Genshin Impact Zhongli

An in-depth guide on how to build Genshin Impact’s Lord of Geo and God of Contracts, Zhongli.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Zhongli is a 5-star Geo Polearm character who specialises as a Shield Support and Burst DPS hybrid, and is only available on the Character Event Wish banner while he is featured character. Keep reading to find out what materials are needed to Ascend Zhongli, his best builds and an overview of how to use him effectively.

Zhongli Ascension Stat

All characters in Genshin Impact have a particular stat that levels up alongside their base stats. For Zhongli, this extra stat is Geo DMG Bonus. This will help his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst deal more DMG overall.

Zhongli Ascension Materials

Once you have obtained Zhongli and maxed him to Level 20, he can be further levelled up through Ascension. The materials you will need to Ascend Zhongli are as follows:

Level 20

• Prithiva Topaz Sliver x 1
• Cor Lapis x 3
• Slime Condensate x 3

Level 40

• Prithiva Topaz Fragment x 3
• Basalt Pillar x 2
• Cor Lapis x 10
• Slime Condensate x 15

Level 50

• Prithiva Topaz Fragment x 6
• Basalt Pillar x 4
• Cor Lapis x 20
• Slime Secretions x 12

Level 60

• Prithiva Topaz Chunk x 3
• Basalt Pillar x 8
• Cor Lapis x 30
• Slime Secretions x 18

Level 70

• Prithiva Topaz Chunk x 6
• Basalt Pillar x 12
• Cor Lapis x 45
• Slime Concentrate x 12

Level 80

• Prithiva Topaz Gemstone x 6
• Basalt Pillar x 20
• Cor Lapis x 60
• Slime Concentrate x 24

Prithiva Topaz Slivers, Fragments, Chunks and Gemstones can be obtained by defeating the Geo Hypostasis, located in Liyue.

Basalt Pillar can be obtained by defeating the Geo Hypostasis, located in Liyue.

Cor Lapis can be found across Liyue. They are mainly located on Mt. Hulao, the mountainous area between Tianqiu Valley and Cuijue Slope, and Guyun Stone Forest.

Slime Condensate, Secretions and Concentrate can be obtained by defeating Slimes, which can be found all over Teyvat.

Zhongli Talent Materials

In order to make Zhongli stronger, you’ll need to upgrade his talents. The materials you will need are as follows:

• Slime Condensate
• Slime Secretions
• Slime Concentrate
• Teachings of Gold
• Guide to Gold
• Philosophies of Gold
• Tusk Of Monoceros Caeli

The Teachings, Guide and Philosophies of Gold can be obtained by completing the Domain of Mastery: Circle of Embers every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, Tusk of Monoceros Caeli is a potential drop from the Weekly Childe Boss.

Zhongli Best Weapons

Since Zhongli has a lot of utility, there are a lot of Polearms he can make use of:

• Staff of Homa (5*)
• Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (5*)
• Calamity Queller (5*)
• Engulfing Lightning (5*)
• Skyward Pride (5*)
• Deathmatch (4*)
• Blackcliff Pole (4*)
• Wavebreaker’s Fin (4*)
• “The Catch” (4*)
• Favonius Lance (4*)
• Prototype Starglitter (4*)
• Black Tassel (3*)

Zhongli’s best in slot is easily Staff of Homa: it gives him HP% which benefits his shield, a hefty ATK bonus, and a massive amount of CRIT DMG. Most other 5-star Polearms work well on him too, purely for their high base ATK. However, he has many 4-star options, too. Deathmatch and Blackcliff Pole are great for the increases to his CRIT Rate and DMG respectively. Wavebreaker’s Fin gives him lots of ATK and boosts his Elemental Burst DMG. If you’re looking to spam his Burst on cooldown, there are plenty of good Energy Recharge Polearms he can use: Prototype Starglitter and “The Catch” are great F2P options, and the Favonius Lance is generally a really great option as it will help give you more particles.

There’s also a very good 3-star Polearm that shield support Zhongli can really benefit from: Black Tassel. It has a hefty HP% substat, which is perfect for a pure shieldbot build that won’t focus on his Burst’s DMG. It’s also highly accessible from the gacha since it’s only 3-stars.

You might be wondering, “What about Vortex Vanquisher?” Unfortunately, Vortex Vanquisher isn’t that beneficial on him – yes, despite how aesthetically pleasing it is on him. This is because you generally won’t be using his Normal Attacks and he’ll be off-field the majority of the time. Therefore, you won’t be able to make much use of its passive. But if you want to use it because it looks pretty, by all means go ahead! This is Genshin Impact after all.

Zhongli Best Artifacts

Depending on how you want to use Zhongli, you have lots of options when choosing his Artifacts. A shield support Zhongli tends to favour 4-Piece Tenacity of the Millelith, as this will give him HP% to increase his shield’s strength. The 4-Piece set also makes it so his Elemental Skill will increase your party’s ATK upon hit, which it can do semi-reliably.

For more of a Burst DPS build, 2-Piece Archaic Petra with 2-Piece Noblesse Oblige will help to maximise his Burst’s DMG.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a 4-Piece Noblesse Oblige user on your team, you can use it on Zhongli. However, generally this build isn’t as beneficial as the previously mentioned builds.

For low-level players, 2-Piece Martial artist and 2-Piece Berserker work well until you’re able to get higher level Artifacts.

For your Artifact main stats, you will want to run:

• HP% Sands
• HP% / Geo DMG Bonus Goblet
• HP% / CRIT DMG / Rate Circlet

In terms of Artifact substats, you’ll want to focus on HP%, Energy Recharge and both CRIT DMG and CRIT Rate. For a more DPS-focused build, ATK% is also desirable. You generally won’t want to use an ATK% Sands over an HP% one, thanks to his Passive Talent Dominance of Earth; it allows Zhongli to deal bonus DMG based on his Max HP.

How to Use Zhongli

His Elemental Skill, Dominus Lapidis, creates a Stone Stele which has different properties depending on how you cast it. Upon press, Zhongli will simply create a Stone Stele. Upon hold, Zhongli will create a Stone Stele and create a Jade Shield. The Jade Shield’s DMG absorption scales based on Zhongli’s Max HP. This also deals AoE Geo DMG. If there are nearby enemies with the Geo element, it will drain a large amount of Geo element from a maximum of two such targets. This effect does not cause DMG.

The Stone Stele will deal Geo DMG to nearby opponents, and is considered a Geo construct that can be both climbed and used to block attacks. The Jade Shield possessed 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.

His Elemental Burst, Planet Befall, brings a falling meteor down to earth, dealing massive Geo DMG to opponents caught in its AoE and applying the Petrification status to them.

Zhongli is a very versatile character, and as such he can fit into a lot of different team comps as a hybrid shield support or Burst DPS, or as a pure shieldbot. His main utility lies in his incredible shield and high-scaling Burst, meaning he is on-field very rarely – only to re-apply his shield or to use his Burst. The great thing about Zhongli is even if he leans more towards being a shielder or Burst DPS, he doesn’t negate his utility with the other role; a shield support Zhongli can still deal a good amount of DMG with his Burst, and a Burst DPS Zhongli will still be able to provide a strong shield.

For example, Zhongli can work great on a Geo team consisting of himself, Itto / Ningguang / Albedo and Gorou, with a flexible final slot. In this comp, he will mainly support your main DPS by shielding them, occasionally switching in to deal a chunk of DMG with his Burst. Generally though, Zhongli can go into any team where you need a strong shield, a Burst DPS or Geo Resonance.