Should you pull for Yoimiya or Yae Miko in Genshin Impact?

A matchup between two solid damage dealing forces.

Images via miHoYo | Remix by Kacee Fay

Genshin Impact’s Version 3.7 update offers no new five-star units for players to add to their roster but does feature four banner reruns. The first half of Version 3.7 features a banner matchup between Yoimiya and Yae Miko so players will need to choose which of the two they want to pull for.

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Featured banner runs that offer a new five-star Teyvat recruit are generally fairly easy to make decisions on as most players either know whether they want a new unit or not. Banner reruns, however, can be extremely tricky to navigate as Genshin’s ever-growing roster of playable characters features many solid recruits Travelers can add to their teams which makes choosing between those who have been around for a while tough.

Image via miHoYo

The first half of Genshin’s Version 3.7 update presents players with the fourth run of Yoimiya’s “Tapestry of Golden Flames” featured banner, alongside the third run of Yae Miko’s “Everbloom Violent” featured banner. Alongside both five-star characters is the official debut of the four-star Dendro Sword character Kirara, who will also be available with an increased drop rate for the entire duration of phase one.

Both Yoimiya and Yae Miko hail from Inazuma and possess solid damage-dealing skillsets, so a banner matchup featuring the two presents players with a rather complex decision. Before players choose to spend their Primogems on either, they should consider all aspects of each character carefully and also contemplate not pulling for either recruit.

Related: Genshin Version 3.8 leaks: New characters, banners, events, details

Is Yoimiya worth pulling for in Genshin?

Yoimiya’s skillset is suited toward her functioning in a primary damage-dealing role. She can sometimes run as a duo DPS alongside another strong DPS, but otherwise, Yoimiya should always be the character who spends the most time out on the battlefield dishing out heavy amounts of damage.

The Pyro Bow character packs a firework-based skillset since she owns Naganohara Fireworks in Inazuma. Because of this, Yoimiya has one of the most visually stunning skillsets in all of Teyvat as vibrant, explosive fireworks are prominent in every move she makes.

Yoimiya surrounded by fireworks.
Image via miHoYo

But while Yoimiya’s abilities look incredible, her skillset doesn’t quite match it and feels lackluster in comparison to other five-star units. Yomiya falls into the trap many bow characters face as she is only capable of effectively taking on single targets on her own, which is one of the worst flaws a primary damage dealer in Genshin can have.

When you compare Yoimiya to characters with similar capabilities, she becomes even less desirable. The five-star Cryo Bow character Ganyu is also a primary damage-dealing force who wields a bow, but unlike Yoimiya she is capable of effectively tackling many targets at once which makes her one of Genshin’s most powerful damage-dealing forces.

Hu Tao is a five-star Pyro Polearm character who is of the same element as Yoimiya and similarly has skills suited for a damage-dealing skillset.

And even though Hu Tao’s health-draining abilities can be complex to manage, she still reigns supreme as Teyvat’s strongest Pyro character and is a much better recruit than Yoimiya despite being one of Genshin’s oldest exclusive five-star units.

Yoimiya with fireworks behind her.
Image via miHoYo

Depending on what kind of team lineup you’re looking to create, Yoimiya might be a necessity you can’t pass up. She is the only five-star Pyro Bow unit in existence, which makes her a rather unique character type that many players might desire simply to fulfill their desired team composition.

Overall, Yoimiya is not a bad character by any means, but she doesn’t fully live up to her five-star status and is easily outperformed by most other five-star units.

If you’re pulling for characters based on who is the best of the best, Yoimiya is not a recruit you should spend your Primogems on.

Is Yae Miko worth pulling for in Genshin Impact?

The Electro kitsune has a solid skillset suited toward a role as a secondary damage dealer within a team lineup. Yae Miko will function best when players use her to back up their main damage dealer in between their cooldowns.

Although Yae Miko can be powerful, she is also overly complex for results that aren’t really worth the effort. Characters like Hu Tao and Xiao can be difficult to manage since they possess health-draining abilities, but the end results are always well worth the learning curve and precision required, while Yae Miko’s complexities never feel worth dealing with for the end result.

