It’s generally agreed he was worth the wait, though: not many Electro characters make for an effective main DPS, but Cyno handily bucks that trend with a set of powerful normal and elemental attacks. So read on for details of the best build we’ve seen for Cyno, including his best weapons, artifacts, party members, and more.
How to build Cyno as your main DPS in Genshin Impact
Best weapon: Staff of the Scarlet Sands
4-star alternative: Deathmatch Staff of the Scarlet Sands is a new polearm introduced in Version 3.1, and unsurprisingly it’s an excellent choice of weapon for the version’s brand-new polearm wielder Cyno. With this polearm equipped, Cyno will gain a huge percentage of his Elemental Mastery as an ATK bonus, with another EM-scaled ATK bonus popping in for 10 seconds whenever Cyno’s Elemental Skill hits an opponent. However, a brand-new 5-star weapon isn’t necessarily the most attainable thing in Genshin Impact, especially if you’ve just depleted your wishes getting Cyno in the first place. The Deathmatch makes for a strong 4-star alternative for Cyno: it grants him increased ATK when facing off against a single opponent, or a mixed increase to ATK and DEF when in the vicinity of two or more opponents.
Best artifacts: Gilded Dreams and/or Gladiator’s Finale
Cyno requires a good mix of ATK and Elemental Mastery, but you really have the choice of whether to go all-in on a single artifact set that boosts one stat, or mix-and-match for a balance of the two. For ATK bonuses, the Gladiator’s Finale set will grant Cyno an extra 18% ATK bonus at two pieces. If you choose to focus entirely on ATK as Cyno’s primary artifact bonus, then you can equip four pieces from this set; then Cyno’s melee attacks with his polearm will enjoy a further 35% increase to Normal ATK DMG. For Elemental Mastery bonuses, Gilded Dreams will provide Cyno with some helpful boosts. With two pieces equipped, Cyno’s Elemental Mastery will be increased by 80. If you choose to focus fully on Elemental Mastery with Cyno’s artifacts, you can equip four pieces from this set. This will grant Cyno buffs based on the element of his party members whenever he triggers an elemental reaction: increasing his ATK by 14% for every other Electro character in his party, and his Elemental Mastery by 50 for every party memeber with a different element to Cyno’s. To really make the most of Cyno’s build, aim for the following stats and substats on his artifacts:
Circlet of Logos: CRITs Sands of Eon: Elemental Mastery or ATK Goblet of Eonothem: Electro DMG Bonus Substats: Energy Recharge, CRITs, Elemental Mastery or ATK
Talent priority: Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness (Elemental Burst)
Secondary: Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer (Elemental Skill) All three of Cyno’s active talents are worth developing if you plan to use him as your main DPS, but his incredibly powerful Elemental Burst should definitely take top priority. Which talent you choose to focus on next is somewhat your call, but it’s probably better to go all-in on his elemental talents before focussing on his normal attack last (but not least). Here’s a full list of Cyno’s talents and what they do:
Invoker’s Spear (Normal Attack): Normal Attack: Cyno performs up to four consecutive spear strikes. Charged Attack: Cyno consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to enemies along the way. Plunging Attack: Cyno plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along his path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact. Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer (Elemental Skill): Cyno performs a swift thrust, dealing Electro DMG to opponents along his path. When Cyno is under the Pathsworn Pathclearer state triggered by his Elemental Burst, he will instead unleash a Mortuary Rite that deals thunderous AoE Electro DMG and extends the duration of Pathsworn Pathclearer. Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness (Elemental Burst): Cyno calls upon a divine spirit to indwell him, morphing into the Pactsworn Pathclearer: Cyno’s Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks will be converted to Electro DMG that cannot be overridden; Cyno’s Elemental Mastery and resistance to interruption will increase; and he gains immunity to Electro-Charged DMG. This effect will be canceled when Cyno leaves the field and lasts a maximum of 18 seconds. The Gift of Silence (Utility Passive): Cyno gains 25% more rewards when dispatched on a Sumeru Expedition for 20 hours. Featherfall Judgment (1st Ascension Passive): When Cyno is in the Pactsworn Pathclearer state activated by his Elemental Burst, he will enter the Endseer stance at intervals. If he activates his Elemental Skill while affected by this stance, he will activate the Judication effect, increasing the DMG of his Elemental Skill by 35%, and firing off 3 Duststalker Bolts that deal 100% of Cyno’s ATK as Electro DMG. Authority Over the Nine Bows (4th Ascension Passive): Cyno’s DMG values will be increased based on his Elemental Mastery. Pactsworn Pathclearer’s Normal Attack DMG is increased by 125% of his Elemental Mastery. Duststalker Bolt DMG from his 1st Ascension Passive is increased by 250% of his Elemental Mastery.
