Background
Heizou is a 4-star character from Inazuma that uses a catalyst in battle. He first appears in his hangout event where you investigate his disappearance. Heizou currently serves as a detective for the Tenryou Commission.
Heizou is best described as witty and free-spirited. Despite working for the Tenryou Commision, he often takes on cases based on his own personal beliefs. This gets on the nerves of his boss Kojou Sara, but she often lets it slides due to the results he brings in. Heizou’s detective skills are top-notch due to his increased sense of logic and reasoning. His skills have made him sought after for any cases that are difficult to solve.
Heizou used to work with Bantan Sango in their own detective agency called Bantan Sango & Heizou Detective Agency. However, he left due to conflicts in their respective visions of what being a detective was. Heizou believes a detective should find more than the truth, and work to deter crime from happening. Detectives can’t stop the crimes from happening, but he hopes to change that one day.
Shikanoin Heizou Skill Talents
As the first male catalyst user, Heizou excels as a DPS or sub-DPS with his ability to deal Anemo DMG and Swirl with other elements. His elemental skill allows him to deal massive Anemo DMG to the enemy when all 4 stacks of his Declension are collected.
Heizou’s normal attack, Fudou Style Martial Arts, performs up to 5 Anemo punches. His 1st hit will strike the weakest, with his 5th hitting the hardest. Heizou’s 4th attack hits 3x on the enemy. His charged attack consumes stamina to unleash an Anemo kick. As a main DPS, Heizou can unleash rapid fast Anemo attacks on the enemy, triggering Swirl if he reacts with another element.
His elemental skill, Heartstopper Strike, has both a press and hold effect. The press effect will deal a swift punch to the enemy. Holding down the skill button, allows Heizou to charge up his skill and gain Declension stacks. He can have a total of 4 stacks, increasing the power of his elemental skill with each Declension stack. When Heizou has all 4 stacks of Declension, he will gain the Conviction effect, allowing his next elemental skill attack to be stronger and have a wider AoE. His elemental skill will automatically be released once he is at full stacks. Stacks of Declension will remain if Heizou switches out and can be seen by the circle next to him on the field. The Delension stacks have a duration of 60 seconds, with his skill having a cooldown of 10 seconds. The scaling of Heizou’s elemental skill is great to deal massive Anemo DMG to the enemy, especially with his Conviction effect active. This is the optimal talent to upgrade for Heizou for his damage output.
Heizou’s elemental burst, Windmuster Kick, allows him to leap into the air and use the Fudou Style Vacuum Slugger to kick Anemo DMG toward the enemy. The Vacuum will explode when it hits the enemy and create an Arresting Tunnel to pull in nearby enemies and objects. If the Vacuum hits an enemy affected by Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, or Electro, it will create a Windmuster Iris. This Windmuster Iris will deal elemental damage to the enemy based on the element they were affected with. This effect can affect up to 4 enemies hit by his elemental burst. However, one enemy can not be affected by Iris of multiple elements. Heizou’s burst can deal elemental damage to the enemy and also act as crowd control to pull them closer. It also has a low energy cost of 40 and a 12 second cooldown.
In co-op, Heizou can act as a DPS that can deal Anemo DMG and Swirl with other elements. His ascension talent also allows him to support the team with an Elemental Mastery buff.
Shikanoin Heizou Passive Talents
Heizou’s passive talent reduces stamina consumption when he is in the party. His ascension talents upgrades his elemental skill, while providing an elemental mastery bonus to his party.
Heizou’s passive talent, Pre-Existing Guilt, reduces stamina consumption when he is in the party for all party members, allowing them to dash for longer distances. This talent is great for exploring, but will not stack with other similar talent effects. Both Razor and Kaeya have the same effect in their passive talents.
At ascension 1, Heizou gains Paradoxical Practice, which allows him to gain a stack of Declension when he triggers a Swirl reaction when on the field. This talent will allow him to easily gain stacks of Declension when his Anemo attack meets another element besides Geo. Overall, this talent reduces the time to gain all 4 Declension stacks so his elemental skill can deal the maximum of damage while using less time charging up his stacks.
