Xingqiu. The answer is almost always Xingqiu.
How we navigate through the tangled web of decisions to get to which 4-star character you should pick for Genshin Impact’s 2.4 Lantern Rite Festival is a bit more nuanced than just picking Xingqiu three seconds after you’re given the choice. Yes, the well-read young swordmaster is arguably the strongest pick and the most useful for many teams, but there are plenty of reasons to select other characters. We’ll discuss them here to help you decide which character is best for you and your account.
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First here are the reasons NOT to pick Xinqiu:
- You already have him at C6.
- The constellation you’d be getting is NOT C2, C4, or C6.
- You aren’t playing Hu Tao, Diluc, Ayaka, or Keqing as your main carry.
- You prefer your characters to be wearing pants.
In the above cases, there may be a better pick for you. If you’ve decided against Xingqiu, the remaining characters available to join your team during the Lantern Rite Festival are Xiangling, Beidou, Ningguang, Chongyun, Xinyan, Yanfei, and the new character, Yun Jin.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Xiangling is arguably the strongest pyro support unit in the game. However, we all get one for free from the Spiral Abyss, so the best reason to select her is if you’d be picking up her coveted C4 from the selection.
- Beidou is fantastic electro support with massive off-field damage. However, if you got her for free earlier, she is less desirable, unless you would be getting her C2.
- Ningguang is a strong Geo carry. She makes a great first pick, or if you just want to make use of the free Ningguang skin from this event.
- Chongyun is an underrated pick. Feel free to grab him if you want him, don’t have him, need decent cryo support, or if you really enjoy popsicles.
- Xinyan is a tough sell here. She was recently given for free, and her kit is noticeably underpowered. If you really like her, then go for it.
- Yanfei can have comparable damage to Diluc if she is built well. She’s a great pick if you need a peppy pyro DPS unit, and gets better at C1 and C2, with an underrated shield tank build at C4.
- Picking Yun Jin simply because she is new is a perfectly valid reason to choose her. This is especially true if you are saving your primogems through 2.4 and aren’t pulling on the banner she is in. If you just want the new unit, then this is probably your choice.
Of course, none of this matters if you’ve got a favorite character available to pick who you haven’t gotten yet. If you want to slam the pick button on that character you’ve always wanted, but the gacha was unkind, go right ahead. Favorites are always a great choice. Oh, and Xingqiu. The answer is almost always Xingqiu.
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