Yanfei Build Guide For Genshin Impact

Learn how to master Yanfei in Genshin Impact with this ultimate build guide. Become a master of DPS with Yanfei by following this guide.

Yanfei is a 4*Pyro Catalyst DPS who primarily uses her Normal and Charged Attacks to deal devastating DMG.

What’s also interesting about Yanfei is that, with some constellations, she can completely shift from a main DPS role into a Support that shields, buffs ATK, and even heals. This playstyle is lovingly referred to by the community as Tankfei, as the shield she produces is among some of the beefiest in the entire game.

In this Yanfei build guide, our primary focus will be to show you how to make the best and most optimal main DPS Yanfei by covering her:

  • Talent priority
  • Constellation value
  • Weapon choices
  • Best artifacts
  • Team compositions

However, if the idea of Tankfei tickles your fancy, don’t worry, as we’ll make sure to include all the info you need to know in order to play Yanfei in this seemingly gimmicky but strangely meta-viable way.

Related:Genshin Impact Beginner’s GuideGenshin Impact Weapon Tier ListBest Artifacts For Each Character In Genshin Impact

Table of ContentsShow

Yanfei’s Talent Priority

Genshin Impact Yanfei Talent Priority
TalentDescriptionPriority
Normal Attack
(Seal of Approval)
Normal Attack
Shoots fireballs that deal up to three counts of Pyro DMG.
When Yanfei’s Normal Attacks hit enemies, they will grant her a single Scarlet Seal. Yanfei may possess a maximum of 3 Scarlet Seals, and each time this effect is triggered, the duration of currently possessed Scarlet Seals will refresh.
Each Scarlet Seal will decrease Yanfei’s Stamina consumption and will disappear when she leaves the field.  

Charged Attack
Consumes Stamina and all Scarlet Seals before dealing AoE Pyro DMG to opponents after a short casting time.
This Charged Attack’s AoE and DMG will increase according to the amount of Scarlet Seals consumed.  

Plunging Attack
Gathering the power of Pyro, Yanfei plunges towards the ground from mid-air, damaging all opponents in her path. Deals AoE Pyro DMG upon impact with the ground.
Yanfei’s strongest asset is her Charged Attack, featuring a fairly sizeable DMG multiplier, especially for a Pyro DMG instance that you can Melt or Vaporize for loads of extra DMG.
This is, without a doubt, Yanfei’s most important talent.  

However, you also have to know how to use it correctly. You can’t just spam her Charged Attacks, as this would quickly deplete your Stamina. Each Normal Attack gives Yanfei a counter that both reduces the Stamina cost of her next Charged Attack and increases its DMG.
For the strongest Charged Attack hits, either use Normal Attacks or other abilities to first max out her Scarlet Seals.  
Elemental Skill
(Signed Edict)
Summons blistering flames that deal AoE Pyro DMG.
Opponents hit by the flames will grant Yanfei the maximum number of Scarlet Seals.
Despite being Yanfei’s least important talent, her Elemental Skill should still be leveled up as high as resources allow.
It deals a fair bit of DMG and instantly maxes out the Scarlet Seal stacks.
Elemental Burst
(Done Deal)  
Triggers a spray of intense flames that rush at nearby opponents, dealing AoE Pyro DMG, granting Yanfei the maximum number of Scarlet Seals, and applying Brilliance to her.  

Brilliance
Has the following effects:
• Grants Yanfei a Scarlet Seal at fixed intervals.
• Increases the DMG dealt by her Charged Attacks.  

The effects of Brilliance will end if Yanfei leaves the field or falls in battle.
Yanfei’s Burst deals AoE DMG around her that does about as much DMG as her Elemental Skill.
More importantly, it gives her a buff that increases her Charged Attack DMG and passively generates one Scarlet Seal per second.  

This is Yanfei’s second-priority talent, as the extra DMG it provides is still dependent on the base DMG of her Charged Attacks.

