Zhongli

Normal Attack: "Performs up to 6 consecutive spear strikes."

There is nothing special about Zhongli’s Normal Attack. There’s no reason to level them up unless using the Crescent Pike, physical build.

Energy Cost: 40 "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: Opponents affected by the Petrification status cannot move.

Planet Befall is a decent burst of damage, but the long cast time usually doesn’t justify it. It doesn’t gain extra damage from reactions, the petrification is a low duration and doesn’t work on the most difficult enemies, and the full-support Zhongli build does even less damage.

The benefit is the 40 energy cost, which is the lowest in the game. It’s always ready when wanted without a drop of Energy Recharge.

It’s okay to upgrade this Talent, but don’t go crazy.

Zhongli has very low Talent upgrade needs. He really only cares about leveling up the Skill, and that’s only for a stronger shield. And there’s no reason to bring it to the top levels if you’re build already has a strong enough shield.

Arcanum of Crystal

"Refunds 15% of the ore used when crafting Polearm-type weapons."

Arcanum of Crystal is great for new players, but pretty useless for veterans.

Resonant Waves

"When the Jade Shield takes DMG, it will Fortify: ·Fortified characters have 5% increased Shield Strength. Can stack up to 5 times, and lasts until the Jade Shield disappears."

Zhongli’s first passive makes his already strong shield stronger. When it takes damage, it gains more health.

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."

Dominance of Earth gives Zhongli an HP scaling on all of his attacks. It allows him to gain some damage while focusing on strengthening his shield. But it’s not enough to turn him into a main or sub DPS.

Zhongli should be the first to take action at the start of battle. And, if the battle is initiated by the player, like in domains or some Spiral Abyss floors, you can use his Skill before starting the fight.

A piece of advice: aim Zhongli either backward or sideways to where the enemies spawn. This will position the stone stele out of your way when you rush into battle.

"Increases the maximum number of Stone Steles created by Dominus Lapidis that may exist simultaneously to 2."

Having two stone steles is usually more harmful than good. Two just makes more clutter on the battlefield, and their small range and damage aren’t worth it.

"Planet Befall grants nearby characters on the field a Jade Shield when it descends."

Stone, the Cradle of Jade is only functional during co-op. It might be the weakest C2 in all of Genshin Impact.

"Increases Planet Befall's AoE by 20% and increases the duration of Planet Befall's Petrification effect by 2s."

Topaz, Unbreakable and Fearless is okay but not for a C4. It increases the petrification by 50% (at max level), for a total of 6 seconds. Which is a reasonably good stun duration. But it’s not worth the opportunity cost of 4 other limited 5*.

"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."

When Genshin is played correctly, Zhongli’s shield is strong enough to protect the team from all damage. Giving him a heal, especially all the way at C6, brings no benefit.

Vortex Vanquisher

Zhongli doesn’t have great weapon options. Most of them only increase his already low personal damage a little bit or he just doesn’t synergize well with them.

That being said, it lowers he weapon dependence to them being nothing more than simple stat sticks.

Vortex Vanquisher is his signature and best 5* option. The extra shield strength is okay but not usually needed. And the Atk% increase doesn’t synergize well with his HP scaling. Luckily, it looks amazing on him.

Rightful Reward

Rightful Reward is the only HP substat polearm. If you want a stronger shield, this is the best option. Unfortunately, Zhongli will rarely need healing nor does he care about extra energy.

Deathmatch

Deathmatch is the best 4* weapon to increase Zhongli’s personal damage. But it’s locked behind the the battlepass.

Favonius Lance

Favonius Lance is Zhongli’s best support polearm. He can provide a decent amount of energy to his team, but he now needs high Crit Rate. He also doesn’t care about the energy or Energy Recharge himself.

Crescent Pike

Crescent Pike is a notable option for those who want to build an on-field Zhongli. The extra 40% damage ticks on every hit, and Zhongli has a lot of multi-hits within his normal attack string.

The downsides are he’ll need to be built with Atk over Hp, making his shield much weaker, and it’s physical damage.

Sands of Eon

Use HP sands. If using the Crescent Pike build, Atk could be substituted.

Goblet of Eonothem

HP goblet is the best option for Zhongli’s traditional build.

If you find his shield strong enough already, you could swap it out for a Geo Dmg% for some extra personal damage.

And if using the Crescent Pike build, Atk is preferred.

Circlet of Logos

Like the other pieces, HP is the best option.

If using Favonius Lance, consider using Crit Rate to have more reliable energy production.

And if using the Crescent Pike build, Atk is an option, but Crit Rate will usually be better.

Sub Stats

Vanilla Zhongli is extremely easy to build. He only cares about HP subs to make his shield stronger.

If you have a damaging weapon like Deathmatch or Vortex Vanquisher, pick up some Crit Rate and Crit Dmg to increase his personal damage.

If you’re using the Favonius Lance, aim for as much Crit Rate as possible.

And finally, if using Crescent Pike for the on-field build, find a good balance between Atk, Crit Rate, Crit Dmg, and HP.

2-Pieces: "HP +20%"
4-Pieces: "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."

Tenacity of the Millelith is support Zhongli’s best set. It gives him extra HP and he’s able to consistently trigger the Atk bonus with the stone stele. Regrettably, the stone stele has such a small range that you’ll have to fight fairly close to it to keep the buff up.

2-Pieces: "Gain a 15% Geo DMG Bonus."
4-Pieces: "Upon obtaining an Elemental Shard created through a Crystallize Reaction, all party members gain a 35% DMG Bonus for that particular element for 10s. Only one form of Elemental DMG Bonus can be gained in this manner at any one time."

Archaic Petra is an interesting relic set for mono-teams. Archaic Petra Zhongli can’t be slotted into any team as easily as Tenacity of the Millelith, but the 35% DMG Bonus is well worth it.

2-Pieces: "Physical DMG +25%"
4-Pieces: "After defeating an opponent, increases Charged Attack DMG by 50%, and reduces its Stamina cost to 0 for 10s."

Bloodstained Chivalry is the best set for Crescent Pike build Zhongli.

Some great teammates are Hu Tao, Xiao, Lyney, and possibly many future Fontaine characters if the HP drain mechanic trend continues.