Genshin Impact Kinich: Kit, Release Date & Best Build

Kinich is a 5-star Dendro character featuring in the 2nd phase of Genshin Impact 5.0 and his kit is perfect for Burning and Burgeon teams. He is a strong on-field Hypercarry DPS and his kit has plenty of mobility which is uncommon for Claymore users. As he works best in Burning and Burgeon teams, Emilie can be a really good pair for him. If you are interested in Kinich in Genshin Impact, here is everything we know about Kinich’s kit and his best build.

Update: This build guide has been updated on August 27, 2024, with the latest available information.

Kinich: Weapon and Element Type

Kinich is a 5-star Dendro character wielding a Claymore and he is a strong on-field hypercarry DPS. His kit focuses on the Burgeon and Burning reaction, and scales on Attack. Kinich enters Nightsoul’s Blessing and he can use his grappling hook to nearby enemies, allowing him to deal damage using Loop shots with higher mobility. Kinich is a very strong hypercarry unit with his best build, so make sure to also farm for Kinich’s materials if you want to build him completely.

Kinich is a saurian hunter, who accepts commissions and sets price to hunt saurians in Natlan. For them, as long as the price is right, they are willing to fulfill all commissions in a satisfactory manner. He is accompanied by Ajaw, a self-proclaimed Almighty Dragonlord. He comes from the Scions of the Canopy tribe.

Kinich Release Date and Banners

Kinich will be released in the second phase of the Genshin Impact 5.0 version, which is expected around September 18, 2024. He is among the three new characters featuring in Genshin Impact 5.0 banners, with the other two being Mualani and Kachina and he will feature next to Raiden Shogun in his first banner.

Kinich Voice Actors

Kinich’s English voice actor is John Partneaude, who is known for voicing Quatre Salision and Bermotti in The Legend of Heroes (video game), and Renault in Unicorn Overlord (video game).

Kinich’s Japanese voice actor is Noriaki Sugiyama, who is known for voicing Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto (anime), Shirou Emiya in Fate franchise (anime/video games), and Uryu Ishida in Bleach (anime).

Kinich Kit and Best Rotation

Kinich has an on-field DPS-focused kit with a majority of his damage output coming from his Elemental Skill. After using his Elemental Skill, he enters Nightsoul’s Blessing state for 10 seconds with 0 Nightsoul Points and he grapples onto the nearest enemy. After hooking onto an enemy, Kinich will circle around the enemy and using a Normal Attack shoot Loop Shots, dealing Dendro Damage and giving Kinich 3 Nightsoul points. At max 20 Nightsoul points, Kinich’s Elemental Skill changes to Scalespiker Cannon, which deals massive Dendro damage by consuming all the points.

When a nearby ally uses Nightsoul Burst, Kinich gains Hunter’s Experience that gets consumed when using the Scalespiker Cannon, dealing 320% of increased damage based on Kinich’s Attack. His Elemental Burst summons Ajaw, who does AoE Dendro damage every interval.

• Kinich grapples onto nearby enemies using his Elemental Skill.
• While hooked to an enemy, using Normal attacks deals Loop Shots, which deals Dendro damage.
• At max Nightsoul points, Kinich’s elemental skill changes to Scalespiker Cannon.
• His Scalesspiker Cannon deals increased damage when nearby allies use Nightsoul Burst.
• Kinich’s elemental burst summons Ajaw, making him deal AoE Dendro damage every interval.

Kinich Best Artifacts

• 4-piece Obsidian Codex
• 4-piece Deepwood Memories

The new Natlan artifact set, 4-star Obsidian Codex is the best Artifact set for Kinich’s build. This artifact set is said to increase the damage dealt and the Crit Rate of characters with Nightsoul’s Blessing, making it perfect for Kinich.

Other than that, the 4-piece Deepwood Memories is also a good Artifact option for Kinich, until you have farmed good pieces for the Obsidian Codex set. This artifact set increases Dendro damage and reduces enemies’ Dendro resistance.

Best Kinich Build: Main and Sub-Stats Priority

Kinich is a standard hypercarry DPS, so the main stats you need to focus on for him are Crit, Attack, and Energy Regeneration. Regarding Kinich’s main stat priority, use Attack % Sands, Dendro Damage % Goblet, and Crit Circlet. For Sub-stats, focus on adding Crit Damage and Crit Rate, followed by Attack %, and Energy Regen.

You don’t need to build for Energy Regen, as Kinich’s main damage source is his Elemental Skill damage.

