Beidou is a 4* Electro Claymore sub-DPS capable of outputting ludicrous amounts of DMG if used properly.
As an off-field DPS who requires little screen time to be effective, Beidou is a solid unit that can be slotted into multiple team compositions.
Throw in a couple of constellations, and this 4* sub-DPS may end up doing more DMG over the course of a fight than the team’s on-field DPS.
To get these results, however, you need to build her optimally.
In this guide, we’ll show you precisely how you can do this, by:
- Prioritizing her talents
- Aiming for a couple of key constellations
- Equipping her with the best weapons and artifacts
- Building a synergistic team around her
So, without any further ado, let’s begin.
Table of ContentsShow
Beidou’s Talent Priority
| Talent | Description | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack (Oceanborne) | Normal Attack Perform up to 5 consecutive strikes. Charged Attack Drains Stamina over time to perform continuous slashes. At the end of the sequence, perform a more powerful slash. Plunging Attack Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact. | In her role as a sub-DPS, Beidou isn’t intended to perform any Normal Attacks, making this her least important talent. If you’re running her as a main DPS, feel free to treat this as her 2nd priority talent. |
| Elemental Skill (Tidecaller) | Nothing to worry about. Should anyone raise a hand against her or her men, she will avenge it ten-fold with sword and thunder. Press Accumulating the power of lightning, Beidou swings her blade forward fiercely, dealing Electro DMG. Hold Lifts her weapon up as a shield. Max DMG absorbed scales off Beidou’s Max HP. Attacks using the energy stored within the greatsword upon release or once this ability’s duration expires, dealing Electro DMG. DMG dealt scales with the number of times Beidou is attacked in the skill’s duration. The greatest DMG Bonus will be attained once this effect is triggered twice. The shield possesses the following properties: • Has 250% Electro DMG Absorption Efficiency. • Applies the Electro element to Beidou upon activation. | Beidou’s Elemental Skill can be used to tank heavy hits and throw them right back at the opponents. It’s a fun and unique mechanic with an immensely high DMG ceiling, but when running Beidou as a sub-DPS, you mostly just press the skill whenever to generate Energy for her Burst. Fun fact: It doesn’t matter how powerful the incoming attacks are. You can stand in fire, Hold the ability to black two instances of miniscule fire DMG, and still dish out maximum DMG. In any case, this is Beidou’s 2nd priority talent. |
| Elemental Burst (Stormbreaker) | Recalling her slaying of the great beast Haishan, Beidou calls upon that monstrous strength and the lightning to create a Thunderbeast’s Targe around herself, dealing Electro DMG to nearby opponents. Thunderbeast’s Targe • When Normal and Charged Attacks hit, they create a lightning discharge that can jump between opponents, dealing Electro DMG. • Increases the character’s resistance to interruption, and decreases DMG taken. A maximum of 1 lightning discharge can be triggered per second. | Beidou’s Burst provides a ton of off-field Electro DMG, although its DMG ceiling is predicated upon you facing two enemies. There are no extra benefits and no hidden synergies—it’s just raw DMG, but amped up to eleven. Regardless of whether you’re running Beidou as a sub-DPS or a main DPS, this is her most important talent. |
Beidou’s Passive Talents
| Talent Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Conqueror of Tides | Decreases swimming Stamina consumption of your characters in the party by 20%. Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects. | Swimming is arguably the most frustrating form of traversal in Genshin Impact and therefore entirely avoided by most players. But, when swimming becomes unavoidable, this passive pays dividends. |
| Retribution | Counterattacking with Tidecaller at the precise moment when the character is hit grants the maximum DMG Bonus. | This passive turns Beidou’s Elemental Skill into a parry, ensuring the DMG ceiling is reached whenever you time the Press of the ability at the moment you get hit. As such, this passive is both fun and impactful, making it one of our favorites. |
| Lightning Storm | Gain the following effects for 10s after unleashing Tidecaller with its maximum DMG Bonus: • DMG dealt by Normal and Charged Attacks is increased by 15%. ATK SPD of Normal and Charged Attacks is increased by 15%. • Greatly reduced delay before unleashing Charged Attacks. | This passive talent sounds good on paper, but in practice, it’s always better to use Beidou as a sub-DPS only and switch to another character for Normal Attacks. New players or dedicated Beidou mains do stand to benefit from this, as it increases her DMG output as a main DPS. |
In most cases, characters—not including main DPS ones—need to do more than simply add more DMG to be viable in many teams.
Xingqiu is the best example of this. In addition to his off-field Burst DMG, he can also generate tons of Energy for himself, provide a bit of healing, and facilitate multiple Elemental Reaction based teams.
Beidou is the exception—all she offers is DMG.
But the amount of raw DMG on display here is truly immense, making her worthy of an A-Tier placement in our Genshin Impact Tier List. We dare say she’d easily make S-Tier if her Element offered more favorable reactions.
But regardless of this, if you prioritize her talents the way we suggest, you’ll be able to benefit from the immense DMG as well.
