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Genshin Impact Sethos guide and build

Genshin Impact's Sethos is here, so lets see how to build him into a smashing electro DPS equipped with the best bow and artifacts.

Genshin Impact Sethos' splash art on a purple background

The Sumeru roster keeps expanding, this time with Genshin Impact’s Sethos – we meet him in Cyno’s second story quest, and he has an interesting past. But that’s not what we’re here for – here’s how to get the best Sethos build and make him formidable on the field.

If you want to get Sethos, grab the new Genshin Impact codes here and check out who’s on the next Genshin Impact banner in the future Genshin Impact updates. Also, see where everyone ranks in our Genshin Impact tier list.

Read on to see how to get Genshin Impact Sethos’ best build.

What’s the best Sethos build?

Best weapon Hunter’s Path
Weapon substitutes Scion of the Blazing Sun
Best artifact set Wanderer’s Troupe
Main stats Sands – Elemental mastery
Goblet – Electro damage bonus
Circlet – Crit rate/damage
Sub stats Elemental mastery, crit rate, crit damage, attack

Sethos’ kit places him as an on-field electro DPS, focusing on charged shots with his bow. We recommend pairing him with dendro users like Nahida to set off reactions, along with either another electro or hydro user.

In terms of equipment, the best bow for Sethos is the Hunter’s Path, and the ideal artifact set to go for is a full set of Wanderer’s Troupe.

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What are the best Sethos weapons?

Sethos benefits from any bow that increases crit rate, crit damage, or elemental sections. If you have a Hunter’s Path, this will work very well, if not, the four-star Scion of the Blazing Sun is an excellent choice.

Weapon Effect How to obtain
Hunter’s Path (five-star) Bonus stat: Increases crit rate
Skill: Gain a 12% electro damage bonus, and obtain the Tireless Hunt effect after hitting an opponent with a charged attack. This effect increases charged attack damage by 160% of Sethos’ elemental mastery. This effect will be removed after 12 charged attacks, or ten seconds. This can trigger once every 12 seconds
Weapon banner (as a boosted five-star)
Thundering Pulse (five-star) Bonus stat: Increases crit damage
Skill: 
Increases Sethos’ attack by 20% and grants Thunder Emblem. At stacks 1/2/3, his normal attack damage further increases by 12/24/40%. Each stack has an individual duration and are gained when Sethos performs a normal attack with elemental damage, his elemental skill, or when he has less than 100% energy
Weapon banner (alongside Yoimiya)
Scion of the Blazing Sun (four-star) Bonus stat: Increases crit rate
Skill: After a charged attack hits an opponent, a Sunfire Arrow descends upon the opponent hit, dealing 60% of Sethos’ attack as damage, and applying the Heartsearer effect to the opponent for ten seconds. Opponents affected by Heartsearer take 28% more charged attack damage. A Sunfire Arrow can trigger once every ten seconds
Battle Pass reward
Prototype Crescent (four-star) Bonus stat: Increases attack
Skill: Aimed shot hits on enemies’ weak points increase Sethos’ movement speed by 10% and attack by 36% for ten seconds
Forged

What are the best artifacts for Sethos?

The best artifact set for Sethos is Wanderer’s Troupe as it boosts his charged attack damage, but you can mix and match sets with elemental mastery boosts to get the most out of his artifacts as you can, without relying on stats. A four-piece set of Gilded Dreams will also add to his damage, with the attack and elemental mastery bonuses.

