Ultimate Yelan Build Guide (Patch 4.0) | Genshin Impact

In this post, we’ll cover the recommended weapons, artifact set, artifact main stats and sub-stats so you can build Yelan optimally.

If you’re looking for the best characters you can use along with this build, check out my other guide about Yelan’s team comp.

You can also check our article about how Yelan’s kit works if you want to get a detailed description of her skills and constellation.

Video Guide

Overall Stat Roadmap

Yelan’s elemental burst is the core of her DPS, whether you’re running her as support or your main attacker.

Unlike other characters, her elemental skill and burst scales exclusively with her HP stat, making Energy Recharge and HP crucial in her build.

Here’s a quick overview of the stats you want to aim for Yelan:

The recommended ER varies depending on your team comp and Yelan’s role in your team.

If Yelan is your sole Hydro support, aim for a minimum of 180% ER, and around 220% for faster energy generation.

If you’re running double hydro in your team or running her as DPS, 150% to 180% should be the sweet spot so you can cast her burst reliably.

To enhance Yelan’s elemental skill, burst, and Barb Breakthrough damage, aim for an HP range of 25K to 40K.

Generally, raising your Critical Rate and Critical Damage stat as much as possible is better.

However, note that Critical Damage doesn’t significantly surpass HP-based damage scaling.

Talent Priority

For Yelan in a support role, prioritize her Elemental Burst, followed by her elemental skill and normal attack.

Talent Name	Priority	Type	Recommend Level
Depth-Clarion Dice	1st Priority	Elemental Burst	Level 10
Lingering Lifeline	2nd Priority	Elemental Skill	Level 9
Stealthy Bowshot	3rd Priority	Normal Attack	Level 1 – 6

I recommend maxing her Elemental Burst for optimal usage as it’s her primary contribution to your team.

Her elemental skill can deal significant damage, so maxing it will also be worthwhile.

However, leaving it at level 9 is fine if you don’t have enough Crown of Insights.

Her normal attack can suffice at levels 1-6 for support purposes.

But if you have her at Constellation 6, the priority shifts to Normal Attack over Elemental Burst and Elemental Skill.

Talent Name	Priority	Type	Recommend Level
Stealthy Bowshot	1st Priority	Normal Attack	Level 10
Depth-Clarion Dice	2nd Priority	Elemental Burst	Level 10
Lingering Lifeline	3rd Priority	Elemental Skill	Level 9 – 10

Maximize both normal attack and burst for optimal damage during the C6 effect.

Maxing Elemental skill benefits DPS, but leaving it at level 9 only reduces damage output by around 5% to 6% per cooldown.

Weapon Options

Given that Yelan’s skill relies solely on her HP for scaling, the base attack enhancement of weapons is not crucial when building her as a support.

This makes 3-star weapons viable and sometimes superior to some 4 or 5-star options.

Here’s a quick comparison of Yelan’s elemental burst damage when using various weapons:

3-star Options

Among the 3-star bow choices, the Recurve Bow stands out.

It offers a substantial 46.90% HP boost at max enhancement, significantly amplifying her elemental skill and burst damage.

When focusing on elemental burst damage, it rivals or even surpasses many 4-star or 5-star options, closely following Aqua Simulacra, Thundering Pulse, and Stringless at R5.

Another favorable pick is the Slingshot, granting a 31.2% Critical Rate at level 90 enhancement, slightly edging out the Viridescent Hunt from the battle pass.

Lastly, consider the Sharpshooter’s Oath, providing a 46.9% Critical Damage increase at level 90, slightly surpassing the 4-star option Blackcliff Warbow.

4-Star Options

For the 4-star weapons, the Favonius Warbow is your best option. 

At level 90 enhancement, it offers an impressive 61.3% energy recharge and refills elemental orbs with critical hits.

Other commendable options include the Sacrificial Bow, End of the Line, and Fading Twilight.

Though the Sacrificial Bow only provides 30.6% ER at max enhancement, it boasts a high chance to reset your elemental skill cooldown at refinement level 5.

You can generate eight hydro elemental particles quickly and fairly consistently, allowing you to get your elemental burst up at a high rate if you know how to manage energy.

