Genshin 6.3 Artifact Guide: Columbina & Zibai Best Builds

What's New in 6.3 Artifact Sets

Two domain-exclusive sets built for Lunar Reaction mechanics launch with Nod-Krai region. Moonchild's Treasures domain at Cliffwatch Camp opens January 15, 2026 at 03:10 AM (AR 45 required).

Planning pulls for Columbina or Zibai? Genshin Impact Genesis Crystals top up through BitTopup delivers instant resources with competitive pricing.

Complete Set Bonuses

Aubade of Morningstar and Moon:

• 2pc: EM +80
• 4pc: Off-field Lunar Reaction DMG +20%
• 4pc Enhanced: +40% at Ascendant Gleam Moonsign Level
• Restriction: Effect ends after 3 seconds on-field

Highest reaction-specific bonus in-game, beats Gilded Dreams for off-field enablers.

A Day Carved from Rising Winds:

• 2pc: ATK +18%
• 4pc: Pastoral Winds buff for 6s (ATK +25%)
• Special: Witch's Homework adds CRIT Rate +20%
• Works off-field

Total 43% ATK (18% + 25%) plus conditional CRIT Rate.

Domain Details

AR 45 Level IV guarantees one 5-star artifact per 20 Resin. Nod-Krai domain drops 2-3 Philosophies of Moonlight per run—dual-purpose farming. Complete Nod-Krai archon quest before January 15 for immediate access.

Drop Rates

Expect 1.2 five-star artifacts per 20 Resin at Level IV. Full optimized set needs 12-15 days at 180 daily Resin using Condensed Resin (40 Resin for double rewards, max 5 stored). Stockpile before domain release for 10 immediate runs January 15.

Columbina Artifact Build

Columbina's Hydro Catalyst kit centers on off-field Lunar Reactions. Balance ER, CRIT ratios, and EM simultaneously.

Best-in-Slot: 4pc Aubade

20% base Lunar Reaction DMG → 40% at Ascendant Gleam. 3-second on-field restriction fits quick-swap rotations perfectly. In Columbina/Zibai/Illuga/Zhongli teams, she stays off-field 85-90% of combat.

Performance vs Alternatives:

• Aubade 4pc: 40% Lunar Reaction DMG (baseline)
• Gilded Dreams 4pc: 14-28% conditional EM/ATK
• Emblem 4pc: 25% Burst DMG per 100% ER (caps 75% at 300% ER)

Aubade delivers 15-25% higher damage in Lunar-Crystallize teams.

Main Stats

Standard Config:

• Sands: ER (for 220% solo Hydro)
• Goblet: Hydro DMG
• Circlet: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG

Prototype Amber Config:

• Sands: EM (ER drops to 160%)
• Goblet: Hydro DMG
• Circlet: CRIT Rate

EM Sands adds ~35% reaction damage but sacrifices Burst consistency.

Substat Priority

1. ER (until 220% solo / 160% with Prototype Amber)
2. CRIT Rate (until 75%)
3. CRIT DMG (maintain 1:2 ratio)
4. EM (100 EM = ~18% reaction damage)
5. ATK% (lowest priority)

Each ER roll (5.8% avg) beats ATK% rolls when below thresholds—energy deficiency = zero damage during downtime.

Constellation Impact

C1 Columbina triggers stacks every 15s, recovers 6 Energy on Lunar-Charged attacks. ER requirements drop 30-40%:

• Solo Hydro: 180% (down from 220%)
• With Prototype Amber: 130% (down from 160%)
• Dual Hydro: 140% (new threshold)

C1+ makes EM Sands optimal over ER Sands.

Zibai Artifact Build

Zibai's Geo Sword kit uses Lunar-Crystallize reactions with on-field damage windows. Heaven and Earth Made Manifest Skill converts Normal/Charged Attacks to Geo DMG. Tri-Sphere Eminence Burst costs 60 Energy, 15s cooldown.

Best-in-Slot: 4pc Night of Sky's Unveiling

• 2pc: EM +80
• 4pc: CRIT Rate +15% at Nascent Gleam or +30% at Ascendant Gleam for 4s on on-field Lunar Reactions

30% CRIT Rate bonus lets Zibai hit 75%+ with minimal substat investment, redirecting rolls to CRIT DMG and DEF%.

