"Which free 4* to pick in Lantern Rite" - Definitive Guide
Just putting this guide out there to help out people who might be having a similar question.
Constellations I haven't brought up are not necessarily bad or useless, but they are less noteworthy / critical compared to the ones I did.
**1) Lan Yan**
Shielder + Anemo is a tasty combo that let's you deal with resistance shred and interruption immunity in the same slot. Shield absorbs element present on the enemy/environment. If absorbed element is same as incoming damage, gains 250% absorption bonus, becoming the strongest theoretical shield by a good margin.
Rarely the best unit to use for maximum theoretical *damage,* but if you are using an on-fielder that can be interrupted she is probably your best shielder option offensively.
**Notable teammates:** Any PHEC (Pyro/Hydro/Electro/Cryo) on-fielder that can be interrupted
**Notable constellations:** *C2* \- Allows refreshing 40% of shield if your on-field character does normal attacks. With a fast enough normal attacker, can make your shield withstand anything that doesn't one-shot it.
**Has role overlap with:** *Xilonen/Kazuha/Sucrose/Venti* (Similar resistance shred with better offensive utility but no shielding) - *Zhongli* (Situationally stronger shield, rotation flexibility and geo utility but less resistance shred) - *Ineffa* (Shielder who doesn't provide res shred but provides so much damage in her intended archetype that you don't care) - *All other shielders*
**2) Gaming**
Highest DPS ceiling on-fielder in the game but only if you meet certain requirements. Requirements are: 1) You must be melting, so you want either Citlali or Rosaria C2+ to make that work, otherwise you will need two cryo applicators 2) You have a decent weapon 3) You are willing to play his rotations properly instead of going unga bunga
Unlike some would argue, he is a perfectly fine unit at C0
**Notable teammates:** *Xianyun* (Undisputed plunger support) - *Citlali/Rosaria* \- *Sucrose/Xilonen* (If you don't have Xianyun) - *Bennett/Iansan* (Hefty ATK bonus)
**Notable constellations:** C3 - Bigger numbers on his main source of damage
C4 - Alleviates ER needs, critical for people who are willing to minmax his build
C6 - 20% Crit Rate - 40% Crit Damage is a hefty buff and his best constellation
**Has role overlap with:** *Varesa/Xiao* (Other plungers who also contest Xianyun, although Varesa can run a Chevreuse overload team instead and is more likely to outscale your Gaming) - *Diluc* (Same element&weapon&playstyle when paired with Xianyun, only slightly behind Gaming if Gaming is C6) - *Mavuika* (Melt-oriented pyro that will contest Citlali unless you put her in a Chevreuse team or make her off-field)
**3) Xiangling**
Still the fastest pyro applier in the game due to her Pyronado having no ICD and even potentially hitting the same target twice if they have a thick enough hitbox. She also snapshots all buffs on Skill and Burst cast, a trait that is mostly absent in modern units.
Doesn't see as much use nowadays due to certain criteria to meet her potential: Pyronado's 20 second CD prevents shorter rotations. Without Bennett her ER requirements skyrocket and she loses the massive ATK buff. Without vaporize, her damage is significantly diminished. All in all she is a selfish and restrictive off-fielder that you probably won't want in your team if your main damage source is going to be your on-fielder. Very potent source of damage otherwise.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (They're essentially married, except) - *Mualani* (Where Xiangling is just a pyro applier who doesn't really need Bennett or any offensive stats) - *Sucrose + Xingqiu* (Her best teammates for 4\* national. Tricky team to execute, not recommended to beginners) - *Cryo DPS* (For reverse melt) - *Chevreuse* (As a pyro applier and decent source of damage, but mostly she will skip her Pyronado every other rotation to shorten rotation length)
**Notable constellations:** C4 - You absolutely need this. Without it, she is almost half the unit everybody praises her to be.
