Zhongli is, without a doubt, the best shielder in Genshin Impact and an amazing support character. The Geo Archon is a 5-star character who wields a Polearm and has an HP-scaling kit. You can use him to protect your on-field characters from incoming damage and provide them with resistance to interruption, which ensures their survival and an uninterrupted usage of their combos. As such, he can be a valuable addition to any team. Here is your Zhongli build guide with her best weapons, artifacts, and team comps in Genshin Impact.
Table of Contents
Genshin Impact Zhongli Best Build Guide
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Rarity | 5-star |
| Element | Geo |
| Weapon Type | Polearm |
| Role | Sub-DPS / Support |
| Base ATK (Level 90) | 251 |
| Base DEF (Level 90) | 738 |
| Base HP (Level 90) | 14695 |
| Ascension Stat (Level 90) | 28.8% Geo DMG Bonus |
| Voice Actors | EN: Keith Silverstein JP: Maeno Tomoaki CN: Peng Bo KR: Pyo Yeong-jae |
| Strengths | ・Shields on-field character from incoming damage. ・Easy to build due to HP scaling. ・Reduces enemy RES to Elemental and Physical damage. ・Deals continuous off-field Geo damage with Skill. ・Able to Petrify foes for a short duration. |
| Weaknesses | ・Low Energy generation. ・Small AoE of Stone Stele. ・Long Burst animation resulting in overall DPS loss. |
Zhongli is a 5-star Geo character in Genshin Impact and one of the best options for team survival. The hold version of his Elemental Skill generates a shield that scales off his max HP and protects your characters from incoming damage. Moreover, thanks to one of his passive talents, it fortifies upon taking a hit. With around 30,000 to 35,000 HP, Zhongli can easily tank the majority of attacks in the game. By using proper artifacts and weapons, you can reach this threshold easily while maintaining a decent Crit ratio, allowing him to deal some damage as well.
However, if you wish to be truly immune to everything there is, then you can forego the Crit stats and build Zhongli as a dedicated shield bot by stacking HP on him. This way, you can reach over 40,000 HP, making your shield impenetrable to nearly everything.
How to Play Zhongli
Here’s how to optimally use Zhongli within a rotation:
- Upon switching to Zhongli, hold-press the Elemental Skill button after getting close to the enemy. This will generate a shield and create a Stone Stele nearby.
- If needed, use his Elemental Burst to deal damage and immobilize the foe.
- Switch to your Main DPS and begin attacking without being interrupted while shredding enemy RES.
Should you pull Zhongli?
Yes, Zhongli is a really strong support character and can prove to be a valuable investment. He is highly versatile in terms of team building and can pair well with any of your existing characters. Moreover, given how powerful the Geo resonance is, you can use him alongside any other unit from the element to gain an advantage.
However, you should note that while Zhongli can easily replace the need for a healer on your teams by neutralizing incoming damage, he may struggle against the Riftwolves’ Corrosion and the Black Serpent Knight’s anti-shield mechanics. In such cases, you will still need to rely on a healer to survive.
Best Weapons for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
The Staff of Homa is the best weapon for Zhongli in the game. It provides him with significant Crit DMG, HP, and ATK, improving all aspects of his gameplay. If you do not have it, you can pick any of the following options:
| Weapon | Rarity and How to Get | Advantages |
|---|---|---|
 Staff of Homa | 5-star; Gacha | ・Provides Crit DMG. ・Increases HP. ・Buffs ATK based on HP. |
 Favonius Lance | 4-star; Gacha | ・Provides ER. ・Recovers Energy for the whole team. |
 Dialogues of the Desert Sages | 4-star; v4.5 Event | ・Provides HP. ・Can recover Energy after healing. |
 Black Tassel | 3-star; Gacha | ・Provides HP. |
Best Artifacts for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
The Tenacity of the Millelith is the best artifact set for a support Zhongli in the game, as it provides him with significant HP while buffing ATK and Shield Strength. However, if you wish to deal damage with him as well, then 2 pieces of Archaic Petra with 2 pieces of Noblesse Oblige can be a good choice.
