An update of this guide is being worked on.
You can check out the official Xingqiu Quick Guide or visit the KQM discord for any Xingqiu-related questions!
A complete Xingqiu guide
By Quincy of Xingqiu Mains
Updated for v2.2
Table of Contents
Prologue
Hello! Welcome to the official guide to all things Xingqiu! I’m Quincy from Xingqiu Mains, feel free to contact me on discord at Quincy#6965.
This guide is meant to cover everything that you would ever need to know about our one and only Guhua Geek. In this guide, I share all types of playstyles, team comps, builds, and everything in between. This guide is meant for all types of players, from the casuals who are looking for a support for their DPS, all the way to the enthusiasts looking to use him as a Main DPS.
I hope this guide will cover everything you need; happy reading! This guide is still being edited, so please bear in mind that while you’re reading there is a chance that I’ll be updating things.
Introduction; Why should you use Xingqiu?
Xingqiu is a well-enjoyed character in the Genshin community, so let’s look at what he does best.
Pros
- Has the most consistent Hydro application on single-target enemies and some AoE situations for enabling Reactions
- Deals one of the largest amounts of single-target damage off-field
- Provides a large survivability boost to your team
- Almost any and all teams will benefit from using a Xingqiu, and most people struggle with not having one for both sides of the abyss
- Ease of use
- Is an amazing unit without any Constellations and only gets better with Constellations
- Low investment Xingqius are still viable at late-game
- Can self sustain if built/played right
- Cheap weapon arsenal and very F2P friendly
Cons
- Energy hungry (80 Energy)
- Can cleanse himself of Pyro with both his Skill and Burst. Attempting to cleanse Cryo results in Xingqiu being Frozen, and attempting to cleanse Electro results in Xingqiu being Electro-Charged
- High Energy requirements make fueling his Burst in early/mid-game much more difficult
- Constellations are not needed but they severely lessen the investment needed to use Xingqiu and unlock his full potential
- Long cooldowns gate some of his damage
- Mostly single-target damage
Chapter One: Character Breakdown and Analysis
Before we get into the builds and fancy stuff, you need to understand Xingqiu’s kit. He’s somewhat complex with the number of things his Talents are able to do.
Xingqiu is an excellent all-around unit; he provides healing, Damage Reduction, fast Hydro aura application (arguably the best aura in the game), and high damage output.
Normal Attack: Guhua Style
Talents Overview
Normal Attack: Perform up to 5 rapid strikes.
Charged Attack: Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to unleash 2 rapid sword strikes.
Plunging Attack: Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Summary
Xingqiu’s Normal Attacks are not special in any way. They are on par with that of most other sword users, and generally slower than average which makes them undesirable from a DPS standpoint, although they can be used at minimal opportunity cost.
Optimal Attack Combo
Xingqiu’s optimal combo for damage is N1C (Normal Attack, Charged Attack, repeat) as it does the most damage per frame. However, Stamina management is important, so it is generally recommended to use N2C (two Normal Attacks followed by a Charged Attack). That is a 16% loss of DPS accounting for the duration of attacks, but it ultimately performs better in terms of utility, especially during his Burst to proc Rain Swords and deal damage. N2J (two Normal Attacks, cancelling the end of the second animation with a jump) is the third-best option, which requires no stamina and also procs Rain Swords.
Try to avoid N3, 4, and 5, as they have long frame counts, resulting in lower DPS.
Cancelling with a dash for N2 is more desirable DPS wise but costs Stamina, so generally the best combo is N2C until stamina runs out, then N2J.
Guhua Sword: Fatal Rainscreen
Xingqiu performs twin strikes with his sword, dealing Hydro damage. At the same time, this Talent creates the maximum number of Rain Swords, which will orbit your active character.
The Rain Swords have the following properties:
- When a character takes damage, the Rain Sword will shatter, reducing the amount of damage taken.
- Increase the character’s Interruption Resistance.
- 20% of Xingqiu’s Hydro Damage Bonus will be converted to additional damage reduction for the Rain Swords. The maximum amount of additional damage reduction that can be gained this way is 24%.
- The initial maximum number of Rain Swords is 3.
- Using this ability applies the Wet status onto the character for ~0.3s.
Summary
Xingqiu’s Elemental Skill is often overlooked as “the battery for his Burst”; this may hold true in low investment Xingqiu’s, however, it is still currently the highest-damage Hydro Skill in the game. At Talent Level 6, the minimum expected level, the scaling is 502.88% at C0-3 and 915.96% with C5+. After the initial hit, he summons the maximum amount of Rain Swords (3 at C0, 4 at C1+). The orbital period of his Rain Swords is 15 seconds.
Damage Reduction
The Rain Swords he summons have multiple purposes, and the first is damage reduction. The damage reduction scales off of Xingqiu’s Hydro DMG Bonus. At talent level 6, this damage reduction Bonus is 25% Base Absorption + 20% of Xingqiu’s Hydro DMG Bonus (caps at 24%). This means you could have up to 49% at talent 6, and even higher at Talent Lv 10+. However, Xingqiu’s Hydro DMG Bonus is capped at 81.6% at the moment (61.6 from artifacts, 20% from A4), so his damage reduction at Talent Level 6 is maxed at 41.32%. Note that the DMG Bonus from Kazuha does not affect this. This damage reduction applies as long as at least one Rain Sword is orbiting you.
