The powerful five-star Hydro Bow character Yelan is quite an enigma in the world of Genshin Impact, but her skillset is certainly not mysterious as she is widely regarded as one of Teyvat’s most versatile yet potent forces.
When built right, Yelan can be one of Genshin’s best recruits, but to ensure she performs to her maximum potential you’ll need to equip her with the best weapon possible.
What’s the best weapon for Yelan in Genshin Impact?
Even though Yelan scales off of health points, the best weapon for her is one that builds her general attack abilities which primarily means statistics like critical rate and critical damage. This can vary depending on whether you are building her for a damage-dealing role or a support role since statistics like energy recharge or elemental mastery can also be crucial for her.
Yelan’s immense versatility is why she’s one of Genshin’s recruits, but it can also make building her a bit tricky since you can go about it in different ways.
I have her built as mainly a secondary damage dealer in my team since that’s the role she shines best in, but she’s also a superb support unit and you can also choose to build her for this role or as somewhere in the middle of the two.
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No matter how you build Yelan, you’re sure to see powerful results since she is an incredibly unstoppable force. But if you do want to maximize her potential, then here’s all you need to know about the best weapon for her.
Yelan’s best weapon in Genshin Impact
Out of all the bows currently available, the best weapon for Yelan is her signature weapon, which is the five-star Aqua Simulacra bow. All aspects of this weapon work extremely well with the Hydro character’s skills, so if you can obtain it for her then you’ll be well on your way to crafting the best Yelan build possible.
Best five-star bows for Yelan in Genshin Impact
It’s as tough to obtain a five-star weapon as it is a five-star character, but these weapons feature the best statistics and will amplify Yelan’s abilities best overall.
Aqua Simulacra
Yelan’s best weapon is her signature five-star Aqua Simulacra bow. Since it was designed to complement the Hydro Archer’s skills, everything about it functions flawlessly for her. “The Cleansing Form” ability of this weapon raises her health points by 16 percent.
When there are enemies nearby, damage dealt by the equipping character is raised 20 percent. This effect activates regardless of whether the equipping recruit is on the battlefield.
Aqua Simulacra also has critical damage that you can build up over time. Yelan works best as a secondary damage dealer, so this is a key aspect for her.
Polar Star
Another excellent option for Yelan is Polar Star, which is the signature weapon of the five-star Hydro Bow character Tartaglia. The “Daylight’s Augury” ability raises elemental skill and elemental burst damage by 12 percent.
This weapon also grants one stack of Ashen Nightstar after a normal attack, a charged attack, an elemental skill, or an elemental burst that has struck an opponent. All stacks of Ashen Nightstar that are gained will be active for 12 seconds and apply the following buffs depending on how many are present.
- With one stack of Ashen Nightstar, attack is raised by 10 percent.
- With two stacks of Ashen Nightstar, attack is raised by 20 percent.
- With three stacks of Ashen Nightstar, attack is raised by 30 percent.
- With four stacks of Ashen Nightstar, attack is raised by 48 percent.
Each stack of Ashen Nightstar is created independently. This bow comes with buildable critical rate which is one of the key statistics you’ll want to add to Yelan.
Elegy for the End
If you’re building your Yelan for a more support-focused role, you might enjoy the Elegy for the End for her. “The Parting Refrain” ability increases elemental mastery by 60 and this bow features energy recharge as its buildable asset.
When the equipping character hits an enemy with their elemental skill or elemental burst, they gain one Sigil of Remembrance. This effect can be activated once every 0.2 seconds and may trigger regardless of whether the equipping character is active on the battlefield.
After four Sigils of Remembrance have been gained, all of them will be consumed to trigger the Millennial Movement: Farewell Song effect for the next 12 seconds. While active, this effect increases elemental mastery by 100 and attack by 20 percent.
After the Millennial Movement: Farewell Song effect has been triggered, no more Sigils of Remembrance can be gained for the next 20 seconds. This bow is an especially solid choice for a Yelan team composition based on elemental reactions since it has a heavy focus on elemental mastery and energy recharge.
Thundering Pulse
Another string option for Yelan is Thundering Pulse which has critical damage you can raise over time. The “Rule By Thunder” ability increases attack by 20 percent and activates the might of the Thunder Emblem which stacks and applies different buffs depending on how many stacks are present.
- With one stack present, normal attack damage is raised by 12 percent.
- With two stacks present, normal attack damage is raised by 24 percent.
- With three stacks present, normal attack damage is raised by 40 percent.
With this bow equipped, you can gain a stack of Thunder Emblem in a few different ways and each stack’s duration will be determined separately from the others.
- One stack of Thunder Emblem will be achieved when a normal attack deals damage.
- This stack lasts for five seconds.
- One stack of Thunder Emblem will be achieved when an elemental skill is used.
- This stack is active for 10 seconds.
- One stack of Thunder Emblem will be achieved when energy is less than 100 percent.
- This stack stays until energy is full.
Best four-star bows for Yelan in Genshin Impact
Most players will likely need to equip Yelan with a four-star bow until they are able to obtain a better one. Luckily, there are some decent options you can equip the Hydro character with.
The Stringless
This bow has elemental mastery as its buildable asset, so it’s a string choice when you Yelan is on an elemental reaction-focused team. The “Arrowless Song” ability increases elemental skill and burst damage by 24 percent.
Favonius Warbow
The Favonius Warbow is another option for a more support-focused Yelan build and comes with energy recharge you can build over time. This weapon’s “Windfall” ability causes critical hits to have a 60 percent chance of restoring elemental particles that then regenerate six energy for the equipping recruit. You can only activate this effect once every 12 seconds.
The Viridescent Hunt
If your Yelan is more secondary damage dealing focused, this bow is currently the only four-star bow that has buildable critical rate for her. The “Verdant Wind” ability causes normal and charged attacks that strike an opponent to have a 50 percent chance of activating a cyclone that consistently attracts nearby foes to then deal 40 percent of attack as damage against them every 0.5 seconds for a total of two seconds. You can only trigger these effects once every 14 seconds.
Blackcliff Warbow
The singular four-star bow that has critical damage as its secondary statistic is Blackcliff Warbow, another viable choice for Yelan. Blackcliff Warbow’s “Press the Advantage” ability raises attack by 12 percent for 30 seconds after an enemy has been defeated. This ability can stack up to three times and each stack will be calculated independently from the others.
