Genshin Impact 2.4 5-star reruns: Xiao, Zhongli and the Cocogoat Ganyu

Latecomers to Genshin Impact have been waiting for banner reruns of some of the most talked about 5-stars in the game's first year, and near the top of that list has to be the ice artillery battalion known as Ganyu.

Well, these fans will be pleased to hear that the Cocogoat (copyright Qiqi) will be one of the characters coming back for a banner rerun in Genshin Impact's 2.4 update, together with fellow Liyue stars Xiao and third-timer Zhongli.

So, should you wish for these rerun characters at this stage of the game? Read on to find out.

Do note, if you're gunning for Xiao, he have his own banner alongside the new Cryo polearm user Shenhe, together with the 4-star Geo polearm user Yun Jin, on 5 Jan.

Ganyu and Zhongli will share the other banner, expected in late January. Hope you've lots of polearms.

Xiao

The Conqueror of Demons finally gets a rerun. Despite being one of the earliest 5-star characters outside of the initial OGs (Diluc, Jean, Moana, Qiqi, Keqing), our boyish Yaksha only made it as a playable character close to the Lunar New Year in 2021, though he appeared several times before that.

Given that it's time again for this year's Lantern Rite Festival (Genshin Impact's version of the Lunar New Year), Xiao will finally be making another appearance on the rate up banner.

We shared some thoughts on Xiao prior to the 2.0 update, and honestly, that hasn't really changed much. He's still the only dedicated damage dealer/DPS Anemo has for now.

Sure, there are more polearms for characters these days, but that's also assuming you don't have other characters using them.

As a DPS character, Xiao works better with weapons like the Primordial Jade Spear (his personal weapon) or the Staff of Homa. The Energy Recharge options like Engulfing Lightning, Skyward Spine and even the ATK% boosting Vortex Vanquisher aren't entirely great for him.

For non-whales, 4-star options like the Battlepass' Deathmatch (Crit Rate) or the shop's Blackcliff Pole (Crit DMG) are generally better choices than anything with ATK%.

Of course, you could try to combo Xiao together with some Swirl reactions, and Elemental Mastery would then play a more prominent role, but he would still likely be outclassed by Hu Tao in the polearm department for most players.

That said, Xiao can be fun to play, so if you do like him in the trial run, and don't necessarily mind beating up the Primo Geovishap, by all means, spend your primogems.

Just keep in mind that he and Ganyu both use the same Local Specialty (Qingxin), though they are readily available and not as hard to find as Violetgrass or Onikabuto (you'd better appreciate all that trouble, Itto).

Similarly, Xiao uses the same Common Material (slime mats, press F for Rimuru) as Zhongli, though these are also fairly easy to gather.

For Talents, prioritise his Elemental Burst, followed by his Normal Attack. His Elemental Skill is the lowest priority at this point.

As for Artifact sets, his best is still 2-piece Viridescent Venerer and 2-piece Gladiators, or the recent Shimenawa's Reminiscence.

While the 4-piece Shimenawa's might have been interesting for his Plunging Attack DMG, it also consumes his Energy, which is kinda what he needs to activate his Burst and start plunging.

Constellation-wise, C1 and 2 are nice but not necessary, C4 if you're a mega leviathan whale, and C6 if you're Elon Musk's best friend.

Zhongli

The CEO of Geo returns for a third time, and it's no surprise he's come back that quickly, despite Shields suffering a bit when the Corrosion mechanic debuted.

With the introduction of Arataki Itto and Gorou in the last banner, together with what was essentially an Albedo buff with the new DEF% Husk of Opulent Dreams (plus the free Cinnabar Spindle sword), mono-Geo teams are increasingly looking like a potential option.

Also, while Geo characters generally don't synergise that well with others due to the lack of an Elemental Reaction, Zhongli's Jade Shield decreases Elemental and Physical Resistances of your opponents, meaning that he easily plugs into most teams.

Everything we said about Zhongli before 2.0 and during his first banner rerun still applies, and while Corrosion does mean he's not useful in ALL situations, he's still pretty much useful in most of them.

Weapon-wise, a lot would depend on what you're building Zhongli for, but the Vortex Vanquisher remains a fairly decent option for its Shield-boosting ability, while Staff of Homa will help with his Burst damage, if dropping meteors on enemies is your thing.

For F2P, there's also the new 4-star Fishing shop weapon The Catch, which boosts his Burst DMG and Burst Crit Rate. Another recent and decent 4-star weapon is Wavebreaker's Fin, which also boosts his Burst damage.

Zhongli, apart from needing Slime materials, also uses Cor Lapis for his Ascension, but these are fairly obtainable in Liyue.

Talent-wise, his Burst followed by his Skill are priorities, but you'll need to add his Normal Attacks into the mix if you're thinking of using him as your main.

For Artifacts, you also have a few combinations such as 2-piece Archaic Petra (Geo DMG) combined with 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith (for HP%) or Noblesse Oblige (for Burst DMG), although a 4-piece Tenacity of the Millelith is great when not facing enemies which have Corrosion.

His Constellation 1 makes things easier if you're building a mono-Geo team, and 2 is really handy in helping to keep your Shield up. The rest are pretty much whale territory.

Ganyu

Finally, the Cocogoat returns! No doubt about it, Ganyu is still one of the most powerful characters in Genshin Impact (and makes the Increasing Danger daily commission very much a breeze).

A fair bit of the disappointment Yoimiya was subjected to is probably because of the comparison between the two (as we suggested previously). It's not fair, of course, since Yoimiya is a different sort of Bow user, but suffice to say, Ganyu is still the gold standard.

We don't really know what to say that we haven't said before, but Ganyu is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated banner reruns, and collectors should all be thankful she's on the banner with Zhongli and not Shenhe.

When it comes to weapons, in addition to the Amos Bow and the Skyward Harp, newer additions like the Polar Star (5-star) and the Hamayumi (4-star) are decent, too. Beware, though, the 5-star Thundering Pulse, despite its Crit DMG substat, isn't as great for Ganyu because it doesn't improve on her Charged Attacks, which generally are the main source of Cocogoat damage.

Needless to say, Ganyu's priority talent is her Attack (less for Normal, more for Charged), followed by her Burst.

One great thing about Ganyu is that her Character Ascension Material comes from the Cryo Regisvine, easily one of the fastest Normal Bosses to farm. She also uses Nectar from the Whopperflowers, which can be a bit more time-consuming (and annoying) to gather.

As for Artifacts, Shimenawa's Reminiscence is an interesting set for her, but her best still remains a 4-piece Wanderer's Troupe. Given how easy it is to farm Wanderer's (you can get them from every Normal Boss and Weekly Boss), you might even already have some decent pieces in waiting.

Similarly, the Blizzard Strayer set can also be a good alternative, though this works better if you've got a teammate like Moana or Xingqiu to apply Hydro for the Frozen reaction.

And where Constellations are concerned, Ganyu's first Constellation is pretty useful, but the rest are pretty much just for whales. If you do get Ganyu to C6, though, it does change her playstyle a fair bit. But again, are you Elon Musk's best friend?

So, this pretty much covers our thoughts on the 2.4 banner reruns.

Good luck and may RNGesus shine upon you if you're trying for these characters!

GellyPanda is a casual gamer who occasionally dabbles into gatcha games.

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