Role: Defensive Support / Shielder & Universal RES Shredder
Best For: Players who want an extremely strong shield, reliable interruption resistance, and universal RES reduction that works across many different teams.
1. Recommended Artifacts
4-Piece Tenacity of the Millelith — A useful support option that can provide a teamwide ATK buff when Zhongli’s Stone Stele consistently hits enemies.
Alternative: 4-Piece Archaic Petra can provide a strong Elemental DMG Bonus when Zhongli personally collects the appropriate Crystallize shard. 2-Piece HP% + 2-Piece HP% is the simplest option when maximizing shield strength is the priority.
2. Recommended Weapons
Premium: Staff of Homa
Alternatives: Favonius Lance
F2P: Black Tassel
Black Tassel is one of Zhongli’s most practical weapons for a dedicated shield build because its large HP% secondary stat directly strengthens his Jade Shield. Favonius Lance sacrifices some shield strength but provides additional Energy for the entire team.
3. Recommended Teams
Neuvillette: Neuvillette + Furina + Kazuha + Zhongli
Hu Tao: Hu Tao + Xingqiu + Yelan + Zhongli
Navia: Navia + Zhongli + Fischl + Bennett
Zhongli fits into many teams because his shield provides strong interruption resistance while reducing the Elemental and Physical RES of nearby enemies by 20%. Unlike many specialized supports, this RES reduction can benefit virtually any damage type.
He is particularly valuable for characters whose attacks are easily interrupted, or for teams where comfortable and consistent damage is more important than adding another offensive support.
4. Main Stats / Substats
Sands: HP%
Goblet: HP%
Circlet: HP% / CRIT Rate with Favonius
Priority: HP% → CRIT Rate with Favonius → Flat HP
For a standard support build, Zhongli primarily wants HP because his Jade Shield scales with Max HP. A full HP% / HP% / HP% setup provides the strongest shield and requires very little artifact optimization.
CRIT Rate becomes useful when using Favonius Lance, since Zhongli must trigger the weapon’s passive while he is on-field.
5. Playstyle
Hold Zhongli’s Elemental Skill to create his Jade Shield, then switch to your other characters and continue the team rotation. His shield has excellent uptime and does not depend on Energy, making Zhongli extremely simple to use as a defensive support.
His Elemental Burst deals AoE Geo damage and Petrifies affected enemies. However, a dedicated shield-support Zhongli generally does not need to use his Burst every rotation because its long animation can reduce overall team damage in situations where the crowd control is unnecessary.
For a standard shield build, prioritize Skill. His Burst becomes more important only when intentionally building Zhongli as a Burst support.
6. F2P
Zhongli is extremely F2P-friendly because one of his most useful shield weapons is the 3-star Black Tassel. His standard support build also does not require expensive CRIT artifacts or high Energy Recharge.
F2P players can simply focus on HP artifacts and leveling his Elemental Skill. This relatively low investment is enough to provide the main benefits Zhongli is valued for: a powerful shield, interruption resistance, and universal RES reduction.
*StoryBillion Tip: Zhongli’s shield does more than prevent damage. Nearby enemies also receive 20% Physical and Elemental RES reduction while the shield is active. This means refreshing the Jade Shield before your main damage window provides both defensive protection and an offensive benefit at the same time.
