There is a plethora of characters in Genshin Impact. Some are geared towards dealing damage while others take on a support role. However, one character can easily take on both tasks; he’s called Zhongli.
While this pretty much works in your favor, knowing how to make the best use of him is tougher than it looks. Especially when there are so many weapons and artifacts that just seem to be perfect for Zhongli.
In this guide, we will analyze Zhongli as a character to find out what works best for him to become the sideline carry every team needs.
With that said, let’s jump right in and get started!
Who Is Zhongli In Genshin Impact?
Zhongli, or Zhōnglí (钟离) is a Geo-type playable character in Genshin Impact. He’s the current vessel of the Geo Archon, Morax. This information is only revealed later on in the game.
While the exact reason hasn’t been revealed in detail, Morax has decided to experience the world from a Mortal’s perspective, thus giving birth to the Legend of Zhongli.
While having the bearing of a God, Zhongli enjoys his time in the mortal world, severing every enemy in his path to main stability and control.
He doesn’t seem to have any interest in conquest but is fairly familiar with the art of battle.
Builds For Zhongli In Genshin Impact
As mentioned previously, Zhongli is almost one with the Geo element and can pretty much wield any polearm to become a menace on the frontlines.
However, he’s a hybrid that can become both a carry and support as long as the conditions are right. With that said, here’s what you will be building on Zhongli:
Best Weapons On Zhongli
While Zhongli does well with most burst builds, he can still do just as well by opting for more defensive options.
To maintain a good balance between both aspects, we recommend going the following weapons:
Staff of Homa
This is a 5-star Polearm weapon that’s essentially obtainable from Weapon Event Wishes. Due to its rarity, the damage numbers can often rack up to insane heights.
This weapon increases your base HP by 20 – 40% while providing ATK bonuses according to 0.8 – 1.6% of your maximum HP. Essentially, it’s a tailor-made weapon for bruisers.
In addition to the mentioned bonuses, your attack damage experiences an additional 1 – 1.8% of your max HP increment whenever your HP falls below the 50% mark.
Having said that, here’s what the Staff of Homa is capable of in terms of raw stats:
Base ATK (LVL 1 – 90) | 2nd Stat Type | 2nd Stat (LVL 1-90) |
46 – 608 | CRIT DMG |
14.4% – 66.2% |
The HP-scaled bonuses will deactivate as soon as you leave the battlefield. Therefore, you need to hold your ground there in order to make the most out of the Staff of Homa.
This weapon was available during the following events:
- Epitome Invocation ( 2021-02-23 ): This wish was previously available from February 23, 2021 – March 16, 2021.
- Epitome Invocation ( 2021-11-02 ): This wish was previously available from November 2, 2021 – November 23, 2021.
Once you have the Staff of Homa in your grasp, be sure to prepare the following materials to cover its ascension costs:
Item |
Quantity |
Mora |
225,000 |
Grain of Aerosiderite |
5 |
Piece of Aerosiderite |
14 |
Bit of Aerosiderite |
14 |
Chunk of Aerosiderite |
6 |
Dead Ley Line Branch |
23 |
Dead Ley Line Leaves |
27 |
Dead Ley Line Sprout |
41 |
Slime Condensate |
15 |
Slime Secretions |
23 |
Slime Concentrate |
27 |
Black Tassel (Optional)
Despite its 3-star rarity, the Black Tassel is an exceptionally strong polearm – especially in the game’s early stages.
Slimes can be the Geo character’s biggest enemy, making the Black Tassel a perfect counter against them.
It essentially increases your base DMG against a being of slime race by 40 – 80%. This metric is dependent on the refinement levels.
The Black Tassel is only preferable during early levels of your gameplay as it’s not worth your complete investment due to its rarity.
Having said that, here’s what the weapon is capable of in terms of raw stats:
Base ATK (LVL 1-90) | 2nd Stat Type | 2nd Stat (LvL 1-90) |
38 – 354 | HP |
10.2% – 46.9% |
This bonus ensures you’re always tanky enough to cast and absorb as many shields as needed while providing a good cover for your team.
Having said that, you’d be able to obtain this weapon from the following sources:
- Standard Wish (Wanderlust Invocation): Can be obtained indefinitely.
- Beginner’s Wish: Can be obtained until all 20 wishes are exhausted.
- Character Event Wishes: Can be obtained indefinitely.
- Weapon Event Wishes: Can be obtained indefinitely.
- Orban Dialog Reward: Can be obtained as long as the reward is triggered.
