Genshin Impact has an elite group of playable characters called the Archons with one presiding over each element and region of Teyvat. One of these Archons is Zhongli, a five-star Geo Polearm character you might be trying to build.
When built right, Zhongli is one of Genshin’s strongest support units and has the toughest shields in the game. To maximize his skillset and ensure he performs as powerfully as possible, you’ll want to equip Zhongli with the best artifacts Teyvat has to offer him.
What are the best artifacts for Zhongli in Genshin Impact?
The best artifacts for Zhongli are those that build his support and shielding skillset. Overall, I’d recommend the full four-piece Tenacity of the Millelith set as the ultimate best choice for him, but there are a few variants and alternatives you may want to consider for him too.
Zhongli will function best when you focus his entire build around his support skills. He can be a decent damage dealer, but it’s best to save the damage-dealing role for other powerful dedicated DPS units who will benefit massively from Zhongli’s support like Hu Tao or Xiao.
Related: How to change the party setup background in Genshin Impact
Although the Tenacity of the Millelith set is the overall best option for Zhongli, you can only consider mixing and matching with two different two-piece artifact sets. If you want to create unique combinations for Zhongli, some of the best options for him are:
- Two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and two-piece Archaic Petra
- Two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and two-piece Vourukasha’s Glow
- Two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and two-piece Noblesse Oblige
- Two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and two-piece Retracing Bolide
- Two-piece Archaic Petra and two-piece Noblesse Oblige
- Two-piece Archaic Petra and two-piece Retracing Bolide
- Two-piece Vourukasha’s Glow and two-piece Noblesse Oblige
- Two-piece Vourukasha’s Glow and two-piece Retracing Bolide
- Two-piece Vourukasha’s Glow and two-piece Archaic Petra
- Two-piece Noblesse Oblige and two-piece Retracing Bolide
Tenacity of the Millelith
- Two-piece effect: Increases health points by 20 percent.
- Four-piece effect: When an elemental skill strikes an opponent, all nearby party members have their attack increased by 20 percent, and shield strength is raised by 30 percent for three seconds. This effect can be activated once every 0.5 seconds regardless of whether the equipping character is on the battlefield.
- Location: You can obtain this set from the Ridge Watch Domain in Bishui Plain, Liyue.
To fully maximize Zhongli’s support skillset, the four-piece Tenacity of the Millelith set is the best option for him overall. The health point increase the two-piece set provides is important for the scaling of his abilities and the four-piece set is superb since it applies to the entire team.
No other four-piece set comes even close to this one if you are looking to build Zhongli’s support skillset since this set allows him to enhance his own abilities and those of his team.
Archaic Petra
- Two-piece effect: Raises Geo damage by 15 percent.
- Four-piece effect: When an elemental shard is gained through the Crystallize elemental reaction, all party members receive a 35 percent damage increase for the element that corresponds with the shard for the next 10 seconds. Only one type of elemental damage can be gained and active at once.
- Location: The Archaic Petra set is available by taking on the Domain of Guyun in Sea of Clouds, Liyue.
If you want to raise Zhongli’s Geo damage, the two-piece Archaic Petra set is an excellent option for him. The four-piece set can be a viable choice for him too, but it’s overall better to only use the two-piece set alongside a different set instead.
Vourukasha’s Glow
- Two-piece effect: Raises health points by 20 percent.
- Four-piece effect: Elemental skill and elemental burst damage are raised by 10 percent. When the equipping character takes damage, this damage boost is then raised by 80 percent for five seconds. This effect can stack up to five times and each stack is calculated independently of the rest. The effects of this set can also be activated regardless of whether the equipping character is on the battlefield.
- Location: This set can be obtained from the Molten Iron Fortress Domain in Girdle of the Sands, Sumeru.
Generally, you should only use the two-piece version of this set on Zhongli. The four-piece effects are powerful, but not the most useful for building his overall skillset since they depend on the wearer taking damage, which Zhongli won’t be doing a lot of thanks to his powerful shields.
The two-piece Vourukasha’s Glow set pairs extremely well with the two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith set. Some of Zhongli’s abilities scale off of his maximum health points, so it’s important to build this number as much as possible.
Noblesse Oblige
- Two-piece effect: Increases elemental burst damage by 20 percent.
- Four-piece effect: When an elemental burst is used, all party member shave their attack raised by 20 percent for 12 seconds. This effect can’t be stacked.
- Location: Visiting the Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern Domain in Minlin, Liyue will reward you with pieces of this artifact set.
The Noblesse Oblige set is one of Genshin’s strongest and most versatile. it’s not the best choice for a support-focused Zhongli build, but the two-piece set does pair nicely with another one if you want to build both his damage and his support capacity.
Retracing Bolide
- Two-piece effect: Raises shield strength by 35 percent.
- Four-piece effect: While protected by a shield, normal and charged attack damage are raised by 40 percent.
- Location: You can obtain this set by visiting the Domain of Guyun in Sea of Clouds, Liyue.
Although the effects of this artifact set sound compelling for Zhongli on the surface, this set is only a viable option if you are running a version of him that’s more focused on damage than support. The effects of Retracing Bolide only apply to the wearer, which means only Zhongli will receive the benefits.
For support units, you always want to try and bolster the entire team with the artifacts you equip them with. Because of this, you should only use this set if you are determined to build Zhongli in a different way from a dedicated support force.
