Understanding Visionary Mode Requirements
Season 18 runs December 1-31, 2025. Visionary Mode requires 22-26 Alternate Cast members at Level 70 minimum, with each character maintaining 2 Vigor stacks that deplete during combat. This forces strategic rotation across multiple acts.
The Fantastical Blessing provides baseline 20% increases to Max HP, ATK, and DEF. Each additional Visionary Alternate Cast member beyond minimum grants cumulative bonuses: +1600 HP, +100 ATK, +100 DEF, +40 EM. These scaling bonuses reward broader rosters over hyper-investment.
Supporting Cast characters can be used 15 times per season, providing flexibility for roster gaps.
December 2025 Enemy Lineup
Primo Geovishap: 30% Electro RES, 50% Geo RES. Absorbs elements for charged breath attacks. Shield reflects damage, especially when shield element matches breath attack.
Aeonblight Drake: 100% resistance before activation. Destroy glowing cores to paralyze and remove resistance buffs.
Solitary Suanni: 70% Hydro RES, 70% Anemo RES. Switches to Hydro form at 70% HP, Anemo form at 40% HP. Interrupting Ultimate stuns the boss.
Arcana Challenge 1: Ruin Grader, Ruin Guard, Ruin Drake (Skywatch/Earthguard). 6-minute timer Stage 1, 5-minute Stage 2. Defeat each enemy within 10 seconds of each other.
Arcana Challenge 2: Level 100 Consecrated Scorpion and Fanged Beast.
Investment Philosophy
Low-investment builds achieve 70-80% of maximum potential while consuming only 30-40% of total resources. This means Level 70/80 ascension, 6/6/6 or 1/6/6 talents, and functional artifact sets with correct main stats.
Resource Requirements
Leveling one character 1 to 70/80: ~1.2M Mora, 247 Hero's Wit. Three talents to level 6: +450K Mora, 63 talent books. Building 22 characters requires ~26.4M Mora and 5,434 Hero's Wit.
Talent Priorities
Supports: Elemental Burst > Elemental Skill > Normal Attack. Level 6 provides sufficient healing/buffing.
Sub-DPS: Off-field damage talent first. Xiangling's Pyronado and Fischl's Oz to level 8-9. Normal Attacks stay at level 1 if unused.
Diminishing Returns
70/80 ascension is optimal stopping point. 80/90 costs nearly as much as all previous ascensions combined for minimal stat gains. Talent levels beyond 8 require weekly boss materials—level 8 to 9 provides only 6-8% damage increase for 300% resource cost.
Top 7 Best Low-Investment 4-Stars
Opening 4-stars for Season 18: Bennett (Pyro), Diona (Cryo), Sucrose (Anemo). Special Invitation: Mona, Fischl.
Bennett: Universal Support
Why: ATK buff based on base ATK, healing scaling with HP, Pyro application. Works at C0, godlike at C1 (removes HP restriction, adds 20% ATK).
Investment: Level 70/80, burst talent 6-9, HP% artifacts, 180-200% ER.
Weapon: Prototype Rancour (565 base ATK at 90), Sapwood Blade.
Artifacts: 4pc Noblesse Oblige. ER/HP/Healing Bonus.
Xingqiu: Hydro Application King
Why: Unmatched off-field Hydro application, damage reduction, minor healing, respectable damage. Enables Vaporize, Electro-Charged, Freeze.
Investment: Level 70/80, burst talent 6-8, 180-200% ER.
Weapon: Sacrificial Sword (best), Favonius Sword, The Catch.
Artifacts: 4pc Emblem of Severed Fate. ATK%/Hydro DMG/CRIT.
Constellations: C2 extends duration and reduces Hydro RES (valuable). C0 fully functional.
Fischl: Off-Field Electro DPS
Why: Consistent off-field Electro via Oz. A4 passive triggers additional Electro damage on Electro-related reactions.
Investment: Level 70/80, skill talent 6-8, 120-140% ER.
Weapon: Stringless (best), Prototype Crescent.
Artifacts: 4pc Thundering Fury or 2pc ATK%. ATK%/Electro DMG/CRIT.
Constellations: C6 nearly doubles damage. C0 provides 70% of total value.
Xiangling: Pyro Sub-DPS
Why: Premier off-field Pyro DPS. Pyronado snapshots ATK buffs, deals massive AoE damage.
Investment: Level 70/80, burst talent 6-9, 180-220% ER.