Healing
Xingqiu’s A1 states that when a Rain Sword breaks or expires, it provides a small heal equal to 6% of Xingqiu’s Max HP. This means that at C0, Xingqiu can heal an amount equal to 18% of his Max HP. The healing is increased at C1 due to Xingqiu having an extra Rain Sword, allowing him to heal for 24% of Xingqiu’s Max HP.
Utility
Xingqiu’s Rain Swords applies Hydro to enemies within melee range every ~2.5 seconds. This can provide an aura to react off of, but generally is supplementary to the Hydro application on the Burst its long Internal Cooldown (ICD) prevents it from being meaningful enough. It can break shields but not the Pyro Regisvine’s corella. In addition to this, Xingqiu’s Rain Swords give Interruption Resistance, so most attacks won’t stagger the character.
Xingqiu’s Skill creates 4-5 Energy Particles and has a cooldown of 21 seconds, so to maximize Xingqiu’s Burst uptime, it’s very important that Xingqiu’s Skill DOES NOT MISS. It’s possible that you’ll have to wait up to ~21 extra seconds to have your Burst ready if you miss, which is a MASSIVE DPS loss.
Other Notes of Importance
Xingqiu’s C4 states that his Skill does 50% more damage if used when his Burst is active, so usually it’s recommended to use his E during his Q if possible. Generally, the Skill cooldown matches well with the Burst uptime (20s for Burst, 21s for Skill), so it’s more than likely you’ll be able to make use his C4.
Guhua Sword: Raincutter
Initiate Rainbow Bladework and fight using an illusory sword rain, while creating the maximum number of Rain Swords.
Rainbow Bladework:
- Your active character’s Normal Attacks will trigger consecutive sword rain attacks, dealing Hydro damage.
- Rain Swords will remain at the maximum number throughout the ability’s duration.
- These effects carry over to other characters.
Summary
Xingqiu’s Burst is the most well known part of his kit and is the main reason why people use him; its speed of Hydro aura application is incredible, and it provides that while Xingqiu is off-field and other characters can be on-field dealing damage. It also creates the maximum amount of Rain Swords, and they remain on your characters for the duration of the Burst, provide a passive damage reduction from all attacks for the duration of the Burst.
Overall Damage Potential
A C0 Xingqiu can get off 37 Rain Swords and applies Hydro up to 15 times, dealing 187.41% MV/s at Talent Level 6, and at C6, it gets even crazier. A C6 Xingqiu not only deals 307.53% MV/s, but also can proc up to 60 Rain Swords, applying Hydro up to 24 times, and regenerating 18 Energy for his next Burst, lowering his Burst cost from 80 to 62. This makes his Burst the highest damaging Burst of any Hydro character.
It is important to manage Burst uptime with Xingqiu. It takes around 200% Energy Recharge at C6 to truly maintain maximum uptime. This however assumes you’re not generating any Energy in any other way (i.e. killing enemies). So generally you’ll need less ER, but we’ll get into that in the next section.
Using His Burst Properly
It’s important to note that Xingqiu’s Rain Swords only trigger when a character uses their normal attacks. This means that some units will not be able to use Xingqiu to his full potential. Ganyu is an example where Xingqiu may not be the best fit for her because you need to intermittently weave normal attacks in her charged attack rotations.
Hydro Application and Other Things to Note
Xingqiu is the fastest off-field Hydro applicator to date, and at C0 you’ll apply a single instance of Hydro with every wave of Rain Swords. At C0 your Rain Swords follow a pattern of 2-3-2-3… Each Rain Sword deals damage, and each wave and applies Hydro once. Upon reaching C6, the Rain Sword rotation is 2-3-5-2-3-5… This means that the third wave of Rain Swords deals a bit of extra damage. The third wave of Rain Swords will also apply Hydro aura twice due to internal cooldown rules.
Energy Issues
The amount of Energy Xingqiu requires is significant. Xingqiu needs about 240-260 (180-200 with C6) ER minimum, not including Hydro teammates, Energy generating weapons and assuming a single use of his Skill. While maintaining good Energy Recharge, strive to have as many offensive stats as possible. ATK and CRIT stats are not to be ignored, but Burst uptime almost always outscales higher offensive stats. Note that the Energy needs are halved for an R3+ Sacrificial Sword.
Chapter Two: Constellations
Although Xingqiu is perfectly fine without constellations, his constellations make up a large portion of his full potential.
C1: The Scent Remained
Increases the maximum number of Rain Swords by 1. Arguably his worst Constellation, but still a nice one to have. Doesn’t increase damage but increases max healing by 33.3% and survivability by a decent margin.
