Genshin Impact v4.0 is out and with it comes the introduction of the region of Fontaine, a hub of culture and arts. This region prides itself on beauty, elegance and justice and is home to the Hydro Archon and God of Justice. They preside over Fontaine from the Court of Fontaine which is resplendent with beautiful women, music and entertainment.
Part of the Court of Fontaine is the celebrated magician Lyney who is being debuted with his twin sister Lynette. Lyney is a 5-star Pyro Bow Character who shoots cards instead of arrows. His kit focuses on sacrificing HP in order to do damage, akin to another Fire wielder Hu Tao.
In this guide we’ll go through Lyeny’s talents, his best build, what characters he might work well with, his Ascension materials and more to see if he’s the right fit for your team.
How To Play Lyney
Lyney is a heavy-hitting Pyro DPS that plays well with other Pyro characters. But he’ll definitely need some healing support such as with Bennett or shields with Zhongli.
You’ll want to hit with your Charge Attack that will release Prop Arrows in battle. If you can get it to Level 2 you’ll even get the bonus Grin-Malkin Hat which is insanely useful. Once you get all these out you’ll have more stacks of Pyro damage to unleash your skills.
Pretty easy right? You’ll just need to watch out for two things. One, be careful when doing your rotations to use other characters’ abilities, as Lyney loses any Prop Surplus stacks he has accumulated when he’s off the field for more than 30 seconds. And keep an eye out on Lyney’s HP to make sure it’s above 60% before using Lyney’s Skill and Burst.
Then it’s a simple loop of healing/shield, buff and getting Lyney to Pyro up the field again. Simple Genshin Impact mechanics for the most part.
Lyney Talents
| Talent | Type | Description |
| Card Force Translocation | Normal / Charged Attack | Normal Attack: Perform up to 4 consecutive shots with a bow. Plunging Attack: Fires off a shower of arrows in mid-air before falling and striking the ground, dealing AoE DMG upon impact. Charged Attack: Perform a more precise Aimed Shot with increased DMG. • Charge Level 1: Fires off a Pyro-infused arrow, dealing Pyro DMG. • Charge Level 2: Fires off a Prop Arrow that deals Pyro DMG, and upon hit, it will summon a Grin-Malkin Hat. When firing the Prop Arrow, and when Lyney has more than 60% HP, he will consume a portion of his HP to obtain 1 Prop Surplus stack. Max 5 stacks. The effect will be removed after the character spends 30s out of combat. (The lowest Lyney’s HP can drop is 60% of his Max HP.) Grin-Malkin Hat: Can taunt nearby opponents and attract their attacks. • Each opponent can only be taunted by the Hat once every 5s. • The Hat will inherit a percentage of Lyney’s Max HP. • If destroyed, or if its duration expires, it will fire off a Pyrotechnic Strike at 1 nearby opponent, dealing Pyro DMG. • Only 1 Hat can exist at any given time. Arkhe: Pneuma: At certain intervals, the Prop Arrow will cause a Spiritbreath Thorn to descend upon its hit location, dealing Pneuma-aligned Pyro DMG. |
| Bewildering Lights | Elemental Skill | Lyney does a flourish with his hat, unleashing a firework surprise. When used, he will clear all current Prop Surplus stacks and deal AoE Pyro DMG to opponents in front of him. DMG will be increased according to the stacks cleared, and this will also regenerate Lyney’s HP based on his Max HP. When a Grin-Malkin Hat created by Lyney is on the field, the fireworks will cause it to explode, dealing AoE Pyro DMG equal to that of a Pyrotechnic Strike. The DMG dealt through the Grin-Malkin Hat in this way is considered Charged Attack DMG. |
| Wondrouse Trick – Miracle Parade | Elemental Burst | Lyney turns himself into a Grin-Malkin cat that can move around quickly. When the cat gets close to opponents, it will send flames falling down on them, dealing at most 1 instance of Pyro DMG to each opponent. When the duration ends or Lyney uses his Elemental Skill, he will dimiss the cat and ignite fireworks that deal AoE Pyro DMG, summon 1 Grin-Malkin hat, and grant himself 1 prop surplus stat. Grin-Malkin Cat can be actively cancelled. |
| Perilous Performance | Passive Talent | If Lyney consumes HP when firing off a Prop Arrow, the Grin-Malkin hat summoned by the arrow will, upon hitting an opponent, restore 3 Energy to Lyney and increase DMG dealt by 80% of his ATK. |
| Conclusive Ovation | Passive Talent | The DMG Lyney deals to opponents affected by Pyro will receive the following buffs: • Increases the DMG dealt by 60%. • Each Pyro party member other than Lyney will cause the DMG dealt to increase by an additional 20%. Lyney can deal up to 100% increased DMG to opponents affected by Pyro in this way. |
| Trivial Observations | Passive Talent | Displays the location of nearby resources unique to Fontaine on the mini-map. |
Best Lyney Build
If you want to take advantage of Lyney’s on-field DPS potential while keeping him alive, you’ll need to pair him up with fellow Pyro users as well as Artifacts and weapons that will help him increase his damage.
Best Weapon: The First Great Magic
Artifact Set: Marechaussee Hunter
Best Team Build: Dehya, Bennett, Kazuha
Best Lyney Team Comp
| Main DPS | Sub DPS | Support | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyney | Dehya | Bennett | Kazuha |
| Lyney | Xiangling | Bennett | Zhongli |
| Lyney | Xiangling | Bennett | Kazuha |
As we mentioned earlier Lyney is best amplified in a team of mostly Pyro characters who’ll be able to benefit from his Conclusive Ovation passive. This increases Lyney’s attack by 20% for each additional Pyro party member. And because Lyney sacrifices his own health for damage the ideal choice to have on the team is Bennett, who is a Pyro that can heal.
