Cyno is a new and highly desired 5-star coming to Genshin Impact in Version 3.1. He is someone of high import in Sumeru, especially within the Sumeru guard known as the Matra.
His unique style of play and take on transformation through his abilities have many curious about how best to build him. As a front, he is essentially a purely built DPS unit, meant to deal massive damage over a sustained period. He shares many similarities with the Raiden Shogun, another character who plays like Cyno. Knowing how to build him, however, can be a bit tricky.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to best build Cyno, the Twilight Judicator. This will include his best artifacts, weapons, an overview of his talents and Ascension materials and even his best team compositions.
Want more Genshin Impact content? You can find more here on KeenGamer:
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- 6 Secret Genshin Impact Achievements and Chests You Likely Missed in Sumeru
- Genshin Impact: All Sumeru City Riddle Answers and Locations
- Genshin Impact Everything You Need to Know About Dendro
- Genshin Impact Collei Best Build Guide
Who is Cyno from Genshin Impact?
Cyno is a new Electro 5-star who joined Genshin Impact in Version 3.1. He is a stout and elusive figure, one who must maintain an image of strength and pride for those around him. Cyno heads up the Matra, the guards of Sumeru’s Akademiya, as the Mahamatra and he is enshrouded by his desire for justice.
Aside from his more altruistic attitudes, Cyno hides some more interesting quirks. He is a big fan of card games, especially the Genius Invokation TCG, and he is well known for his (terrible) jokes. Jokes that he refuses to let go unexplained.
“To maintain reverence towards wisdom and knowledge, sages of old laid out six cardinal sins that none shall ever commit. Over the years, the Akademiya’s rules and regulations may have evolved, but the role of the General Mahamatra has remained unchanged: To awaken the light of the gods even in the deepest darkness, and deliver punishment to all that is evil.”
Cyno: Counsel of Condemnation
Overall, Cyno is both a very strange and a very captivating individual. A person of great strength, prowess and ideals… who just so happens to tell very unfunny jokes.
How do you get Cyno?
As a unique 5-star, Cyno is only available on rate-up when he appears on the Event Wish Banner. Outside of this time, there is no current way to get Cyno.
At present, Cyno has only shown up once during Version 3.1. Cyno has been available on:
- Cyno’s Banner (Version 3.1) – September 28th 2022 to October 14th 2022.
The Judicator of Secrets
Cyno Level-Up Resources
To get Cyno from level 1 to level 90, you’ll need the following Ascension Materials:
- Scarabs
- Vajrada Amethyst Sliver (Electro)
- Diving Scrolls
- Thunderclap Fruitcore
The Scarabs are a new item exclusive to Sumeru. They can only be found in the Deshret Desert area of Sumeru, where the Eremites make their homes. These are small bugs, similar to the Onikabuto of Inazuma, but gold and black patterned. Cyno needs 168 Scarabs in total. You can find exact locations for these Scarabs on Genshin Impact Interactive Map.
The Diving Scrolls are an item dropped by Samachurls, the magic-wielding force of the Hilichurls. These foes come in a variety of elements ranging from Hydro, Cryo, Dendro and Electro and you can usually find one roaming about in large groups of Hilichurls. Overall, Cyno requires 18 Diving Scrolls, 30 Sealed Scrolls and 36 Forbidden Curse Scrolls.
Thunderclap Fruitcores are a world boss material dropped by the Electro Regisvine boss in Sumeru. This boss can be found in the mushroom forest in the North-East of Sumeru and has attacks and abilities reminiscent of the other two Regisvine bosses. The Electro Regisvine can be kind of tricky, especially with its laser attack that can deal high damage if you don’t take care of it quick enough. You will need 46 Thunderclap Fruitcores for Cyno to get him to level 90.
Finally, the Vajrada Amethyst Gemstones are the Elemental Gemstone Cyno needs. This is the Electro variant which will likely be acquired by defeating the Electro Regisvine as well as Daily Commissions. If you need a bit extra, you can transmute and transform lower rarity gems or other Elements of gem into the one you need. In total, Cyno asks for 1 Sliver, 9 Fragments, 9 Chunks and 6 Gemstones.
As always in Genshin Impact, you’ll need the equivalent to 420k Mora as well as 416 Hero’s Wit EXP Books to fully level Cyno.