However, to truly take it to next level, you’ll want to get some constellations.
Beidou’s Constellations
| Constellation Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Sea Beast’s Scourge | When Stormbreaker is used: Creates a shield that absorbs up to 16% of Beidou’s Max HP for 15s. This shield absorbs Electro DMG 250% more effectively. | Beidou’s C1 adds some utility through shielding, but this shield will never amount to much, given that all your stats should go towards DMG amplification and not HP. While not detrimental in any way, this constellation just isn’t impactful. |
| Upon the Turbulent Sea, the Thunder Arises | Stormbreaker’s arc lightning can jump to 2 additional targets. | At C0, Beidou’s Burst has the potential to output some truly insane raw DMG numbers if used against two targets. So it should come as no surprise that a constellation which effectively doubles the DMG ceiling on this already amazing Burst is incredible. Beidou’s C2 is one of the all-time best early constellations in the game and definitely worth pursuing. It’s so good, we wouldn’t be shocked to find out that this was intended to be her C6 and some developer screwed the pooch. |
| Summoner of Storm | Increases the Level of Tidecaller by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | Adding even more DMG to Beidou’s Burst is a guaranteed way to make a constellation desirable. If you’re already going for C2, then you should strongly consider getting C3 as well. |
| Stunning Revenge | Upon being attacked, Beidou’s Normal Attacks gain an additional instance of 20% Electro DMG for 10s. | This is yet another powerful constellation that boosts Beidou’s overall DMG output. The effect will trigger even if you’re shielded or you parry the DMG, which is great. |
| Crimson Tidewalker | Increases the Level of Stormbreaker by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | While not her main source of DMG, the DMG ceiling of Beidou’s Skill is immense, making this constellation highly desirable for anyone hooked on making perfect parries. |
| Bane of Evil | During the duration of Stormbreaker, the Electro RES of surrounding opponents is decreased by 15%. | In a vacuum, this constellation seems good but not amazing. However, due to her lack of meaningful Elemental synergies, Beidou is often run in teams with multiple Electro characters—and this constellation benefits each and every Electro teammate! |
Beidou might have the best constellations among the 4* roster—if not, she’s definitely up there.
Her C1 is a dud, but everything after that is pure gold.
It’s rare for a DPS character to receive this many meaningful DPS boosts. Even Keqing—a 5* Electro main DPS—has multiple dud constellations, with her DMG boosting ones paling in comparison to what Beidou has going on.
Pulling duplicates of Beidou—intentionally or unintentionally—should always be met with cheers.
We’d even go so far as to say that spending Starglitter to get her C2 is worth it, and we’re normally in favor of exchanging Starglitter for Wishes to increase the chances of getting a 5* character.
Best Weapons For Beidou
| Weapon Rarity | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Wolf’s Gravestone 5* | The higher Beidou’s offensive stats are, the more DMG her Burst will deal. To this end, her BiS weapon is Wolf’s Gravestone, as its base ATK, substat, and passive all actively contribute to her DMG output. The passive even gives her some buffing utility for the rest of the team. |
| Skyward Pride 5* | Most Claymore users are main DPS characters who suffer from Skyward Pride’s Energy Recharge substat, but on Beidou this works to ensure her Burst uptime is more consistent. If you’ve got a Skyward Pride gathering dust on your account, you can use it to great effect on Beidou. That being said, several of the 4* weapons showcased below will outdamage it. |
| Akuoumaru 4* | Everything about Akuoumaru’s kit benefits Beidou’s sub-DPS role, especially the passive. At higher refinements, this weapon will provide more DMG on her Burst than most 5* options, no questions asked. |
| Serpent Spine 4* | Serpent Spine is another great 4* weapon for Beidou, giving her a ton of CRIT Rate and some extra DMG on top of that. When using this weapon, make sure to keep Beidou on the field after every loading screen long enough to receive max stacks from the passive. The stacks will not disappear when you switch her off-field, meaning she’ll get the extra benefits without any of the weapon’s downsides. Like Akuoumaru, refinement can turn the Serpent Spine into an honorary 5* weapon in terms of DMG. |
| Rainslasher 4* | Rainslasher is a weapon you’ll only want to use if you’re running Beidou in an Electro-Charged team, in which case it will deal enormous amounts of DMG. In non-Electro-Charged teams, this weapon is garbage. But given how well she works in such teams—most of which are F2P friendly—it would be mean to not mention it. |
| Katsuragikiri Nagamasa 4* | Arguably the best F2P weapon on Beidou is the Inazuma craftable Katsuragikiri Nagamasa. Beidou is so Energy-hungry that it’s almost mandatory to run her with an Electro Support, but with a couple of refinements, this weapon can greatly mitigate her Energy issues. Just be aware that this weapon trades DMG for consistency. |
| Prototype Archaic 4* | For a more DMG-oriented F2P weapon, we recommend the Prototype Archaic. Any ATK% scaling 4* weapon—like the Luxurious Sea-Lord or Lithic Blade—will outperform it, but those weapons are way harder to obtain yet don’t compare to Serpent Spine or Akuoumaru, which is why we haven’t featured them. |
Best Artifacts For Beidou – 4-Emblem of Severed Fate
The 4-piece Emblem of Severed Fate set bonus is easily Beidou’s best artifact set.
