Everything you need to know about the Genshin Impact Xiao banner

Genshin Impact has picked up its expansion pace. Genshin Impact 2.7 brings with it the latest Xiao banner, which just might be the fastest a banner has ever rerun. Xiao first launched as a five-star Anemo polearm user following the additions of Ganyu, Zhongli, and Albedo. He was one of the most popular five-star additions next to Venti and, unlike the free-spirited bard, continues to inarguably be one of the strongest characters in the game. Even with that in mind, is he worth spending your Primogems on? Here’s what we know about the upcoming Xiao banner.

When is the Genshin Impact Xiao banner end time?

Xiao reruns alongside Yelan in the first half of Genshin Impact 2.7. In that case, his banner starts on May 31 and runs for three weeks after until Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu take the stage. The exact times aren’t confirmed, but Itto’s banner is expected to start on June 21, 2022.

Note that this is Xiao’s third run after his original run in February 2021 and the second run in January 2022.

What characters are featured on the Genshin Impact Xiao banner?

HoYoverse has yet to confirm the four-stars running on the 2.7 banners. However, leakers highly suspect that Xiao and Yelan will run alongside these three four-star characters:

• Pyro Catalyst user Yanfei
• Geo Claymore wielder Noelle
• Hydro Catalyst user Barbara

Are you guaranteed to get Xiao in Genshin Impact?

Not quite. You're not guaranteed to get Xiao, even if you pull from his banner. Luckily, Genshin Impact does feature a Mercy system. If you conduct 89 attempts without getting a five-star reward, you're guaranteed a five-star item on your 90th pull. The guaranteed five-star item has a 50 percent chance to be Xiao. If that first pity five-star wasn't Xiao, your next five-star will be. This means, at most, you'll need 180 wishes to get Xiao.

If you participated in a previous event banner without earning a five-star character, your progress will carry over to the Xiao Banner.

Is Xiao a good character in Genshin Impact?

There's no way around this. Xiao is incredible. He's a massive boon to any party he's in and trivializes most Genshin Impact content in the same way Venti did when the game launched. His plunging attacks deal absurd amounts of damage and are easily accessible when you activate Xiao's Elemental Burst. Fortunately, his Elemental Burst has a very snappy cooldown time. When testing the character, I found it was usually available seconds after Xiao uses it. You'll be in your Elemental Burst mode more often than not when you're using Xiao.

Xiao comes with an innately high critical hit rate as well, ensuring that he'll hit rather hard most of the time. Everything here is to say Xiao is one of the best DPS in Genshin Impact even now.

When Xiao's in your party, he'll also make certain things easier. Characters in the same party as Xiao consume 25 percent less stamina while climbing. If you pair him with Venti, you'll likely be able to scale any wall with ease.

Should you pay for the Xiao banner in Genshin Impact?

Yes. If the above gushing of Xiao wasn't enough, then the answer is yes you should pay for the Xiao banner. However, make sure to calculate your Primogem income if you're a free-to-play player. There's nothing more frustrating than coming a wish or two shy of the pity system kicking in. Check your history to make sure you're actually close to getting pity before you go full hog in Xiao.

Other than Xiao, the remaining banner characters aren’t bad choices. Yanfei, Noelle, and Barbara all have their strengths that stand out in a well-composed team. Yanfei effectively applies Pyro in a way that even outdoes her five-star counterpart, Klee. Meanwhile, Noelle and Barbara can heal in place of elusive five-star healers like Jean and Qiqi. They're great support characters. They’re not especially compatible with Xiao's kit, but they're good to have in your pocket for pesky Spiral Abyss sections.

What banner comes after Xiao in Genshin Impact?

Following Xiao's banner, Geo gang leader Arataki Itto reruns for the first time with Kuki Shinobu. Shinobu, the deputy leader of the Arataki Gang, debuts in Genshin Impact 2.7 alongside two other unannounced four-stars. Itto’s one hell of a personality and hits hard as a Geo DPS, especially on mono-Geo teams. He goes hard, though maybe not as hard as Xiao.

After that, it's rumored that Kaedahara Kazuha will finally rerun in Genshin Impact 2.8.

Read next: Everything we know about Genshin Impact version 2.8