Once you start getting 5-star Artifacts regularly in Genshin Impact, your inventory can quickly fill with 4-star pieces you are no longer sure you need.
Should you keep them for future characters?
Can some 4-star Artifacts still be useful?
Or should you get rid of them once you have access to 5-star Artifacts?
The short answer is:
You do not need to keep most 4-star Artifacts forever, but you should not automatically get rid of every 4-star piece either.
Some can be useful while your account is developing, as temporary replacements for missing 5-star pieces, or because they belong to 4-star Artifact sets that can still serve a specific purpose.
What you should keep depends largely on your account progression and the characters you are building.
Are 4-Star Artifacts Worse Than 5-Star Artifacts?
In general, 5-star Artifacts have a higher long-term potential.
One of the biggest differences is their maximum enhancement level:
- 4-star Artifacts can be enhanced to +16
- 5-star Artifacts can be enhanced to +20
That allows a 5-star Artifact to reach a higher main-stat value and receive more substat development.
For characters you plan to build heavily, 5-star Artifacts therefore usually become the long-term goal.
However, that does not mean every 5-star Artifact is automatically better than every 4-star Artifact.
A 4-star piece with the correct main stat and useful substats can still be more useful to your character than a poorly matched 5-star piece.
Should New Players Keep 4-Star Artifacts?
Yes.
If you are still progressing through the game and do not have access to a large collection of good 5-star Artifacts, 4-star pieces can be extremely useful.
At this stage, focus more on whether the Artifact actually helps the character than on its rarity.
For example, a useful 4-star Artifact with the correct main stat can be better for your current build than forcing a 5-star Artifact with an unsuitable main stat simply because it has a gold background.
Your Artifact standards should become stricter naturally as your account develops.
There is no need to rush that process.
When Do 5-Star Artifacts Start Replacing 4-Star Artifacts?
The transition usually becomes much more noticeable once you begin farming 5-star Artifacts consistently.
Artifact Domains begin guaranteeing at least one 5-star Artifact from their highest difficulty at Adventure Rank 45, which is why players are commonly advised to save serious Artifact farming for that stage.
Once you can repeatedly farm 5-star pieces, your collection gradually becomes strong enough that most ordinary 4-star Artifacts stop being competitive.
This does not happen immediately.
Reaching Adventure Rank 45 does not magically give you five excellent 5-star pieces for every character.
Replacing your existing 4-star Artifacts is a gradual process.
Can a Good 4-Star Artifact Be Better Than a Bad 5-Star Artifact?
Yes.
Artifact rarity is only one part of the comparison.
Imagine your character needs an Energy Recharge Sands.
You have:
- A 4-star Energy Recharge Sands with useful substats
- A 5-star Sands with a main stat the character does not need
The 4-star piece may be much more useful for the actual build.
The same can happen with Elemental Mastery, Elemental DMG Bonus, CRIT, HP%, DEF%, or other stats depending on the character.
The better question is not:
“Which Artifact has the higher rarity?”
It is:
“Which Artifact actually gives this character the stats they need?”
Should You Keep 4-Star Elemental DMG Bonus Goblets?
They can be worth keeping temporarily.
Obtaining the exact Elemental DMG Bonus Goblet you want as a 5-star piece can take time, especially when you are still building your Artifact collection.
If you have a 4-star Goblet with the correct Elemental DMG Bonus and no suitable 5-star replacement, there is little reason to remove it simply because it is 4-star.
Use it until you find something better.
The same principle applies to other difficult-to-replace main-stat pieces.
A functional temporary Artifact is more valuable than an empty slot in pursuit of a perfect future piece.
Should You Keep 4-Star CRIT Circlets?
Sometimes.
A 4-star CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG Circlet can be useful if your character needs that stat and you have not yet obtained a suitable 5-star alternative.
As your Artifact collection improves, the higher potential of a good 5-star Circlet will eventually make replacement desirable.
But until you actually have that replacement, a useful 4-star Circlet can continue doing its job.
Do not remove a working piece merely because you expect to replace it someday.
Should You Keep 4-Star Elemental Mastery Pieces?
Potentially, yes.
Elemental Mastery can be very important for reaction-focused characters and teams.
If you need an EM main stat on a particular slot and your only suitable option is a 4-star Artifact, that piece can remain useful until you obtain a better 5-star version.
This is especially relevant when the main stat itself matters more to the immediate build than squeezing out the maximum possible value from Artifact rarity.
Again, treat the 4-star piece as a usable solution, not necessarily a permanent endgame Artifact.
Are Any 4-Star Artifact Sets Worth Keeping?
Yes, and this is one of the most important exceptions to the general rule.
Some Artifact sets do not have 5-star versions but can still provide useful set effects in specific builds.
Examples include:
The Exile
The Exile can help with team Energy by restoring Energy to other party members after the wearer uses an Elemental Burst.
