Xianyun is a 5★ Anemo healer and Plunge Attack support. On top of being a consistent team-wide healer, Xianyun provides exceptionally powerful buffing capabilities to Xiao's Plunge Attacks while her Burst is active. By enhancing both Xiao's damage and quality of life, she has easily become one of his best teammates.

Sub Stats

ER% (until requirement) > ATK% > ATK

Xianyun should prioritize having enough ER to consistently Burst (see ER Requirements section below). Otherwise, ATK% and Flat ATK subs are recommended to maximize her buff cap.

• Xianyun's Best-in-Slot and Signature Weapon.

• Easiest path to maxing out her Ascension 4 buff, as it has both high Base ATK and an ATK% substat.

• Energy refund passive removes the need for ER% substats. 

• The Plunge DMG Bonus it provides scales well with refinements.

• Utilized only for maximizing ATK to cap Xianyun's Ascension 4 Buff.

• Only recommended if Xianyun's ER requirements can be met through substats.

• Only recommended if they are unused in your inventory box and if Xianyun's ER requirements can be met through substats.

• If Skyward Atlas isn't an option, these two serve as the next best stat sticks to maximize Xianyun's Ascension 4 buff.

• Both of these weapons have negligible passives.

  • Memory of Dust's passive is limited by it's 8s uptime, and should not be relied on.

  • Cashflow Supervision's first passive buff of 16% ATK has value, but the rest of it serves no purpose.

• Best F2P option for maximizing Xianyun's Ascension 4 Passive buff.

• Decreases Xianyun's ER requirements. This is the best option should your Xianyun require additional ER beyond what your artifact substats can provide.

• Damage-wise, at C0, TTDS has the slight damage advantage due to its strong buff. At C2, Oathsworn will surpass TTDS in single-target, but lose out in multi-target.

• We suggest picking either Oathsworn or TTDS depending on whether you need more ER or more damage.

• Despite its low Base ATK and useless substat, its strong passive permits it to perform similarly to other 4★ weapons.

• Its value is increased in AOE scenarios, as it buffs Xiao's damage against all targets he damages.

• Its value is decreased when Xianyun is C2, as it becomes higher priority to maximize her A4's flat DMG.

This weapon forces you to always ensure Xianyun is rotated right before Xiao. If you cannot or are unwilling to stay strict to rotations, we suggest using a different weapon.

• This weapon is only recommended if you do not own Oathsworn Eye. Flowing Purity's passive has a negligible effect.

Xianyun as a Battery

Xianyun does not function well as a battery as she will generally funnel her particles to herself for two reasons:

1. Using her Skill-Plunge after her Burst will consume an Adeptal Assistance stack.

2. Her own ER requirements (without Crane's Echoing Call or C1) are relatively high.

As such, Xiao teams with C0 Xianyun will generally require a dedicated third Anemo to act as a battery.

If Faruzan is not at least C2 or unavailable, other options include:

• C1 Sucrose: energy-rich battery that allows for low ER needs, but provides little additional buff and damage value.

• Lynette (C4/Sacrificial Sword): requires additional Xiao skill.

• Jean (Favonius Sword): requires additional Xiao skill.

Finally, if running a team without an Anemo battery, both the third and fourth flex slots in the team must be energy-rich, e.g., Yelan and Furina.

Considerations

• To maximize the efficacy of this team, heavy investment is required on party members' builds and/or Constellations. Notably, C6 Faruzan helps immensely with energy management.

• Furina and Xianyun Constellations are not required to play this team. However, this team's performance does scale very well with their Constellations (notably their C2s) and signature weapon refinements.

Rotations

C6 Faruzan: Faruzan Q > Furina EQ > Xianyun EPQ > Xiao EE Q

Non-C6 Faruzan: Faruzan EQ > Furina EQ > Xianyun EPQ > Faruzan CA > Xiao EE Q E

• Is R1 Crane's Echoing Call or C2 Xianyun more valuable?

• Are Xianyun or Furina Constellations more valuable?

• Is Xianyun good in multi-target scenarios?

• How is Xianyun for HP draining mechanics like Furina's Fanfare stacking?

• Is cutting rotations short to 8 Plunges worth it?

• Since Xianyun only buffs 8 Plunges, would it be worth it to do 8 RAKE?

• Is Xianyun still valuable for C6 Xiao?

• How do I optimize my Xiao build with Xianyun buffs?

Yes, even though her buffs only affect a single enemy, they still contribute to increasing the overall team's damage. In Xiao's most optimal team (Xiao-Xianyun-Furina-Faruzan, or FFXX), replacing Xianyun with any other teammate results in less damage.

For a more in-depth comparison, refer to the Team Comparisons section above.

While Xianyun performs best with Furina, even without Furina she is a powerful buffing option that Xiao takes great advantage of due to his innate damage bonus.

She also offers great quality of life, being an Anemo Healer whose Elemental Burst follows Xiao and frees him from circular healing/buffing abilities that impede movement or force the player to abandon said ability to reach enemies.

Xianyun is still a valuable support for C6 Xiao.

While C6 Xiao plunges fewer times on average than C0 Xiao in multi-target scenarios, Plunges are still a significant part of C6 Xiao's damage profile. C6 Xiao can plunge up to 8 times per rotation, so all of his Plunges can capitalize on Xianyun's Flat DMG buff. 

Xianyun's A4 passive aside, she provides other notable sources of quality of life:

• Removes "Circle Impact" restrictions, which synergizes well with C6 Xiao's mobile playstyle.

• Stacks Furina's Fanfare consistently while keeping the entire team's HP levels healthy.

And of course, in single-target scenarios where C6 Xiao is inactive, Xianyun remains the best Plunge Attack buffer in the game.

Please check out the Xiao Optimizer config sheet by poiiyo.