**Has role overlap with:** *Durin/Off-field Mavuika/Pyro Traveler/Dehya/Thoma/Burning* (Slower pyro appliers with varying degrees of utility and application speed. Impossible to cover those without making this a 10-page essay, so look up what they do individually)
**4) Beidou**
Very fun and decent unit on paper and a lot of new player's favourite. Sadly, the electro off-field slot is highly contested and Fischl is doing a number on her there. Beidou, unlike Fischl, is not a fast electro applier on steroids. As a result, sees very little use in viable endgame teams.
She has the usual "Skill + Burst -> Swap" playstyle, and requires your on-fielder to use rapid Normal/Charged attacks to trigger her Burst. She has very good damage multipliers, and these ramp up significantly against 2+ enemies since her Burst can arc between enemies.
Her Hold E counts as an electro shield while held for mechanical purposes, ie. it can reflect a Primo Geovishap's breath attack.
She also provides a significant amount of damage reduction and interruption resistance to your on-fielder, although this is not by itself enough to sustain an on-fielder.
**Notable teammates:** *Sucrose-Fischl-Xingqiu* (The OG taser that is still capable of clearing endgame today when against multiple enemies. Combined damage reduction and interruption resistance of Xingqiu + Beidou makes Sucrose nigh-invincible. You can replace Fischl with Ororon for better DPS scaling, and Sucrose with any Anemo catalyst on-fielder)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Her Burst now arcs to 4 additional enemies, and can hit the same enemy if no new enemies are present. This is a massive jump in her personal damage in 2+ enemy scenarios, maximized against exactly 2 enemies.
**Has role overlap with:** *Ororon & Fischl* (Off-field electro appliers that are superior in damage to Beidou in Electro/Lunar-Charged & Literally Everywhere Else™, respectively) - *Ineffa* (An actual electro shielder and applier if you are going to need one in a Chevreuse team)
**5) Xingqiu**
Very fast off-field Hydro applier (C6 Xingqiu is tied with C2 Yelan in that category) that also has decent personal damage in certain settings. Provides interruption resistance and damage reduction to boot.
Has very high ER requirements and in most situations will prefer to wield a Favonius Sword. (Sacrificial sword is undesirable unless R4+, and is only preferred in Sucrose National or certain Stygian Onslaught teams)
You can safely bet that your Xingqiu will never vaporize unless you are specifically setting up to vaporize his Skill, so just ignore Elemental Mastery as a stat.
His main drawback is locking the team into a 21s rotation, which can range from irrelevant to absolute dealbreaker depending on the team.
**Notable teammates:** Any team that wants fast hydro application and can trigger his rainswords with normal attacks (Yelan/Furina are notable for benefitting from his existence in the team through his C2, Hydro particles and Hydro resonance)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Provides 15% Hydro resistance shred AND increases Burst duration. Pretty cracked.
C6 - Increases hydro application and damage even further, while also decreasing his ER requirements. One of the best constellations in this roster.
**Has role overlap with:** Other hydro appliers, but you always want more hydro appliers in your roster.
**6) Ningguang**
Geo on-field unit that is held back by two main issues: Being an ATK scaling Geo unit and being very susceptible to interruption. Otherwise have very decent multipliers, which Geo units really need to have to compete with elements that get boosts through reactions.
Powerful contenders in the Geo on-fielder slot and her somewhat clunky gameplay has reduced her usage rate drastically, but for the enthusiast she is still a fun unit to play and explore. She will want a gacha weapon and a very good build, and even then you shouldn't expect modern DPS levels of damage.
