The best Genshin Impact Zhongli build

Want to learn how to create the best Zhongli build in Genshin Impact? Zhongli is the current vessel of Morax, the Geo Archon of Liyue. In retirement from his duties as an Archon, Zhongli now works as a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Though he’s painfully careless with his Mora, Zhongli is much more attentive as a sub DPS or shield support character in combat, ranking in the top echelon of our tier list.

This guide will show you how to create the best Zhongli build in Genshin Impact. Below we'll cover everything you need to know about Zhongli, including wishing, weapons, artifacts, ascension materials, talents, abilities, and constellations.

Best Genshin Impact Zhongli build for sub DPS and/or shield

Best weapon: Staff of Homa

Alternatives: Primordial Jade-Winged Spear, Deathmatch, Prototype Starglitter

Zhongli’s best Polearm is the coveted Staff of Homa, which increases CRIT DMG and provides an ATK bonus that scales off of 0.8% of its owner’s Max HP. The Primordial Jade-Winged Spear is another stellar 5-star Polearm that boosts CRIT Rate and ATK.

However, if you don’t have any 5-stars on hand, there are some great 4-star substitutes that will still have Zhongli doing massive damage. Deathmatch is essentially the budget version of the Primordial Jade-Winged Spear, as it provides buffs to the same stats. Finally, the easily-obtainable Prototype Starglitter helps with Energy Recharge, which is a great stat to have if you’re going to use Zhongli’s Geo powers.

Best artifacts: Noblesse Oblige

Alternative: 2 pieces from Noblesse Oblige and 2 pieces from Archaic Petra

If you’re only using Zhongli for his Burst, the Noblesse Oblige set is your best friend as it’ll boost Zhongli’s Burst DMG by 20% and cause his Burst to increase your whole party’s ATK by 20% for 12 seconds when used as a 4-piece set. Nice! Otherwise, if you’re going to use Zhongli’s other abilities as well, a combination of a 2-piece Noblesse Oblige set works well with a 2-piece Archaic Petra set, which provides boosts to Geo users.

Aim for the following stats and substats when choosing Zhongli's artifacts:

• Circlet of Logos: CRITs
• Sands of Eon: ATK
• Goblet of Eonothem: Geo DMG Bonus
• Substats: HP and CRITs

Talent priority: Planet Befall (Elemental Burst)

Secondary: Dominus Lapidis (Elemental Skill)

You’ll typically want to prioritize Zhongli’s Burst and then his Skill. If you’re desperate for better shield abilities for your team, though, try prioritizing his Skill first in order to protect your party. Speaking of Zhongli’s shield, here’s how that (and everything else) works:

• Normal Attack - Performs up to 6 rapid strikes.
• Charged Attack - Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, causing stone spears to fall along his path.
• Plunging Attack - Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
• Dominus Lapidis: Elemental Skill - Every mountain, rock, and inch of land is filled with the power of Geo, but those who can wield such powers freely are few and far between. Press: Commands the omnipresent power of the earth to solidify into a Stone Stele, standing 30 seconds, dealing AoE Geo DMG at the creation. Hold: Causes nearby Geo energy to explode, causing the following effects: If their maximum number hasn't been reached, creates a Stone Stele. Creates a shield of jade. The shield's DMG Absorption scales based on Zhongli's Max HP. Possesses 150% DMG Absorption against all Elemental and Physical DMG. Deals AoE Geo DMG. If there are nearby targets with the Geo element, it will drain a large amount of Geo element from a maximum of 2 such targets. This effect does not cause DMG. Stone Stele: When created, deals AoE Geo DMG. Additionally, every 2 seconds, it will resonate with other nearby Geo Constructs, dealing Geo DMG to surrounding opponents. Stele creation and Resonance generate 0.5 elemental particles. The Stone Stele is considered a Geo Construct that can both be climbed and used to block attacks. Only one Stele created by Zhongli himself may initially exist at any one time. Jade Shield: Possesses 150% DMG Absorption against all Elemental and Physical DMG. Characters protected by the Jade Shield will decrease the Elemental RES and Physical RES of opponents in a small AoE by 20%. This effect cannot be stacked.
• Planet Befall: Elemental Burst - Brings a falling meteor down to earth, dealing massive Geo DMG to opponents caught in its AoE and applying the Petrification status to them. Petrification: Opponents affected by the Petrification status cannot move.
• Passive talent 1 - When the Jade Shield takes DMG, it will Fortify: Fortified characters have 5% increased Shield Strength. Can stack up to 5 times, and lasts until the Jade Shield disappears.
• Passive talent 2 - Zhongli deals bonus DMG based on his Max HP: Normal Attack, Charged Attack, and Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 1.39% of Max HP. Dominus Lapidis Stone Stele, resonance, and hold DMG is increased by 1.9% of Max HP. Planet Befall deals additional DMG equal to 33% of Zhongli's Max HP.
• Passive talent 3 - Refunds 15% of the ores used when crafting Polearm-type weapons.