And if Yelan’s 1st constellation is unlocked, the weapon’s effect could trigger up to 12 hydro particles, further enhancing its potential.

Check out our Energy Recharge guide if you want to get some tips on energy generation.

Another viable ER weapon is the End of the Line, offering a 45.9% energy recharge and inflicting additional damage following elemental skill usage.

But it won’t be very significant as it will be based on the attack stat.

You can also consider the Fading Twilight as a last-resort option.

It offers 30.6% ER and boosts elemental burst damage through a unique effect that remains active even if Yelan is off the field.

The Stringless is an excellent option if you can meet the recommended Energy Recharge through sub-stats and artifact primary stats.

In terms of damage output, it surpasses numerous 4-star and even some 5-star alternatives.

Looking strictly at the elemental skill and burst damage, it only trails behind Aqua Simulacra and Thundering Pulse at refinement 5.

Furthermore, in Taser, Bloom, or Vaporize teams, it excels by significantly boosting elemental reaction damage.

The Blackcliff Warbow is another good option, offering up to 36.8% Critical Damage.

However, its weapon effect isn’t beneficial for Yelan and the 3 star Sharpshooter’s Oath bow is still better at boosting the Critical Damage stat.

Lastly, The Viridescent Hunt offers a 27.6% Crit Rate boost and deals extra damage upon hitting opponents.

But looking at the Critical Rate stat alone, the Slingshot is a slightly better option.

5-star Options

For the 5-star option, her best in slot is either the Elegy For The End or the Aqua Simulacra.

Aqua Simulacra offers Yelan the highest damage potential, particularly at C6.

It is a great choice, providing up to an 88.2% Critical Damage boost along with bonus effects of increased HP and sustained additional damage even when off the field.

Just ensure you have enough Energy Recharge stat so you won’t run into energy problems activating her burst.

On the other hand, the Elegy For The End is Yelan’s best option if you’re running her as support.

It gives up to 55.1% Energy Recharge, allowing you the flexibility to use HP main stats for your artifact.

Moreover, it grants the entire party an attack and elemental mastery buff upon triggering the weapon’s effect.

In short, it fits perfectly with Yelan’s support playstyle.

The Thundering Pulse bow offers the second-highest damage potential, following closely behind Aqua Simulacra.

While its additional weapon effect doesn’t directly enhance her skill and burst damage, the Critical Damage stat is pretty significant.

Other excellent choices include the Skyward Harp, Hunter’s Path, and the Polar Star for boosting Critical Rate.

Yelan can capitalize on the Skyward Harp‘s 22.1% Crit Rate main stat enhancement and Crit Damage boost via its weapon effect.

Hunter’s Path, notably, offers the most substantial Critical Rate increase for Yelan, and she benefits from its Elemental Damage bonus from the special weapon effect.

However, the additional boost in charged attack damage based on her elemental mastery may not be highly significant unless partnered with characters that can buff up EM. 

Examples of those characters are Kazuha at Constellation 2, Diona at Constellation 6, or Sucrose.

Check out our Yelan team comp article to know more about the best characters that work with her kit.

The Polar Star falls between Hunter’s Path and Skyward Harp, elevating her Crit Rate by up to 33.1%.

Yelan can leverage its weapon effect, particularly for her elemental skill and burst damage amplification.

Artifact Set Options

Support Build

When building Yelan as a burst support, the optimal choice for your artifact set is the 4-Piece Emblem of Severed Fate.

This set excels at improving your ER stat while also enhancing the Exquisite Throw damage from Yelan’s elemental burst

Considering only artifact effects and burst damage boost, it boasts the highest damage potential compared to any other set combination.

Pairing the Noblesse Oblige artifact with either Tenacity of the Millelith or Vourukasha’s Glow presents a viable alternative.

Although there’s a slight decrease of around 4 to 5 percent in Exquisite Throw damage, you’ll gain a significant 10% boost to your elemental skill damage.

Another option is utilizing the double HP artifact setup with the Millelith and Vourukasha set.

Comparatively, this combination nearly matches the Millelith slash Noblesse combo in terms of Exquisite Throw damage.

