
Xiao is one of Genshin Impact’s most iconic characters, but there’s more to the guardian yaksha than meets the eye.
Xiao is an anemo vision user who wields a polearm in Genshin Impact. He is generally used as a DPS character, though his elemental skill and burst both rely on cooldowns. As a legendary adepti and the sole surviving member of the guardian yakshas, Xiao could play an important role in the return to Liyue coming in update 2.4.
If you’re gearing up for a Xiao rerun banner or just curious about Liyue’s solitary protector, here is a refresher on his best artifact set, playstyle, and more.
Xiao’s best artifact set is up for debate, but most players would recommend a mixed set with Viridescent Venerer and Gladiator’s Finale. Both two-piece set bonuses work perfectly for Xiao. Viridescent Venerer provides a 15% anemo damage bonus while Gladiator’s Finale provides a straight 18% attack bonus.
For primary artifact stats, go for attack, anemo damage bonus, and crit rate. If you have a crit rate weapon like Primordial Jade Winged-Spear or Deathmatch, go for crit damage instead.
In terms of weapons, his signature limited five-star polearm Primordial Jade Winged-Spear is the obvious choice. Staff of Homa will also deal good damage if you have it. Aside from that, the battle pass spear Deathmatch and Paimon’s Bargain’s special Blackcliff Pole are the best four-star options.
The White Tassel Xiao meme is real, and the weapon is a solid choice for free-to-play players who would rather spend their stardust on extra pulls.
Xiao can be played as a main DPS or sub DPS depending on the other characters in your party. As a main DPS, it’s important to set up as many support abilities as possible before switching to him. The ideal situation is for his ultimate to end. He’s not very powerful without his elemental burst, so many players prefer to run him as a secondary damage-dealer.
Great DPS teammates for Xiao include Hu Tao, Childe, and Raiden Shogun. All four characters are limited by their cooldowns or bursts, so swap them out depending on whose abilities are online.
Xiao is widely considered to be a great choice as a Genshin Impact main DPS. He is one of the few anemo damage-dealers in the game, which means he works very well with most supports. He can use several polearm weapons to great effect, though Primordial Jade Winged-Spear and Staff of Homa are his best options.
Even without a fancy five-star weapon, Xiao can still deal a massive amount of damage thanks to his high plunging attack multiplier and area-of-effect dash attacks.
His main weakness is that he is a very selfish main DPS. His elemental burst Bane of All Evil automatically ends if he is swapped out. This means that players must set up their entire party before activating Xiao’s buff. If your Xingqiu or Xiangling’s elemental burst becomes available during Bane, you won’t be able to use it without sacrificing Xiao’s powered-up state.
Xiao has a pretty face, but he is most definitely a boy. He is notably the only human adeptus who presents himself as a male. Yanfei, Ganyu, and Madame Ping all appear as human women.
Based on the silhouettes shown in the Yakshas story cutscene, three of the five guardians were male. Xiao is the only surviving member of the organization.
Story Teaser – Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti | Genshin Impact
If you want to be pedantic, Xiao is actually not even a human at all. He is an adeptus, though he presents himself as a human male. Some adepti look like humans except for small animal traits like horns. Others such as Cloud Retainer and Moon Carver appear as animals. Even with their bestial appearance, all adepti act as either a male or female.
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