Everyone loves Genshin Impact’s Zhongli, and it’s not hard to see why. Zhongli, the mortal form of Morax, the God of Contracts resides in Liyue, often strolling through the harbor. He’s the former geo archon, don’t you know, and wields a polearm and a five-star rarity. He applies the strongest shield in the game with little to no competition but can work as a devastating damage dealer, too. Long Zhong Silver goes by many names and is a cornerstone of many Genshin teams, as well as being a pivotal member of the cast, showing up regularly in events.
For more titillating Teyvat treats, here are all the current Genshin Impact codes, Genshin Impact events, and our Genshin Impact tier list to see where your teammates rank. We’ve also created guides for other characters and regions, so here’s everything we know about Genshin Impact’s Fontaine and Genshin Impact’s Dainsleif.
Let’s rock on into the Genshin Impact Zhongli build guide.
What’s the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build?
Zhongli is the strongest shielder in the game by far, even beating newcomers like Baizhu. He is, therefore, best suited for support but can be made into a strong burst sub-DPS. 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 our teams.
What are the best Genshin Impact Zhongli weapons?
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 three-star weapon for Zhongli 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.
| 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 |
Weapon banner (alongside Hu Tao) |
| Black Tassel (three-star) | Bonus effect: Increases HP% Skill: Increases damage against slimes by 40% |
All banners |
| 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 |
Standard banner |
| Vortex Vanquisher (five-star) |
Bonus effect: Increases attack |
Weapon banner (alongside Zhongli) |
| Deathmatch (four-star) | Bonus effect: Increases crit rate Skill: If there are at least two enemies nearby, Zhongli’s attack is increased by 16%. If there are less than two enemies nearby, his attack is increased by 24% |
Battle pass reward |
What are the best Genshin Impact Zhongli artifacts?
For old man Zhongli, you want to stack up a lot of HP in order to get his shield as strong as possible, but energy recharge and crit stats are very fitting, too. 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.
| Artifact set | Effect | How to obtain |
| Archaic Petra | Two equipped: Boosts Zhongli’s geo damage by 15%. Four equipped: When Zhongli obtains 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, attack of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and shield strength is increased by 30% for three seconds. This effect can trigger once every 0.5 seconds, even when Zhongli is not on the field. |
Ridge Watch domain |
| Noblesse Oblige | Two equipped: Increases elemental burst damage by 20%. Four equipped: Using Zhongli’s elemental burst increases all party members’ attack by 20% for 12 seconds. Cannot stack. |
Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern domain |
| Vourukasha’s Glow | Two equipped: Increases HP by 20%. Four equipped: Elemental skill and elemental burst damage increase by 10%. After Zhongli takes damage, the damage bonus is increased by 80% for five seconds. This effect increase can have five stacks. These effects can be triggered even when Zhongli is not on the field. |
Molten Iron Fortress domain |
Artifact stat recommendations
When picking artifacts for Zhongli, you should prioritize these stats:
Main stats:
- Sands: HP, energy recharge
- Goblet: HP, geo damage bonus
- Circlet: HP, crit rate, crit damage
Sub-stats:
- HP%
- HP
- Energy recharge
- 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 abilities?
Zhongli, as a shielder, is used mainly for his elemental skill. Simply hold it, and bam – a Stone Stele appears and you’re now safe and sound in a shield. His elemental burst is a force to be reckoned with as it can pack a huge punch.
Active skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Normal attack: Rain of Stone | Normal: Perform up to six spear strikes. Charged: Consume a set amount of stamina to lunge forward, damaging enemies along your path. Plunging: Plunge from mid-air to strike the ground, dealing AoE when you land. |
| Elemental skill: 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. Hold: Nearby geo-energy explodes, causing the following effects: If their maximum number hasn’t been reached, creates a Stone Stele and a jade shield. The shield’s absorption scales on Zhongli’s max HP. It absorbs 150% of all elemental and physical damage. Characters protected by the jade shield decrease elemental and physical resistance of opponents by 20%. |
| Elemental burst: 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 crafting Polearm weapons. |
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s constellations?
Unlocking new constellations improves how a character performs in battle. You level up Zhongli’s constellations by using the Stella Fortuna you obtain when receiving a duplicate Zhongli while making a wish, if you’re lucky like that.
| Constellation | Effect |
| C1: Rock, the Backbone of Earth | Increases the number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist at the same time to two. |
| C2: Stone, the Cradle of Jade | Planet Befall gives nearby characters a Jade Shield. |
| C3: Jade, Shimmering through Darkness | Increases the level of Dominus Lapidis by three. |
| C4: Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless | Increases Planet Befall’s AoE by 20% and the duration of petrification by two seconds. |
| C5: Lazuli, Herald of the Order | Increase the level of Planet Befall by three. |
| C6: 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 Zhongli’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. 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.
| Required level | Mora | Materials |
| 20 | 20,000 | One prithiva topaz sliver, three cor lapis, three slime condensate |
| 40 | 40,000 | Three privitha topaz fragments, two basalt pillars, ten cor lapis, 15 slime condensate |
| 50 | 60,000 | Six privitha topaz fragments, four basalt pillars, 20 cor lapis, 12 slime secretions |
| 60 | 80,000 | Three privitha topaz chunks, eight basalt pillars, 30 cor lapis, 12 slime concentrate |
| 70 | 100,000 | Six privitha topaz chunks, 12 basalt pillars, 45 cor lapis, 12 slime concentrate |
| 80 | 120,000 | Six privitha topaz gemstones, 20 basalt pillars, 60 cor lapis, 24 slime concentrate |
What are Genshin Impact Zhongli’s talent 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.
| Talent 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 tusks of Monoceros Caeli |
| Ten | 700,000 | 12 slime concentrate, 16 philosophies of gold, two tusks 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:
| First character slot | Second character slot | Third character slot | Fourth character slot |
 Zhongli |
 Albedo |
 Itto |
 Gorou |
| Zhongli |
 Xiao |
 Faruzan |
Flexible healer slot |
That’s everything you need to know to have the best Genshin Impact Zhongli build. If you’re looking for something new to play, here’s the Honkai Star Rail release date, what we know about any Honkai Star Rail codes, and our Honkai Star Rail tier list.