On that note, the Ascension of a 3-star polearm is not that costly, but it can still set you back in the following amounts:
Item |
Quantity |
Mora |
105,000 |
Grain of Aerosiderite |
2 |
Piece of Aerosiderite |
6 |
Bit of Aerosiderite |
6 |
Chunk of Aerosiderite |
3 |
Fragile Bone Shard | 10 |
Sturdy Bone Shard |
12 |
Fossilized Bone Shard |
18 |
Firm Arrowhead |
6 |
Sharp Arrowhead |
10 |
Weathered Arrowhead |
12 |
Primordial Jade Winged Spear (Optional)
The Primordial Jade Winged Spear is an exceptionally good 5 star Liyue Polearm that can push Zhongli into the pure DPS realm.
It essentially increases your On-Hit ATK by 3.2 – 6.0% for the next 6 seconds. This effect can stack up to 7 times but can only occur every 0.3s.
You will experience an additional 12 – 24% boost in damage once you reach maximum stacks. This enables the weapon to melt the tankiest of opponents with sheer ease.
In terms of stats, the Primordial Jade Winged Spear can do the following:
Base ATK (LVL 1-90) | 2nd Stat Type | 2nd Stat (LvL 1-90) |
48 – 674 | CRIT Rate |
4.8% – 22.1% |
Since the weapon relies heavily on stacks, we recommend you weave in as many hits as possible to deal the most amounts of damage.
Having said that, you can obtain it from the following sources as long as you have sufficient luck:
- Standard Wish (Wanderlust Invocation): You have an indefinite chance of obtaining the polearm weapon.
- Weapon Event Wishes: Can be obtained from any event wish. However, it had a boosted drop rate in the following ones:
- Epitome Invocation ( 2021-02-23 ): This wish was previously available from February 3, 2021 – February 23, 2021.
- Epitome Invocation ( 2021-01-02 ): This wish was previously available from January 5, 2022 – January 25, 2022.
- Epitome Invocation ( 2021-05-31 ): This wish was previously available from May 31, 2022 – June 21, 2022.
With that out of the way, the ascension costs of this weapon will set you back the following amounts:
Item |
Quantity |
Mora |
225,000 |
Luminous Sands from Guyun |
5 |
Lustrous Stone from Guyun |
14 |
Relic from Guyun |
14 |
Divine Body from Guyun |
6 |
Hunter’s Sacrificial Knife |
23 |
Agent’s Sacrificial Knife |
27 |
Inspector’s Sacrificial Knife |
41 |
Recruit’s Insignia |
15 |
Sergeant’s Insignia |
23 |
Lieutenant’s Insignia |
27 |
Best Artifacts On Zhongli
As a being of both worlds, there aren’t a whole lot of incompatible Artifacts for Zhongli. Anything goes as long as it works in sync with his abilities and playstyle intent.
However, you’d have to specifically look for the following sets in order to get the most value out of him:
Tenacity of the Millelith
This artifact set is available in 4-star and 5-star rarities and includes 5 main component pieces. There are unique set bonuses at the 2-piece and 4-piece marks.
This set consists of:
- Flower of Life: Flower of Accolades
- Plume of Death: Ceremonial War-Plume
- Sands of Eon: Orichalceous Time-Dial
- Goblet of Eonothem: Noble’s Pledging Vessel
- Circlet of Logos: General’s Ancient Helm
Once the mentioned set items have been obtained, the following bonuses will automatically activate upon equipping:
2 – Piece Bonus
This bonus increases your base HP by 20%, making Zhongli tankier than before.
4 – Piece Bonus
Whenever your elemental skill hits an opponent, your nearby party member’s attack is increased by 20%. Consequently, their shield strength also experiences a boost of 30%.
This effect lasts for the next 4 seconds and can be triggered once every 0.5 seconds. Upon reactivation, the timer will reset, and the effect can be triggered even when your character is no longer on the battlefield.
How To Obtain
Both the 4-star and 5-star variants of the Tenacity of the Millelith set can be obtained from the Ridge watch.
This is a domain located in the mountainous area between Mondstadt and Liyue. You’d have to challenge and clear the higher levels of this domain to gain this artifact.
Archaic Petra
This golden Artifact Set is available in 4-star and 5-star rarities, respectively. Just like the Tenacity of the Millelith, this one also comprises five main artifacts.
