Genshin Impact Zhongli build

Get the CEO of GEO on your side with the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build, featuring his skills, constellations, best weapons and artifacts, and more

Genshin Impact Zhongli looking at a bird on his shoulder and smiling

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.

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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

Genshin Impact Zhongli drinking some tea

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.

Genshin Impact Zhongli holding some flowers

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:
  • If their maximum number hasn’t been reached, creates a Stone Stele
  • Create a jade shield. The shield’s absorption scales based on Zhongli’s max HP. Absorbs 150% of all elemental and physical damage
  • Deals AoE geo damage
  • Characters protected by the jade shield decrease the elemental and physical resistance of opponents in a small AoE by 20%. Cannot be stacked.
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

Genshin Impact Zhongli stood in front of Azhada with his arms folded

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.