Genshin Impact’s highly beloved antisocial adeptus from Liyue is about to have his fourth official banner run in the Version 3.4 update. Xiao is a five-star Anemo Polearm character that is one of Genshin’s most effective damage dealers when he has the right team to protect and amplify his skillset.
Related: Genshin Impact leaks provide a first look at Fontaine character concepts
Xiao is a unique character that balances his powerful damage-dealing capabilities with a health-draining skillset. Thus, he is a character that requires precision and focus otherwise he will be vanquished on the battlefield.
The burdens of the Anemo character’s skillset can easily be negated when he has the right teammates alongside him in battle. This means that any Genshin player seeking to utilize the Anemo adeptus should carefully consider who they have join Xiao in battle because this can mean the difference between his survival and his death.
The best Xiao team in Genshin Impact
While some primary damage dealers require a very precise and specific kind of team composition to see success, Xiao is on the more flexible side. He will fit into most teams fairly well but will truly shine when an entire team composition is carefully constructed around his skillset.
Xiao may be a flexible character, but he is only flexible in the sense that he will play well with many Genshin characters. He is not a versatile character when it comes to the role that he can play within a team because his entire skillset is based around him being a primary damage-dealing force.
How to create a good team comp for Xiao
Genshin players will always want to follow a general team composition format when crafting a solid team to take on adventures in Teyvat. A good team composition must have a variety of character types as creating a team made entirely of any one character type will result in all battles feeling very difficult.
The general format for a good team composition includes a primary damage dealer, a secondary damage dealer, a support unit, and a miscellaneous character based on whatever the team is lacking. For Xiao, this structure remains mostly the same.
- Xiao should function as the primary damage dealer regardless of what team he is placed in because his skillset requires him to be on the battlefield frequently to deal damage.
- The second character should be a secondary damage dealer that can fill in the gaps between Xiao’s cooldowns, dish out solid amounts of damage, and help create elemental reactions.
- The third character needs to be some kind of protective character that will help keep Xiao alive. This includes shielding or healing characters.
- The fourth character can be any character type but strongly benefits from being another character that is capable of keeping Xiao safe or regenerating his health.
The five best Xiao team compositions in Genshin Impact
Xiao is fairly flexible in regard to which characters he will perform well alongside. But bny player seeking to make the best Xiao team possible will want to utilize the following characters:
- Five-star Anemo Sword character Jean
- Five-star Geo Sword character Albedo
- Five-star Hydro Bow character Yelan
- Five-star Geo Polearm character Zhongli
- Five-star Electro Polearm character Raiden Shogun
- Four-star Anemo Bow character Faruzan
- Four-star Cryo Claymore character Chongyun
- Four-star Pyro Sword character Bennett
- Four-star Hydro Sword character Xinqiu
- Four-star Anemo Catalyst character Sucrose
- Four-star Cryo Bow character Diona
- Four-star Pyro Polearm character Xiangling
Crafting a team with Xiao and three of the aforementioned characters will help him to truly shine. With all of the best teammates for Xiao in mind, here are five of the most powerful team compositions that players can craft.
1) Xiao, Albedo, Jean, and Zhongli
Xiao’s complex health-draining abilities are managed with ease in this double Anemo double Geo lineup. This team is capable of restoring Xiao’s health and protecting him with tough shields.
Jean excels at healing Xiao, herself, and her teammates while Zhongli will provide such strong shields that minimal healing should end up being needed at all. Albedo works as the secondary damage dealer dishing out attacks in between Xiao’s moves while Jean and Zhongli both function mostly in a support capacity.
Because there are two Anemo characters and two Geo characters within this team, players will receive the benefits of both Anemo and Geo elemental resonance. Each unique type of elemental resonance grants unique special buffs that can drastically affect the overall synergy of any team composition.
Anemo resonance decreases stamina depletion by 15 percent, increases movement speed by 10 percent, and shortens skill cooldown by five percent. Geo resonance increases shield strength by 15 percent, increases the damage dealt by characters protected within a shield by 15 percent, and causes enemies that players deal damage against to then have their Geo resistance decreased by 20 percent for 15 seconds following the instance of damage dealt against them.
