Citlali |
Cryo |
Catalyst |
Natlan |
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Guides |
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Player Mistakes |
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Citlali, one of the most anticipated characters from Natlan, has quickly become a fan favorite due to her involvement in the Genshin Impact story, as well as her design and unique personality. As a Cryo support specializing in Freeze and Melt reactions, she offers consistent Cryo application, shields, and powerful debuffs that increase Hydro and Pyro DMG dealt by her team. While she is a highly effective unit, maximizing her potential requires a clear understanding of her mechanics and team composition requirements.
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However, like any character in Genshin Impact, improper usage or misunderstandings about her abilities can significantly diminish her value in combat. From poor artifact optimization to team setups that don’t fully capitalize on her debuff potential, there are several mistakes players can make while using Citlali. Here are some mistakes players should be avoiding to make the most of Citlali's kit.
5 Not Triggering Freeze or Melt Reactions
Citlali’s passive ability, Mamaloaco's Frigid Rain, allows her to decrease the Pyro and Hydro RES of opponents by a whooping 20% for 12 seconds when Freeze or Melt reactions are triggered by nearby party members while her summon, Itzpapa, is on the field. This debuff provides a significant boost to team DMG output, especially for Pyro and Hydro DPS characters.
This means, while players don't have to enable these reactions too often as once every 12 seconds is essentially enough, they will need to be able to trigger it relatively easily. As a result, players need to carefully build their team compositions to ensure consistent reaction triggers. Pairing Citlali with characters who can reliably apply Pyro, or Hydro in synergy with one another is crucial to maximize her utility. It's worth noting that, while Citlali can be the sole Cryo applier for this purpose, her application for specific Melt teams still might be lacking, and might need another Cryo character in the team.
4 Pairing Her With A Cryo Main DPS
Pairing Citlali with a Cryo main DPS may seem like a natural choice, given that her utility revolves around enabling Freeze and Melt reactions—both of which benefit Cryo-focused characters such as Ayaka or Wriothesley. However, this pairing can be a misstep, as Citlali’s debuff only reduces Pyro and Hydro RES, offering no direct benefits to Cryo DMG.
This makes her less effective at boosting a Cryo DPS’s overall output compared to dedicated Cryo supports like Shenhe or Rosaria, who provides substantial Cryo DMG buffs and synergizes better with Cryo carries. Interestingly however, despite being an Anemo character, Citlali surprisingly does benefit Chasca, as she is essentially is a rainbow DPS who can infuse her attacks with Pyro or Hydro.
3 Not Equipping Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City Artifact Set
Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City is one of the best artifact sets for off-field DPS or support characters from the Natlan roster, making it an excellent option for Citlali. This set amplifies Elemental DMG for all elements involved in reactions, which, in Citlali’s case, means Cryo, Hydro, and Pyro. Given her ability to consistently trigger and benefit from reactions like Freeze or Melt, equipping her with this set can significantly boost her overall utility and the team's damage output.
However, players should be cautious when assigning this set if another character, such as Xilonen, is already wearing it in the same team setup. While Xilonen is also a solid candidate for the Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City, her role in boosting Geo and one additional element isn’t as impactful as Citlali's multi-element synergy. To optimize team performance, it’s advisable to prioritize Citlali for this artifact set and equip Xilonen with an alternative set that better suits her role.
2 Not Paying Attention to Her Nightsoul Point Management
Using Citlali's Elemental Skill grants the team a shield scaling with Elemental Mastery, but without managing her Nightsoul Points and maintaining Itzpapa in its Opal Fire state, a significant portion of her potential utility is lost. To ensure that Itzpapa remains active on the field for Cryo application, players must first reach Citlali's Nightsoul Points above 50. This requires players to have a specific rotation, as Nightsoul Points are replenished through several means. In short, players will need to utilize her Elemental Burst on each rotation.
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Citlali gains 24 Nightsoul Points by activating her Elemental Skill and an additional 16 by triggering Freeze or Melt reactions. Her Elemental Burst also generates 24 Nightsoul Points, with a small bonus based on the number of enemies affected. By properly combining these actions—activating her Elemental Burst, using her Elemental Skill, and triggering reactions—players can sustain Itzpapa's Opal Fire state for about 8–9 seconds. This duration can be extended to approximately 11 seconds by applying Freeze or Melt again after 8 seconds. However, maintaining this uptime without interruption is not entirely possible, as her Elemental Skill has a cooldown of 16 seconds. Players looking for full uptime on Itzpapa's Opal Fire state can unlock Citlali's sixth constellation, which eliminates the Nightsoul Point requirement entirely, enabling Itzpapa to remain active consistently.
1 Thinking Citlali Requires High Investment
Citlali is one of the easiest characters to build in Genshin Impact, thanks to her utility being primarily tied to her passive ability, which does not scale with stats. However, players should focus on increasing her Elemental Mastery to enhance her shield absorption and Energy Recharge to ensure consistent Elemental Burst uptime. Other stats, such as ATK and Crit values, are secondary and mainly improve her sub-DPS potential, making them nice-to-have but not mandatory for her primary role as a support. This straightforward scaling allows her to function effectively without significant min-maxing.
Additionally, Citlali's flexibility extends to her artifact and weapon options. A proper artifact set with optimal main stats will make her an effective specialized support right away, even without the need for high investment. She can also perform well using low-cost or F2P-friendly weapon choices, making it unnecessary to prioritize her signature weapon unless players have surplus resources. Similarly, talent leveling can be approached gradually, with a focus on her Elemental Burst and Elemental Skill, as these primarily influence her personal DMG output and shield strength rather than her core utility to the team.
Genshin Impact
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- September 28, 2020
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms
- PC Release Date
- September 28, 2020
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- November 20, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- April 28, 2021
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
