TL;DR
- Yelan is a 5-star Hydro Bow character from Liyue who excels as an off-field sub-DPS.
- Her damage and healing both scale with Max HP — build HP% as your main stat.
- Best weapon: Aqua Simulacra (signature) or Favonius Warbow (F2P-friendly).
- Best artifacts: 4-piece Emblem of Severed Fate is the go-to for almost every build.
- Best teams: Vaporize with Hu Tao, Freeze with Ayaka or Skirk, Hyperbloom with Dendro units.
- Aim for 170–200% Energy Recharge — her entire kit depends on her Burst being up.
- Prioritize leveling her Elemental Burst first, then her Elemental Skill.
Who Is Yelan in Genshin Impact?
Yelan is a 5-star Hydro Bow character from Liyue introduced in Version 2.7. She claims to work for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but her name does not appear on any official records there. In short, she is a mystery — and that same unpredictability carries over into her combat style.
In battle, Yelan functions as one of the game’s best off-field Hydro sub-DPS characters. She stays off the field most of the time, delivering coordinated Hydro attacks through her Elemental Burst while your main DPS deals damage and triggers reactions. Her damage scales with Max HP, which makes her easy to build without worrying too much about CRIT scaling early on.
She is also a team buffer. Her 4th Ascension Passive ramps up the active character’s damage by up to 50% while her Burst is active. This makes her valuable in any team, not just as a Hydro applicator. If you are running Hydro reaction teams — Vaporize, Freeze, Bloom, or Hyperbloom — Yelan is one of the strongest options available.
She pairs excellently with characters like Hu Tao and Furina, and works in many of the same team archetypes as Xingqiu while offering higher personal damage and a damage buff passive in return.
Yelan Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Strong off-field Hydro application that enables Vaporize, Freeze, Bloom, and Hyperbloom reactions.
- Damage scales with Max HP — straightforward to build.
- Her 4th Ascension Passive buffs active character damage by up to 50%.
- Highly flexible — fits into a wide variety of team compositions.
- Her Elemental Skill provides fast movement for exploration and particle generation.
- Works well alongside other Hydro characters like Xingqiu or Furina.
Cons:
- High Energy cost for her Burst (70 Energy) — you need strong Energy Recharge investment.
- No defensive utility — unlike Xingqiu, she does not provide interruption resistance or damage reduction.
- She is a 5-star limited character, so pulling her requires luck or saved Primogems.
Yelan Abilities and Skills
Normal Attack – Stealthy Bowshot
Yelan performs up to four consecutive shots with her bow. Her Charged Attack is an Aimed Shot that charges up to deal more damage. She also has a unique Breakthrough state: after being idle for a short time, her next Charged Shot will deal massive AoE Hydro DMG. This Breakthrough state can also be reset by her Elemental Skill under the right conditions.
Her Normal Attacks matter more at higher Constellations (especially C6), but at C0 they are low priority.
Elemental Skill – Lingering Lifeline
This is Yelan’s mobility skill and one of the most unique movement abilities in Genshin Impact. When activated:
- Yelan dashes rapidly in a direction, attaching her Lifeline thread to enemies she passes through.
- When the dash ends, the Lifeline explodes and deals Hydro DMG to all marked enemies.
- If three or more enemies are marked, Yelan has a high chance to reset her Breakthrough state, buffing her next Charged Attack.
- Each opponent hit restores 7 Energy for Yelan, up to a maximum of 21 Energy per use.
The Hold version lets you freely control the dash direction for longer, marking more enemies along the way. It is ideal for both combat and fast exploration across the map.
Elemental Burst – Depth-Clarion Dice
This is Yelan’s most important ability. On activation:
- Deals AoE Hydro DMG immediately.
- Summons the Exquisite Throw — a dice-like construct that follows your active character.
- Exquisite Throw fires a coordinated Hydro attack every time your active character lands a Normal Attack (once per second) and every time Yelan’s Lifeline explodes.
- All coordinated attack damage scales with Yelan’s Max HP.
Exquisite Throw lasts for 15 seconds and its consistent Hydro application off-field is what makes Yelan so valuable. Your main DPS keeps attacking while Exquisite Throw keeps applying Hydro and dealing damage in the background.
Passive Talents
- Turn Control (1st Ascension Passive): When the party has 1/2/3/4 different elemental types, Yelan’s Max HP increases by 6%/12%/18%/30%. Running a diverse team composition directly makes Yelan stronger and boosts her damage output.
- Adapt With Ease (4th Ascension Passive): While Exquisite Throw is active, the current active character deals 1% more damage. This increases by an additional 3.5% every second, up to a maximum of 50% bonus DMG. This passive alone makes Yelan an exceptional buffer who rewards longer Burst windows.
- Utility Passive: Yelan gains 25% more rewards when sent on Liyue Expeditions for 20 hours. Useful for passive resource farming.