Alternative 2pc Combos:

• Archaic Petra + Night of Sky's (EM +80, Geo DMG +15%)
• Husk + Night of Sky's (DEF +30%, EM +80)

ER Thresholds

60 Energy Burst, 15s cooldown needs moderate ER:

• Dual Geo (Zibai + Zhongli/Gorou): 140% ER
• Solo Geo with Hydro battery: 160% ER
• Solo Geo no battery: 180% ER

Add 10-20% buffer for suboptimal rotations.

CRIT vs EM Build

CRIT builds outperform EM builds by 18-25% in 36-star Abyss when Zibai has 40%+ field time.

CRIT Build:

• DEF% Sands / Geo DMG Goblet / CRIT Rate Circlet
• Substats: ER > CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG > DEF% > EM
• Targets: 160% ER, 75% CRIT Rate, 150% CRIT DMG, 2000+ DEF

EM Build:

• DEF% Sands / Geo DMG Goblet / EM Circlet
• Substats: ER > EM > DEF% > CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG
• Targets: 160% ER, 300+ EM, 2200+ DEF, 50% CRIT Rate

EM build gives 35-40% stronger Crystallize shields but sacrifices personal damage.

Weapon Considerations

Lightbearing Moonshard (88.2% CRIT DMG, +20% DEF) enables hybrid builds hitting 2000+ DEF and 75/150 CRIT ratios. F2P using Favonius/Sacrificial Sword need 180% ER to compensate.

New Sets vs Existing Options

Damage Comparisons

Columbina: Aubade vs Emblem

In Columbina/Zibai/Illuga/Zhongli teams at 220% ER:

• Aubade 4pc at Ascendant Gleam: 100% baseline
• Emblem 4pc (55% Burst DMG at 220% ER): 82%
• Gilded Dreams 4pc (180 EM mixed teams): 76%

18-24% advantage justifies resin investment for reaction drivers.

Zibai: Night of Sky's vs Husk

On-field Geo DPS at 160% ER:

• Night of Sky's 4pc at Ascendant Gleam: 100% baseline
• Husk 4pc (54% DEF, 24% Geo DMG max stacks): 91%
• Archaic Petra 4pc (15% Geo DMG, 35% elemental DMG): 88%

9-12% increase becomes larger at high investment where 30% CRIT Rate enables better CRIT DMG scaling.

When to Keep Current Artifacts

Stick with existing sets if:

• Current artifacts have 30+ combined CRIT Value across 4 pieces
• ER thresholds already met
• Account needs artifacts for multiple non-6.3 characters
• Resin better spent on talents/weapons/bosses

Well-rolled Emblem (35+ CRIT Value) beats mediocre Aubade (20 CRIT Value) despite set bonus difference.

Resin ROI

Full 5-piece set needs 2500-3000 Resin (14-17 days at 180 daily). Talent and ascension materials require similar investment:

• 120 Resin for 6 Condensed runs at Lightless Capital = 12-18 Philosophies of Moonlight
• 15-23 Frostnight Herras kills = 46 Radiant Antler (WL8: 3 per kill)
• 168 Winter Icelea (48h respawn, 60-70 per cycle)

Total pre-farm: 14-17 days at 180 Resin/day, or 12-15 days with 15-20 Fragile Resin. Prioritize talents/ascension before artifacts—guaranteed power vs RNG substats.

Team Synergies

Columbina Hypercarry

Lunar-Crystallize Core: Columbina + Zibai + Illuga + Zhongli

Rotation:

1. Zhongli Hold Skill (shield, 20% RES shred)
2. Columbina Skill/Burst (Hydro, Lunar setup)
3. Illuga Skill/Burst (Lunar triggers, energy)
4. Zibai Burst/Skill/Normals (Geo Lunar-Crystallize, shield refresh)

Maintains 95%+ uptime on both artifact set bonuses.

Alternative: Columbina + Zibai + Illuga + Gorou

Trades Zhongli's universal shred for Geo buffs amplifying Zibai 40-50%. Gorou's DEF% buffs synergize with Zibai's DEF scaling. Reduces Zibai ER to 140%.

Zibai Enabler

Geo-Focused: Zibai + Columbina + Gorou + Albedo

Triple-Geo leverages Geo Resonance (15% DMG shielded, 20% Geo RES shred) plus Gorou buffs. Zibai maintains 60-70% field time. Night of Sky's Unveiling reaches max value with extended field time for consistent Ascendant Gleam.

