Source: HoYoverse
Granny Itztli is here! Here’s how to build her
Citlali is a formidable support unit with the ability to shred Hydro and Pyro resistances of enemies, making her a must-pull character for players who main those elements, as well as the ability to protect your active character with a reliable Cryo shield.
What makes Citlali shine is her skill, Dawnfrost Darkstar, which will allow her to deploy an Opal shield, as well as summon the Obsidian Tzitzimitli: Itzpapa, which deals Nightsoul-aligned AoE Cryo DMG and follows your active character around while doing so.
Itzpapa’s abilities depend on the amount of Nightsoul points that Citlali currently possesses. When the Nightsoul points amount to at least 50, Itzpapa will enter the Opal Fire state and continuously consume the points to create a Frostfall Storm that will follow your active character to deal AoE Cryo DMG. This state will last until Citlali’s Nightsoul points are fully depleted.
Citlali’s burst, Edict of Entwined Splendor, will summon a massive ice storm which will bombard an area to deal Nightsoul-aligned AoE Cryo DMG. Citlali will then restore a set amount of Nightsoul Points and summon a maximum of 3 Spiritskull Vessels to 3 opponents, which will explode after some time. After exploding, the Spiritskull Vessels will also provide Citlali with a set amount of Nightsoul points.
Citlali is designed to boost the DMG of Hydro and Pyro DPS characters as well as her own thanks to her passives, those being:
- 1st Ascension Passive: Mamaloaco’s Frigid Rain
- While Itzpapa is currently active and after party members trigger a Frozen or Melt reaction, the Pyro and Hydro resistances of opponents affected by said reactions will be decreased by 20% for 12 seconds. Citlali will also regain 16 Nightsoul points once every 8 seconds.
- 4th Ascension Passive: Itzpapalotl’s Star Garments
- Upon triggering Citlali’s Skill, the Frostfall caused by Itzpapa will have increased DMG by 90% of Citlali’s Elemental Mastery. The same thing will occur for Citlali’s burst, but with an increase based on 1200% of Citlali’s Elemental Mastery. Additionally, Citlali will gain 4 Nightsoul points every time a Natlan-aligned party member triggers their own Nightsoul Bursts.
When it comes to ascending Citlali’s talents, make sure to put focus on her Skill first, then Burst second. There is no need to ascend Citlali’s Normal Attacks.
Citlali’s best gear and teams
When it comes to gear, there are a number of options to choose from that Citlali will definitely benefit from using. Here’s what we recommend when it comes to weapons, artifact sets, and team compositions!
Weapons:
- Starcallers Watch (5-star, gacha) - Obviously the top pick since this is Citlali’s signature catalyst, and will increase her EM to a whopping 265 at level 90. This catalyst also provides a powerful DMG buff to the entire party!
- A Thousand Floating Dreams (5-star, gacha) - Although this is Nahida’s signature weapon, this catalyst can also work well for Citlali thanks to its EM substat and a passive designed to support your entire party.
- Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (3-star, gacha) - A 3-star weapon? Yep! Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers is the go-to catalyst for any support character. Even though Citlali has no use for the HP% substat this weapon provides, its passive, which provides a 48% ATK buff to the character you swap to after Citlali, is something you definitely don’t want to miss out on if you’re a player who loves to see massive DMG numbers on your screen.
- Wandering Evenstar (4-star, gacha) - Wandering Evenstar provides an additional 165 EM as its substat, and a passive that provides ATK buffs for both Citlali and her party members.
- Sacrificial Fragments (4-star, gacha) - Sacrificial Fragments provides 221 EM for its substat, as well as a possible cooldown reset to Citlali’s Skill.
Artifacts
- Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City - provides elemental energy when a Nightsoul Burst is triggered at 2-pc, and at 4-pc will provide a 12% Elemental DMG Bonus to party members wielding the Elemental Types involved in the elemental reaction for 15s. If the equipping character is in the Nightsoul's Blessing state when triggering this effect, all nearby party members gain an additional 28% Elemental DMG Bonus for the Elemental Types involved in the elemental reaction for 20s. The equipping character can trigger this effect while off-field, and the DMG bonus from Artifact Sets with the same name do not stack.
- Noblesse Oblige - a generalist support artifact set, at 2pc will provide a 20% Elemental Burst DMG increase, and at 4pc will increase the ATK of the whole party by 20% after triggering an Elemental Burst.
- Wanderer’s Troupe and Gilded Dreams - a mix of both these artifact sets will provide a total of 160 additional EM to Citlali.
Stats you should go for: since Citlali does not rely on ATK, focus on obtaining Elemental Mastery for Sands, Cryo DMG Bonus for Goblet, and Crit Rate or Crit DMG for the Circlet, whichever is most lacking. If you’re aiming for a stronger shield and a more support-oriented role, opt to go full Elemental Mastery for Sands, Goblet, and Circlet.
Teams
Since Citlali flourishes best in supporting her party, focus on including her in teams that need her Hydro/Pyro resistance shred and shield. The best team to slot her in right now is with the Pyro Archon Mavuika, where Citlali will provide substantial support in being a Cryo applicator for a Mavuika-Melt team. But besides being Mavuika’s best support unit, she can also go well with these compositions:
- Arlecchino, Bennett, Yelan, Citlali - Citlali will be able to provide protection to Arlecchino when she is heal-locked when her skill is active, while Bennett will provide ATK buffs and heals, and Yelan is the Hydro applicator.
- Mavuika, Bennett, Yelan, Citlali - This lineup works just like Arlecchino team, but with Mavuika instead acting as the Main DPS.
- Bennett, Xingqiu, Xiangling, Citlali - AKA the National team, Citlali will work well as the Cryo applicator for this multi-colored DMG number composition!
- Yelan, Xingqiu, Bennett, Citlali - This lineup works similarly to the National team, but with an added focus on Hydro DMG with both Yelan and Xingqiu dishing out a majority of the team's DMG output.
- Neuvillette, Furina, Kazuha, Citlali - This team goes all-in on Neuvillette's massive Hydro DMG output, with Furina boosting Neuvillette's DMG while Kazuha and Citlali greatly reduce the enemy's resistance to Hydro.
