Changli Guide – Early Analysis

Skills

Kuro Games did it again and needlessly complicated Changli’s skill descriptions, using names that an average player won’t bother to remember. Her kit can be explained as follows:

Basic Attacks

Changli can perform four attacks in quick succession, dealing Fusion damage. They can also be cast mid-air, with the plunge attack being used via heavy attack instead of a mid-air basic attack like with other sword characters. Using a basic attack after a plunge or heavy strike skips the first two stages of the attack chain.

Her heavy attack consumes stamina to deliver a charged attack, dealing Fusion damage and propelling her upwards into the air. This last detail is important for her True Sight mechanic.

Aside from that, Changli has access to a Dodge Counter like any other character.

Forte Circuit

Changli can hold up to 4 stacks of Enflamement, which can be gained by either hitting enemies during True Sight state (1 stack per attack) or using her Resonance Liberation (4 stacks). When she has all four stacks, Changli’s next heavy attack will instead trigger her special attack - Flaming Sacrifice regardless of whether she is on the ground or in mid-air. This is considered to be Resonance Skill damage and will be affected by modifiers targeting it as expected. During the animation, Changli will also take 40% less damage on top of her existing defence stat. If used in mid-air, Changli will move towards the ground during the animation.

Additionally, if Flaming Sacrifice is used within 10 seconds after casting her Resonance Liberation, it will additionally increase Changli’s ATK by 25% for what looks to be 8 seconds, although the duration is not specified in the skill description.

Resonance Skill

Changli dashes towards the target enemy and launches herself into the air, slashing them three times before dealing another hit on her way down. If she is not in her True Sight state when this ability is used, she automatically enters it during the plunge portion of the attack. The skill can hold two charges, each having a sequential cooldown of 12 seconds, though there is no cooldown on using available charges. If used in mid-air, Changli will move towards the ground during the animation.

True Sight

Upon finishing Basic Attack 4 or casting her Resonance Skill, Changli will enter True Sight state, lasting 12 seconds. When in True Sight, the next basic attack will act differently depending on whether it’s used on the ground or mid-air:

• When on the ground, instead of using her normal attack animation, Changli will instead blink towards the target enemy and almost instantly deliver three strikes with her equipped sword.
• When in the air, Changli will assume the form of a phoenix and dash a short distance towards the target enemy, dealing two instances of damage and setting herself up for a plunge attack

In both of the cases, the damage is considered as Resonance Skill damage, despite being called a “Basic Attack” by the game.

Resonance Liberation

Upon casting, Changli will briefly gather energy before exploding in a fiery nova, dealing massive damage to all targets around her. As previously stated, this will also immediately fully charge her Forte gauge.

Intro and Outro

Changli’s Intro skill places her in mid-air before dealing multiple instances of damage to the target and immediately entering True Sight state. Note that she will stay in the air after the attack finishes.

On her Outro, the next character that enters the field will receive 20% Fusion DMG Deepen and 25% Resonance Liberation DMG Deepen effects, both lasting 10 seconds and stacking additively if applicable.

Inherent Skills

Changli’s first skill in the tree, Sweeping Force, enhances her Forte by granting its special attack, Flaming Sacrifice, an additional 20% Fusion DMG Bonus and making it ignore 15% of struck enemy’s defence. This bonus does not extend to any other move of hers, though. Can’t make her too broken, right?

Her second skill, Secret Strategist, grants her True Sight attacks an additional 5% Fusion DMG Bonus for every stack of Enflamement present, up to 20% at four stacks. Again, this bonus does not extend to her other moves.

Resonance Chain

Sequence 1	Resonance Skill: Tripartite Flames and Heavy Attack: Flaming Sacrifice grant additive 10% All DMG Deepen and stagger resistance effects.
Sequence 2	Obtaining a stack of Enflamement grants an additive 25% Crit Rate increase for 8 seconds.
Sequence 3	Changli’s Resonance Liberation DMG Bonus is additively increased by 80%.
Sequence 4	After her Intro skill is cast, additively increase the ATK of all team members by 20% for 30 seconds.
Sequence 5	The base damage multiplier of Changli’s Heavy Attack: Flaming Sacrifice is multiplicatively increased by 50% and its DMG Bonus is additively increased by 50%.
Sequence 6	Changli’s Resonance Skill, Resonance Liberation and Heavy Attack: Flaming Sacrifice ignore an additional 40% of enemy DEF (for a total of 55% with Inherent Skill: Sweeping Force).

