Genshin Impact: Best Citlali Builds (Weapons, Artifacts, Team Comps, Stats)

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Genshin Impact

In order to adequately build Citlali in Genshin Impact, you should first understand her role in team comps and how she operates both on and off-field. Citlali is a 5-star Cryo character who uses a catalyst in combat. Introduced alongside Mavuika in Version 5.3, Citlali’s specialty is creating a shield for her allies and helping with Cryo application on enemies, which can then be interacted with for several types of elemental reactions in Genshin Impact. With her Elemental Skill, Citlali automatically conjures an Opal Shield around her and summons Itzpapa.

Once Citlali accumulates at least 50 Nightsoul points, Itzpapa will start executing an AoE (area of effect) Frostfall Storm, which deals Nightsoul-aligned Cryo DMG. Citlali’s Elemental Burst deals Nightsoul-aligned AoE Cryo DMG and restores Nightsoul points for her. It also summons a Spiritvessel Skull near a maximum of three enemies in the AoE with one Skull for each – these Skulls explode, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Cryo DMG and restoring a set amount of Nightsoul points for Citlali. After you gather Citlali’s materials in Genshin Impact and Ascend her, you can start working on her build to enhance these abilities.

Best Weapons For Citlali (Best Catalysts)

Look For Weapons With Elemental Mastery Bonuses

Genshin Impact's Citlali looks concerned.

The first step in optimizing Citlali’s build is to find her a suitable catalyst. The best 5-star weapon for Citlali is Starcaller’s Watch, her signature catalyst. The weapon has a low base ATK stat (542 at level 90) but a huge Elemental Mastery sub-stat (265 at level 90). On top of that, Starcaller’s Watch grants Citlali an extra 100 Elemental Mastery. Players gain the Mirror of Night effect within 15 seconds after Citlali creates a shield. Mirror of Night sees that the active party member deals 28% increased DMG to nearby opponents, an effect that can happen every 14 seconds.

The table below lists the best builds for Citlali in Genshin Impact, including the strongest weapons, recommended Artifacts, ideal stat distribution, and more:

Citlali's Best Build In Genshin Impact

Weapon	Starcaller's Watch (Best 5-star) A Thousand Floating Dreams (Substitute 5-star) Wandering Evenstar (Best 4-star) Sacrificial Fragments (Substitute 4-star) Mappa Mare (Substitute 4-star)
Artifact	Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City (4 pieces) Gilded Dreams (4 pieces)
Stat Priority	Elemental Mastery Energy Recharge CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG (if you want more DMG output) Cryo DMG (can be replaced for more EM)
Skill Priority	Elemental Skill Elemental Burst Normal Attack

Starcaller’s Watch is perfect for Citlali because it boosts her Elemental Mastery stats magnificently, and that is the most important stat in her kit since it dictates the strength of her shield and the power of reactions she triggers. If you don’t have access to Starcaller’s Watch, you can instead use A Thousand Floating Dreams, Nahida’s signature 5-star catalyst. This weapon offers the same base ATK and Elemental Mastery sub-stat values, but the skill changes drastically. Citlali gains different buffs based on her other party members in Genshin Impact.

If a character in the party is also Cryo, Citlali’s Elemental Mastery is increased by 32. If they are of a different element, Citlali’s Elemental DMG Bonus is increased by 10%. Each of these effects can stack up to three times. A Thousand Floating Dreams also grants 40 Elemental Mastery to all nearby party members. This weapon strays away from Citlali’s main abilities, especially in comparison to Starcaller’s Watch, but it can grant her a huge amount of Elemental Mastery. If you have neither of these catalysts, there are reliable 4-star weapons for Citlali in Genshin Impact.

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The best 4-star weapon for Citlali is Wandering Evenstar. The catalyst offers 510 base ATK (at level 90) and a low Elemental Mastery sub-stat (165 at level 90). Wandering Evenstar’s effect triggers every 10 seconds. Citlali gains 24% of her Elemental Mastery as ATK for 12 seconds, with all nearby party members receiving the equivalent of 30% of this buff for 12 seconds. This effect can trigger even if Citlali is off-field. Considering Elemental Mastery will be raised at its highest possible value with Citlali, the ATK bonuses for her and her allies in Genshin Impact will also be high.

Alternatively, Citali can also use Sacrificial Fragments, a 4-star catalyst with a low base ATK (454 at level 90) and a better Elemental Mastery sub-stat (221 at level 90). Sacrificial Fragments has a 40% chance of ending a Skill’s cooldown after an enemy is damaged with the Elemental Skill, an effect that can occur every 30 seconds.

While the possibility of a Skill cooldown is always beneficial, the main boon from Sacrificial Fragments is its Elemental Mastery sub-stat.