This can make the set useful in certain support situations where its team utility matters more than maximizing the wearer’s personal stats.
Instructor
Instructor can increase the party’s Elemental Mastery after the wearer triggers an Elemental Reaction.
That can make it useful in reaction-focused teams where the set bonus provides meaningful team support.
These are examples of why deleting every 4-star Artifact simply because you have started farming 5-star pieces can be a mistake.
Sometimes you are keeping the Artifact for its set effect, not because its individual stats compete with an endgame 5-star piece.
Should You Keep Every Instructor and Exile Artifact?
No.
Knowing that a 4-star set can be useful does not mean you need dozens of pieces from it.
If you want to preserve the option of using one of these sets, keep enough promising pieces to form a practical set.
Prioritize pieces with stats that make sense for the characters likely to use them.
There is little benefit in filling your inventory with large numbers of mediocre duplicates purely because the set might be useful someday.
Keep the useful options, not every copy.
What About 4-Star Flowers and Plumes?
Once you have a strong 5-star Artifact collection, 4-star Flowers and Plumes are usually among the easier pieces to replace.
Their main stats are fixed:
- Flowers always provide flat HP
- Plumes always provide flat ATK
Unlike Sands, Goblets, and Circlets, you are not waiting for a particular rare main stat.
As a result, established accounts can usually become much more selective about keeping 4-star Flowers and Plumes.
The main exception is when you need the piece to complete a useful 4-star set such as Instructor or The Exile.
When Should You Start Getting Rid of 4-Star Artifacts?
There is no specific Adventure Rank where you must suddenly remove them all.
Instead, start becoming more selective when:
- You regularly obtain 5-star Artifacts
- Your main characters already have usable 5-star sets
- Your old 4-star pieces are no longer being equipped
- You already have better replacements
- Your Artifact inventory is becoming difficult to manage
At that point, keeping hundreds of ordinary 4-star pieces “just in case” provides little benefit.
You can begin clearing the easily replaceable ones while preserving useful exceptions.
Which 4-Star Artifacts Should You Keep?
A 4-star Artifact is more likely to be worth keeping if:
- You currently use it on a character
- It has a main stat you still lack on a good 5-star piece
- It serves as a strong temporary Artifact
- It belongs to a useful 4-star-only set
- Its set effect is important for a particular support build
- Replacing it immediately would make the character’s build worse
This does not mean the Artifact needs to stay forever.
It simply means there is no benefit in removing a useful piece before you have a better replacement.
Which 4-Star Artifacts Can You Usually Get Rid Of?
For an established account, ordinary 4-star Artifacts become easier to remove when:
- You already have clearly better 5-star replacements
- Nobody is using them
- Their main stats do not fit any realistic build
- Their substats offer little value
- They are unnecessary duplicates
- They do not belong to a 4-star set you intend to use
The stronger your 5-star collection becomes, the higher your standards for keeping 4-star pieces can become.
Eventually, most of your 4-star inventory may exist only for a few specific set bonuses or temporary builds.
Do You Need Perfect 5-Star Artifacts Before Replacing 4-Star Ones?
No.
This is another easy trap.
You do not need to wait for a perfect 5-star Artifact with flawless substats before replacing a 4-star piece.
A reasonably good 5-star Artifact can already offer advantages because of its higher enhancement ceiling and greater overall stat potential.
Compare the actual pieces rather than waiting for perfection.
If the new 5-star Artifact improves the character’s overall build, it can be a worthwhile replacement even if some of its substats are imperfect.
Should You Level a 4-Star Artifact to +16?
If you are actually going to use it, yes, it can be reasonable.
This is particularly true for developing accounts where the 4-star Artifact may remain equipped for a while.
However, if you already have access to consistent 5-star farming and expect to replace the piece very soon, consider whether spending additional Artifact EXP on it is necessary.
The answer depends on how much immediate value the additional levels provide and how quickly you realistically expect to find a replacement.
Do not avoid improving your current character just because a better Artifact might drop later.
Quick Answer: Should You Keep 4-Star Artifacts?
Keep useful 4-star Artifacts while they still serve a purpose, but you do not need to keep most of them permanently once your 5-star Artifact collection becomes established.
Early and developing accounts can make excellent use of 4-star Artifacts with the correct main stats.
Later, most ordinary 4-star pieces can be replaced by stronger 5-star options.
However, do not blindly remove every 4-star Artifact. Pieces with useful main stats can serve as temporary replacements, and sets such as Instructor and The Exile can remain useful in specific support builds even after you have access to 5-star Artifacts.
The simplest rule is:
Do not replace a useful 4-star Artifact just because it is 4-star. Replace it when you actually have a better option.
As your account grows, the number of 4-star Artifacts worth keeping will naturally become smaller.
