There are five types of weapons available in Genshin Impact; Sword, Claymore, Catalyst, Bow, and Polearm. Players can get these weapons from different sources, and one of them is forging. Forging is a crafting activity where players can make weapons by exchanging certain materials. For weapons, the core materials are Prototypes, an item dropped exclusively from Weekly Boss.
Other than that, some content in Genshin Impact also has a one-time Prototype reward, for example, Spiral Abyss, Events, Sigil Shops, and Sacred Sakura Tree. Because of how scarce this item is, players shouldn't use them mindlessly. To know which weapon is worth forging, they can refer to this list.
Note: Every listed stat is at level 90, Refinement Rank 1
10 Katsuragikiri Nagamasa (Claymore)
- Main Stat: 510 ATK
- Sub Stat: 45.9% Energy Recharge
- Passive: Elemental Skill DMG +6%. Every 10s, after Elemental Skill hits an opponent, loses 3 Energy but regenerates 9 over 6s. Can be triggered even when the character is not on the field
- Suitable Characters: Sayu, Chongyun
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa is a new claymore available in Genshin Impact 2.0. This claymore is mostly great for Support characters that rely on their Elemental Burst. For example, it's the best option for Support Sayu as the Shuumatsuban Ninja badly needs Energy Recharge.
9 Prototype Rancour (Sword)
- Main Stat: 565 ATK
- Sub Stat: 34.5% Physical DMG Bonus
- Passive: On hit, Normal or Charged Attacks increase ATK and DEF by 4% for 6s. Max 4 stacks. Can only occur once every 0.3s
- Suitable Characters: Kaeya, Jean Bennett, Physical Keqing
Prototype Rancour is a must-have 4-star sword when building a Physical DPS. In addition to this Physical DMG increase, it also buffs the wielder's ATK as long as they're dealing damage. Rancour has the highest Base ATK among F2P weapons, making it the perfect choice for Bennett.
8 Mappa Mare (Catalyst)
- Main Stat: 565 ATK
- Sub Stat: 110 Elemental Mastery
- Passive: Triggering an Elemental reaction grants an 8% Elemental DMG Bonus for 10s. Max 2 stacks
- Suitable Characters: Klee, Lisa, Mona, Yanfei, Sucrose
Mapa Mare was and still is a viable option for Catalyst users that count on Elemental Reactions. Not only does it boost their Reactions' damage, but it also buffs their Elemental damage for a while.
7 Amenoma Kageuchi (Sword)
- Main Stat: 454 ATK
- Sub Stat: 55.1% ATK
- Passive: Every 5s, gain 1 Stack after casting an Elemental Skill. Max 3 Stacks, lasts for 30s. After using an Elemental Burst, all Stacks are consumed and after 2s, the character regenerates 6 Energy for each consumed Stack
- Suitable Characters: Ayaka, Jean, Support Kaeya
Amenoma Kageuchi is tricky to use. Characters that can spam their Elemental Skill benefit the most from it. But for that, they need to be included more in the team's rotation. Ayaka can greatly benefit from it as she can spam her Elemental Skill and her Elemental Burst deals massive damage.
6 Hamayumi (Bow)
- Main Stat: 454 ATK
- Sub Stat: 55.1% ATK
- Passive: Increases Normal Attack DMG by 16% and Charged Attack DMG by 12%. When the equipping character's Energy reaches 100%, this effect is increased by 100%
- Suitable Characters: Yoimiya, Fischl, Ganyu, Tartaglia
Most bow users count on their Normal and Charged Attacks, making Hamayumi a great option for most archers. However, this bow is mostly viable on bow users that have enough damage to neglect their Bursts. This is because the real buff activates when the wielder doesn't use their fully-filled Elemental Burst.
5 Prototype Crescent (Bow)
- Main Stat: 510 ATK
- Sub Stat: 41.3% ATK
- Passive: Charged Attack hits on weak points increase Movement SPD by 10% and ATK by 36% for 10s
- Suitable Characters: Ganyu, Yoimiya, Amber
Characters that rely on their Charged Attacks will love Prototype Crescent. Aiming at enemies’ weak points will grant them a massive ATK% buff, especially when on Prototype’s fifth refinement.
4 Hakushin Ring (Catalyst)
- Main Stat: 565 ATK
- Sub Stat: 30.6% Energy Recharge
- Passive: After the character equipped with this weapon triggers an Electro elemental reaction, nearby party members of an Elemental Type involved in the elemental reaction receive a 10% Elemental DMG Bonus for their element, lasting 6s. Elemental Bonuses gained in this way cannot be stacked
- Suitable Characters: Lisa, Kokomi, Mona
Hakushin Ring can be a stable buff for a team built around Electro and its reactions. Hakushin's buff doesn't have a cooldown, so it can stay active as long as the wielder is triggering Electro Elemental Reactions.
3 Whiteblind (Claymore)
- Main Stat: 510 ATK
- Sub Stat: 51.7% DEF
- Passive: On hit, Normal or Charged Attacks increase ATK and DEF by 6% for 6s. Max 4 stacks (24% total). Can only occur once every 0.5s
- Suitable Characters: Noelle, Xinyan
Whiteblind's main and sub-stats are a great addition to any character that relies on defense with their scalings. Players can benefit from the DEF% given to the wielder while still having the option to boost the character's ATK%. Noelle and Xinyan can both benefit from this weapon, no matter what role they're taking.
2 Crescent Pike (Polearm)
- Main Stat: 565 ATK
- Sub Stat: 34.5% Physical DMG Bonus
- Passive: After picking up an Elemental Orb/Particle, Normal and Charged Attacks deal an additional 20% ATK as DMG for 5s
- Suitable Characters: Xiangling, Rosaria
Although there are not many choices to wield Crescent Pike, the weapon is a top-tier choice for any Physical DPS character. So far, only Rosaria and Xiangling fully benefit from the weapon's stats and buff.
1 Prototype Archaic (Claymore)
- Main Stat: 565 ATK
- Sub Stat: 27.6% ATK
- Passive: On hit, Normal or Charged Attacks have a 50% chance to deal an additional 240% ATK DMG to opponents within a small AoE. Can only occur once every 15s
- Suitable Characters: Diluc, Razor, Eula, Chongyun
Over one year later, Prototype Archaic still carries the Claymore DPS for most F2P players. The weapon's passive isn't that beneficial, yet the high Base ATK gives a reliable solution for most characters. The best part of this weapon is its flexibility, where most characters can benefit from its stat.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.