Artifact set Effect How to obtain
Wanderer’s Troupe Two equipped: Increases elemental mastery
Four-piece set: Increases Sethos’s charged attack damage by 35%
 Weekly and world bosses, artifact strongbox
Gilded Dreams Two equipped: Increases elemental mastery
Four equipped: Within eight seconds of triggering an elemental reaction, Sethos obtains buffs based on the type of other party members.
For every electro party member, he gets a 14% attack boost, and for every other elemental type party member, he gets 50 elemental mastery. This can trigger once every eight seconds, even when he is not on the field
 Spire of Solitary Enlightenment in Sumeru
Thundering Fury Two equipped: Increases electro damage
Four equipped:  Increases the damage of overload, electro-charged, superconduct, and hyperbloom by 40%. Increases the damage of aggravate by 20%. If quicken or another electro reaction triggers, Clorinde’s elemental skill cooldown decreases by one second. This can occur once every 0.8 seconds
Midsummer Courtyard domain in Mondstadt
Flower of Paradise Lost Two equippedIncreases elemental mastery
Four-piece set
Sethos’ hyperbloom damage increases by 40%. After he triggers the reaction, he gains another 25% bonus. Each stack lasts ten seconds and can stack four times. This effect can trigger once per second, including when Sethos is not on field
City of Gold domain in Sumeru

Artifact stat recommendations

Main stats:

  • Sands: Elemental mastery
  • Goblet: Electro damage bonus
  • Circlet: Crit rate or crit damage

Sub-stats:

  • Elemental mastery
  • Crit damage/rate
  • Attack

To find out more about how artifacts work, check out our Genshin Impact artifacts guide.

Genshin Impact Sethos holding a bow while in mid air

What are the best Sethos team comps?

Sethos relies on elemental reactions and elemental mastery to do good damage, so we really recommend pairing him with Nahida. Kazuha, or Sucrose, can group enemies making it easier to hit them, and off-field characters like Fischl, Furina, and Yelan can help pop off plenty of reactions. If you require a shield or healer, Baizhu will be your best bet as he can also apply dendro to enemies.

First character slot Second character slot Third character slot Fourth character slot
Sethos
Nahida Fischl Kazuha
Sethos Nahida Furina Yelan
Sethos Raiden Shogun Baizhu Kazuha

What are Sethos’ abilities? 

Here’s what Sethos does in battle, and how his kit works. Essentially, you use his ultimate to boost his normal attacks, which become infused with electro, and then use charged shots to hit the enemy for heavier damage.

Active skills:

Skill Effect
Normal attack – Royal Reed Archery Normal: Sethos performs up to three consecutive shots with his bow
Charged: Sethos performs precise Aimed Shots with increased damage. While aiming, Sethos applies electro to his arrows, causing electro damage to targets. He has different effects depending on how long he holds a charge –
Level one: Fires an arrow that deals electro damage
Level two: Fires off a Shadowpiercing Shot that pierces enemies with electro damage.
Once the Shadowpiercing Shot is fully charged, Sethos cannot move around the field until it is fired
Plunging: Sethos fires a hail of arrows to deal AoE damage
Elemental skill – Ancient Rite: The Thundering Sands Sethos gathers the might of thunder and deals AoE electro damage while jumping backward. If this attack triggers electro reactions (electro-charged, superconduct, overloaded, quicken, aggravate, hyperbloom, or electro swirl), Sethos recovers some elemental energy
Elemental burst – Secret Rite: Twilight Shadowpiercer Sethos performs a secret rite and enters the Twilight Meditation state, where his normal attacks become Dusk Bolts, that deal electro damage. This also has a damage increase based on Sethos’ elemental mastery.
Sethos cannot fire charged shots in this state, though the Dusk Bolt damage counts as charged attack damage

Passive skills:

Skill Effect
Black Kite’s Enigma (unlocked at ascension one) While aiming, the charge time decreases 0.2 seconds based on each point of Sethos’ current energy. Charging time can reduce a total of 0.3 seconds this way.
If he fires a Shadowpiercing Shot, he consumes all tallied energy, whereas a level one charged shot consumes 50%
The Sand King’s Boon (unlocked at ascension four) Sethos gains the Scorching Sandshade effect, which increases the damage of Shadowpiercing Shots by 700% of Sethos’ current elemental mastery. This effect cancels five seconds after a Shadowpiercing Shot hits an enemy, or when Sethos uses four Shots to strike enemies
Thoth’s Revelation (unlocked automatically) Sethos displays the location of Sumeru-specific materials on the mini-map

What are Sethos’ constellations?