Feather Fall
Cyno Ability Overview
As an Electro Polearm, Cyno shares a lot of similarities with the Electro Archon, the Raiden Shogun. Primarily, this is his role as the main DPS and in the transformative nature of his Burst. He is a very potent and very powerful unit which will synergise well in Elemental Reaction-based teams as well as just a singular unit. Plus, his animations are some of the coolest and best looking in the entire game.
His Normal Attack is called Invoker’s Spear. This features a 4-hit combo with the Normal Attack as well as a lunge forward Charge Attack, similar to other characters like Hu Tao. Levelling up this Talent will increase all damage dealt by his Normals, his Charged Attacks and his Plunging Attack.
Normal Attack
Cyno’s Elemental Skill is Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer. When the Skill is triggered, Cyno performs a swift thrust which Electro DMG to any enemy in its path. When under the additional buffs and bonuses of his Burst, Cyno transforms this skill into the Mortuary Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer. This instead deals with Electro AoE DMG while extending the transformation duration of his Burst.
Sacred Rite
Perhaps the most central part of his kit is Cyno’s Elemental Burst: Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness. In this state, Cyno calls upon divine spirits to envelop him, changing him into the Pactsworn Pathcleaver. While in this state, Cyno’s Normal, Charged and Plunging Attacks are all converted to unconvertable Electro dmg. His Elemental Mastery will also increase as well as his resistance to interruption and he is immune to Electro-Charge (the Elemental Reaction of Hydro and Electro). This state lasts until Cyno leaves the field or for the 18s.
His Passive abilities are as such:
- The Gift of Silence gives 25% more rewards when Cyno is sent out on a 20-hour Sumeru Expedition.
- Featherfall Judgement gives Cyno access to the Endseer state at periodical points during his Burst. If he activates his Skill while under this Endseer state, he will buff the effects of the Skill, dealing 35% more damage as well as creating 3 homing Duststalker Bolts that seek enemies for 100% Electro DMG. This damage is considered Elemental Skill DMG.
- Authority Over the Nine Bows increases his DMG values based on his Elemental Mastery. Pactsworn Pathcleaver’s Normal Attack DMG will be boosted by 150% of Cyno’s EM and the Duststalker Bolts from the Endseer state are increased by 250% of his EM.
As previously stated, Cyno’s Wolf’s Swiftness Burst plays similarly to Shogun’s Musou Shinsetsu in that it changes the character’s fighting style, imbuing it with permeant Electro DMG. This Burst is what makes Cyno so special and will enable him to play a crucial role in both Reaction heavy comps as well as on his lonesome as a warrior tearing through his foes.
Wolf’s Swiftness
Talent Levelling Priority
As for what order you should prioritise his Talents, consider this order:
- Sacred Rite: Wolf’s Swiftness: the Burst is about 50% of the reason you use Cyno – the animations, the flair, the damage, all of it adds up. As such, you to pump as many levels as you can into this Talent so that it can shine. It is augmented and added onto by the Normal Attack Talent, but raising his Burst specifically is most beneficial.
- Normal Attack: Invoker’s Spear: while the Burst is the reason to use Cyno, his Burst damage will increase by boosting his Normal Attack Talent. This will improve his performance in Pactsworn Pathcleaver and make him more potent outside of it, too.
- Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer: honestly, this Skill is also very important. You’ll be using it a lot during the Burst and trying to time it with the Endseer state, so this part of Cyno’s kit is just as important as the rest. However, the two are simply more practical investments for your time.
At the end of the day, play and level Cyno how you want. His kit is diverse and entwined enough that levelling any of his Talents will benefit any other Talent. He is a very strong and capable character.
Cyno’s Skill Ascension materials are Guides to Admonition, Diving Scrolls and Mudra of the Malefic General (Raiden Shogun weekly boss material).
Millennium Eye
Best Weapons
As a main DPS Polearm user, Cyno has a fair few options on what to use for his role.
The Ideal Choice
The perfect choice for Cyno is his signature weapon, the weapon launching alongside his Event Wish Banner. This is the Staff of the Scarlet Sands.
Staff of the Scarlet Sands
Staff of the Scarlet Sands is a 5-star Polearm that arrived in Version 3.1 alongside Cyno. It increases CRIT Rate up to 44% natively at level 90 and has 542 ATK. The weapon’s unique skill is called Heat Haze at Horizon’s End. Firstly, this increases the user’s ATK by 52% of their Elemental Mastery. Secondly, when an Elemental Skill hits a target, it grants the user a stack of Dream of the Scarlet Sands which buffs ATK by 28% of their EM – this can stack 3 times for up to an 84% EM boost.
