"Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember, but where are those who share the memory?"

To the people of Liyue, he is known as Zhongli, the consultant at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, As the Traveler, you might know him as Rex Lapis, or you might even call him Morax, but that’s a secret between you, him, and Paimon. However, the most important thing about him is that he is none other than the Geo Archon of Teyvat; the God of Contracts who controls the unwavering and solid Geo element.

Zhongli is a 5-star Geo polearm user known for his ability to both overwhelm enemies and protect the entire team. With utilization as huge as this, one must know how to build him to his fullest potential to turn the tide of battle.

This is where we come in and help you discover the best Zhongli build you need! Here are the top three Zhongli builds that will surely wreck hard!

3. Physical DPS Build

Coming in at number three is a build that will keep Zhongli on the field the entire time, focusing on his aesthetically pleasing and quick-damaging Normal Attack skill, so make sure to level up this skill if you want this build. 

It’s worth mentioning that his passive skill Dominance of Earth will add extra damage to his Normal Attack based on his HP. 

Last, but not the least, his Elemental Skill’s shield also reduces the enemies’ Physical Resistance by 20% even at Level 1!

With that being in mind, achieving this build will require slightly different substats than one would expect for a usual Main DPS build. Here’s how you can achieve this build efficiently:

Artifacts to use:

2-piece Bloodstained Chivalry and 2-piece Pale Flame

• They both have the same 2-piece effect: Physical Damage +25% 

Stats and substats to look for:

• Flower (FlaT HP fixed): HP%, ATK%, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Plume (Flat ATK fixed): HP%, ATK%, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Sands (ATK%): HP%, ATK%, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Goblet (Physical Damage Bonus): HP%, ATK, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Circlet (Crit Rate or Crit Damage): HP%, ATK, Crit Rate, Crit Damage

Fortunately for F2P players, the best weapon for Physical DPS Zhongli is not only a 4-star, but also a craftable! Of course, 5-star weapons do have better base stats and have some really cool passive effects. Here’s our breakdown for the best weapons for Physical DPS Zhongli for both F2P and P2W players!

Best weapons for Physical DPS Zhongli:

• Crescent Pike, without a doubt, is the best weapon for this build of Zhongli. Its substat is Physical Damage Bonus and its passive skill increases the damage output of Normal Attacks. It’s like this weapon was built specifically for Physical DPS Zhongli! Like we said, this weapon is a craftable weapon, meaning you can easily get this from the blacksmith.

• Dragonspine Spear is another craftable weapon that can work with Physical DPS Zhongli as its substat is also Physical Damage Bonus. However, Zhongli would need support from his team to take advantage of the extra damage from the weapon skill as it needs the enemies to be affected by Cryo. Still a really good option, if you can work around the weapon skill requirement.

• If you want to treat your Zhongli with a 5-star weapon, Staff of Homa will also accompany his huge HP into action. Zhongli will receive tremendous amounts of extra damage if his HP is boosted really high, which is what we want for him in the first place! Not to mention, Staff of Homa’s substat is Crit Damage, which will also significantly boost his damage output.

Like any Physical Main DPS, Zhongli would need to trigger Superconduct (Electro + Cryo) elemental reaction as it will decrease the enemies’ physical resistance by 40%. Furthermore, putting him with another Geo character will trigger the Geo Elemental Resonance which will increase his damage by 15% so long as he is always protected by a shield.

With all those in mind, here are some of the best team compositions for Physical DPS Zhongli:

• Zhongli, Geo Traveler, Fischl, Diona
• Zhongli, Noelle, Beidou, Kaeya
• Zhongli, Albedo, Raiden Shogun, Qiqi

See Physical DPS Zhongli wreck all of his foes!

2. Burst DPS

At number two is a build that emphasizes Zhongli’s iconic Elemental Burst. It may perhaps be the most memorable Elemental Burst in the game, not only for the visual of the Geo Archon throwing down a meteor at you, but also the bonkers damage it deals! That goes without saying that you must level up his Elemental Burst skill, of course.

Why does it deal so much damage? Going back to the passive skill Dominance of Earth, Zhongli’s Elemental Burst will do extra damage by a whopping additional 33% of Zhongli’s Max HP! But of course, this damage will be magnified even more with the right build, weapon, and team composition!

Let’s get down to it! Starting off with the best artifact setup for Burst DPS Zhongli!

Artifacts to use:

2-piece Noblesse Oblige and 2-piece Archaic Petra

• 2-piece effects: Elemental Burst DMG +20% and Geo DMG Bonus +15%.

Stats and substats to look for:

• Flower (Flat HP fixed): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Plume (Flat ATK fixed): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Sands (HP%): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Goblet (Geo Damage Bonus): ATK%, HP%, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Circlet (Crit Rate or Crit Damage): ATK%, HP%, Crit Rate, Crit Damage

Of course, a good Burst DPS Zhongli needs a good weapon. Always take into consideration the stat you feel like you’re lacking. Being a Burst DPS means you must have good Energy Recharge. Equip your Zhongli according to what you need for him.

Here are the best weapons for Burst DPS Zhongli for both F2P and P2W players!