Possible synergies

	Verina
	As per usual, Verina is a universally strong support who synergizes well with all main/sub-DPS characters, providing a team-wide ATK buff and All DMG Deepen.
	Buffs
	• 15% Team-wide All DMG Deepen • 20% Team-wide ATK buff • Rejuvenating Glow and Bell-Borne Geochelone

	Baizhi
	Baizhi is essentially a budget Verina. She provides the same All DMG Deepen and ATK buffs, but is not team-wide and requires you to interact with an on-field item she drops.
	Buffs
	• 15% All DMG Deepen • 15% ATK buff • Rejuvenating Glow and Bell-Born Geochelone

	Jianxin
	While Jianxin’s Outro Skill only buffs Changli’s Resonance Liberation, she is still a flex pick when dealing with groups of enemies. She can also fill in as another support if given Rejuvenating Glow and Originite: Type IV.
	Buffs
	• Gather • Shields • 38% Resonance Liberation DMG Deepen • Moonlit Clouds and Impermanence Heron OR Rejuvenating Glow with Originite: Type IV

	Encore
	As a Fusion main-DPS, Encore appreciates the 20% Fusion Deepen from Changli’s Outro. As a side note, both Changli and Encore have long animations that allow them to fit together into a quick-swap team.
	Buffs
	• N/A

	Chixia
	Chixia is another Fusion main-dps who appreciates the 20% Fusion Deepen from Changli’s Outro Skill. Unfortunately, Chixia doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities for Changli to quick-swap, lowering her damage output.
	Buffs
	• 25% Team-wide Basic Attack DMG (Resonance 6)

	Taoqi
	With the bulk of Changli’s damage considered to be Resonance Skill DMG, Taoqi can be considered a viable sub-dps option as she provides Resonance Skill DMG Deepen with her Outro.
	Buffs
	• Shields • 38% Resonance Skill DMG Deepen • Moonlit Clouds and Impermanence Heron

	Calcharo
	To some, seeing Calcharo on Changli’s potential synergies list might be odd. However, Changli does provide a Resonance Liberation Deepen effect that Calcharo can take full advantage of.
	Buffs
	• N/A

Accompanying 4★ Rate-ups

Character banner

The accompanying 4★ units in Changli's banner are Taoqi, Baizhi, and Mortefi. Not the greatest lineup, all things considered. Mortefi is the only standout option as one of the better budget sub-DPS characters, with all of his Resonance Chains providing him and his team with more damage.

As for the others - Taoqi, while sporting a really good Outro effect, doesn’t really have a spot in most teams due to her clunky and long rotation. Meanwhile, Baizhi’s only standout Resonance Chains are her 5th and 6th, which respectively provide a free team member revive and a 12% Glacio DMG Bonus to one character.

Weapon banner

As for the accompanying 4★ weapons, we have Overture, Undying Flame, and Comet Flare. Overture is a great utility weapon that is essentially Variation but for sword users and Undying Flame is a decent alternative for pistoleers like Chixia who deals the bulk of her damage via Resonance Skill. The final weapon, Comet Flare, is a complete dud as you can just run Variation or Rectifier of Voyager instead.

Should you pull?

First and foremost: if Changli is a character you will enjoy playing or is your waifu, then don't let this stop you from pulling her. At the end of the day, it’s your account. Note that we will be using information provided by the latest beta test and this information is subject to change. 

While Changli is a great choice as a main DPS unit, she can also work well as a sub-DPS for Encore due to the 20% Fusion damage bonus that her Outro provides. This supportive flexibility also ensures a slightly longer shelf life as future releases create more team building opportunities.

The most obvious reason to skip Changli’s banner would be to save up for the upcoming 1.2 banners. In particular, Zhezhi stands out as a Glacio sub-DPS who may pair well with Jinhsi with a Resonance Skill Deepen and Coordinated Attacks.

Regardless of your decision, always remember to spend responsibly and to never use “building pity” as an excuse for gambling.