Saw multiple boosts in her lifetime: Geo resonance buff, Nighttime Whispers artifact set, Chiori, Xilonen, and more recently the Lunar-Crystallize synergy.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (Like any other ATK scaler) - *Xilonen* (Fits neatly into her teams since Ning usually utilizes 2 PHEC units such as Bennett + Xiangling) - *Chiori* (Excellent source of damage and gains an extra doll from Ningguang) - *Columbina* (Enables Lunar-Crystallize teams) - *Kachina* (Budget Xilonen if you don't have her) - *Mavuika/Furina* (Hefty Off-field damage and buffs)
**Notable constellations:** C3 & C6 - Decent boosts to her Burst damage
**Has role overlap with:** *Noelle/Navia/Zibai/Itto* (On-field Geo options that in the right conditions eclipse Ningguang) --- *Ningguang, while very decent, will not compete with most on-field DPS and should be considered a sentimental investment.*
**7) Chongyun**
Often overlooked cryo unit with very unique properties: **Cooldown reduction** and **Cryo infusion**, both for units that stay inside his Skill field. Cryo infusion only applies to Polearm, sword and claymore users. Also has a 8% Attack speed boost to these units in the field.
Cooldown reduction can be much more potent than one might think: Reducing the cooldown of Xiangling's Pyronado to 17 seconds for example increases team DPS significantly. Cryo infusion is more straightforward: Teams that have a lot of cryo damage but no cryo-infused on-fielder will benefit greatly from the cryo infusion, such as reverse melt teams or Escoffier teams.
He also has very good multipliers on his Skill and Burst, but he is not a good on-field DPS himself due to his clunky and slow attacks. Use him strictly off-field.
**Notable teammates:** *Kaeya/Rosaria/Escoffier* (Staples for Reverse melt or Freeze teams that benefit from having cryo-infused attacks in their field time. Note that a C6 Bennett in the team will mostly negate this, but Chongyun is still valuable in those teams)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - One of the very few sources of cooldown reduction in the game. Can have many niche use cases.
C6 - Notable increase to his Burst damage. Note that each of the 4 blades can all be melted.
**Has role overlap with:** Nobody. He has a very unique role, albeit very rarely used.
**8) Xinyan**
Quite possibly the unit in this roster that gets as close to being the objectively worst pick. Too much downsides in her kit: Split scaling between DEF% and ATK% for defense and offense, pyro application going away when shield is broken, shield not reaching its highest rank with Skill cast against single-target, most of her damage being locked behind Physical. It is very tough to classify Xinyan anything other than a vanity pick.
Technically she has less conditions tied to her pyro application and shield than the other 2 pyro shielders (Yanfei - Thoma) but this never really becomes an advantage in practice.
Needs a buff, directly or indirectly through a buff to Physical damage or Claymore charged attacks.
**Notable teammates:** *Lyney* (Budget pyro shielder option) - *Wriothesley* (Emilie burnmelt but for some reason you don't have Thoma or Dehya) - *Eula* (For low ping swap memes)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Guarantees a crit on the physical damage portion of her Burst. As far as I recall, the only ability in the game that guarantees a crit. Basically makes her a good Favonius holder. Thanks to this, you can completely forego crit rate in favor of other stats for an off-field Xinyan.
C4 - Some physical res shred, nothing fancy but there aren't many of these to go around.
**Has role overlap with:** *Thoma/Yanfei(C4)/Dehya*
**9) Yanfei**
Another on-fielder pyro in this roster, significantly behind Gaming in their respective ideal teams. Still a decent unit, as there are many boons of being a pyro catalyst in this game.
She is somewhat similar to Arle in that most of her damage will not be vaporized in a vaporize setting, so you don't benefit as much from EM as someone like Gaming, Mualani or Hu Tao would.
Due to this, she is better suited to Chevreuse overloaded teams or reaction soups (something like Burgeon + Vaporize).
She is also unique that she prefers crit rate slightly more than every other unit due to her A4 passive.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (Ditto) **-** *Xingqiu/Yelan* (Vaporize teams) - *Chevreuse* (overload teams) - *Xianyun* (Turns her into a plunger since Yanfei has permanent pyro infusion, being a catalyst user)
**Notable constellations:** C4 - Unlocks her off-field shielder playstyle. She can technically hold TTDS in this role but realistically you will want Prototype Amber so that she meets her steep energy requirements. Note that the shield is tied to her Burst, which has a 20 second cooldown.
C6 - DPS boost that also smooths out her stamina problem.