Image via miHoYo

Yae Miko has a turret placing ability, which is part of her elemental skill, that requires immense precision and focus. This ability is rather difficult to manage and never feels worth the effort for the results it draws, but it does feature a fairly low cooldown which allows players to use it fairly frequently.

If you’re seeking a great Electro applicator, Yae Miko does excel in this field. But when compared to other characters of a similar type, she does seem far less impressive and not worth players spending their Primogems on.

Raiden Shogun is a five-star Electro Polearm character who can be a primary damage dealer, a secondary damage dealer, or a support unit and will flawlessly function in any role she’s given. Both characters wield the Electro element but Raiden Shogun outperforms Yae Miko in every way.

Image via miHoYo

As far as catalyst characters who also function in a secondary damage dealer role, players can compare Yae Miko to the five-star Dendro Catalyst recruit Nahida. Nahida is extremely versatile and way outshines Yae Miko as a secondary damage dealer while also being capable of delivering powerful support and even running as the main damage-dealing force on a team.

Yae Miko is a powerful recruit for certain lineups and can be particularly useful since she is the only five-star Electro Catalyst character in existence. Some players may need her to construct their desired team lineup, and although she’s not the most powerful character in existence, she is certainly not a weak recruit.

Should you wish for Yoimiya or Yae Miko in Genshin?

Both Yoimiya and Yae Miko are solid recruits, but neither is among the top-tier characters players can recruit in Genshin. This means players will want to consider wishing for both of them carefully as not pulling for either is a third option Travelers can contemplate, especially with how strong the phase two banners will be.

Image via miHoYo

Based on my experience with both characters and the rest of Teyvat’s recruits, I believe players should strongly consider skipping both Yoimiya and Yae Miko to spend their Wishes on other recruits. Neither character is bad, but many of Teyvat’s recruits are much stronger, more versatile, and generally better options that truly feel worth spending Primogems on.

If you are determined to pull for one of the two recruits and want to do so based on which is better, the answer is generally Yae Miko. However, since Yoimiya is suited to a role as a primary damage dealer and Yae Miko is suited for functioning as a secondary damage dealer, a direct comparison is rather tough.

Image via miHoYo

While Yae Miko may be objectively better overall, her complexities do make her tedious to play while Yoimiya is always a blast to traverse through battles with. I enjoy playing with Yoimiya far more than Yae Miko and find her to be a more solid recruit overall than Yae Miko even though the latter technically packs a more powerful skillset.

Regardless of whether you choose Yoimiya or Yae Miko, building a team lineup will be a rather tough and specific process. Neither is very versatile which makes building a team for each of them a complex process as they will only truly shine in very specific team lineups.

Another factor that I believe makes Yoimiya the stronger candidate of the two is she works well with a wide variety of teams while Yae Miko’s team options are more limited. Players also generally want to construct a team lineup based around the primary damage dealer but have to work around Yae Miko even though she is meant to be a secondary damage dealer since she has very specific requirements while Yoimiya is much more flexible despite being the primary damage dealer running the show.

Image via miHoYo

Unless you specifically like Yoimiya and Yae Miko’s respective skill sets or personalities, I believe the best decision is to consider skipping both of them to save your Primogems for someone else. Phase two will feature Alhaitham and Kaedehara Kazuha, who are two of Genshin’s strongest recruits, so players would be much better off spending their Wishes on them.

Even if Alhaitham and Kazuha don’t appeal to you, there are still better five-star options on the horizon. Genshin 3.8 will feature four more rerun banners with the massive Hydro region of Fontaine likely to follow shortly after. Fontaine is sure to introduce many new recruits including the Hydro Archon herself, so Travelers shouldn’t spend their Primogems and Wishes on Yoimiya or Yae Miko unless they truly want to.


We gathered this information by playing Genshin Impact Version 3.7 “Duel! The Summoners’ Summit!” on PC.

Author
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Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.