Natlan Character Tier List & Pull Priority Guide 2026: Who's Actually Worth Your Primos (5.5)

I've pulled on every Natlan banner since 5.0 and I regret about half of them. This tier list isn't the usual S/A/B ranking you see on Game8 where every limited 5-star somehow ends up in S tier. It's organized by what your account actually needs, because a C0 Mualani is a completely different value proposition for a new player versus someone who already has Neuvillette.

The ranking framework: account stage matters more than raw power

I'm sorting characters into three buckets based on when they provide the most value:

Bucket 1 — New players (AR 25-45, limited roster, mostly 4-stars): These characters need to function well at low investment with craftable weapons and cope artifacts. Team flexibility matters more than ceiling damage because you can't build a full premium team yet.

Bucket 2 — F2P/low spender Abyss pushers (AR 50+, trying to 36-star): You have some built teams but need the most impactful upgrades per primo. Constellation value, artifact efficiency, and how many teams a character enables are the key metrics.

Bucket 3 — Dolphins with options (Welkin + BP, multiple limited 5-stars): You're optimizing for account breadth or vertical investment. Pull decisions here are about filling specific team gaps or chasing constellations on characters you already have.

Mavuika — S tier for everyone, but for different reasons

Mavuika is the best Pyro DPS in the game right now. That part is simple. But why she's S tier changes depending on your account.

For new players: she works with free characters. Kachina holds 4-piece Scroll of the Hero which you get for free from the Natlan Archon Quest. Bennett is in the Starglitter shop. Any Cryo character enables Melt. You don't need her premium team for her to clear content. At C0 with the craftable Tidal Shadow and a scuffed Obsidian Codex set, she still outdamages most other C0 five-stars with their best 4-star weapons.

For Abyss pushers: she's two teams in one. On-field DPS with her donut combo. Off-field Pyro applicator with her skill's coordinated attacks, which makes her a Xiangling replacement that doesn't need 300% ER. Having one character that fills both roles is massive for roster flexibility. You can run Mavuika Melt on one side and slot her as off-field Pyro for a Kinich Burning or Mualani Vaporize team on the other.

For dolphins: her C1 is a 15-18% damage increase and her C2 is another 20% on top of that. C2 Mavuika is arguably the strongest C2 in the game right now. But honestly, C0 is so strong that I'd recommend horizontal investment (getting more characters) over vertical unless you just really love her.

Mualani — S tier for new players, B tier for veterans with Neuvillette

This is where tier lists fail. Mualani is an incredible DPS. But if you already have a built Neuvillette, her value drops significantly because they compete for the same Hydro on-field DPS slot and Neuvillette is easier to play with more flexible team building.

For new players without Neuvillette: Mualani is the best Hydro DPS you can get. Her Vaporize numbers are absurd. At C0 with the craftable Ring of Yaxche and a half-built team, she can Vape for 200k+ on her shark bites. She's also one of the best exploration characters in the game thanks to her surfboard sprint, which matters a lot when you're still exploring the map.

For Abyss pushers: her damage ceiling is higher than Neuvillette's, but her floor is lower. If you mess up the Vaporize timing or the enemy moves out of her bite range, your damage tanks. Neuvillette just spins and everything dies. The consistency gap is real. I've reset Abyss chambers more times with Mualani than with any other DPS because her bite targeting can be janky against mobile enemies like the Hydro Tulpa.

If you don't have Neuvillette and want a Hydro DPS: pull Mualani. If you have Neuvillette: skip unless you love her design or need a second Hydro DPS for Imaginarium Theater.

Xilonen — pull her before any other Natlan support, I'm dead serious

Xilonen is the Kazuha of Natlan. Actually, she might be better than Kazuha because she provides resistance shred (36% at talent 10), healing, and doesn't need to swirl elements to apply the shred. She just exists and your team does more damage.

Every account wants Xilonen. New players get a healer + buffer in one slot. Abyss pushers get universal resistance shred that works in any team with at least two PECH elements. Dolphins can vertically invest because her C2 gives your team 50% damage bonus, which is a bigger increase than most DPS constellations.

At C0 with 4-piece Scroll of the Hero and a Favonius Sword, she's complete. You don't need her signature. You don't need cons. Just get one copy and put her in every team.

No, seriously. Every team. I run her with Mavuika Melt, Mualani Vaporize, Kinich Burning, and even soup teams that have no business running a Geo character. She just works.

Kinich — the most underrated Natlan DPS

Kinich is a Dendro Claymore user who does Burning and Burgeon damage. He's been overshadowed by Mavuika and Mualani but his single-target damage is genuinely competitive, and Dendro teams are still absurdly strong.

For new players: Kinich is tricky because Burning teams want specific supports. You need a reliable off-field Pyro applicator, a Dendro battery, and ideally a shielder or healer because Burning self-damage adds up. At low investment he's harder to build around than Mavuika, who just needs Bennett and a Cryo unit.

For Abyss pushers with built Dendro teams: Kinich slots into existing Dendro cores beautifully. If you already have Nahida, a built Thoma or Dehya for off-field Pyro, and a flex slot, Kinich is a substantial upgrade over Alhaitham in single-target scenarios. Against the Algorithm of Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network in Abyss, my Kinich Burning team clears 20-25 seconds faster than my Alhaitham Quickbloom team.

His C1 is one of the best early constellations in the game: it gives him interruption resistance during his skill state, which fixes his biggest weakness (getting knocked out of his spinning attack).

Citlali — the specialist who ties teams together

Citlali is B tier if you don't have Mavuika. S tier if you do. She exists to enable Melt teams and her off-field Cryo application is tuned perfectly for Mavuika's burst window. Outside of that specific use case, she's a sidegrade to Layla for shielding and worse than Rosaria for Cryo application in non-Mavuika teams.

Pull Citlali only if you have Mavuika and want to run Melt. Otherwise save your primos.

Chasca — the exploration queen, combat is a bonus

Chasca is the most fun exploration character in the game. She flies. On a giant gun. For way longer than Wanderer's hover. In Natlan she can use Phlogiston to extend her flight even further, which means she can cross entire regions without touching the ground.

In combat, she's a decent Anemo DPS who scales with the elements of her teammates. Her damage is fine but not exceptional. Her real value is making exploration trivial. All those oculi floating in mid-air? Chasca flies to them. Those puzzles on top of the floating rocks in Ochkanatlan? Chasca flies to them. That one Pyroculus above the Stadium of the Sacred Flame that requires a six-step saurian puzzle? Chasca doesn't care.

She's a luxury pull. If you're struggling with Abyss, Chasca won't help. If you're tired of climbing and gliding, she's the best QoL pull in the game.

Final pull priority by account stage

New player priority: Xilonen > Mavuika > Mualani (if no Neuvillette) > Kinich > Citlali > Chasca

Abyss pusher priority: Xilonen > Mavuika > Kinich (if you have Dendro teams) > Mualani (if you need Hydro DPS) > Citlali (only with Mavuika) > Chasca

Dolphin constellation priority: Mavuika C2 > Xilonen C2 > Kinich C1 > Mualani C1 > Citlali C1

If you only pull two Natlan five-stars, make them Xilonen and Mavuika. Everything else is optional.