Updated for Version “Luna VIII”
Sandrone is a 5-star Cryo Claymore character in Genshin Impact who primarily deals Stellar-Conduct damage while on-field. Learn about Sandrone’s best builds, best weapons, best artifacts, and best teams in this quick guide.
Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress.
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Table of Contents
Infographic
Credits to: cegewinne, haafr, and KQM Staff
Character Overview
Pros
- Simple gameplay between her combos and team rotations.
- Simple builds with a freely available competitive 4-star Claymore.
- Simply delightful tea parties.
Cons
- Heavy reliance on Yae Miko and other 5-star characters to reach her competitive potential.
- Scarcity of free-to-play 4-star teammates (who require C6 to even work).
- Limited variety of team compositions.
Playstyles
On-Field Stellar-Conduct DPS
Sandrone primarily plays as an on-field Stellar-Conduct DPS unit. While she has flexible field time thanks to her Skill cooldown, she usually takes the field for around 10–13s after her teammates cast their abilities.
Quickswap Stellar-Conduct Enabler
As of Version Luna VIII, Sandrone is the only character that enables Stellar-Conduct. As such, she is required to enable on-field Stellar-Conduct DPS playstyles for characters like Wriothesley and Cyno. Sandrone has little synergy with these units beyond this, so such teams will not be examined in this Quick Guide.
Talents
Level and Talent Priority
Normal Attack > Burst > Skill
A majority of Sandrone’s personal damage stems from her Charged Attack, so she prioritizes Normal Attack Talent levels. Sandrone can ascend to Lv. 80/90 and focus on her Talent Levels and artifacts before reaching Lv 90.
Talent Overview
Normal Attack | Formule Phenomenale: Self-Evident Proposition
Talent Description
Normal Attack
Generates threads that control her weapon using formulae, performing up to 3 consecutive strikes.
Charged Attack
Summons the Facilitatrice Automatisee Generaliste Interactive et Omnitache, or “Fagio,” and switches it to Decoding mode: Unleashes a sweeping fire attack on enemies in front, as well as periodically fires condensed beams, dealing AoE Cryo DMG.
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: The condensed beams will instead deal AoE Cryo DMG that is considered Stellar-Conduct DMG.
While in Decoding mode, Fagio’s Decoding Power will continuously increase. Firing condensed beams will also further increase its Decoding Power.
When Fagio’s Decoding Power reaches the maximum of 100 points, it switches to Power Overdrive mode, in which it fires at opponents with longer intervals, dealing Cryo DMG. It will be unable to switch to Decoding mode at this time.
When not in Decoding mode, Fagio’s Decoding Power gradually decreases. When Sandrone is off-field, she will focus on maintaining Fagio, causing its Decoding Power to decrease at 300% the original rate.
Fagio exits Power Overdrive mode when its Decoding Power has decreased to under 50.
Plunging Attack
Plunges from midair to strike the ground below, dealing DMG to opponents along their path and causing AoE DMG on landing.
Sandrone’s Charged Attacks comprise the majority of her personal damage. Her Normal and Plunging Attacks are never used.
Charged Attacks & Fagio
Sandrone’s Charged Attack does the following:
- It summons Fagio.
- Fagio starts out in Decoding mode.
- While in Decoding mode, Fagio fires a beam that deals continuous AoE Cryo damage with instances of greater “condensed” damage. The condensed damage is considered direct Stellar-Conduct DMG if Sandrone is within a Polestar Field.
- While firing the beam, Fagio gains stacks of Decoding Power.
- At 100 stacks of Decoding Power, Fagio switches to Power Overdrive mode.
- While in Power Overdrive mode, Fagio gradually loses Decoding Power and fires a weakened beam that deals periodic Cryo damage. Fagio cannot re-enter Decoding mode while in Power Overdrive mode.
- Fagio exits Power Overdrive mode below 50 stacks of Decoding Power.
- Sandrone can “repair” Fagio more quickly while she is off-field.
While this seems complicated on paper, the actual gameplay is quite simple since Sandrone’s Skill resets Fagio’s state off cooldown.
