The newest five-star character, Zhongli, is in the spotlight of Genshin Impact right now thanks to his dedicated Banner, Gentry of Hermitage, which comes alongside his full character release. Players are amped up for the new polearm wielder with a Geo Vision ever since getting a taste of his combat during the A New Star Approaches quest, leaving the new Pyro four-star Xinyan in his shadow.
Five-stars in Genshin Impact are all the hype, between the adorable ice child Qiqi or the dark and brooding Diluc, who is basically a replica of Batman. But for free-to-play and low-budget players, four-star characters are what really matters. There are a number of formidable four-star heroes on the Genshin Impact roster, such as the recently free Fischl, who was obtainable via the Unreconciled Stars event. For F2P and budgeting players, should they spend their Primogems on the newest four-star fighter Xinyan, or save for future Banners?
Xinyan's Combat and Abilities
Xinyan, a guitarist with a southern accent, features a Pyro Vision and wields a claymore as her weapon of choice. Similar to the adorable music idol Barbara, Xinyan's moves are styled around a musical theme. Also similar to Barbara's Elemental Skill that affects surrounding enemies with Hydro, Xinyan's Elemental Skill has the potential for setting enemies on fire, but unlike Barbara, this also acts as a shield, and its damage absorption rate scales with Xinyan's defense. Like Noelle, Xinyan is a DPS tank.
Like Barbara, Xinyan's Elemental Burst is a musical finale. Titled "Riff Revolution," Xinyan's surroundings will explode and launch enemies. Players should keep in mind, however, that this attack deals much more Physical Damage than it does Pyro Damage, which is why it's important to focus on her DPS abilities, should players pull her from the gacha. Not only does she have potential for being a hefty damage dealer, but she also works flexibly for team composition.
The main quirk with Xinyan is that these damage-based abilities don't truly come alive until she reaches Constellation 2, meaning that players may need to pull her a few times in order for her to stand out amongst other Genshin Impact characters. Getting her up to Constellation 2 ensures that her Crit rate will increase by 100% for her ultimate, which also has an effect on her Constellation 1 perk as well as her excessively long cooldowns.
Comparing Xinyan to Other Pyro Characters
Unless it's Amber, Xinyan has tough competition among the best Pyro Visions in Genshin Impact, even just among the other four-star characters. Bennett, a sword wielder, is considered S-tier in the Genshin community. With the right build, he can be not just a Pyro support teammate but can deal major Pyro damage with low cooldown rates. Xiangling is similar and is even free to acquire in-game.
As a Pyro character who utilizes a claymore in combat, Xinyan doesn't quite hold up against Diluc, who does an impressive amount of damage whether he's built with DPS or Pyro DMG as his main stat. That being said, for financially-minded players who wish to get their hands on the rare five-star character, Xinyan may be a good substitute, though her playstyle is quite different.
The Entire Gentry of Hermitage Banner
Of course, when spending money on any Banner, players should take into consideration all characters that are featured on it. There's a chance (albeit very low) to pull Zhongli, who players are more impressed by than his foe Tartaglia because of his Elemental Burst that calls a meteorite from the sky, pushing possible total damage dealt up into the six-digits. He's also the only Geo Vision that wields a polearm.
Also on his Banner is Razor and Chongyun, both claymore four-stars that fall under the S-tier rating. Considering a Banner as a whole, even if Xinyan isn't pulled, Chongyun and Razor most likely will be, and both have proven themselves as excellent additions to the team, meaning that Gentry of Hermitage is a valuable Banner that shouldn't be missed. In other words, it's a solid investment.
Genshin Impact is available now on mobile devices, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.