**Has role overlap with:** *Klee/Mavuika/Arlecchino/Hu Tao/Diluc/Gaming/Yoimiya* (Yep, we have that many pyro on-fielders. Yanfei hardly competes with any of those, which explains the low usage rate)
**10) Yun Jin**
Ah, Yun Jin. Has a very unique buff, but betrayed by her circumstances. They wanted her to be a flexible slot to any team and not just Geo teams. Additive damage bonus is interesting, but sadly most units that would benefit from it would want other buffers. Having high energy requirements in most teams as they probably don't have other Geo units is another insult to injury.
She could see more relevance if she had additional utilities, but as is, the off-field buffer slot competition throws her into obscurity.
She is straightforward to build and use: Slap enough ER on her and then fully commit to DEF% (and some CRIT RATE if she is holding Favonius), and put her in a team where your on-fielder performs a lot of normal attacks.
**Notable teammates:** *Yoimiya/Wanderer/Ayato/Arlecchino/Clorinde* (They can utilize her when teammate options are sparse, but given the chance they are better off teaming up with other units)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Straight up damage bonus to normal attacks, valuable
C6 - Average level attack speed boost, relevant for units that won't suffer from Hit Lag such as Yoimiya and Wanderer.
**Has role overlap with:** Candace (For buffing normal attacks. Candace sees some niche use thanks to units like Mualani) - Mika/Dahlia (ATK SPD buffing, in which Mika and Dahlia are superior and also provide defensive utility. They don't have the additive DMG bonus Yun Jin provides, though)
**11) Yao Yao**
A great pick if you are lacking in Dendro appliers. She is an off-field Dendro applier that also heals. That is all there is to it, and you don't really need more than that.
Note that her Burst is skipped in most teams as it takes field time. Thus, you can completely ignore her energy requirements. Also, don't use her exclusively as a Deepwood holder, ie. in Kinich teams, since Deepwood could be held by anyone and not specifically Dendro units.
Her Skill duration being 10 seconds and cooldown being 15 seconds creates a 5 second downtime which can be unfavorable. This is more of an issue in Bloom/Hyperbloom/Quickbloom and is irrelevant in pure Quicken teams.
**Notable teammates:** *Keqing/Yae/Sethos/Fischl/Tighnari* (Yao Yao is a good sustain option in Aggravate/Quicken teams, but generally eclipsed by Baizhu and Kirara who will instead provide shielding) - *Nilou Bloom / Hyperbloom teams* (Recommended to accompany another Dendro applier)
**Notable constellations:** Yao Yao's constellations are generally irrelevant and you get what you want at C0, so you can skip those.
**Has role overlap with:** *Kirara/Baizhu* (Dendro appliers who are preferred over Yao Yao in Quicken teams since shielding provides interruption immunity) - *Dendro Traveler/Collei* (Free Dendro options for application, although they don't really compete with Yao Yao and usually they complement each other instead)
Constellations I haven't brought up are not necessarily bad or useless, but they are less noteworthy / critical compared to the ones I did.
**1) Lan Yan**
Shielder + Anemo is a tasty combo that let's you deal with resistance shred and interruption immunity in the same slot. Shield absorbs element present on the enemy/environment. If absorbed element is same as incoming damage, gains 250% absorption bonus, becoming the strongest theoretical shield by a good margin.
Rarely the best unit to use for maximum theoretical *damage,* but if you are using an on-fielder that can be interrupted she is probably your best shielder option offensively.
**Notable teammates:** Any PHEC (Pyro/Hydro/Electro/Cryo) on-fielder that can be interrupted
**Notable constellations:** *C2* \- Allows refreshing 40% of shield if your on-field character does normal attacks. With a fast enough normal attacker, can make your shield withstand anything that doesn't one-shot it.
