Genshin Impact: Complete Mualani Guide | Pre-Release Analysis

Mualani is one of the upcoming Natlan characters in Genshin Impact 5.0, but thanks to previews we’ve managed to already get a good pre-release analysis of what to expect from her.

Mualani is set to release during Phase 1 of Genshin Impact 5.0 and will be a Hydro DPS. Her main gimmick revolves around surfing around her Sharky Surfboard, biting enemies while staying on the move. Stylish and effective!

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything we know about Mualani and what to expect from her kit.

Complete Mualani Guide | Pre-Release Analysis

Talents

Skills

• Normal Attack: Cooling Treatment
  • Grounded – A consecutive chain of up to 3 attacks that deal Hydro DMG.
  • Charged – Uses a small amount of Stamina to send a Pufferball into the air. It deals AoE Hydro DMG when it lands.
  • Plunging – Plunges downward, dealing Hydro DMG to any enemies in the way. Creates a small AoE Hydro DMG explosion upon landing.
• Elemental Skill: Surfshark Wavebreaker – Mualani uses 60 Nightsoul Points to enter Nightsoul’s Blessing mode and ride her Sharky Surfboard. This makes her extremely mobile and changes her Normal Attack to Sharky’s Bites. Sharky’s Bites deal Hydro DMG based on Mualani’s Max HP. Landing one of Sharky’s Bites will apply “Marked as Prey” status on the enemy and give Mualani 1 stack of “Wave Momentum”.
  • Marked as Prey – Hit an enemy with this mark again with another Sharky’s Bite to fire up to 5 Shark Missiles towards all nearby marked opponents. Shark Rockets deal damage equal to Sharky’s Bite and clear marks.
  • Wave Momentum – Mualani can have up to 3 stacks of Wave Momentum at once. Each stack increases Sharky’s Bites damage further based on Mualani’s Max HP. Having 3 stacks will transform the next attack into Sharky’s Surging Bite, which will deal much more damage than usual but removes all Wave Momentum stacks.
• Elemental Burst: Stormburst Shot – Mualani fires off a Super Shark Missile which tracks enemies and deals high AoE Hydro DMG based on Mualani’s Max HP.

Passives

• Heat-Resistant Freshwater Puffer – Hitting an enemy with Sharky’s Surging Bite will generate a Puffer nearby. Mualani can restore 20 Nightsoul Points by picking up the Puffer. Only 2 Puffers can be generated at once per Nightsoul’s Blessing instance.
• Night Realm’s Gift: Crests and Troughs – Allows Mualani to consume Phlogiston to maintain her Nightsoul’s Blessing once her Nightsoul Points are depleted.
  • You can also use Nightsoul Transmission: Mualani while in Phlogiston-enabled areas in Natlan. To trigger it, switch from an active character when using movement mechanics such as sprinting or swimming to Mualani. Mualani will automatically enter Nightsoul’s Blessing and gain 40 Nightsoul Points. You can trigger this effect once every 10 seconds.
  • Mualani will also consume less Nightsoul Points and Phlogiston while in Nightsoul’s Blessing mode, with the effect being stronger within Natlan.
• The Trick is to Keep Smiling! – Allows Mualani to restore 15 Phlogiston when interacting with harvestable items when exploring Phlogiston-enabled areas of Natlan. She’ll also mark all unique Natlan resources on your minimap.
• Natlan’s Greatest Guide – Mualani gains 1 stack of Wavechaser’s Exploits every time another party member triggers a Nightsoul Burst, up to 3 stacks. Each stack lasts 20 seconds and will further boost Mualani’s Stormburst Shot damage based on her Max HP.

Constellations

• C1: The Leisurely “Metzli” – Increases the damage of the first Sharky’s Surging Bite for each activation of Nightsoul’s Blessing by 66% of Mualani’s Max HP. Also reduces Mualani’s consumption of Nightsoul Points and Phlogiston by 30% when out of combat.
• C2: Mualani, Going All Out! – Mualani will get 2 stacks of Wave Momentum whenever she uses Surfshark Wavebreaker to enter Nightsoul’s Blessing mode. She’ll also regenerate up 12 Nightsoul Points over 2 seconds whenever she collects 2 Puffers during a single Nightsoul’s Blessing activation.
• C3: Surfing Atop Joyous Seas – Increases the Level of Surfshark Wavebreaker by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• C4: Sharky Eats Puffies – Lets Mualani regenerate 8 energy whenever she collects a Puffer. Also increases the damage of her Stormburst Shot by 75%.
• C5: Same Style of Surfboard on Sale! – Increases the Level of Stormburst Shot by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• C6: Spirit of the Springs’ People – Removes the activation limit for the damage buff given by C1: The Leisurely “Metzli”. Every Sharky’s Surging Bite will deal enhanced damage.

As a quick review of Mualani’s Constellations, we have to say that almost all of these effects are extremely strong. The only one that is fairly weak is C5, as her Elemental Burst isn’t too useful to begin with. If these effects are maintained once she officially releases, we’d recommend aiming for C6 if you wish to make the most of her!

Recommended Gear & Stats

When it comes to equipment, Mualani doesn’t have much to choose from in Genshin Impact. Her best Artifacts set will be the Obsidian Codex set, which will become available with update 5.0. This set will boost her damage while in Nightsoul’s Blessing mode as well as increase her Crit Rate upon using Nightsoul Points!

When it comes to the Stats on these Artifacts, you will want to prioritize HP and ATK boosts of all kinds. Most of Mualani’s kit in Genshin Impact, as we’ve shown in this pre-release analysis so far, comes from her Max HP. You’ll get to increase both her damage and survivability in one shot. Lastly, increasing her Crit Damage is welcome too.

As for her weapon, Mulani’s signature weapon is the Surfing Time and is her most fitting choice. It’s highly valuable as it greatly boosts her damage and doesn’t require any specific setups. It’s a perfect fit for having Mualani in any team you want!

Playstyle Breakdown

If you’ve been following along with our pre-release analysis, Mulani in Genshin Impact is all about mobility. She’s best played by using her Surfshark Wavebreaker to stay on the move as much as possible, dealing high damage via Sharky’s Bites. Mualani excels the most when dealing with single targets, as she can fully focus her ridiculous damage output against single enemies.

However, that’s about all that Mualani offers. She’s a Main DPS and she does it extremely well, but she doesn’t really provide much in utility or battery for her team. What’s more, she’s not particularly good at applying Hydro, which prevents her from making the most from Elemental Reactions. Her overall kit is meant to be that of a hypercarry, so it’s not too surprising that she mostly focuses on boosting her own potential instead of providing utility/battery.

On the other hand, she seems to be quite adept at making the most of Vaporize setups. As such, it might be a good idea to pair her up with Pyro characters that can apply it effectively.

Overall, Mualani is a fairly simple Main DPS that does extremely good Hydro damage but doesn’t offer much else in combat. Nonetheless, she’s quite fun to play as both in combat and exploration, since surfing around on that Sharky Surfboard never gets old!

But well, that’s the end of our pre-release analysis and guide for Mualani in Genshin Impact. If you want to know more about another upcoming character, we also have a similar pre-release analysis guide for Kinich!