Genshin Impact: Kinich Quick Character Guide

Kinich is a Dendro DMG dealer with high mobility. When casting his Elemental Skill, Kinich will enter the Nightsoul's Blessing state and use a grappling hook to link with enemies. In this state, he can accumulate Nightsoul points are full, Kinich can expend them to unleash the powerful "Scalespiker Cannon," dealing Dendro DMG.

His Elemental Burst summons the Almighty Dragonlord, Ajaw, who will periodically unleash his Dragon Breath, dealing Dendro DMG.

This guide is based on the Community Character Builds by the Genshin Helper Team.

Skills Overview

Normal Attack: Nightsun Style

Normal Attack
Performs up to 3 rapid strikes.
After using his Elemental Skill "Canopy Hunter: Riding High"'s mid-air swing, he can perform a Normal Attack in mid-air before landing.

Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to spin and throw his Claymore forward to attack opponents.

Plunging Attack
Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact

Elemental Skill: Canopy Hunter: Riding High

Kinich uses his big-game hunting skills to either move swiftly or attack his opponent.
When there is an opponent or object that can be attacked nearby, he will attach a grappling hook to the target and enter Nightsoul's Blessing with 0 Nightsoul points.

If neither is nearby, he fires a grappling hook forward and swings in mid-air, and this Skill's CD is decreased by 60%.
This skill can be Held to release. When it is Held, Kinich can aim the grappling hook.

Nightsoul Point Limit: 20
CD: 18s

Nightsoul's Blessing: Kinich
Kinich's Nightsoul's Blessing lasts for 10s and generates 2 Nightsoul points every second.
In this state, Kinich will hook onto a nearby opponent and perform a variable attack:

• When using a Normal Attack, Kinich will fire Loop Shots as he loops around the grappled target based on his current movement direction, dealing Nightsoul-aligned Dendro DMG and generating 3 Nightsoul points. Loop Shot DMG is considered Elemental Skill DMG.
• When Nightsoul points are at max, he can use the Elemental Skill "Scalespiker Cannon": Consume all Nightsoul points to deal Nightsoul-aligned Dendro DMG. When "Scalespiker Cannon" is Held, Kinich can aim this shot. After firing the Cannon, Kinich will try to grapple to its target.

While in Nightsoul's Blessing, after grappling an opponent or firing "Scalespiker Cannon," a Blind Spot will be generated next to the opponent. When Kinich enters this Blind Spot, it will disappear and he will generate 4 Nightsoul points.
If the grapple connection should snap due to exceeding the maximum distance or some other reason, using a Normal Attack will establish a new connection with a nearby opponent before performing Loop Shots.

Elemental Burst: Hail to the Almighty Dragonlord

Unleashes the power of the Almighty Dragonlord, K'uhul Ajaw (on a limited, conditional, restricted, contractual, partial, temporary basis), dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Dendro DMG. Ajaw will unleash his Dragon Breath at intervals, dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Dendro DMG.
If Kinich is in Nightsoul's Blessing when this is used, this Blessing's duration is extended by 1.7s.

Duration: 15s
CD: 18s
Energy Cost: 70

Ascension 1: The Price of Desolation

When Kinich is in Nightsoul's Blessing state, opponents hit by his Elemental Skill will enter the Desolation state, and when affected by Burning or Burgeon reaction DMG, they will restore 7 Nightsoul points to him. Nightsoul points can be gained this way once every 0.8s. The Desolation state will persist until this instance of Kinich's Nightsoul's Blessing state ends.

Ascension 4: Flame Spirit Pact

After a nearby party member triggers a Nightsoul Burst, Kinich will gain 1 stack of Hunter's Experience that lasts 15s. Max 2 stacks. When Kinich uses Canopy Hunter: Riding High's Scalespiker Cannon, all stacks of Hunter's Experience will be consumed, with each stack consumed increasing the DMG dealt by this Cannon shot by 320% of Kinich's ATK.

Night Realm's Gift Passive: Repaid in Full

When Kinich is in the air following Canopy Hunter: Riding High's mid-air swing, he can consume 10 Phlogiston points to perform another mid-air swing.
While in an area with Phlogiston Mechanics within Natlan, he can use Nightsoul Transmission: Kinich. When the current active character is sprinting, in movement states that result from specific Talents, or in the air, when you switch to Kinich: Kinich will perform one of the following actions depending on the conditions met:

• When facing a Coilgrass Sigil that can be interacted with: He will fire a grappling hook towards it to move;
• When there are nearby opponents and you are in combat: Kinich will use Canopy Hunter: Riding High in the direction of the opponents;

Otherwise, Kinich will fire a grappling hook and swing, prioritizing valid Coilgrass Sigils as grapple targets.
Nightsoul Transmission can be triggered once every 10s by your own party.