Weapon: The Catch (free, perfect stats), Favonius Lance.
Artifacts: 4pc Emblem of Severed Fate. ATK%/Pyro DMG/CRIT.
Constellations: C4 extends Pyronado duration 40% (huge). C0 with Bennett outperforms many C0 5-stars.
Sucrose: Budget Anemo Support
Why: EM sharing (20% of her EM via A4), crowd control, 4pc VV resistance shred (40% for 10s).
Investment: Level 70/80 for final passive. Talent levels irrelevant—swirl scales with character level and EM.
Weapon: Thrilling Tales (48% ATK buff), Sacrificial Fragments.
Artifacts: 4pc Viridescent Venerer. Full EM main stats, 160-180% ER.
Chevreuve: Overload Specialist
Why: Healing, resistance shred for Pyro/Electro, ATK% buffs. Requires team with only Pyro, Electro, and Chevreuve.
Investment: Level 70/80, skill talent for healing, 180-200% ER.
Weapon: Favonius Lance.
Artifacts: 4pc Noblesse Oblige. HP%/HP%/HP%.
Value: Depends on roster. Powerful with strong Pyro/Electro options.
Kuki Shinobu: Healing + Electro
Why: Dual role—healing and consistent Electro application. Enables Hyperbloom, Electro-Charged.
Investment: HP% for healing, EM for Hyperbloom. Talent levels minimally matter.
Weapon: Iron Sting (Hyperbloom), Favonius Sword (energy).
Artifacts: 4pc Tenacity of the Millelith or HP sets. HP%/HP%/HP% or EM focus.
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Team Composition Strategies
Core Archetypes
National Team: Bennett + Xingqiu + Xiangling + Flex (Sucrose). Most resin-efficient composition. Bennett buffs, Xingqiu enables Vaporize, Xiangling deals massive damage.
Electro-Charged: Xingqiu + Fischl + Kuki Shinobu + Sucrose. Consistent AoE damage, healing, VV shred.
Overload: Chevreuve + Bennett + Fischl + Xiangling. Explosive reactions, staggers enemies. Pyro/Electro only.
Budget Freeze: Kaeya/Rosaria + Xingqiu + Cryo Support + Sucrose. Crowd control, consistent damage.
Rotation Example (National)
Bennett Burst → Xingqiu Burst + Skill → Xiangling Burst + Skill → Sucrose Skill/Burst → repeat. This snapshots Bennett's buff onto Pyronado while enabling Vaporize.
Energy Management
Use skills on-field with the character needing energy for full particle value. Favonius weapons generate colorless particles benefiting all characters. Most bursts have 12-15s cooldowns—align skill usage for consistent energy.
Act-by-Act Strategy
Act 1: Test Secondary Teams
Easiest enemies. Use C0 characters with functional builds. Save highly-invested characters for later acts. Gluttonous Yumkasaur needs Pyro for Flamegranates. Ruin enemies require core targeting—bow/catalyst users excel.
Act 2: Elemental Advantage
Match character elements to enemy weaknesses. Primo Geovishap: favor Pyro, Hydro, Cryo. Avoid Geo, minimize Electro. Don't use shields matching its absorbed element.
Act 3: Boss Mechanics
Aeonblight Drake: destroy cores with bow/catalyst users. Solitary Suanni: build teams with multiple damage types for resistance shifts (70% Hydro/Anemo RES, switches forms at 70%/40% HP). Interrupt Ultimate for stun.
Act 4: Deploy Best Teams
Level 100 Consecrated enemies demand strong damage and dodging. Maximize buffs: Bennett ATK, Xingqiu damage reduction, Sucrose VV shred. Use food buffs if struggling.
Common Mistakes
Over-investing in few characters: Theater needs 22-26 characters. Distributing resources across 20+ at Level 70/80 with 6/6/6 talents beats 5 characters at 90 with 9/9/9.
Neglecting Energy Recharge: 80-energy bursts need 180-220% ER. Test in practical rotations. Accept ER sands over ATK% sands for burst uptime.
Ignoring reactions: Vaporize/Melt provide 1.5x-2x multipliers. Build characters considering who triggers reactions. Xiangling triggers Vaporize in National—EM matters.
Poor artifact priorities: Farm universal sets first: Noblesse, VV, Emblem. These serve multiple characters. Accept correct main stats with mediocre substats—provides 80-90% performance for 30-40% farming time.
