Zhongli Guide and Best Builds for Genshin Impact
Zhongli is the Geo Archon of Liyue and a 5-star Polearm Character in Genshin Impact who brings some of the strongest shields and even the unique ability to petrify enemies for a period making him incredibly flexible in a wide range of teams.
Zhongli Strengths and Weaknesses
- The strongest shield in the game
- Shield gives a 20% resistance shred increasing DPS
- Incredibly flexible, can be used in a large range of team comps
- Elemental Burst petrifies enemies
- Shields have no impact on corrosion attacks
- Burst can result in a DPS loss due to its long animation
- Low energy generation
Shielder Zhongli
The aim of this build is entirely just to focus on increasing shield strength to its highest potential regardless of the actual damage output. This offers lower damage but can have an incredibly low investment allowing you to have an effective Zhongli for little resin.
BiS Weapon | Black Tassel |
Alternative Weapons |
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Best Artifacts |
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Main Stats |
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Substat Priority |
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Talent Priority |
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Black Tassel is currently the strongest weapon simply due to its high HP scaling even though it is a 3-star. Dialogues of the Desert Sages still has less HP and Zhongli can only utilise the Energy saving passive if they have Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator (C6) while Rightful Reward provides less HP but instead offers additional Energy Recharge.
Due to the focus on an easy-to-build character the only substat you need to worry about is HP %. If you did want to increase your damage and you feel your shield strength is excessive you could transition to a Geo Goblet / CRIT Circlet.
If you are using him just for shields you only really need to worry about leveling the Elemental Skill, Dominus Lapidis with the burst being a much lower priority if you have other characters still to invest in.
Burst Support Zhongli
Focusing on damage instead of simply pure shields does require more investment but provides a lot more damage. This build is even more useful with Zhongli's C2, Stone, the Cradle of Jade with shields being applied from Planet Befall. The effects of Stone, the Cradle of Jade also apply to your entire party making Zhongli effective on co-op.
BiS Weapon | Staff of Homa |
Alternative Weapons |
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Best Artifacts |
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Main Stats |
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Substat Priority |
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Talent Priority |
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Staff of Homa is by far the best weapon for this build, but players will often use it on different characters. As a result, the alternate weapons become better options, especially if another Polearm character is in your party.
For sands it partially depends on your own experiences on how effective the shield is for you and if you need the HP %. Both stats are useful but ATK % will be the more optimal choice for damage.
Combos and How to Play Zhongli
Zhongli's main focus is on his shield, simply hold your elemental skill, Dominus Lapidis, to create a shield. Zhongli's placement of the Stone Steles can be very important however, if placed at a bad angle or against larger enemies it may automatically break losing you any benefits outside of the shield.
Planet Befall summons a meteor in front of your character meaning that positioning of your character and grouping of enemies is important to ensure enemies are petrified. When petrified you have the ability to easily set up additional reactions and support your team without interruption.
Zhongli's Best Team Comps
Zhongli is an incredibly versatile support character and is often used with a wide range of teams. As a general rule, Zhongli is best when with Geo characters or characters who really need the stagger resistance such as Bow characters. However, you can fit him into any team that does not require a healer or shielder of a specific element for reactions.
Zhongli Mono Geo
Main DPS | Sub DPS | Support | Support |
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Arataki Itto | Albedo | Zhongli | Gorou |
Mono Geo teams are common for Geo characters allowing you to take advantage of Geo Resonance and resistance shred. Zhongli's pillars created with Dominus Lapidis, react with other constructs such as those created by Geo Traveler allowing the pulse to transfer to other constructs increasing damage.
Ganyu Melt Team
Main DPS | Sub DPS | Support | Support |
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Ganyu | Xiangling | Bennett | Zhongli |
Many of Ganyu's best compositions aim to create a Melt reaction to achieve high damage, to successfully do this Ganyu needs to be able to charge attack without interruption which is where Zhongli comes into play. Great shields and interruption resistance from Zhongli with Geo meaning it will not interfere with Melt.
Lyney Pyro Team
Main DPS | Sub DPS | Support | Support |
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Lyney | Xiangling | Bennett | Zhongli |
Much like the previous comp, Lyney's damage primarily comes from charged attacks. Zhongli provides interruption resistance meaning Lyney can easily deal high damage. Kazuha is a great alternate to Xiangling.
Neuvillette Hypercarry
Main DPS | Support | Support | Support |
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Neuvillette | Tartaglia | Kaedehara Kazuha | Zhongli |
Neuvillette is an incredibly powerful character who heavily benefits from Zhongli's resistance interruption, resistance shred as well as an increased damage bonus from Neuvillette's 1st Ascension passive, Heir to the Ancient Sea's Authority. Childe in this situation is here for Hydro as well as his ability to increase talent levels by 1.
Zhongli's Ascensions, Talents, and Constellations
Zhongli Ascension Passives and Materials
Unlock | Ascension Passive | Explanation |
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With Character | Arcanum of Crystal | Refunds 15% of the ore used when crafting Polearm-type weapons. |
1st Ascension | Resonant Waves |
When the Jade Shield (from Dominus Lapidis) takes DMG, it will Fortify.
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4th Ascension | Dominance of Earth |
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Zhongli requires a range of materials to ascend to the 6th ascension. Starting from the second ascension, he gain additional Geo Damage as his bonus stat giving a total of 28.5% increased Geo Damage at the final ascension. The total cost to upgrade all ascensions is:
Source | Quantity |
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Mora | 420,000 Mora |
Boss Material | 46x Basalt Pillar |
Ascension Material | |
Local Specialty | 168x Cor Lapis |
Enhancement Material |
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Zhongli's Talents
Listed below is each talent and a simplified explanation of how they work.
Type | Talent Name | Brief Explanation |
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Normal | Normal Attack: Rain of Stone | Standard normal attack dealing 6 hits. |
Elemental Skill | Dominus Lapidis |
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Elemental Burst | Planet Befall | AoE meteor in front of Zhongli dealing Geo damage and Petrifies opponents. |
To upgrade a single talent to level 10, it costs:
Source | Quantity |
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Mora | 1,625,500 Mora |
Special Material | 1x Crown of Insight |
Boss Material | 6x Tusk of Monoceros Caeli |
Domain Material |
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Enhancement Material |
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Zhongli's Constellations
Zhongli's best constellations are Stone, the Cradle of Jade and Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless. With C2 providing alternate build options and C4 being handy quality of life improvements. Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator is interesting in a sense due to turning Zhongli into a potential healer, but is not something to aim for.
# | Name | Explanation |
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C1 | Rock, the Backbone of Earth | Increases the maximum number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist simultaneously to 2. |
C2 | Stone, the Cradle of Jade | Planet Befall grants nearby characters on the field a Jade Shield when it descends. |
C3 | Jade, Shimmering through Darkness |
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C4 | Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless | Increases Planet Befall's AoE by 20% and increases the duration of Planet Befall's Petrification effect by 2s. |
C5 | Lazuli, Herald of the Order |
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C6 | Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator |
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Changelog
- 03 Jun. 2024: Reviewed for 4.7.
- 13 Mar. 2024: Updated Shieldbot build with new spear for 4.5.
- 31 Jan. 2024: Guide reviewed for Patch 4.4.
- 29 Nov. 2023: Guide added.
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Shikhu (Discord - Shikhu) is an avid Genshin Impact player who has been exploring Teyvat since the game has launched. He has experienced all the game has to offer from building his favorite characters, exploring the world to clearing Spiral Abyss each rotation. His favorite character being his C6 Furina.