With that said, here’s what you need to get in order to complete the Archaic Petra set:
- Flower of Life: Flower of Creviced Cliff
- Plume of Death: Feather of Jagged Peaks
- Sands of Eon: Sundial of Enduring Jade
- Goblet of Eonothem: Goblet of Chiseled Crag
- Circlet of Logos: Mask of Solitude Basalt
Once you’ve collected these items, the following set bonuses will automatically activate:
2 – Piece Bonus
Your Geo DMG bonus is increased by 15%, and since Zhongli is a Geo character, the Archaic Petra essentially ramps up his damage to configure him into a DPS carry.
4 – Piece Bonus
Whenever you obtain an Elemental Shard that’s created specifically through a Crystallize Reaction, your party members gain a 35% DMG bonus on that specific element. This effect lasts for a total of 10 seconds.
However, the bonus can only be activated for a certain element – there’s no room for simultaneous activation.
How To Obtain
This Archaic Petra set can be obtained by challenging the Domain of Guyun. Simply keep clearing the levels in order for the reward to increase in quality, and you’ll eventually have the complete set!
What’s The Best DPS Team For Zhongli?
Zhongli is generally picked for his support capabilities. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s not a good main DPS.
Rather, he works the best as long as he’s given the spotlight. With that said, here’s how you can incorporate Zhongli as the main carry:
Itto
Just like Zhongli, Itto is a sub-support DPS that can take on both roles pretty easily. He possesses a high base CRIT Rate and great taunts to keep up with Zhongli’s momentum-based damage.
However, since he’s a bit costly on the energy costs, Itto is best used as a sub DPS carry instead of the main one.
Gorou
Gorou acts as a secondary sub-DPS of the team that can not only boost overall defense but can also heal all the characters in your team while providing Geo-based buffs.
He’s pretty good as long as the entire team is Mono-Geo. Therefore, he’s your go-to for an OTP team with Zhongli as the main Damage.
Albedo
Albedo is the team’s main support due to his effectiveness in providing large bursts of Supplemental Geo DMG.
Since his Elemental Skill is pretty much Spammable, you’d be able to buff Zhongli to become a one-man army.
Zhongli: Ability Rundown
You can do a lot with weapons and abilities. However, Zhongli’s main kit revolves around his abilities. Therefore, you’d need to have a good grasp of how he works in order to make him shine.
With that said, here’s how his abilities work:
Basic Attack: Rain Of Stone
Zhongli’s basic attack performs six consecutive strikes of his spear. This damage can scale accordingly with the level of your basic attack.
Therefore, the damage numbers can scale as follows:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1-Hit DMG (%) | 30.77 | 33.27 | 35.78 | 39.36 | 41.86 | 44.72 | 48.66 | 52.59 | 56.53 | 60.82 | 65.74 |
2-Hit DMG (%) | 31.15 | 33.69 | 36.22 | 39.85 | 42.38 | 45.28 | 49.26 | 53.25 | 57.23 | 61.58 | 66.56 |
3-Hit DMG (%) | 38.58 | 41.72 | 44.86 | 49.34 | 52.48 | 56.07 | 61 | 65.94 | 70.87 | 76.26 | 82.42 |
4-Hit DMG (%) | 42.94 | 46.43 | 49.93 | 54.92 | 58.42 | 62.41 | 67.9 | 73.4 | 78.89 | 84.88 | 91.74 |
5-Hit DMG (%) | 10.75 × 4 | 11.63 × 4 | 12.5 × 4 | 13.75 × 4 | 14.63 × 4 | 15.63 × 4 | 17 × 4 | 18.38 × 4 | 19.75 × 4 | 21.25 × 4 | 22.97 × 4 |
6-Hit DMG (%) | 54.5 | 58.93 | 63.37 | 69.7 | 74.14 | 79.21 | 86.18 | 93.15 | 100.12 | 107.73 | 116.44 |
Charged Attack
Zhongli’s Charged Attack consumes a chunk of his Stamina to lunge in the forward direction while causing stone spears to fall behind him in the path of the dash.
Here’s how his damage numbers fare:
Charged Attack |
|||||||||||
Level |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
Charged Attack DMG (%) | 111.03 | 120.06 | 129.1 | 142.01 | 151.05 | 161.38 | 175.58 |
189.78 |
203.98 | 219.47 | 237.22 |
Charged Attack Stamina Cost |
25 |
Plunging Attack
Upon jumping mid-air, Zhongli strikes down the ground below while damaging any opponents that manage to get caught in his path.