This team composition is generally regarded among the Genshin community as the current best possible team lineup for Xiao’s skillset. It is, however, composed of four five-star characters which mean that it is quite costly to create.
2) Xiao, Faruzan, Yelan, and Zhongli
This team lineup maintains the Anemo resonance which thus allows players to enjoy the same benefits. Yelan joins Xiao in battle as the secondary damage dealer there to utilize her Hydro attacks while Xiao’s powerful Anemo abilities are on cooldown. The Hydro character also excels at support so she may function in this role too.
Zhongli joins Xiao again in this lineup as a support character because his Geo shields are nearly impenetrable. This ensures that Xiao stays safe most of the time and thus balances out his health-draining abilities by ensuring that enemies aren’t easily able to attack him.
The last member of this lineup is Faruzan, who arrived in the Version 3.3 update with Scaramouche reborn as the playable Wanderer and has quickly become a favorite support character among the Genshin community due to her impressive Anemo support skillset. She applies Anemo resistance decrease against foes which thus allows Xiao to deal damage more efficiently.
This team composition should be a bit more doable for most players since it has one four-star unit within it. Any players struggling to gain the five-star characters on this team could consider potential substitutions like switching Yelan for the four-star Hydro Sword character Xingqiu and Zhongli for the four-star Cryo Bow character Diona.
3) Xiao, Raiden Shogun, Bennett, and Zhongli
Another solid team lineup brings together Xiao, Raiden Shogun, Bennett, and Zhongli. This team has no elemental resonance but is capable of creating many different elemental reactions which easily makes up for the lack of elemental resonance.
Within this team, Raiden Shogun can function as both a secondary damage dealer and a support unit. She is one of Genshin’s best characters because of her immense versatility and power and also works as a battery for recharging energy quickly.
The four-star Pyro Sword character Bennett is both a healer and an attack buffer. He functions in a support capacity and will be able to heal Xiao when needed while also providing a powerful attack buff through his elemental burst.
Lastly, Zhongli joins Xiao once again due to his immensely strong shields. The Geo character ensures that Xiao and the rest of the team have a protective environment and overall works as a strong support unit.
4) Xiao, Xiangling, Sucrose, and Bennett
This team lineup is one of the easiest ones to build since it is made up of just one five-star character and three four-star characters. Although it has three four-star characters, it is still quite powerful.
Because two Pyro characters are on this team, players will receive Pyro elemental resonance. This means that the team receives a 25 percent attack bonus and that they will be affected by Cryo for 40 percent less time. The attack boost gained from this is a nice buff to Xiao’s skillset.
Within this team, Xiangling works as the secondary damage dealer applying Pyro when needed. Her elemental burst is also immensely useful within this lineup since she can apply it and leave the battlefield so that it will still actively spin around Xiao while he dishes out Anemo damage.
Bennett returns to this lineup to provide healing and attack buffing since these are two immensely important aspects in ensuring Xiao’s success. Lastly, the Anemo character Sucrose joins the roster as a battery and general support unit buffing and helping the rest of the team.
5) Xiao, Xingqiu, Chongyun, and Diona
Another team that is easy for most players to make includes Xiao plus three different four-star characters. This team is built around the Frozen elemental reaction thanks to it having two Cryo characters plus one Hydro one.
Because both Chongyun and Diona are on this team it gains Cryo elemental resonance. This causes the entire party to be affected by Electro for 40 percent less time and increases critical rate against foes that are Frozen or affected by Cryo by 15 percent.
Xingqiu works as the secondary damage dealer on this team and will apply Hydro with ease while also effectively filling in the gaps between Xiao’s skills. Chongyun also works in a secondary damage-dealing capacity and should be utilized after Xinqiu to activate the Frozen elemental reaction.
The last member of this team is Diona who is a Cryo Bow character that works as a great support unit. She provides solid shields through her elemental skill and can heal her teammates through her elemental burst.
