Yelan is among the strongest 5-star units in-game, but she can lose a lot of her value to Xingqiu.
Xingqiu is a 4-star character, and he simply outperforms a C0 Yelan in off-field Hydro application – aka her most important role. Because of this, there’s really no need to pull for her.
If you have Xingqiu, he’s more than enough.
Yelan is only a great pull if you don’t have Xingqiu or if you need another Hydro unit in your account. Still, Yelan’s definitely not weak. Xingqiu is the 2nd strongest unit in-game that fits into every team that needs Hydro – like vaporize teams, taser teams, and freeze teams
Since Yelan can effectively replace him in most teams, she does pull ahead of most units. She’s basically never a bad pull.
We actually wrote a more detailed comparison of the two that you can check out: Yelan vs Xingqiu.
Note: This guide is based on meta only. If you like Yelan regardless of her power level, don’t let this stop you from pulling her.
Pros & Cons
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
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Yelan Strengths
1. Versatile
Yelan’s great off-field Hydro application effectively lets her fit into most teams that need Hydro.
This includes most meta teams in-game – like vaporize teams, electro-charged (taser) teams, and freeze teams.
She’s basically never a bad pull, and you can very easily build a team with her.
Yelan can even work in teams that don’t need a Hydro unit – she’s just there to deal more damage.
Her passive also lets her buff teammate’s damage which is always a great bonus.
2. Resin-efficient
Yelan’s best-in-slot artifact set is the 4pc. Emblem of Severed Fate (4EoSF).
Its artifact domain is currently the most resin-efficient one in-game.
A lot of other strong units have 4EoSF as their best artifact set – like Xingqiu, Xiangling, Beidou, and Raiden – so other units will also benefit from farming for Yelan.
Plus, the artifact set of this domain (Shimenawa’s Reminiscence) is equally useful for a lot of units because of its +18% ATK.
Basically, farming for Yelan also lets you farm for many other units. It’s a really efficient way of spending resin.
3. Free-to-Play Friendly
Yelan has a lot of strong F2P 4-star and 3-star weapon options.
They’re easily accessible to most players – namely, Favonius Warbow, Fading Twilight, Slingshot, and Recurve Bow.
These can even weapons outperform or perform very closely to most 5-star options.
Yelan’s basically really F2P-friendly to build – you very likely already have a weapon for her in your inventory.
4. Great in the Overworld
Yelan is among the best characters for the overworld.
This is mostly thanks to her special charged attack and elemental skill.
Her special charged attack has a notably large AOE. This is great for farming fowl and meat in the overworld. Her elemental skill is also both useful in exploration and combat.
In exploration, Yelan can traverse across a sizable distance at increased speed. Her skill is currently the fastest mode of transportation in-game.
She can also regenerate stamina during this period.
Plus, her skill has high multipliers that aren’t restricted by energy – enough that she can one-shot lower HP mobs in the overworld.
Yelan Weaknesses
1. Energy Recharge Requirements
Energy Recharge (ER) is very important on Yelan.
Her burst is her main source of damage and Hydro application – it’s basically the core of her kit. Without enough ER, she will struggle to get her burst up.
In teams where she’s the only Hydro unit, her ER requirements can reach up to 250% ER.
Still, there are multiple ways of reducing this requirement – like pairing her with Xingqiu and using Favonius/Sacrificial weapons.
If you want to learn how to significantly reduce Yelan’s ER requirements, you can check this article to help you out: Is Energy Recharge Good?
2. There Are Other Hydro Units
Yelan is a strong Hydro unit in her own right, but she does have a lot of Hydro competition.
And, in most cases, these other Hydro units outperform her in their best teams – namely, Xingqiu and other limited 5-star units.