This type of attack deals AOE Damage, which can ramp to the following amounts:
Plunging Attack |
|||||||||||
Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 |
Plunge DMG (%) |
63.93 | 69.14 | 74.34 | 81.77 | 86.98 | 92.92 | 101.1 | 109.28 | 117.46 | 126.38 | 135.3 |
Low Plunge DMG (%) | 127.84 | 138.24 | 148.65 | 163.51 | 173.92 | 185.81 | 202.16 | 218.51 | 234.86 | 252.7 |
270.54 |
High Plunge DMG (%) |
159.68 | 172.67 | 185.67 | 204.24 | 217.23 | 232.09 | 252.51 | 272.93 | 293.36 | 315.64 |
337.92 |
Dominus Lapidis: Elemental Skill
This skill harnesses the power of the earth to fill every inch of land, including mountains and rocks, with the power of Geo.
Once ready, the skill can be unleashed in the following ways:
Press
Zhongli commands the power to conjure a Stone Stele for him.
Hold
Causes the filled energy nearby to explode, resulting in the following effects:
- Create a Stone Stele if the maximum number hasn’t been reached yet.
- Create a Jade Shield that absorbs damage based on Zhongli’s maximum HP.
- Deal AOE Geo damage to the surrounding enemies.
- Drains a large amount of Geo element from nearby targets (given they have Geo element) (maximum number of targets is 2).
Stone Stele
Deals AOE Geo DMG upon creation and can intermittently resonate with nearby Geo Constructs while dealing damage to surrounding enemies.
The Stone Stele itself is also a Geo Construct that blocks attacks and is climbable. Zhongli can only have a single slate active at one time by default.
Jade Shield
Zhongli’s DMG absorption increases by 150% against all kinds of Elemental and Physical DMG. The characters that are protected by this effect will lower the Elemental and Physical Res of the nearby opponents.
Unfortunately, for now, this is a singular effect, so there’s no stacking involved.
Damage Scaling
The damage of Dominus Lapidis is dealt in the following numbers by default:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stone Stele/Resonance DMG (%) | 16/32 | 17.2/34.4 | 18.4/36.8 | 20.0/40.0 | 21.2/42.4 | 22.4/44.8 | 24.0/48.0 | 25.6/51.2 | 27.2/54.4 | 28.8/57.6 | 30.4/60.8 | 32/64 | 34/68 | 36/72 |
Press CD | 4s | |||||||||||||
Hold DMG (%) | 80 | 86 | 92 | 100 | 106 | 112 | 120 | 128 | 136 | 144 | 152 | 160 | 170 | 180 |
Shield Base Absorption | 1232 | 1355 | 1489 | 1633 | 1787 | 1951 | 2126 | 2310 | 2506 | 2711 | 2927 | 3153 | 3389 | 3636 |
Additional Shield Absorption (% Max HP) | 12.80 | 13.76 | 14.72 | 16.00 | 16.96 | 17.92 | 19.20 | 20.48 | 21.76 | 23.04 | 24.32 | 25.60 | 27.20 | 28.80 |
Shield Duration | 20s | |||||||||||||
CD (hold) | 12s |
Planet Befall: Elemental Burst
Zhongli conjures a meteor to fall down to earth. Upon contact, the meteor deals a massive amount of Geo DMG to the target caught in the attack radius.
This ability applies Petrification status to each enemy hit.
Petrification
As the name suggests, any enemy with this status active will be unable to move.
Damage Scaling
Here’s the amount of vanilla damage the Element Burst Skill is able to unleash:
Levels | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Skill DMG (%) | 401.08 | 444.44 | 487.8 | 542 | 590.78 | 639.56 | 704.6 | 769.64 | 834.68 | 899.72 | 964.76 | 1029.8 | 1084 | 1138 |
Petrification Duration | 3.1s | 3.2s | 3.3s | 3.4s | 3.5s | 3.6s | 3.7s | 3.8s | 3.9s | 4s | ||||
CD | 12s | |||||||||||||
Energy Cost | 40 |
Zhongli – Passive Talents
Zhongli possesses a total of three passive talents that activate automatically in and out of the battle – depending on their specific criteria.
They boost his overall damage while also making him sturdy against stronger enemies.
Having said that, here’s how these talents work:
Resonant Waves – Ascension 1 Talent
Your Jade Shield will fortify upon taking damage. This essentially boosts your Shield’s strength by 5%. This effect can be stacked 5 times and stays until the Jade Shield disappears.
Dominance of Earth – Ascension 4 Talent
Zhongli’s damage-dealing capabilities are increased according to his HP, thereby allowing him to experience a DMG increase in the following areas:
- Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks: Total DMG is increased by 1.39% of your Max HP.
