Genshin Impact: Mualani build and materials guide

Find the best weapons and artifacts for Mualani in Genshin Impact

HoYoverse

Ride on a wave of success with the best Genshin Impact Mualani build and cruise to victory. This 5-Star Hydro character wields a catalyst as her main weapon and is a well-known guide in Natlan.

Table of Contents

1. Best Mualani weapons – Genshin Impact
2. Best Mualani artifacts – Genshin Impact
3. Best Mualani teams – Genshin Impact
4. Mualani ascension materials – Genshin Impact

Mualani’s Elemental Skill, Surfshark Wavebreaker, allows her to hop on a shark-like surfboard and glide over water and the ground alike – this is a strong exploration ability that helps you get across difficult terrain quickly. Using Surfshark Wavebreaker allows Mualani to enter the Nightsoul’s Blessing state and creates 60 Nightsoul Points for her. Nightsoul Points are consistently consumed while Mualani is in this state – when they are depleted, Surfshark Wavebreaker ends.

In combat, Surfshark Wavebreaker transforms her Normal Attack into Sharky’s Bites. These deal Hydro Damage based on Mualani’s Maximum HP. When ramming enemies in this state, Mualani afflicts them with the Marked as Prey effect and gains one stack of Wave Momentum (she can have up to three of those). Wave Momentum increases the damage of Sharky’s Bites and having three stacks of the effect converts the attack into Sharky’s Surging Bite. Hitting enemies Marked as Prey removes the mark, but allows Mualani to fire Shark Missiles at up to five targets still Marked as Prey nearby. Sharky’s Bite and Shark Missile deal less damage when three or more enemies are Marked as Prey at the same time, so it’s best to focus on just a couple of targets.

Mualani’s Elemental Burst, Boomsharka-laka, fires a Super Shark Missile that tracks enemies and deals Hydro Damage based on her Maximum HP in the area of effect. Boomsharka-laka’s damage is boosted after nearby party members use a Nightsoul Burst.

Her passive Talents revolve around generating additional Nightsoul Points to keep her in the Nightsoul Blessing state for longer as well as obtaining Phlogiston during exploration – all in all, Mualani is Natlan’s first 5-Star character for a good reason: She’s be a great asset for traversing the country.

Best Mualani weapons – Genshin Impact

Mualani is an offensively oriented character in combat. Maximum HP is going to be her crucial stat, since the amount of damage she can deal will heavily scale with this attribute. Surf’s Up, Mualani’s signature catalyst, naturally provides a hefty chunk of HP on top of Critical Hit Damage to its wielder. In addition, Surf’s Up generates four stacks of Scorching Summer after the wielder uses an Elemental Skill, increasing Normal Attack Damage (i.e. the damage of Sharky’s Bite for Mualani). One stack is consumed for each hit against an enemy, but more can be generated by triggering the Vaporize reaction – so you should aim to have some Pyro characters on the team.

Here are the best weapons for Mualani in Genshin Impact:

• Surf’s Up (5-Star catalyst)
• Tulaytullah's Remembrance (5-Star catalyst)
• Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds (5-Star catalyst)
• Ash-Graven Drinking Horn (4-Star catalyst)
• Ring of Yaxche (4-Star catalyst)
• Solar Pearl (4-Star catalyst)
• Prototype Amber (4-Star catalyst)
• Sacrificial Jade (4-Star catalyst)

Mualani's shark-like surfboard is great for riding waves and ramming enemies. / HoYoverse

Best Mualani artifacts – Genshin Impact

You may want to opt for the traditional Hydro DPS set, Heart of Depth, after first getting Mualani on your team. However, once you’ve explored Natlan some more, you should definitely farm the brand-new artifact set Obsidian Codex for her. Two pieces of it provide bonus damage as long as the wielder is in the Nightsoul’s Blessing state, while four pieces provide a massive Critical Hit Rate boost after a Nightsoul Point is consumed – and Mualani does so consistently.

