teams with 1 / 2 / 3 Natlan teammates, respectively. Nightsoul Bursts are used to activate Natlan artifact sets and character Talents.
Artifacts
ER Requirements
It is not recommended to trade offensive stats to build ER% on Mualani. She should instead only use her Burst when available.
However, if you want to use Mualani’s Burst every rotation, you can check out the Energy Recharge Calculator to determine exact requirements for your team and rotation.
Artifact Stats
 Sands |  Goblet |  Circlet |
| HP% or Elemental Mastery | Hydro DMG Bonus > HP% | CRIT DMG > HP% |
Stat Priority: CRIT > HP% > EM (Vaporize)
Mualani’s CRIT Rate Ascension Stat, combined with 4pc Obsidian Codex’s 40% CRIT Rate buff, makes it very easy to overcap on CRIT Rate and increases the value of stats like HP% and EM. As such, an HP% Circlet can perform similarly to a CRIT DMG Circlet, or even better in the case Mualani equips a weapon with a CRIT secondary stat like her signature. Likewise, a Goblet with an HP% main stat often performs close to one with Hydro DMG Bonus.
You can check with Genshin Optimizer which main stat combination is best for the artifacts you own.
Artifact Sets
4pc Obsidian Codex | Easily Mualani’s Best-in-Slot and highly recommended to farm for her. The set provides her with both an unconditional 15% Universal DMG Bonus and a hefty 40% CRIT Rate buff with full uptime. |
 4pc Unfinished Reverie | Worse than 4pc Obsidian and only viable in Mualani’s Burnvape teams. Not worth deliberately farming for her, but an option if you already have a 4pc set. |
 4pc Heart of Depth | Mualani can make use of both the Hydro and Normal Attack DMG Bonuses from 4pc Heart of Depth, but it still only performs slightly better than 2pc combinations. |
 2pc Mixed Sets | 2pc Bonuses: HP%, EM, Hydro DMG Bonus These sets are easy to get and make for acceptable placeholders while you farm 4pc Obsidian. |
Weapons
 Surf’s Up | Surf’s Up is a very strong signature and by far Mualani’s best option. It offers everything she could want: HP%, plenty of CRIT DMG, and a solid Normal Attack DMG Bonus. |
 Sacrificial Jade | Sacrificial Jade offers CRIT Rate, HP%, and EM, all stats Mualani appreciates, but it comes with the big caveat of being a headache to build around. Combined with Mualani’s Ascension Stat and 4pc Obsidian’s set effect, this weapon’s CRIT Rate secondary stat makes Mualani already have 101% CRIT Rate before even accounting for substats, making CRIT Rate a completely dead stat for her. |
 A Thousand Floating Dreams | Mualani’s Vaporize teams usually get a minimum of 2 DMG Bonus stacks from Thousand Dreams’ passive, and she benefits from the weapon’s EM secondary stat for her Vaporize damage. A good option if you have it, but not necessarily worth pulling for her. |
 Tome of the Eternal Flow | Tome offers plenty of CRIT DMG and some HP% from its passive, both of which Mualani appreciates. |
 The Widsith | Mualani’s best accessible 4-star option. It has some inconsistency, since only two out of its three passive buffs are useful for Mualani, but her nuke playstyle makes it less painful to reset for better RNG if you want to do so. |
 Ring of Yaxche | Ring of Yaxche is a new craftable with an HP% secondary stat and some Normal Attack DMG Bonus from its passive. It performs similarly to the Widsith, but without the risk-reward of the Widsith’s RNG passive. |
 Prototype Amber | Prototype Amber also has an HP% substat, but its passive’s Energy is less valuable than Yaxche’s Normal Attack DMG Bonus. Since Ring of Yaxche is also craftable and available through a web event to boot, there is no real reason to use Prototype Amber as more than a placeholder. |
Teams
Rotation Notation
- N = Normal Attack
- C = Charged Attack
- A = Aimed Shot
- P = Plunging Attack
- E = Elemental Skill
- tE = Tap Skill
- hE = Hold Skill
- Q = Elemental Burst
- D = dash (cancel)
- J = jump (cancel)
- W = walk (cancel)
- > = switch character
- ( ) = these actions are optional; please refer to the notes below
- [ ] = repeat these actions the specified number of times
Teambuilding
- Mualani deals the majority of her teams’ damage and wants teammates that can support her.
- However, her HP scaling limits her options since she is unable to take advantage of ATK buffers (like Bennett) and ATK% buffs.
- A Pyro unit with sufficient off-field application is also necessary to enable Forward Vaporize.
- Mualani’s Hydro application is slow enough that she can run weaker Pyro appliers with no issue, as long as she is solo Hydro.
- Mualani’s field time requirements are long, so her teammates should be able to support her from off-field.
- Running a shielder or healer is recommended since Mualani has no source of self-sustain.
Forward Vaporize
Mualani’s kit is tailor-made for Forward Vaporize and this archetype is by far her strongest playstyle — you could even say it’s her bread and butter. Her Sharky’s Bites have no ICD, which lets her Vaporize every hit for powerful nuke damage.
Note that, although Mualani’s teambuilding is fairly flexible, this is in part because she lacks dedicated teammates as of Version 5.0. Instead, her teams run whichever supports are available and include off-field DPS units (e.g., Chiori or Emilie) that can contribute to team damage.