| Artifact Set | How to Get | Effect |
|---|---|---|
 Tenacity of the Millelith | Ridge Watch Domain, Liyue | • 2-Piece: HP +20%. • 4-Piece: When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, the ATK of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their Shield Strength is increased by 30% for 3s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. This effect can still be triggered even when the character who is using this artifact set is not on the field. |
 2-Piece Archaic Petra + 2-Piece Noblesse Oblige | Domain of Guyun, Liyue + Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern Domain, Liyue | • 2-Piece: Gain a 15% Geo DMG Bonus. • 2-Piece: Elemental Burst DMG +20%. |
Main Stats Priority
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP% / Geo DMG Bonus
- Circlet: Crit DMG / Crit Rate
Sub-Stats Priority
- HP%
- Crit Rate
- Crit DMG
- ER
- Flat HP
Best Team Comps for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
As mentioned above, Zhongli is a versatile character that you can use in a variety of team comps. To provide you with an idea of the possibilities, here are some of his example teams that do well in the meta of Genshin Impact:
Neuvillette Hypercarry Team
| Main DPS | Sub-DPS | Sub-DPS / Support | Sub-DPS / Support |
|---|---|---|---|
 Neuvillette |  Furina |  Zhongli |  Charlotte |
Hu Tao Vaporize Team
| Main DPS | Sub-DPS | Sub-DPS / Support | Sub-DPS / Support |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hu Tao |  Yelan | Zhongli |  Xingqiu |
Navia Team
| Main DPS | Sub-DPS | Sub-DPS / Support | Sub-DPS / Support |
|---|---|---|---|
 Navia |  Xiangling | Zhongli |  Bennett |
Itto Mono Geo Team
| Main DPS | Sub-DPS | Sub-DPS / Support | Sub-DPS / Support |
|---|---|---|---|
 Arataki Itto |  Albedo | Zhongli |  Gorou |
You should note that these are just the popular teams that include Zhongli. Apart from these, you can form several different types of teams depending on what you have.
Zhongli Kit Details and Talent Level-up Priority
Here are all of Zhongli’s abilities and talents in Genshin Impact, including their priorities:
| Talent | Effect | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attacks | Perform up to 6 rapid strikes. | Low |
| Elemental Skill (Dominus Lapidis) | Commands the omnipresent power of the earth to solidify into a Stone Stele, dealing AoE Geo DMG. Additionally, the Stone Stele will resonate, dealing Geo DMG to surrounding enemies. The Stone Stele is considered a Geo Construct, and can both be climbed and used to block attacks. Only one Stele may exist at any one time. Hold Attack: Causes nearby Geo energy to explode, causing the following effects: • If their maximum number hasn’t been reached, create 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. • 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. • 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. | Highest |
| 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. Petrification: Petrified enemies become immobilized. | High |
| Passive Talent 1 (Resonant Waves) | When the Jade Shield takes DMG, it will Fortify: • Fortified characters have 5% increased Shield Strength. It can stack up to 5 times and lasts until the Jade Shield disappears. | NA |
| Passive Talent 2 (Dominance of Earth) | 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’s DMG is increased by 33% of Max HP. | NA |
| Passive Talent 3 (Arcanum of Crystal) | Refunds 15% of the ores used when crafting Polearm-type weapons. | NA |
Best Zhongli Constellations in Genshin Impact
Let’s look at all of Zhongli’s Constellations in the title and their pull value to provide you with an idea of which ones to prioritize:
| Constellation | Effect | Value |
|---|---|---|
| C1 (Rock, the Backbone of Earth) | Increase the maximum number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist simultaneously to 2. | Medium |
| C2 (Stone, the Cradle of Jade) | Planet Befall grants nearby characters on the field a Jade Shield when it descends. | High |
| C3 (Jade, Shimmering through Darkness) | Increases the Level of Dominus Lapidis by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | High |
| C4 (Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless) | Increases Planet Befall’s AoE by 20%and increases the duration of Planet Befall’s Petrification effect by 2s. | Medium |
| C5 (Lazuli, Herald of the Order) | Increases the Level of Planet Befall by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | Low |
| C6 (Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator) | 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. | High |
How and When Can You Get Zhongli in Genshin Impact?
Zhongli last appeared in-game during the version 5.2 update on December 10, 2025. While it is likely he may return to the gacha banners soon, there is no official confirmation for it yet.
Banner History
| Banner Version | Dates |
|---|---|
| 5.2 | Dec 10, 2024, to Dec 31, 2024 |
| 4.0 | Sep 5, 2023, to Sep 26, 2023 |
| 3.0 | Aug 24, 2022, to Sep 9, 2022 |
| 2.4 | Jan 25, 2022, to Feb 15, 2022 |
| 1.5 | Apr 28, 2021, to May 18, 2021 |
| 1.1 | Dec 1, 2020, to Dec 22, 2020 |
More information about his eventual return will be updated when HoYoverse announces it.
