So you pulled the Geo Daddy and now you’re wandering, “what the heck do I do with this guy?” Well, the answer is just about whatever you want! Big Dong Zhong has a schlong so long it’s bigger than King Kong!
All jokes aside, people seemed to react positively to my Yanfei Build post (whom the gacha gods have denied me 😭) so I thought I’d make one for the Shield Daddy since his banner is up again and I know a lot of people are pulling for him.
If you’re interested in Zhongli or already have him and want to build him then hopefully this post can be of use to you! :3
Zhongli is imho the most versatile character in the game right now. He’s an S tier support right up there with Venti and Bennett. His kit offers the strongest shield in the game, crowd control, and an elemental burst that nukes. He’s also capable of being main DPS if built for it, though he’s truly designed to be a support.
Zhongli’s shield is the best shield in the game. Not only is it more durable the other shields, it’s very easy to build by stacking HP on his artifacts, and it also provides universal resistance shredding which is kind of insane.
Zhongli’s Burst also packs a serious punch and acts as a form of crowd control, petrifying enemies for a short period of time. This can be extremely useful against large groups of enemies in the overworld as well as the Spiral Abyss.
When building Zhongli’s talents prioritize his Burst or Skill depending which one you will be using more. As a support Zhongli does not need his normal attacks leveled up. My Zhongli is level 80 with his skill and burst both at level 8 and his performance is chef’s kiss 👩🍳 💋
As a DPS prioritize normal attacks first, then Burst and then his skill.
Zhongli’s talents require books of Gold and Slime Secretions which are both very easy to farm. At higher levels he will require Tusk of Monoceros Caeli, a weekly boss drop from Childe.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Staff of Homa; Vortex Vanquisher; Primordial Jade Spear; Skyward Spine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Deathmatch; Favonius Lance; Blackcliff Pole; Crescent Pike (for physical DPS only)
The Staff of Homa is by far Zhongli’s best weapon for both support and DPS so if you have it, congrats! If not any 5⭐️ polearm will do. If you’re like most players and don’t have a 5⭐️ polearm, don’t fret! Zhongli can make use of quite a few 4⭐️ options.
I personally recommend the Favonius Lance. I use it myself and I love his performance with it! It has an energy recharge sub stat to help with Zhongli’s ult uptime and its passive provides even more energy when Zhongli lands a crit.
If you haven’t acquired a Fav Lance yet there’s still other options. The BP weapon Deathmatch is great for both DPS and Support if you feel like spending $10. If not, the Litchic Spear and Blackcliff Pole are other options if you have them. If you don’t have any of these weapons, the Prototype Starglitter is a craftable polearm with energy recharge sub stat. The passive is kind of useless for Support purposes but the extra ER alone is great!
If you want to use Zhongli as a DPS then the Crescent Pike is his BiS 4⭐️ weapon for physical DPS. It’s a craftable polearm so it’s relatively easy to obtain. CP is not good for support though, so only use it if you’re running a physical DPS set!
This one will be kinda long....like Zhongli’s big dong, (sorry I had to) because Zhongli can make use of several artifact sets. It really just depends if you plan to use him as support or DPS as well as the sub stats. I’ll focus mostly on Support since that’s where Zhongli truly shines.
(4pc) Tenacity of Millelith; (4pc) Noblesse Oblige; (2pc) Archaic Petra, (2pc) Noblesse Oblige; (2pc) AP, (2pc) ToM; (2pc) Exile, (2pc) Scholar.
Tenacity of the Millelith is a new artifact set that’s pretty much tailor made for Zhongli. 2pc set provides 20% extra HP which the geo daddy loves, and the 4pc set increases both attack and shield strength of all party members, even when Zhongli isn’t present on the field. On paper this is insane and it is a truly great artifact set for Zhongli if you want the strongest shield possible. You do lose some damage from his burst though with this set so it’s not necessarily better than the other options, it kinda just depends on how you want to use Zhongli and what sub stats you have.
Noblesse Oblige is a fantastic option for Zhongli if you want his meteors to do big pp damage. As I mentioned above, this set is pretty much tied with Tenacity of the Millelith in terms of usefulness, it just depends if you want a stronger shield of a stronger meteor.
The other options listed above are also great depending on the sub stats. You can mix and match Archaic Petra, Noblesse, and Tenacity sets to get a 2pc bonus of either one.
If for some reason your Zhongli has piss poor Energy Recharge (<100%) then a 2pc Exile / 2pc Scholar set might be worth it for the extra ult uptime. Otherwise stick with the options listed above.
Timepiece: HP% OR Energy Recharge
*Run HP% unless as mentioned above your ER is very low.
Circlet: Crit Rate, Crit Dmg OR HP%
*Generally you always want Crit on your circlet just because. However, if you just want Zhongli’s shield to be stupid tanky then HP% will help you there.
Prioritize sub stats in the following order
Crit Rate = Crit Dmg > HP% > Atk% > Energy Recharge > Flat HP > Flat Atk
(4pc) Gladiator; (4pc) Retracing Bolide; (2pc) Glad, (2pc) Bloodstained Chivalry; (2pc) Archaic Petra, (2pc) Gladiator; (2pc) Archaic Petra, (2pc) Noblesse Oblige
It’s typically recommended to build Zhongli for physical DPS, similar to Razor. 4pc Gladiator is the general rule of thumb for physical DPS but can be hard to farm, so it can also be used with 2pc Bloodstained or even 2pc Archiac to provide more burst damage. 4pc Retracing Bolide is also a great option since Zhongli has very consistent shield uptime. Similar to the support options, which one is best really just depends on the sub stats.
Goblet: Physical Dmg Bonus
Circlet: Crit Rate; Crit Dmg
Prioritize Sub stats in the following order
Crit Rate = Crit Dmg > Atk% > Energy Recharge > HP% > Flat Atk
Unlike artifacts, this section is short because, well, Zhongli can fit into literally any team comp! His universal res shredding and shield durability will help out any team in any situation. He’s especially useful when paired with glass cannons like Ganyu or characters that are easily interrupted like Klee or Yanfei. Consider running him with a physical DPS like Razor or the upcoming 5 ⭐️ character Eula for that sweet physical resistance shred! He also does very well in double Geo comps, but geo resonance is by no means a requirement! Literally just put him into any team comp, you won’t be sorry.
Long Dong Zhongli, the geo shield Daddy, is a fantastic character and works in any team composition! As a support, stack HP% on his artifacts and make sure he has high enough ER to keep his Burst up. As a DPS stack Atk% and give him a physical dmg bonus goblet. Staff of Homa is his BiS weapon but any 5⭐️ polearm is great. Favonius Lance, Deathmatch and Prototype Starglitter are good 4⭐️ options. Crescent Pike is a great 4⭐️ weapon if you’re building him as a DPS.
I hope some people found this useful! If you are pulling for the Geo Daddy good luck to you, he’s an amazing character and I just know you’ll love him!
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