Xiao

Xiao

5★AnemoPolearmMain Damage

TL;DR

Xiao's Burst puts a mask on for 15 seconds. Everything he does turns into Anemo damage, his swings get bigger, and he bleeds health the whole time. In that window you jump and slam into the ground over and over, using his Skill to get back into the air. Then it ends, and he does very little until the next one. He's one of the few characters who wants nothing to do with elemental reactions.

Rotation

  1. Let your supports set up and buff first.
  2. Burst (Q) to put the mask on.
  3. Jump, then plunging attack into the ground. That's your damage, on repeat.
  4. Skill (E) to dash and get height when you need it. Two charges.

Abilities

Skill (E) A forward dash that damages whatever it goes through. Two charges on a 10 second cooldown, and it works in mid-air, which is how you stay up there between plunges. Each use makes the next ones hit harder for about 7 seconds.
Burst (Q) Costs 70 Energy, back in 18 seconds, lasts 15. Wider attack range, more damage, and everything he does becomes Anemo with no way to overwrite it. It drains his health the whole time and ends the instant he leaves the field.
Plunging attack Jump and slam down. This is his real damage button inside the burst, and he takes no fall damage doing it.

The one mechanic to understand

The window rewards staying in it.

A passive gives him 5% more damage the moment the mask goes on and another 5% every 3 seconds after that, up to 25%. The back half of the window genuinely hits harder than the front, so casting the burst, doing two plunges and swapping off is the worst way to play him. He also can't leave: swapping characters ends the mask on the spot, and you don't get the rest of it back. Cast it, commit to the 15 seconds, and accept that he'll come out of it well down on health.

What actually matters

The two or three real decisions. Everything else is noise.

  • Plunges, not sword swings. Normal attacks are filler while you get back in the air. Jump, plunge, dash, jump, plunge.
  • Energy Recharge. 70 Energy every 18 seconds, and he's the one on the field spending it. Somewhere around 140% to 160% if he's your only Anemo, less with a second one.
  • He wants healing or a shield, not reactions. His damage is Anemo and it can't be overwritten, so a team assembled for reactions does nothing for him. What he needs is Anemo damage buffs, plus either healing to undo the drain or a shield so that nothing else finishes him off while he's low.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Crit, then attack. Blackcliff Pole from Paimon's shop is the accessible crit option. Favonius Lance instead if his energy is the problem, since it makes particles for the whole team.
Artifacts 4-piece Vermillion Hereafter. It stacks attack while his burst is running, which is the only time he's doing anything.
Main stats Attack sands, Anemo goblet, Crit circlet.

Works well with

AnemoGeo

Anemo for the damage bonuses and shared energy, Geo for a shield to sit behind while his own burst eats his health. The drain goes straight through a shield, so a healer of any element is the other way to survive it.

Don't bother

  • Elemental Mastery. Nothing he does reacts with anything.
  • Swapping mid-burst. The mask comes off and the rest of the window is gone.
  • Fighting between bursts. His off-burst damage is small and the plan is to charge the next one.
  • Using the skill purely for damage on the ground. Its job is getting you airborne.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Xiao on KeqingMains.