The only thing Xiao is playing is with my heart

That's the most unexpected "why no one plays" tbh. I know his abyss usage is quite low, but it seems lots of people main him

it's interesting how WELL Xiao's playstyle reflects his personality and lore. Xiao in lore always fights alone (largely due to the fact that he's the last Yaksha) and is reluctant to take help like in the Chasm Quest. His playstyle requires him to be on field most of the time, his plunging playstyle is still unique currently, he doesn't synergize too well with most supports, sub DPS or even his own element and could function perfectly fine solo. Both are a little to his detriment but in terms of character design he really is a 10/10

The part of that still bothers me is that why does it felt like Hoyo gives Albedo and Xiao C4 that would benefited the others if the placement were replaced

I didn't expect Xiao to get a why no one plays it literally jumpscared me 💀 as a xiao main I will forever use him edit: holy crap 800 likes? ty lol

I feel like the type of hypercarry character will always have a more limited playerbase since they require a lot of investment to keep up with rotation focused teams. We all see that Eula, Itto, Cyno and Xiao are less popular then Shogun, nahida or Yelan because while the former need their team to adjust to them the latter are more flexible don't need a team build for them even if it can be done

While it may be a disservice to the characters individually, I do hope we get more characters like Xiao, Dehya, and Sara, characters that break away from the conventions of their elements to do their own thing. If every Anemo unit is nothing more than a Swirl bot, there's no excitement for new Anemo units. If every Pyro unit wants Xingqui/Yelan, it becomes redundant, and makes not having those 2 even worse. The fact that Hoyo is willing to give characters their own roles and not just limit them to what their element is best at is great for the game long-term.

Also, you forgot to mention that hype around Xiao got 2 major reasons 1. He was present in CBT 2. He dealt a lot of dmg in CBT, more than Ayaka, as testers claimed.

13:19 So learning Xiao's jump animation cancelling is detrimental to his viability for casual players. But for the Hutao video you didn't really emphasize on needing to learn charged attack animation cancelling to use her efficiently.

No-one expected Xiao in a why no one plays series before Dendro

Xiao is kinda like Ganyu where if you use them they are built really well and are probably your most consistent dps but won't reach the peaks of more team oriented units

I feel like Collei definitely needs to be the first dendro character in this series because of her unfortunate release by dendro traveler power crept her on her release 😕

8:32 this is completely untrue for yelan, you CAN use her and xiao by hitting nomal attack then immediately cancelling it with a plunge attack. it works like a charm

I remember getting Xiao as my first 5-star DPS. He and Chongyun carried me so hard through midgame. I've been farming so much and I have a great Xiao now. I don't like how Mihoyo did him so dirty (even though I like him as an Anemo unit), but he'll always be one of my favorite characters.

For some reason, I remember Xiao's energy being a huge issue. Like, people were saying he was unplayable without another anemo unit

I expect an apology video. With a ukulele.

My guy just had to do it after the Zyox statment

This video aged like milk. 💀

I stopped using him mainly because Sumeru enemies have been notorious for not sticking together, reducing the effectiveness of his plunging attacks without another Anemo to group them. His plunging attacks also pushed enemies away, which meant after 2 attacks, enemies would be outside the plunge range and you'd miss. If I somehow manage to get C6 Faruzan, I might try him again.

Xiao was my first 5 star and he’s the reason I got hooked into Genshin Impact. I wish there was something to amplify plunging attacks. As I’ve tried to build around him I’ve noticed these problems so it’s very frustrating to try to consistently have support to his kit.

Xiao main here and you pretty much summed it all up. It's like every time mihoyo gives him an indirect buff, they also hamstring him somehow. You didn't mention that his bis artifact set is in a wildly inefficient domain, with the only other character really benefitting from farming that domain being Ayato (and Ayato can get sets almost as good in much more efficient domains). We finally get a dedicated artifact set for him... and it feels like it costs twice as much resin to farm. I love using him, I love his pogo-style attacks, and I have an entire team built around him, but I would never expect the average player to invest the high amount of time, resin, etc. in him to make him do okay damage compared to reaction teams. Xiao mains do it out of love for the character, not because he's going to keep up with the Nahidas, Alhaithams, Hu Taos, and Ayakas.