Yanfei’s Passive Talents

Genshin Impact Yanfei Passive Talents
Talent NameDescriptionEvaluation
Encyclopedic ExpertiseDisplays the location of nearby resources unique to Liyue on the mini-map.Normally, we’d say these types of passives are bad, but Liyue is home to some of the most difficult to obtain and best-hidden resources.
Experienced players already know where to find these resources, but for beginners, this passive is fairly useful.
ProvisoWhen Yanfei consumes Scarlet Seals by using a Charged Attack, each Scarlet Seal will increase Yanfei’s Pyro DMG Bonus by 5%. This effect lasts for 6s. When a Charged Attack is used again during the effect’s duration, it will dispel the previous effect.Scarlet Seals are easy enough to obtain that this passive can be thought of as a permanent 15-20% (depending on constellations) Pyro DMG buff.
That’s enough to make this an amazing talent.
Blazing EyeWhen Yanfei’s Charged Attack deals a CRIT Hit to opponents, she will deal an additional instance of AoE Pyro
DMG equal to 80% of her ATK. This DMG counts as Charged Attack DMG.
Yanfei’s second ascension talent rewards you for scoring Charged Attack CRITs with an instance of DMG as strong as a mid-level N1 Normal Attack.
While it’s a shame that this DMG won’t benefit from Elemental Reactions, it’s still a fairly sizeable bonus that rewards you for doing something all DPS characters want to do anyway.
Overall, this talent is decent in terms of impact and excellent in terms of fun factor and visual oomph.

Yanfei has one of the most polished playstyles among the game’s roster, and we’re including 5* characters here.

For reference, Klee—the game’s 5* Pyro Catalyst main DPS and Yanfei’s closest analog—may do a bit more DMG than Yanfei, but you’d have a much better time using Yanfei due to the extra polish.

Weaving Charged Attacks in-between Yanfei’s Normal Attacks feels natural and gives another element to gameplay, which can be rather monotonous with most characters or tedious with clunky characters like Klee.

Keeping track of her Scarlet Seals is easy enough to do, but still fun and engaging.

It helps that she also has several means of instantly generating maximum stacks for when you need a lot of DMG quickly.

What’s more, the range and tracking of her attacks are some of the best among all Catalyst users.

Even at C0, Yanfei is not just powerful, but also a joy to play.

With constellations, however, she gets even better.

Related:Genshin Impact Tier ListHow To Get Characters In Genshin Impact?Best Games Like Genshin Impact

Yanfei’s Constellations

Genshin Impact Yanfei Constellations
Constellation NameDescriptionEvaluation
The Law Knows No KindnessWhen Yanfei uses her Charged Attack, each existing Scarlet Seal additionally reduces the stamina cost of this Charged Attack by 10% and increases resistance against interruption during its release.C1 increases the Stamina reduction per Scarlet Seal from 15% to 25%. This reduces the cost of her max Seal Charged Attacks from 32.5 Stamina to merely 7.5 Stamina.
And seeing how important Stamina is for dodging, especially in dangerous endgame content where enemies hit like a truck, this constellation offers immense value.
Right of Final InterpretationIncreases Yanfei’s Charged Attack CRIT Rate by 20% against enemies below 50% HP.Even with all these restrictions—only Charged Attacks and only against weakened enemies—getting 20% extra CRIT Rate would be enough to call this a strong constellation.
Keep in mind also that Yanfei gets a bit of extra DMG from her passive talent whenever her Charged Attacks score a CRIT, adding even more value to this constellation.
Samadhi Fire-ForgedIncreases the Level of Signed Edict by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Yanfei’s C3 grants a noticeable DPS boost by greatly increasing her Charged Attack DMG bonus.
This constellation provides a solid DMG buff.
Supreme AmnestyWhen Done Deal is used: Creates a shield that absorbs up to 45% of Yanfei’s Max HP for 15s.
This shield absorbs Pyro DMG 250% more effectively.
For main DPS Yanfei, C4 offers some extra survivability—nothing to laugh at, but nothing amazing either.  

However, this constellation is arguably her most useful one thanks to unlocking her Tankfei playstyle, which we’ll talk more about later.
Abiding AffidavitIncreases the Level of Done Deal by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.Yanfei’s C5 is a decent DPS upgrade—nothing amazing but definitely appreciated for main DPS Yanfei.
Extra ClauseIncreases the maximum number of Scarlet Seals by 1.Yanfei’s C6 has some far-reaching effects:
• It makes her max stack Charged Attacks cost 0 Stamina.
• It greatly increases the DMG multiplier of max stack Charged Attacks.
• It increases the extra Pyro DMG obtained from her passive from 15% to 20%.  

Overall, C6 is an amazing constellation that adds a ton of value in a unique way.

Yanfei’s constellations once again showcase how well-crafted her entire kit is.

They increase the effectiveness of her Charged Attacks, make them less Stamina costly, and even add some durability.

C1 is arguably her most important talent, as dashing to avoid DMG is a core part of the game’s combat.

C6 is the second most important talent. C2, C3, and C5 all add some DMG boosts that are nice to have but hardly worth pulling for unless you’re specifically aiming for C6.

C4 may seem out of place and tacked on at first glance, but given that Yanfei’s 15-second Burst buff ends prematurely if you switch her out for a different character, it works splendidly to make her more self-sustaining.