Yelan Constellations
Yelan’s Constellations are all strong. Even C1 is a significant upgrade. Here is what each one does:
- C1 – Taking All Comers: Yelan’s Lingering Lifeline gains one additional charge. This essentially doubles her Skill usage per rotation, giving more Energy, more Hydro application, and more flexibility. One of the best C1 upgrades in the game.
- C2 – Enter the Plotters: After an Exquisite Throw coordinated attack hits, Yelan fires another arrow that deals 14% of her Max HP as Hydro DMG. This is a significant DPS increase — one of her best Constellations for damage output.
- C3 – Dealer’s Sleight: Increases Depth-Clarion Dice talent level by 3, up to a maximum of Level 15. Directly boosts her Burst damage and HP scaling.
- C4 – Bait-and-Switch: When Lingering Lifeline marks opponents, all party members gain 10% Max HP for 25 seconds per marked enemy, up to 40% total. This is a nice HP buff for HP-scaling characters like Furina.
- C5 – Beware the Trickster’s Dice: Increases Lingering Lifeline talent level by 3, up to Level 15. Boosts her Skill damage.
- C6 – Winner Take All: After using Depth-Clarion Dice, Yelan enters a Mastermind state where all her Normal Attacks become enhanced, dealing Hydro DMG based on her Max HP instead of regular attack damage. This turns Yelan into an on-field DPS option and massively increases her damage ceiling.
Priority: C1 and C2 are the biggest upgrades. C0 is completely functional, but C1 makes her noticeably easier to play.
Yelan Best Weapons
Yelan scales with Max HP and Energy Recharge. Her best weapons either provide HP, CRIT stats, or Energy Recharge to keep her Burst up consistently.
Best Weapon – Aqua Simulacra (Signature)
Yelan’s signature weapon is her best-in-slot for almost every situation. It provides a large HP% bonus (up to 16% at max refinement), which directly boosts both her damage and her Burst heal from the Exquisite Throw. Its passive also increases damage dealt by Yelan when opponents are nearby. A straightforward pick that benefits everything about her kit.
Best Premium Alternative – Elegy for the End
Elegy for the End outperforms Aqua Simulacra in teams that heavily rely on elemental reactions like Vaporize. Its passive increases Elemental Mastery and eventually provides a team-wide ATK and EM buff. If your team triggers a lot of reactions, this bow can push more total team damage than Yelan’s signature.
Best F2P Weapon – Favonius Warbow
This is the top free-to-play-accessible option for Yelan. It generates Energy for the entire team when Yelan scores a CRIT hit. Since her Energy requirements are high, this bow solves that problem while also helping other team members charge their Bursts faster. A great all-around pick that works well in almost any team.
Other Good Options
- Sacrificial Bow: Resets her Elemental Skill cooldown on a CRIT, giving an extra Skill use for more Energy and Hydro application per rotation.
- Mouun’s Moon: Boosts Elemental Burst DMG based on Energy Recharge. Works well if you are already stacking ER for her. Note that its ATK% substat is wasted on Yelan since she scales with HP.
- The Stringless: Increases Elemental Skill and Burst damage. A decent F2P option if you happen to have a high refinement copy.
Yelan Best Artifacts
Yelan’s artifact choices are fairly straightforward. Energy Recharge is her biggest need, and her damage all scales with Max HP.
Best Artifact Set – Emblem of Severed Fate (4-Piece)
This is the best set for Yelan in almost every situation. The 2-piece bonus gives 20% Energy Recharge, helping her charge her Burst faster. The 4-piece bonus converts Energy Recharge into Elemental Burst DMG (up to 75% conversion). Since you are already stacking ER for Yelan anyway, this set gives you free damage on top of it. Farm this from the Momiji-Dyed Court domain.
Alternative Sets
- 2-piece Emblem + 2-piece Noblesse Oblige: A solid middle-ground option. You get the ER bonus from Emblem plus a 20% Burst DMG bonus from Noblesse. Good if you have strong pieces from both sets.
- 2-piece Heart of Depth + 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith: Gives 15% Hydro DMG and 20% HP. Usable but generally weaker than the Emblem options for Yelan.
- Noblesse Oblige (4-piece): If no other teammate is wearing Noblesse, this gives a 20% team ATK buff after her Burst. Can be useful in a buffing role, though it sacrifices her personal damage.
Artifact Main Stats to Target
- Sands: HP% or Energy Recharge (use ER Sands if you are still below 170% ER)
- Goblet: Hydro DMG Bonus
- Circlet: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG (aim for a 1:2 CRIT ratio)
Artifact Substats Priority
Energy Recharge (until ~170–200% at C0) > CRIT Rate/DMG > HP%
Yelan Ascension Materials
Here is everything you need to ascend Yelan from Level 1 to Level 90:
- Hydro Gems: Varunada Lazurite (Sliver, Fragment, Chunk, Gemstone) — farmed from the Hydro Hypostasis, Rhodeia of Loch, or weekly bosses.