Resource Optimization
Weekly Bosses
30 Resin per boss (three half-cost runs weekly). Prioritize bosses dropping materials for multiple characters. Azhdaha serves Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl. Use Dream Solvents to convert unwanted materials.
Artifact Domains
Multi-purpose domains first:
- Emblem/Shimenawa: serves all burst-dependent characters
- VV/Maiden: Sucrose + healers
- Noblesse/Bloodstained: universal support + physical DPS
Use strongbox conversion for Noblesse, VV, Gladiator without spending resin.
Mora and EXP
Ley Lines: 20 Resin each. Events provide hundreds of Hero's Wit and millions of Mora—participate consistently. Battle Pass: 1.32M Mora, 288 Hero's Wit per period.
Prioritize ascensions over talents. Ascending to 70/80 costs ~450K Mora. Three talents to 6 costs another 450K. Ascend all characters first, then level talents gradually.
Resin Schedule
Balanced weekly allocation:
- 2-3 days: artifact farming
- 2-3 days: talent/weapon domains
- 1-2 days: Ley Lines
- Weekly bosses: 90 Resin once weekly
Advanced Tips
Scoring System
Faster clears = higher base scores. More Visionary Cast members = score multipliers via stat bonuses (+1600 HP, +100 ATK, +100 DEF, +40 EM per character beyond minimum). Fantastical Blessing's 20% stat increases apply to all characters.
Complete optional objectives for bonus points: defeat enemies in time windows, avoid damage, use specific elements.
Supporting Cast Usage
15 uses per season. Fill roster gaps with powerful 5-stars you don't own. However, Supporting Cast don't contribute to Visionary bonuses. Borrow specialized 5-stars with unique mechanics, not 5-star versions of roles 4-stars fill adequately.
Buff Selection
Select buffs synergizing with team composition. ATK% buffs benefit ATK-scaling dealers, EM buffs favor reaction teams. Diversify buff types—combine ATK%, CRIT, Elemental DMG for better overall increases. Align elemental buffs with primary damage dealers.
Time Management
Pre-cast buffs before enemy spawns. Group enemies before AoE bursts—wait 1-2s for clustering. Learn enemy invulnerability phases to avoid wasting burst durations.
Future Preparation
Sustainable Roster
Prioritize universal characters: Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl, Sucrose work across dozens of teams. Maintain 3-4 built characters per element for coverage. Avoid over-investing in niche characters.
Next Priorities
After core seven: Kaeya/Rosaria/Layla (Cryo coverage), Thoma (Pyro shielding), Charlotte (Cryo + healing), Faruzan (Anemo DPS teams).
Monthly Reset Checklist
One week before reset: review upcoming elements and enemies. Stockpile 1-2M Mora, 200-300 Hero's Wit, talent books. Test compositions from previous cycles, note weaknesses.
Long-Term Planning
F2P accumulates ~3-4M Mora, 300-400 Hero's Wit monthly. Supports building 2-3 characters to 70/80 monthly. Full 22-character roster requires 7-11 months focused development.
Target high-value constellations: Xiangling C4, Xingqiu C2, Fischl C6 via banners or Paimon's Bargain.
FAQ
What are character requirements for Visionary Mode?
22-26 Alternate Cast at Level 70 minimum. Each has 2 Vigor stacks depleting during combat. 1 Supporting Cast per challenge. Each additional Visionary Cast grants +1600 HP, +100 ATK, +100 DEF, +40 EM.
Which 4-stars are best for December?
Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl, Xiangling, Sucrose, Chevreuve, Kuki Shinobu. December emphasizes Pyro, Cryo, Anemo—making Bennett, Xiangling, Diona, Sucrose particularly valuable.
How many characters needed?
Minimum 22, maximum 26 for full bonuses. Supporting Cast usable 15 times per season. Build 24-26 for flexibility.
Is Bennett good for Theater?
Exceptional. Universal ATK buff, healing, Pyro application. Effective at minimal investment. Fantastical Blessing amplifies his buff. Valuable in virtually every team.
What's minimum investment?
Level 70/80, 6/6/6 or 1/6/6 talents, 4pc sets with correct main stats. Achieves 70-80% potential for 30-40% resources.
Can you clear with only 4-stars?
Yes. Fantastical Blessing bonuses, proper composition, and mechanics understanding matter more than rarity. Bennett, Xingqiu, Xiangling, Fischl rival or exceed 5-stars in specific roles.
