Genshin Impact Xingqiu

An in-depth guide on how to build Genshin Impact’s mischievous bookworm, Xingqiu.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Xingqiu is a 4-star Hydro Sword character who specializes as a Burst DPS and Support and is available on the Character Event Wish, Epitome Invocation and Wanderlust Invocation Standard Banners. Keep reading to find out what materials are needed to Ascend Xingqiu, his best builds and an overview of how to use him effectively.

Xingqiu Ascension Stat

All characters in Genshin Impact have a particular stat that levels up alongside their base stats. For Xingqiu, this extra stat is ATK%. While not groundbreaking, this will help to increase his overall DMG.

Xingqiu Ascension Materials

Once you have obtained Xingqiu and maxed him to Level 20, he can be further levelled up through Ascension. The materials you will need to Ascend Xingqiu are as follows:

Level 20

• Varunada Lazurite Sliver x 1
• Silk Flower x 3
• Damaged Mask x 3

Level 40

• Varunada Lazurite Fragment x 3
• Cleansing Heart x 2
• Silk Flower x 10
• Damaged Mask x 15

Level 50

• Varunada Lazurite Fragment x 6
• Cleansing Heart x 4
• Silk Flower x 20
• Stained Mask x 12

Level 60

• Varunada Lazurite Chunk x 3
• Cleansing Heart x 8
• Silk Flower x 30
• Stained Mask x 18

Level 70

• Varunada Lazurite Chunk x 6
• Cleansing Heart x 12
• Silk Flower x 45
• Ominous Mask x 12

Level 80

• Varunada Lazurite Gemstone x 6
• Cleansing Heart x 20
• Silk Flower x 60
• Ominous Mask x 24

Varunada Lazurite Slivers, Fragments, Chunks and Gemstones can be obtained by defeating the Oceanid, located in Liyue, and the Hydro Hypostasis, located in Inazuma.

Cleansing Heart can be obtained by defeating the Oceanid, located in Liyue.

Silk Flowers can be found growing in red bushes in Liyue. They grow in abundance in Liyue Harbour and near Wangshu Inn.

Damaged Masks, Stained Masks and Ominous Masks can be obtained by defeating Hilichurls, which can be found all over Teyvat.

Xingqiu Talent Materials

In order to make Xingqiu stronger, you’ll need to upgrade his talents. The materials you will need are as follows:

• Damaged Mask
• Stained Mask
• Ominous Mask
• Teachings of Gold
• Guide to Gold
• Philosophies of Gold
• Tail of Boreas

The Teachings, Guide and Philosophies of Gold can be obtained by completing the Domain of Mastery: Circle of Embers every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the Tail of Boreas is a potential drop from the Weekly Boss Wolf of the North.

Xingqiu Best Weapons

Xingqiu has a fairly straightforward build; here are a few options:

• Skyward Blade (5*)
• Freedom-Sworn (5*)
• Sacrificial Sword (4*)
• Festering Desire (4*)
• Iron Sting (4*)

More than anything, Xingqiu needs high Energy Recharge so his Burst can constantly be in effect. Therefore, the best weapons for him have an Energy Recharge substat. That being said, his best in slot is the 4-star Sacrificial Sword. At max Refinement, it will give his Elemental Skill an 80% chance to end its own CD, meaning you can almost always use it again right-away. Doing this will give him more particles, which will charge up his Elemental Burst – so you can activate it faster – alongside activating a couple of buffs for the active character. F2P 4-star weapon options include Festering Desire (if you were playing the game during the time it was available) or the craftable Iron Sting. Festering Desire works very nicely on him, and Iron Sting can be useful if you want to increase his Elemental Mastery – although this is only viable if you have a decent amount of Energy Recharge on him from his Artifacts.

His 5-star options are good, although not entirely necessary. Skyward Blade will give him plenty of Energy Recharge, and Freedom Sworn will increase his Elemental Mastery on top of a useful passive which will boost your team. But as previously mentioned, Sacrificial Sword is his best in slot which makes him very accessible to build.

Xingqiu Best Artifacts

Because Xingqiu needs such high Energy Recharge, 4-Piece Emblem of Severed Fate works very nicely on him; it increases both his Energy Recharge and his Elemental Burst DMG based on his overall Energy Recharge. Alternatively, you could use 2-Piece Noblesse Oblige and 2-Piece Heart of Depth for a similar DMG output, although you will be missing out on the extra Energy Recharge that Emblem of Severed Fate provides. 4-Piece Noblesse Oblige is another option if you want to fully go into support, although this isn’t recommended over the previous Artifact suggestions.

For low-level players, 4-Piece Instructor works well until you’re able to get higher-level Artifacts.

For your Artifact main stats, you will want to run:

• ATK% / Energy Recharge Sands
• Hydro DMG Bonus Goblet
• CRIT DMG / Rate Circlet

In terms of Artifact substats, you’ll want to focus on ATK%, Energy Recharge, Elemental Mastery, and both CRIT DMG and CRIT Rate.

How to Use Xingqiu

His Elemental Skill, Guhua Sword: Fatal Rainscreen, deals Hydro DMG. At the same time, this ability creates the maximum amount of Rain Swords, which will orbit your active character. The Rain Swords will reduce the amount of DMG the active character takes, as well as increase the character’s resistance to interruption. 20% of Xingqiu’s Hydro DMG Bonus will be converted to additional DMG Reduction for the Rain Swords.

His Elemental Burst, Guhua Sword: Raincutter, initiates Rainbow Bladeword and fights using an illusionary sword rain, while creating the maximum amount of Rain Swords. Your active character’s Normal Attacks will trigger consecutive sword rain attacks, dealing Hydro DMG, and Rain Swords will remain at the maximum number throughout the ability’s duration.

Xingqiu’s primary role is to create Elemental Reactions with his Elemental Burst, which attacks alongside the active character. This means that you’ll need to pair Xingqiu with a DPS which ideally infuses their Normal Attacks with their Element, so that Xingqiu’s Rain Swords trigger reactions. Characters such as Hu Tao, Diluc, Klee, Chongyun, Ayaka, Keqing and Raiden Shogun are all great contenders, and Xiangling can work too even without Normal Attack infusion – you’ll just need to have her Burst activated. The same also goes for Kaeya.

Besides your Main DPS, you’ll want a trusty Anemo unit with 4-Piece Viridescent Venerer to shred your enemies’ resistance to the elements you’ll be using, as well as to spread these elements and apply them to your opponents. You’ll also want a Healer if you’re using this team in Spiral Abyss, so Bennett, Diona or Qiqi can work well here. Xingqiu works best in Freeze and Vaporize team comps, but Electro-Charged can work well with enough investment.

For example, in a team consisting of Hu Tao, Xingqiu, Kazuha and Bennett, you’ll want to use Xingqiu’s Skill to charge up his burst, switch to Kazuha and Swirl Hydro, then use Xingqiu’s Burst once it’s charged. Switch to Bennett and use his Burst to boost Hu Tao’s DMG, then switch to Hu Tao, activate her Skill, and proceed to Vaporize your enemies. You’ll basically want to use Xingqiu’s Burst whenever it’s available, before switching back to your Main DPS to deal big DMG.