The Tankfei playstyle enabled by C4 effectively functions as a brand new character—allowing you to forgo all of Yanfei’s DMG in favor of Supporting the team. Through this constellation and some clever weapon and artifact choices, Tankfei can function as the team shielder, healer, and ATK buffer, all at the same time.

Best Weapons For Yanfei

Genshin Impact Weapon
Weapon RarityExplanation
Skyward Atlas
5*
Skyward Atlas is a no-nonsense 5* weapon that features great stats and has a relatively universal passive which Yanfei can make use of.
Other Catalysts may seem more powerful, but their passives are all made to fit specific characters and Yanfei is not one of them.  

If you have a main DPS C4+ Yanfei, then Memory of Dust gets better than Skyward Atlas.
Lost Prayer to the Sacred Wings
5*
Lost Prayer works rather well on main DPS Yanfei. She gets a lot of mileage out of the CRIT Rate substat and tends to stay long enough on-field after casting her Burst to get decent mileage out of the weapon’s generally awful passive.
Widsith
4*
Widsith is arguably the best 4* Catalyst, featuring a high base ATK, an amazing CRIT DMG substat, and a passive that—with refinement—gives buffs so massive they’ll outdamage 5* weapons.
The only drawback is that you get one of three random buffs whenever the passive procs, but thankfully, Yanfei stands to benefit from all three buffs.
Solar Pearl
4*
Solar Pearl is a weapon that is almost perfect for Yanfei, and at the same time glaringly imperfect. It buffs Normal Attacks, Elemental Skills, and Elemental Bursts—in other words, it buffs everything except Charged Attacks…

But, the CRIT Rate substat and high base ATK are enough to make up for this and the reason you’d use this weapon.
Blackcliff Agate
4*
Blackcliff Agate is effectively main DPS Yanfei’s best F2P weapon. It’s not exactly amazing for her, thanks to an unreliable passive that will sometimes simply not work. But the high base ATK and CRIT DMG at least offer good value.  

Dodoco Tales is technically the best F2P weapon for Yanfei, but since this is an event-exclusive patch 1.6 reward that only older players have, we’ll only leave it as a footnote.
Prototype Amber
4*
The 4* craftable Prototype Amber is the BiS weapon for Tankfei. It gives a ton of HP, which makes her shield stronger, and has a passive that heals the entire team whenever she casts her Burst. The passive also restores a lot of Energy to her—especially with refinement—allowing her to heal and shield the team more consistently.
Thrillin
g Tales of the Dragonslayer
3*
If you don’t need the extra healing but still wish to use Tankfei for her shield, try running the 3* Thrilling Tales of the Dragonslayer to give the main DPS a ton of extra ATK. This weapon also has an HP substat, increasing the effectiveness of Tankfei’s shield.

Best Artifacts For Yanfei – 4-Wanderer’s Troupe

Best Artifacts For Each Character In Genshin Impact

While many characters still don’t have a single 4-piece artifact set bonus that complements their kit, Yanfei has several—all of them so good that it’s difficult to choose one.

The reason we chose the 4-piece Wanderer’s Troupe set bonus, in particular, is because it’s the most consistently good option. While other set bonuses—which we’ll mention below—may offer greater value in specific team compositions, they’ll be way worse in others. The 4-piece Wanderer’s Troupe, however, is equally amazing no matter which team you run Yanfei in, offering a solid 35% bonus to Charged Attack DMG.

The main stats you should use when outfitting Yanfei are:

  • ATK% on the Sands
  • Pyro DMG on the Goblet
  • CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG on the Logos

As for substats, you’d ideally want:

  • CRIT Rate
  • CRIT DMG
  • Energy Recharge
  • ATK%
  • Elemental Mastery

In Vaporize teams, you should use the 4-piece Crimson Witch of Flames for maximum DMG. You may also want to run an Elemental Mastery Sands here, but only if you’ve got an ATK buffer to cover this stat.

At earlier levels, you may also want to use the 4-piece Shimenawa’s Reminiscence. This artifact set can increase the DMG of Charged Attacks by 50%, but it does so at the cost of Energy. Given that Yanfei’s Burst costs a total of 80 Energy, this means you’ll forgo her Burst in favor of this buff most of the time. This is a decent trade at earlier levels, but with enough talent levels, her Burst will give more than 50% extra Charged Attack DMG, calling the value of this set bonus into question.

Tankfei should either use the 4-piece Maiden’s Beloved set bonus to increase the effectiveness of her healing—an amazing option if she’s the only healer in the team—or the 4-piece Noblesse Oblige to buff the ATK of her teammates whenever she casts her shield.

