The best build for Zhongli in Genshin Impact

Looking for a potent Genshin Impact Zhongli build? He is the latest character to arrive in the game, and just like Klee and Childe before him, he’s likely to be highly coveted. While Childe and permanent-banner-character Diluc remain the game’s top two must-have fighters, Zhongli is not to be missed, as the game’s third best fighter right now.

What’s most interesting about Zhongli is that he is a Geo fighter, but he also resonates with other Geo fighters. That means, while it’s usually best to have a spread of elemental powers in your party, having Zhongli with another Geo character will make both characters better. Definitely worth pulling for him if you prefer your Traveler in Geo mode, or if you use Ningguang or Noelle a lot. So, here's how to get Zhongli in Genshin Impact, and a top build for him.

How to get Zhongli in Genshin Impact

Zhongli is part of the limited-time Gentry Of Heritage banner, alongside already introduced four-star characters Razor and Chongyun, and new four-star character Xinyan.

He’s the only five-star character in there, which means while he has the regular 0.6 percent drop rate, he is a guaranteed pity pull. Pity pulls guarantee you a five-star pull if you come up dry on the same banner after 90 pulls, which sounds like a lot, but this will carry over from the previous Genshin Impact Farewell of Snezhnaya banner, assuming you didn’t get a five-star character there either.

Genshin Impact Zhongli overview

While you can have your Traveler as Geo, most players prefer them in Anemo, which means there’s only really two Geo characters in the game right now: Ningguang and Noelle. It is one of the least popular elements in the game, but a lot of that is because it lacks a headline character like Diluc, Venti, or Fischl. Zhongli looks set to be that character to finally get Geo on equal footing.

Zhongli has already featured heavily in the Liyue portion of Genshin Impact’s narrative, and is a calm and philosophical figure amongst the more excitable characters. Still waters run deep though, and he’s surprisingly intense, and considers himself a “bourgeois parasite.”

Normal attack: Rain of Stone

• Normal Attack: Zhongli performs six rapid strikes in quick succession.
• Charged Attack: Zhongli lurches forwards, causing stone spears to drop behind him. Costs some stamina.
• Plunging Attack: Zhongli slams down with a strong attack.

Elemental Skill: Dominus Lapidis

Zhongli forms a stone stele, dealing AoE Geo damage. This attack becomes stronger if other Geo elements are nearby. If charged, this skill creates a jade shield, which absorbs damage, with better absorption for Geo damage. 

Elemental Burst: Planet Befall

Zhongli summons a meteor, dealing Geo damage and applying Petrification. Gets stronger as Zhongli’s health increases.

Passives

• Resonant Waves: Jade shield will Fortify when damaged, gaining a 5 percent increase in shield strength. Can stack five times.
• Dominance Of Earth: Planet Befall gets a damage boost equal to 33 percent of Zhongli’s max HP.
• Arcanum Of Crystal: Refunds 15 percent ore when crafting Polearms.

Constellations

• Rock, the Backbone of Earth: Allows Zhongli to create two stone stele’s at once.
• Stone, the Cradle of Jade: Planet Befall grants nearby allies a jade shield.
• Jade, Shimmering through Darkness: Increases Dominus Lapidis’ level by 3.
• Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless: Increases Planet Befall’s AoE damage by 20 percent, and increases Petrification’s duration by two seconds.
• Lazuil, Herald of the Order: Increases Planet Befall’s level by 3.
• Chyros, Bounty of Dominator: 40 percent of damage taken by jade shield becomes health regeneration for active party members.

Genshin Impact Zhongli build: Example set up

A trend is emerging in Genshin Impact at the moment: The latest five-star character is a DPS big hitter, designed to be your star fighter. That’s not great for balance if you already have Diluc and Childe in there, but most players won’t be so lucky.

In any case, Zhongli is another DPS fighter, and while he can act as Support due to his abilities, this is specific to Geo characters only, so a DPS build is the way to go.

Weapons

• Primordial Jade Winged Spear: Each attack landed increases the power of the next one by up to 6 percent. This can stack 7 times and lasts for 6 seconds, but can only occur once every 0.3 seconds. Confused? Basically, the more attacks Zhongli makes with this, the stronger they’ll be. A full stack will also increase skill damage by 28 percent.

Artifacts

• Gladiator’s Finale Set: 2-parts: 18 percent extra Attack damage. 4 parts: 35 percent extra Attack damage for Polearm attacks. If you don’t have enough Gladiator’s Finale artifacts, you can have a mix of 2-parts Gladiator’s Finale and 2-parts Bloodstained Chivalry, which grants 18 percent extra attack damage and 25 percent physical damage.