Natlan Walkthrough 2026: Mualani Build, Obsidian Codex Route & Six Tribe Exploration Guide (5.0-5.5)

The first time I saw the People of the Springs settlement, I just stood there for a minute. Natlan's six tribes each have a completely distinct architectural style, from the cliffside dwellings of the Scions of the Canopy to the geothermal baths of the Springs. You can tell HoYoverse's art team went all in on this region after Fontaine's steampunk aesthetic.

But looking pretty doesn't help you clear content. I'm going to walk through what I actually did to get through Natlan's Archon Quest, build my characters, and farm the new domains without wasting resin on bad investments.

The Archon Quest path and what you unlock

Chapter V starts in the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. Immediately after the opening cutscene, you're thrown into the Pilgrimage of the Sacred Flame tournament, which functions as a tutorial for Natlan's combat mechanics. Pay attention during the tournament fights. They teach you Nightsoul Transmission, the instant character-switching mechanic that only works when you're standing in a Phlogiston-rich area. The timing window for Transmission is about half a second. Miss it and you do a normal character swap with the regular cooldown instead.

I messed this up repeatedly at first. What finally clicked for me was watching the character icons on the right side of the screen. When they glow with a gold border, Transmission is available. Don't look at the battlefield. Watch the icons.

After the tournament, the quest splits you across the six tribes: Children of Echoes (Nanatzcayan), Scions of the Canopy (Huitztlan), People of the Springs (Meztli), Masters of the Night-Wind (Mictlan), Flower-Feather Clan (Tlalocan), and the Collective of Plenty (Teteocan). Each gives you access to a different Saurian Indwelling ability. Don't skip the exploration in these tribal areas. The world quests in each territory unlock Phlogiston Spiritways, which are basically liquid highways that let you surf across the map at high speed. Mualani's skill works on these Spiritways even outside of combat, which makes her the best traversal character in the region by a mile.

And here's something the game doesn't emphasize enough: each tribe has its own Tribal Chronicle, a 3-act narrative questline that replaces traditional Story Quests in Natlan. Completing them gives reputation XP and unlocks character stories. The Children of Echoes Chronicle is particularly good. It ties into the Night Kingdom lore in ways that make the Archon Quest finale hit harder if you've done it first.

Character builds that pulled me through

I pulled Mualani on her first banner and she carried me through the entire 5.0-5.5 story content. She's a Hydro catalyst user whose skill puts her in a surfing state. While surfing, her normal attacks become shark bites that scale off her max HP. The numbers get silly: at level 80 with a half-built Obsidian Codex set, I was seeing 18k per bite without any reactions. With Vaporize from Xiangling's Pyronado, those bites hit 38k.

Build her with Obsidian Codex 4-piece. HP% sands, Hydro DMG goblet, Crit Rate circlet. For weapons, the craftable Ring of Yaxche is genuinely competitive with her signature. The HP% substat on it is higher than some 5-star catalysts. Talent priority is skill first, then burst, and normal attacks you can leave at level 1 because her surfing state replaces them entirely.

Kinich took me longer to figure out. He's a Dendro claymore user with a grappling hook skill that pulls him toward enemies or terrain. The grappling hook is amazing for exploration and useful in combat for gap-closing, but his real role is enabling Burning and Burgeon teams. Put him on 4-piece Deepwood Memories if nobody else has it, or 4-piece Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City if you're using him as the sole Natlan support. EM sands, Dendro DMG goblet, Crit Rate circlet.

The thing about Kinich is that his damage ceiling isn't as high as Mualani's, but his team utility is better. He can hold Scroll of the Hero and give the whole party a 12% elemental damage bonus whenever he triggers a Nightsoul-aligned reaction. That's a smaller buff than Kazuha's VV shred, but it doesn't require swirling and it lasts 20 seconds instead of 10.

Kachina is free after the first Archon Quest chapter and I genuinely think she's underrated. She rides a giant drill called Turbo Twirly that deals Geo damage in an area. It's goofy looking but the damage adds up, especially in AoE situations. Build her with 4-piece Scroll of the Hero as the trigger, DEF% sands, Geo DMG goblet, Crit Rate circlet. Favonius Lance is her best weapon for team energy generation.

The artifact domain you'll live in

Sanctum of Rainbow Spirits. It's in the northwest part of Natlan, near the Masters of the Night-Wind territory (Mictlan). The domain drops Obsidian Codex and Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City, which are the two artifact sets that every Natlan character wants. Obsidian Codex gives a stacking damage bonus whenever the wearer consumes Nightsoul points. Scroll of the Hero gives the whole party an elemental damage buff when the wearer triggers a Nightsoul Burst reaction.

If you're building any Natlan character, you farm this domain. That's it. There's no complicated routing decision. The domain enemies are two waves of tribal warriors with Pyro shields, so bring a Hydro character to break them quickly. Furina or Xingqiu both work. Clear time is about 50 seconds with a decent team.

I spent roughly 1200 resin here over two weeks and got full sets for Mualani, Kinich, and Kachina. The drop distribution felt balanced between the two sets, maybe slightly favoring Scroll. Your mileage will vary because artifact RNG is what it is.

Exploration things I wish I knew earlier

Phlogiston Spiritways are the glowing orange liquid paths that snake through Natlan's terrain. You can surf on them with Mualani or glide above them with any character's wind glider for a speed boost. They connect most major landmarks, so if you're trying to reach a waypoint and the path seems unnecessarily long, look for a Spiritway nearby. The map doesn't always make them obvious.

Coilgrass Sigils are those orange vine things that form bridges when you interact with them. They appear near cliff edges and lava pools. You need a Natlan character in your party to activate them. You don't need to be actively controlling them. Just having one in the party is enough.

For Saurian Indwelling, the six types each solve different exploration puzzles. Tepetlisaurus lets you burrow through soft ground marked with cracks. Yumkasaurus gives a grappling hook for reaching high ledges. Koholasaurus lets you swim through liquid Phlogiston. Qucusaurus lets you fly through Phlogiston Wind Tunnels. Iktomisaurus highlights hidden objects and paths. Tatankasaurus lets you charge through breakable walls. The indwelling points are marked on the minimap with a saurian head icon. Don't ignore them. Half the chests in Natlan require indwelling to access.

One last thing about the tribe reputation system. Each of the six tribes has its own reputation track with 4 levels, separate from the main Natlan reputation. Maxing each tribe gives you a unique gadget. The Children of Echoes give a gadget that maps nearby underground caves on the minimap, which is genuinely useful because Natlan has a lot of underground areas that don't show up on the main map until you enter them. The Scions of the Canopy reward a wind glider speed boost for the floating islands. Get that second.

Also, Natlan released on August 28, 2024, with subsequent tribal areas added in Version 5.2 (November 2024) and Version 5.5 (March 2025). If you're reading this after future patches, some tribe territories may have expanded further. The interactive map on HoYoLab stays current. Use it.