Yelan Genshin Impact Guide for Artifacts, Weapons, and Skills

Genshin Impact offers players the allure of uncertainty, adventure, and the thrill of success, all without exposing them to real danger. Within the game itself, one character from its diverse playable roster exemplifies these principles: Yelan, the enigmatic “owner” of Yanshang’s Teahouse, an undercover casino.

Yelan is an intelligence officer working under the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Liyue. Disguised as the teahouse owner, she elegantly sips tea while expertly gathering intel and outmaneuvering gamblers in their own games.

Despite her absence from public records, she directly reports to Liyue Qixing, delivering invaluable intelligence reports and executing seemingly impossible tasks covertly. With her Hydro vision and bow, her missions flow seamlessly like a river into the deep ocean of mysteries.

In this intelligence report, we will provide you with the most comprehensive Genshin Impact guide regarding Yelan’s playstyle, best artifacts, weapons, and talents, so that you may have no trouble dealing with the thrilling challenges this game has to offer.

Best Artifact Set for Yelan

Yelan is a Hydro sub-DPS, perfect for working off-field to assist allies in combat. However, her capabilities and potential are limited without the proper gear to complement her style. For that, we prepared the best artifact sets for her to use.  

Emblem of Severed Fate

The Emblem of Severed Fate  artifact set grants the following effects:

• 2-Piece Set: Energy Recharge +20%
• 4-Piece Set: Increases Elemental Burst DMG by 25% of Energy Recharge. A maximum of 75% bonus DMG can be obtained in this way.

Yelan’s sub-DPS capabilities are centered around her Elemental Burst — which makes the Emblem of Severed Fate set perfect for her. Its 4-Piece effect serves as the best option as this would improve her Elemental Burst’s damage by a percent of her Energy Recharge, something that players would already ensure she has plenty of to maintain a 100% uptime on her Burst.

Noblesse Oblige

The Noblesse Oblige artifact set grants the following effects:

• 2-Piece Set: Elemental Burst DMG Bonus +20%
• 4-Piece Set: Using an Elemental Burst increases all party members’ ATK by 20% for 12s. This effect cannot stack.

The Noblesse Oblige artifact set will suffice as a decent substitute for players who are out of luck in acquiring the right Emblem of Severed Fate artifacts. It provides a smaller increase to her Elemental Burst damage but compensates for it by giving out a partywide ATK buff instead, thereby increasing the team’s overall damage. 

Artifact Stats to Prioritize

A thrill-seeker like Yelan is bound to have found herself in plenty of trouble before so it is unsurprising that all the stats that she needs are built around supporting her constitution. Prioritize her stats as follows:

1. HP%/Energy Recharge (Timepiece and substats)
2. CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate (Circlet or substats)
3. Hydro DMG Bonus (Goblet or substats)
4. Elemental Mastery (substats)

All of Yelan’s main damage scales off of her max HP. For that reason, HP% for her timepiece is a no-brainer. Energy Recharge is nearly as crucial as HP because she requires a substantial amount to maintain her Elemental Burst consistently. It would also synergize well with Emblem of Severed Fate. However, we suggest considering this alternative only if she doesn’t have sufficient Energy Recharge from other sources such as artifact substats and weapons.

Considering Yelan’s naturally high base CRIT Rate, it’s more effective to focus on increasing her CRIT DMG for a balanced crit ratio, ideally maintaining a 1:2 ratio for optimal results. A Hydro DMG goblet is essential to improving her overall damage, while Elemental Mastery can be prioritized in substats to boost her elemental reactions damage, especially Vaporize reactions.

Best Weapons for Yelan

Yelan’s a dangerous woman with an equally dangerous career. As competent as she is in her job, a good weapon could mean the difference between life and death. Here are her best 5-Star weapons to get the job done.

• Aqua Simulacra (CRIT DMG) – HP is increased by 16%. When there are opponents nearby, the DMG dealt by the wielder of this weapon is increased by 20%. This will take effect whether the character is on-field or not.

Sitting at the number one spot is Yelan’s signature weapon, Aqua Simulacra. Like her stylish fur coat, it tailor made to suit her needs. It increases her max HP, has an easy to fulfill condition for her weapon effect that boost’s her DMG dealt even when she’s off-field, while also being a massive CRIT DMG stat stick, complementing her high base CRIT Rate. Not to mention that she looks even more fashionable with the weapon’s appearance perfectly matching her aesthetics.

• Elegy for the End (Energy Recharge) – Increases Elemental Mastery by 60. When the Elemental Skills or Elemental Bursts of the character wielding this weapon hit opponents, that character gains a Sigil of Remembrance. This effect can be triggered once every 0.2s and can be triggered even if said character is not on the field. When you possess 4 Sigils of Remembrance, all of them will be consumed and all nearby party members will obtain the “Millennial Movement: Farewell Song” effect for 12s. “Millennial Movement: Farewell Song” increases Elemental Mastery by 100 and increases ATK by 20%. Once this effect is triggered, you will not gain Sigils of Remembrance for 20s. Of the many effects of the “Millennial Movement,” buffs of the same type will not stack.

Given that Yelan relies heavily on her Elemental Burst, Elegy for the End emerges as her second-best option, ensuring a consistent uptime. This choice is particularly effective because Yelan can activate its effect effortlessly, even while off-field, thereby granting the entire team substantial damage boosts through its multiple buffs.