But, you’ll gain about 18% increase in elemental skill damage.

All sub-stats being equal, this set combination will give you the most significant boost for the elemental skill damage while maintaining pretty good damage for each hit of Exquisite Throw.

The 4-piece Noblesse Oblige set excels at enhancing your party members’ DPS and bolstering the team’s overall performance.

However, this buff won’t amplify Yelan’s elemental skill or burst damage.

In terms of Exquisite Throw Damage, it falls approximately 9% behind the 2 piece alternatives.

The 4-Piece Vourukasha’s Glow can serve as a viable alternative and potentially surpass the Emblem set when its 5-stack effect is activated.

However, getting to 5 stacks is pretty hard unless you face monsters that apply the decaying status like in Spiral Abyss.

Admittedly, this is rather niched and lacks versatility.

Other noteworthy options include combining Nymph’s Dream or Heart of Depth with Millelith or Vourukasha.

You can also pair Heart of Depth or Nymph’s Dream with the Noblesse Oblige 2 piece artifact set.

Alternatively, consider Heart of Depth along with Nymph’s Dream to achieve a 30% Hydro damage bonus.

These last three suggestions are slightly inferior to the rest except for the 4-Piece Noblesse Oblige set.

But they are not that bad and are still a viable option while you’re farming for better artifacts.

Here’s a quick chart to help you visualize the comparison of all these options.

Main DPS Build

When focusing on Main DPS Yelan, the optimal choice is the 4-Piece Heart of Depth set.

Its effect is easily triggered and notably enhances your Breakthrough Barb Damage, from Charged Aimed Shot, particularly advantageous if you’ve unlocked her C6 constellation.

Alternatively, consider combining the 2-piece Nymph’s Dream or Heart of Depth with the 2-piece Millelith or Vourukasha set.

While this option is approximately   than the 4-Piece Heart of Depth set with its active effect, favorable sub-stats can mitigate the difference.

The 2-piece Millelith and 2-piece Vourukasha’s Glow combination is also effective, with a relatively minor difference in damage output.

Another viable option is the 2-piece Nymph’s Dream and Heart of Depth combination, which boosts 30% Hydro damage.

Although it falls slightly behind the Millelith and Vourukasha combination, it can serve as a temporary choice while you farm for better rolls on artifacts.

The upcoming Marechaussee Hunter artifact presents another viable option, enhancing your character’s normal and charged attacks by 15%.

Here’s another chart to compare these artifact combinations:

Artifact Main Stats

For users of an Energy Recharge weapon like the Favonius Warbow or Elegy for the End, I recommend opting for HP Sands.

Conversely, if your weapon’s main stat is Critical Rate, Critical Damage, or HP, and you’re unable to achieve adequate Energy Recharge through sub-stats, an ER Sands would be the better choice.

Again, this depends on your team composition.

Remember that focusing excessively on damage enhancement might prove ineffective if Yelan’s burst activation isn’t consistent, particularly when using her as a support.

Opting for a Hydro damage main stat on the Goblet is optimal.

However, an HP Goblet can also be effective depending on your build.

For the Circlet, opt for either Critical Rate or Critical Damage main stat based on your needs.

As a general guideline, aim for a Critical Rate to Critical Damage ratio of 2 to 1.

However, in Yelan’s case, selecting an HP Circlet won’t result in significant damage disparity compared to choosing the Critical Damage main stat.

But avoid allocating excessive HP, as it can yield diminishing effects.

Optimal Sub-Stats

Ideally, you want to get Energy Recharge, HP Percent, Critical Rate or Critical Damage for your sub-stats.

Ensure you prioritize sufficient Energy Recharge to trigger Yelan’s elemental burst consistently.

However, if you’re equipped with an Energy Recharge weapon or ER Sands, you may not require Energy Recharge from artifact sub-stats that much.

As mentioned earlier, around 150 to 180 ER should suffice if you have 2 hydro characters in your team.

And if you’re utilizing a single Hydro character, at least 180%, preferably even higher, is recommended.

Next, prioritize acquiring as much Critical Rate and Critical Damage as possible.

You can get enough HP boost from weapons or artifact main stats, but rolling those stats is not bad either.