Elemental Skill | Formule Phenomenale: Differential Analysis
Talent Description
With her impeccable, ladylike poise, Sandrone boards the Tea Party Tactical Assault Hovermech and hovers forward for 6s. During this time, Sandrone can control the travel direction of the craft. Pressing Sprint consumes 10 Stamina and launches her into an elegant high-speed hover mode, in which she will move even faster at the cost of 15 Stamina per second.
When Sandrone starts hovering, if there are opponents nearby, she will also summon a Prismatic Resonance Cannon and fire 2 Prism Shots at any opponents who have yet to cool down, dealing Cryo DMG.
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: The second Prism Shot will instead deal Cryo DMG that is considered Stellar-Conduct DMG.
When on the Tea Party Tactical Assault Hovermech, Sandrone will also elegantly and quietly repair Fagio, causing Decoding Power to swiftly decrease.
Sandrone’s Elemental Skill is primarily used to quickly repair Fagio when it enters Power Overdrive mode. It also deals 2 instances of Cryo damage, the second of which is considered direct Stellar-Conduct DMG if Sandrone is within a Polestar Field.
Sandrone’s Charged Attack beam or Elemental Skill share Elemental Particle ICD. She can generate 1 Cryo Particle every 2.5s upon hitting an enemy.
Elemental Burst | Formule Phenomenale: Q.E.D.
Talent Description
In line with established ladylike behavior, Sandrone summons a large number of Prismatic Resonance Cannons for a frontal bombardment before firing on her foes with a Convective Inhibition Ray, dealing AoE Cryo DMG.
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: The Convective Inhibition Ray instead deals AoE Cryo DMG that is considered Stellar-Conduct DMG.
Sandrone’s Elemental Burst deals a nice bit of AoE Cryo damage whose final hit is considered direct Stellar-Conduct DMG if the Polestar Field is active. Sandrone can cast her Burst when available at the end of her field time.
Ascension 1 Passive | Eternal Speculation Engine
Talent Description
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: When using the Elemental Skill Formule Phenomenale: Differential Analysis, if Fagio’s Decoding Power is greater than 50, the second Prism Shot fired by Fagio at nearby opponents will deal 400% of its original DMG as Fagio’s Decoding Power is decreased.
Additionally, for every 10 points of Decoding Power Fagio loses, it gains 1 stack of Refined Tactics for 60s (max 10 stacks). When Sandrone uses the Elemental Burst Formule Phenomenale: Q.E.D. while in the Radiance: Stellar-Conduct state, all stacks of Refined Tactics are cleared, causing the Convective Inhibition Ray to deal 100% + (number of stacks cleared) × 10% of its original DMG.
While in the Radiance: Stellar-Conduct state, Sandrone’s A1 Passive buffs her Elemental Skill’s Stellar-Conduct damage and her Elemental Burst’s overall damage. In practice, you do not need to worry about Sandrone’s A1 Passive if you use her Burst immediately after her Skill.
Ascension 4 Passive | A Lady’s Code of Conduct
Talent Description
Increases Sandrone’s Elemental Mastery based on her ATK. Every 100 ATK will increase her Elemental Mastery by 8. The maximum increase she can gain this way is 160.
Sandrone’s A4 Passive grants a nice buff to her ATK based on her EM (maximum of 160 EM at 2000 ATK). Despite this, you should still prioritize ATK% stats when building her as the A4 buff converts EM less efficiently than ATK itself.
Stellar Passive | Light of Rationalisme
Talent Description
When party members trigger Superconduct, it will be changed to Stellar-Conduct, and party members’ Base Stellar-Conduct DMG will be increased based on Sandrone’s ATK: Every 100 ATK she has increases the Base Stellar-Conduct DMG by 0.7%. The maximum increase that can be gained this way is 14%.
Additionally, when Sandrone is within a Polestar Field, she will enter the Radiance: Stellar-Conduct state.
Sandrone’s Stellar Passive enables Stellar-Conduct and increases Base Stellar-Conduct DMG scaling with her total ATK.
Constellations
Sandrone’s Constellations provide fairly modest DPS increases through C4. Her C5 is negligible while her C6 is her most impactful Constellation, over doubling her personal damage compared to C0.
Constellation 1 | Morrow After the Golden Dusk
Constellation Description
When in Decoding mode, Fagio’s Decoding Power increases at a 50% lower rate, and all party members deal 30% increased Stellar-Conduct DMG.
