Mi Fu

early game dps

dpsphysicalcrushvulnerable_stackingphysical_susceptibility

Mi Fu sits at the top of the tier list thanks to her ability to stack Vulnerable on her own and convert those stacks into Crush damage, while her Combo Skill hands out Physical Susceptibility that lifts the entire mono-Physical squad. Her ceiling is very high, but the ideal rotation is brittle because the Combo Skill demands at least three Vulnerability stacks, which boss phases or separate weakpoint counters can delay.

This early game build keeps Mi Fu functional before endgame gear is farmed. Ancient Canal carries her damage with Attack and Strength while also supplying the rare Arts Intensity her Crush scaling needs, and its weapon skill is triggered naturally by her Crush procs. The Armored MSGR set rounds things out, with Strength on the pieces and the set bonus adding a small defensive layer, while two Armored MSGR Gyro pieces give the largest Attack increase she can get at this stage. Ancient Canal is only available through weapon banners, so Industry 0.1 serves as the budget fallback from the Arsenal Exchange or treasure chests. Treat this as a stepping stone that should be replaced by the Amaranthine Tassel and Grizzled Edge setup later.

Insights

Core Mechanics

Qingbo Triplex chains three sequential moves: Cloudtrapper pulls light enemies or drags Mi Fu toward heavy ones, Trail and Mangle applies Crush, and World Splitter becomes available once that Crush eats at least three Vulnerability stacks.
The Fists of No Regrets Combo Skill only unlocks when a target carries three or more Vulnerability stacks, applies temporary Physical Susceptibility, and swaps her next Battle Skill into Move 2.
Pile of No Mercy forcibly Lifts enemies, deals heavy damage and Stagger, and adds a Vulnerable stack, which lets her self-enable the Combo Skill before chaining into Trail and Mangle and World Splitter.
World Splitter's damage is counted as Crush rather than Battle Skill damage, so it scales with Arts Intensity instead of normal skill multipliers and still triggers Crush-related gear effects.

Scaling

In the early game she functions fine on budget options such as Ancient Canal paired with the Armored MSGR set, which together cover Strength, Attack and a rare dose of Arts Intensity.
At endgame she leans on high-rarity pieces like Amaranthine Tassel and the Grizzled Edge set, where her frequent Battle Skill casts and Crush procs keep weapon and set effects active almost constantly.
A large part of her damage ceiling comes from the team feeding Vulnerable and Physical Susceptibility, so she scales noticeably harder inside mono-Physical compositions than in mixed ones.
Her talent Stern Crackdown multiplies World Splitter against susceptible or Staggered targets, making late investment in the Battle Skill and that talent especially valuable.

Team Role

Mi Fu is the primary damage dealer of a mono-Physical composition and doubles as a damage amplifier for that setup. She generates her own Vulnerable stacks through Battle Skill and Ultimate usage, then cashes them in for Crush bursts via Trail and Mangle and World Splitter, while her Combo Skill paints Physical Susceptibility on the target so the rest of the squad hits harder. Because the Combo Skill gate is three Vulnerability stacks, she prefers a team that reliably staggers or debuffs enemies; Lifeng or Ardelia can provide Physical Susceptibility when her own Combo Skill is unavailable, smoothing out windows where boss phases or separate weakpoint counters block it. In practice she plays as a combo-stringer who alternates Battle Skill moves with her Ultimate, so ideally she leads the damage window while allies supply Stagger, energy and crowd control to keep her rotation flowing.

Weapon

ancient_canalBest

5★ Claymores

industry_01Rank 2

4★ Claymores

Weapon Stat Priority

brutalitystrength_boostarts_intensity_boost

Gear

survivability

Pieces

armor

gloves

core 1

core 2

Stat Priority

1strength_boost2attack_boost3arts_intensity_boost

Explanation

Weapon reasoning: Ancient Canal is the best obtainable option early on because it bundles Strength and Arts Intensity with a trigger condition her Crush procs satisfy, though it can only be acquired from weapon banners.

Alternative reasoning: Industry 0.1 works as a placeholder from the Arsenal Exchange or treasure chests, offering Suppression, Attack and Strength until a higher-rarity greatsword drops.

Gear reasoning: Armored MSGR's Strength from individual pieces and its set effect, combined with two Gyro pieces, produce the biggest Attack jump available at this stage.

Transition reasoning: the set's damage reduction is only a minor comfort bonus, so move to the Grizzled Edge build as soon as possible.

Notes

Ancient Canal is the standout early greatsword here, contributing Attack and Strength along with the scarce Arts Intensity that her Crush damage wants, and its skill is easy for her to trigger.
The Armored MSGR set plus a pair of Gyro pieces pushes Attack and Strength hard, giving her the most damage available before endgame gear.
Keep this setup only until one of the 6-star greatswords and the Grizzled Edge pieces are available.