C2: Rainbow Upon the Azure Sky
Extends the duration of Raincutter by 3s and decreases the Hydro RES of enemies hit by sword rain attacks by 15% for 4s. C2 allows for up to 3 more Rain Sword waves to be cast through the duration of his Burst, and allows the Burst itself to deal more damage. Assuming the generic enemy has 10% Hydro RES, this is an added ~30% increase to your Burst damage. This also can help other Hydro users RES Shred (i.e. Tartaglia). C2 is Xingqiu’s second-best Constellation.
C3: Weaver of Verses
Increases the Talent Level of Raincutter by 3, which is a 16%-18% increase in Burst damage. This provides a large increase in damage from your Burst. A great Constellation to have. C3 is Xingqiu’s third-best Constellation.
C4: Evilsoother
Throughout the duration of Raincutter, the DMG dealt by Fatal Rainscreen is increased by a multiplicative 50%. This Constellation greatly encourages you to use Xingqiu’s Skill during his Burst due to the massively increased Skill DMG. It also allows you to be a YouTuber and one-shot things with his Skill (though it requires heavy investment). In all honesty, C4 is just situationally a stronger version of C5. Paired with a Sacrificial Sword, you can deal large amounts of damage with a Sacrificial Sword double E cast. C4 is Xingqiu’s 4th best Constellation.
C5: Embrace of Rain
Increases the level of Fatal Rainscreen by 3. A good Constellation to own, it increases Skill DMG by an additional 110% MV (motion value). Although a good Constellation, it is generally not as good as C2 or C3, and is slightly lacking in comparison to C4. C5 is Xingqiu’s fifth-best Constellation.
C6: Hence, Call Them My Own Verses
Activating 2 of Guhua Sword: Raincutter’s Rain Sword waves greatly enhances the third Rain Sword wave’s damage. On hit, the third wave of Rain Swords also regenerates 3 Energy for Xingqiu. The wording of the Contellation is misleading. What it actually does is change the Rain Sword wave pattern from 2-3-2-3 to 2-3-5-2-3-5. Additionally, each 5 sword hit gives 3 Energy back. This results in additional DMG from up to 15 Rain Swords, and up to 18 Energy refunded. C6 is Xingqiu’s best Constellation.
Chapter Three: Playstyles
Xingqiu is capable of filling many roles.
Main DPS
The Main DPS role in any team is generally the team member that deals the most damage. Usually, they’re required to stay on-field because of their selfish playstyle, doing significant amounts of damage in exchage; or because they have desirable Normal or Charged Attack combos. Generally, these Normal and Charged Attacks can be infused with an Element as well to provide extra damage and Reactions. You usually build a team around a DPS unit.
Sub DPS
The Sub DPS role is very similar to the Main DPS role, in that they both deal damage, but the Sub DPS is only capable of doing large amounts of damage either by using their Burst, or Skill. They usually stay off-field until their cooldowns wear off and are quickly swapped in and out, taking up very little field time. The only thing keeping a Sub DPS from becoming the Main DPS is the lack of desirable Normal Attack or Charged Attack combos.
Support
A support is not a user who deals damage themselves but aids others in dealing more damage. This can include direct damage buffs to your team, or resistance and defense debuffs to enemies. Generally, their on-field value is just the fact that they can cast the Skills/Bursts needed for these buffs/debuffs.
Utility
A utility unit generally does not deal, nor boost damage in any way. They exist to make your life easier by healing or shielding and serving that role exclusively. Utility units may have more uptime than others due to the fact that some units require attacking for healing. Oftentimes, utility units may fall under the Support or Sub-DPS category as well.
Main DPS Xingqiu
Main DPS Xingqiu isn’t the most practical since Xingqiu can deal damage even when swapped to another character, so using him for your field time may lead to damage loss because as stated before, he has undesirable Normal Attacks. In the Chinese National team however, you may want him on-field due to the increase you get from Bennett’s ATK buff.
Hydro DPS Xingqiu
Usage Rating: 7.5/10
Pros:
- Benefits from all of Xingqiu’s Constellations
- Swapping does not hinder DPS
- Good survivability even if used solo
- Single-target DPS is very high
- Extremely easy to team build
- Abyss value is high and can pass quite a few DPS checks
- Hitlag can extend the duration of his Burst well past his cooldown
Cons:
- Building him is rather punishing, and requires a lot of good artifact substats due to his need for many different stats
- AoE damage is rather low and needs to be supplemented by supports
- Playstyle seems easy, but missing Fatal Rainscreen is a huge DPS loss.
- Enemies with Hydro RES challenge the entire build
- Reliant on maintaining uptime, but also needs good offensive stats.
- Wasn’t made for the role
- Swapping to a character with more desirable Normal/Charged Attack combos and Reaction setups is much more beneficial
Useful Constellations:
In order of usefulness, C6>C2>C3>C4>C5>C1
Talent Priority:
Raincutter > Fatal Rainscreen > Normals
Sub DPS Xingqiu
Sub DPS Xingqiu makes use of his entire kit.
