There are several pieces of equipment players can give their characters in Genshin Impact to strengthen them. The most important aspect in this manner is artifacts, but weapons play a major role too. Choosing better equipment can easily bring a character up to a whole new level. Therefore, when choosing a weapon for their unit, players must carefully check its main stat, sub-stat, and its passive.
Many kinds of weapon passives exist in Genshin Impact, and can have a huge impact on the way that weapon is used in battle. For example, while a passive that causes periodical AOE damage is generally mediocre, there are also weapons with unique and helpful passives. Here are some examples.
8 Thrilling Tales Of Dragon Slayers
Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers may be a 3-star weapon in Genshin Impact, but its utility shouldn't be underestimated. This Catalyst's passive grants a massive ATK buff when players swap out the equipping character. Every 20 seconds, after character swap, the on-field character gains a +48% ATK buff for 10s.
Usually, players will equip this item on support units like Barbara or Mona. Because it's a common weapon, players can easily refine it to Rank 5. At Rank 1, it grants a 24% ATK buff. However, of course, because it's a low-tier item, it's not viable for damage dealing.
7 Favonius Weapons
Weapons of the Favonius Series have an amazing passive that makes them perfect for support units. With it, crit hits have a 60% chance to generate six Energy worth of Elemental Particles. This can occur once every 12 seconds.
It has one weakness, though: It only works if the character deals Critical hits. So even though it's equipped on a support, they still need to have enough Critical Rate to trigger the passive. At Refinement Rank 5, the proc chance is boosted to 100%, and the cooldown is reduced to six seconds.
6 Serpent Spine
Serpent Spine is a Battle Pass weapon, and its passive easily makes it one of the best Claymores in Genshin Impact. Every 4 seconds of field time, the equipping character will deal 6% more Damage and take 3% more damage. This passive can stack up to five times, but one stack will be removed whenever the character takes damage.
With this stacking buff, over the course of 20 seconds, players can amass an extra 30% Damage on any hits. However, it also causes the character to be more vulnerable to damage. Luckily, this effect can easily be nullified by having a reliable Genshin Impact shielder like Zhongli or Diona.
5 The Widsith
Among all the 4-star Catalysts, The Widsith is likely the best offensive weapon. It has a Critical Damage sub-stat and offers a massive buff via its passive. Every 30s, when the equipped character takes the field, randomly gain one of the following buffs for 10 seconds:
- Recitative (+60% ATK)
- Aria (+48% Elemental DMG)
- Interlude (+240 Elemental Mastery)
This catalyst is especially great for Sub-DPS like Mona. The Astrologist can easily trigger the buff every time she enters the field. At Refinement Rank 5, all the listed effects are doubled, so Travelers can get +120% ATK, +96% Elemental Damage, or +480 Elemental Mastery.
4 Sacrificial Weapons
Sacrificial Weapons are especially amazing for units that have a long Elemental Skill cooldown. With their Passive, after the user's Elemental Skill deals damage, it has a 40% chance to end its own cooldown. This can occur once every 30 seconds.
With this passive, the character can easily regain their Skill, allowing them to deal higher damage and generate more Elemental Particles. Notable users for these weapons include Xingqiu, Sucrose, and Diona. However, it's important to note that there's no Sacrificial Polearm, so players can’t use it on Skill-reliant units like Thoma.
3 Engulfing Lightning
This Polearm is easily the best-in-slot weapon for Raiden Shogun. But other than that, Engulfing Lightning is also an amazing option for other units. Its passive increases ATK by 28% of Energy Recharge (exclude the base 100%) for a maximum of +80% ATK. Users also gain 30% Energy Recharge for 12 seconds after using an Elemental Burst.
Sub-DPS and Energy Recharge-reliant characters like Xiangling and Thoma can perform significantly better with Engulfing Lightning. The spear increases ATK based on Energy Recharge (ER) stat while giving ER through its sub-stat. This ATK buff is further boosted after the character uses Elemental Burst.
2 Staff Of Homa
Hu Tao is already a beast on her own, but with the Staff of Homa, she enters a whole new level. This Polearm provides a Critical Damage sub-stat and a passive that further boosts her ATK based on her HP. It increases HP by 20%, and increases ATK based on 0.8% of the wielder's max HP. If the user's current HP is less than 50%, it adds ATK by 1% of max HP.
Since Hu Tao is an HP unit, it's obvious that the Staff of Homa is made for her. Other than her, though, this weapon is also a great option for Xiao. The Anemo DPS can easily utilize the weapon's passive.
1 Primordial Jade Cutter
Primordial Jade Cutter's passive may seem extremely basic, but it's actually an amazing option for practically any Sword user. It boosts HP by 20%, and increases ATK based on 1.2% of the wielder's max HP. The weapon has a massive Critical Rate sub-stat, and all characters can benefit from the HP and ATK boost.
The only unit that may skip on this Sword is Bennett. Since Benny's buff scales with his Base ATK, players would want a weapon that has the highest base stat. Primordial Jade Cutter's maximum ATK is merely 542. This is lower than some 4-star Swords like Blackcliff Longsword, Prototype Rancour, and The Alley Flash (565, 565, and 620 Base ATK, respectively.)
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.