Putting together the right Genshin Impact Cyno build takes a bit more work than usual thanks to the Electro character‘s unique setup. Cyno is a strong main DPS, but he needs more attention than most. His talents scale on elemental mastery and attack, and thanks to his bonus stat, you want to devote some resources to his critical hit rate as well.
Our Genshin Impact Cyno build explains the best way to support all his stats, including the right weapons and Artifacts.
Genshin Impact Cyno weapons
Cyno’s signature weapon, Staff of Scarlet Sands, is an ideal fit for him. He relies on elemental mastery and critical damage to do big numbers, and Scarlet Sands increases both. It raises the wearer’s critical hit rate outright and increases their attack based on their elemental mastery stat.
Other viable Cyno weapons include:
- Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (5-star polearm) – increases critical hit rate, increases attack, and raises damage on consecutive hits.
- Skyward Spine (5-star polearm) – increases energy recharge and attack speed, and triggers damage effects.
- Ballad of the Fjords (4-star polearm) – increases critical hit rate and raises the user’s elemental mastery when the party has at least three different elements
- Deathmatch (4-star polearm) – increases critical hit rate, increases attack.
- Blackcliff Pole (4-star polearm) – increases critical damage, increases attack after defeating enemies.
- White Tassel (3-star polearm) – increases critical hit rate
Ballad of the Fjords is probably the best and easiest choice to get in the 4.0 series updates. It comes from the battle pass and fits perfectly with the Gilded Dreams Artifact set, a nice bonus that helps offset the slightly lower critical hit rate compared to other weapons.
Skyward Spine works best out of these 5-star alternatives, since it increases energy recharge and attack, both of which Cyno needs a fair bit of help with.
Genshin Impact Cyno artifacts and substats
Cyno needs a lot of energy for his burst, but he needs elemental mastery more since his strongest skills scale off of that. Gilded Dreams is a popular pick, since it increases Cyno’s elemental mastery outright and buffs either his attack or his mastery depending on your party’s elemental composition.
Thundering Fury is a solid alternative if you’re using a party that sets up reactions for Cyno. The four-piece effect increases Electro reaction damage. You could also just combine two pieces of Thundering for an Electro buff and two of Gilded for the mastery buff.
Cyno’s Artifact stats should, ideally, be something like this:
- Sands: Elemental mastery or attack
- Goblet: Electro damage or critical hit rate
- Circlet: Attack, critical damage, or elemental mastery
Genshin Impact Cyno teams
Cyno is a main DPS and a selfish one at that. His skills all end when he leaves the field, so he relies on party members who can set up reactions and favorable conditions for him. He also needs an energy battery to mitigate that high 80 energy cost and someone to keep him alive while he’s dealing damage.
A good, standard team looks something like this:
Fischl works as your energy battery and, with Oz on the battlefield, gives you a source of Electro support. Collei or Nahida apply Dendro over long periods for other characters to react with, and Kokomi is your healer.
Raiden Shogun or Yae Miko could work instead of Fischl, and you could experiment with the Dendro Traveler as well.
Another setup could be something like this:
- Cyno (Main DPS)
- Collei (Sub DPS)
- Kuki Shinobu (Support)
- Zhongli (Support)
This composition retains the core of the team – two Electro figures for resonance and one Dendro figure – but replaces the Hydro component. Zhongli protects the team with his shields and increases the overall damage of the squad, while Kuki does the healing.
Characters such as Kazuha or Sucrose are also functional in Zhongli’s role, as they can shred elemental resistances and group up opponents, and Dori can step in instead of Kuki.
If you’re looking to power Cyno up to Level 90, you’ll need a lot of Scarabs. Check out our Scarab locations guide for the most efficient farming route.
Written by Marco Wutz and Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF.
