Highlights
- Genshin Impact's Battle Pass system, "Gnostic Hymn," offers both free and paid tiers with rewards for completing missions.
- The paid Battle Pass allows players to choose a weapon at level 30, but not all of the new weapons are superior to older options.
- The Talking Stick is the lowest-ranked Battle Pass weapon, while the Serpent Spine and Solar Pearl remain top-tier choices for certain characters.
Genshin Impact offers a Battle Pass system known as the "Gnostic Hymn," which includes both free and paid tiers. By completing daily, weekly, or patch-wide missions, players can earn rewards throughout the duration of a patch. One of the unique features of the paid Battle Pass is that, at level 30, players can choose a weapon from a provided list as part of their rewards.
The Battle Pass weapons have received an update as Genshin Impact continues to expand its world and offerings. Five new weapons, one for each weapon class, have been introduced with version 4.0. While these weapons can provide new ways to build characters, not all of them are necessarily more versatile or superior to the older options. Fortunately, players can still choose the older weapons, ensuring they don't miss out on them if they haven't acquired them all yet. This flexibility allows players to tailor their selections to their specific needs and preferences.
Updates September 26, 2023 by Elara Leclair: This article has been updated to match the current meta.
Talking Stick
- Primary Stat: 565 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 18.4% Crit Rate
- Effect: ATK will be increased by 16/20/24/28/32% for 15s after being affected by Pyro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s. All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 12/15/18/21/24% for 15s after being affected by Hydro, Cryo, Electro, or Dendro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s.
The Talking Stick ranks the lowest among the Battle Pass weapons in Genshin Impact. Its effect is currently not as viable as other available options for most characters, as it requires the player's character to be affected by certain elements. While some characters might be able to achieve this requirement relatively easily, there are no claymore-wielding characters that can do so with ease while also benefiting well from this effect.
Furthermore, even as a stat-stick, the Talking Stick doesn't perform as well as other options like the Serpent Spine, which provides more Crit Rate and more useful effects for a range of claymore users. Therefore, for most players and characters, the Talking Stick is not considered an optimal choice among the Battle Pass weapons.
The Viridescent Hunt
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: Upon hit, Normal and Aimed Shot Attacks have a 50% chance to generate a Cyclone, which will continuously attract surrounding opponents, dealing 40/50/60/70/80% of ATK as DMG to these opponents every 0.5s for 4s. This effect can only occur once every 14/13/12/11/10s.
The Viridescent Hunt is a decent option for bow-wielding characters who rely on normal or charged attacks. This makes it suitable for a wide range of bow DPS characters. However, while it is versatile in terms of the number of characters who can use it, its special effect doesn't provide significant benefits to overall combat effectiveness.
Nevertheless, because it has a decent Crit Rate value, it can still serve as a good stat-stick for many bow characters. This is especially true if players don't have access to many other viable weapon options for those specific characters.
Deathmatch
- Primary Stat: 454 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 36.8% Crit Rate
- Effect: If there are at least 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 16%/20%/24%/28%/32% and DEF is increased by 16%/20%/24%/28%/32%. If there are fewer than 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 24%/30%/36%/42%/48%.
The Deathmatch weapon used to be a solid choice, especially for characters like Zhongli, Hu Tao, or Xiangling. However, its utility has diminished over time with the introduction of newer weapon options. For instance, the Catch, which is entirely free-to-play, and the newly released polearm from the updated Battle Pass have surpassed it.
While the Deathmatch can still work as a stat stick for some main DPS characters, its special effect doesn't particularly benefit characters like Hu Tao, making it not one of the best alternatives to options like Staff of Homa, while Ballad of the Fjords can be much better utilized in those scenarios.
Scion of the Blazing Sun
- Primary Stat: 565 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 18.4% Crit Rate
- Effect: After a Charged Attack hits an opponent, a Sunfire Arrow will descend upon the opponent hit, dealing 60%/75%/90%/105%/120% ATK as DMG, and applying the Heartsearer effect to the opponent damaged by said Arrow for 10s. Opponents affected by Heartsearer take 28%/35%/42%/49%/56% more Charged Attack DMG from the wielder. A Sunfire Arrow can be triggered once every 10s.
While The Viridescent Hunt is useful for normal or charged attack bow users, Scion of the Blazing Sun offers more benefits for characters like Ganyu, Tighnari or Lyney that rely on charged attacks specifically even though the crit value it provides is much less. With that being the case, while still not as highly ranked as many other options, for players who are looking to build the above-mentioned characters it is still a worthwhile option to pick.
The Black Sword
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: Increases DMG dealt by Normal and Charged Attacks by 20%/25%/30%/35%/40%. Additionally, regenerates 60%/70%/80%/90%/100% of ATK as HP when Normal and Charged Attacks score a CRIT Hit. This effect can occur once every 5s.