- Dominus Lapidis – Stone Stele, Resonance, and Hold: Your DMG is increased by 1.9% of your Max HP.
- Planet Befall: Your DMG is increased by 33% of your Max HP.
Arcanum of Crystal – Automatic Unlock
This forging type ability refunds 15% of the materials you use while forging Polearm-type Weapons.
Zhongli – Constellations
Zhongli has a total of six constellations that are distributed according to his level and rank. While some of them are just for a nice roundup of his kit, others are just insane in terms of value.
You’d need one Zhongli’s Stella Fortuna for each Constellation Activation. Having said that, here’s what each constellation does:
Level 1 Constellation – Rock, the Backbone of Earth
This constellation essentially increments Zhongli’s maximum number of Stone Steles that are created with the help of Dominus Lapidis to 2.
This number is linked to the simultaneous existence of Stone Steles; Zhongli has no limit on the number of creations otherwise.
Level 2 Constellation – Stone, the Cradle of Jade
Your ally characters on the field gain a Jade Shield whenever Planet Befall strikes the area.
Level 3 Constellation – Jade, Shimmering through Darkness
Dominus Lapidis experiences a 3-level increment. However, the maximum upgrade level for this is capped at 15.
Level 4 Constellation – Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless
The AOE Damage of Planet Befall is further increased by 20%, while the duration of the Petrification effect is increased by another 2 seconds.
Level 5 Constellation – Lazuli, Herald of the Order
Planet Befall experiences a 3-level increment. However, the maximum upgrade level for this is capped at 15.
Level 6 Constellation – Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator
40% of the damage hitting the Jade Shield is converted to HP for your current character.
However, the regen numbers are capped at 8% for a single instance.
Zhongli’s Ascension: Stats And Material Costs
Here are all the ascension bonuses and material costs associated with leveling up Zhongli to be your main DPS:
AscensionPhase |
Level |
BaseHP |
BaseATK |
BaseDEF |
Special Stat |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0✦ | 1/20 | 1143 | 19 | 57 | — |
20/20 | 2967 | 50 | 148 | ||
Ascension Cost (0 → 1) |
|||||
1✦ | 20/40 | 3948 | 67 | 198 | — |
40/40 | 5908 | 100 | 296 | ||
Ascension Cost (1 → 2) |
|||||
2✦ | 40/50 | 6604 | 112 | 331 | 7.2% |
50/50 | 7599 | 129 | 381 | ||
Ascension Cost (2 → 3) |
|||||
3✦ | 50/60 | 8528 | 145 | 428 | 14.4% |
60/60 | 9532 | 162 | 478 | ||
Ascension Cost (3 → 4) |
|||||
4✦ | 60/70 | 10229 | 174 | 513 | 14.4% |
70/70 | 11243 | 192 | 564 | ||
Ascension Cost (4 → 5) |
|||||
5✦ | 70/80 | 11940 | 204 | 599 | 21.6% |
80/80 | 12965 | 221 | 650 | ||
Ascension Cost (5 → 6) |
|||||
6✦ | 80/90 | 13662 | 233 | 685 | 28.8% |
90/90 | 14695 | 251 | 737 |
Zhongli: Talent Upgrade Materials
Here’s everything you need to evolve Zhongli’s Talents:
Talent Level |
Required
Ascension |
Mora
|
Common Materials
|
Talent Level-Up Materials
|
||
1 → 2 | 2✦ |
12,500
|
6
|
3
|
||
2 → 3 |
3✦ |
17,500
|
3
|
2
|
||
3 → 4 |
25,000
|
4
|
4
|
|||
4 → 5 |
4✦ |
30,000
|
6
|
6
|
||
5 → 6 |
37,500
|
9
|
9
|
|||
6 → 7 |
5✦ |
120,000
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
|
7 → 8 |
260,000
|
6
|
6
|
1
|
||
8 → 9 |
6✦ |
450,000
|
9
|
12
|
2
|
|
9 → 10 |
700,000
|
12
|
16
|
2
|
1
|
Zhongli: Dominance of Earth: Lore & Ability Showcase
Here is the official showcase of what Zhongli is capable of:
Conclusion
All in all, Zhongli is a pretty calculative character in terms of playstyle. His kit is a mix of both DPS and Defense. He can heal his team and defend them from attacks while dealing a bunch of damage.
However, you’d need to invest heavily into the Geo element in order to make him work. However, if you do manage to get it right, then Zhongli is one of the best all-rounders in Genshin Impact!