Sandrone’s C1 grants a Stellar-Conduct DMG Bonus to the party and causes Fagio’s Charged Attacks to fire for more time before reaching 100 Decoding Power stacks. As such, Sandrone typically only fires 2 Charged Attacks per field at C1+.
Constellation 2 | An Heiress Gazed Into the Looking-Glass
Constellation Description
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: Increases CRIT DMG from Charged Attack condensed beams by 40%. Also, each time a beam is fired, CRIT DMG dealt by all condensed beams fired during this Decoding mode period will be further increased by 20%. Max 3 stacks.
Sandrone’s C2 provides a nice CRIT DMG buff to Fagio’s “condensed” beams. Each successive condensed beam during a single Charged Attack gains an additional CRIT DMG buff. At C6, Fagio’s Charged Attack’s final beam benefits from the net accumulated CRIT DMG stacks.
Constellation 3 | Refuse the Wake of Dusk, the Moonlit Yoke
Constellation Description
Increases the Level of Formule Phenomenale: Self-Evident Proposition by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A solid buff to Sandrone’s Normal Attack Talent, buffing her Charged Attack.
Constellation 4 | In Knowledge Lies the World’s True Ground
Constellation Description
When Sandrone deals Stellar-Conduct DMG to an opponent, she will also summon an extra Prismatic Resonance Cannon to fire off a coordinated attack which deals Cryo DMG at 125% of her ATK. This DMG is considered Stellar-Conduct DMG, and the effect can occur once every 4s.
Sandrone’s C4 allows her to deal additional Stellar-Conduct damage every 4s. This is a good buff to her personal damage.
Constellation 5 | Of All Beside, She Takes No Part
Constellation Description
Increases the Level of Formule Phenomenale: Q.E.D. by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A negligible buff to Sandrone’s Elemental Burst.
Constellation 6 | Narcissus Wakes, Her Eyes Upon the Dawn
Constellation Description
When Fagio fires a condensed beam for the third time while in Decoding mode, the beam becomes a more powerful Condensed Cluster Beam that fires continuously. This beam will deal up to 4 additional instances of AoE Cryo DMG at 100% of Sandrone’s ATK on top of any subsequent original beam fired.
Radiance: Stellar-Conduct: The Condensed Cluster Beam will instead deal 4 additional instances of AoE Cryo DMG at 80% of Sandrone’s ATK. This DMG is considered Stellar-Conduct DMG.
Additionally, all Stellar-Conduct DMG dealt by Sandrone is elevated by 20%.
Sandrone’s C6 grants a dramatic increase to her personal damage. After firing 3 typical “condensed” beams, Fagio’s beam deals 4 additional instances of damage that are considered Stellar-Conduct damage while Sandrone is in a Polestar Field. Moreover, this C6 elevates all of Sandrone’s Stellar-Conduct DMG by 20%.
C1 vs R1
Yae Miko is currently Sandrone’s best-in-slot teammate. You could prioritize obtaining Yae Miko and her C1 before considering Sandrone’s C1 or A Teaspoon of Transcendence. Obtaining Yae Miko and her C1 results in considerably greater team DPS gains compared to teams without Yae Miko.
If you lack 5-star Claymores better than Tidal Shadow, obtaining R1 A Teaspoon of Transcendence results in higher team DPS than obtaining Sandrone’s C1. If you already have a 5-star option or play Sandrone as a quickswap Stellar-Conduct enabler, then Sandrone’s C1 is a better option.
Combos
Combo Notation
- N = Normal Attack
- C = Charged Attack
- A = Aimed Shot
- P = Plunging Attack
- E = Elemental Skill
- tE = Tap Skill
- hE = Hold Skill
- Q = Elemental Burst
- D = dash (cancel)
- J = jump (cancel)
- W = walk (cancel)
- > = switch character
- ( ) = these actions are optional; please refer to the notes below
- [ ] = repeat these actions the specified number of times
Note that Sandrone’s combos may change as new combos are tested. More extensive testing is in progress.