To better explain, here’s a summarized comparison of Yelan vs other Hydro units.
| Hydro Unit | vs Yelan |
|---|---|
| Xingqiu | Xingqiu outperforms Yelan in off-field Hydro application, energy regeneration, and defensive utility. Plus, a C6 Xingqiu generally deals the same damage as a C0 Yelan. |
| Ayato | Ayato is better than Yelan in taser teams and against AOE. Yelan deals more off-field damage, while Ayato deals more on-field damage. |
| Tartaglia/Childe | Tartaglia is better in Xiangling teams and against AOE – but he doesn’t work as an off-field Hydro applicator. |
| Kokomi | Kokomi is better for defensive utility (strong healing), while Yelan is better for raw damage. |
Are Yelan’s Constellations Good?
Yelan has great early constellations, especially her C1 and C2.
It’s highly recommended to stop pulling for constellations at C2 (or C1 if you don’t play Hu Tao).
C1 basically decreases her ER requirements, which is really good. It lets you focus on more damaging stats instead of ER.
C2 deals an extra attack that increases her Hydro application. This is most significant for Hu Tao teams. Otherwise, it just functions as a great damage boost.
Yelan’s C1 and C2 are her most significant constellations – so it’s not recommended to pull for C3 onwards.
But if you do plan on pulling for more constellations, here’s a closer look at each one.
C1: Enter the Plotters
Increases Yelan’s skill charge to 2.
This directly increases Yelan’s overall DPS and decreases her ER requirements – it’s a great constellation.
If you have a C1 Yelan and play Hu Tao, pulling for C2 is definitely worth considering.
C2: Taking All Comers
Upon proccing Yelan’s burst, it fires an additional attack that deals 14% of Yelan’s max HP as Hydro damage. This can occur once every 1.8s.
C2 effectively doubles Yelan’s Hydro application and further buffs her damage.
At C0, her lower Hydro application tends to struggle with teammates that apply a lot of Pyro – most notably, Hu Tao. C2 solves this problem. Plus the additional attack is an unconditional damage gain.
C2 is a great place to stop pulling. This is already the largest damage and quality-of-life buff from all her constellations.
C3: Beware the Trickster’s Dice
Increases her elemental burst talent level by 3.
This directly buffs her burst multipliers – aka her main source of damage. It is a damage gain, but it’s less significant than her C1 and C2.
Plus, this doesn’t buff the extra attack from C2.
C4: Bait-and-Switch
Increases the team’s max HP based on the number of opponents affected by her skill. A maximum of 40% HP increase can be gained.
This is very relevant in teams with other HP-scaling characters – like Ayato and Hu Tao. C4 will buff both Yelan’s and her teammates’ damage.
But this is only situationally good.
The HP increase is insignificant for teammates that don’t benefit or scale from HP. It can increase their survivability, but it’s not enough to justify pulling for C4.
C5: Dealer’s Sleight
Increases her elemental skill talent level by 3.
It buffs her skill multipliers. Her skill does deal good damage, but it’s not a significant portion of her total DPS. This is basically the smallest damage gain from all her constellations.
It’s never recommended to pull for her C5 alone. Instead, this is more of a stepping stone to getting her C6.
C6: Winner Takes All
After casting Yelan’s burst, her normal attacks are converted into Breakthrough Barbs. These are considered charged attack damage and deal 150% of a normal Breakthrough Barbs damage.
This state is cleared after 20s or when Yelan fires 5 arrows.
C6 is Yelan’s largest damage increase aside from C2 – it’s a good constellation.
Aqua Simulacra vs. Elegy for the End for Yelan
Aqua Simulacra is better for damage, while Elegy for the End is better for buffing utility.
Here’s a more detailed comparison of the two weapons.
| Aqua Simulacra | Elegy for the End |
|---|---|
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Is Double Hydro Good?
Double Hydro is great! And it’s Yelan’s best team.
This team is generally composed of the Yelan + Xingqiu pair. They both deal strong single-target damage and apply lots of off-field Hydro.
Their combined raw damage is significant enough to let you run any other two characters in the team – just make sure that there’s an on-field unit triggering their bursts.
You can even run Double Pyro – for instance, Hu Tao and Xiangling.
Yelan and Xingqiu’s combined Hydro application can easily maintain a Hydro aura on the opponent. This lets Hu Tao and Xiangling consistently trigger vaporize reactions.
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