Naganohara Yoimiya is the latest 5 star character on the Genshin Impact featured banner. She is the third 5 star character from Inazuma, and the second featured banner character in Update 2.0, after Kamisato Ayaka.
Yoimiya: Overview
Yoimiya is a Pyro DPS character that uses a bow to deal high amounts of Pyro damage to opponents. Unlike Ganyu’s playstyle of using charged attacks, Yoimiya prefers normal attacks for her damage output. While people may think that this is a run and gun type of playstyle, her full damage potential is tied to her completing her normal attack combo: all five attacks. That roots her in place for a few seconds which can be dangerous if not prepared for with teammates.
Like Hu Tao, Yoimiya’s elemental skill Niwabi Fire-Dance, infuses her normal attacks with Pyro, dealing increased damage to a target. This is her main source of damage, as Yoimiya attacks very quickly, allowing you a maximum of three full cycles of her normal attack combination before the 10-second duration ends. For best results, position her just outside of melee range, as the Skill also takes into account arrow flight time. The farther you are from the target, the longer it takes for the arrow to hit, and for Yoimiya, every fraction of a second counts. The best range would be just outside the effective range of a polearm.
Yoimiya’s Burst, Ryuukin Saxifrage, launches her into the air and deals Pyro damage in an area. Your initial target before the Burst will be marked with Aurous Blaze. All normal, charged, Skill, and Burst attacks by characters other than Yoimiya who hit the marked target will trigger it, causing a Pyro explosion. When the target dies before the Burst’s 10-second duration, the Aurous Blaze mark will transfer to the nearest target for the rest of the duration.
It is important to note that Yoimiya’s Skill-infused normal attacks only trigger reactions on the first, third, and fifth attacks, which is around every two seconds due to Internal Cooldown. While theorycrafters initially frowned upon this, the timing of her attacks debuffing enemies with Pyro coincides with the timing of most support characters’ off-field elemental damage, like Xingqui’s hydro swords, for example. Some characters’ Bursts, like Beidou’s, trigger off of normal attacks or every second, which greatly benefits Yoimiya’s fast attack speed.
Yoimiya’s Builds
Unlike other DPS characters who unload massive amounts of damage by themselves like Hu Tao and Eula, Yoimiya relies on her team to quickly dispose of enemies and bring AoE damage to the table, as her kit is made for single target damage. However, she has a few build options that have been found to be viable and may be free to play friendly.
Weapon: Thundering Pulse, Rust (refinement 5), Skyward Harp, Amos’ Bow
Artifacts:
4pc Shimenawa’s Reminiscence set
ATK% hourglass
PYRO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)
Yoimiya relies on the punching power of ATK% and CRIT stats. Look for these in your artifact substats as best you can. The ability of the Thundering Pulse increases her damage output as soon as you have less than 100% energy on your Burst meter. With the Shimenawa’s Reminiscence artifact set, activating your skill will drain 15 energy away from your Burst meter and will increase her Attack by 50%. The drawback is that you need 15 or more energy for the effect to activate; if your Burst gauge is empty, the increased damage will not take effect.
Weapon: Thundering Pulse, Rust (refinement 5), Skyward Harp, Amos’ Bow, Hamayumi
Artifacts:
2pc Crimson Witch of Flames + 2pc Gladiator/Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
ATK% hourglass
PYRO DMG goblet
CRIT DMG/CRIT RATE headpiece (depending on lacking stat)
Since the Shimenawa’s Reminiscence set is new in Update 2.0, not many people may have access to a full set with decent main and substats. Having Crimson Witch and Gladiator as her set pieces will give Yoimiya a similar damage output to the above build without having to invest as much time farming if you already have these pieces pre-farmed before. The two piece set bonus of the Shimenawa’s Reminiscence artifacts give the same benefit as Gladiator, so these are interchangeable.
Yoimiya’s Weapon Choices
Yoimiya follows the trend of Inazuma characters in that they can function very well with just 4star weapons. Kazuha’s second best in slot is the Iron Sting at refinement 1, while Ayaka can output impressive numbers with the new Inazuma craftable weapon Amenoma Kageuta Blade (as high refinement as you can get). For Yoimiya’s case, it’s the Rust. At refinement rank 5, the Rust can output very close damage numbers to a refinement rank 1 Thundering Pulse.
