The best builds for Xinyan in Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact Xinyan build - the character appears in the 2.2 trailer
(Image credit: miHoYo)

Looking for the best Genshin Impact Xinyan build? Liyue's rockstar hadn't really appeared in-game much until the recent Moonchase Festival, and the new Labyrinth Warriors event. Even now, she's not usually considered one of the best Genshin Impact characters, but as we all know, Genshin isn't as much about who's best as it is who you want to play with.

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(Image credit: miHoYo)

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That's not to say Xinyan isn't a capable party member, either. She can be a decent physical damage-dealer due to the physical component of her burst, and because her shield increases Physical damage, she's also the perfect support pairing for a character like Eula. The good news is also that you can currently get her for free.

As part of the current Labyrinth Warriors event, you can invite her to your roster for the low price of 4,000 Aged Tokens—which you can get by participating in the trials. You'll also have to complete all five as they unlock to conclude the 'Path of Taishou' quest, which is another condition for claiming her. 

Once you do invite her, you're going to want a great Genshin Impact Xinyan build, as well as some info about her ascension materials, and constellations. Keep reading for all the details.

Builds

The best Genshin Impact Xinyan build

Xinyan's strength lies in her shield that boosts physical damage and her physical-based burst, meaning she is best as a damage-dealer, or as a shielder/support for another physical damage-dealer.

Physical DPS

  • Weapon: Song of Broken Pines

It's no wonder that Eula's five-star claymore is a good fit for Xinyan, considering she is the game's best physical damage-dealer. Song of Broken Pines grants a physical damage bonus of 4.5% as well as increasing attack by 16%. When you land a normal or charged attack, you gain a Sigil of Whispers. Once you have four of these, you gain another attack increase of 20%, and a normal attack speed boost of 12%, consuming the sigils.

Of course, Song of Broken Pines hasn't appeared on a weapon banner recently, so a good alternative would be the four-star Snow Tombed Starsilver, especially if you also have a Cryo party member. This claymore boosts physical damage by 7.5%, and hitting an enemy with a normal or charged attack has a 60% chance of forming an Everfrost Icicle that deals 80% AoE attack damage. Enemies affected by Cryo also receive 200% attack damage. You can get this claymore's blueprint by finding the eight stone tablets scattered across Dragonspine.

  • Artifact: Bloodstained Chivalry/Martial Artist

Bloodstained Chivalry is a bit of a no-brainer here, since two-pieces boosts physical damage by 25%. Martial Artist, on the other hand, increases normal and charged attack damage by 15% with two-pieces. If you don't have Bloodstained Chivalry, four-pieces of Martial Artist is also good, since when you use an elemental skill, you get a further normal and charged attack boost of 25%, which synergises well with Xinyan's physical damage boosting shield.

How to unlock

How to get Xinyan in Genshin Impact

Xinyan is always available in Genshin Impact through the Wanderlust Invocation banner, though with so many characters, the chances of her dropping aren't massive. You're in luck, though, as the current Labyrinth Warriors event let's you earn her without wishing at all. 

Just as Thunder Sojourn let us invite Beidou to our party if we earnt enough event currency, Labyrinth Warriors lets you do the same for Xinyan. You just need to complete the 'Path of Taishou' event quest, and earn enough Aged Tokens to invite her in the event menu.

Abilities

Xinyan's abilities

Here are Xinyan's abilities, passives, and Constellations:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Normal attack: Dance On Fire
NormalPerforms four strikes with her Claymore.
ChargedSpins around striking enemies in AoE and draining Stamina. At the end of the spin, Xinyan performs a powerful slash.
PlungingPerforms a descending slash, striking enemies along the way, and causing AoE damage on impact with the ground
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elemental skill
Sweeping FervourXinyan strikes nearby opponents with her guitar, dealing Pyro damage, and forming a shield with damage absorption based on her defense, and how many enemies she hit. The max shield level is based on hitting three enemies, and periodically deals Pyro damage. The shield also infuses Xinyan with Pyro and has 250% Pyro damage absorption effectiveness.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elemental burst
Riff RevolutionXinyan strums rapidly, launching nearby opponents and dealing Physical damage, then causes explosions the deal Pyro damage in an AoE.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Passives
A Rad RecipeWhen she cooks a perfect defence-boosting dish, Xinyan has a 12% chance to receive twice as much.
“The Show Goes On, Even Without An Audience…”Decreases the number of enemies that must be hit to activate Sweeping Fervour's max level shield, i.e you only need to hit two to achieve the Pyro damage-causing shield.
“...Now That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll!”Characters shielded by Sweeping Fervour deal 15% increased Physical damage.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Constellations
Fatal AccelerationWhen landing a crit, Xinyan's normal and charged attack speed increases by 12% for five seconds. This can occur once every five seconds.
Impromptu OpeningRiff Revolutions Physical damage crit rate is increased by 100%, and if you have a level three Sweeping Fervour shield when you cast it, you'll gain an additional shield.
Double-StopIncreases the level of Sweeping Fervour by three. Max upgrade level is 15.
Wildfire RhythmEnemies hit by Sweeping Fervour have Physical resistance lowered by 15% for 12 seconds.
Screamin' for an EncoreIncreases the level of Riff Revolution by three. Max upgrade leve is 15.
Rockin' in a Flaming WorldDecreases Xinyan's charged attack stamina consumption by 30% and they gain an attack boost equal to 50% of her defence.

Ascension materials

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Xinyan Ascension materials

Character

In terms of Xinyan's character ascension materials, you'll need the usual Agnidus Agate that you can get from the Pyro Regisvine and the Pyro Hypostasis, but the former is the better option, as you'll also need the Everflame Seeds it drops. There are also two world materials:

  • Violetgrass
  • Treasure Hoarder Insignias

You can find Violetgrass across Liyue, but it's especially common around Mingyun Village, Lingju Pass, and the Dunyu Ruins. Treasure Hoarder Insignias and their upgraded variants come from defeating Treasure Hoarders of varying world levels.

Talent

Here's what you'll need to ascend Xinyan's talents:

  • Teachings of Gold
  • Treasure Hoarder Insignias
  • Tusk of Monoceros Caeli
  • Crown of Insight

Teachings of Gold can be farmed at the Taishin Mansion domain on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. As mentioned, Treasure Hoarder Insignias come from defeating Treasure Hoarders of different world levels.

The Tusk of Monoceros is a reward for beating the Childe weekly boss on level 70+, and the Crown of Insight comes from upgrading the Sacred Sakura of Inazuma, the Frostbearing Tree of Dragonspine, or from certain seasonal events, as with Labyrinth Warriors.

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Sean Martin
Guides Writer

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.