Xianyun to the rescue~ she will xiao make meta again

in a similar vein I remember everyone loving and being hyped over heizou but I almost never see anyone play him, his abyss pick rate backs that up, it's like people immediately forgot about him once sumeru and dendro released, so I'd love to see a 'why no one plays heizou'

"Faruzan didn't do that much to increase Xiao" wow what a statement. Couldn't be more wrong.

My main problem with Xiao is that hes so reliant on his Burst. Outside of it hes just... there. I got Wanderer in the first 10 pull going for Faruzan not even having wanrted him yet he hasnt left the team since. Similar dmg, better utility (the flying is just way to good) and Skill focused with a super low cooldown. Probably my favourite character I ever pulled and that wasnt even planned unlike any other I pulled. In events like Hyakkuin Ikki I love to use Xiao though but other than that I dont think I actively used him since forever.

You actually can prock Xingqiu & Yelan by getting in the habit of nor atk, jump, plung, nor akt. It does take a bit of practice but I find it easier than Hu Tao c0 jump cancel. Also u still don't prock it as much as Hu Tao either tho, so its not really reccommended to use them but they're not useless for him either (also Xingiqu's healing isn't enough for Xiao)

I think a lot of the older hypercarry focused dps character like Xiao and Eula would be more popular if grinding for good crit ratio artifacts wasn't such a massive chore. A lot of the newer units are still very good with artifacts main stat focusing one thing like HP or EM which makes them a lot more accessible to players.

When the raiden boss makes her four clones you can which one is the real one by looking at their attacks. The real one throws out a cross. (Im aware the gameplay might be your editor's)

Xiao always has a place in my heart. He is the strongest DPS unit in both of my accounts by pure dmg without reactions. I know he isn’t the best DPS, and I have other units that are stronger than him, but I love using him. I will never regret him ❤️✨

11:16 Sucrose is not a main DPS in her taser team, she is a driver.

Tbh xiao doesn’t deserve to be here , your milking why no one play series. Sometimes you gotta learn when to stop

9:06 Thomas's shield lasts only 8 seconds, sure, but the ability that actually boosts plunging atk dmg is his C6, that increases it by 15% every time you obtain or REFRESH a shield for 6 seconds, and every time you refresh a shield you also refresh its duration and the passive's. You can refresh a shield every time you trigger fiery collapse (Thoma's ult), which lasts 15 seconds. That means Thoma's C6 boost can last up to 21 seconds and not 8 as you say. And even if just having the shield was enough to trigger the boost, as most people would assume from this clip, that would only bring its duration up to 23 seconds, 8 seconds after the ult's duration expires

This video was already untruthfull as a lot of people play him but it managed to age even worse lmfao

As a Xiao main, the fact this video exists makes me cry a little But I definitely understand why it does I love him and use him constantly, but I honestly rarely use his burst in overworld exploration

Looks like we're running out characters to make 'why no one plays ' about

Thoma's initial shield from his skill has an 8-second cooldown, but he can have 100% uptime thanks to his burst. So it's not impractical to pair him with Xiao like what you're saying.

Xiao was my first limited 5* back in 1.3, and he felt insanely when I first got him. He's fallen off a bit, but Faruzan has been a big buff to him, especially at c6

- "yelan doesn't work with xiao" (she does) - Lack of buffers: Bennett, faruzan literally got released (he mentioned faruzan exactly once, COMPLETELY FORGETTING THE ANEMO RES SHRED) - Thoma shield doesn't cover xiao because it lasts 8 seconds. This part is just wrong. - "Most buffs can only last 12s": faruzan c2, yelan a4, zhongli shield, did i mention faruzan. - Not sure what the wanderer segment was about... that guy was just flying Xiao that gets knocked down by a feather. - Yoimiya was not servicable, cyno is nearly the same as yoimiya. Is this video just ragebait ?