**Has role overlap with:** *Xilonen/Kazuha/Sucrose/Venti* (Similar resistance shred with better offensive utility but no shielding) - *Zhongli* (Situationally stronger shield, rotation flexibility and geo utility but less resistance shred) - *Ineffa* (Shielder who doesn't provide res shred but provides so much damage in her intended archetype that you don't care) - *All other shielders*
**2) Gaming**
Highest DPS ceiling on-fielder in the game but only if you meet certain requirements. Requirements are: 1) You must be melting, so you want either Citlali or Rosaria C2+ to make that work, otherwise you will need two cryo applicators 2) You have a decent weapon 3) You are willing to play his rotations properly instead of going unga bunga
Unlike some would argue, he is a perfectly fine unit at C0
**Notable teammates:** *Xianyun* (Undisputed plunger support) - *Citlali/Rosaria* \- *Sucrose/Xilonen* (If you don't have Xianyun) - *Bennett/Iansan* (Hefty ATK bonus)
**Notable constellations:** C3 - Bigger numbers on his main source of damage
C4 - Alleviates ER needs, critical for people who are willing to minmax his build
C6 - 20% Crit Rate - 40% Crit Damage is a hefty buff and his best constellation
**Has role overlap with:** *Varesa/Xiao* (Other plungers who also contest Xianyun, although Varesa can run a Chevreuse overload team instead and is more likely to outscale your Gaming) - *Diluc* (Same element&weapon&playstyle when paired with Xianyun, only slightly behind Gaming if Gaming is C6) - *Mavuika* (Melt-oriented pyro that will contest Citlali unless you put her in a Chevreuse team or make her off-field)
**3) Xiangling**
Still the fastest pyro applier in the game due to her Pyronado having no ICD and even potentially hitting the same target twice if they have a thick enough hitbox. She also snapshots all buffs on Skill and Burst cast, a trait that is mostly absent in modern units.
Doesn't see as much use nowadays due to certain criteria to meet her potential: Pyronado's 20 second CD prevents shorter rotations. Without Bennett her ER requirements skyrocket and she loses the massive ATK buff. Without vaporize, her damage is significantly diminished. All in all she is a selfish and restrictive off-fielder that you probably won't want in your team if your main damage source is going to be your on-fielder. Very potent source of damage otherwise.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (They're essentially married, except) - *Mualani* (Where Xiangling is just a pyro applier who doesn't really need Bennett or any offensive stats) - *Sucrose + Xingqiu* (Her best teammates for 4\* national. Tricky team to execute, not recommended to beginners) - *Cryo DPS* (For reverse melt) - *Chevreuse* (As a pyro applier and decent source of damage, but mostly she will skip her Pyronado every other rotation to shorten rotation length)
**Notable constellations:** C4 - You absolutely need this. Without it, she is almost half the unit everybody praises her to be.
**Has role overlap with:** *Durin/Off-field Mavuika/Pyro Traveler/Dehya/Thoma/Burning* (Slower pyro appliers with varying degrees of utility and application speed. Impossible to cover those without making this a 10-page essay, so look up what they do individually)
**4) Beidou**
Very fun and decent unit on paper and a lot of new player's favourite. Sadly, the electro off-field slot is highly contested and Fischl is doing a number on her there. Beidou, unlike Fischl, is not a fast electro applier on steroids. As a result, sees very little use in viable endgame teams.
She has the usual "Skill + Burst -> Swap" playstyle, and requires your on-fielder to use rapid Normal/Charged attacks to trigger her Burst. She has very good damage multipliers, and these ramp up significantly against 2+ enemies since her Burst can arc between enemies.
Her Hold E counts as an electro shield while held for mechanical purposes, ie. it can reflect a Primo Geovishap's breath attack.
She also provides a significant amount of damage reduction and interruption resistance to your on-fielder, although this is not by itself enough to sustain an on-fielder.
