Genshin Impact’s Zhongli is the stern, polearm-wielding former archon of Liyue. Known affectionately as Geo daddy, the CEO of GEO, or Long Zhong Silver (okay, I made the last one up), Zhongli is the mortal form of Morax, the God of Contracts. Though he may have hung up his archon hat, he is still a pivotal member of Genshin’s cast, and features in most stories and even some character quests. Zhongli has earned a firm place in the meta as the strongest shielder in the game. Let’s take a look at the best Genshin Zhongli build, featuring his skills, constellations, best weapons and artifacts, and more.
If you’re brand new to the world of Teyvat, take a look at our Genshin Impact update guide, Genshin Impact tier list and Genshin Impact codes list to get some freebies. We’ve also created guides for other characters, here’s everything we know about Genshin Impact’s Kazuha and Genshin Impact’s Dainsleif.
Genshin Impact Zhongli
What is the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build?
Zhongli is the strongest shielder in the game, hands down, and is best suited for support or burst sub-DPS builds. He can fit into almost any team comp and is an extremely valuable unit for protecting glass cannons like Genshin Impact’s Xiao. Additionally, the low-range geo application of his pillars means he doesn’t interfere with most elemental interactions and can create shields with the crystallize reaction to keep other party members safer for longer in co-op.
His burst offers great utility, dishing out heaps of damage and petrifying enemies within a relatively large AoE. His normal and charged attack combos are also capable of packing quite a punch in the right situations – if built for damage, his burst can do astounding numbers, though this takes a bit of work given he’s supposed to be a support unit.
Overall, Zhongli is a very powerful and flexible unit, and, on a personal note, is absolutely a mainstay in most of my teams.
What’s the best Genshin Impact Zhongli weapon?
Which weapon you choose for Zhongli should depend on which role you’d like to use him in.
As a geo sub-DPS, the best Genshin Impact Zhongli weapon is Staff of Homa, followed by the Primordial Jade-Winged Spear, though Deathmatch is a solid choice too, due to its high crit rate. As a burst sub-DPS, Staff of Homa is still top of the pile, but the replacements change to Skyward Spine – which is probably your best bet if you’re a F2P player. Zhongli’s signature weapon, the Vortex Vanquisher, is of course a great option given its 100% attack increase when he is protected by a shield.
Look, I know what you’re thinking – why is there a three-star on the table? The Black Tassel is the best Genshin Impact Zhongli three-star weapon and a really good cheap option for those who aren’t blessed with five-star polearms. It adds a good chunk of HP, which goes toward Zhongli’s shield duration.
| Zhongli weapon | Effect | How to obtain |
| Staff of Homa (five-star) | Bonus effect: increases crit rate Skill: Increases HP by 20%, and provides an attack bonus based on 0.8% of Zhongli’s max HP. When Zhongli’s HP is less than 50%, the attack bonus is increased by an additional 1% of the max HP. |
Gacha |
| Primordial Jade-Winged Spear (five-star) | Bonus effect: increases crit rate % Skill: Increases attack by 3.2% for six seconds. Max seven stacks. This effect can only occur once every 0.3 seconds. When holding the maximum possible stacks, damage dealt is increased by 12% |
Gacha |
| Black Tassel (three-star) | Bonus effect: Increases HP% Skill: Increases damage against slimes by 40%. |
Gacha |
| Skyward Spine (five-star) | Bonus effect: increases energy recharge% Skill: Increases crit rate by 8% and normal attack speed by 12%. Additionally, normal and charged attack hits on enemies have a 50% chance to trigger a vacuum blade that deals 40% of attack as damage in a small AoE. This effect can occur no more than once every two seconds |
Gacha |
| Vortex Vanquisher (five-star) |
Bonus effect: Attack +10% Skill: Increases Zhongli’s shield strength by 20%. Hitting an enemy increases his attack by 4%, and while protected by a shield, this is increased by a further 100%. |
Weapon banner |
| Deathmatch (four-star) | Bonus effect: increases crit rate Skill: If there are at least two enemies nearby, attack is increased by 16%. If there are less than two enemies nearby, attack is increased by 24% |
Battle pass reward |
What’s the best Genshin Impact Zhongli artifact set?
The Archaic Petra set is a great choice for Zhongli, as it counters his main flaw of not generating many elemental shards.
However, Noblesse Oblige is also great for increasing your elemental burst damage (big tasty meteors go boom!) and Tenacity of the Millelith buffs Zhongli’s shield, not only through its set bonus but also by increasing his HP.
| Zhongli artifacts | Effect | Where to get |
| Archaic Petra | Two equipped: boosts geo damage by 15%. Four equipped: when you obtain an elemental shard created through a crystallize reaction, all party members gain a 35% damage bonus for the element created. Lasts for ten seconds |
Domain of Guyun |
| Tenacity of the Millelith | Two equipped: increases HP by 20% Four equipped: when an elemental skill hits an opponent, the attack of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their shield strength is increased by 30% for three seconds. This effect can trigger once every 0.5 seconds, even when the character who is using this artifact set is not on the field |
Ridge Watch domain |
| Noblesse Oblige | Two equipped: increases elemental burst damage is by 20% Four equipped: using an elemental burst increases all party members’ attack by 20% for 12 seconds. This effect cannot stack |
Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern domain |
Genshin Impact Zhongli artifact stat recommendations
When picking artifacts for Zhongli, you should prioritise these stats.