If only there was a polearm that shorteneded you burst but makes the damage higher.

He was my first 5* DPS. Carried me for a long time, but I was so early in the game that he virtually had no good artifacts for a long time. I recently build him and levelled up his talents out of love. 😭😭❤️❤️

The only criticism I have of this video is the complete lack of mention of Heizou. Until Wanderer came out, Xiao wasn't the only main DPS Anemo as Heizou was released in 2.8.

A lot of people have said this already, but I feel like we need more supports for units like Itto, Eula, Xiao, Cyno, etc. Hypercarries are fun because it makes a character you like the centerpiece of the team, and you get to see them in field a ton. It does make me kinda sad that most people mainly use meta units, and don’t give other subpar units the light of day. Units like Chongyun, Cyno, Xiao, Kaeya, and Heizou are just a few examples. Plus, they can usually be more interesting to playlist as you need to get creative. Let me know if you have any “bad” characters you like playing! -a Cyno enjoyer

I do eventually want to get Xiao (i started playing a year ago) because his playstyle just seems super fun. Its not like i am getting through floor 12 anyways, so who cares which character is more "meta" right now. (I did *used* to be able to do floor 12 but uh.....we know what happened)

Bro but Xiao CAN use Xinqui and Yelan There are combos which are primarily used in single target that give him more MV and use normal attacks so mainly Yelan for her passive can be easily used with him

Xiao was the character that got me into Genshin. I had played it once before but never got too into it. When he came out I tried pulling for him and didn’t get him. Almost a year later then I finally got him I had everything set up for him. Then the vermillion hereafter set came out and it improved him even further. In my honest opinion Xiao is a prime example of how as Genshin progresses, older characters tend to be left behind in favor of newer better ones. In his case he never had to contend with anyone in his specific niche. Even now he only has one person in the form of Hat Guy but he’s neither better nor worse in general. Faruzan helps him out a great deal but there are far better options for more broken characters. He’s my favorite so I’ve stuck with him since I got and he’s never left my team. I feel as if anyone that still uses him it’s because they like the character regardless of better options. I also have him c1 and I honestly believe that this is enough for him to be just a little more viable. He’s busted at c6 but who isn’t? His runtimes are also extremely inconsistent meaning that even if I did want more constellations I almost never have the resources to spend on him to get them anyway. I love the character and everything about him. I always look at the situation he’s in and always think “It could be worse”. Us Xiao mains are far better off than the unfortunate souls who love Dehya. All in all I’m content with where he is now. He has options to make himself better while not being just completely outright broken.

Xiao and Albedo came out around the same time and had mechanics related to plunging. I think Mihoyo was going for something the abandoned half way, because there are many events that have boosts to plunging damage but almost no one uses them.,

The one bad thing about Xiao is he's a character that needs a lot of investment to be usable all the time in the abyss to 36 stars.

a little bit nitpicky but 13:21 weird how you mentioned plunge techs when its literally just space bar-left click spam (plunge spam) or space bar-left click-hold left click (plunge-CA). how is that difficult? c0 hutao cancels are much more complicated, but that didnt get mentioned in the WEOP hutao. xiao only needs the cancels if youre playing him optimally with yelan, and that in itself is not a popular team so who cares 9:16 thoma shield only lasts 8s???? on what rotation would you not use his burst? c0 already has 100% uptime, c1 makes it even better. if you really want to use him in xiao teams you most definitely want to do plunge-ca to refresh shield

4:50 well other than slimes Andrius is immune to Anemo damage at the time as well.