Party composition

• Main DPS: Ningguang
• Sub DPS: Zhongli
• Support: Gorou
• Healer/Shields: Noelle

5-star alternative: Arataki Itto replacing Ningguang as DPS

As one of Genshin Impact's best characters, Zhongli is a popular pick for many team compositions; particularly in his role as shield support, where he's almost universally the top choice no matter who else is in the party. Therefore, for this suggested team setup, we've chosen to focus on his slightly more particular needs as a sub DPS.

With teams composed mainly or entirely of Geo characters currently doing very well in the Genshin Impact meta, we'd be remiss not to suggest pairing Zhongli up with a Geo DPS. There are only really two candidates for this role right now: 4-star Ningguang or 5-star Arataki Itto. Fortunately, if you don't have either of these, Zhongli can be paired with just about any powerful DPS and still be highly effective; but you'll only gain the benefits of the Enduring Rock elemental resonance, and its attendant resistance and shield boosts, with at least two Geo characters in the party.

There are a couple of schools of thought on how you should fill out the remainder of a team like Zhongli's. Because Geo resonantes very powerfully with itself but has almost no interaction with other elements, there's a strong case to be made for packing your party with all Geo characters. In this case, I highly recommend including Gorou — whose elemental support abilities amplify with every Geo teammate he has; and Noelle — the only Geo healer currently in the game, as well as a powerful defender, who can add her shields to Zhongli's to provide strong protection for the whole party.

If you choose to take a different approach, the best mixed-element support for Zhongli and his Geo DPS comes from pairing up two Pyro characters. Powerful healer Bennett is a must here, with an easily-obtained general support character like Xiangling providing the Fervent Flames resonance and pitching in with damage-dealing duties.

How to level up Zhongli in Genshin Impact

Ascension Materials

To fully ascend Zhongli, you’ll need:

Your best bet for getting enough Prithiva Topaz and Basalt Pillars is defeating the Geo Hypostasis. Cor Lapis can be found in rocky areas in Liyue (especially near Mt. Hulao) and Slimes can be found throughout most of Teyvat.

Talents

To fully level one of Zhongli’s talents, you’ll need:

If you want to crown all three of Zhongli's talents, you'll need to collect all of this three times over, for a grand total of 9 Teachings of Gold, 63 Guides to Gold, 114 Philosophies of Gold, 18 Slime Condensate, 66 Slime Secretions, 93 Slime Concentrates, 18 Tusk of Monoceros Caeli, and 3 Crowns of Insight. Slimes remain easy to find throughout Teyvat; but to get Gold books, head to the Taishan Mansion domain on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Tusks of Monoceros Caeli can only be obtained by taking on Tartaglia in his Childe boss form at Challenge Level 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight can be obtained through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.

Constellations

Zhongli’s Constellation 1 and Constellation 2 are the easiest to get while also being incredibly efficient. If you’re going to spend money (or if you have an absurd number of wishes saved up) for Constellations, Zhongli’s Constellation 2 is a good point to aim for since it’s relatively accessible and also grants your entire team a shield when Zhongli’s Burst is used.

• Rock, the Backbone of Earth: Constellation Lv. 1 - Increases the maximum number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist simultaneously to 2.
• Stone, the Cradle of Jade: Constellation Lv. 2 - Planet Befall grants nearby characters on the field a Jade Shield when it descends.
• Jade, Shimmering through Darkness: Constellation Lv. 3 - Increases the Level of Dominus Lapidis by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless: Constellation Lv. 4 - Increases Planet Befall's AoE by 20% and increases the duration of Planet Befall's Petrification effect by 2s.
• Lazuli, Herald of the Order: Constellation Lv. 5 - Increases the Level of Planet Befall by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator: Constellation Lv. 6 - When the Jade Shield takes DMG, 40% of that incoming DMG is converted to HP for the current character. A single instance of regeneration cannot exceed 8% of that character's Max HP.

How to get Zhongli in Genshin Impact

Zhongli is a limited event character, meaning he’s not always available to obtain. His banner has been run a total of four times since his debut in December 2020, and his popularity with fans means that he's usually not gone for too long. His most recent outing was in August/September 2022, so we're unlikely to see him again this year, but he'll pretty certainly get at least one rerun in 2023.

If you’re hoping to save up for Zhongli's next rerun, check out our guide on getting characters to learn the best ways to prep, or our codes list to get some free Primogems!

That’s all the info we’ve got on Zhongli! Why not check out our character tier list to see which other characters are good to wish for?