Learn how to put together the best possible Yanfei build in Genshin Impact
Want to learn how to create the best build for Yanfei in Genshin Impact?Animalistic demigod, maritime lawyer, Pyro Catalyst wielder —Genshin Impact’s Yanfei certainly has a lot of plates spinning. This young polymath from Liyue has achieved a lot in a short time, so if you end up with her in your adventuring party, you’ll be unsurprised to learn that she performs best when leading the charge as your DPS main with the help of her trusty book of elemental power.
It’s worth noting that Yanfei compares favourably tofellow Pyro Catalyst user Klee. While Klee undeniably outdoes Yanfei in overall power, she’s a 5-star character who’s only available during limited events; while Yanfei is a 4-star character who can be pulled at any time, and yet with the right build can be just as useful in your party. Read on below for our tips and suggestions for putting together the best Yanfei build.
Best Genshin Impact Yanfei build for main DPS
Alternative:The Widsith
Learned and bookish Yanfei carries a Catalyst as her weapon of choice. Unlike other weapon types in Genshin Impact, which focus on more traditional melee combat attacks, Catalysts enhance the wielder’s elemental attacks.
Having a Catalyst character as your DPS main is a unique challenge, and the most important consideration when choosing Yanfei’s weapon is improving her crit rate. To best achieve this, you want to equip her withLost Prayer to the Sacred Winds. This Catalyst increases the bearer’s Movement Speed by 10%, as well as granting them an Elemental DMG Bonus every 4 seconds. This bonus stacks up to four times and persists until Yanfei falls or otherwise leaves combat.
Since Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds can be tricky to obtain as a 5-star weapon, a good 4-star alternative isThe Widsith. When Yanfei enters the field of combat equipped with this Catalyst, she will gain a random theme song for 10 seconds. Depending on the song this will either grant a huge increase to her Base Attack (Recitative), Elemental DMG (Aria), or Elemental Mastery (Interlude).
Alernatives:Wanderer’s Troupe
Since Yanfei, in her role as a Catalyst wielder, by necessity goes all-in on her elemental attacks, you want to equip the Artifact set that supports her Pyro powers most directly. Cut to the chase and equip four pieces from theCrimson Witch of Flamesset as soon as you have them in hand. The two-piece bonus is a 15% increase to all Pyro DMG. Meanwhile, the four-piece bonus increases the DMG from Overloaded and Burningelemental reactionsby 40%, and the Vaporise and Melt reactions by 15%; in addition to giving you a very nice 50% again on top of your two-piece set bonus when you use Yanfei’s Elemental Skill (for up to 10 seconds, and stacking up to three times).
Alternatively, equip four pieces from theWanderer’s Troupeset for a highly desirable 35% increase to Yanfei’s Charged Attacks from her Catalyst (on top of the +80 Elemental Mastery you’ll get from the two-piece set). There aren’t too many artifacts that specifically support Normal Attacks with a Catalyst, so this is well worth considering when working with a Catalyst wielder as DPS.
Focus on the follow stat and substat priorities when choosing Yanfei’s artifacts:
Knowledge is power in Yanfei’s case, so unsurprisingly it’s her Catalyst Normal AttackSeal of Approvalthat’s most worth prioritising as part of her best build. It’s all about CRIT Rate with Yanfei, but uniquely she also produces stamina-boosting Scarlet Seals with every normal attack, which allow her to stay active in battle for longer.
Below is a full list of Yanfei’s Talents and their uses:
5* alternative:Zhongli replacing Noelle on shield
Yanfei is an unusual Genshin Impact character, in that she has an ideal team composition that’s widely agreed upon by what feels like an actual majority of players. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who’d argue against pairing her withXingqiuas sub DPS to take advantage of the extra damage granted by theVaporize reaction, whichXingqiucan trigger continuously whenever Yanfei uses her Pyro element. Similarly, havingBennetton the team as a healer is a no-brainer, since his Elemental Burst buffs the team’s ATK and heals, while his Fervent Flames resonance with Yanfei adds a further 25% to the team’s ATK while reducing their vulnerability to Cryo DMG.
Zhongliis widely agreed to be Yanfei’s best shield support, since his Elemental Burst provides crowd control, and with the right artifact set (Archaic Petra) he can buff the team’s Pyro DMG. However, as a 5-star character he can be difficult (and expensive) to obtain, so his fellow Geo shield characterNoellewill do in a pinch. What she lacks in crowd control she makes up for with healing, which isn’t vital when she’s placed on a team with Bennett, but is nice to have nevertheless
Fully ascending Yanfei requires the following materials:
What stands out on this list is how much jade you’re going to need. Fortunately, the Noctilucous Jade can be fairly easily foraged from caves throughout Yanfei’s native Liyue. Meanwhile, Juvenile Jade is obtained by defeating Primo Geovishap enemies at Lvl 30+.
To fully level up one of Yanfei’s talents, you’ll need the following materials:
To triple crown Yanfei’s talents, you’ll need to collect all of these materials three times over.You’ll be able to pick up Gold books at the Taishan Mansion domain on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. As ever, Insignias come from defeating Treasure Hoarder enemies, while Bloodjade Branches are awarded for successfully completing the Azhdaha Challenge at Lvl 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight are earned through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.
Many of Yanfei’s Constellations increase the power and utility of her Scarlet Seals. If you’re committed to building Yanfei as your DPS main, it’s well worth getting her Constellations all the way up to Level 6, so you can benefit from an increased cap on this useful stamina bonus.
Here’s a full list of Yanfei’s Constellations and what they do:
Since her introduction in Version 1.6, Yanfei has been available to pull from the gacha any time youWishon the Wanderlust Invocation banner (standard wish), and as a 4-star character she’s also available on all Character and Weapon Event banners. Furthermore, she’ll sometimes feature with a boosted drop rate onCharacter Event Wish banners.
Now you know everything you need to put together the best Yanfei build in Genshin Impact, why not check out ourGenshin Impact character tier listto see who else you might want in your party? There are loads of other Pyro characters out there, such as powerful bow-wielderYoimiya; and if you decide you want to try them out, you can refer to our guide ongetting more characters in Genshin Impactto expand your roster.