**Notable teammates:** *Sucrose-Fischl-Xingqiu* (The OG taser that is still capable of clearing endgame today when against multiple enemies. Combined damage reduction and interruption resistance of Xingqiu + Beidou makes Sucrose nigh-invincible. You can replace Fischl with Ororon for better DPS scaling, and Sucrose with any Anemo catalyst on-fielder)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Her Burst now arcs to 4 additional enemies, and can hit the same enemy if no new enemies are present. This is a massive jump in her personal damage in 2+ enemy scenarios, maximized against exactly 2 enemies.
**Has role overlap with:** *Ororon & Fischl* (Off-field electro appliers that are superior in damage to Beidou in Electro/Lunar-Charged & Literally Everywhere Else™, respectively) - *Ineffa* (An actual electro shielder and applier if you are going to need one in a Chevreuse team)
**5) Xingqiu**
Very fast off-field Hydro applier (C6 Xingqiu is tied with C2 Yelan in that category) that also has decent personal damage in certain settings. Provides interruption resistance and damage reduction to boot.
Has very high ER requirements and in most situations will prefer to wield a Favonius Sword. (Sacrificial sword is undesirable unless R4+, and is only preferred in Sucrose National or certain Stygian Onslaught teams)
You can safely bet that your Xingqiu will never vaporize unless you are specifically setting up to vaporize his Skill, so just ignore Elemental Mastery as a stat.
His main drawback is locking the team into a 21s rotation, which can range from irrelevant to absolute dealbreaker depending on the team.
**Notable teammates:** Any team that wants fast hydro application and can trigger his rainswords with normal attacks (Yelan/Furina are notable for benefitting from his existence in the team through his C2, Hydro particles and Hydro resonance)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Provides 15% Hydro resistance shred AND increases Burst duration. Pretty cracked.
C6 - Increases hydro application and damage even further, while also decreasing his ER requirements. One of the best constellations in this roster.
**Has role overlap with:** Other hydro appliers, but you always want more hydro appliers in your roster.
**6) Ningguang**
Geo on-field unit that is held back by two main issues: Being an ATK scaling Geo unit and being very susceptible to interruption. Otherwise have very decent multipliers, which Geo units really need to have to compete with elements that get boosts through reactions.
Powerful contenders in the Geo on-fielder slot and her somewhat clunky gameplay has reduced her usage rate drastically, but for the enthusiast she is still a fun unit to play and explore. She will want a gacha weapon and a very good build, and even then you shouldn't expect modern DPS levels of damage.
Saw multiple boosts in her lifetime: Geo resonance buff, Nighttime Whispers artifact set, Chiori, Xilonen, and more recently the Lunar-Crystallize synergy.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (Like any other ATK scaler) - *Xilonen* (Fits neatly into her teams since Ning usually utilizes 2 PHEC units such as Bennett + Xiangling) - *Chiori* (Excellent source of damage and gains an extra doll from Ningguang) - *Columbina* (Enables Lunar-Crystallize teams) - *Kachina* (Budget Xilonen if you don't have her) - *Mavuika/Furina* (Hefty Off-field damage and buffs)
**Notable constellations:** C3 & C6 - Decent boosts to her Burst damage
**Has role overlap with:** *Noelle/Navia/Zibai/Itto* (On-field Geo options that in the right conditions eclipse Ningguang) --- *Ningguang, while very decent, will not compete with most on-field DPS and should be considered a sentimental investment.*
**7) Chongyun**
Often overlooked cryo unit with very unique properties: **Cooldown reduction** and **Cryo infusion**, both for units that stay inside his Skill field. Cryo infusion only applies to Polearm, sword and claymore users. Also has a 8% Attack speed boost to these units in the field.
Cooldown reduction can be much more potent than one might think: Reducing the cooldown of Xiangling's Pyronado to 17 seconds for example increases team DPS significantly. Cryo infusion is more straightforward: Teams that have a lot of cryo damage but no cryo-infused on-fielder will benefit greatly from the cryo infusion, such as reverse melt teams or Escoffier teams.
He also has very good multipliers on his Skill and Burst, but he is not a good on-field DPS himself due to his clunky and slow attacks. Use him strictly off-field.
