Xilonen

Xilonen

5★GeoSwordSupport

TL;DR

Xilonen's Skill puts her on rollerblades, and two kicks later she drops enemy resistance to your teammates' elements by a large amount (up to 36%). Her Burst heals the active character. She reads her stats off Defence, needs almost no Crit and not much Energy Recharge, so she is a 5-star support you can throw together out of spare artifacts and still get the full effect.

Rotation

  1. Skill (E) to get on the blades.
  2. Two normal attacks that actually land. This is the part that turns the shred on. Her dash tends to skate straight past a small enemy, so if the first kick swings at air it counts for nothing and you'll need a third. You know it worked when she comes off the blades.
  3. Burst (Q) if you want the healing, otherwise skip it.
  4. Swap to your damage dealer. The shred runs for 15 seconds from the moment it turned on, so don't dawdle here.

Abilities

Skill (E) She dashes forward on her blades and enters her special state. The shred is not on yet. Normal attacks while she's skating fill her nightsoul meter, and the moment it fills she comes off the blades and the shred switches on for 15 seconds.
Burst (Q) A Geo hit, and if your team is the right shape it heals your active character every second and a half for about 12 seconds.
Her three markers She carries three, and they start as Geo. Each Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo teammate converts one to match them. Those are the elements she shreds, so your team composition sets what she does before the fight even starts. Anemo, Dendro and Geo teammates convert nothing. At least two have to be converted or the useful half of her kit switches off: below two, the kicks won't fill her nightsoul meter, so the only thing she shreds is Geo, and her burst does extra damage instead of healing.

The one mechanic to understand

Your team composition decides what she does.

With two or more Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo characters in the party, two things switch on: her normal attacks start filling her nightsoul meter, which is the only way the shred ever fires, and her burst heals instead of doing a bit more damage. Below two, the kicks give her nothing and the nightsoul meter just drains. She still shreds Geo resistance while she's on the blades, which is no use to you unless somebody in the team is dealing Geo damage. That's the whole reason a double Geo team makes her look useless. The team you'd naturally build around her is the team that turns her on, so most players never see the failure case, but it's worth knowing it exists.

What actually matters

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

  • Two Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo teammates. See above. This is the only real requirement in her kit.
  • Defence. Her healing and her damage both come off it. Defence sands, Defence goblet, and Defence substats, which is a stat almost nothing else competes for so the artifacts are cheap.
  • The kicks are the point. Skill on its own does nothing for your team. Cast, land two kicks, leave. Once it's on, the shred hangs around for 15 seconds after she swaps out, so there's no rush to get back to her.

Gear

A build that works. KeqingMains lists every other option.

Weapon Energy Recharge and Defence. Favonius Sword covers her energy on its own and is the pick almost everyone lands on. It needs about 30% Crit Rate to trigger reliably, which is the only Crit she wants.
Artifacts 4-piece Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City. It's a large team-wide damage bonus and it is well ahead of anything else on her.
Main stats Defence sands, Defence goblet, Defence circlet. Take Energy Recharge on the sands instead if her burst isn't ready, or a Healing Bonus circlet if you're leaning on her as the team's healer.

Works well with

PyroHydroElectroCryo

These four are the only elements she can shred, and you want at least two of them in the party. Anemo, Dendro and Geo teammates do not convert a marker.

Don't bother

  • Crit, beyond the roughly 30% needed for Favonius Sword to work.
  • Attack or HP. Neither appears anywhere in her kit.
  • Her burst, if you already have a healer. Skill and two kicks is the part you came for.
  • Skating around for the sake of it. It's fun, but landing the two kicks ends the state anyway.

Want the full theorycrafting version? Read Xilonen on KeqingMains.