Genshin Impact: Zhongli guide — Weapons, artifacts, and talents

Zhongli’s talent priorities

So, what can we glean from Zhongli’s talent priorities in Genshin Impact?

Normal Attack: Rain of Stone – This boosts Zhongli’s regular attacks. It should only be prioritized if you’re building him up as a main DPS character. I personally wouldn’t go this route.

Dominus Lapidus – This is all about creating a Stone Steele, a pillar that deals periodic AoE Geo damage. Likewise, the Stone Steele can drain the Geo element from nearby targets (i.e., removing any protective barriers), and you can use it to climb higher in the game world. It’s a very useful utility skill, but I wouldn’t consider it a priority compared to Zhongli’s burst.

Note: The Stone Steele also provides a Jade Shield absorption effect that scales based on Zhongli’s max HP. Characters with a Jade Shield will lower the elemental and physical resistances of nearby enemies.

Planet Befall – Zhongli’s elemental burst/ultimate causes a meteor to crash down on your targets. This spectacular move leads to massive AoE Geo damage while petrifying your opponents for several seconds. A nuker or support Zhongli should prioritize this talent above all else. Not only will this increase the damage of the meteor’s impact, but it’ll also increase the duration of the petrification debuff.

Other talents:

• Resonant Waves – Causes the Jade Shield to “Fortify” when it takes damage, giving +5% shield strength that can stack up to five times or until the Jade Shield dissipates.
• Dominance of Earth – Zhongli’s abilities gain extra damage based on his max HP (i.e., Planet Befall gets an increase based on 33% of Zhongli’s max HP). This passive is actually what makes boosting Zhongli’s health stat very important.
• Arcanum of Crystal – Refunds 15% of the ore used when crafting polearms.

Note: Zhongli’s talent level-ups require Gold booklets and slime drops.

Constellations

After a round of buffs, I find that Zhongli’s okay even at zero constellations (C0). I personally wouldn’t even bother to spend more resources just to max him out. Anyway, here are his constellations:

• C1: Rock, the Backbone of Earth – Increases the maximum number of Stone Steeles to two.
• C2: Stone, the Cradle of Jade – Planet Befall grants a Jade Shield to characters on the field.
• C3: Jade, Shimmering through Darkness – +3 levels for your elemental skill; maximum level is 15.
• C4: Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless – +20% to Planet Befall’s AoE range and +2 seconds to the petrify duration.
• C5: Lazuli, Herald of the Order – +3 levels for your elemental burst; maximum level is 15.
• C6: Chrysos, Bounty of Dominator – 40% of the damage taken by the Jade Shield is converted into HP regeneration; cannot exceed 8% of the character’s max HP.

All right, the next section of our guide talks about Zhongli’s ascension materials in Genshin Impact.