Xiao is a playable character in Genshin Impact introduced as part of Update 1.3, All That Glitters.
The reclusive Adepti is presented in its own BannerInvitation to worldly life, in which you can spend fate on wishes to try to get it.
Whether you have it or want to prepare if you do it successfully, it’s good to know the Xiao’s best build in Genshin Impact, and what Talent and Climbing equipment are needed to raise Xiao to his full potential.
Be sure to check out our Genshin Impact Codes page to get free Primogems that can be used to unlock Xiao and other characters.
On this page:
Genshin Impact Xiao Talents, Banner, Rarity, Element and Weapon
Xiao is a 5 star Anemo character with high DPS (damage per second) that uses a polearm to cause AOE (area of effect) damage primarily by using dive attacks. Diving with a polearm while her elemental burst is active is Xiao’s main DPS attack.
Here is a summary of Xiao’s abilities and stats in Genshin Impact:
- Element: Anemo
- Scarcity: 5 stars
- Armed: Polearm
- Banner: Invitation to social life
- Better build:DPS
- normal attack: Spinning Thrust
- Elemental skill: Lemniscatic wind cycling
- Elemental Blast: Bane of all evils
- Passive: Conqueror of Evil, Tamer of Demons (while under the effects of Bane of All Evil, all damage increases by an additional 5% for every three seconds the ability persists, with maximum damage bonus capped at 25%)
- passive two: Dissolution Eon, Heaven Fall (using Lemniscatic Wind Cycling increases the damage of subsequent uses of the ability by 15%, lasts seven seconds at a maximum of three stacks, and gaining a new stack refreshes the duration of the effect)
- Exploration bounty: Transcension, Gravity Defier (reduces climbing stamina consumption for your party members by 20%, but is not stackable with other teammates who have a talent that provides the same effect)
Xiao’s Normal Attack: Spinning Thrust
Xiao can perform up to six consecutive spear thrusts, and when charged, his normal attack consumes stamina to perform an upward thrust. You can press the mid-air attack button to perform a dive attack, which deals AOE damage. Xiao is one of the few characters that does not take damage from dive attacks, no matter how high he falls.
Elemental Skill: Lemniscatic Wind Cycling
Xiao rushes forward, causing Anemo damage to enemies in his path. Lemniscatic Wind Cycling starts with two charges and can also be used in the air. Using this skill will generate three elemental particles when it hits an enemy, but it will not generate any particles if Bane of All Evil is active. This skill is very useful when exploring, as Xiao can use it twice in a row to get around large gaps in the environment.
Elemental Burst: Bane of All Evil
Xiao wears the Yaksha Mask to greatly increase her jump ability, AOE range, and attack damage, which converts to Anemo damage. This cannot be replaced with other elemental infusions. Unfortunately, Xiao continuously loses health while wearing the Yaksha Mask. The effect ends when Xiao leaves the field and is replaced by another active character.
Materials Genshin Impact Xiao Talent
To get the most out of using Xiao, you’ll need to upgrade his abilities using Talent Materials, which vary from character to character.
For Xiao, you’ll need to farm lots of Slime and Prosperity items (if you don’t already have them) to fully upgrade his DPS abilities.
The table below explains all of Xiao Talent’s materials and how much Mora you need to upgrade any of his abilities.
As Xiao has three combat skills, you will need to spend the talent materials listed below three times to fully upgrade all of his abilities.
| Xiao skill level | Talent Materials | Mora cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | x3 Teachings of Prosperity, x6 Slime Condensate | 12,500 |
| Level 3 | x2 Guide to Prosperity, x3 Slimy Secretions | 17,500 |
| Level 4 | x4 Guide to Prosperity, x4 Slimy Secretions | 25,000 |
| Level 5 | x6 Guide to Prosperity, x6 Slimy Secretions | 30,000 |
| Level 6 | x9 Guide to Prosperity, x9 Slimy Secretions | 37,500 |
| Level 7 | x4 Philosophies of Prosperity, x4 Slime Concentrate, x1 Shadow of the Warrior | 120,000 |
| Level 8 | x8 Philosophies of Prosperity, x6 Slime Concentrate, x1 Shadow of the Warrior | 260,000 |
| Level 9 | x12 Philosophies of Prosperity, x9 Slime Concentrate, x2 Shadow of the Warrior | 450,000 |
| Level 10 | x16 Philosophies of Prosperity, x12 Slime Concentrate, x2 Shadow of the Warrior, x1 Crown of Insight | 700,000 |
Materials Genshin Impact Xiao Ascension and Constellation
Much like Talents, you need to use Xiao Ascension materials to boost his health, attack, defense, and critical hit effectiveness.
With each Ascension, Xiao will also gain a Constellation upgrade, with each upgrade enhancing either an existing combat talent or passive ability. There is also Destiny rewarded for reaching certain levels of Ascension. You can spend fate on banners to wish for characters or weapons.