Genshin Impact Kinich Talents

• Nightsun Style (Normal Attack): Kinich performs 3 rapid strikes with his Normal attacks. After using his Elemental Skill, he can perform a Normal Attack mid-air before landing. His Charged Attack consumes stamina as he spins and throws his Claymore forward at the enemies. His Plunge Attack damages opponents along the way and deals AoE damage upon impact.
• Canopy Hunter: Riding High (Elemental Skill): Kinich shoots forward a grappling hook, attaching to a nearby enemy or object, and enters Nightsoul’s Blessing state with 0 Nightsoul Points. If no enemy or attachable object is nearby, he shoots the grappling hook forward and swings in mid-air, which also decreases the cool-down timer of the Elemental Skill by 60%. This Skill can be held to aim the grappling hook properly. His Nightsoul’s Blessing state lasts for 10 seconds and generates two Nightsoul points every second. During his NB state, he hooks onto the nearby enemy and performs a variable attack.
  – Normal Attack: Kinich fires Loop Shots based on his movement direction, dealing Nightsoul-aligned Dendro Damage and generating 3 Nightsoul points. This damage is considered Elemental Skill damage.
  – Max Nightsoul Points: At max Nightsoul points, his Elemental Skill changes to Scalespiker Cannon, which consumes all Nightsoul Points to deal Nightsoul-aligned Dendro Damage. This attack can be aimed by holding the Skill button. After firing the Cannon, he will try to grapple to its target. In Nightsoul’s Blessing, after grappling an opponent or firing the “Scalespiker Cannon,” a Blind Spot will be generated next to the opponent. When Kinich enters this Blind Spot, it will disappear and he will gain 4 Nightsoul points. A Normal Attack can be used to establish a new connection with a nearby opponent before performing loop shots if the grapple connection snaps due to exceeding the maximum distance or some other reason.
• Hail to the Almighty Dragonlord (Elemental Burst): Unleashes Ajaw dealing Nightsoul-aligned AoE Dendro damage, and Ajaw continues to unleash Dragon-breath at intervals, dealing Nightsoul aligned AoE Dendro damage. This Blessing’s duration is extended by 1.7 seconds if Kinich is in Nightsoul’s Blessing when this is used.

Genshin Impact Kinich Passives

• Swift Envoy: Increases allies’ movement speed by 15% for 10 seconds when interacting with some harvestable items while in an area with Phlogiston Mechanics within Natlan. Additionally, this effect will also mark the nearby resources unique to Natlan on the mini-map.
• Night Realm’s Gift: Repaid in Full: When Kinich is in the air after using his Elemental Skill’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, which makes Kinich perform one of the following actions depending on the conditions met after meeting certain movement states that result from specific talents, or a certain height in the air, when you switch to him:
  – When facing a Coilgrass Sigil that can be interacted with: He will fire a grappling hook toward it to move.
  – When there are nearby opponents and you are in combat: Kinich will use his Elemental Skill 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 10 seconds by your own party. When interacting with Coilgrass Sigils and other items that can interact with Yumkasaurs, his Elemental SKill will be converted to “Yumkasaur Mimesis,” which causes interactions with such items to follow rules applicable to Yumkasaurs, and which will not put his Elemental Skill on cool down.
• The Price of Desolation: When in Nightsoul’s Blessing, opponents hit by Kinich’s Elemental Skill will enter the Desolation state, and when affected by Burning or Burgeon reaction damage, they will restore 7 Nightsoul points to him. Nightsoul points can be gained this way once every 0.8 seconds. The Desolation state will persist until this instance of Kinich’s Nightsoul’s Blessing state ends.
• Flame Spirit Pact: When a nearby ally triggers a Nightsoul Burst, Kinich gains one stack of Hunter’s Experience that lasts 15 seconds (max 2 stacks). When Kinich uses the enhanced Elemental Skill “Scalespiker Cannon”, all stacks of Hunter’s Experience get consumed, each consumed stack increasing the damage dealt by this Cannon shot by 320% of Kinich’s Attack.

Best Weapons for Kinich

• Fang of the Mountain King
• Beacon of the Reed Sea
• Serpent Spine
• Earthshaker
• Ultimate Overlord’s Mega Magic Sword

Fang of the Mountain King is the Signature Weapon for Kinich, and it is also going to be his best Claymore option. This weapon gives a Critical Rate Bonus Effect and has a high Attack Base stat. The weapon skill increases the wielder’s Elemental Skill and Burst Damage by 10% (max 6 stacks) for 6 seconds. The stacks are gained by hitting enemies with the Elemental Skill and triggering the Burning and Burgeon reactions nearby.

The Beacon of the Reed Sea is the next best option for Kinich’s best build. Other than that, you can also use the Serpent Spine, which is always a good 4-star Claymore option. For f2p options, the new Natlan’s craftable Claymore, Earthshaker, appears to be the best option for Kinich with Ultimate Overlord’s Mega Magic Sword being a close second.

Kinich Constellations

• Parrot’s Beak (C1): Kinich’s movement speed increases by 30% for 6 seconds after landing from his Elemental Skill’s mid-air swing.
• Tiger Beetle’s Palm (C2): When Kinich’s Elemental Skill hits an opponent, it decreases their Dendro Resistance by 30% for 6 seconds. Additionally, the first Scalespiker Cannon Kinich fires after entering Nightsoul’s Blessing has increased AoE, and its Damage increases by 100%.
• Protosuchian’s Claw (C3): Elemental Skill level + 3 up to level 15 max.
• Hummingbird’s Feather (C4): Kinich restores 5 Energy after using his Loop Shots or after unleashing the Scalespiker Cannon when in Nightsoul’s Blessing. Energy can be regenerated this way once every 2.8 seconds. Additionally, his Elemental Burst deals 70% more Damage.
• Howler Monkey’s Tail (C5): Elemental Burst level + 3 up to level 15 max.
• Auspicious Beast’s Shape (C6): After Scalespiker Cannon hits an opponent, it bounces between opponents once, dealing 700% of Kinich’s Attack as Dendro damage. 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.

Kinich’s constellations are decently strong, giving him plenty of mobility and increased damage. However, his constellations are not that important to get the best out of his kit, and they are more of an overkill. Share your thoughts on Kinich’s best build in the comment section and let us know if you are going to pull him in Genshin Impact 5.0.