Ascension 4 talent, Penetrative Reasoning, provides a supportive buff in elemental mastery to his teammates when his elemental skill hits an enemy. The bonus does not apply to Heizou himself. This talent is great for increasing the reaction damage of the party and also helps increase the overall damage of characters that scale with Elemental Mastery like Sucrose or Kazuha.
Heizou gains an Anemo damage bonus based on his ascension rank.
| Pre-Existing Guilt Unlocked Automatically Decreases climbing Stamina consumption for your own party members by 20%. Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects. |
| Paradoxical Practice Unlocked at Ascension 1 When Shikanoin Heizou activates a Swirl reaction while on the field, he will gain 1 Declension stack for Heartstopper Strike. This effect can be triggered every 0.1s. |
| Penetrative Reasoning Unlocked at Ascension 4 After Shikanoin Heizou‘s Heartstopper Strike hits an opponent, increases all party members’ (excluding Shikanoin Heizou) Elemental Mastery by 80 for 10s. |
Heizou Constellations
Heizou’s constellations mainly power up his elemental skill by boosting its Crit Rate and DMG, while providing energy for his burst and increasing its pull effect.
At C1: Named Juvenile Casebook, Keizou gains a normal attack speed bonus for 5 seconds after he enters the field. This effect can be triggered every 10 seconds. Heizou will also obtain 1 stack of Declension for his elemental skill effect. This constellation allows Heihou to attack faster, while also gaining him more stacks.
C2: Investigative Collection increases the pull effect of his elemental burst, allowing enemies to be pulled in from a wider area. The duration of his kick is also increased.
C4: Tome of Lies generates energy for Heizou when he launches his Windmuster Iris explosion from his elemental burst. The first one will generate the most energy, which each recurring one regenerating a smaller portion. Heizou can generate up to 13.5 energy with this constellation effect. This constellation helps Heizou charge up his burst faster, allowing him to cast it more often.
At C6: Curious Casefiles, each Declension stack Heizou has currently increases the crit rate of his elemental skill by 4%. When he gains all stacks of Declension and activates Conviction, the Crit DMG of his elemental skill is increased by 32%. This constellation greatly increases the Crit Rate and DMG of his elemental skill.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| C1: Named Juvenile Casebook | For 5s after Shikanoin Heizou takes the field, his Normal Attack SPD is increased by 15%. He also gains 1 Declension stack for Heartstopper Strike. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. |
| C2: Investigative Collection | The pull effect of the Arresting Windtunnel created by Windmuster Kick is enhanced, and its duration is increased to 1s. |
| C3:Esoteric Puzzle Book | Increases the level of Heartstopper Strike by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C4: Tome of Lies | The first Windmuster Iris explosion in each Windmuster Kick will regenerate 9 Elemental Energy for Shikanoin Heizou. Every subsequent explosion in that Windmuster Kick will each regenerate an additional 1.5 Energy for Heizou. One Windmuster Kick can regenerate a total of 13.5 Energy for Heizou in this manner. |
| C5: Secret Archive | Increases the level of Windmuster Kick by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C6: Curious Casefiles | Each Declension stack will increase the CRIT Rate of the Heartstopper Strike unleashed by 4%. When Heizou possesses Conviction, this Heartstopper Strike’s CRIT DMG is increased by 32%. |
Recommended Builds
EM DPS
Heizou is a powerful Anemo DPS and sub-DPS that utilizes his elemental skill to deal increased Anemo DMG to the enemy depending on the number of stacks of Declension he processes. His elemental skill allows him to charge up his Declension stacks, but he can also obtain them through his ascension 1 talent. As an Anemo character, Heizou is capable of Swirling with other elements to decrease the enemy’s elemental resistance with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set. As a DPS you will want to focus on leveling up his elemental skill and normal attack. His burst will also be useful due to its low energy cost and ability to deal extra elemental damage to the enemy. This EM build for Heizou focuses on building up his Elemental Mastery to increase his reaction damage.