However, the fact that Rust is a gacha 4star weapon, refinement ranks may not be available to free to play players or light spenders. Should the option of bow billets be available from the weekly bosses, the Hamayumi craftable weapon is a viable alternative.
The big caveat of using Hamayumi is it directly conflicts with the full set bonus of Shimenawa’s Reminiscence because Hamayumi gives increased damage when her energy is full, while the artifact depletes your energy every time you use your skill in order to give the damage increase. A more positive way to look at it is Yoimiya will have a damage increase no matter her energy status is: a total of 66% increased damage if energy is less than 100% from the full set Shimenawa’s Reminiscence plus Hamayumi, and a 32% increase when energy is at 100% from Hamayumi alone.
Team Compositions
Since Yoimiya excels at single target damage and the fact that she needs to be on the field for her to do her job, having off-field DPS supports who can also bring AoE damage will benefit her greatly. And since she wants to finish her full normal attack combo, shielders will also help her alot in order to tank heavy hits from enemies.
The introduction of Yun Jin is a godsend to Yoimiya. Her burst works to increase Yoimiya’s damage output before multiplicative damage buffs and CRIT stats are applied, which can outright compare with Bennett’s damage buff at C2 and higher. Best of all, Yun Jin does not interfere with any of Yoimiya’s preferred choice of teammates for elemental reactions, making her a great and flexible addition to the team.
Bennett is a go-to support for Yoimiya since his Burst is an AoE damage buff and can heal. Yoimiya can just stand in the field for its duration, allowing the damage buff to snapshot on her Skill and Burst. Bennett also gives Pyro resonance, increasing Yoimiya’s damage by 25% and serves as a battery for her, especially if she’s using Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, effectively make her Burst cost 75 instead of the usual 60.
Beidou is another great off-field DPS for Yoimiya. Her Skill can output a ton of AoE damage if done at the proper time (perfect counter), while her Burst will send out Electro damage to nearby enemies and give a reduction to damage taken, something Yoimiya wants since she will usually take hits while unloading her normal attack chain.
Fischl is a good teammate for both Yoimiya and Beidou. While Oz provides single target damage, it triggers Yoimiya’s Burst condition, allowing the AoE Pyro damage from the Aurous Blaze mark to proc continuously. Since Oz generates one Electro energy particle per hit, it helps fund Beidou’s massive Burst cost as well.
Xingqui is another single target off-field DPS character that can round out the team, as his hydro swords provide high damage while also helping activate both Electro for Electro-Charged (the damage will arc to clumped up enemies) and Yoimiya’s Pyro for Vaporize. He doesn’t need a battery for his high burst cost provided he has the Favonious sword or the Sacrificial Sword.
Yelan in support DPS mode can also be a great pick for Yoimiya’s team. Equipped with the Favonious Warbow and high enough Crit Rate, Yelan can easily power Yoimiya’s slightly higher energy cost for her burst, which in turn fuels her Shimenawa and Thundering Pulse buffs. With decent investment, Yelan can cover for Xingqui if he is needed in the other Spiral Abyss team.
Zhongli, Diona, and Xinyan can all provide Yoimiya with a decent shield for tanking hits while she is dealing damage. Zhongli has an added benefit of massive crowd control to provide Yoimiya with breathing room to reposition, Diona brings in healing, and Xinyan can provide Pyro resonance if the team doesn’t have Bennett.
Venti, Kazuha, and Sucrose all work well with Yoimiya. Having the Viridescent Venerer set will provide elemental shred against enemy defense, while their crowd control abilities provide extra instances to take the heat of your team. Venti works really well with her because he lifts small enemies up, which can be difficult to damage if you have a melee DPS.
Summary
While Yoimiya is an impressive 5star unit, she is not really a must-pull, especially if players already have Hu Tao. Unlike stand-alone DPS units, Yoimiya requires players to have their supports decently geared in order for her to do her job. Her single target focus is problematic – even more problematic than Hu Tao. However, with properly-geared supports, Yoimiya can be viable in many situations. Yoimiya, along with Ayaka, are the 5star characters that people will pull for if they care more about the voice acting, character aesthetics and personality, and overall gameplay mechanics more than the meta.
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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