Main stats:
- Energy recharge, HP, or attack% for Sands of Eon
- Geo damage bonus or HP for the Goblet of Eonothem
- HP, crit rate, or crit damage for the Circlet of Logos
Sub-stats:
- HP%
- Energy recharge
- Attack%
- Crit damage
- Crit rate
To find out more about how artifacts work, check out our Genshin Impact artifacts guide.
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s skills?
Active skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Rain of Stone | Perform up to six spear strikes |
| Rain of Stone (charged) | Consume a set amount of stamina to lunge forward, damaging enemies along your path |
| Rain of Stone (plunging) | Plunge from mid-air to strike the ground, dealing AoE when you land |
| Dominus Lapidis (press) | Command the earth to solidify into a Stone Stele which deals AoE geo damage. You can climb the Stone Stele and use it to block attacks |
| Dominus Lapidis (hold) | Nearby geo-energy explodes, causing the following effects:
|
| Planet Befall | A meteor falls from the sky causing massive AoE geo damage and petrifying enemies |
Passive skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Resonant Waves (unlocked at ascension one) | When your Jade Shield takes damage you become Fortified |
| Dominance of Earth (unlocked at ascension four) | Normal, charged, and plunging attack damage increases by 1.39% of max HP. Stone Stele, resonance, and hold damage increases by 1.9% of max HP. Planet Befall deals additional damage equal to 33% of Zhongli’s max HP |
| Arcanum of Crystal (unlocked automatically) | Receive 15% of the ores back when you craft Polearm weapons |
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s constellations?
When you unlock constellations, they improve how a character performs in battle. You can level up Zhongli’s constellations by using the Stella Fortuna you obtain when receiving a duplicate Zhongli while making a wish.
| Constellation | Effect |
| Rock, the Backbone of Earth | Increases the number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist at the same time by two |
| Stone, the Cradle of Jade | Planet Befall gives nearby characters a Jade Shield |
| Jade, Shimmering through Darkness | Increases the level of Dominus Lapidis by three |
| Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless | Increases Planet Befall’s AoE by 20% and the duration of petrification by two seconds |
| Lazuli, Herald of the Order | Increase the level of Planet Befall by three |
| Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator | When the Jade Shield takes damage, 40% of it is converted to HP. A single instance of regeneration cannot exceed 8% of the character’s max HP |
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s ascension materials?
If you want Zhongli to reach his full potential, you need to ascend him fully to boost the amount of geo damage he does. Here’s what it costs to ascend Zhongli:
| Required level | Mora | Materials |
| 20 | 20,000 | One Prithiva Topaz Sliver, three Cor Lapis, three Slime Condensate |
| 40 | 40,000 | Three Prithiva Topaz Fragment, two Basalt Pillars, ten Cor Lapis, 15 Slime Condensate |
| 50 | 60,000 | Six Prithiva Topaz Fragment, four Basalt Pillar, 20 Cor Lapis, 12 Slime Secretions |
| 60 | 80,000 | Three Prithiva Topaz Chunk, eight Basalt Pillar, 30 Cor Lapis, 18 Slime Secretions |
| 70 | 100,000 | Six Prithiva Topaz Chunk, 12 Basalt Pillar, 45 Cor Lapis, 12 Slime Concentrate |
| 80 | 120,000 | Six Prithiva Topaz Gemstone, 20 Basalt Pillar, 60 Cor Lapis, 24 Slime Concentrate |
Basalt pillars are dropped by the geo Hypostasis in the Guyun Stone Forest, along with Prithiva Topaz pieces. You can farm Cor Lapis in Liyue’s mountain regions, or you can buy it from Changsun in Liyue Harbor. Slimes, obviously, drop the slime pieces.
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s talent level-up materials?
Here’s what you need to grab in order to get one of Zhongli’s talents to level ten. The Tusk of Monoceros Caeli is a drop from Tartaglia’s weekly boss fight, and the Gold books come from the Taishan Mansion domain.
| Level | Mora | Materials |
| Two | 12,500 | Six slime condensate, three teachings of Gold |
| Three | 17,500 | Three slime secretions, two guides to Gold |
| Four | 25,000 | Four slime secretions, four guides to Gold |
| Five | 30,000 | Six slime secretions, six guides to Gold |
| Six | 37,500 | Nine slime secretions, nine guides to Gold |
| Seven | 120,000 | Four slime concentrate, four philosophies of Gold, one Tusk of Monoceros Caeli |
| Eight | 260,000 | Six slime concentrate, six philosophies of Gold, one Tusk of Monoceros Caeli |
| Nine | 450,000 | Nine slime concentrate, 12 philosophies of Gold, two Tusk of Monoceros Caeli |
| Ten | 700,000 | 12 slime concentrate, 16 philosophies of Gold, two Tusk of Monoceros Caeli, one Crown of Insight |
What are the best Genshin Impact Zhongli team comps?
Everything. Literally. I’m not exaggerating – Zhongli is the best shielder in the game, and due to geo’s lack of reactions with other elements, he won’t mess up any rotations for reactions. Do you need a shield? Take Zhongli.
There are some specific teams we can recommend, though:
Mono geo:
- Itto
- Albedo or Ningguang
- Gorou
Geo construct team:
- Geo Traveler or Albedo
- Zhongli
- Any other members that you choose to use
Permafrost:
- Ganyu
- Mona
- Kazuha
Xiao team:
- Xiao
- Faruzan (ideally C6)
- Jean or Bennett
That’s everything you need to know to have the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build. If you’re looking for something new to play, make sure you check out our list of the best mobile RPGs to keep yourself entertained.
