When it comes to support characters, Xingqui is at the top of the list. He can deal damage, provide damage mitigation, and heal – all without the need for him to be on the field. If you’re looking to increase the damage output of your DPS, then look no further than the Guhua swordsman.
Xingqui: Overview
His normal and charged attacks are his weakest tools by far. They offer passable damage values which is fine, considering that you really won’t need Xingqui to auto-attack anyway. None of his constellations contribute to his normal attacks.
His Elemental Skill – Fatal Rainscreen – is the first of his tools you’d want to exploit. Xingqui slashes twice dealing hydro damage, and summons up to four Rain Swords that orbit the active character. Within melee range, the Rain Swords apply the Wet status on enemies every second. When you get damaged, a Rain Sword will shatter, reducing the damage taken by around 40%. Additionally, the skill will also heal the active character by 6% of Xingqui’s max HP. The Rain Swords also give you interruption resistance which helps you ignore stagger for some attacks.
His Elemental Burst – Raincutter – is the one that boosts your DPS without needing Xingqui on the field. First of all, the Burst will reset the maximum number of Rain Swords you can currently have (maximum of four). These special Rain Swords will grant you damage reduction, interruption resistance, but will not heal because they will not shatter during the duration of your Burst.
The best thing about his Burst is that while your active character does normal and charged attacks, several Rain Swords will appear and attack a single target (your main target). The order of the number of Rain Swords is two then three then five and the cycle repeats. These Swords are a separate source of Wet and damage, so it can proc elemental reactions and reapply Wet, ready for a new reaction to occur. This is very important when your playstyle involves big elemental reactions.
Xingqui’s Builds
While Xingqui is technically a support, the fact that he can deal damage makes him more of a “backline carry” for the team. However this guide will present three builds for Xingqui: the first being an early to midgame build while the second and third being his endgame setups.
Weapon: Sacrificial Sword/Favonious Sword
Artifacts:
2pc Scholar + 2pc Exile
ATK hourglass
HYDRO DMG goblet
ATK/CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)
Xingqui’s Elemental Burst costs 80 energy, which can be very hard to fill up. This is why his weapon has to have a high energy recharge substat, and we are going for artifact sets that give set bonuses to energy recharge. The Scholar and Exile two-piece sets give a total of 40% energy recharge on Xingqui, which gets him closer to the optimal ER stat of 180%. If you have the Sacrificial Sword, it will allow you to usually spam his Elemental Skill twice in rapid succession, allowing you to fully charge your Burst (at around 180% Energy Recharge).
Weapon: Skyward Blade/Sacrificial Sword/Favonious Sword
Artifacts:
4pc Noblesse Oblige
ATK hourglass
HYDRO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)
For one of Xingqui’s endgame setups, we go for the full set bonus of the Noblesse Oblige set. By the time you are able to farm the highest level of the domain that drops the Noblesse set, Xingqui will be very close to 180% Energy Recharge, and this set will allow him to increase the damage of his Burst but also give your DPS an additional damage boost with the four piece set bonus. Prioritize getting energy recharge on your artifact substats, as the higher your total ER value is, the better.
Weapon: Sacrificial Sword/Favonious Sword/Harbinger of Dawn
Artifacts:
2pc Noblesse Oblige + 2pc Heart of Depth
ATK hourglass
HYDRO DMG goblet
ATK/CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)
The new Heart of Depth artifact set from Patch 1.2 increases hydro damage by 15% for two pieces, which is good enough for Xingqui. Remember that his Burst deals hydro and already gets a damage bonus from the two pieces of Noblesse Oblige, so expect to see bigger numbers once his Burst is active. While he will lose out on giving your main DPS the 20% attack bonus on Burst activation, another support character with a full set of Noblesse can handle that task.
As with most dedicated supports in the game, you don’t really need to max out Xingqui’s levels just yet. The minimum to take him is level 60/70 (NOT 60/60) in order to unlock all his passive talents. This saves your resources so you can get other support characters up to 60/70 sooner. However, you will need to invest in his weapon and make it go as high as possible in order to get the most value out of his kit.
Team Compositions
Xingqui is a universal support DPS character, able to have a place in almost any team, regardless of your main DPS. That said, he shines on certain carries.
Diluc is probably the best DPS carry for Xingqui to support. He is a purely offensive character, with a kit that aims to increase his already impressive damage numbers. Xingqui will be providing Diluc with much needed damage mitigation, a bit of healing, additional damage, and best of all, a way to proc Vaporize without Xingqui sharing field time. Thanks to the slower attack speed of greatswords, Diluc will always have the Rain Swords supporting his pyro-fueled attacks.
Keqing is another carry that will benefit from Xingqui’s kit. As an electro character, Keqing might not be able to proc something as explosive as Melt or Vaporize like Diluc when paired with Xingqui, but being able to trigger Electro-charged gives her some breathing room since all enemies that are affected by the arcing electro pulse will be staggered momentarily as well as receive damage. Take that chance to activate Keqing’s Elemental Burst while the enemies cannot move outside of her AoE.
Razor is another carry character that pairs well with Xingqui. His slower attack speed and reliance on physical damage benefit greatly from the Burst, receiving a hydro proc against enemies. Since Razor cannot do charged attacks while his Burst is active, activating Xingqui’s Burst before Razor’s is usually the best plan of attack, as Razor will then be able to proc Electro-charged against mobs or bosses.
When it comes to fellow supports, Fischl is a great match for Xingqui. This is a more single-target burst-oriented team composition, but still works against almost everything in the overworld and some Spiral Abyss levels. Make sure that Oz is targeting the same enemy you are in order to proc Electro-charged.
Diona is also a good partner for Xingqui. If you find the lack of crowd control a hindrance to your playstyle, look no further than the Frozen elemental reaction. Diona’s Burst will continuously pulse with the cryo status effect and damage, allowing your DPS with Xingqui’s Burst to keep targets frozen while you damage them. Frozen targets cannot damage you, which in turn will make you less reliant on a focused healer like Barbara.
Summary
Xingqui is a solid support DPS character no matter how many constellations you have unlocked on him. He is able to provide damage mitigation, healing, Wet, stagger resistance, and additional damage to your main DPS. While he will need artifact micro-management and a focus on getting his Energy Recharge as high as possible, the payoff is immediate, even with unleveled artifacts, provided you are able to maximize your team’s elemental reactions.
JD Pablo Editor-in-Chief
JD Pablo is the current Editor-in-Chief of twenty8two. Enjoys video games, pizza, banana bread, and tea. Takes coffee black.
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