**Notable teammates:** *Kaeya/Rosaria/Escoffier* (Staples for Reverse melt or Freeze teams that benefit from having cryo-infused attacks in their field time. Note that a C6 Bennett in the team will mostly negate this, but Chongyun is still valuable in those teams)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - One of the very few sources of cooldown reduction in the game. Can have many niche use cases.
C6 - Notable increase to his Burst damage. Note that each of the 4 blades can all be melted.
**Has role overlap with:** Nobody. He has a very unique role, albeit very rarely used.
**8) Xinyan**
Quite possibly the unit in this roster that gets as close to being the objectively worst pick. Too much downsides in her kit: Split scaling between DEF% and ATK% for defense and offense, pyro application going away when shield is broken, shield not reaching its highest rank with Skill cast against single-target, most of her damage being locked behind Physical. It is very tough to classify Xinyan anything other than a vanity pick.
Technically she has less conditions tied to her pyro application and shield than the other 2 pyro shielders (Yanfei - Thoma) but this never really becomes an advantage in practice.
Needs a buff, directly or indirectly through a buff to Physical damage or Claymore charged attacks.
**Notable teammates:** *Lyney* (Budget pyro shielder option) - *Wriothesley* (Emilie burnmelt but for some reason you don't have Thoma or Dehya) - *Eula* (For low ping swap memes)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Guarantees a crit on the physical damage portion of her Burst. As far as I recall, the only ability in the game that guarantees a crit. Basically makes her a good Favonius holder. Thanks to this, you can completely forego crit rate in favor of other stats for an off-field Xinyan.
C4 - Some physical res shred, nothing fancy but there aren't many of these to go around.
**Has role overlap with:** *Thoma/Yanfei(C4)/Dehya*
**9) Yanfei**
Another on-fielder pyro in this roster, significantly behind Gaming in their respective ideal teams. Still a decent unit, as there are many boons of being a pyro catalyst in this game.
She is somewhat similar to Arle in that most of her damage will not be vaporized in a vaporize setting, so you don't benefit as much from EM as someone like Gaming, Mualani or Hu Tao would.
Due to this, she is better suited to Chevreuse overloaded teams or reaction soups (something like Burgeon + Vaporize).
She is also unique that she prefers crit rate slightly more than every other unit due to her A4 passive.
**Notable teammates:** *Bennett* (Ditto) **-** *Xingqiu/Yelan* (Vaporize teams) - *Chevreuse* (overload teams) - *Xianyun* (Turns her into a plunger since Yanfei has permanent pyro infusion, being a catalyst user)
**Notable constellations:** C4 - Unlocks her off-field shielder playstyle. She can technically hold TTDS in this role but realistically you will want Prototype Amber so that she meets her steep energy requirements. Note that the shield is tied to her Burst, which has a 20 second cooldown.
C6 - DPS boost that also smooths out her stamina problem.
**Has role overlap with:** *Klee/Mavuika/Arlecchino/Hu Tao/Diluc/Gaming/Yoimiya* (Yep, we have that many pyro on-fielders. Yanfei hardly competes with any of those, which explains the low usage rate)
**10) Yun Jin**
Ah, Yun Jin. Has a very unique buff, but betrayed by her circumstances. They wanted her to be a flexible slot to any team and not just Geo teams. Additive damage bonus is interesting, but sadly most units that would benefit from it would want other buffers. Having high energy requirements in most teams as they probably don't have other Geo units is another insult to injury.
She could see more relevance if she had additional utilities, but as is, the off-field buffer slot competition throws her into obscurity.
She is straightforward to build and use: Slap enough ER on her and then fully commit to DEF% (and some CRIT RATE if she is holding Favonius), and put her in a team where your on-fielder performs a lot of normal attacks.
**Notable teammates:** *Yoimiya/Wanderer/Ayato/Arlecchino/Clorinde* (They can utilize her when teammate options are sparse, but given the chance they are better off teaming up with other units)
**Notable constellations:** C2 - Straight up damage bonus to normal attacks, valuable
C6 - Average level attack speed boost, relevant for units that won't suffer from Hit Lag such as Yoimiya and Wanderer.
