Genshin Impact: Best Weapons For Xiao

Xiao is a really strong DPS in Genshin Impact, especially if he’s paired with a good team. Unfortunately for him, he’s a selfish DPS, which immediately puts him outside the Meta, considering the Meta revolves around quick rotations.

Nevertheless, spending 15 seconds plunging can still be effective if players know how to build him and who to team him with. Of course, when building a character in Genshin Impact, the first thing that comes to mind is what weapon they should wield. A Polearm in Xiao’s hands is essential for his DMG, and with many Polearms out there and some even being super F2P, not all weapons can benefit Xiao in Genshin Impact.

Updated on February 24, 2024, by Nahda Nabiilah: Over the years, the Meta in Genshin Impact has changed significantly, but, it remains around quick swapping and Sub-DPS units. However, some characters like Xiao constantly got Artifacts, Weapons, and new characters that granted them multiple buffs, making them versatile on the battlefield. With recent updates and buffs, Xiao is now more viable as a Main DPS with a better arsenal of weapons to choose from. So, here’s the updated list of the best weapons for Xiao in Genshin Impact.

10 Missive Windspear

• Primary Stats: 510 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 41.3% ATK
• R5 Effect: Within 10s after an Elemental Reaction is triggered, ATK is increased by 24% and Elemental Mastery is increased by 96.

Xiao doesn’t really benefit from the Elemental Mastery granted by Missive Windspear’s passive, but he likes the extra ATK% the weapon gives him. The F2P weapon is a decent choice for Xiao in Genshin Impact, but Missive Windspear can’t be compared to the better F2P and 4-star Polearms that work with Xiao.

9 Blackcliff Pole

• Primary Stats: 510 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 55.1% CRIT DMG
• R5 Effect: After defeating an opponent, ATK is increased by 24% for 30s. This effect has a maximum of 3 stacks, and the duration of each stack is independent of the others.

Because of his demand for ATK and CRIT, not any Polearm works well on Xiao, and for that, his best F2P weapon should be Blackcliff Pole. People can buy this Polearm inside Paimon’s Shop using Masterless Starglitter.

While Blackcliff Pole isn’t comparable to 5-star Polearms, it’s still a good deal for a 4-star weapon. It has a decent Base ATK with a good CRIT DMG buff, stacking up to 72% ATK on its passive. Xiao can easily activate the passive if he’s fighting multiple squishy enemies, but not as effective against bosses and strong opponents.

8 Prospector’s Drill

• Primary Stats: 565 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 27.6% ATK
• R5 Effect: When the wielder is healed or heals others, they will gain a Unity’s Symbol that lasts 30s, up to a maximum of 3 Symbols. When using their Elemental Skill or Burst, all Symbols will be consumed and the Struggle effect will be granted for 10s. For each Symbol consumed, gain 7% ATK and 13% All Elemental DMG Bonus. The Struggle effect can be triggered once every 15s, and Symbols can be gained even when the character is not on the field.

Prospector’s Drill is a decent 4-star choice that sets Xiao to become deadly when he joins the field. When wielding Prospector’s Drill, Xiao must be paired with a healer that can heal him multiple times to fully activate the Polearm’s passive. When Xiao makes it into the field eventually, he will have around 21% ATK and 39% Anemo DMG Bonus from the weapon’s passive alone.

7 Deathmatch

• Primary Stats: 454 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 36.8% CRIT Rate
• R5 Effect: If there are at least 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 32% and DEF is increased by 32%. If there are fewer than 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 48%.

While Deathmatch has a low Base ATK, it makes it up with its decent passive alongside a large 36% CRIT Rate in its secondary stats. Players can benefit from Deathmatch’s high CRIT Rate to enhance Xiao’s CRIT value and have an easier time building him. Additionally, the Polearm grants Xiao up to 48% ATK from its passive, which can prove beneficial in most circumstances. However, considering it’s not easy to get this weapon and how close it is to Blackcliff Pole in terms of DMG, F2P players should stick with Blackcliff instead.

6 Staff Of The Scarlet Sands

• Primary Stats: 542 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 44.1% CRIT Rate
• Effect: The equipping character gains 52% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, the Dream of the Scarlet Sands effect will be gained for 10s: The equipping character will gain 28% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. Max 3 stacks.