The amount of very wrong statements that have been said in this video is actually impressive like for example faruzan didn't do much for Xiao did anyone read her kit especially at c6 here is the list 30% res sred 38% anemo dmg her passive and with cons she gives 40% cd and 20% attack with tom set Also you can use yelan with Xiao check youtube videos on that And we have a lot buffs that can stays for 15 seconds that Xiao can use like faruzan or yelan a4 or zhongli shield or or Bennett buff ( Bennett buff stays for 12 sec but the last instance of buff can make it around 14 sec) Also thoma shield stays 15 second at base and 18 with c2 so you have the c2 the whole time

I still use xiao for floor 9-11, but 12 has been forcing me to use other characters most of the time

The boundary between a WNOP character and a WEOP character is starting to be paper thin. I don’t have a problem with Xiao being the latest entry to the WNOP series, but it seems disingenuous to have a WNOP episode for him and a WEOP episode for Ganyu. What are the credentials you used to decide what character goes into what series? Their abyss usage rate? If so, Ganyu should also have a spot in the WNOP series as well, but I digress. If we do assume Xiao is barely played, I don’t see how resigning Xiao to a supporting role would make him any more popular. If anything, he’d just have direct competition with Kazuha and Sucrose. I also don’t see how turning him into a more “offensive” element can elevate his playability either. In general, DPS characters are balanced by their element and the reactions they’re able to achieve. Xiao has high multipliers BECAUSE of the fact that he is anemo, and turning him pyro will just make him more reliant on elemental reactions. His main appeal from a gameplay standpoint are these four things: 1. He can consistently do high AOE damage (and respectable single target damage) without being reliant on elemental reactions (in a sort of “unga bunga” playstyle). 2. He does not take high-value support units such as XQ, Yelan, Nahida, and Kazuha. 3. Apart from himself and his weapon, he does not need any other 5* to reach his DPS ceiling. All he needs is Bennett and Faruzan (both of which are 4*s that don’t need 5* weapons and only care about ER and talent levels), and the last slot can be anyone. It’s also worth noting that Bennett is achievable in Paimons Starglitter and Faruzan was given for free in 3.6. 4. Unlike rational, which has 3 DPS characters that you need to balance their crit ratios while also giving them sufficient ER, Xiao’s hypercarry team really only need you to invest in him and him alone. This is a double-edged sword, though, as the team is very reliant on Xiao being hyper-invested into to do good damage. However, it still makes his team a resin-efficient team as you only need to worry about Xiao’s personal stats. We need to stop the misconception that hypercarries are bad and that teams that don’t use reactions are bad. Reactions are just a means of dealing damage, either by amplifying the DPS’s damage or by creating a separate instance of damage. Teams that don’t use reactions aren’t losing out on damage: They just rely on other ways to deal damage that isn’t tied to reactions. This isn’t to say Xiao isn’t without flaws. Different people have different tastes in playstyle, and some people aren’t a fan of Xiao’s high field time, burst dependency, and unconventional gameplay. I wouldn’t have a problem with you making a WNOP episode on Xiao if you actually properly addressed his potential flaws and did more research. I understand that you may not necessarily be saying that Xiao is bad, but you took 15 minutes to say that people don’t often play Xiao just because he’s unconventional, implying that it’s bad game design for him to go against his element’s intended role when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

the only character i didnt want appearing in a "why no one play" video

Xiao does make good use of Yelan, you can do a half auto in between plunges and it will trigger Yelan arrows while also allowing him to plunge faster.

honestly, xiao is a great character, but could’ve been even greater if you look at the cbt version of him. His plunges had no delay and his 3rd talent passive was all focused on him and not towards the party members. I don’t even know why they would put delay on his plunges even though he is a plunged based character??