When interacting with Coilgrass Sigils and other items that Yumkasaurs can interact with, "Canopy Hunter: Riding High" will be converted to "Yumkasaur Mimesis," which causes interactions with such items to follow rules applicable to Yumkasaurs, and which will not put Canopy Hunter: Riding High on CD.

Passive Talent: Swift Envoy

While in an area with Phlogiston Mechanics within Natlan, interacting with some harvestable items will increase your own party members' Movement SPD by 15% for 10s. Additionally, the location of nearby resources unique to Natlan will appear on your mini-map.

TLDR / Rotation

Kinich's big damage comes from his Skill. Before that, swift explanation that his Normal ATK is extremely basic and most of the time, you won't use it. While his Elemental Burst summons Ajaw in dragon form and lets him do AoE Dendro DMG periodically.

Back to his Skill, if you use Kinich's Skill when there is an enemy nearby, he will attach a grappling hook to the target and enter Nightsoul's Blessing. Only one enemy can be attached to! Look at the image above for 3 things you need to take notice of:
(1) Grappling Hook: If there are many enemies, Kinich will only attach the hook to a single target. You can hold Skill to aim.
(2) Nightsoul's Blessing: You need to fill this bar by attacking the target with Normal ATK or enter the Blind Spot. Once Nightsoul's Blessing is full, you can use Skill once again to fire Scalespiker Cannon aka his biggest damage output.
(3) Blind Spot: That triangle-looking spot will appear next to opponent that was attached to the grappling hook. You can control Kinich and step on that Blind Spot to gain Nightsoul points. Whenever you see it, be sure to enter the Blind Spot because it gives lots of points, making it easier for Kinich to unleash Scalespiker Cannon before his Nightsoul's Blessing runs out.

Regarding the duration of Kinich's Nightsoul Blessing, it'll only last for 10 seconds (can be extended for 1.7 seconds by using Burst). Here's how he can get Nightsoul points:
(1) 2 Nightsoul points will be generated automatically every second
(2) One Loop Shots will generate 3 Nightsoul points
(3) Enter the Blind Spot to gain 4 Nightsoul points
(4) When the target enters the Desolation state (affected by Burning or Burgeon), will gain 7 points. Can be triggered every 0.8 seconds.

The best and fastest method to gain Nightsoul Points are:
Trigger Burning or Burgeon to get 7 points > Attack enemy with Loop Shots for 3 points > Desolation state gave another 7 points > When attacking, control Kinich to go in the direction of the Blind Spot for 4 points
Not including the time to inflict Burning or Burgeon, you can get full Nightsoul points in just 2 seconds (assuming the enemies are in Desolation state the whole time).

Talent Priorities

Skill > Ultimate > Normal ATK

When entering the Nightsoul's Blessing via Skill, you need to use Normal ATK to fire Loop Shots. These Loop Shots are considered Elemental Skill DMG and NOT Normal ATK.

Constellations

Best Constellations: C1, C2 & C6

C1: Parrot's Beak ⭐
After Kinich lands from Canopy Hunter: Riding High's mid-air swing, his Movement SPD will increase by 30% for 6s.
Additionally, Scalespiker Cannon's CRIT DMG is increased by 100%.

C2: Tiger Beetle's Palm ⭐
When Kinich's Elemental Skill hits an opponent, it will decrease their Dendro RES by 30% for 6s.
Additionally, the first Scalespiker Cannon Kinich fires after entering Nightsoul's Blessing has increased AoE, and its DMG increases by 100%.

C3: Protosuchian's Claw
Increases the Level of Canopy Hunter: Riding High by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.

C4: Hummingbird's Feather
When in Nightsoul's Blessing, Kinich will restore 5 Energy after using his Loop Shots or after unleashing the Scalespiker Cannon. Energy can be regenerated this way once every 2.8s.

C5: Howler Monkey's Tail
Increases the Level of Hail to the Almighty Dragonlord by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.

C6: Auspicious Beast's Shape ⭐
After Scalespiker Cannon hits an opponent, it will bounce between opponents once, dealing 700% of Kinich's ATK as Dendro DMG.
If this Scalespiker Cannon triggers the buffs that Passive Talent "Flame Spirit Pact" or the Constellation "Tiger Beetle's Palm" grant to the Cannon, the bouncing attack will also obtain the relevant buffs.