Party composition
Main DPS: Cyno Sub-DPS: Xingqiu Sub-DPS/Support: Collei Healer/Support: Kuki Shinobu
5-star alternative: Yelan replacing Xingqiu as Hydro sub-DPS Cyno is immune to Electro-Charged (Electro + Hydro) damage when his Elemental Burst is active, so pair him up with a Hydro sub-DPS to take best advantage of this. Xingqiu is a top-class candidate and extremely attainable at a 4-star rarity; but if you have a 5-star Hydro character like Yelan, you can consider subbing them in for more of a co-DPS role. On the support side of the team, Cyno will find it useful to have another Electro character in his party to act as elemental battery. Since the game has gained a pair of Electro healers lately you might as well double up this role, in which case I recommend Kuki Shinobu — as an added bonus, Shinobu’s Elemental Skill can provide continuous Electro DMG and healing even when she’s off-field. Finally, round the team out with Collei to take advantage of the still-new interactivity between Electro + Dendro (and Dendro + Hydro) for some powerful DMG boosts.
How to level up Cyno in Genshin Impact
Ascension Materials
To fully ascend Cyno, you will need the following materials: Vajrada Amethyst pieces are easy enough to get hold of, since they’re dropped quite freely by Electro area bosses; included in random levelling material rewards and purchaseable from vendors at lower levels; and obtainable through alchemy at higher levels. Scarabs are found in the wild around Sumeru, while Scrolls are dropped by defeated Samachurls of increasing difficulty. Finally, Thunderclap Fruitcores are exclusively dropped by defeated Electro Regisvines at Lvl 30+.
Talents
To fully level up one of Cyno’s active talents, you’ll need the following materials: If you want to level up all three of Cyno’s talents you’ll need to collect all of this three times over, so best get farming! As with his Ascension Materials, Samachurls are a source of Scrolls; while Cyno’s books can be obtained from Sumeru’s Steeple of Ignorance domain on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Mudras of the Malefic General come from replaying The Shogun’s boss fight “End of the Oneiric Euthymia” at Lvl 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight can be obtained through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.
Constellations
As a 5-star character, Cyno’s constellations are going to be out of reach for many players, and will take even the most dedicated mains quite a while to collect. Still, if you’re all about Cyno, here’s what you’re pulling for when you roll his duplicates:
Ordinance: Unceasing Vigil (C1): After using his Elemental Burst, Cyno’s Normal Attack SPD will be increased by 20% for 10s. If the Judication effect of his 1st Ascension Passive is triggered during his Elemental Skill, the duration of this increase will be refreshed. Ceremony: Homecoming of Spirits (C2): When Cyno’s Normal Attacks hit opponents, his Electro DMG Bonus will increase by 10% for 4 seconds. This effect can be triggered once every 0.1 seconds. (Max 5 stacks.) Precept: Lawful Enforcer (C3): Increases the level of Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness by 3, up to a maximum upgrade level of 15. Austerity: Forbidding Guard (C4): When Cyno is in the Pactsworn Pathclearer state triggered by his Elemental Burst, he will restore 3 Elemental Energy for all nearby party members (except himself) after he triggers Electro-Charged, Superconduct, Overloaded, Quicken, Aggravate, Hyperbloom, or an Electro Swirl reaction. This effect can occur 5 times within one use of Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness. Funerary Rite: The Passing of Starlight (C5): Increases the Level of Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer by 3, up to a maximum upgrade level of 15. Raiment: Just Scales (C6): After using his Elemental Burst or triggering the Judication effect of his 1st Ascension Passive, Cyno will gain 4 stacks of the “Day of the Jackal” effect. When he hits opponents with Normal Attacks, he will consume 1 stack of “Day of the Jackal” to fire off one Duststalker Bolt. “Day of the Jackal” lasts for 8 seconds (max 8 stacks), and will be canceled once Pactsworn Pathclearer ends. A maximum of 1 Duststalker Bolt can be unleashed this way every 0.4 seconds.
How to get Cyno in Genshin Impact
Cyno is a 5-star event wish limited character, which means he’s only available when his Character Event Wish banner is running in the gacha. He made his debut in a September/October 2022 run on Version 3.1, but is now once again unavailable. He’ll undoubtedly get a rerun sooner or later, but we don’t yet know when that will happen. In the meantime though, it’s a good idea to start saving up your currencies and wishes if you wan to pull for Cyno next time! Now that you know all about Cyno in Genshin Impact, you might be interested in learning more about the many other playable characters available in the game. If the idea of an Electro polearm fighter has piqued your interest, why not check out our Raiden Shogun build guide to see how her kit compares to Cyno’s? Or if you’re after the bigger picture, take a look at our Genshin Impact character tier list for our rankings of every single character in the game.