I feel like you forgot to add one of his biggest problems, he pushes back enemies whenever he plunges meaning you have to chase them or they move apart, this is what makes him the most annoying for me to use. If you're gonna release this kinda video I think it's important you remember and research every single problem cus this is easily one of the most biggest reasons why ppl don't like using him and im shocked it wasnt mentioned at all in the video 😅

And now the most used team in abyss is a Xiao team😂

Even if Xiao isn't in the "meta" and his damage isn't as impressive in comparison to other overpowered units today, I am still looking forward to pulling for him when he gets another rerun. Genshin has such a wide range characters. There are so many potential playstyles, teams, and kits that you can use. In my opinion, this means you always have the option to play who you want and enjoy it! Awesome video😃

a lot of people: xiao is usless is abyss me destroying abyss: 🤑

Tomorrow I'm going to Smurf spiral Abyss with him He always carried my ass there

I do use Xiao and Yelan together. Her ult is kinda faster than Xuinqueue, so it's possible to fit one na with hydro after the plunge

Vars II: No one plays Xiao. Zy0x: LAMENT!

I don't regret getting him just because of his looks, but since I got Wanderer, he's so much easier to play + amazing for exploration 🥰

I know we can’t expect you to predict future units, but this video has aged very poorly, with Furina and Xianyun (plus C6 Faruzan) making him very competitive again. I hope HYV will keep buffing him over the years, he’s my favorite character in the game ❤

I have an idea for a series of short videos you could do, and that's swapping the elements of characters. For example, "What If Thoma was Hydro?" or "What if Diluc was Electro?" and then explaining how their play style would change, their teams and synchronizations, and comparing it to the base character with their regular element, and seeing if they would be better with said element or the new swapped element.

This aged so badly lmfao

NO I DIDN'T EXPECT AN XIAO VID OF THIS 😭

DUDE!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! Only reason why Xiao isn't played is because people bare waiting for C6 Faruzan. Edit: BRUH NO! THIS VIDEO IS NOT IT 😭

4:45 "Back then, no enemies were immune to Anemo damage" *cries in Lupus Boreas*

Its crazy that when I first played I heard Xiao as the undisputed top three of Ganyu, Hu Tao, and Xiao and now theres a "Why No One Plays" about him. If we think about it, Hu Tao is actually the only one that still held up over the years.

I actually like Xiao. I just dont play him cuz i dont have him. The whole mindset of Meta is pretty much the only thing thats holding back alot of people new and old from enjoying the game. Dendro is for everyone, same with Hydro , physical. 😭 I hate asking for help, and everyone with their Hive mind is like, Just use Bennett. (-_-) With a mindset like that, any character that isnt strickly More powerful than the other characters of the same element are just discarded.

why no one plays: xiao (except zy0x)

LMAO I did not expect you to actually post this, I thought it was a joke when you posted the picture because of Zyox tweet 😂

this aged like spoiled rotten milk

I still love playing Xiao, I use other dps characters and other types of team comps but Xiao feels different to play then other traditional team comps so it doesn't get boring for me. I also like playing International because it also never gets boring to play. Xiao may be powercrept but he gets the job done in the abyss for me, then again I have had him for so long he is built very well, but as a long time player most of my characters are built well so that doesn't make him stand out. I have a friend who loves the Xiao as a character but the jump mechanic makes them dizzy which I relate too because Mona's burst make me dizzy too.

i will forever return to xiao, i may have a Hu Tao that hits 100k crit but in terms of lore, aesthtic, likeability and general peference xiao will forever be a top tier unit in my opinion, considering hes at least top 10 for most cosplayed character says a lot about his character, i dont play for big numbers, i play what i like. Though everyones opinion differs thats why even the worst characters have mains.

Kinda weird that people are saying Xiao is outdated when he performs better than Wanderer without vertical investment (signature weapon , cons, C6 supports)

Oh shit i just noticed the BGM is the legendary Tekken 5 - Moonlit Wilderness lmao you have great taste😌✨

The fun thing about Xiao is that his plunging animation used to be shorter at beta versions, allowing him to jump and plunge faster than he usually does. They probably changed that because it would be too broken, but now we have characters like Neuvillette lmao

I feel like the thing I always say about xiao in the past is that he just sacrifices so much for just fine or good damage . I just don’t think that making him having his health drain should even be there plus not being able generate E when being anemo is a good enough cost

Me who is waiting for Xiao rerun 🗿

I play Xiao, Qiqi, Albedo and Zhognli comp. Really having fun with it.