The Black Sword used to be one of the best 4-star sword options for many DPS-oriented characters, including popular ones like Ayaka. However, while it remains an excellent choice, it's not as worthwhile to invest in anymore, especially considering that the newly released Battle Pass weapon can be even better for a wider variety of characters, including Alhaitham or Ayaka.
That said, for those building a team composition that doesn't heavily rely on a healer, the Black Sword can still be valuable. It provides a slight healing effect to the main DPS character while allowing for more offensive support characters in the team.
Sacrificial Jade
- Primary Stat: 454 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 36.8% Crit Rate
- Effect: When not on the field for more than 5s, Max HP will be increased by 32/40/48/56/64% and Elemental Mastery will be increased by 40/50/60/70/80. These effects will be canceled after the wielder has been on the field for 10s.
Sacrificial Jade offers a significant boost in Crit Rate and unique effects that may appeal to many players for their main and sub DPS characters. It not only increases Max HP but also boosts Elemental Mastery. This makes it particularly useful for characters who can trigger Elemental Reactions off-field, like Yae Miko or Nahida.
However, the character who can derive the most benefit from Sacrificial Jade, over alternatives like Solar Pearl, is Neuvillette. He's the only HP-scaling DPS catalyst character currently available, making Sacrificial Jade the best choice for him apart from his signature 5-star weapon. While Sacrificial Jade may not be the top priority on its own, it holds high value for those planning to build Neuvillette without his signature weapon.
Solar Pearl
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: Normal Attack hits increase Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 20%/25%/30%/35%/40% for 6s. Likewise, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst hits increase Normal Attack DMG by 20%/25%/30%/35%/40% for 6s.
Solar Pearl remains an excellent catalyst for any DPS-oriented character, primarily due to its secondary stat, which provides a boost to Crit Rate. More importantly, its unique effect benefits all types of DPS catalyst users, whether they rely on normal attacks, elemental skills, or elemental bursts. This versatility sets Solar Pearl apart and makes it an exceptional choice for a wide range of characters. While Sacrificial Jade has its merits for specific characters, Solar Pearl's broad applicability and ease of use make it a top-tier option for many.
Ballad of the Fjords
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: When there are at least 3 different Elemental Types in your party, Elemental Mastery will be increased by 120/150/180/210/240.
Ballad of the Fjords serves as an excellent alternative to Deathmatch, especially in team compositions that involve multiple elements to trigger various Elemental Reactions simultaneously. It proves to be a superior choice for both off-field and on-field polearm characters, surpassing Deathmatch's utility for many characters like Xiangling, Hu Tao, and Cyno, who particularly benefit from reactions. Moreover, since its effect doesn't specifically boost one stat like HP, ATK, or DEF, it can be viable for any character scaling with those stats, as long as they benefit from Elemental Mastery.
Serpent Spine
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: Every 4s a character is on the field, they will deal 6%/7%/8%/9%/10% more DMG and take 3%/2.7%/2.4%/2.2%/2% more DMG. This effect has a maximum of 5 stacks and will not be reset if the character leaves the field, but will be reduced by 1 stack when the character takes DMG.
Despite being a 4-star weapon, Serpent Spine stands out as one of the best options for any DPS claymore character available up to this point. Its unique effect allows characters to deal more damage the longer they stay on the field, rather than relying solely on character stats. This means that whether a character scales with HP, ATK, or DEF, Serpent Spine's utility remains valuable, as dealing more damage is always beneficial for a DPS character.
Additionally, it provides a bonus to the character's Crit Rate, enhancing their damage potential. The only drawback to Serpent Spine currently is the lack of recent viable claymore characters in the game's meta, with only characters like Itto or Eula remaining somewhat relevant.
Wolf-Fang
- Primary Stat: 510 Base ATK
- Secondary Stat: 27.6% Crit Rate
- Effect: DMG dealt by Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst is increased by 16%/20%/24%/28%/32%. When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%/2.5%/3%/3.5%/4%. When an Elemental Burst hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%/2.5%/3%/3.5%/4%. Both of these effects last 10s separately, have 4 max stacks, and can be triggered once every 0.1s.
The Wolf-Fang sword is an excellent choice for sword DPS characters who excel at dealing damage with their Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst abilities. This weapon significantly increases their Crit Rate and damage output, making it an ideal option for characters like Alhaitham, Ayato, Keqing, and potentially more in future updates. With the Wolf-Fang sword, players can focus on other stats like Crit DMG without worrying about Crit Rate, ultimately boosting their DPS even further in combat.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG made by MiHoYo. Focusing on the interactions between seven elements, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play gacha game with a host of characters, weapons, regions, and more.