By the end of this guide, you’re going to find a team builds for Xiao that’s going to maximize his damage profile while allowing you to find the play style that you enjoy the most.
Xiao is definitely a tough character to build around and whether you’re completely lost on where to start or you have a rough idea of what you want to do, I think you’re going to love the recommendations I have.
I’ve gone ahead and put together a list of some of the most stylish and explosive Xiao teams that feel so smooth and satisfying to play and also provided ample budget options that are just as powerful.
So whatever your character library may look like, I guarantee you that you’ll find at least one team that you can plug and play or make some adjustments for your own enjoyment.
Xiao Overview
Xiao is an Anemo polearm character that specializes in lightning-fast attacks, an acrobatic combat style. However, because he’s Anemo, it makes building his teams a lot less straightforward.
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Elemental Reactions
The only reaction at his disposal is Swirl which unfortunately isn’t some crazy multiplier you get from a Melt or Vaporize and does only 1.2x more base damage than Superconduct which is the weakest electro reaction in terms of upfront damage. In my opinion, there’s not a single elemental reaction we really have to focus on rather we’re just picking characters for ability synergies and play styles alone. I think the most important discussion is elemental resonance. For Xiao, I actually like a couple of resonance points listed below in order of strength.
Resonance
Anemo resonance is the best fit for him this is mainly due to Xiao’s insane elemental skill multiplier and allowing you to get cooldown reduction on his skill. His elemental skill carries a load of his damage when his burst is not up. The extra elemental energy you can generate with one more Anemo character is really relevant given the large energy cost for his burst and the fact that his elemental skill doesn’t generate any particles when he’s in his ultimate form.
My second favorite is actually Cryo because Swirl allows you to apply cryo to multiple opponents then you can reap the benefits of the extra crit rate and build your Xiao focused entirely on crit damage.
Pyro and Geo resonance is great for him to give him extra damage. I actually don’t like Hydro resonance even though Xiao burns his own hp the extra healing you get isn’t really necessary and you’re losing out on a lot of other better resonance points. Finally, Electro resonance is pretty bad on them.
If you want to learn more about his strategy and game mechanics you can check our ultimate guide for best weapon and artifacts for Xiao.
Best Team For Xiao
With the recommendations below you can see that each one has its own special playstyle. Make sure to go through all of them and then make a decision on what team you want to build.
| Xiao Team #1 |
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Xiao
 Albedo
 Bennett
 Venti
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This team is all about grouping mobs together and doing as much AOE damage to them as possible. Xiao is great with Venti because Venti’s elemental skill is an energy battery and even more so with a weapon like Sacrificial Bow. Venti’s burst groups all the enemies together so your plunge attack gets the most value. In addition, Albedo is such a treat in any Venti team comp because of how his elemental skill works and acts as another form of energy battery.
Finally, I actually like Bennett as the healer in this team because you’re grouping enemies so tightly. You can pretty much sit in one area while fighting which means you’ll get a great steroid alone with almost instantaneous healing while you’re in Xiao’s burst.
| Xiao Team #2 |
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Xiao
Albedo
 Fischl
 Jean
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This may seem really close to team #1 but the playstyle is completely different. Here you’re losing a lot of AOE damage prowess to put in more emphasis on single target damage. Fischl and Albedo act as turrets that add extra damage to whoever Xiao is fighting. I actually love Fischl with Xiao because Swirl constantly procs Fischl’s passive talent giving you so much value from Oz. Both Fischl and Albedo are also great off-element batteries while Jean is your healer and provides Anemo energy and resonance.
| Xiao Team #3 |
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Xiao
Albedo
 Zhongli
Jean
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This is a little different so bear with me. I know I’ll get a lot of comments saying Anemo and Geo have no synergy, this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Remember, Xiao doesn’t play off reactions, he plays off his insane damage scaling so in order to build the team around him we need to find pieces that will multiply his already insane numbers. One way to do this is to fit in Geo resonance. This also works really well with the recent changes which will allow Albedo to profit so heavily from the Geo resonance debuff the enemies now take.