Usage Rating: 10/10
Pros:
- All the same benefits as Main DPS Xingqiu except you can use your own DPS to deal damage while all of Xingqiu’s damage is done off-field
- Perfectly sets up Reactions for all Elements
- Allows Xingqiu to take up a lot less fieldtime
- Even easier to team build than Hydro DPS Xingqiu
- Some characters cannot perform at full potential without Xingqiu
- With a dedicated DPS, he will pass all DPS checkpoints easily
- The game intended him for this role
- Lesser need for really good artifacts
Cons:
- Energy Recharge is still an issue, especially since he’s gathering Particles off-field = getting less Energy from Particles that he doesn’t directly collect
- Cooldown may be de-synced in comparison to your DPS unit
- Wants Sacrificial Sword for max potential
Useful Constellations:
In order of usefulness, C6>C2>C3>C4>C5>C1
Talent Priority
Raincutter > Fatal Rainscreen > Normals
Vaporize Nuke Xingqiu
Usage Rating 5/10
Pros:
- Does MASSIVE damage with his Skill
- Somewhat easier to set up compared to Tartaglia
- Uses Skill and not Burst, therefore being somewhat more consistent
- Less investment in Talents is required because his Skill takes all priority
- Lions Roar is a F2P friendly option
Cons:
- Despite having extremely high Skill damage, it severely neutralizes all his other damage.
- His skill is 2 hits, and therefore either a 4GU Pyro aura or a consistent Pyro applicator is needed (Amber, Sucrose, Venti).
- Single-purpose
- High investment and artifacts and weapons are not very transferable to other playstyles.
- Other nukes may be more reliable/deal more damage
- Requires many resets
- Extreme investment and whale-level weapons for teammates are almost needed to make him function
Useful Constellations:
C4 for increased skill damage
C5 for increased skill damage
Talent Priority:
Fatal Rainscreen > Raincutter > Normals
Chapter Four: Builds and Weapons
Xingqiu’s artifact options are rather diverse, and your weapon choice and artifact substats will influence your build significantly. First, I’ll take a look at weapons, and recommend artifact sets via weapon choice before going deeper on artifacts.
The weapon list here assumes an investment far from perfect. 50% CRIT Rate and 100% CRIT Damage are assumed unless it is a CRIT weapon in which the ratios change. Certain assumptions made in this section are that 3* weapons are R5, 4* weapons are R3, and 5* weapons are R1.
Note: Main DPS values will be higher than Sub DPS values; this is due to the factoring of Normal Attacks in Main DPS values.
Artifacts
(Extremely Niche artifacts will be in the team building section since they are not based around Xingqiu as a whole)
| C6 Artifacts Comparision |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 114.09% | 101.32% | 100.16% | 99.60% | 99.60% | 91.89% |
| – | 97.62% | 100% | 100.21% | 100.21% | 92.45% |
| – | – | 91.39% | 99.06% | 99.06% | 91.39% |
| – | – | – | 90.88% | 97.91% | 90.88% |
| – | – | – | – | 90.88% | 90.88% |
| – | – | – | – | – | 83.84% |
| Early Game | Notes |
| Exile/Scholar | Gets his Energy Recharge up, completely viable early game |
| Gambler | Allows you to reset your Skill after killing an enemy. Just a worse version of Sacrificial Sword passive that requires Xingqiu to kill the enemy. Hard to pull off. |
Emblem of Severed Fate vs. Noblesse Oblige and Heart of Depth
Emblem of Severed Fate trades Skill damage for Burst damage, and while Xingqiu’s Skill does a lot of damage, the tradeoff is well worth it provided you have the needed Energy to cast your Burst off cooldown. You should have at least 160% Energy Recharge to consider switching, however.
The relative gain of Emblem as compared to 2pc Heart of Depth and 2pc Noblesse can be seen in the table below.
Weapons
Xingqiu has a diverse pool of weapons that allow him to deal damage, and offer utility to teammates, but which one should you use? This guide will help you pick the right weapon for Xingqiu
Sub/Main DPS Rankings
Interactive Graph (same graph as above, but interactive)
Assumptions: 4EoSF on an 80/90 9/9/9 Xingqiu with 25 subs optimally distributed. Q>E>E rotation.
THE ORDER OF THESE WEAPON IS FOR C6. THE ACTUAL RANKINGS FOR THESE WEAPONS AT DIFFERENT CONSTELLATIONS VARIES
You can check my weapon calculations page to find out more!
Overall Notes for each weapon:
Primordial Jade Cutter
Primordial Jade Cutter is the offensive sword weapon of Genshin Impact, and its performance definitely is a reflection of that. With Emblem of Severed Fate and 240% ER, it is better than Sacrificial Sword at all Constellation levels.
Mistsplitter Reforged
Mistsplitter provides a whopping 12% Elemental DMG Bonus by default and up to 28% additional Elemental DMG Bonus at R1. This, stacked with its CRIT Damage substat and 674 Base ATK, makes it quite the powerhouse on Xingqiu. The only thing preventing it from beating Jade Cutter is the lack of a Mistsplitter’s Emblem stack for an Elemental DMG NA. If you can get the 3rd stack on Xingqiu, the weapon becomes better than Jade Cutter.
Skyward Blade
Skyward Blade is always a solid choice on Xingqiu regardless of Constellation level. It keeps itself afloat with its ER substat and high Base ATK. The 4% CRIT Rate never fails to help its performance either. Overall very solid choice.