Best weapons for Burst DPS Zhongli:

• Favonius Lance is a 4-star weapon that will allow you to work looser with Zhongli’s Energy Recharge substats as this weapon will provide much of the Energy Recharge he would need. Not to mention that Favonius Lance’s passive skill will even make it easier to generate Energy particles for him.

• The Catch is a weapon that does the same as Favonius Lance in terms of Energy Recharge provision, but The Catch will also boost Zhongli’s Elemental Burst damage and Crit Rate! The Catch can only be obtained through hard work by Fishing in-game, so it’s good news for people who don’t want to use their Primogems to pull for weapons!

• For 5-star weapons, Staff of Homa still holds as the best weapon for Zhongli even for this build. As you will always want to increase his HP, this weapon’s passive skill will increase along with it. Really, there’s not much competition for 5-star weapons for this build.

As a Burst DPS, Zhongli will naturally act as a unit that comes to the field only to deal damage and put up a shield, then leave immediately. With that being said, Zhongli will be placed in support of the Main DPS.

Here are the best team compositions for Burst DPS Zhongli:

• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Noelle, Bennett
• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Ningguang, Barbara
• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Raiden Shogun, Venti

Watch Zhongli obliterate everything with his Elemental Burst here!

1. Tenacity of the Millelith Support Build

With the 1.5 update adding in the Tenacity of the Millelith artifact set, which seems specifically built for Zhongli’s kit, this becomes the number one build for the Geo Archon.

While this specific build waters down his Elemental Burst by a tiny bit, the best thing this build will provide is making Zhongli’s shield significantly harder to break without much penalties in other aspects of his gameplay.

To give a rundown, Zhongli’s Elemental Skill both creates a shield around him and solidifies a Stone Steele that will continually deal Geo damage to enemies nearby. With that being said, the Tenacity of the Millelith’s skill will almost always be up! Of course, the cherry on top of the cake is that Zhongli’s shield decreases enemies’ elemental and physical resistances as well!

Basically, with this build, Zhongli will have a very strong shield while he increases the whole team’s ATK stat, BUT also still deal significant damage with his Elemental Burst! With this build, you can take advantage of both his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst! Raise both these skills and it will make him a god-tier support, no doubt!

Here’s how to make Zhongli achieve true Archon status with this build:

Artifacts to use:

4-piece Tenacity of the Millelith

• 2-piece effect: HP +20%.
• 4-piece effect: 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.

Stats and substats to look for:

• Flower (Flat HP fixed): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Plume (Flat ATK fixed): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Sands (HP%): HP%, Energy Recharge, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Goblet (Geo Damage Bonus): ATK%, HP, Crit Rate, Crit Damage
• Circlet (Crit Rate or Crit Damage): ATK%, HP, Crit Rate, Crit Damage

An Archon would be much more godlike with a cool weapon by their side. For this god-tier support build for Zhongli, here are the best weapons for both F2P and P2W players!

Best weapons for Tenacity of the Millelith Support Build Zhongli:

• One might usually think that 3-star weapons are not worth it in Genshin Impact, but Black Tassel is a weapon that’s actually very usable for this build of Zhongli. With its HP% substat, this will no doubt help solidify Zhongli’s shield and increase his meteor damage. Not to mention, the weapon is very easy to come by! Although, the weapon’s passive skill isn’t really that helpful.

• For 4-star weapons, of course, much like the previous build, Favonius Lance and The Catch will still function great for this Zhongli build. However, if you have bought the Battle Pass, the BP polearm Deathmatch is a good choice for Zhongli. Not only will it increase your ATK and DEF through its passive skill, but its substat is Crit Rate, making you have more room in your Artifact substats for other stat lines.

• You might have predicted it already, but Staff of Homa is still the best weapon for this Zhongli build. However, other 5-star weapons can work perfectly great as well. His fellow Archon’s signature weapon, Engulfing Lighting, will increase Zhongli’s ATK based on his Energy Recharge. Not to mention that it will help keep up his Elemental Burst in check with the extra Energy Recharge it gives for free.

As a god-tier support, Tenacity of the Millelith Zhongli build can fit into most teams. He will still function superbly well even without the Geo Elemental Resonance, but it can’t hurt to have it in the team.

With that being said, here are some of the best team compositions for this Zhongli build:

• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Xiangling, Bennett
• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Geo Traveler, Sayu
• [MAIN DPS], Zhongli, Mona, Kaedehara Kazuha

Watch Zhongli support the entire team like a true Geo Archon here!

And there you go! That was the top three builds for the immovable Geo Archon, Zhongli!

If you unfortunately missed out on having Zhongli for your own, you’re gonna have to wait for his Event Banner “Gentry of Hermitage” to make a comeback. Don’t worry! Genshin Impact recently started running three or more Character Event Banners every Version. A Zhongli re-run is definitely inevitable.

Which Zhongli build will you try out after this? Whichever it is, just know that there’s no wrong way of building him! Enjoy the game how you want it, of course!

Did you like this guide on the beloved Geo Archon? Here are a few more guides on other characters that may help you out!

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• [Top 10] Genshin Impact Best 4-Star Characters