If you happen to pull more than one copy of Clorinde, or if you’re going for the full C6, you can unlock plenty of helpful boosts to her kit.

Constellation Effect
C1: Sealed Shrine’s Spiritsong The crit rate of Shadowpiercing Shot increases by 15%
C2: Papyrus Scripture of Silent Secrets When Sethos meets the following conditions, he gains a 15% electro damage bonus for ten seconds that can stack twice:
-Consumes elemental energy through aimed shots
-Gaining elemental energy by triggering elemental reactions with Ancient Rite: The Thundering Sands
-Using Secret Rite: Twilight Shadowpiercer
C3: Ode to the Moonrise Sage Increases the level of Royal Reed Archery – Sethos’ normal attack – by three, up to a maximum of 15
C4: Beneficent Plumage When a Shadowpiercing Shot or Dusk Bolt strikes two or more opponents, all party members gain 80 elemental mastery for ten seconds
C5: Record of the Desolate God’s Burning Sands Increases the level of Secret Rite: Twilight Shadowpiercer – by three, up to a maximum of 15
C6: Pylon of the Sojourning Sun Temple After Shadowpiercing Shot strikes an opponent, the elemental energy Sethos consumes by his passive talent returns. This can trigger once every 15 seconds

Genshin Impact Sethos' first appearance in game showing him in the desert

What are Sethos’ ascension materials?

Getting Sethos built up requires you to ascend him through a few different levels – and to do that, you need the following materials.

Level Mora Materials
20 20k One vajrada amethyst sliver, three trishiraite, three faded red satin
40 40k Three vajrada amethyst fragments, ten trishiraite, 15 faded red satin, two cloudseam scales
50 60k Six vajrada amethyst fragments, 20 trishiraite, 12 trimmed red silk, four cloudseam scales
60 80k Three vajrada amethyst chunks, 30 trishiraite, 18 trimmed red silk, eight cloudseam scales
70 100k Six vajrada amethyst chunks, 45 trishiraite, 12 rich red brocade, 12 cloudseam scales
80 120k Six vajrada amethyst gemstones, 60 trishiraite, 24 rich red brocade, 20 cloudseam scales

Here’s where to get all of Sethos’ ascension materials:

  • Vayuda turquoise – obtain from normal and weekly bosses or craft via alchemy
  • Trishiraite –mine in the Girdle of Sands area of Sumeru’s desert
  • Faded red satin, trimmed red silk, rich red brocade – obtain from Eremite enemies around Sumeru
  • Cloudseam scales –these are drops from the Solitary Sulani boss in Chenyu Vale

What are Sethos’ talent materials?

These are the materials you need to collect to upgrade each of Sethos’ individual talents.

Level Mora Materials
Two 12.5k Three teachings of praxis, six faded red satin
Three 17.5k Two guide to praxis, three trimmed red silk
Four 25k Four guide to praxis, four trimmed red silk
Five 30k Six guide to praxis, six trimmed red silk
Six 37.5k Nine guide to praxis, nine trimmed red silk
Seven 120k Four philosophies of praxis, four rich red brocade, one daka’s bell
Eight 260k Six philosophies of praxis, six rich red brocade, one daka’s bell
Nine 450k 12 philosophies of praxis, nine red brocade, two daka’s bells
Ten 700k 16 philosophies of praxis, 12 red brocade, two daka’s bells, one crown of insight

Here’s where to get all of Sethos’ talent materials:

  • Praxis talent books – obtain from the Steeple of Ignorance domain on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
  • Faded red satin, trimmed red silk, rich red brocade – obtain from Eremite enemies around Sumeru
  • Daka’s bell – drops from the Shouki no Kami weekly boss in Avidya Forest, Sumeru

That’s all we know about Genshin’s Sethos for now, but while you’re here, grab the new Genshin Impact codes and see where your favorite characters rank on our Genshin Impact tier list.