The table below explains the Xiao Ascension and Mora materials you need to upgrade Xiao, as well as each Constellation and Destiny reward you earn from Ascension.
| Xiao Ascension Level | Constellation | Climbing equipment | Mora cost | Ascension Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 20 | Dissolution Aeon, Destroyer of Worlds Increases Lemniscatic Wind Cycling charges by one |
x1 Vayuda Turquoise Silver, x3 Qingxin, x3 Slime Condensate | 20,000 | x1 Familiarize yourself with fate |
| Level 40 | Eon Annihilation, Flower of Kaleidos When in the party but not in the field, Xiao’s energy recharge increases by 25% |
x3 Vayuda Turquoise Shard, x2 Juvenile Jade, x10 Qingxin, x15 Slime Condensate | 40,000 | None |
| Level 50 | Conqueror of evil, deity of wrath Increases the level of Lemniscatic Wind Cycling by three, with a maximum enhancement level of 15 |
x6 Vayuda Turquoise Fragment, x4 Juvenile Jade, x20 Qingxin, x12 Slime Secretions | 60,000 | x1 Familiarize yourself with fate |
| Level 60 | Transcension, extinction of suffering When Xiao’s HP drops below 50%, he gains a 100% defense bonus |
x3 Vayuda Turquoise Chunk, x8 Juvenile Jade, x30 Qingxin, x18 Slime Secretions | 80,000 | None |
| Level 70 | Evolution Eon, origin of ignorance Increases the level of Bane of All Evil by three, with a maximum buff level of 15 |
x6 Vayuda Turquoise Chunk, x12 Juvenile Jade, x45 Qingxin, x12 Slime Concentrate | 100,000 | x1 Familiarize yourself with fate |
| Level 80 | Conqueror of Evil, Guardian Yaksha While Bane Evil is active, hitting at least two opponents with Xiao’s dive attack will grant him a charge of Lemniscatic Wind Cycling, and for the next second he can use Lemniscatic Wind Cycling regardless of his cooldown state. |
x6 Vayuda Turquoise Gemstone, x20 Juvenile Jade, x60 Qingxin, x24 Jelly Concentrate | 120,000 | None |
Unlike Talent Materials, you only need to spend the above Ascension Materials once to fully elevate Xiao to her highest character level.
The release of Genshin Impact 2.7 is on the horizon! While you wait, why not check out the best version of Xiao, how to redeem codes, and the best version of Yelan – one of the upcoming 2.7 characters.
Xiao’s best build in Genshin Impact
Xiao is an excellent DPS character with a fun playstyle, who is most effective with a good team to support her energy and health needs.
As Xiao is a high DPS character whose Elemental Burst costs a lot of energy, he is best paired with another Anemo character, such as sucrose or venti, so that they can quickly recharge Xiao’s energy. You’ll also want to have a party member who can heal Xiao, like Jean or Bennett, as he can lose a lot of health while his elemental burst is active.
It’s important to play Xiao out in the field, using her dipping attacks and Elemental Burst as much as possible, only switching to other characters when you need to recharge energy or start a healing field. If you switch to another character while Xiao’s Elemental Shard is active, the effect will end and you will lose by causing damage to enemies.
Genshin Impact’s best Xiao Artifacts will increase either his attack stats or his elemental damage. The Vermillion Hereafter four-piece set is best tried, but any artifact that increases its damage is a good substitute.
Alternately, if you don’t have a team that can meet Xiao’s energy needs, it is recommended to equip artifacts that help recharge energy. This reduces his DPS potential, but it’s best to activate his Elemental Burst as much as possible to have more opportunities to deal high Anemo damage. If you are leading a low energy recharge team, you should instead take two DPS sub-characters to increase Xiao’s attack damage as much as possible.
Better version of Xiao DPS
With all of that in mind, if you want to take advantage of his very high DPS abilities, we’ve compiled what we think is currently the best Xiao build in Genshin Impact below:
- best weapon: Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (Blackcliff Pole or Prototype Starglitter as substitutes)
- Best Artifacts: x4 Vermilion Beyond (or x2 Viridescent Venerer and x2 Gladiator’s Finale)
- The best team members: A support healer to nullify Xiao’s life drain (like Jean or Bennett), another Anemo to help with elemental recharge (like Sucrose, Jean or Venti), and an off-field support to increase damage even more. Xiao’s attack / longevity (like Fischl, Albedo or Zhongli)
While it might take a long time to find those artifact and ascension/talent materials to upgrade Xiao, it’s worth it if you want Xiao to be a fairly straightforward pure DPS character – as long as you have a good team to enhance their talents.
Good luck leveling Xiao in Genshin Impact!
Table of Contents