| E 3[C E] (Q) | This is Sandrone’s default on-field combo at C0. She uses her Burst when available at the end of her field time or at least after using her Skill. |
| E 2[C E] (Q) | This is Sandrone’s default on-field combo at C1+. With Sandrone’s C1, Fagio’s Charged Attack can fire for a longer duration. As such, Sandrone typically only fits 2 Charged Attacks per field time. |
Skill Cancels
Sandrone can cancel her Skill to shorten her field time. This results in shorter rotations and small but worthwhile DPS gains. With either Skill cancel, there is a timing window that can be neither too early nor too late. If you cancel too early, Fagio cannot fully repair and the following Charged Attack’s beam will not fully fire. If you cancel too late, then you extend the rotation and lose DPS. It takes some practice to get the feel for, but it is fairly easy to execute consistently.
Please note that Sandrone is still completely playable and viable without Skill cancels if you do not wish to perform them.
| EN0 C | Sandrone can cancel her Skill animation with a Normal Attack (N1). This Normal Attack can in turn be quickly cancelled with her Charged Attack. As such, the Normal Attack does not finish nor deal damage, hence N0. |
| ED C | Sandrone can also cancel her Skill by dashing. The timing for this is similar to the N0 cancel, but it does require some Stamina consumption. |
Artifacts
ER Requirements
Calcs for ER requirements can be found here (last updated for Version 6.7).
Assumptions:
- Safe particle RNG and default enemy particles are assumed.
- 20s rotations are assumed.
- These teammates always hold Favonius: Beidou, Charlotte, Diona, Escoffier, Kuki Shinobu, Qiqi, Xilonen.
- If any of the aforementioned teammates do not hold Favonius or consistently trigger its passive, Sandrone’s ER requirement increases by 10–20%.
| Teammates | Burst Every Rotation | Burst Every Other |
| +1 Cryo | 130–165% | 100% |
| +2 Cryo or +2 Electro | 120–140% | 100% |
If Sandrone’s ER requirements are greater than 140%, it is typically a DPS loss to fully invest in ER, and she should instead focus on other stats. If this is the case, do not build ER and use her Burst when available.
Use the Energy Recharge Calculator to determine exact requirements for your team and rotation. For more details on how Favonius weapons will affect your team, please use Ac1d’s Favonius Mastersheet.
Artifact Stats
 Sands |  Goblet |  Circlet |
| ATK% | ATK% | CRIT |
Stat Priority: (ER until requirement) > CRIT > ATK% > EM
Sandrone’s primary source of damage stems from direct Stellar-Conduct damage, which scales with ATK, CRIT, and EM. The scaling with ATK is better than with EM, so ATK% should be prioritized. Moreover, Cryo DMG Bonus does not affect Stellar-Conduct damage, so ATK% Goblets are preferred.
Artifact Sets
Hover over artifact images for more information.
 4pc Disenchantment in Deep Shadows (DDS) | As an on-field Stellar-Conduct DPS Unit, 4pc DDS is Sandrone’s best artifact set by far. |
 4pc Gilded Dreams (GD) | 4pc GD is a good back-up option since Stellar-Conduct scales with ATK% and EM. If you don’t have 4pc DDS artifact pieces ready, then 4pc GD is the next-best set. |
 2pc ATK% or EM | 2pc ATK% + 2pc ATK% or 2pc EM artifact set combinations are fine options if neither 4pc DDS nor 4pc GD are available. 4pc A Day Carved From Rising Winds technically provides greater ATK% than 2pc ATK% + 2pc ATK% combinations, but you shouldn’t try to force the set if it has worse overall stats. |
Weapons
Hover over weapon images for more information.
