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Zhongli, the former hegemon of contract-based Liyue, excels both as a DPS and support. Players find that his defensive capabilities in particular are off the charts, with shielding that bests all other defense characters in Genshin Impact. That said, due to his equally impressive ability to use Geo damage, building teams around Zhongli can be a particularly difficult affair considering his diverse skill set.
Updated on November 6, 2021, by Scott Vengel: As the excitement of Inazuma’s release starts to fade, and rerun banners start to release, it’s back to normal life in the Genshin Impact community. That said, while the release of Inazuma has come and gone, only now has the true impact of characters from the new region come to light. It’s especially in regards to older playable characters that new characters have left an impression, as the unique style of Inazuma creates new roles for team compositions that the community had not originally expected. As such, this article has been updated to include some new compositions for Zhongli that hadn’t been mentioned the first go-around.
For DPS
Without a doubt, the DPS position is among the most important in any team build. When it comes to Zhongli, the DPS in a team is going to need to work perfectly with Zhongli’s Geo attacks, and shielding in particular.
Generally, it’s fairly hard to choose a bad DPS for Zhongli, but some excel far more than others. In this position, Genshin Impact players will want to focus on improving Zhongli’s elemental skill in order to create better shields.
Raiden Shogun
The Raiden Shogun is a natural support character, but she is still a great choice for the DPS position. She offers improved energy recharge based on her elemental skill, making her a good support for any burst-centric character such as Zhongli. In this way, Raiden Shogun creates a good DPS/sub-DPS relationship with Zhongli, as the Geo Archon shields Raiden Shogun while she builds up energy for his elemental burst.
Albedo
Playing Albedo paired with Zhongli is quite an interesting strategy. Because both excel at creating constructs that radiate Geo energy, it’s possible to create a kill zone with their talents combined. Along with Albedo and Ningguang, Zhongli makes for one of the few characters that benefit from having more than three characters of the same element in the party.
Keqing
One of the major downsides to Keqing is her generally low-tier defense and health. However, Zhongli’s excellent shield can make Keqing into a killing machine, should she be paired with a good enough enabler. Without worrying about damage restraints, Keqing users can attempt more risky maneuvers, allowing her to unleash her full potential.
Yanfei
Once again, Yanfei benefits from Zhongli’s good usage of shields. The biggest issue with catalyst and bow users is how prone they are to being interrupted; however, with Zhongli in the party, this issue is negated. Yanfei can effectively fight at any range without fear of being interrupted by a swarm of Hilichurls.
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For Crystallize & Support
One of the clear benefits to pursuing a Geo-centric is the unique nature of its one reaction: crystallize. Crystallize is incredibly easy to use, especially for Zhongli, because it can be accomplished with a Cryo, Pyro, Hydro, or Electro enabler. Though Zhongli’s shielding is more than capable on its own, a little bit of extra defense goes a long way, especially against stronger foes.
Diluc
In general, Diluc is the best DPS to pair with Zhongli. His attacks offer constant Pyro support, which alters the landscape of grassy areas; this is an A+ strategy to create a lot of crystallize reactions. This can come in beneficial for Diluc. As his attacks often deal passive damage to himself, it never hurts to have extra defense for him.
Bennett
Bennett is an all-around great character for most teams. Between minor healing and heavy damage boosting, it doesn’t take long for most players to find a reason to keep him around. In Zhongli’s case, Bennett is best used as a sub-DPS with support qualities, staying on the field to both deal damage and set up a kill-zone to boost the main-DPS, along with support from Zhongli’s shielding.
Xingqiu
It’s hard to say that any Genshin Impact character is a must-have for any team composition, but the same cannot be said for Xingqiu — pairing him with Zhongli is essential. As his Rain Blades can be transferred to another character, it’s easy to apply Hydro with another element. While Xingqiu is best used with a Pyro or Electro character (Diluc is recommended for best results) he can also be used with Zhongli alone to boost crystallization even more.
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Mona
While Xingqiu’s Hydro application is convenient to use, Mona still makes for the second-best Hydro application. For starters, Mona is a catalyst user, meaning that she can rely on her normal attacks to apply Hydro for crystallize reactions. Better yet, Mona has an area-based elemental skill, allowing her to create shield factories where Zhongli places his pillars.
Miscellaneous
Zhongli’s skill set is incredibly diverse within Genshin’s incredible five-star cast of characters. Nonetheless, even the Geo Archon has his shortcomings, so learning to make up for them is incredibly important. There are plenty of ways to fill in a missing fourth slot in a Zhongli team composition; some of the best are listed below.
Tartaglia
Working together well in the main story (though arguably with bad intent), Tartaglia offers a lot of benefits to a Zhongli team composition. Tartaglia brings the second-best Hydro application in the game so far (second only to Mona.) This comes in addition to passives that increase the talent level of all party member’s normal attacks.
Ningguang
Many players forget to look at passive talents when choosing characters. However, this is particularly the reason why Ningguang benefits from being in a party with Zhongli. Ningguang’s passives heavily increase Geo damage, thus enhancing Zhongli’s power, not to mention the benefits that come with opening up a Geo resonance.
Qiqi
While Jean and Noelle reign on the healer’s tier list for their versatility, Qiqi makes for the best healer in a Zhongli team. Neither Jean nor Noelle offer a strategic advantage outside of healing due to their elements, but Qiqi offers excellent healing as well as additional shielding via Cryo crystallization.
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Noelle
Qiqi is quite possibly the best healer for Zhongli, but Noelle is the most defensive healer in Genshin Impact. She offers a mix of Qiqi and Ningguang’s benefits: she gives Zhongli’s team composition adequate healing, while also unlocking a Geo resonance. That said, Noelle does have the downside of not proving an elemental reaction with Zhongli. Additionally, she lacks of the attack boosts found with Ningguang. Still, she serves as a cost-effective healer option for players who may not be able to use Qiqi.
Most Optimal Team: Diluc/Ningguang/Zhongli/Qiqi
Granted, Albedo and Zhongli make a great team (Albedo can easily be swapped in for Diluc or Ningguang in this setup), but this team is most suitable for easy-to-use damage. Diluc offers both an active source of high DPS as well as soft shielding. All of this is supported by Zhongli’s excellent hard shielding and AoE Geo damage. Alternatively, the Raiden Shogun can be used to a similar effect, however, Diluc is far more accessible for most Genshin Impact players.
Meanwhile, Ningguang acts to support Zhongli, with a passive that increases Geo damage and a Geo resonance that increases the strength of shields. Qiqi may seem like an out-of-place player on the team, but her presence offers a valuable service; in addition to high-tier healing, Qiqi acts to enable Diluc with Cryo damage to form melt reactions for additional DPS.