Summit Shaper
Summit Shaper is an offensive weapon that performs well on Xingqiu especially with a shielder. It is overall mediocre on Xingqiu for a 5-Star weapon. It still performs about as well as Skyward Blade across the Constellations. If you have a shielder, this weapon becomes better than Skyward Blade.
Aquila Favonia
Despite Aquila Favonia having a Physical DMG Bonus substat, it still provides a lot for Xingqiu with its high Base ATK and ATK% from passive.
Sacrificial Sword
Sacrificial Sword is a great weapon on Xingqiu due to its ER substat and amazing passive allowing you to freely run an ATK% sands, and fish purely for offensive stats from artifacts. It performs the best out of the 4-Star weapons until C6 and is definitely worth it for those looking for a good 4-Star weapon for their non-C6 Xingqiu.
Festering Desire
Festering Desire is a good pick for those who obtained it in the 1.2 Dragonspine event. It has ER substat and a good Skill DMG Bonus increase, which makes it an overall solid pick for Xingqiu.
Favonius Sword
Favonius Sword is Sacrificial Sword with a worse substat. It allows you to run either an ATK% sands or ER sands, so choose whichever you are lacking in. At C6 you should use an ATK% sand. It mostly frees up room for offensive artifacts substats and doesn’t provide any offensive bonuses itself.
Royal Sword
Being the better of the 2 Starglitter weapons, Royal Longsword places here because of its CRIT Rate stacking ability and ATK% mainstat. Overall a solid choice, albeit a bit inconsistent.
The Alley Flash
Alley Flash is NOT a very good weapon before C6. Its performance is somewhat nullified by its EM substat which is undesirable to Xingqiu. Bolstering a whopping 620 Base ATK and an 18% DMG Bonus, it solidifies its spot as an average choice at C6.
Amenoma Kageuchi
Amenoma Kageuchi is a powerhouse craftable, being very solid on Xingqiu regardless of investment levels. It allows you to run less ER (180 for C6, 225 for C0-C5), and provides a large ATK substat. Overall a good F2P option for those who don’t have the above options.
Harbinger of Dawn
Harbinger of Dawn is a CRIT stat-stick on Xingqiu that performs well as long as you’re at 90% or more HP. It is mostly nerfed however due to its low Base ATK from its 3-Star status.
Blackcliff Longsword
Both Starglitter weapons need to be used with an Energy Recharge sands and as such lack ATK. With ATK% being slightly more valuable than CRIT, Blackcliff Longsword provides less than Royal.
The Black Sword
Black Sword has a CRIT substat and an average Base ATK, which make it average on Xingqiu. Its performance is somewhat not worth the battle pass buy. The passive being active would generally make it about as useful as Royal or Alley Flash.
Lion’s Roar
Lions Roar ranks here because it is essentially a Royal weapon without the passive. This is under the assumption of Xingqiu’s Skill not Vaporizing, so if you are able to, this weapon is on par Royal Longsword/Favonius Blade.
Freedom Sworn
Freedom Sworn is not recommended on Xingqiu due to it not boosting any important stats (Elemental Mastery substat), and its passive will not be triggered. Run it on Bennett or Kazuha instead.
Skyrider Sword
Despite ranking so low, Skyrider Sword performs much better in earlier game when the stat pool is more limited. It is one of the most accessible sources of Energy Recharge early game and provides an ATK boost of 24% after using a Burst. Overall, it heavily falls off late game when the stat pool is larger and its stats are overshadowed by those 4 and 5-Stars.
Nuking Notes
This chart assumes a VERY highly invested team and 25 substats.
Energy Recharge Sands vs ATK Sands
Xingqiu’s artifact main stat selection is relatively the same as any ordinary DPS. However, he needs quite a bit of energy recharge (~180-200 for C6, and upwards of 240 for pre-C6). This makes running an Energy Recharge sands the most viable pre-C6, unless you’re running an R3 Sacrificial Sword in which you only need 140-ish ER pre-C6. After C6, if you can get 170 ER without the sands, feel free to run an ATK Sands. With Sacrificial Sword at R3+ and Xingqiu at C6, feel free to run ATK sands.
As for the other main stats, a Hydro goblet is required for the extra damage reduction and damage. A CRIT circlet of any kind will work to keep your ratio 1:2 CR%/CD%. In early game, the CRIT circlet can be substituted with an ATK circlet.
Chapter Five: Teambuilding and Playstyles
Teammate Options for a Xingqiu
Albedo
Albedo is a Defense-scaling off-field Geo DPS who offers an Elemental Mastery boost for Reaction heavy teams that Main DPS Xingqiu wants.
Crystallize shields generated by Geo characters are generally underwhelming, but still function as some form of protection and brief Interruption Resistance.
4pc Husk of Opulent Dreams maximizes Albedo’s personal damage, 4pc Tenacity of the Millelith gives the team an ATK% bonus. 4pc Archaic Petra is not recommended for Xingqiu.