Related:Genshin Impact F2P Primogems GuideGenshin Impact Co-op Multiplayer Guide

Best Team Composition For Yanfei

Genshin Impact Yanfei Team Composition

F2P Vaporize Yanfei

  • Yanfei
  • Bennett
  • Xingqiu
  • Sucrose

Yanfei is the main DPS in this team, using Charged Attacks to crush enemies.

Bennett is the team’s healer and ATK buffer. As the second Pyro character, he also unlocks the Pyro Resonance, for even more extra ATK for the entire team. If you don’t have Bennett or can’t spare him for this team, it’s best to forget about Pyro Resonance and use Yun Jin instead. Yun Jin only buffs Normal Attacks, but given that Yanfei fires off three Normal Attacks for every Charged Attack, she still gets a lot of mileage out of this buff. Geo Traveler is also a decent option, as his Geo application is scarce enough not to interrupt Vaporize reactions all while adding decent DMG and buffing Yanfei’s CRIT Rate.

Xingqiu is the team’s source of Hydro application needed to drive Vaporize reactions. He also provides a ton of off-field DMG in his own right. Unfortunately, no F2P character can replace him in this role at the moment. If you don’t have him, you can instead use Xiangling for a triple Pyro team. Alternatively, you can use Rosaria or Kaeya to aim for Melt Reactions instead of Vaporize.

Sucrose is the team’s Anemo support, used to greatly reduce the Pyro Resistance of enemies thanks to the 4-piece Viridescent Venerer set bonus. What makes her such a perfect fit for this team is her ability to buff the entire team’s Elemental Mastery, which buffs the DMG of Vaporize Reactions. If you don’t have Sucrose, any Anemo character will do. Looking at the F2P roster, this includes Sayu, Anemo Traveler, and Jean—a 5* owned by many F2P players have.

F2P Fireworks Yanfei

  • Yanfei
  • Bennett
  • Fischl
  • Beidou

Yanfei is the team’s main DPS. Most Pyro DPS characters stay away from Overload Reactions, but thanks to her long-range, Yanfei doesn’t mind their knockback effect.

Bennett once again has to be highlighted as the team’s ideal Support, thanks to his healing and ATK buffing capabilities, as well as his Pyro vision that unlocks the powerful Pyro Resonance. However, you have more replacement options here. You can use Sayu, Barbara, or even Diona as healers instead. Diona is the least synergistic option, as her Cryo application has a chance of resulting in Superconduct—a reaction that doesn’t benefit this team at all.

Fischl and Beidou serve as the team’s source of off-field Electro DMG needed to sustain Overload Reactions. The two work incredibly well together since Fischl’s plentiful Electro Energy generation works to battery Beidou’s 80 Energy Burst. Replacements for them include Electro Traveler and Lisa, but do keep in mind that neither of them can compete with Fischl and Beidou in terms of DMG and off-field Electro application.

Whale Tankfei Team

  • Yanfei
  • Hu Tao
  • Xinagqiu
  • Kazuha

Yanfei just doesn’t do enough DMG to compete with top tier 5* units, but she’s still great at supporting them as Tankfei. In this team, Tankfei helps set up the Viridescent Venerer debuff, provides a beefy shield to keep Hu Tao alive at low HP, and offers just enough healing with Prototype Amber to not disrupt Hu Tao’s playstyle.

Hu Tao is the team’s DPS, looking to vaporize most of her DMG through Xingqiu’s off-field Hydro application.

Xingqiu is here to maximize Hu Tao’s Vaporize DMG with his consistent Hydro application.

Kazuha is the team’s source of crowd control and enemy debuffing.

Is Yanfei Worth It?

Here’s the sad truth about 4* DPS characters—they’ll get benched as soon as you get a good 5* DPS unit.

Yanfei is a great main DPS for beginner players, but 4* characters need to offer more than on-field DMG to stay relevant. Without constellation, Yanfei can’t do anything except be a main on-field DPS.

But, with constellations, you get access to Tankfei, a surprisingly powerful playstyle that’s so ridiculous it can’t have been intended by the developers. To put things into perspective, there are two 4* Pyro characters whose entire kits revolve around their shields—Thoma and Xinyan—yet somehow, C4 Yanfei is a better shielder than either of them.

With this extra versatility taken into consideration, we’ve ranked Yanfei in B-Tier in our Genshin Impact Tier List—a place reserved for characters that offer great value but only in certain teams.

So, with all of this in consideration, we’d say that Yanfei is worth it.

She’s a powerful and fun to play 4* DPS that beginners can use. And for more experienced players, she’s a unique Pyro shielder that can cover many Supporting utilities at once.

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