**Has role overlap with:** Candace (For buffing normal attacks. Candace sees some niche use thanks to units like Mualani) - Mika/Dahlia (ATK SPD buffing, in which Mika and Dahlia are superior and also provide defensive utility. They don't have the additive DMG bonus Yun Jin provides, though)
**11) Yao Yao**
A great pick if you are lacking in Dendro appliers. She is an off-field Dendro applier that also heals. That is all there is to it, and you don't really need more than that.
Note that her Burst is skipped in most teams as it takes field time. Thus, you can completely ignore her energy requirements. Also, don't use her exclusively as a Deepwood holder, ie. in Kinich teams, since Deepwood could be held by anyone and not specifically Dendro units.
Her Skill duration being 10 seconds and cooldown being 15 seconds creates a 5 second downtime which can be unfavorable. This is more of an issue in Bloom/Hyperbloom/Quickbloom and is irrelevant in pure Quicken teams.
**Notable teammates:** *Keqing/Yae/Sethos/Fischl/Tighnari* (Yao Yao is a good sustain option in Aggravate/Quicken teams, but generally eclipsed by Baizhu and Kirara who will instead provide shielding) - *Nilou Bloom / Hyperbloom teams* (Recommended to accompany another Dendro applier)
**Notable constellations:** Yao Yao's constellations are generally irrelevant and you get what you want at C0, so you can skip those.
**Has role overlap with:** *Kirara/Baizhu* (Dendro appliers who are preferred over Yao Yao in Quicken teams since shielding provides interruption immunity) - *Dendro Traveler/Collei* (Free Dendro options for application, although they don't really compete with Yao Yao and usually they complement each other instead)
Commentaires
Her shield uptime combined with her throwing herself backwards was a huge turn off
yeah i dont think ill ever use her too lol i even try to not take her for IT since i feel like other units just do more better for me personally
One team was Ineffa + Varesa + Aino + Sucrose, the other Flins + Bina + Fischl + Lan Yan. Never really felt the backwards throwing being much of an issue and my only alternatives were Kazuha or Jean who would be way worse against the lunar chicken.
She has less value for older players since she's pretty much never the top 1 choice for any team, but for many she's 2nd or 3rd best.
But iverall nice summery. 💙
Chongyun - Currently C3
Lan Yan - Currently C4
Gaming - Currently C5
XinYan - Currently C5
All Others - Currently C6
I am always worried about C6'ing a 4 star since it makes them a lot less exciting to pull on their banners...But Gaming just re-ran. Does Chongyun ever end up on limited banners?
So many choices....
Oh, needed to edit comment. Side note, Paimon's Bargain resets for Feb, Beidou is available for sale, if that helps anyone make up their mind.
I think I'll take my Chongyun to C2 and try the reverse melt comp .. he was my early game king when I first started years back. Pair him with Xiangling and Rosaria and ... Sucrose maybe(?)
Thank you for this !!!
I was thinking on getting Yaoyao's C2 at first, but that cons doesn't seem very useful.
I was thinking on something like Ningguang, Xilonen, Columbina and Lanyan?
I use Lan Yan on my main team, and I could pick her for C6, but I'm not sure an extra charge of her skill does much for me, I've never felt like its not available.
I could grab Xianling's C3, but again, I only use her occasionally, and its just one of the "3 levels" boosts.
The rest I either never use, or have at C6 already.
It might wind up just being the fun pick for Beido. I'll end up making a team of Beido, Dehya, Barbara, and Lynette just to make "end gamers" heads hurt.
I will be happily taking that c3 Lan Yan because I could not care less about continuing to not have Xinyan or Yun Jin LMAO
I’m debating between getting my Gaming to C4 or getting Xiangling to C3 so she’s closer to C4. I don’t use either of them much right now, but they are the ones I use more than the others.