Heizou is going to want to use support characters like Bennett and Xingqiu to boost his overall damage. Bennett will heal the team while powering up their ATK. Xingqiu can deal passive Hydro DMG with Heizou’s attacks. Xiangling will also work great as Pyro sub DPS. Overall, Heizou can work in a variety of teams, depending on the reaction you are going for.
Heizou can make use of any 5-star weapon for a DPS build. The Skyward Altas and Kagura’s Verify are both great options for boosting his overall damage. The Skyward Altas boosts his overall ATK and can deal extra damage to enemies when he uses his normal attack talent. The Kagura’s Verity will be helpful to increase his Crit DMG and elemental skill damage. Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds is another good option, boosting Crit Rate and elemental damage depending on how long Heizou is on the field. No 5-star weapons have a passive in Elemental Mastery, so you will be required to make it up in his artifact stats.
For 4-star weapons, Heizou can use of the 4-star craftable Mappa Mare to increase his EM and elemental damage when he triggers a reaction. The Sacrificial Fragments can also work to buff his EM and allow him to use his elemental skill again. For the early game, Heizou can use any of the Amber Catalyst or Emerald Orb due to the Elemental Mastery passive.
Heizou’s recommended artifact set is the Viridescent Venerer to increase his Anemo DMG and decrease enemy elemental resistance while powering up his Swirl DMG. This is the best artifact for any Anemo character. You can also use a 4-piece Noblesse Oblige for a more support build or sub DPS.
Artifact stats for Heizou:
- Sands: EM
- Goblet: EM
- Circlet: EM
In the sub-stats, look for EM, ATK%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG. Heizou does not need a high ER stat because of his low energy cost burst.
Anemo DPS Build
This build for Heizou focuses more on his overall Crit DMG to boost his DPS. It is very similar to the EM build, which slight variations to the artifact stats. You will still want to build up his elemental skill and normal attack, which will be the bulk of his damage.
Heizou can fit in a variety of teams, but will excel in teams that deal passive damage to the enemy off the field. Both Yelan and Xingqiu are capable of dealing Hydro attacks to the enemy, with Xingqiu also healing the active character. Fischl will deal passive Electro DMG to trigger Electrocharge with either Yelan or Xingqiu. She can be replaced with Yae Miko or Raiden Shogun.
Any 5-star weapon will work for Heizou. The Kagura’s Verity will give him an extra boost in Crit DMG while the Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds has a passive in Crit Rate. His recommended four-star weapon is the same as the first build with either the Mappa Mare or the Sacrificial Fragments being his top choices. However, the Widsith and Solar Pearl are also good choices for a DPS Heizou.
His recommended artifact is still the 4-piece Viridescent Venerer, but a 2-piece Viridescent Venerer and an ATK +18% set will also suffice.
Artifact stats for Heizou:
- Sands: ATK%
- Goblet: Anemo DMG%
- Circlet: Crit Rate or Crit DMG
In the sub-stats, look for EM, ATK%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG. Heizou does not need a high ER stat because of his low energy cost burst.
Recommended Party Members
Xiangling has a powerful burst effect capable of hitting enemies in a wide range and applying Pyro to them.
Xingqiu can deal Hydro DMG to the enemy when he is off the field and apply Hydro.
Yelan can deal passive Hydro damage to the enemy when her burst is active.
Fischl has a powerful elemental skill that can attack along the active character to deal Electro DMG.
Xingqiu can also deal passive Hydro DMG to the enemy with his burst and heal the active character.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Low-cost burst | As an Anemo DPS, Xiao doesn’t benefit from any reactions |
| Powerful scaling on elemental skill | Charging up his skill leaves him defenseless to attacks if he does not have a shield up |
| Easily obtain stacks of Declension when he triggers Swirl | Ascension 4 buff does not apply to himself |
Conclusion
Heizou is the first male catalyst user within Genshin Impact and brings a variety of powerful skills with him. All his attacks can apply Anemo to enemies, applying the Swirl reaction to be easily triggered. His burst also has a low energy cost and cooldown, applying it to be charged up with small energy recharge investments. He is a powerful Anemo DPS character that can fit in a variety of teams that are reaction based.
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