If however, you don’t have access to Benett or need another alternative to have on this team to keep Lyney alive it’s Zhongli. He’s not as versatile and doesn’t pair as well as Bennett does but he might be needed until you level up Lyney.
On the support attack side though the best team members to pick should be Anemo users that can do AoE damage like Kazuha or Sucrose. The Swirl and AoE damage you get from Anemo units will increase your DPS.
Your last Pyro character should either be somebody who can provide Lyney with Pyro Energy Particles so he can get his Elemental Burst charged quicker, like Dehya (who also provides a little defence), or a Pyro character who can help sustain Pyro damage on enemies while adding a lot of attacks, like Xiangling.
Best Weapons For Lynel
As with most Genshin Impact signatures, the weapon that the character is pulled with is their best possible weapon. The same goes for Lynel and his 5-Star The First Great Magic bow. However, Lyney does have other bow choices that are very close to achieving similar damage numbers to his signature.
| Bow | Base ATK | Bonus | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First Great Magic | 46 | CRIT +14.4% | • DMG dealt by Charged Attacks increased by 16%. • For every party member with the same Elemental Type as the wielder (including the wielder themselves), gain 1 Gimmick stack. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Gimmick stacks, ATK will be increased by 16%/32%/48%. • For every party member with a different Elemental Type from the wielder, gain 1 Theatrics stack. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Theatrics stacks, Movement SPD will be increased by 4%/7%/10%. |
| Aqua Simulacra | 44 | CRIT +19.20% | HP increases by 16%. When there are opponents nearby, the DMG dealt by the wielder of this weapon is increased by 20%. |
| Polar Star | 46 | CRIT +7.2% | Increases Elemental Skill and Burst by 12%. Each time the character uses a Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill, and Burst, they gain one buff stack. Each Stack level increases ATK% and can only accumulate if they come from different sources. |
| Skyward Harp | 48 | CRIT +4.8% | Increases CRIT DMG by 20%. Hits have a 60% chance to inflict a small AoE attack, dealing 125% Physical ATK DMG. Can only occur once every 4s. |
| Hunter’s Path | 44 | CRIT +9.6% | • Gain 12% All Elemental DMG Bonus. • Obtain the Tireless Hunt effect after hitting an opponent with a Charged Attack. This effect increases Charged Attack DMG by 160% of Elemental Mastery. This effect will be removed after 12 Charged Attacks or 10s. Only 1 instance of Tireless Hunt can be gained every 12s. |
Best Artifacts For Lynel
Since Lyney mostly depends on his Prop Arrow to deal damage, it’s super important to maximize the damage of his Charged attack by levelling the Basic attack Talent and granting the Celebrated Magician artifacts sets that further help in that regard.
| Set | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Marechaussee Hunter | 2-Piece: Normal and Charged Attack DMG +15% 4-Piece: When current HP increases or decreases, CRIT Rate will be increased by 12% for 5s. Max 3 stacks. |
| Wanderer’s Troupe | 2-Piece: Increases Elemental Mastery by 80. 4-Piece: Increases Charged Attack DMG by 35% if the character uses a Catalyst or a Bow. |
| Crimson Witch of Flames | 2-Piece: Pyro DMG Bonus +15%. 4-Piece: Increases Overloaded, Burning, and Burgeon DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using an Elemental Skill increases 2-Piece Set effects by 50% for 10s. Max 3 stacks. |
Lyney Constellations
| C1 | Whimsical Wonders | Lyney can have 2 Grin-Malkin Hats present at once. Additionally, Prop Arrows will summon 2 Grin-Malkin Hats and grant Lyney 1 extra stack of Prop Surplus. |
| C2 | Loquacious Lure | When Lyney fires a Prop Arrow, he will fire a Pyrotechnic Strike: Reprised that will deal 100% of Pyrotechnic Strike’s DMG. This DMG is considered Charged Attack DMG. |
| C3 | Prestidigitation | Increase the Level of Normal Attack: Card Force Translocation by 3. Maximum upgrade is Level 15. |
| C4 | Well-Versed, Well-Rehearsed | After an opponent is hit by Lyney’s Pyro Charged Attack, this opponent’s Pyro RES will be decreased by 25% for 6s. |
| C5 | To Pierce Enigma | Increase the Level of Wonderous Trick: Miracle Parade by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C6 | A Contrary Smile | When Lyney fires a Prop Arrow, he will fire a Pyrotechnic Strike: Reprised that will deal 100% of Pyrotechnic Strike’s DMG. This DMG is considered Charged Attack’s DMG. |
Lyney Talent And Ascension Materials
- Primordial Greenbloom – Apep Trounce Domain
- Agnidus Agate – Pyro Regisvines, Pyro Hypostates, Wolf of the North Challenge, Primo Geovishap, La Signora, Iniquitous Baptist
- Insignia – Fatui Enemies: Skirmishers, Agents, Cicin Mages, Mirror Maiden
- Equity – Domain of Mastery: Rhyming Rhythm (Monday/Thursday/Sunday)
- Rainbow Rose – Pink flowers that grow in the Fontaine regions, particularly around Elynas and the Court of Fontaine.
For the rest of our Genshin Impact Guides be sure to check them out here!
