
Zhongli Quick TL;DR Support and DPS Build Guide
UPDATED FOR 2.4 😁!
Table of Contents
- 0.1 PSA #1: A DPS is a literal GOD and their team is their worshipers. Worship your god and they’ll make your enemies disappear; otherwise, you better start praying
- 0.2 PSA #2: Both Zhongli’s abilities scale off ATK, but both also benefit A LOT from HP. As Lord of Geo, he WILL have his order… just make sure you brought some money…
- 0.3 PSA #3: E has two ways you can use it (BUCKLE THE FK UP LOL)
- 0.4 Weapon #1 (Recommended for DPS): Staff of Homa
- 0.5 Weapon #2 (Recommended for sub/burst DPS): Deathmatch
- 0.6 ARTIFACT #1 (Recommended for DPS): Pale Flame
- 1 ARTIFACT #2 (Recommended for Support): Tenacity of the Millelith
PSA #1: A DPS is a literal GOD and their team is their worshipers. Worship your god and they’ll make your enemies disappear; otherwise, you better start praying
PSA #2: Both Zhongli’s abilities scale off ATK, but both also benefit A LOT from HP. As Lord of Geo, he WILL have his order… just make sure you brought some money…

PSA #3: E has two ways you can use it (BUCKLE THE FK UP LOL)
- Tap E to summon a stone stele that does damage where it’s spawned
- It will pulse 15 times, doing geo DMG to nearby enemies (lasts 30 seconds, 1 pulse = 2 sec)
- Nearby geo structures will also pulse geo DMG (will list what can/cannot below)
- Can only have ONE out at a time (two if you have C1)
- ABSOLUTELY POOPS CRYSTALLIZE SHARDS
- CAN CLIMB THE PILLAR AND IT BLOCKS STUFF
What resonates with pillar:
Geo MC E | Geo MC Q (all 4 walls pulse) | Ninguang E (pulses from center of gate, not sides) |
---|---|---|
Geo Hypostasis pillars | Geo Samachurl pillars | Albedo E |
Itto E |
- Hold E to summon a shield
- Will do massive AoE geo DMG on activation + spawns a pillar if not already on field
- Chunks geo elements nearby (up to two targets – clarification below)
- Shield lasts 20 sec
- Scales off HP
What Hold E can absolutely delete:
ANY ORE (#1 MINER) | GEO SHIELDS/ARMOR | ROCK SHIELDS |
---|---|---|
Geo Samachurl pillars | Geo Hypostatis pillars | Geovishaps/Hatchlings |
Tap E at the start of the fight, then Hold E when it comes off CD. Always position to attack enemies TOWARDS the pillar to maximize damage


Every enemy type, except world bosses and domain bosses, can get petrified. This also prevents enemies from being affected from your own CC
Example: Venti Q will no longer juggle enemies up and down in the vortex when petrified. They will still take the damage from the ability though!

A reasonable HP you want Zhongli to be around is roughly between 18,000 – 22,000, as that essentially means you’ll gain an additional 5,940 – 7,260 damage on your Q
Talent leveling order: E > Normal > Q (You can honestly go Normal first)
Weapon #1 (Recommended for DPS): Staff of Homa
How do I get it D: ? – It’s time to roll boys (gacha)

Staff of Homa will typically outperform even without the weapon skill active 90% of the time. Especially with the new Zhongli buffs, this is especially evident in damage output. PJWS does perform better if you have the proper CRIT values to consistently CRIT. Otherwise, you’re better off running Homa to scale everything.
However, for Phys DPS, Crescent Pike will push out more DPS due to the nature of how the weapon skill works. Even with a 2x Pale + 2x Bloodstained does a Crescent Pike perform better!
Weapon #2 (Recommended for sub/burst DPS): Deathmatch
How do I get it D: ? – Battlepass (Tier 30)

Deathmatch is an extremely consistent weapon considering that it provides not only CRIT%, but also a steady amount of ATK% for Zhongli’s Q. Keep in mind that it scales with both HP and ATK (with ATK being the main multiplier).
Important note: Staff of Homa will outperform Deathmatch until you have it at R4+. The likewise goes for The Catch (R5). Homa’s natural HP scaling + the buffs from 1.4 to Zhongli + Geo make it undeniably the BiS in most cases for Zhongli.
Favonius Lance can also work if you’re really that lacking for energy regeneration. Royal Spear is also felt somewhat good, but once you hit around 45-50% CRIT%, it feels extremely lackluster due to the redundancy of CRIT% stacking post 50%
ARTIFACT #1 (Recommended for DPS): Pale Flame
How do I get it D: ? – Ridge Watch Domain (AR 30 locked, 20 Resin per run)

The E’s ATK bonus will continue to stack off of all 3 variants of your E (tap, hold, and the pulse). Just make sure to keep the pillar alive by kiting your enemies towards (inwards) the pillar, as opposed to having your back faced towards it. The only issue with the E is that it’s harder to keep it up against largers, AoE thrashing enemies (but still works fine and will get you your max stacks)
Think of it as basically a 36% ATK buff that’s consistently up due to Zhongli’s E pulses (and his low CD)
Alternatively, you can also run 2-set Pale Flame + 2-set Bloodstained as well since it also grants +25% Phys DMG x2, and it’ll be a good placeholder until you can farm for the 4-set Pale Flame pieces!
ARTIFACT #2 (Recommended for Support): Tenacity of the Millelith
How do I get it D: ? – Ridge Watch Domain (AR 30 locked, 20 Resin per run)

