Yanfei

Yanfei

4★PyroCatalystMain Damage

TL;DR

Yanfei collects seals off her Normal Attacks and spends them on a Charged Attack that gets bigger with each one. Three seals then charge, over and over. Her Skill hands her a full set instantly. Her Burst keeps them coming once a second for 15 seconds, which turns that window into Charged Attacks back to back.

Rotation

  1. Skill (E) to open. Anything it hits gives her a full three seals.
  2. Charged Attack straight away to spend them.
  3. Normal Attack three times, then charge again.
  4. Burst (Q) when you have the Energy. For 15 seconds a seal arrives every second and her Charged Attacks hit harder.

Abilities

Normal Attacks Three fireballs, Pyro. Each one that lands gives her a seal, three at most, then refreshes the ones she's holding. They last 10 seconds and disappear when she leaves the field.
Charged Attack A short wind up, then an area Pyro blast that spends every seal she has. More seals means more damage over a wider area. Each seal spent also cuts the stamina cost by 15%, so a full three cuts it nearly in half.
Skill (E) 9 second cooldown. Pyro damage around her. Anything it hits gives her the full three seals at once.
Burst (Q) 80 Energy, back in 20 seconds. Pyro damage, a full set of seals, plus 15 seconds of a seal every second with a Charged Attack bonus on top.

The one mechanic to understand

Charge on three seals, not before.

Her Charged Attack is the only real damage she has, spending whatever she happens to be holding. On three seals it's wide, cheap and hard hitting. On one it's a small blast at nearly the full stamina cost. Spending three also gives her 15% Pyro damage for the next 6 seconds, so the good version feeds the next one. During her Burst a seal turns up every second, which is roughly the time a Charged Attack takes, so that window is where the character actually happens.

Yanfei with three glowing orange diamond seals floating around her just after casting her Skill
Three seals, straight off the Skill. That's what a full set looks like. Charge as soon as you see it.

What actually matters

  • Crit Rate, more than most. Her passive adds an extra Pyro hit whenever the Charged Attack crits, so a crit is another explosion as well as a bigger number.
  • Energy Recharge for an 80 cost Burst. Around 140% if she's your only Pyro. Without the Burst she spends half her time waiting on seals.
  • The seals vanish when she swaps out. Bank them and spend them in one visit, then swap off.

Gear

Weapon Crit and Attack. The Widsith is a standard banner 4-star with Crit DMG. One of the three buffs it rolls on switch-in is a big Attack boost.
Artifacts 4-piece Crimson Witch of Flames. Pyro damage, then more of it each time she reacts. Her Charged Attacks apply Pyro over a wide area.
Sands Goblet Circlet Substats
ATK Pyro DMG Crit Crit / ATK

Works well with

HydroElectro

Hydro is the one that lifts her numbers: her Pyro hits do 50% more damage on a wet enemy. Electro is the other option, since her Charged Attacks hit a wide enough area to set off Overloaded on a whole group.

Don't bother

  • Charging on one or two seals unless the Burst is running.
  • Long Normal Attack strings. Three hits is the cap, so the fourth is wasted time.
  • Elemental Mastery builds. The reaction is a bonus on top of a direct hit.
  • Her Plunging Attack. It exists, that's all.

Want the full deep dive? Read Yanfei on KeqingMains.

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