For Cyno, this not only increases his chance to CRIT, a massive boon for any main DPS carry, but it also gives him a way to increase his ATK in two ways. By buffing his ATK based on his EM, you are more incentivised to stack into Elemental Mastery as it directly helps aid his ATK. This also helps his Ascension Passive, especially Authority Over the Nine Bows which boosts his damage based on EM even further. It’s a weapon that perfectly complements Cyno’s strengths.
Replacement Options
What if you don’t have Staff of the Scarlet Sands? Fear not, there are still many options for your Cyno in Genshin Impact.
Do note, each of these options is a 4-star weapon. If you are lucky enough to have any 5-star Polearms give them a try on Cyno. 5-star weapons are usually better in every regard, from higher stats to more potent weapon skills. So give them a spin and see if they work for you.
Cyno’s replacement options are Prototype Starglitter, Favonius Lance and the Deathmatch.
Favonius Lance
The Prototype Starglitter is a craftable weapon from the Prototype series. It grants Energy Recharge as a native substat with the weapon skill Magic Affinity. After using an Elemental Skill, Normal and Charged ATK damage is increased by 8% (increases with refinement) for 12s which stacks twice. While this may seem inferior to the Crescent Pike, the bonus Physical DMG received from that weapon would be wasted on Cyno, whereas the bonus Energy Recharge means he’ll have his Burst much more frequently.
The Favonius Lance is a gacha weapon that you can get from any of the available banners. This weapon also has an Energy Recharge substat but it goes even further. CRIT hits with this weapon have a chance (starts at 60% and increases to 100% at refinement level 5) to spawn additional Elemental Particles. While this is certainly more tame of a skill, it does grant Cyno more chances to be in his Burst – you trade more raw damage for more accessibility and ease of use. Energy Recharge is especially useful on Electro characters, too, so this is a safe pick.
Finally, the Deathmatch is the battle pass Polearm players can choose at level 30. It has a CRIT Rate substat that goes up to an additional 36%. Deathmatch has the weapon skill Gladiator, where the user will get a 16% ATK and DEF boost if there are more than 2 enemies nearby: if there are fewer, it is instead a 24% ATK boost. This is certainly ATK oriented and is made for a Cyno that is all about dealing with major damage. Pick this if you want a more aggressive, upfront way of playing.
Deathmatch
Best Artifact Set for Cyno
Cyno has a few straightforward choices for his artifacts which play into his desired play style.
- 2-Piece Thundering Fury and 2 Piece Gilded Dreams / 2-Piece Wanderer’s Troupe
This set makes use of Cyno’s Elemental Mastery to boost his damage as well as just make his Electro hit much harder. 2-piece Thundering Fury boosts all Electro DMG by 15% and 2-piece Gilded Dreams or Wanderer’s Troupe boosts Elemental Mastery by 80 points. This way, Cyno’s Burst, Skill and his Normal Attack while in the Pactsworn Pathcleaver state are all boosted by the Electro bonus and the extra Elemental Mastery improves his Ascension Passives (as well as his reactions). This is a straightforward, powerful bonus that makes Cyno shine.
If you prefer, you can sub out Wanderer’s Troupe with Gladiator’s Finale for bonus ATK. This will increase Cyno’s raw ATK by 18%, very good for a main DPS carry. The choice is down to you, however.
2. 4-Piece Thundering Fury
This set is great on a Cyno who works in a team with a lot of Elemental Reaction. The 4-piece bonus is an increase to Electro Reaction damage: Overload, Electro-Charged, Superconduct and Hyperbloom dmg is increased by 40%. The damage bonus from Aggravate is also increased by 20% and after triggering any Electro Reaction (including Quicken), Elemental Skill cooldown is decreased by 1s. This suits Cyno’s playstyle super well as it buffs his Electro dmg like before but now, it makes his Reactions better too. Pair that with his Burst always dealing Electro and he is a surefire way to trigger a ton of good Reactions.
The Judicator
Stats you Want
The main things you want on Cyno all compound to make him an excellent DPS unit:
- ATK
- Elemental Mastery
- CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
ATK at the top is pretty simple: the more ATK Cyno has, the harder he will hit. As the main DPS, he needs that high ATK to be a potent force and so you will want to have a lot of it.