Barbara
Free for all players upon reaching AR18, she is a good wielder of Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, a 3-Star Catalyst that can buff a teammates ATK by 48% for a limited time at R5.
Barbara mainly heals a considerable amount, and makes use of Hydro Resonance enhancing her healing. Her skill cleanses Pyro and she can give 15% Hydro DMG to Xingqiu and snapshot the bonus to Xingqiu’s Rain Sword DMG Reduction.
She can increase Hydro DMG% for the active character at C2, but doesn’t provide as much as other supports. Combined with Xingqiu, Cryo opponents will Freeze the team fairly often.
Beidou
With amazing multi-target damage from her Burst, Beidou solves Xingqiu’s lack of AoE damage. She functions best in Electro-Charged teams involving Swirl reactions.
Keep in mind that both Beidou and Xingqiu are Energy-hungry, though this is overshadowed by how well the two fit together in rotations, the added survivability Beidou’s Burst adds, her ability to tank hits with her Skill (and Burst with C1), and her compatibility with many Xingqiu compositions.
4pc Thundersoother is viable for Electro-Charged teams with Xingqiu and Beidou.
Bennett
Bennett is an irreplicable support who adds tons of ATK to the active character while healing them. You’ve probably already invested in him, and he scales very well with high investment.
Bennett can help Xingqiu Vaporize his Skill or Reverse Vaporize his own Skills/Burst, generally a great off-field support or on-field DPS to pair with Xingqiu.
4pc Noblesse Oblige is perfect when paired with Xingqiu as a support set.
Chongyun
Chongyun is Xingqiu’s BFF who infuses Normal Attacks with Cryo, providing easy Frozen Reactions. Chongyun’s Normal Attack Speed Bonus is functional on Main DPS Xingqiu and is an excellent holder of 4pc Noblesse Oblige.
With high investments, and the right team comps, Chongyun can also nuke with his Burst for high damage.
Diona
Diona creates stable shields while healing and offers Cryo Resonance in Freeze teams, all of which benefit Xingqiu.
She is easy to build, with a plethora of utility, and only gets better when she has all of her Constellations.
Fischl
Fischl has high damage potential as an off-field DPS while also providing plenty of Electro for Electro-Charged teams, which helps with Xingqiu’s lack of AoE damage. Even with the elemental penalty, Energy Recharge from Oz is still beneficial and welcome.
She has a self-sustainable Burst cost and is a staple for “Taser” teams utilizing Xingqiu and Beidou. Fischl is especially good in single-target scenarios.
Jean
Jean offers high switch-in damage and modest crowd-control, shreds Elemental Resistances with 4pc Viridescent Venerer, and heals. She also offers utility cleansing Elemental auras on your teammates.
Kaedehara Kazuha
Kazuha is the premier Anemo support, offering Viridescent support and Elemental DMG Bonus with his Burst. Both of these provide plenty for Xingqiu teams.
Hydro swirling is not very optimal, but access to EC swirls helps. Overall a solid buffer and off-field DPS.
Kaeya
Kaeya can consistently Freeze enemies at melee-range with his Burst, adding overall utility along with respectable damage.
If paired with another Cryo unit in a Freeze team, Cryo Resonance provides a well-appreciated 15% CRIT Rate boost to the team.
Kaeya is also a free character.
Kujou Sara
Sara has the ability to buff Xingqiu and other teammates, though the buff only lasts 6 seconds which does nothing for Xingqiu, as he does not snapshot his burst.
Overall, her synergy is low.
Lisa
Lisa’s high Electro uptime with her Burst on top of her ability to wield Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers and provide a rare DEF debuff to enemies allow Lisa to act as a solid support.
She’s a free unit from the beginning of the game, and provides AoE damage, albeit not as much as other options, due to her high Energy requirements and long charge duration of her Skill.
Anemo Traveler
Anemo Traveler is a free character who can provide crowd-control, Swirl with Viridescent Venerer, and can apply Elemental Absorption from teammates or the overworld with their Skill and Burst.
They are not an ideal choice as an Anemo unit, and most others strictly outclass them.
Geo Traveler
Geo Traveler scales well with Sonstellations and provides CRIT Rate for the team and quick, respectable damage between switching characters. They create Crystallize shields and interesting battle situations with rocks, which might be intrusive to Xingqiu’s Rain Swords and combat.
Geo Traveler is more of a damage support and doesn’t provide much team support.
Electro Traveler
Electro Traveler helps manage Xingqiu’s energy needs and rotations, while slotting well into quickswap teams that focus mainly on deploying Burst after Burst over time.
Sadly, they themselves are Energy hungry and need monstrous amounts of Energy Recharge and a Favonius Blade. Their damage output is low, and can interfere with Reactions when put on the wrong team.
Noelle
Noelle scales incredibly well with Constellations despite her healing and shielding being mediocre. She functions best at C6 as an on-field DPS.
Qiqi
Qiqi heals. A lot. Her Cryo application is slow but can be used to Freeze enemies nonetheless. Qiqi is mainly good as a “driver,” while wielding the 4pc Ocean-Hued Clam set, acting as an on-field healer with fast Normal Attacks that can trigger the Bursts of characters like Beidou and Xingqiu or C6 Fischl’s Skill. The extra damage Ocean-Hued Clam bubbles provide is also welcome.