 5★ A Teaspoon of Transcendence | A Teaspoon of Transcendence is Sandrone’s best-in-slot Claymore. Its high Base ATK and passive buffs are tailor-made for Sandrone. |
 5★ A Thousand Blazing Suns | A Thousand Blazing Suns is Sandrone’s second-best option thanks to its plethora of stats. |
 Other 5★ Claymores | Wolf’s Gravestone, Redhorn Stonethresher, Verdict, Beacon of the Reed Sea, The Unforged These 5-star Claymores all perform better than R5 Tidal Shadow in any team. Beacon of the Reed Sea becomes competitive with A Thousand Blazing Suns if Sandrone takes damage. The Unforged also becomes more competitive with a shielder (e.g. C6 Diona, C6 Beidou, or Nicole). |
 4★ Tidal Shadow | R5 Tidal Shadow is Sandrone’s best 4-star option in teams with a healer (e.g. Qiqi, Diona, or Escoffier). Even without a healer on the team, it is still one of the stronger 4-star Claymores available. Tidal Shadow is a free, accessible option whose blueprint is obtainable in Fontaine. |
 4★ Mailed Flower | In teams with a healer, R5 Mailed Flower performs on par with R5 Tidal Shadow. In teams without a healer, R5 Mailed Flower performs better. Mailed Flower was only obtainable during the Flagship Event of Version 3.5. |
  4★ Blackcliff Slasher, Serpent Spine | Blackcliff Slasher and Serpent Spine perform worse than R5 Tidal Shadow in teams with a healer. However, they are still good options if you lack billets to forge Tidal Shadow or the team lacks a healer. With Serpent Spine, Sandrone appreciates a shielder to avoid taking damage and losing stacks. |
Teams
Rotation Notation
- N = Normal Attack
- C = Charged Attack
- A = Aimed Shot
- P = Plunging Attack
- E = Elemental Skill
- tE = Tap Skill
- hE = Hold Skill
- Q = Elemental Burst
- D = dash (cancel)
- J = jump (cancel)
- W = walk (cancel)
- > = switch character
- ( ) = these actions are optional; please refer to the notes below
- [ ] = repeat these actions the specified number of times
On-Field Stellar-Conduct DPS
Sandrone’s typical team as an on-field Stellar-Conduct DPS unit consists of one Electro character, one other Cryo character, and a flex character who can be Electro, Cryo, or some type of buffer from another Element. An Electro teammate is required to enable Stellar-Conduct, while the second Cryo teammate increases her Stellar-Conduct damage thanks to their additional Cryo application and enabling of Cryo Resonance.
Notable Teammates
Electro
An Electro teammate is required to enable Stellar-Conduct via their Electro application.
 Yae Miko ★ | Yae Miko is Sandrone’s best-in-slot Electro teammate thanks to her personal damage and buffs to Stellar-Conduct damage. She becomes even better at C1.Yae Miko does not typically use her Burst in teams with Sandrone. |
 C6 Beidou | Beidou provides solid buffs at C6 to Stellar-Conduct damage. Her Burst also applies many instances of Electro in multi-target scenarios.Beidou is not worth considering as a Stellar-Conduct support prior to C6. |
Cryo
A Cryo teammate enables Cryo Resonance and contributes to Sandrone’s Stellar-Conduct damage.
 Qiqi ★ | Qiqi is one of Sandrone’s best Cryo teammates thanks to her buffs to Stellar-Conduct. She typically holds 4pc TotM and Favonius Sword prior to C6. Her Revelation Buffs to her Constellation make C2+ Qiqi even better for Sandrone. At C6 specifically, Qiqi’s Stellar-Conduct buff scales with her ATK stat, so she should use her Burst and equip a Sword that offers high ATK stats. 4pc Noblesse also becomes a viable artifact set option, especially if another teammate can hold 4pc TotM. Depending on the team, there may be some rotation adjustments to accommodate Qiqi’s Burst. |
 C6 Diona | At C6, Diona grants 200 EM and a 40% DMG buff to Stellar-Conduct to characters within her Burst AoE, which makes her one of the few viable buffers available. Diona is not worth considering as a Stellar-Conduct support prior to C6. |
 Escoffier | Escoffier grants Cryo RES Shred, decent off-field damage, consistent Cryo application, and healing for Tidal Shadow if needed. While she does not directly buff Stellar-Conduct, all the aforementioned factors make her a competitive support for Sandrone. Escoffier can hold Favonius Lance if available to help lower Sandrone’s and her teammates’ ER requirements. |
