UPDATED FOR 2.4 😁!
PSA #1: DPS are the main protagonists. Absolutely dog at everything other than getting hurt and doing a lot of damage!
PSA #2: Both Xiao’s abilities scale off ATK and OH BOY does he scale well. No wonder he’s always in agony, boy is literally falling headfirst into the concrete repeatedly and getting brain damage 😵
Xiao has horrible energy recharge to begin with, as his E generates very few particles. Highly recommended to run another Anemo character (even Anemo MC works) to battery for Xiao. Only ONE charge comes back at the end of the 10s CD.
C1 does alleviate this problem by a tiny bit, but still recommended to take a battery!
E does not provide i-frames — you will still get absolutely slapped if you try to dodge with it
Unfortunately for C0 Xiao, you can’t really maximize the stacks. Most you’ll get is 2 stacks (30% DMG buff), which is still extremely strong – C1 can hit 3 stacks and maintain it decently, but majority of the time you’ll find yourself sitting at 2 stacks still!
IMPORTANT TIP: Unless you have C6, don’t bother using E or normal/charged attacking when Q is up. Just spam that plunging attack as much as you can. You can animation cancel when you land by doing a quick normal attack. You can use plunging attack at any point of the jump (a.k.a. don’t wait until you’re at the peak of your jump)
You can go crazy by spamming your plunge attack, or you can juggle your enemies with a Plunge > 3 NA > Plunge > repeat combo to maximize your DPS
Using E when in Q won’t generate Anemo particles for Xiao, making it even harder to have another Q prepped. This is not an issue if you’re killing enemies (since they drop energy orbs), but can be remedied by simply running another Anemo character to be a battery
Also, do not swap after using Q, as it will end the duration immediately!
Talent Leveling Order: Normal > Q > E (your E already has crazy multipliers early on)
WEAPON #1 (Recommended for best DPS): Primordial Jade-Winged Spear
How do I get it D: ? – It’s time to roll boys (gacha)
If you’re running Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, then you can 100% run CRIT DMG for circlet piece, as Xiao’s 4th hidden stat is CRIT% (easily getting you to that 50% CRIT% range). PJWS also provides a pretty decent amount of base ATK, and provides a total of 22.4% ATK at R1. Not mention at max stacks you also get a juicy 12% DMG bonus as well — this DMG bonus applies to everything.
Staff of Homa is also an incredible stat stick for Xiao because it provides CRIT DMG scaling and a ton of ATK when below 50% HP (which doubles the ATK gain essentially). Getting below 50% HP isn’t hard on Xiao as his burst will burn down his HP fairly quickly — just make sure to have a shielder or a healer ready on standby!
Vortex Vanquisher is a decent weapon, and gets a mention since it can provide a healthy amount of ATK% as well. Only downside being you’re forced to take a shielder at all time to maximize the gain — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but can limit team comps. Engulfing Lightning may seem ideal for the ER% that it provides + the raw ATK buffing, but you would have to optimize your artifact substats to really get your money’s worth (so not worth it)
WEAPON #2 (Recommended for good DPS): Deathmatch
How do I get it D: ? – Battlepass (Tier 30)
Deathmatch is solid 4-star weapon choice for Xiao because the CRIT% compliments his 4th stat well, allowing you to easily hit around 45-50% CRIT% with just the weapon alone. This allows you to easily level artifacts, as you can prioritize CRIT DMG rolls rather than rolling for both (although there are no downsides to still wanting to match that 1:2 % to DMG ratio). Plus the ATK% and DEF% the passive provides is pretty nice as well!
Lithic Spear is also a strong contender with only 2-3 Liyue characters in your team. It’s a strong ATK% stat stick, and also provides even more CRIT% if needed. Just keep in mind that Xiao also counts as one of the requisites, so you’d only need one more Liyue character to make it work!
Blackcliff Pole gets an honorable mention simply because it provides CRIT DMG and a decent passive after you kill an enemy. Only downside is you will have to use Stargitter to get the weapon + refine it (so to get it to R5 would cost 120 Starglitter)
ARTIFACT #1 (Recommended for DPS): Viridescent Venerer + Gladiator’s Finale/Shimenawa’s
How do I get it D: ? – Viridescent at Valley of Remembrance Domain (AR 30 locked, 20 Resin per run). Gladiator at any World Boss (40 Resin per run)
2x Viridescent + 2x Glad/Shimenawa’s is a straightforward buff loadout that not only buffs pretty much everything in Xiao’s kit, but also allows you to better optimize substats as you’re not restricted to a sole set.
4x Viridescent is not that strong, as Swirl damage proc’s are pretty useless for Xiao unless you’re forcing a pure reaction comp (which isn’t bad but a lot of additional work for basically the same output). Also, keep in mind that the 4-set bonus doesn’t reduce Anemo DMG done (only the infused element) so yeah…
ARTIFACT #2 (Recommended for early DPS): Berserker + Sojourner
How do I get it D: ? – Berserker at any World Boss (40 Resin per run) or chests. Sojourner at Midsummer Courtyard Domain (AR 22 locked, 20 Resin per run)
Alternatively, you can also run 2x Exile + 2x Sojourner early if you’re struggling with ER. Stacking 2x Brave Heart + 2x Sojourner in transition to farming Glad + Viridescent also works due to Xiao’s ridiculous multipliers
Main stats:
| Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
|---|---|---|
| ATK% | Anemo DMG% | CRIT% or CRIT DMG |
Substats: CRIT%/CRIT DMG > ATK% > ER% > EM
If you want other characters let me know. Hope this helped. Bye.
