Zhongli is one of Genshin Impact’s most impressive support units and one of the most versatile playable characters of all.
He brings his powerful Geo skillset and nearly impenetrable shields to any battle he tackles, but Zhongli will perform even better when you ensure he has a weapon that complements his skillset. Zhongli’s versatility makes most aspects of his build quite easy to handle, but choosing a weapon for him is by far the toughest part since the best options for him are rather limited.
What’s the best weapon for Zhongli in Genshin Impact?
The best weapon to equip Zhongli with overall is the Staff of Homa, the Rightful Reward, or the Black Tassel. Unfortunately, these options are simply decent for him at best since none of the available polearms really complement Zhongli’s abilities.
Zhongli scales off of health points, so you ideally want his weapon to have this as its secondary statistic, but only two polearms actually do and they are of four-star and three-star rarity. The Staff of Homa is generally considered to be the best weapon for Zhongli overall since it supplies a 20 percent health point increase.
Zhongli’s best weapon in Genshin Impact
None of Genshin’s current polearms complement Zhongli very well, but it’s still very possible that one may be released in the future to become his ultimate best weapon. For now, you’ll generally want to choose one that builds his health points or otherwise bolsters his support skillset.
All viable options for Zhongli’s weapon are as follows and will be updated as more equipment becomes available.
Best five-star polearms for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
Out of the five-star options, the Staff of Homa is the best choice for Zhongli overall, even though his signature weapon is also a five-star. Zhongli’s signature polearm Vortex Vanquisher is actually the overall worst five-star choice for him and is generally a lesser option than four-star and three-star polearms too.
Staff of Homa
Hu Tao’s signature weapon is the Staff of Homa, which is generally regarded as the best choice for Zhongli since no other weapon truly suits him. The “Reckless Cinnabar” ability it possesses raises health points by 20 percent.
An attack bonus of 0.8 of the equipping character’s maximum health points is also granted, which works well with Zhongli since you’ll want to build his health points as much as possible for his abilities anyway.
When the equipping recruit drops below 50 percent of their health points, the Staff of Homa then raises the attack bonus by one percent of their health points. Zhongli’s shields are immensely powerful, so it’s not likely he will drop below 50 percent of his health too often, but the other aspects of this polearm are decent for him.
This polearm has critical damage as its secondary statistic, which isn’t the best choice for the Geo character overall, but it’s never a bad idea to build a decent ratio between critical rate and critical damage. The Staff of Homa’s health points increase is worth overlooking the aspects of this polearm that don’t benefit Zhongli quite as much.
Engulfing Lightning
This polearm has the “Timeless Dream: Eternal Stove” ability that raises attack by 28 percent of energy recharge over the base amount of 100 percent. Up to 80 percent of an attack increase can be gained through this.
Thirty percent energy recharge is also received after an elemental burst has been used. Engulfing Lightning has energy recharge as its secondary statistic, which is a solid statistic to build for the support-focused Zhongli.
Skyward Spine
The Skyward Spine polearm is a well-rounded choice for Zhongli and features energy recharge as its buildable statistic. Critical rate is raised by eight percent and normal attack speed is raised by 12 percent through the “Black Wing” ability of this weapon.
Normal and charged attacks that strike opponents have a 50 percent chance of triggering a special vacuum blade that deals 40 percent of attack as damage within a small AoE. This ability can take effect once every two seconds.
Vortex Vanquisher
While most characters’ signature weapon is the best choice overall for them, Zhongli’s polearm is quite a controversial one and falls below most other five-star options. Generally, it’s best to avoid Vortex Vanquisher in favor of other options because its abilities just don’t suit Zhongli’s skillset very well. But it is still being included here since it is his signature weapon and you may have planned to pull for it not knowing that it is a weaker option for him.
This polearm seems like it was made for a DPS unit rather than a support unit. The “Golden Majesty” ability of this weapon raises shield strength by 20 percent, which is nice for Zhongli, but the rest of the effects it supplies are disappointing.
When a hit is scored on an enemy, attack is raised by four percent for eight seconds. This can be stacked up to five times and can occur once every 0.3 seconds. While protected by a shield, this attack increase is raised by 100 percent.
Vortex Vanquisher has attack as its secondary statistic, which isn’t great for Zhongli’s support abilities.
Best four-star polearms for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
Zhongli has a few decent four-star options, but the best four-star polearm for him is Rightful Reward since it will boost his health points.
Rightful Reward
The Rightful Reward polearm is a craftable asset from the Hydro region of Fontaine and one of the only two polearms that has health points as its buildable statistics. Because of this, Rightful Reward is one of the best options for Zhongli and the overall best four-star choice for him.
The “Tip of the Spear” ability restores eight energy when the equipping character is healed. This can occur once every 10 seconds regardless of whether the wearer is on the battlefield.
Most of the best Zhongli team compositions don’t have a healer alongside him since you don’t need one, so you might not make use of this particular ability. The effects of this polearm aren’t super powerful for Zhongli, but the health points statistic it supplies is a powerful boost to his abilities.
The Catch
This polearm is great for enhancing both Zhongli’s support and damage-dealing abilities. The “Shanty” ability raises elemental burst damage by 16 percent and elemental burst critical rate by six percent.
The Catch also has energy recharge as its secondary statistic.
Favonius Lance
The “Windfall” ability of the Favonius Lance causes critical hits to have a 60 percent chance of generating a few elemental particles that then restore six energy for the equipping character. This ability can occur once every 12 seconds.
Like most of the best options for Zhongli beyond polearms that feature health points, the Favonius Lance has buildable energy recharge.
Best three-star polearms for Zhongli in Genshin Impact
You usually want to avoid three-star weapons if possible, but due to the lack of viable choices for Zhongli, one of the best options for him is the three-star Black Tassel polearm.
Black Tassel
The “Bane of the Soft” ability this weapon possesses is an absolutely ridiculous and useless buff that increases damage against Slimes by 40 percent. But Black Tassel has buildable health points, so it’s still a great choice for Zhongli and the best three-star option for him if you just overlook its ability as most Travelers do.
Since Black Tassel is a three-star weapon, it will be extremely easy to superimpose it and increase its effects greatly, so you should do this if you are planning to equip Zhongli with it. He will certainly be adept at slaying Slimes if you do, so consider this option for him if you are hoping to focus on raising his health points.