You should get the following stat distribution on Mualani’s artifact set:

• Flower: HP (main stat), HP %, Energy Recharge, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate (secondary stats)
• Plume: Attack (main stat), HP %, Energy Recharge, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate (secondary stats)
• Sands: HP % (main stat), Energy Recharge, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Elemental Mastery (secondary stats)
• Goblet: Hydro Damage % or HP % (main stat), Energy Recharge, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, HP % or Elemental Mastery (secondary stats)
• Circlet: Critical Hit Damage (main stat), Energy Recharge, Critical Hit Rate, HP %, Elemental Mastery (secondary stats)

Mualani's Super Shark Missile is a powerful weapon. / HoYoverse

Best Mualani teams – Genshin Impact

Mualani thrives in reaction-based teams and wants to be a team’s on-field damage dealer – she doesn’t have any off-field capabilities to offer.

• Mualani (Main DPS), Xiangling (Sub DPS), Kazuha (Support), Bennett (Support)

In the absence of any Pyro characters from Natlan, Mualani’s fiery support comes from one of the most iconic character duos in Genshin Impact history: Xiangling and Bennett. Together, they provide immense off-field Pyro application, damage buffs, and healing. Kazuha or any similar Anemo character comes into play for damage amplification and crowd control.

• Mualani (Main DPS), Furina (Sub DPS), Kazuha (Support), Sigewinne (Support)

Alternatively, you can slot Mualani into the Main DPS role of a Fontaine-style Hydro team. Since Hydro Resonance will buff everyone’s Maximum HP in this constellation, Mualani and Furina will benefit in terms of damage and Sigewinne in terms of additional healing.

Mualani is a bit of a goofball, so she's great at raising the team's morale on long adventures. / HoYoverse

Mualani ascension materials – Genshin Impact

You’ll want to quickly raise Mualani’s level when you finally pull her, which means that you’ll need to farm her ascension materials. You’ll also require some material to upgrade her talents.

Here’s what you need to get Mualani to level 90:

• Varunada Lazurite Sliver x1
• Varunada Lazurite Fragment x9
• Varunada Lazurite Chunk x9
• Varunada Lazurite Gemstone x6
• Sentry’s Wooden Whistle x18
• Warrior’s Metal Whistle x30
• Saurian-Crowned Warrior’s Golden Whistle x36
• Sprayfeather Gill x168
• Mark of the Binding Blessing x46
• Mora x2,092,530

Varunada Lazurite can be obtained from any Hydro-affiliated boss on the world map, such as the Hydro Hypostasis below Watatsumi Island or Fontaine’s Hydro Tulpa and All-Devouring Narwhal. You need to farm the All-Devouring Narwhal for Lightless Mass anyways, so you should be able to passively generate enough Varunada Lazurite as you collect those rarer materials. 

Whistles can be gained from defeating the warriors you encounter in Natlan. Sprayfeather Gills may only be found in Natlan, specifically where the People of the Springs dwell. The best way to earn more Mora in the game is to farm golden Ley Line Blossoms.

Mualani is a pretty relaxed character. / HoYoverse

Here’s what you need to upgrade all of Mualani’s talents to their maximum level:

• Sentry’s Wooden Whistle x18
• Warrior’s Metal Whistle x66
• Saurian-Crowned Warrior’s Golden Whistle x93
• Teachings of Contention x9
• Guide to Contention x63
• Philosophies of Contention x114
• Lightless Mass x18
• Crown of Insight x3
• Mora x4,957,500

For the materials already mentioned, see above. You’ll need to visit the Blazing Ruins Domain on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday to farm Scrolls of Contention. As mentioned, Lightless Mass is a boss drop from the Narwhal in Fontaine.

Crowns of Insight are a rare item gained from time-limited events or regional reward mechanics like the Grand Narukami Shrine in Inazuma, Tree of Dreams in Sumeru, and Fountain of Lucine in Fontaine.