F2P Teams

Budget: Columbina + Zibai + Fischl + Noelle

• Fischl: off-field Electro
• Noelle: healing, shields, DEF scaling
• Only needs Columbina + Zibai as 5-stars

Alternative: Columbina + Zibai + Klee + Razor

• Klee: Pyro for Vaporize
• Razor: Physical DPS during downtime
• Hexenzirkel theme, accessible constellations

Whale Optimization

C6 Columbina R5 Nocturne's Curtain Call:

• ER: 140% (C1 energy + weapon)
• CRIT Rate: 60% (weapon 44.1% CRIT DMG allows CRIT Rate Circlet)
• EM Sands optimal all scenarios
• Targets: 140% ER, 60% CRIT Rate, 200% CRIT DMG, 300+ EM

C6 Zibai R5 Lightbearing Moonshard:

• DEF scaling +80% (constellations)
• CRIT DMG 110% at R5
• DEF% Sands/Goblet/Circlet viable for 3000+ DEF
• Targets: 140% ER, 75% CRIT Rate, 180% CRIT DMG, 3000+ DEF

Farming Strategy

Pre-Release Schedule

Days 1-7: Lightless Capital (120 Resin daily, 6 Condensed)

• 12-18 Philosophies of Moonlight/day
• Total: 84-126 Philosophies (10/10/10 talents one character)

Days 8-12: Frostnight Herras (60 Resin daily, 3 kills)

• 9 Radiant Antler/day at WL8
• Total: 45 Radiant Antler (full ascension)

Days 13-17: Winter Icelea + Moonchild's Treasures

• 0 Resin for Winter Icelea (overworld, 48h respawn)
• 180 Resin artifacts (9 runs, 9-11 five-stars)

Character hits 90/90 with 10/10/10 talents immediately upon release.

Post-Release

• Daily: 160 Resin artifacts (8 runs)
• Weekly: 1120 Resin artifacts, 140 Resin bosses/events

One complete set with 20-25 CRIT Value every 14-17 days. Building both characters: 4-5 weeks.

Condensed Resin

Max efficiency:

1. Pre-craft 5 Condensed before daily reset (40 Resin + 1 Crystal Core each)
2. Use all 5 immediately after domain unlock (10 runs)
3. Craft 4 more from regenerated Resin (160 Resin over 21h)
4. Reserve 20 Resin for flexibility

Yields 9 domain runs daily (180 Resin) while maintaining stockpile.

Fragile Resin Usage

Use immediately if:

• Character release within 7 days, artifacts incomplete
• Current quality prevents 36-star Abyss (losing 600 Primos/cycle)
• New domain serves multiple roster characters

Save if:

• Current artifacts achieve 80%+ optimal performance
• Upcoming events offer limited rewards
• Fewer than 40 Fragile Resin (emergency reserve)

Maintain 20-30 Fragile Resin reserves.

Common Mistakes

Universal Sets Don't Work for Everyone

Emblem/Shimenawa provide acceptable performance for 70% of characters but underperform specialized sets by 15-25% for unique mechanics. Columbina's off-field Lunar focus makes Emblem less valuable than Aubade. Zibai's on-field Crystallize doesn't benefit from Emblem like Night of Sky's CRIT Rate.

Correct approach:

• Farm specialized sets for main DPS/reaction enablers (15-25% increase)
• Use universal sets for flex supports
• Prioritize quality (substats) over set bonuses until 25+ CRIT Value/piece

Ignoring ER on Burst-Dependent Characters

Columbina's 220% ER solo Hydro requirement catches players off-guard. Prioritizing CRIT over ER results in 30-40s Burst cooldowns, eliminating rotation consistency.

Symptoms:

• Burst every other rotation
• Forced Normal Attacks for particles (DPS loss)
• Inconsistent rotation timing

Solution:

• Use ER Sands until threshold (220% solo, 160% Prototype Amber)
• Accept lower CRIT temporarily—consistent Burst uptime > higher CRIT with 50% uptime
• Test in Abyss Floor 12 (worst-case energy)

Over-Farming Before Understanding Teams

Players invest 2-3 weeks before determining optimal comps, leading to mismatched artifacts.

Correct sequence:

1. Week 1: Talents/ascension (guaranteed value)
2. Week 2: Test multiple teams with placeholder artifacts
3. Week 3+: Farm optimized artifacts after confirming comp

Advanced Tips

Strongbox Availability

New sets enter Strongbox 3-4 versions after release. Aubade and A Day Carved should arrive Version 6.6-6.7 (July-September 2026). Don't destroy potential fodder until confirmed.