Sadly, she is replaceable by other characters that perform better.
Raiden Shogun
Raiden Shogun decreases the Energy needs of Xingqiu and all other teammates drastically, allowing Xingqiu and others to use more offensive weapons. She is an excellent fit for the Bennett-Xiangling-Xingqiu team core, synergizing well with all three units.
Check this document for weapon rankings with the Raiden Shogun as weapons change a lot.
Sayu
Sayu’s rolling Skill doesn’t have amazing synergy with Xingqiu as it not trigger Rain Swords. At the very least, she holds 4pc Viridescent Venerer for lowering Hydro RES while also providing periodic heals off-field.
Sucrose
Sucrose provides good crowd control with her Skill and Burst, shreds Hydro Resistance with 4pc Viridescent Venerer, and can share a portion of her Elemental Mastery with the team to facilitate stronger Reactions. C6 Sucrose is hugely impactful to her performance.
Venti
Venti provides unparalleled crowd-control, trivializing combat scenarios with a large group of lightweight enemies while simplifying Reactions. Venti also provides Energy with his A4 Passive.
Xingqiu’s second hit of his Skill, as well as his Rain Swords, can hit enemies in Venti’s burst. Venti’s Elemental RES Shred with 4pc Viridescent Venerer is a valuable asset for improving Xingqiu’s off-field damage. Building Venti for CRIT Rate/Damage is useful except for Electro-Charged Teams.
Xiangling
Xiangling has the most consistent Pyro application, along with an extremely high damage ceiling for a free 4-Star. Together, Xiangling and Xingqiu generate tons of Vaporize Reactions.
Overall, Xiangling is an extremely solid unit who improves significantly with Constellations. Xiangling and Xingqiu, together with Bennett, create one of the strongest team compositions. Just be mindful of her high Energy requirement.
Xinyan
If Xinyan’s shield has two stacks, her off-field Pyro uptime at melee-range is manageable. Her second Constellation eliminates Xinyan’s need for CRIT Rate when building only for her Burst damage. If the shield doesn’t have max stacks, or Xinyan has no shield strength, Xinyan is close to useless for Xingqiu.
Xinyan can cleanse, but unreliably, or break shields with her rapidly-hitting Burst otherwise.
Zhongli
Zhongli is widely regarded as a “comfort” option in teams. While Zhongli can act as a character who swaps in, deals damage with his Burst, and leaves, Zhongli is most respected for his unmatched shielding capabilities. Your on-field DPS can attack away without worry of interruption or damaged whenever Zhongli is around.
Supports for Nuke DPS Xingqiu
Amber
Amber is used primarily with nuke Xingqiu due to the sheer amount of Pyro she applies with her Burst. She is best used with Instructors due to the fact that she already won’t be dealing that much damage and can offer the EM with little opportunity cost. Equipping her with Elegy for the End is your best option.
Bennett
Bennett has always been a staple for nuke teams, and Xingqiu is no exception. He’s the holder of Noblesse Oblige and offers an enormous Flat ATK buff to his team. Bennett is simply irreplaceable. Give Bennett the weapon with the highest Base ATK, preferably Aquila Favonia or Mistsplitter if you have it.
Sucrose
Sucrose has also been a mainstay for Reaction based team comps, and Xingqiu is also no exception. He takes high advantage of the ~100+ EM, and at C6 the 20% Elemental DMG Bonus. While holding Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, Sucrose can boost Xingqiu even further. 4 Viridescent Venerer set just adds to all the positives.
Mona
Mona is useful in this team due to the strong Omen buff on her Elemental Burst. At C1, she also increase Vaporize damage. Mona risks interfering with Reactions, however. She usually replaces or is replaced by Sucrose on teams.
Main DPS for Sub DPS Xingqiu
Kamisato Ayaka
Ayaka can use Xingqiu quite well in Freeze teams and likes having the Hydro application so that she can have the enemies Frozen for as long as possible. Xingqiu and Mona are interchangeable here since both have around the same average team damage.
Beidou
Beidou already has high Burst damage that can be further boosted by Xingqiu’s Burst, and the two together provide solid survivability. Beidou’s N2 cancel can be used to squeeze the max number of Beidou’s Stormbreaker and Xingqiu’s Raincutter instances. You can use 4pc Thundersoother on Xingqiu, due to Electro-Charged allowing Hydro and Electro to persist on an enemy simultaneously. Beidou prefers to be an off-field carry, here.
Bennett
Makes use of Xingqiu’s high Hydro uptime with his own Vaporize, but Bennett can’t make use of 4TF in this comp without Electro-Charged. Bennett could work as a Vaporize DPS, but Melt Bennett has more potential.
Childe
Xingqiu is really only viable for Tartaglia as off-field damage, but he can reduce Hydro RES on enemies with his second Constellation. Since Childe cannot create Reactions with Xingqiu, it’s important to pair Childe and Xingqiu with characters of other Elements like Pyro or Electro that can fill in during the downtime on Childe’s melee stance.
