She’s especially good against opponents that fight at a distance like Thundering Manifestation. Plus it’s relatively easy to play her compared to other main DPS units. However, her damage isn’t remarkable — she’s not among the strongest units in-game. Still, this is based on meta only. So if you like Yanfei regardless of her power level, don’t let this stop you from playing her.
Pros & Cons
Yanfei Strengths
Yanfei’s long-range attacks are among the best highlights of her kit. This makes her especially good against mobile or flying opponents — such as Thundering Manifestation, Spectres, and Fungi among many others. She’s also one of the few units that work well against these more frustrating enemies. Yanfei has plenty of build options to choose from — both in terms of artifact sets and weapons. The damage difference between her best artifact sets isn’t that big, so you’re free to use whichever pieces and sets you already have. Her best sets include:
4pc. Crimson Witch of Flames 4pc. Wanderer’s Troupe 4pc. Shimenawa’s Reminiscence Any 2pc./2pc. mix of those artifact sets
Additionally, Yanfei has multiple weapon options — most of which are really free-to-play friendly. Some of her best 4-star weapons include:
The Widsith Solar Pearl Dodoco Tales R5
Of course, 5-star DPS weapons are her best options, but her 4-star ones are also really good — especially The Widsith with refinements. Yanfei has good on-field Pyro Application thanks to her being a catalyst user. So she can consistently enable Pyro-related reactions for teammates. For instance, her Pyro application is enough to enable Melt reactions for off-field units like Rosaria or Kaeya. This is also great for breaking the Cryo and Electro shields of opponents. Yanfei’s 4th constellation creates a shield upon casting her burst. This makes her a viable shielder for some niche teams — like VV Hu Tao. It basically adds another utility and role to her kit.
Yanfei Weaknesses
Yanfei’s multipliers simply aren’t that good — or at least far behind other stronger DPS units. Because of this, she may struggle against harder content and opponents with higher HP. This is also why she’s not a meta unit. Other better units exist, so there’s no meta reason to use Yanfei. Yanfei’s playstyle relies on her charged attacks that consume stamina. Although her kit reduces the need for managing her stamina, it’s still needed — especially without a shielder or C4. This means that you have to actively watch her stamina. She must have enough to perform charged attacks and dodge when needed. Yanfei is at the weaker end of Pyro DPS units — better ones simply exist. The two main ones are Xiangling for AOE and Hu Tao for single-target. Xiangling is a free 4-star unit, while Hu Tao is a limited 5-star unit. This weakness is also true as a Pyro applicator. Although Yanfei has good Pyro application, there are units that are far better. This includes Klee, Xiangling, and Pyro-infused swirls by Anemo units. Although Yanfei can work as a shielder, better ones also exist. And they’re almost always the better option. These other shielders include Zhongli, Diona, and Layla. Plus Diona and Layla are both 4-star units, so they’re equally as accessible as Yanfei.
Are Yanfei’s Constellations Good?
Yanfei has decent constellations. None of them are needed to make her work, and they’re just relatively small buffs. So it’s not recommended to actively pull for her constellations. Instead, you’ll get them naturally while pulling in any gacha banners. However, if you’re planning to play VV Hu Tao, C4 can be worth considering. This gives Yanfei an additional utility as a shielder and increases her entire team’s survivability. Otherwise, don’t waste your banner pity.
C1: The Law Knows No Kindness
When Yanfei performs a charged attack, each existing Scarlet Seal reduces its stamina cost by 10% and increases her resistance to interruption during. This makes Yanfei a bit more comfortable to play. Plus slightly reduces the need for stamina management. It’s a nice constellation to have.
C2: Right of Final Interpretation
Increases Yanfei’s charged attack CRIT Rate by 20% against opponents below 50% HP. C2 is a good constellation and unconditional damage increase. Plus it increases her chances of triggering the additional damage from her Blazing Eye ascension passive.
C3: Samadhi Fire-Forged
Increases her elemental skill talent level by 3. This increases her skill multipliers — it’s a small damage increase.
C4: Supreme Amnesty
Upon casting Yanfei’s burst, she creates a shield with up to 45% of Yanfei’s max HP. This absorbs Pyro damage 250% more effectively. This is a quality-of-life buff that increases team survivability. It’s not a damage gain, but situationally good in teams without shields or in teams like VV Hu Tao.
C5: Abiding Affidavit
Increases her elemental burst talent level by 3. Like her C3, this is a small and direct damage gain — but not a significant one.
C6: Extra Clause
Increases the maximum number of Scarlet Seals by 1. The additional Scarlet Seal basically further reduces her stamina consumption and increases her charged attack damage. This is more valuable in Vaporize teams, but all her playstyles still benefit from C6.
