Genshin Impact‘s Version 2.7 update has been a long time coming, but after several delays, it is finally here. New story content is always nice, but let's be honest – we all look forward to new characters the most. Debuting alongside this week's update, Yelan is the latest character to join the Traveler on their journey.
Who Is Yelan?
Yelan hails from the Liyue region and purportedly works for the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In actuality, Yelan runs a casino under the guise of the Yanshang Teahouse. Yelan's dichotomous lifestyle keeps her busy – especially with the mysterious Chasm being investigated by the Traveler and Millelith. The Chasm is heavily featured in the 2.7 update, so expect to see a lot of cut-scenes featuring Yelan!
Yelan's Talents and Abilities
As a Hydro bow-wielder, Yelan strives to measure up to Childe/Tartaglia, who is an excellent DPS character. Yelan might not be as much of a monster when it comes to pure damage, but she more than makes up for it with her abilities. On a basic level, Yelan controls like other bow-users, with a standard combo attack and a zoomed-in chargeable shot for sniping. Fully charging a shot applies the Hydro element to it. Yelan modifies her charged shot after spending at least five seconds out of combat, decreasing the charge time and adding an AoE damage effect that scales based on her maximum HP.
Yelan moves about swiftly and silently after activating her Elemental Skill, “Lingering Lifeline.” While the skill is active, any enemies that she runs by become marked and suffer Hydro DMG when the skill deactivates. Running about to “paint” enemy targets is not only fun, but it's a great way to set up Elemental reactions.
Yelan's Elemental Burst, “Depth-Clarion Dice, showcases her versatility as a damage-dealer. After using her Burst, Yelan summons an “exquisite throw,” which is basically a floating die that attacks enemies. Attacks coordinate with characters' attacks once per second and inflict Hydro damage. This burst is great when combined with characters with strong, rapid, normal attacks such as Yoimiya. Just summon the exquisite throw, switch out, spam normal attacks, and watch the DMG pile up. And if your Yelan build is powerful enough, just stick with her!
Yelan's Best Weapon and Build
By now, you know the drill when it comes to each character's best weapons. Yelan's signature five-star weapon is Aqua Simulacra, which passively boosts her HP and DMG percentages. Given that several of Yelan's abilities scale based on HP, there really isn't a better weapon option. Aqua Simulacra headlines its own weapon banner, available alongside Yelan's until June 21st.
If you'd rather save your Primogems/Wishes for characters (and you really should), Yelan has some decent four-star weapon alternatives. The Sacrificial Bow is pretty easy to come by and gives Yelan at least a 40% chance to ignore a skill's cooldown after it is used. The Favonius Warbow is a good weapon if you choose to focus more on support, as it allows for more efficient energy recovery. This allows for more frequent use of Depth-Clarion Dice to aid a more powerful character's attacks.
As with weapons, Yelan's best artifacts depend on whether she is the main damage dealer or more of a supportive role. For the former, a mixture of Tenacity of the Millelith (increased HP) and Heart of Depth (increased Hydro DMG) artifacts boosts her scaling and Elemental damage. For support, a four-piece Emblem of Severed Fate set both boosts Energy Recharge and uses the stat to power up her Elemental Burst.
How to Recruit Yelan
Yelan is currently the featured five-star character in the “Discerner of Enigmas” banner, which ends on June 21st. The banner also features four-star characters Barbara and Noelle, who are both fantastic support characters. I've been using Yelan myself since her banner launched, and can vouch for her quality. If nothing else, think of her as a souped-up version of Xingqiu who is well worth your Primogems.