Flex
 Nicole | Nicole grants a solid ATK buff and shield. While she does not directly buff Stellar-Conduct, the current lack of competitive supports specifically for Stellar teams makes her a worthwhile option. As Nicole does not use her Burst nor does the team require Elemental DMG% buffs, Nicole should opt to maximize her ATK stat with a 2pc + 2pc ATK% combo in lieu of a 4pc artifact set. |
 Xilonen | Xilonen shreds enemy Cryo RES without the need to Swirl and can buff team EM by holding 4pc Instructor. |
 Sucrose | Sucrose shreds enemy Cryo RES with 4pc Viridescent Venerer and grants a nice EM buff to the team. She can hold R5 TTDS. |
 Iansan | Iansan grants a Flat ATK buff to Sandrone, especially at higher Constellation levels. Sandrone easily maintains full uptime on Iansan’s Burst buff as she can move around quickly with her Skill and Charged Attack. Since Stellar-Conduct does not scale with Elemental DMG Bonus, 4pc Noblesse is preferred over 4pc Scroll. |
 Bennett | Bennett grants a massive Flat ATK buff to Sandrone if she stays within his Burst AoE. He typically holds 4pc Noblesse and a high Base ATK Sword. |
  Columbina + Ineffa | Columbina and Ineffa form a Lunar-Charged team core that deals competitive team damage. While this team structure does not cater to Stellar-Conduct, it can be a viable alternative if you lack Stellar-Conduct–specific supports or the enemy scenario requires Lunar Reactions. |
Example Teams
This is not a comprehensive list of teams. The inclusion or exclusion of any given team does not necessarily reflect its power level.
This is one of Sandrone’s best team paradigms with Yae Miko and Qiqi as her core off-fielders. The last slot is fairly flexible without much DPS difference between them.
Sample Rotation (Escoffier)
Escoffier E (Q) > Yae Miko 3[E] > Qiqi E > Sandrone combo
Sample Rotation (Nicole)
Nicole E > Yae Miko 3[E] > Qiqi E > Sandrone combo
Sample Rotation (C6 Beidou)
Yae Miko 3[E] > Qiqi E > Beidou EQ > Sandrone combo
Sample Rotation (C6 Diona)
Yae Miko 3[E] > Qiqi E > Diona hEQ > Sandrone combo
This is a competitive team that swaps out Qiqi for Escoffier. Escoffier can feed her Skill’s particles to Sandrone.
Sample Rotation
Nicole E > Yae Miko 3[E] > Escoffier (Q)¹ E > Sandrone combo
¹Escoffier can use her Burst for healing.
This is a viable team if you happen to have both C6 Beidou and C6 Diona but lack Yae Miko and Qiqi. Sucrose or Xilonen shreds enemy Cryo RES and buffs the team’s EM.
Sample Rotation (Sucrose)
Beidou EQ > Diona hEQ > Sucrose E N1 > Sandrone combo
Sample Rotation (Xilonen)
Beidou EQ > Diona hEQ > Xilonen E N2 > Sandrone combo
This team allows you to admire the strong friendship between Sandrone and Columbina. Moreover, it is a viable alternative if you lack Stellar-Conduct–specifc supports or the enemy scenario requires Lunar Reactions.
Sample Rotation
Ineffa E (Q)¹ > Columbina E > Yae 3[E] > Sandrone combo
¹Burst whenever available.
Limited Roster Alternatives
These teams are meant for newer players whose limited roster prevents them from using the teams above; as such, the teams below result in lower damage output.
Kuki Shinobu provides steady off-field Electro application that still enables Sucrose to trigger a Cryo Swirl for 4pc Viridescent Venerer’s Cryo RES Shred.
Charlotte and Diona provide additional defensive utility. Diona’s shield is especially helpful to avoid Sandrone from becoming interrupted during her Charged Attack. Sucrose should hold TTDS to further buff Sandrone.
Sample Rotation (Charlotte)
Shinobu E > Charlotte EQ > Sucrose E N1 (Q)¹ > Sandrone combo (Shinobu Q)¹
¹Shinobu and Sucrose can alternate using their Bursts.
Sample Rotation (Diona)
Shinobu E > Diona hEQ > Sucrose E N1 (Q)¹ > Sandrone combo (Shinobu Q)¹
¹Shinobu and Sucrose can alternate using their Bursts.
Credits
Writer(s): irokei
Contributors: haafr, luke_260, not.logic, meow.jl, acerbus114, pulsar79.
Team images made with the KQM portrait generator.