Important note about 4-set Millelith: It still proc’s the ATK bonus when you’re off-field. So as long as Zhongli’s E is still on the field and not destroyed, it’s pulses will continue to proc the 4-set bonus!
Alternatively, if you want to prioritize mainly on burst DPS, then 4x Emblem of Severed Fate will do the most damage + provide a decent amount of ER% to help Zhongli get his Q back faster!
PSA #4: So two final things: 1) For support, Deathmatch + Millelith will do great. 2) Ignore the people that are abhorrently against DPS Zhongli — they’re the same people who swear by Phys DMG% Fischl but can’t reserve the same logic (either that or just blatantly salty they don’t have enough gems cause they double downed for Childe)
Main stats:
Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
---|---|---|
ATK% (HP% for Supp) | Phys DMG% (Geo DMG% for Supp/burst DPS) | CRIT% or CRIT DMG (HP% for Supp) |
Substats: CRIT% > CRIT DMG > ATK > EM
Take Geo DMG% on Goblet if you’re going burst DPS/Support OR just run HP% on all 3 if you want a mega shield tank
If you want other characters let me know. Hope this helped. Bye.
Hi what are your thoughts on the new millelith set?
4-set Millelith will be bis. You do technically lose damage compared to 2-set Noblesse + 2-set Archaic, but it’s still better for supporting! The buff it grants your team is pretty great (since it still works off-field)
With how the new Millelith set was released, will you also be doing a guide for support-based Zhongli?
Possibly in the future, but I do believe 4-set Millelith will be bis. You do technically lose damage compared to 2-set Noblesse + 2-set Archaic, but it’s still better for supporting!
Hi if i just plan to use him for Planet Befall and support which is the best arts? Currently running Nob + Petra.
Nob + Petra would make the Q do more damage. If you want to also buff the shield + doing damage, then 4-set Millelith can fulfill both
Hi, is it possible zhongli be support and sub dps at the same time ? If yes, how ?
He can be a burst DPS and a support with 4-set Millelith, but not sure if you can really efficiently run sub-DPS + shield support (since the builds conflict)
How does 4-set Pale Flame compare to 2-set Bloodstained and 2-set Gladiator? Thanks!
If you have farmed pieces, 4-set Pale Flame will do much better BUT if your artifacts aren’t godrolls, 2-set Bloodstained + 2-set Pale Flame will do much better for just normal attacking. However, overall it’s best to get 4-set if possible.
Crescent Pike still viable for F2P? Still works well with 4 piece Pale Flame?
Confirmed; yes and yes.
Hi! How does Wavebreaker compare to Deathmatch or Favonius?
Deathmatch is much easier to use (since it’s just always a constant buff) and doesn’t restrict team composition too much. Favonius helps with the regen, but does tend to lead to a lot less damage compared to Deathmatch due to lack of CRIT% + lack of ATK buff.
Wavebreaker would only beat Deathmatch if your team has a combined max energy of 265+, since that’s the only way it’ll surpass the DMG bonus provided by an R5 Deathmatch. So minus Zhongli’s cost, the rest of your team would need to have a total of 225+ (the more the better) max energy for it to be worth it!
I actually don’t have Deathmatch unfortunately, I’ll instead be swapping Favonius with Wavebreaker for some damage increase. Thank you so much!
Just wanted to let you know that Itto’s Ushi also resonates with Zhongli’s pillar(s)!
I’ve been a bit lazy to update the resonance list LOL
What about The Catch? My Zhongli is a shield tank and the Catch allows me to increase his planet damage.
It’s more specifically oriented towards burst DPS, but it works out if you’re looking for that damage
I gotta say I’m completely lost :
I’ve had my lv.80 Zhongli on 4set Archaic Petra (HP%sands/physical dmg%goblet/ HP%circlet, all on 34.8%) and some very good substats.
However, as I increase my AR, I need more DMG, he’s my DPS.
I accidentally chose the sword for the BP(I was furious) so for now he’s stuck with my strongest polearm, Dragonspine Spear
(lv.60, 293 base + 50.8%physical dmg)
Max HP : 28,469
ATK : 877
I basically run on HP, and he far surpasses my other “mainstream” DPS (God really suits my playstyle more, he hits more and faster lol)
You talk about HP being good for a DPS Zhongli, which makes sense to me, I use him that way too.
But then for the artifacts I only see ATK%….?
This would significantly drop my HP, hence my shield !
Did you forget to add the artifact set for DPS AND for support, cause I only see one artifact specs?? Is it for both??
I’m so confused @_@
In the table, as well as below the is a comment, saying to take HP for support (basically support = shielder). It’s a bit hard to see, and I wish I could bold in tables, but it does clarify HP for shields, etc… depending on what role you slot him for!
Then what would his best artifact for support be? :0