Mastering Yanqing in Honkai Star Rail: A Comprehensive Guide

Welcome to this guide on Yanqing, the icy prodigy under Jing Yuan's mentorship.

Known for his potent single-target damage dealing ability and impressive survival skills, Yanqing has carved out a niche for himself in Honkai Star Rail.

Today, we'll go deeper into his stats, abilities, traces, eidolons, as well as his strengths and weaknesses.

We'll also explore his best relics and light cones, and wrap up with his optimal rotations and team compositions.

Let's get to it!

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Mastering Yanqing in Honkai Star Rail: A Comprehensive Guide

Yanqing: A Deeper Dive into Overview and Stat Comparisons

Yanqing, the 5-star Hunt Ice character, is renowned for his role as a high single-target damage dealer. He is a part of the standard 5-star units, marking his importance in the story.

He embodies the essence of an aggressive attacker, focusing on massive damage output.

At level 80, his base HP stands at 892, a figure that may not impress at first but is compensated by a base attack of 679.

What sets Yanqing apart is his impressive base speed of 109, placing him among the fastest units in Honkai Star Rail.

In terms of aggro, Yanqing's taunt value is 75, equivalent to a 17% chance of being hit in a standard team before considering aggro modifiers.

Despite having the third lowest HP and one of the lowest defenses in the game, Yanqing's attack is just under his mentor, Jing Yuan.

His energy cost is the highest in the game, tied with Qingque.

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Yanqing's Basic Attack: Frost Thorn

Yanqing's basic attack, named Frost Thorn, is more than just an ordinary attack.

It deals standard ice damage to a single enemy, inflicts 30 toughness damage, and regenerates 20 energy for Yanqing and 1 skill point for his team.

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The Power of Yanqing's Talent: One With the Sword

Yanqing's talent, One With the Sword, is a central aspect of his gameplay, offering significant buffs when Soulsteel Sync is active.

The first of these buffs is a unique feature that reduces the likelihood of Yanqing being targeted by enemies.

Unlike traditional aggro modifiers, this effect impacts the base aggro by -60% before applying the aggro modifier itself. This means his base aggro decreases to 30, and even a hefty 500% aggro modifier from a shield only brings it up to 180.

Secondly, One With the Sword enhances Yanqing's crit rate and crit damage by 20% and 30% respectively at level 10.

It also enables him to perform a follow-up attack with a 60% fixed chance at max level. This attack deals 50% extra ice damage and has a 65% base chance to freeze the enemy.

A frozen target also receives damage on their turn equal to another 50% of Yanqing's attack. However, it's important to remember that receiving damage will cause Yanqing to lose this buff, emphasizing the need for strategic gameplay.

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Yanqing's Skill: Darting Ironthorn

The Darting Ironthorn skill is a vital part of Yanqing's arsenal, offering a significant amount of ice damage to a single enemy and activating Soulsteel Sync for 1 turn.

The beauty of this skill lies in its utility and how it synergizes with Yanqing's talent. By frequently using Darting Ironthorn, Soulsteel Sync remains active almost continuously, unless Yanqing is hit.

But here's a pro tip: If you’re fast enough after Yanqing gets hit, you can still use his ultimate before Soulsteel Sync goes away, since it goes away at the end of the enemies turn.

In addition to the damage it inflicts, Darting Ironthorn also deals 60 toughness damage and regenerates 30 energy for Yanqing while consuming a skill point.

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Yanqing's Ultimate: Amidst the Raining Bliss

Yanqing's ultimate, Amidst the Raining Bliss, is more than just a damage-dealing ability.

It first increases Yanqing's crit rate by 60% at max level, and if Soulsteel Sync is active, it also grants him a 50% crit damage buff, all for one turn. This results in a significant 80% crit rate and 80% crit damage buff in tandem with his talent.

The ultimate then deals a very high amount of ice damage to a single enemy. It also deals 90 toughness damage and refunds 5 energy, further weakening the enemy and sustaining Yanqing's energy levels.

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Yanqing's Technique: The One True Sword

The One True Sword is a buffing technique that enhances Yanqing's damage output.

Upon entering battle with this technique active, Yanqing deals 30% more damage for 2 turns to enemies above half health.

This technique is particularly effective against bosses in Simulated Universe and Memory of Chaos.

Check out this performance by an E0 Yanqing in MoC:

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Traces: Yanqing's Secret to Strength

Yanqing's traces and their bonuses are critical to maximizing his damage output and performance.