• Polar Star (CRIT Rate) – Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG increased by 12%. After a Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst hits an opponent, 1 stack of Ashen Nightstar will be gained for 12s. When 1/2/3/4 stacks of Ashen Nightstar are present, ATK is increased by 10/20/30/48%. The stack of Ashen Nightstar created by the Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst will be counted independently of the others.

Polar Star also stands out as an excellent choice mainly due to its high CRIT Rate secondary stat. Although its ATK% increase effect might not directly enhance Yelan’s personal damage all that much, her Elemental Skill and Burst still experience a damage boost through its other passive abilities.

Budget Alternatives

Yelan might revel in the excitement of gambling, but the bitter experiences of many Genshin Impact players with the weapon banner might have made them hesitant to pull for any of her 5-Star weapon options. However, there’s no need for concern, as there are numerous 4-Star weapons that suit her perfectly. There’s even an unexpected hidden gem waiting to be discovered among the choices.

• Sacrificial Bow (Energy Recharge%) – After dealing damage to an opponent with an Elemental Skill, the skill has a 40% chance to end its own CD. Can only occur once every 30s.

The Sacrificial Bow stands out as the top choice, offering Yelan the necessary Energy Recharge and a reset for her already potent Elemental Skill. This easily ensures that she’ll always have her Elemental Burst ready to go and provide Hydro application when needed.

• The Stringless (Elemental Mastery) – Increases Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 24%.

If Yelan already possesses sufficient Energy Recharge to optimize her Burst uptime, The Stringless becomes her next best option. Its effect complements her kit beautifully, enhancing her overall damage. Additionally, the Elemental Mastery secondary stat boosts her Vaporize reactions significantly.

• Slingshot (CRIT Rate) – If a Normal or Charged Attack hits a target within 0.3s of being fired, increases DMG by 36%. Otherwise, it decreases DMG by 10%.

Surprisingly, this 3-Star weapon emerges as one of the best budget options for Yelan. While Slingshot may not enhance her Normal Attacks significantly, its secondary stat substantially increases her CRIT Rate, almost on par with that of Polar Star. Unlike Polar Star, this weapon is more widely available as it can be obtained through wishes and even rare chests from exploration.

Yelan’s Talent Priorities

Yelan’s talent in ensnaring her targets and offering support covertly mirrors the expertise of a skilled intelligence agent. To showcase her abilities effectively, focus on leveling her talents in the following order:

1. Depth-Clarion Dice (Elemental Burst) – Yelan will create a floating dice, dealing an initial Hydro DMG to enemies around her, then the dice will accompany the active character for 15s and unleash a coordinated attack whenever the characters do a Normal Attack. This coordinated attack deals Hydro DMG based on Yelan’s max HP.

2. Lingering Lifeline (ElementalSkill) – Yelan will fire off a lifeline that will allow her to run around swifty, entangling and marking enemies along its path. When her skill ends, the lifeline will explode, dealing Hydro damage that scales with her max HP. This has a tap and hold version too. When tapped, Yelan will simply make a quick dash forward, while holding it will make her run around until the duration ends or until recast to end it promptly.

3. Stealthy Bowshot (Normal Attack) – Yelan performs up to 4 consecutive shots with her bow, dealing Physical damage. When held down, she will enter into aiming mode for a Charged Attack. If fully charged, the Charged Attack will deal a bigger Hydro damage. When Yelan is out of combat for 5s, her Charged Attack will enter ‘Breakthrough’ state. This will greatly reduce her Charged Attack wind up time and will deal additional AoE Hydro damage that scales off her max HP upon impact.

The Breakthrough state of Yelan’s Charged Attack has a higher chance to reset the more targets she has marked via her Elemental Skill so make use of her Charged Attack before using her skill. One of her talent’s passive amplifies the active character’s damage over time during her Elemental Burst which is one of her core abilities. The other passive talent allows her to gain more HP the more diverse the elements her team has, providing her an increase in beefiness and overall damage output

Yelan Team Comp

Due to the nature of her job, Yelan works best behind the scenes away from the spotlight. For that reason, she often synergizes well with those who work best being in the spotlight. Here are some of the best characters she can work with.

• Hu Tao (Charged Attacking Pyro DPS that can proc Yelan’s burst, perfect for Vaporize reactions)
• Yoimiya (Normal Attack based Pyro DPS that can consistently proc Yelan’s burst)
• Wanderer (Anemo hypercarry that is Normal Attack based that gets stronger the longer he remains in combat)
• Beidou (Electro sub-DPS support, perfect pair for Electro-Charged reactions)
• Cyno (Electro hypercarry rich in Elemental Mastery, another perfect pair for Electro-Charged reactions)
• Ayato (Hydro hypercarry, good for Hydro Resonance and amplifying each other’s damage)
• Xingqiu (Hydro resonance, sub-DPS and perfect combo for Yelan’s damage amplification and off-field damage)
• Diona (Cryo shielder, provides Elemental Mastery, healing, and keep enemies Frozen under her Burst)

Here’s a quick tip on how to maximize Yelan’s damage output during her brief floor time in your team’s skill rotation. Initiate with her Charged Attack, follow it swiftly with her Elemental Skill, then immediately activate her Burst to collect all Energy particles for rapid recharge before switching her out. This sequence enhances the damage amplification for the main DPS that she’ll switch into while Yelan gracefully takes her leave from the action. Genshin Impact might be a gacha game but with a properly built Yelan on the team, your victory is all but certain.