As a 5-star weapon in Genshin Impact, Staff Of The Scarlet Sands definitely performs better than most 4-star weapons. However, considering the amount of pulls players would waste on it, it’s not a decent Polearm for Xiao since it’s close to some of the F2P 4-star weapons. If you have the weapon, then Xiao can enjoy its 44% free Crit Rate. If you don’t, don’t pull it just for Xiao.

5 Calamity Queller

• Primary Stats: 741 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 16.5% ATK
• Effect: Gain 12% All Elemental DMG Bonus. Obtain Consummation for 20s after using an Elemental Skill, causing ATK to increase by 3.2% per second. This ATK increase has a maximum of 6 stacks. When the character equipped with this weapon is not on the field, Consummation’s ATK increase is doubled.

Calamity Queller is one of the best Polearms for off-field DMG dealers in Genshin Impact. Having 741 Base ATK on Calamity is great for Xiao since it helps enhance any extra ATK% he gets. The weapon also boosts Xiao’s Anemo DMG without having to fulfill any condition.

4 Lithic Spear

• Primary Stats: 565 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 27.6% ATK
• R5 Effect: For every character in the party who hails from Liyue, the character who equips this weapon gains 11% ATK increase and a 7% CRIT Rate increase. This effect stacks up to 4 times.

While Lithic Spear, on paper, is an amazing Polearm for Xiao in Genshin Impact, fully activating its passive can be brutal. On R5, Xiao can accumulate over 70% ATK and 27% Crit Rate, which is insane. However, to make the most of these stats, you have to match Xiao with as many characters from Liyue as possible. Currently, Zhongli and Xianyun are decent contenders who can activate three stacks of Lithic Spear alongside Xiao, since all three are from Liyue.

3 Vortex Vanquisher

• Primary Stats: 608 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 49.6% ATK
• Effect: Increases Shield Strength by 20%. Scoring hits on opponents increases ATK by 4% for 8s. Max 5 stacks. Can only occur once every 0.3s. While protected by a shield, this ATK increase effect is increased by 100%.

The only downside for Xiao when using Vortex Vanquisher is having to team up with a Genshin Impact shielder. But that’s not a bad pair with Xiao, considering he will constantly lose HP inside his Elemental Burst duration. Vortex Vanquisher is a huge ATK% buff for Xiao and that’s exactly what he wants, since he has one of the highest Base ATK in Genshin Impact.

2 Staff of Homa

• Primary Stats: 608 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 66.2% CRIT DMG
• Effect: HP increased by 20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 0.8% of the wielder’s Max HP. When the wielder’s HP is less than 50%, this ATK bonus is increased by an additional 1% of Max HP.

Staff of Homa is a strong stat Polearm that works on any DPS, especially if they scale with HP. Xiao can use the staff to improve his DMG in Genshin Impact since it’s easy for him to trigger Staff of Homa’s second passive that activates after the wielding character reaches under 50% of their max HP. Staff of Homa also enhances Xiao’s CRIT DMG by around 66%, which is crucial for his plunges. Just remember that Staff of Homa’s passive is basically wasted if Xiao is paired with Xianyun as she’ll continuously heal him above 50% HP.

1 Primordial Jade Winged-Spear

• Primary Stats: 674 Base ATK
• Secondary Stats: 22.1% CRIT Rate
• Effect: On hit, increases ATK by 3.2% for 6s. Max 7 stacks. This effect can only occur once every 0.3s. While in possession of the maximum possible stacks, DMG dealt is increased by 12%.

Primordial Jade Winged-Spear is always in Xiao’s hands in any of his scenes or trailers, so, it’s not surprising to be his best-in-slot Polearm in Genshin Impact. The weapon grants Xiao a 22% CRIT Rate, in addition to the CRIT Rate he gets from Ascension stats. That’s an easy 47% CRIT Rate on Xiao before putting any single artifact on him.

Other than easing Xiao’s build, Primordial Jade Winged-Spear has a high Base ATK, which helps boost any ATK% Xiao gets, including the weapon’s passive that constantly grants Xiao an ATK% boost.