The craftable Mappa Mare is the best F2P (free-to-play) 4-star weapon for Citlali. Its base ATK is somewhat high (565 at level 90) and its Elemental Mastery sub-stat is low (110 at level 90). When Citlali triggers a reaction, she gains an 8% Elemental DMG Bonus for 10 seconds, up to two stacks. While there isn’t an abundance of options to choose from, there is at least a F2P weapon for Citlali – the rule of thumb is picking a weapon that grants Elemental Mastery in Genshin Impact.

Best Artifacts & Stats For Citlali

There Are Two Possible Sets For The Cryo Character

When it comes to Artifacts for Citlali, you have two decent options. The Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City Artifact set’s two-piece bonus makes Citlali recover 6 Elemental Energy when an ally triggers Nightsoul Burst, which works well when she’s paired up with Mavuika, for example. With its four-piece bonus, when Citlali triggers a reaction, all nearby allies gain a 12% Elemental DMG Bonus for the involved element for 15 seconds. If Citlali is in the Nightsoul's Blessing state when triggering it, allies gain an extra 28% Elemental DMG bonus for the elements involved for 20 seconds.

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The other Artifact set option for Citlali is Gilded Dreams. Its two-piece bonus grants 80 Elemental Mastery for Citlali. With its four-piece bonus, within eight seconds of triggering a reaction, Citlali obtains buffs based on the elements of her allies. ATK is boosted by 14% for each member whose element is the same as Citlali’s (Cryo in Genshin Impact), and Elemental Mastery is increased by 50 for every member with a different element. Each of the buffs will count up to three characters and this effect can be triggered once every eight seconds, even when Citlali is off-field.

When farming either of these Artifact sets for Citlali, the main priority is increasing Elemental Mastery as much as you can, as this will enhance the strength of her shield and the intensity of her elemental reactions. Elemental Mastery effects aren’t capped with Citlali’s abilities, so the higher, the better. Energy Recharge is also very important, as it can help fuel her Nightsoul points, which then aids with her damage output. To increase her offensive presence on the field, you can boost CRIT values and Cryo DMG, but Citlali is at her best focusing on Elemental Mastery in Genshin Impact.

Best Team Comps For Citlali

Citlali Thrives In Freeze & Melt Teams

Citlali is a fairly versatile Cryo shielder for various types of team comps. The best option is to insert Citlali into Freeze or Melt team comps since she can decrease enemies’ Pyro and Hydro RES by 20% for 12 seconds after an ally triggers Frozen or Melt reactions. As such, Citlali is a great support to run alongside Neuvillette, Mualani, Arlecchino, or Mavuika in Genshin Impact, for example.

The table below lists team comps recommendations for Citlali:

Citlali's Best Team Comps In Genshin Impact

Melt Team	Citlali (Cryo Shielder & Support) Mavuika (Pyro DPS) or Arlecchino (Pyro DPS) Rosaria (Cryo sub-DPS & Support) or Xilonen (Geo Support) Bennett (Pyro Support & Healer)
Permafreeze Team	Citlali (Cryo Shielder & Support) Neuvillette (Hydro DPS) or Mualani (Hydro DPS) Rosaria (Cryo sub-DPS & Support) Kokomi (Hydro Healer & Support) or Barbara (Hydro Healer & Support)
F2P Team	Citlali (Cryo Shielder & Support) Kaeya (Cryo DPS) or Gaming (Pyro DPS) Xingqiu (Hydro sub-DPS) Bennett (Pyro Support & Healer)

There is no punishment if Citlali were to be used as a generalist shielder for other types of team comps, such as one in an Overloaded party, for example. However, it’d be a waste of the Pyro and Hydro shred she can apply to enemies. There are plenty of options for Citlali to be in, but sticking to those focused on Freeze and Melt is the best choice.

Skill Priority For Citlali

You Can Skip Upgrading Her Normal Attacks

Genshin Impact's Citlali floats on a pillow and reads a novel with Itzpapa.

Because resources can be limited and slow to farm, you may have to prioritize upgrading some skills over others. The ability to prioritize in Citlali’s kit is her Elemental Skill. This is the one that creates the shield and deals consistent off-field Cryo DMG, so it should be of the utmost priority. The second one to level up is her Elemental Burst in Genshin Impact, which helps charge her Skill’s damage. Citlali’s Normal Attacks are not important and, if desired, can be skipped entirely since she will not stay on the field dealing damage in this way.

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Citlali’s strongest build is a fairly easy one to achieve thanks to how few different stats she requires to operate at her peak performance. If you don’t have her signature weapon, building her can become a bit complicated, but there is a F2P option, even if it is much weaker than other premium catalysts. Although Citlali is somewhat limited to certain parties, she can be one of the strongest supports for Freeze and Melt team comps in Genshin Impact.