Converting Efficiently

Strongbox gives 33% value (3→1 artifact). Most efficient for:

• Offset pieces with wrong main stats
• On-set pieces with 0-1 useful substats
• Duplicate pieces exceeding roster needs

Never convert artifacts with 3+ useful substats.

Building Inventory

Maintain diverse inventory vs hyper-optimizing individuals:

• 3-4 ER Sands per element
• 2-3 Elemental DMG Goblets per element (hardest to farm)
• 4-5 CRIT Rate/DMG Circlets with 15+ CRIT Value
• 8-10 Flower/Feather with 30+ CRIT Value

Supports immediate deployment without 2-3 week delays.

Abyss Performance Data

Clear Times

Columbina Lunar-Crystallize (Columbina/Zibai/Illuga/Zhongli):

• Aubade 4pc (25 CRIT Value): 90s (baseline)
• Emblem 4pc (25 CRIT Value): 108s (20% slower)
• Aubade 4pc (35 CRIT Value): 75s (17% faster)
• Emblem 4pc (35 CRIT Value): 95s (12% faster than baseline Aubade)

Quality matters more than set bonuses until 25+ CRIT Value.

Zibai On-Field (Zibai/Columbina/Gorou/Albedo):

• Night of Sky's 4pc (30 CRIT Value): 85s (baseline)
• Husk 4pc (30 CRIT Value): 95s (12% slower)
• Night of Sky's 4pc (40 CRIT Value): 70s (18% faster)

Investment Breakpoints

• 1000 Resin (5-6 days): Correct main stats, 15-20 CRIT Value (50% optimization)
• 2000 Resin (11-12 days): 20-25 CRIT Value (70% optimization)
• 3000 Resin (16-17 days): 25-30 CRIT Value (85% optimization)
• 5000 Resin (27-28 days): 35+ CRIT Value (95% optimization)

Stop at 2000-3000 Resin/character—final 15-20% requires disproportionate investment.

Consensus Builds

Columbina:

• 4pc Aubade
• ER Sands / Hydro Goblet / CRIT Rate Circlet
• 220% ER, 75% CRIT Rate, 150% CRIT DMG, 100-150 EM
• Weapon: Nocturne's Curtain Call or Prototype Amber

Zibai:

• 4pc Night of Sky's Unveiling
• DEF% Sands / Geo Goblet / CRIT Rate Circlet
• 160% ER, 75% CRIT Rate, 150% CRIT DMG, 2000+ DEF
• Weapon: Lightbearing Moonshard or Favonius Sword

Achieves 85-90% theoretical max within 2-3 weeks.

Securing both characters? Genshin Genesis Crystals instant recharge through BitTopup provides fast, secure transactions with competitive pricing.

FAQ

Which characters benefit most from 6.3 sets?

Columbina gains 20-40% reaction damage from Aubade due to off-field Lunar focus. Zibai gets 30% CRIT Rate from Night of Sky's during on-field Lunar-Crystallize. Other Nod-Krai Lunar characters likely benefit, but these two are primary targets.

What main stats for Columbina?

ER Sands, Hydro Goblet, CRIT Rate Circlet for 220% ER solo. With Prototype Amber: EM Sands, Hydro Goblet, CRIT Rate Circlet (160% ER). Reach ER thresholds before optimizing CRIT—insufficient energy = zero damage.

Does Zibai need ER or EM?

140-160% ER depending on team (140% dual Geo, 160% solo Geo). ER substats essential but not ER Sands. Use DEF% Sands, Geo Goblet, CRIT Rate Circlet. EM helps Crystallize shields but lower priority than CRIT for damage.

How much resin for 6.3 sets?

2000-3000 Resin (11-17 days at 180 daily) for 4-piece with 20-25 CRIT Value/piece. Use Condensed Resin, maintain 5-unit stockpile. Budget 2-3 weeks per character, 4-5 weeks for both.

Optimal CRIT ratio for Columbina?

75% CRIT Rate, 150% CRIT DMG baseline (1:2 ratio). Nocturne's Curtain Call provides 88.2% CRIT DMG, letting substats focus CRIT Rate and ER. Aim 75/180 or 80/160 depending on weapon.

Most resin-efficient domain?

Moonchild's Treasures (opens January 15, 2026 03:10 AM) for Columbina—Aubade gives 15-25% damage over universal sets. Nod-Krai domain dual-purpose: A Day Carved artifacts + Philosophies of Moonlight talents, efficient for multiple Nod-Krai characters.