Looks at my triple crowned c6 r3 Xiao. I always use him in abyss. He'll be my main until the very end of the game, no matter how many characters i pull

11:21 What am I LISTENING TO 💀

I’ve had Xiao since he came out he got me into the game and he got my account to where it is but now I have so many versatile character and teams that he just sits there looking pretty most of the time, I want to try playing him more often because I’m getting bored of dendro

I think it would be nice idea to make a VS type of vids. Like Xingqiu VS Yelan. Compare them are talk about how different they are, what are they better at, in which situations. Another one could be Xiao VS Wanderer.

Valid points. In the mean time now Xianyun has been released, finally a plunging attack buff for our boy.

NO ONE plays Xiao? Oh ok, I guess I just don't exist then 💀

As a xiao main that hurts my heart so much

Xiao was the first character that made me really care about farming and doing more damage. You see, I’m bad at deciding who to play, until one day I did a random 10 pull on the Xiao banner and got him. Like a day or two after, I got his weapon on the standard banner after reaching pity there. The closest thing to a main before was Diluc, but I didn’t really try. Xiao was my first main. I think I got him for his first rerun in 2.5 I think. I had started playing the game around 2.0 since Ayaka was the first banner I remember (my account is older but I stopped around the first statue of the seven and then Amber)

Eula's first rerun was in 2021, just a few months after her initial release. Eula is is currently having her 2nd rerun.

another annoying part I find about using Xiao is that his plunge knocks enemies away from u, especially the light enemies, I feel like if he were ever to be buffed (HAHAHA COPIUM HAHAHA) is to further double dip into his hypercarry style and let his jump also du damage while sucking in enemies on a small vortex, this will not only double his damage output but also gives him a semblance of CC which Anemo is known for

This need to be updated 😅

By the time he finally got the help he needed, dendro meta was in full swing and on top of that, Wanderer was released at the same time, and he takes less field time (10-12s) while synergizing with the billion normal attack supports we have (oh, and he hoards Faruzan, so if you want a strong Xiao, you'll probably get Hat Guy)

Video : Why No one plays Xiao Zy0x : Xiao burts activates "DISAPPEAR" Description: Aftermath of the situation

As someone who likes characters with unique playstyles and mechanics I'm surprised that Xiao isn't as popular. Although I guess it could also just boil down to how Anemo isn't really a DPS type element (at least remedied to some degree when Faruzan came out). Just my opinion but I feel like Anemo DPS units have a lower celling than elements that can make use of reactions to boost damage numbers. You could use Swirl as justification, but by then it puts into question why would you even go out of your way to use an Anemo DPS over an Anemo support who would trigger those Swirls anyway while using another elemental DPS (except Geo) who would be boosted by VV. Anemo DPS probably also fell off a bit even with Wanderer because we're already at a point where hypercarry units that spent a while on field can already be overtaken by teams that use quickswaps and transformative reactions where the focus is on the team and not the unit.

"Thoma's shield only lasts 8 secs" Dude, Thoma has the longest shield uptime in the game. His burst which regenerates his shield on NA lasts for 18s at C2, his shield will then last a further 8s for a total of 26s longer than Zhonglis 20s

The fact you forgot to mention the artifact set dedicated to xiao that released with the chasm🫠

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ayato in this series please! ❤

Honestly, I think the video kinda missed the mark on why people don't play xiao as much anymore. It keeps reiterating how he goes against his element and how his hypercarry playstyle isn't relevant anymore, but I'd have to disagree. He's still VERY powerful. Xiao isn't used just because current abyss doesn't have a place for him, thats it. Rn it's all about soup, burgeon, hyperbloom, even rational and freeze can be good. Xiao is anemo swirling pyro most of the time and his team is quite rigid - Ben, Faruzan, shield. The longer the abyss gonna unfavor him, the more people gonna forget and switch to new shiny toys. He is still relevant in certain situations, the problem is that those kind of situations are few and far between