His first ascension passive, Icing on the Kick, allows him to deal additional ice damage equivalent to 30% of his attack to enemies with Ice Weakness. This bonus damage significantly enhances his overall damage output when dealing with ice-weak enemies.

Frost Favors the Brave, his second ascension passive, increases his effect resistance by 20% when Soulsteel Sync is active. While this may not seem substantial initially, it can become significant when stacked with other external effect resistance bonuses.

Finally, his third ascension passive, Gentle Blade, increases his speed by 10% for 2 turns whenever a crit hit is triggered. Considering Yanqing's high crit rate, this passive is activated frequently, providing him with a speed boost and improving his overall performance.

It's recommended to prioritize unlocking his A2 and A6 passives first, followed by his A4 ascension passive.

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Yanqing's Eidolons: Enhancing His Abilities

Yanqing has access to six eidolons as every character, each offering unique benefits that further enhance his capabilities.

1. Svelte Saber (E1): This eidolon boosts Yanqing's damage against frozen enemies. When he attacks a frozen enemy, he deals additional ice damage equal to 60% of his attack. While this eidolon's effectiveness is somewhat dependent on the chance to freeze, it can significantly boost Yanqing's damage output in the right circumstances.
2. Supine Serenade (E2): With Soulsteel Sync active, this eidolon increases Yanqing's energy regeneration rate by 10%. This is a nice quality-of-life bonus that makes it easier for Yanqing to maintain his energy levels and consistently use his abilities.
3. Searing Sting (E4): This eidolon activates when Yanqing's health is above 80%, granting him an additional 12% ice resistance penetration. This can give a considerable boost to Yanqing's damage output, provided he remains healthy.
4. Swift Swoop (E6): This final eidolon extends the duration of Yanqing's buffs from Soulsteel Sync or his ultimate by 1 turn whenever an enemy is defeated. While its effectiveness is somewhat situational, it can significantly boost Yanqing's performance in battles against multiple enemies or those with summons.

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Optimal Relics for Yanqing

Relics play a significant role in enhancing Yanqing's overall performance.

However, since Yanqing already boosts his crit damage considerably, the 4-piece ice set bonus may not be as beneficial as it seems.

Here's a closer look at his optimal relic sets:

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1. 4-piece Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters Set: The new best relic set for Yanqing if he's paired with a team that can mantain 3 debuffs on the enemy team. This set increases damage dealt and crit stats.
2. 4-Piece Musketeer Set: This set is ideal for Yanqing in the early game. It provides a good balance of attack, defense, and speed, allowing Yanqing to perform effectively while you gather more specialized relics.
3. 2-Piece Musketeer and 2-Piece Ice Set: In the late game, a combination of these two sets can match the damage output of a 4-piece ice set. This combination allows Yanqing to benefit from both the attack boost of the Musketeer set and the ice damage boost of the Ice set.
4. Planetary Ornaments: For planar ornaments, the top choices include Space Sealing Station/Firmament Frontline Glamoth, due to its ATK% boost, and Rutilant Arena/Inert Salsotto, as Yanqing's high crit rate can easily meet its conditional effect.

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For main stats, you'll want to prioritize Crit DMG% Body, ATK% Boots, Ice DMG% Orb, and ATK% Rope.

Speed Boots can be considered, given Yanqing's already high base speed and self-speed buffs. However, it's essential to never go for Energy Regeneration Rope.

When it comes to sub-stats, aim to get your Crit Rate to about 50% for his skill to crit frequently. After that, prioritize the usual: Crit DMG%, ATK%, and Speed.

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Optimal Late Game Stats for Yanqing

ATK: 2,700+

Speed: 135+

Crit Rate: 50%+

Crit DMG: 170%+

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Yanqing's Best Light Cones

The right light cone can significantly amplify Yanqing's abilities.

Here are his top picks:

1. In the Night/Swordplay at S5: Both of these light cones are optimal for Yanqing, offering significant boosts to his damage output. However, they might not be readily available for all players due to their 5-star and 4-star rarity respectively.
2. Sleep Like the Dead: This light cone synergizes incredibly well with Yanqing. Since his skill consists of 4 hits, if the first hit doesn't crit, the subsequent hits will benefit from the increased crit rate. This light cone carries the buff over to the next turn, providing a substantial increase to Yanqing's damage output.
3. Cruising in the Stellar Sea: This light cone is an excellent free-to-play option that's still highly effective for Yanqing. It might not offer the same level of damage boost as the ones mentioned above, but it's readily available and reliable.
4. River Flows in Spring: This light cone can be a decent option, especially if you're adept at playing around Yanqing's passive.