- Boss Material: Runic Fang — dropped by the Ruin Serpent boss in The Chasm.
- Local Specialty: Starshroom — found in The Chasm underground region of Liyue.
- Common Enemy Drop: Recruit’s Insignia, Sergeant’s Insignia, and Lieutenant’s Insignia — dropped by Fatui Skirmisher enemies.
Talent Materials
To level up Yelan’s talents, you need:
- Talent Books: Prosperity series (Teachings, Guide, Philosophies of Prosperity) — from the Taishan Mansion domain on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday.
- Weekly Boss Material: Gilded Scale — dropped by the Azhdaha weekly boss.
- Common Material: Fatui Insignia series — from Fatui Skirmisher enemies.
- Crown of Insight: One per talent to reach Level 10.
Yelan Best Team Compositions
Yelan’s off-field Hydro application makes her one of the most versatile supports in the game. She fits into many team types. Here are the most effective ones.
Best Team – Hu Tao Vaporize
This is one of Yelan’s strongest and most popular teams. Hu Tao’s Pyro attacks hit Yelan’s Exquisite Throw Hydro to trigger Vaporize for massive damage. Yelan and Xingqiu together provide so much Hydro that almost every Hu Tao hit becomes a Vaporize reaction.
Freeze Team
Yelan’s continuous Hydro application is perfect for keeping enemies Frozen alongside a Cryo DPS. The Exquisite Throw keeps reapplying Hydro every second, which means enemies stay Frozen for longer.
- Main DPS: Kamisato Ayaka or Ganyu
- Hydro Sub-DPS: Yelan
- Anemo Support: Kazuha or Venti
- Flex: Another Cryo support or Charlotte for healing
Neuvillette + Furina Team
Yelan works excellently alongside Neuvillette and Furina. Neuvillette’s Charged Attacks deal Hydro DMG, and Yelan’s coordinated attacks provide extra Hydro hits. Furina drains HP and deals extra damage, while Yelan’s Adapt With Ease passive buffs Neuvillette’s damage throughout the Burst window.
- Main DPS: Neuvillette
- Support: Furina
- Sub-DPS: Yelan
- Anemo / Healer Flex: Kazuha or Charlotte
Hyperbloom Team
Yelan can function in Hyperbloom teams by providing Hydro to combine with Dendro for Bloom seeds, which an Electro character then triggers into Hyperbloom. This team deals consistent high damage through elemental reactions.
- Dendro DPS: Nahida or Alhaitham
- Electro Trigger: Raiden Shogun or Fischl
- Hydro Support: Yelan
- Flex: Any utility or second Dendro character
Arlecchino Vaporize Team
Similar to the Hu Tao team, Yelan works well with Arlecchino as the Pyro DPS. Arlecchino’s fast attacks benefit from Yelan’s consistent off-field Hydro application and her damage ramp-up passive.
Yelan Talent Priority
Level Yelan’s talents in this order:
- Elemental Burst (Depth-Clarion Dice) — This is her most important talent. All of Yelan’s off-field damage comes from here and scales directly with talent level and Max HP. Level this first.
- Elemental Skill (Lingering Lifeline) — Her Skill generates Energy and deals damage when it explodes. Leveling it increases damage output and makes each rotation more efficient.
- Normal Attack (Stealthy Bowshot) — Lowest priority at C0. Only becomes relevant at C6 when her Normal Attacks deal HP-scaling Hydro DMG.
Yelan vs Xingqiu – Which Is Better?
This is one of the most common questions for Hydro support slots. Both characters do similar jobs but with key differences.
Yelan is better for: higher personal damage, the 50% DMG ramp-up buff from her passive, and longer off-field Hydro windows.
Xingqiu is better for: providing interruption resistance and damage reduction, which characters like Hu Tao and Klee rely on to stay on the field comfortably.
Running both together in the same team is actually common and effective, especially in Vaporize teams. Their Hydro application overlaps and stacks, making Hydro reactions near-permanent.
Is Yelan Worth Pulling?
Yes — Yelan is one of the strongest 5-star characters in the game. She fits into an enormous number of team compositions, she buffs your active character’s damage passively, and her off-field Hydro application is among the best available. Whether you are running Vaporize, Freeze, Bloom, or Hyperbloom, she improves almost any team that benefits from Hydro.
At C0, she performs excellently with the right Energy Recharge investment. Her Constellations are strong but not necessary. If you have been looking for a reliable Hydro sub-DPS who also functions as a damage buffer, Yelan is well worth the pull.
You can play Genshin Impact on PC via the official HoYoverse site, Android via Google Play, iOS via the App Store, PlayStation, Epic Games Store, or Xbox.
