Introduction
With the upcoming Xiao Rerun in the 2.4 update alongside Shenhe, this article will explore Xiao's value as a DPS and how to build him. Additionally, I will consider whether he is a worthy addition to your team, compared to other characters and Shenhe in particular. For those who already have Xiao, I will discuss his constellations and their uses. To learn more about how to build Xiao, you can check out my article here.
Xiao's DPS Value
Pros:
- Given that his Ultimate allows him 15s of plunge attacks, it doesn't feel like a hit-or-miss based on whether Xiao crits, compared to characters such as Hu Tao, Eula, and Childe. This gives some leeway when building his CR:CD ratio.
- His mobility in his Ultimate also prevents you from "missing" your Ultimate entirely, something that is rather common with one-hit Ultimates when enemies teleport.
- Xiao can stagger enemies and prevent them from attacking you.
- He is able to break enemy shields rather quickly due to his Anemo element, so he can be used to defeat many different bosses in Spiral Abyss' higher floors.
- Xiao is very easy to play, with a simple kit.
- Xiao does not require constellations to deal decent DMG.
Cons:
- Despite breaking enemy shields easily, no enemy has lower Anemo RES in particular, so the damage he does won't hit as high numbers as Pyro/Hydro/Cryo DPS.
- His HP drain when using his Ultimate could be risky at higher floors of Spiral Abyss, particularly with corrosion that continuously drains HP. You can't deal damage when you're dead :/
- Xiao's plunge attacks could be more trouble when he deals knockback and ungroups enemies.
- Xiao lacks dedicated support characters as there are currently no characters in the game that buff Anemo DMG. Additionally, there are no characters that can lower Anemo RES that is easily available to F2P players or low-spenders, as the skills are constellation locked.
- Xiao has a slight Energy Recharge problem, though this can be solved with other battery characters on your team giving him elemental particles.
Building
Xiao is simple to build with artifacts that can be easily obtained from killing bosses, or the new Shimenawa set. Viridescent Venerer's comes from a domain that you probably would have done to build Sucrose, Venti, or Jean. For more information on his build, you can read my build guide. Weapons-wise, the best F2P option would be the Blackcliff Pole as the craftable weapons don't fit his playstyle well.
Team Building
Xiao needs a healer, a shielder, and a battery in his team. Xiao is popular with the Double Geo and Double Anemo team composition, such as Xiao, Jean (healer and battery), Zhongli (shielder), Albedo (support). A F2P friendly team would be Xiao, Sucrose (battery), Diona (healer and shielder), Bennett (healer and support). An example of the team composition I use in Spiral Abyss is below: 
I use Jean as a healer and to give Xiao elemental particles, while Zhongli shields and Ningguang is alternate DPS when Xiao's ultimate is not ready. I would not recommend using 2 Main DPSes typically and bringing another support character instead of Ningguang is encouraged.
Constellations
Xiao's Constellations aren't very F2P or low-spender friendly, as only his C6 is a game-changer. The rest of his constellations do not add much value to him as a DPS or increase your damage much. Details and review of his constellations are below:
- Dissolution Eon: Dissolver of Worlds
- Increases Lemniscatic Wind Cycling (Skill) charge by 1.
- This allows you to perform your E in succession 1 more time, which doesn't add a significant amount of DPS to your team.
- Annihilation Eon: Blossom of Kaleidos
- When in the party but not on the field, Xiao's ER% is increased by 25%.
- This could be helpful to regain Xiao's Ultimate more quickly but isn't necessary if you have a dedicated battery character on your team (more information on team compositions above).
- Conqueror of Evil: Wrath Deity
- Increases level of Lemniscatic Wind Cycling (Skill) by 3, maximum upgrade level is 15.
- Though his scaling numbers are decent, the increased level isn't worth your money as a low-spender.
- Transcension: Extinction of Suffering
- When Xiao's HP falls below 50%, he gains a 100% DEF bonus.
- While helpful due to Xiao's HP drain from his Ultimate, this problem can be easily solved by using a Shield character and a healer (more information on team compositions above).
- Evolution Eon: Origin of Ignorance
- Increases level of Bane of All Evil (Ultimate) by 3, maximum upgrade level is 15.
- Once again, helpful to increase DPS but not worth the money for low-spenders.
- Conqueror of Evil: Guardian Yaksha
- When under the effects of his Ultimate, hitting at least 2 opponents with Xiao's Plunging Attack will immediately Grant him 1 charge of Lemniscatic Wind Cycling and for the next 1s, he may use Lemniscatic Wind Cycling while ignoring its CD.
- A game-changer for Xiao, changing his play style entirely. Instead of just Plunge attacks, he can be used for horizontal attacks. However, do note that this might be useless in Spiral Abyss if there is only 1 enemy in that chamber. Definitely an interesting playstyle if you have the means to spend on C6.
Xiao vs Shenhe
Since Xiao will be rerun with Shenhe, I would like to compare their roles in teams to see which playstyle or role you might prefer. Do look out for a Shenhe guide coming soon!
Xiao is a DPS with many pros and cons (as listed above), depending on your playstyle and skill level. His unique feature of being the only Anemo DPS definitely has some drawbacks but it makes his role a more flexible one.
Shenhe, on the other hand, is a supporting character that is dedicated to Cryo and Physical DPS characters such as Ayaka, Ganyu, and Eula. She increases Cryo DMG bonuses and her niche role is rather strange for a 5-star character. It is still too early to comment on her scaling and damage numbers before her release, but she is a character that you can skip if you dislike Cryo DPS characters.
Conclusion and Experiences
If you are looking for a DPS character with an interesting playstyle and flexible role in your team, I would greatly recommend Xiao. I was lucky enough to obtain Xiao in his original run and typically use him in Spiral Abyss floor 9-11. On floor 12, I find it rather difficult to keep him alive with his HP drain and when enemies deal enough damage to shred my shields. His plunges put you in the belly of the beast, vulnerable to combos from the enemy that could kill you instantly. However, I have no complaints with his DPS at Floors 9-11 and find him especially useful when killing the Fatui agents in Floor 10 as Xiao can deal continuous DPS with his ultimate to multiple targets at a time.
Ultimately, it is your decision if you would like to pull for Xiao. I would suggest trying his character trial to see if you enjoy his playstyle. We hope that you have found this article helpful and that you will enjoy the new updates in the 2.4 version of Genshin Impact (more information here)! Do look out for more Genshin guides from me and let us know if there are other articles you would like to read!