Xingqiu is a 4-star Hydro Sword off-field DPS in Genshin Impact. Here are the best weapons, artifacts, and teams to bring out the power of Guhua!
Playstyles
Xingqiu is an off-field DPS who deals damage with his Burst. Casting his Burst summons a set of rain swords around him, which mitigate damage taken and provide interruption resistance. The rain swords persist when swapping to a different character. When your active character performs a Normal Attack with Xingqiu’s Burst active, it will proc a coordinated sword rain attack that deals single-target Hydro damage. Especially at Constellation 6, Xingqiu’s sword rain attacks can deal respectable damage and practically guarantee a Hydro aura.
Xingqiu’s Skill consists of two big hits of Hydro damage. It has a long 21-second cooldown and generates five Hydro particles with each cast. The guaranteed five particles makes Xingqiu a great Sacrificial Sword user, allowing him to generate a whopping ten Hydro particles in a matter of seconds.
When using Xingqiu in a team, just use his Skill and Burst before swapping to other characters. Try to weave in Normal Attacks while rotating through other characters to get a few more sword rain attacks in. If equipped with Sacrificial Sword, use two Skills in a row before Bursting. Skill > Burst > Skill is not recommended due to increased rotation time.
Weapons
Primordial Jade Cutter / Mistsplitter Reforged / Haran Geppaku Futsu / Light of Foliar Incision / Skyward Blade / Summit Shaper
These are 5-star stat sticks that result in the best personal DPS. Xingqiu has a lot of options though, so consider the 4-stars below before committing to pulling on the weapon banner.
Wolf-Fang
The new battle pass Sword provides a CRIT Rate secondary stat and Skill/Burst DMG bonus. Xingqiu is unable to stack its passive unless he stays on-field, but it’s still an option to consider. You can gain one quick stack on his Burst by performing a quick Normal Attack before switching to other characters.
Favonius Sword / Sacrificial Sword (R3+)
These are the more accessible generally-recommended 4-star options. Both of these Swords are good options for Xingqiu, despite Favonius’ low base ATK. Favonius makes Xingqiu a better battery in general, while Sacrificial Sword can make him a better battery for Hydro units. Note that casting two consecutive Skills will extend your rotation time by a few seconds. Sacrificial Sword needs to be at least Refinement 3 in order to proc every rotation.
Fleuve Cendre Ferryman / Amenoma Kageuchi
These are the free-to-play options if you have access to none of the above. Xingqiu needs quite a lot of Energy, and these Swords will help with that.
Lion’s Roar / Finale of the Deep
These Swords are actually quite good, but situational. Lion’s Roar is only recommended in teams where you can maintain a consistent Electro aura (e.g., Raiden or Fischl teams). Finale of the Deep requires pairing Xingqiu with a potent healer.
Artifacts
4pc Emblem of Severed Fate (4EoSF)
Xingqiu’s best artifact set by far. It provides the Energy Recharge that he is hungry for, and converts a portion of it into Burst DMG.
2pc combos
Especially at lower Energy Recharge thresholds, you can just combine helpful 2pc set bonuses. Energy Recharge, Hydro DMG, Burst DMG, and ATK are all useful stats for Xingqiu.
Artifact Stats
| Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
| Energy Recharge ATK | Hydro DMG | CRIT Rate/DMG |
Without Constellation 6 or an Energy-generating weapon, Xingqiu can require upwards of 200% Energy Recharge. Constellation 6 and Sacrificial Sword can get this down to about 150%. I personally still run 200% Energy Recharge even with Constellation 6, just for the comfort factor. Find a value that works for you and your team(s).
The rest of Xingqiu’s stats can be invested in CRIT and ATK.
Teams
Xingqiu is incredibly flexible. He’s one of the best 4-star units in Genshin due to his high DPS and ability to fit into a variety of teams. Here are just a few archetypes where Xingqiu is useful, but you can play him any time you’re able to use Normal Attacks and need an off-field Hydro DPS.
Vaporize
Xingqiu’s ability to maintain the Wet status on enemies (actual in-game term, I swear) makes him the perfect Vaporize enabler for Pyro DPS units. This includes classic teams like:
- Xingqiu – Hu Tao – Yelan – shielder
- Xingqiu – Yoimiya – Yun Jin – Bennett
- Xingqiu – Xiangling – Bennett – flex
Electro-Charged/Overvape
Combine Hydro with Electro to trigger Electro-Charged. Add some Pyro on top, and you have a combination of Electro-Charged and Overload that fills your screen with numbers. You can more or less mix and match characters as desired, but I highly recommend bringing an Anemo unit to keep enemies grouped.
- Xingqiu – Sucrose – Fischl – Beidou
- Xingqiu – Yoimiya – Fischl – Bennett/Zhongli/Venti
Bloom/Hyperbloom/Burgeon
Xingqiu’s Hydro application makes him great for Bloom-based teams as well. Combine Hydro and Dendro to trigger Bloom. You can stop here if you’re playing Nilou, but otherwise, you’ll want to add either Electro or Pyro for Hyperbloom or Burgeon.
- Xingqiu – Nilou – Nahida/Dendro Traveler/Collei – healer
- Xingqiu – Yelan – Dendro – Kuki/Raiden
- Xingqiu – Fischl – Dendro – Sucrose
- Xingqiu – Yelan – Dendro – Thoma
Freeze
Freeze teams can be tricky with Xingqiu since you need to use Normal Attacks to trigger his sword rain attacks. This makes him explicitly anti-synergistic with one of the primary Freeze powerhouses: Ganyu. He still works great with Ayaka though, who can use her Cryo-infused Normal Attacks to deal damage and trigger sword rain attacks.
- Xingqiu – Ayaka/Kaeya/Rosaria – Kazuha – Cryo
- Xingqiu – Kaeya/Rosaria – Kazuha/Shenhe – Chongyun
Flex off-field DPS
As long as he has enough Energy, Xingqiu can be slotted into most teams that allow for the occasional Normal Attack. They might not make the most of his Hydro application, and these aren’t his best teams, but his raw damage and interruption resistance still make him worth considering.