Chongyun
Chongyun and Xingqiu both have amazing synergy and uptime on their respective Elements. Chongyun, instead of playing as an on-field DPS, prefers to nuke enemies with his Burst and enable damage off-field. Chongyun is a popular choice with Xingqiu in Freeze teams.
Diluc
Diluc’s forgiving gameplay makes Diluc a solid DPS choice, despite being outclasses by other on-field Pyro DPS’s. By weaving between his Normal Attacks and Skill uses one-to-one, Diluc’s three Skill instances can consistently Vaporize after each wave of Xingqiu’s Rain Swords.
Eula
Xingqiu and Eula both synergize well due to Eula being a NA combo-using character. She can also Freeze enemies occasionally with her Skill, though this is ruined by the fact Eula Shatters frozen enemies by virtue of wielding a Claymore. Use Xingqiu as an off-field DPS because Hydro application isn’t important for an on-field Physical DPS.
Ganyu
Overall Ganyu is not recommended for Xingqiu due to her being Charged Attack-focused. Using Xingqiu effectively would force Ganyu to weave in Normal Attacks. Still works for Freeze teams, but forces you to change your rotation.
Hu Tao
Hu Tao redefined the need for Xingqiu as a Hydro applicator and a Sub DPS. Because the Hydro aura in Vaporize reactions is stronger than Pyro, Xingqiu lets you trigger multiple Vaporizes from a single wave of Xingqiu’s Rain Swords. While her Charged Attacks won’t trigger Rain Swords, it will still vaporize due to the way auras work. Make sure you vaporize your ult 🙂
Kaeya
Xingqiu has always been a mainstay for Cryo units that hold the 4pc Blizzard Strayer artifact set. Kaeya is no exception. Because Kaeya is able to apply Cryo often, this makes him a solid choice to use with Xingqiu. He is especially useful with Chongyun as a support/enabler.
Rosaria
Same notes as Kaeya
Keqing
Keqing is a pretty good option for Xingqiu due to her fast Normal and Charged Attack animations. Even only using Charged Attacks will let you squeeze out many waves of Xingqiu’s Rain Swords. Because of Electro-Charged leaving both the Hydro and Electro aura, you can equip Keqing with 4pc Thundersoother. Xingqiu is generally used for damage support and utility for Keqing while letting Reactions with other supports occur when needed.
Klee
Klee can use Xingqiu to Vaporize, however, the strong Hydro aura Xingqiu provides that lets Pyro carries Vaporize twice off of one of his Burst waves is harder to perform with Klee. This is due to Klee’s extremely high Pyro application rate. This means she can “take over” the enemy’s Elemental aura, giving Xingqiu the ownership of Vaporize Reactions when the reverse is more effective. C1 makes Vaporizing Klee even harder to do due to the explosive sparks.
Ningguang
Ningguang is excellent with single-target damage, much like Xingqiu. The overall purpose of pairing Xingqiu with Ningguang is to squeeze out extra damage from her Normal Attacks and score Reactions with other supports.
Noelle
Noelle is also a potent on-field DPS at C6. She deals damage, shields, and provides healing. Avoid using Charged Attacks with Noelle when on the same team with Xingqiu, since Charged Attacks do not trigger Rain Sword waves. Again, Xingqiu is mainly here as either raw off-field damage or to cause Reactions with other supports paired with Noelle. 4pc Husk of Opulent Dreams is Noelle’s best artifact choice.
Razor
As a selfish on-field DPS, Razor wants to take full advantage of his 15-second burst, and during that 15 seconds, all types of extra damage are welcome. Both Razor and Xingqiu’s Bursts have the same cooldown and duration (Xingqiu’s Burst lasts 18 seconds at C2 and the same cooldown). Due to this, Razor and Xingqiu can act together in synchronicity easily and effectively.
Xiangling
Xiangling is a great DPS to pair with Xingqiu, due to her insanely powerful Pyronado getting even stronger with consistent Vaporize reactions. Xiangling, Xingqiu, and Bennett on a single team have massive damage potential that is only rivaled by Ganyu’s Melt/Freeze comp dmg.
Xiao
Xiao can make some use of Xingqiu’s burst during his own with JPN1C, and despite the Element penalty in Energy generation, Xingqiu is capable of getting that last bit of ER on Xiao. Overall sub-DPS Xingqiu is pretty average with Xiao
Yanfei
Same notes as Hu Tao. All her Charged Attacks are able to Vaporize, so utilize N3C for the most damage output.
Yoimiya
She can only Vaporize 3 hits of her combo, so Xingqiu is best used as a source of off-field damage on her team. Still, it’s not a bad option.
Epilogue
That pretty much concludes my guide! I hope it was of at least some use to you. I will try my best to update the guide when needed and keep you all informed.
I would like to thank all the people of Xingqiu and Keqing Mains, for without them, this guide wouldn’t have been possible. I would also like to thank Creonalia#2818, casualima#9132, tim#1713, Greyhound#7836, and IonFox#8887 for kindly assisting me in the editing process.
See you in the next edition!