Elemental Mastery is equally as important, specifically for Cyno. Like Yae Miko, he needs Elemental Mastery a lot more than other Electro characters (who mainly rely on Energy Recharge). By boosting his EM, you will further his Elemental Reaction dmg as well as the bonus damage granted by his A4 Passive. This is a very good, safe pick.
Finally, like ATK, buffing your CRIT is always good on a DPS. Depending on what you’re lacking, pick either CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG but for Cyno, aim more towards CRIT DMG. This will ensure that when you hit, you’ll hit big.
Aside from that, try and invest in an Electro DMG Goblet. This is just a good piece that will increase Cyno’s damage immensely, just like it does for any character who specialises in Elemental Damage.
Power
Best Team Compositions
All of the following compositions will have Cyno as the main DPS of the team. One will focus primarily on his role as a raw damage unit and the other as a more Reaction based unit. The final team is a budget team which does not require any gacha pulls to make necessary, making it very F2P friendly (outside of Cyno).
Team 1: Main DPS
This team consists of Cyno, Bennett, Yae Miko and Yunjin.
Cyno will be mainly focusing on buffing his ATK and damage as high as possible. Reactions will still be good to use (especially things like Overload) but they won’t be the focus. Cyno and his big damage Burst are.
Yae Miko is our off-field DPS. She will aid Cyno in doing damage without messing with any Reactions or interrupting Cyno’s flow. Additionally, the Electro Resonance ability will be active from her and Cyno being in the same party, boosting both Yae and Cyno’s ability to get their Bursts.
Bennett will act as both our healer and a buffer. This is done primarily through his Burst which will continually heal you and give you an ATK bonus. Additionally, even if you have C6 Bennett (a much-bemoaned constellation) Cyno’s Electro cannot be overridden and so he can still work at his full strength. As always, you can always rely on Bennett.
Lastly, Yunjin is here for two reasons. The first is for her Crystalize and elemental shields which may help keep everyone alive for just a tad longer. The second is that through her Burst, Yunjin can buff Normal Attacks. This will be very beneficial for Cyno when his main damage output is his Normal Attacks buffed by his Burst.
Pure DPS Team
Team 2: Reaction DPS
This team consists of Cyno, Shinobu, Mona and Collei.
Cyno is our main spearhead. His Burst and Skill will be the main sources of damage dealing, knocking enemies around and doing very big damage to bosses. His abundance of Electro attacks will also cause Reactions with both Mona and Collei – the union of Hydro, Dendro and Electro being some of the strongest Reactions in the entire game.
Shinobu is here as a healer and support to Cyno. She will keep him alive while also outputting her Electro for Reactions and damage. In addition, she and Cyno together allow for the Electro Resonance effect to kick in where any Electro Reaction causes Elemental Orbs to appear. This allows Cyno even more opportunities to keep up his Burst.
Mona acts as the team’s major debuffer and source of Bloom. Her Burst amplifies the damage of any target it hits, while also making them Wet so Cyno can trigger Super-Conduct. This is just more damage. Paired with Collei, she will spawn Dendro Seeds that explode with Electro for more damage – perfect support.
Finally, Collei is our Dendro source so we can use Quicken, Bloom, Hyperbloom and Aggravate. Alongside that, she can do some impressive off-field damage with her Burst and Skill, adding even further to the comp.
Reaction Team
Budget Team
This team consists of Cyno, Collei, Dendro Traveller and Barbara. All of these characters can be acquired for free and without resorting to the gacha.
For this team, it works as a miniature version of the Reaction DPS team only with some characters swapped around. For example, as opposed to the Electro bonus from Cyno and Shinobu, we instead get the Dendro Resonance which is just as useful. This boosts Elemental Mastery, aiding Cyno a lot.
Collei is our off-field and sub DPS who gives us primary access to Dendro Reactions. Traveller does a similar job but as a pure support unit whose job is to help boost the capabilities of Cyno. Barbara is perhaps a bit more interesting as, like Mona, she can generate Bloom and Dendro Seeds for Cyno to trigger. However, she also can act as the team’s healer, making sure everyone is kept ship shape at all times.
Pairing all of these together makes for a good team which can do good damage with a lot of Elemental Reactions popping off all the time.
Budget Team
That’s how to best build Cyno in Genshin Impact.