Zhongli’s buff also means an insane shield for Xiao which gives Xiao the 15% increased damage buff almost 24/7. His shield now also provides physical res debuff on enemies when Xiao is not in his ultimate and Anemo debuff which helps amplify Xiao’s damage and burst even more. Zhongli’s burst also allows great crowd control which you can then follow up with a bunch of plunge attacks. All in all this team build makes so much sense that you shouldn’t knock it until you try it.
| Xiao Team #4 |
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Xiao
 Ganyu
 Xingqiu
 Diona
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This team plays on the freeze mechanic and with Cryo resonance, you’re getting a lot of easy crit rate which allows you to focus on stacking as much crit damage on your Xiao as possible.
Ganyu and Xingqui’s elemental burst pairs so well together for Perma freeze which you can trigger with your Xiao’s plunge attack as well. As long as you can cancel your plunge animation with a basic attack, you’re going to get pretty good value out of your Xingqui’s burst.
Because we’re focused on freeze, this allows us to play healing that requires you to stay in one place. There’s no need to move if your enemies are just going to be in one place for the entire fight. However, if you have QiQi I’d prefer her over the Diona here. Her healing is definitely more consistent and allows you more options when you fight.
If you want to play Mona instead of Xingqui, just make sure you sequence correctly so that you can take full advantage of Mona’s abilities.
| Xiao Team #5 |
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Xiao
Fischl
Bennett
 Sucrose
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Now let’s turn our attention to some budget builds and this team is a similar concept to team #1. Play the exact same you would and focus on AOE damage by grouping with your Sucrose elemental burst followed by your Bennett burst into Xiao plunge attacks. Fischl and Sucrose especially with a couple of constellations give you a great amount of energy and damage.
| Xiao Team #6 |
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Xiao
Diona
Xingqiu
Sucrose
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Similar to team #4, you’re playing a freeze comp replacing Ganyu with either Diona, Chongyun, or Kaeya. I actually like Sucrose or Traveler here to give you an extra elemental battery and charge your burst as quickly as possible.
With Sucrose, you can also group enemies in your Diona’s burst which along with Xingqui’s burst allowing you to have a budget version of the Perma freeze you get with Ganyu.
I’d only play Chongyun as an alternative for Diona here if you have constellation 2 or above because at that point the elemental burst and skill cooldown reduction you get within his field makes him worth playing.
| Xiao Team #7 |
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Xiao
Fischl
Xingqiu
Sucrose
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This team is pretty much a direct budget version of team number team #2. You’re playing with two sub-DPS carries that have persistent damage while your Xiao is on the field.
Electrocharge reactions play very well with Sucrose as a grouper. The only downside to this comp is that you’re lacking a healer so it may not fare that well in Spiral Abyss compared to some of these other comps. Nevertheless, this comp is extremely fun to play and has insane damage numbers with very cheap characters.
| Xiao Team #8 |
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Xiao
Fischl
 Barbara
 Anemo MC
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This team is my free-to-play and is honestly very solid. Just make sure you play around with annoying freeze effects when you use Barbara’s elemental skill. She has great mobility with her burst and her elemental skill helps with this a lot. Barbara will also hold your throwing tails which gives Xiao a big buff as he goes into his ultimate form. Fischl is just a very solid sub-DPS and Traveler is here for Anemo resonance and an energy battery.
Final Thoughts
I’m extremely excited for you guys to try some of these comps out. To be honest Xiao made team building a lot more fun and creative because you’re not forced to play around with elemental reactions as much.
I’m sure you guys are tired of seeing venti and Bennett in every single team for each character so this time I was able to come up with a variety of supporting casts that work really well with Xiao.
Xiao is really fun with the limited time we’ve had him so far and I enjoy his style a lot. His combos are super satisfying to pull off.
Credits to Concept2G for making this team building guide for Xiao, be sure to check out his youtube channel for more awesome Genshin Impact contents.