Achieving the perfect xiao build is essential for players seeking to unleash the full potential of this agile, airborne warrior. Xiao’s unique abilities and playstyle demand a carefully crafted approach to artifact sets, weapon choices, and team composition. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the best xiao build strategies that maximize his damage output, survivability, and utility, whether you’re a novice or an experienced player aiming to refine your Xiao gameplay.
Understanding Xiao’s Role and Playstyle

Before delving into specific build configurations, it’s crucial to understand Xiao’s fundamental mechanics and role within a team. As an Anemo character with high mobility and significant burst damage, Xiao excels in dealing AoE damage and quickly dispatching enemies.
Xiao’s prowess is rooted in his ability to perform airborne plunging attacks, which are enhanced by his Elemental Burst, “Bane of All Evil.” However, this power comes with a trade-off: Xiao’s health depletes continually when his Elemental Burst is active, making his survivability a key consideration in his build.
To optimize Xiao, players need to focus on enhancing his physical and elemental damage while managing his health and energy recharge, creating a delicate balance that amplifies his damage potential without sacrificing survivability.
Critical Elements of the Xiao Build – Weapons, Artifacts, and Play Strategy

Building Xiao effectively requires an intricate understanding of the core elements – the right weapons, artifacts, and team synergy. Each component plays a pivotal role in boosting Xiao’s damage, reducing his vulnerabilities, or enhancing his energy regeneration.
Choosing the right weapon can significantly impact Xiao’s damage output, where some weapons favor his burst damage, while others offer more versatility or survivability. Artifacts complement weapon choices by further specializing Xiao’s strengths, such as crit rates, crit damage, or attack percent. Finally, a well-thought-out team composition can support Xiao’s aggressive playstyle by providing shields, healing, or energy recharge support.
In this section, we’ll explore each factor in detail, helping you craft a customized xiao build that aligns with your playstyle and progression level.
Optimal Weapon Choices for Xiao – Powering Up the Anemo Demon