Notable Teammates
Mualani’s most recommended teammates are marked with a star (★). However, characters without a star are also good options.
Pyro
A Pyro unit with sufficient off-field application is required to enable Forward Vaporize.
 ★ Xiangling | Out of the few off-field Pyro appliers available, Xiangling is a great option for Mualani (to no one’s surprise). Xiangling lets Mualani trigger Vaporize on all hits, and she is the only real Pyro option for Double Hydro teams. Mualani’s Hydro application is slow enough that Guoba alone can enable her. As such, Xiangling may Burst every other rotation if doing so is necessary for more manageable ER requirements. |
  ★ Dehya, Thoma | Mualani’s limited Hydro application makes slower Pyro appliers like Thoma and Dehya surprisingly good teammates. This is in part due to them also consolidating sustain, which in turn lets Mualani slot in more offensively oriented teammates. |
 Xinyan | Similarly to the above, Xinyan consolidates Pyro application and sustain, but her Pyro application is less reliable since it is cut short if her shield breaks. As such, Xinyan is best used with an Anemo unit like Kazuha to supplement her. Her self Pyro application also makes it easier to absorb Pyro with Kazuha’s Burst. |
Dendro
A Dendro unit with some off-field application can help enable Forward Vaporize through the Burning reaction. They also bring utility like buffing, sustain, and/or high personal damage (in Emilie’s case).
Geo
Geo units can slot in as flex picks who provide buffs (e.g., Zhongli’s RES Shred and the 4pc Archaic Petra effect), offer sustain, and/or deal personal damage without interfering with Mualani’s Forward Vapes. Notably, Kachina can hold the new 4pc Scroll of the Hero set to buff Mualani, and doing so lets a non-Geo teammate equip 4pc Archaic Petra.
Hydro
Running a second Hydro unit enables Hydro Resonance, a rare HP% buff for Mualani. Preferably, the Hydro unit also offers some utility or other buffs on top. Note that units with significant Hydro application require a stronger Pyro applier to ensure Mualani can still Vaporize all her hits.
Anemo
The RES Shred from 4pc Viridescent Venerer is one of the few buffs available to increase Mualani’s damage, and an Anemo grouper makes it easier for her to mark enemies in multi-target. Anemo units that can absorb and apply Elements with their Bursts (e.g., Kazuha or Lynette) can also supplement the team’s Pyro applier, although this is more of an added bonus.
Example Teams
This is not a comprehensive list of teams. The inclusion or exclusion of any given team does not necessarily reflect its power level.
Sample Rotation (Xiangling)
(Mualani N1)¹ > Zhongli hED N1² > Kazuha tEP > Xiangling Q/N2³ E > (Kazuha Q)³ > Mualani (Q)⁴ E combo N1
¹First rotation only.
²Pick up a Hydro Crystallize shard if Zhongli has 4pc Archaic Petra equipped.
³Use Xiangling’s Burst if available; otherwise, perform N2 and cast Kazuha’s Burst to supplement Guoba’s Pyro application.
⁴Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Sample Rotation (Dehya)
(Mualani N1)¹ > Zhongli hED N1² > Kazuha tEP > Dehya E N1 E > Mualani E combo (Q)³ N1
¹First rotation only.
²Pick up a Hydro Crystallize shard if Zhongli has 4pc Archaic Petra equipped.
³Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Sample Rotation (Zhongli)
Emilie E N1 > Zhongli hED N1 > Xiangling ED Q > Mualani (Q)¹ E combo N1 > Emilie Q > Zhongli hED N1 > Xiangling N2 ED > Mualani E combo
¹Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Sample Rotation (Kirara)
Emilie E N1 > Kirara shE > Xiangling ED Q > Mualani (Q)¹ E combo N1 > Emilie Q > Kirara shE > Xiangling N2 ED > Mualani E combo
¹Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Sample Rotation
Yelan EQ N1 > Zhongli hED N1¹ > Xiangling Q E > Mualani E combo (Q)²
¹Pick up a Hydro Crystallize shard if Zhongli has 4pc Archaic Petra equipped.
²Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Sample Rotation (C2+ Kachina)
(Mualani N1)¹ > Chiori 2[E] > Kachina E/Q > Dehya E > Mualani (Q)² E combo N1 > (Chiori Q)²
¹First rotation only.
²Use Mualani’s Burst if available. If not, use Chiori’s Burst at the end of the rotation.
Sample Rotation (Zhongli)
(Mualani N1)¹ > Chiori 2[E] > Zhongli hED N1² > Dehya E > Mualani (Q)³ E combo N1 > (Chiori Q)³
¹First rotation only.
²Pick up a Hydro Crystallize shard if Zhongli has 4pc Archaic Petra equipped.
³Use Mualani’s Burst if available. If not, use Chiori’s Burst at the end of the rotation.
Sample Rotation
(Mualani N1)¹ > Kachina E > Lynette E N1 Q > Xiangling Q/N2 E²> Mualani (Q)³ E combo N1
¹First rotation only.
²Use Xiangling’s Burst if available; otherwise, perform N2.
³Use Mualani’s Burst if available.
Credits
caramielle., Athena_, NatC, Lilith_, caxia5, haafr, polomo, duckfero, charliex3000, lizz71
Team images made with the KQM portrait generator.