Choosing the right light cone and relic set for Yanqing can significantly enhance his effectiveness on the battlefield, making him an even more potent damage dealer.

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Optimal Rotations for Yanqing

Understanding Yanqing's optimal rotations is crucial to maximize his potential.

Depending on the energy regeneration and the number of follow-up attacks, Yanqing's rotation can vary:

1. 5-Turn Rotation: The maximum rotation cycle for Yanqing's ultimate is 5 turns. You'll need to hit at least two follow-up attacks during this period, which has a 91% chance of happening.
2. 4-Turn Rotation: If you manage to hit two follow-ups, you can optimize the rotation to 4 turns.
3. 3-Turn Rotation: A 3-turn rotation is possible with the help of Tingyun at E2. This requires hitting all four possible follow-up attacks, which has an 18% chance of happening.

During Yanqing's rotation, it's crucial to maintain his Soulsteel Sync before activating his ultimate.

This will help Yanqing maximize his damage output, given that his ultimate contributes significantly to his overall damage.

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Yanqing's Best Teammates

Yanqing's effectiveness is further amplified when paired with the right teammates.

Here are some of the best options:

1. Gepard: Gepard's shields are extremely effective at preventing Yanqing from taking damage, allowing him to maintain his Soulsteel Sync continuously. This makes Gepard an indispensable teammate for Yanqing.
2. Fire MC: Like Gepard, Fire MC can tank damage, helping Yanqing maintain his Soulsteel Sync. However, this requires careful taunting and avoidance of AoE attacks.
3. Tingyun: As a support unit, Tingyun offers hypercarry buffs that are incredibly beneficial for Yanqing. Plus, her 3-turn ultimate cycle matches perfectly with Yanqing's optimized rotation.
4. Silver Wolf/Pela: These units are excellent when facing non-ice weak enemies. Their resistance reduction and toughness damage abilities can help Yanqing deal more damage and freeze enemies more frequently.

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Strong Team Compositions for Yanqing

Building the right team around Yanqing can greatly enhance your overall performance.

Here are some potent team compositions:

1. General Composition: A solid team composition for Yanqing would be Gepard, Tingyun, Yanqing, and a Flex. The Flex can be a healer, a sub-DPS, or another support unit depending on the situation and your other available units.
2. Mono Ice Team: For a mono Ice team, consider Gepard, Pela, Yanqing, and Silver Wolf. This team composition is incredibly powerful, especially with Pela at E4.

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The Pros and Cons of Yanqing

Yanqing, like any character, has strengths and weaknesses that need to be considered when deciding whether to include him in your team.

Pros

1. High Single-Target Damage: Yanqing's abilities and passives focus on dealing significant damage to single targets, making him an excellent choice for taking down tough individual enemies or bosses.
2. Self-Sufficient Buffs: Yanqing can self-buff his crit rate and crit damage, which, combined with his high base attack, leads to substantial damage output.
3. Speed Buffs: Yanqing's third ascension passive, Gentle Blade, provides a consistent speed boost, making him one of the fastest units in the game.
4. Specialized in Ice Damage: With his abilities and passives focusing on ice damage, Yanqing excels in battles against enemies weak to ice.

Cons

1. Vulnerable to Damage: Yanqing's Soulsteel Sync, a key component of his offense, is lost when he takes damage. This requires strategic play to prevent him from getting hit.
2. High Energy Cost: Yanqing's ultimate has the highest energy cost in the game, making energy management crucial when playing him.
3. Dependent on Freeze Chance: Some of Yanqing's damage potential is tied to freezing enemies, which is based on chance. His performance can be inconsistent depending on freeze procs.
4. Low Defense and HP: Yanqing has one of the lowest defense and HP stats in the game, making him vulnerable if he gets hit.

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In summary, Yanqing is a high-risk, high-reward character.

When used correctly and protected from damage, he can output substantial damage, especially against ice-weak enemies.

However, he requires careful management and strategic play to maintain his buffs and ensure his survival.

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Conclusion

Yanqing is a formidable single-target carry with high multipliers and self crit rate and damage buffs.

He's easy to build and exciting to play, and can dish out a ton of damage even outside of his big crit buff.

Remember to play smart to maintain his Soulsteel Sync passive and maximize his power!