Selecting the best weapon for Xiao hinges on understanding his core damage mechanics and how each weapon enhances his animations, talents, and overall performance. The weapon choice directly influences his burst potential and ability to sustain damage over time.
5-Star Weapons for Thunderous Impact
For maximum damage output, 5-star weapons are often considered the best choices, providing substantial boosts to Xiao’s crit rate, crit damage, or attack. The most iconic among them is Primordial Jade Cutter, which offers a massive attack bonus and increased healing when HP is above a certain threshold, synergizing well with Xiao’s health management.
Another popular weapon is Harbinger of Dawn, which boosts base attack and crit rate when in low HP, aligning perfectly with Xiao’s tendency to operate at high risk. The Black Sword is a versatile option, providing crit chance and damage boosts without requiring high HP thresholds, making it more accessible early-game.
4-Star and F2P Friendly Weapon Options
For players who haven’t acquired high-tier weapons, options like Slingshot, Iron Sting, or Prototype Starglitter become viable alternatives. These weapons typically favor energy recharge or elemental mastery, which can support Xiao’s energy needs and elemental reactions, albeit with slightly reduced damage bonuses compared to five-star options.
Weapon Selection Tips
When choosing a weapon, consider:
- The attack and crit potential to maximize Xiao’s damage.
- How the weapon supports energy recharge if you aim for more frequent elemental bursts.
- The synergy with artifacts and team composition, ensuring a balanced but potent configuration.
By tying the weapon choice directly into your overall xiao build, you ensure your Xiao is equipped to perform at his peak, whether you’re challenging abyss floors or farming domain bosses.
Crafting the Ideal Artifact Set for Xiao – Enhancing Vengeance and Mobility
Artifacts are the cornerstone of Xiao’s damage output and survivability. Carefully selecting a set that aligns with his playstyle—aggressive, burst-focused, and health-conscious—is vital.
Main Artifact Sets for Maximal Damage
The two prominent artifact sets recommended for Xiao are the Shimenawa’s Reminiscence and Venerer’s Veil. Each boosts different aspects of Xiao’s performance.
Shimenawa’s Reminiscence increases attack by 18% when in combat, and its 2-piece bonus boosts attack and damage of the elemental skill, making it great for high burst damage. However, it comes with a drawback of decreased elemental energy recharge, so it suits players who can compensate with team support or other artifact pieces.
Venerer’s Veil (previously Gladiator’s Finale) boosts attack and damage, specifically for sword, claymore, and polearm users. For Xiao, the 2-piece set increases his attack and provides bonus damage, ideal for maximizing his plunges and burst damage.
Substats to Prioritize
Critical rate and crit damage are paramount. Given Xiao’s reliance on crits to maximize damage, artifacts should ideally aim for crit stats with percentages as high as possible. Attack percentage is also beneficial, primarily on sands or goblets. Elemental mastery can be a bonus if Xiao frequently triggers reactions with teammates, but it’s secondary compared to crit stats.
Balancing Health and Survival
Since Xiao’s health bar is crucial to his damage potential, some players prefer to include Retracing Bolide as a 4-piece set, which enhances shield strength and damage resistance, or they incorporate healing or shielding units into the team. This approach alleviates some of Xiao’s survivability concerns, allowing him to perform aggressive plunges more confidently.
In summary, a well-made Xiao artifact set maximizes attack, crit rate, and crit damage, supported by sub-stats that focus on refining these attributes. The right set and sub-stats ensure Xiao can consistently deal devastating damage while maintaining enough survivability to brave the most challenging content.
Building a Balanced Team around Xiao for Optimal Performance
Xiao’s effectiveness is highly dependent on team synergy. Since his playstyle is heavily burst damage-oriented, it’s essential to build a team that complements his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses like health management or energy recharge.
Shielders and Healers – Defensive Supports
To ensure Xiao’s survivability during his aggressive plunges, shielders like Zhongli or Diona are invaluable. Zhongli’s shields not only protect Xiao from external damage but also reduce enemy resistances, boosting all damage output. Diona offers healing and creates shields that suppress enemy attacks, keeping Xiao safe when health is low.
Energy Recharge and Burst Support – Sustain the Pyroclasm
Since Xiao’s Elemental Burst consumes a significant amount of energy, including units like Albedo or Kazuha for energy recharge support helps maintain his burst uptime. Additionally, characters like Fischl or Bennett can provide additional attack boosts or energy generation, ensuring Xiao can unleash his burst more frequently.
Off-field Damage and Elemental Reactions
Involving characters that can trigger potent elemental reactions enhances Xiao’s overall damage. For example, Yae Miko with her Electro abilities can set up Overloads, while Xingqiu can provide consistent Hydro application for reactions. These reactions add to Xiao’s damage and keep the team versatile and adaptable to various opponents.
Strategic Team Composition
A balanced team with Xiao at the forefront relies on combining damage buffs, shields, healing, and energy recharge support. The goal is to run Xiao as a primary damage dealer, supported by characters that bolster his survivability and reduce his energy constraints, allowing him to perform his aerial assaults with confidence.
Conclusion
Crafting the perfect xiao build involves a nuanced combination of weapon choice, artifact sets, sub-stats, and supportive team dynamics. Xiao’s playstyle as an airborne, burst-focused polearm user demands careful balancing of attack, crit, survivability, and energy management. By understanding his role and optimizing each component — from weapons like Primordial Jade Cutter or Black Sword to artifact sets such as Venerer’s Veil, and a well-rounded team that offers shields, healing, and elemental reactions — players can unlock Xiao’s maximum potential. Ultimately, a tailored xiao build allows for a highly rewarding gameplay experience, turning Xiao into a devastating force on the battlefield capable of dominating any content in Genshin Impact.
Conclusion
In essence, a successful xiao build revolves around maximizing his damage through strategic weapon and artifact choices while ensuring his survivability and energy needs are met through appropriate team support. The synergy between Xiao’s aggressive plunges, critical stats, and team dynamics creates a formidable presence that can excel in various scenarios, from the Abyss to open-world exploration. With careful planning and resource investment, Xiao becomes an unstoppable force whose true potential is unlocked by a well-crafted build tailored to your preferred style of play.
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