Two of Beidou’s defining characteristics are her high Burst DMG ceiling and the high cost of said Burst.
This set bonus increases the Burst’s DMG while at the same time improving its consistency—it’s a win on both ends.
As far as main stats are concerned, Beidou wants ATK% on the Sands, Electro DMG on the Goblet, and CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG on the Logos.
If you’re having trouble with the consistency of her Burst, we recommend switching to an Energy Recharge Sands.
Her ideal substats include CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, Energy Recharge, and ATK%. In an Electro-Charged team, she also stands to benefit from Elemental Mastery.
Best Team Composition For Beidou
F2P Electro-Charged Beidou
- Beidou
- Fischl
- Xingqiu
- Sucrose
Beidou can be used as the main DPS in this team—by which we mean the on-field attacker—but the role of an off-field DPS suits her better.
Fischl is another Electro off-field DPS, but instead of clashing with Beidou, she perfectly complements her. This is because Fischl generates a ton of Electro Energy, which Beidou can use to maintain consistency on her Burst.
Xingqiu adds a ton of off-field Hydro DMG to the team, but more importantly, his Bust provides a steady source of Hydro application that helps drive Electro-Charged reactions. Unfortunately, there is no F2P alternative for Xingqiu. The closest thing to that is Mona—a 5* character many F2P players begrudgingly have. If you have Mona, use her as the on-field attacker. If you have neither Xingqiu nor Mona, it’s best to forget about Electro-Charged altogether and pivot into a triple Electro team with Sara, who can greatly buff Beidou’s Burst DMG. Electro Traveler and Lisa are also solid choices.
Sucrose is our on-field attacker of choice in this team. She doesn’t have the highest Normal Attack DMG, but because all her attacks deal Anemo DMG, she can Swirl both Hydro and Electro for loads of extra Reaction DMG. Slap on a 4-piece Viridescent Venerer, and you’ll reduce the enemies’ resistances to Hydro and Electro at the same time. Any Anemo character can fulfill this second part of the job description, including Jean, who’s not technically a F2P character but is owned by many F2P players.
F2P Physical DMG Beidou
- Beidou
- Fischl
- Rosaria
- Diona
Beidou can function as the team’s on-field Physical DMG DPS for this team, but it’s more optimal to leave this to other characters.
Fischl and Beidou are a match made in heaven—put them in any team together and they will work wonders. Fischl can even be used as the on-field attacker here. However, an even better main DPS for the team would be Razor, who can go all-in on Physical DMG, as opposed to Beidou and Fischl, who benefit more from building Electro DMG.
Rosaria is the team’s off-field Cryo DPS. A Cryo character is required for procing Superconduct to lower the enemies’ Physical Resistance. She also gives extra CRIT Rate to the rest of the party, which is why we favor her above other 4* Cryo sub-DPS units. That being said, you can replace her with Kaeya who fills the identical role but without the CRIT Rate buffing.
Diona fills the team’s flex role. We love using her for her unmatched versatility, but you can replace her with any character you like and still get good results.
Whale Beidou Team
- Beidou
- Fischl
- Ayato
- Kazuha
Beidou and Fischl work so well together, that you’d have little reason to separate them, even with access to all the characters in the game. This is because Beidou and Raiden Shogun have anti-synergy since their Bursts ignore each other. And while Yae Miko looks like an improved Fischl at first glance, the fact of the matter is that both Beidou and Miko require loads of Energy—meanwhile, Fischl provides Energy. Raiden also provides Energy so you can certainly run her, just be more mindful of when you cast Beidou’s Burst if you do.
Ayato is the team’s on-field attacker. Much like the first F2P team featured here, this whale team is focused on procing a bunch of Electro-Charged Reactions.
Kazuha is the team’s source of crowd control, as well as buffing and debuffing. Slap on a 4-piece Viridescent Venerer and watch the DMG numbers for the whole team go up substantially.
Is Beidou Worth It?
So now you know how you can build Beidou to deal massive amounts of DMG, but with Genshin’s ever-expanding roster that features over 50 characters, the question beomes whether she’s worth building in the first place.
The answer is not simple, as it depends on the state of your account.
If you’re a beginner, Beidou is a solid character to invest resources into. She can provide loads of off-field DMG to any team and can even function as the main DPS in the early game.
However, we find that Beidou’s value diminishes as you start to accrue more and more characters. This is because her optimal teams include Electro-Charged, triple Electro, and Physical DMG teams. One thing these teams have in common is that they mostly aren’t top-tier teams. They may have top-tier versions, but those don’t feature Beidou.
So the final verdict is this:
Beidou is worth it for beginners and players with a small roster of characters—they stand to benefit the most from the raw off-field DMG she provides.
But players with a large roster of 5* characters at their disposal will likely be able to build better teams without Beidou.