Recommended Weapons

1. Fang of the Mountain King (5⭐)
2. Beacon of the Reed Sea (5⭐)
3. Verdict (5⭐)
4. Wolf's Gravestone (5⭐)
5. The Unforged (5⭐)
6. Earth Shaker (4⭐)
7. Serpent Spine (4⭐)
8. Lithic Blade (4⭐)
9. Talking Stick (4⭐)
10. Tidal Shadow (4⭐)

1) Fang of the Mountain King (ATK: 741 • CRIT Rate: 11.0%)

Gain 1 stack of Canopy's Favor after hitting an opponent with an Elemental Skill. This can be triggered once every 0.5s. After a nearby party member triggers a Burning or Burgeon reaction, the equipping character will gain 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 2s and can be triggered even when the triggering party member is off-field. Canopy's Favor: Elemental Skill and Burst DMG is increased by 10~20% for 6s. Max 6 stacks. Each stack is counted independently.

2) Beacon of the Reed Sea (ATK: 608 • CRIT Rate: 33.1%)

After the character's Elemental Skill hits an opponent, their ATK will be increased by 20~40% for 8s. After the character takes DMG, their ATK will be increased by 20~40% for 8s. The 2 aforementioned effects can be triggered even when the character is not on the field. Additionally, when not protected by a shield, the character's Max HP will be increased by 32~64%.

3) Verdict (ATK: 674 • CRIT Rate: 22.1%)

Increases ATK by 20~40%. When characters in your party obtain Elemental Shards from Crystallize reactions, the equipping character will gain 1 Seal, increasing Elemental Skill DMG by 18~36%. The Seal lasts for 15s, and the equipped may have up to 2 Seals at once. All of the equipper's Seals will disappear 0.2s after their Elemental Skill deals DMG.

4) Wolf's Gravestone (ATK: 608 • ATK: 49.6%)

Increases ATK by 20~40%. On hit, attacks against opponents with less than 30% HP increase all party members' ATK by 40~80% for 12s. Can only occur once every 30s.

5) The Unforged (ATK: 608 • ATK: 49.6%)

Increases Shield Strength by 20~40%. Scoring hits on opponents increases ATK by 4~8% for 8s. Max 5 stacks. Can only occur once every 0.3s. While protected by a shield, this ATK increase effect is increased by 100%.

6) Earth Shaker (ATK: 565 • ATK: 27.6%)

After a party member triggers a Pyro-related reaction, the equipping character's Elemental Skill DMG is increased by 16~32% for 8s. This effect can be triggered even when the triggering party member is not on the field.

7) Serpent Spine (ATK: 510 • CRIT Rate: 27.6%)

Every 4s a character is on the field, they will deal 6~10% more DMG and take 3~2% more DMG. This effect has a maximum of 5 stacks and will not be reset if the character leaves the field, but will be reduced by 1 stack when the character takes DMG.

8) Lithic Blade (ATK: 510 • ATK: 41.3%)

For every character in the party who hails from Liyue, the character who equips this weapon gains 7~11% ATK increase and 3~7% CRIT Rate increase. This effect stacks up to 4 times.

9) Talking Stick (ATK: 565 • CRIT Rate: 18.4%)

ATK will be increased by 16~32% for 15s after being affected by Pyro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s. All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 12~24% for 15s after being affected by Hydro, Cryo, Electro, or Dendro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s.

10) Tidal Shadow (ATK: 510 • ATK: 41.3%)

After the wielder is healed, ATK will be increased by 24~48% for 8s. This can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.

Recommended Artifacts

1. Obsidian Codex (4)
2. Unfinished Reverie (4)
3. Golden Troupe (4)

1) Obsidian Codex

2 Piece: While the equipping character is in Nightsoul's Blessing and is on the field, their DMG dealt is increased by 15%.
4 Piece: After the equipping character consumes 1 Nightsoul point while on the field, CRIT Rate increases by 40% for 6s. This effect can trigger once every second.

2) Unfinished Reverie

2 Piece: ATK +18%
4 Piece: After leaving combat for 3s, DMG dealt increased by 50%. In combat, if no Burning opponents are nearby for more than 6s, this DMG Bonus will decrease by 10% per second until it reaches 0%. When a Burning opponent exists, it will increase by 10% instead until it reaches 50%. This effect still triggers if the equipping character is off-field.

3) Golden Troupe

2 Piece: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 20%.
4 Piece: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 25%. Additionally, when not on the field, Elemental Skill DMG will be further increased by 25%. This effect will be cleared 2s after taking the field.

Main & Sub Stats Priority

Team Compositions

Burning Team

Kinich: Main DPS
Emilie / Nahida: Dendro application off-field
Bennett: Healer + Buffer
Xiangling / Dehya: Pyro application off-field + Sub DPS

Burgeon Team

Kinich: Main DPS
Furina / Yelan / Xingqiu: Hydro application off-field
Thoma / Xiangling: Pyro application off-field
Baizhu: Healer