Genshin Impact 4.0 Update at a Glance

Updated 26 August 2023

Genshin Impact Version 4.0 unlocks Fontaine, the Nation of Hydro. The update also adds four new characters, five additional Battle Pass weapons, six freely-obtainable weapons, two new artifact sets, and the Arkhe (Pneuma and Ousia) mechanic.

This Genshin Impact guide examines new 4.0 weapons and artifact sets and describes the best characters who use them. Check out more information on Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet in their quick guides!

Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress. 

Join our Discord to participate in the theorycrafting process.

New Content

Fontaine	Fontaine is accessible after completing the Archon Quest Prologue: Act III “The Song of the Dragon and Freedom” (available at Adventure Rank 18). Upon completion, a Waypoint in the Realm of Farakhkert, Sumeru will automatically unlock. You do not have to complete any Liyue, Inazuma, or Sumeru quests to go to Fontaine.
New Combat Mechanic	Arkhe: Ousia and Pneuma Arkhe is a special Alignment mechanic limited to Fontaine characters and enemies. Each Fontaine character can deal Arkhe damage aligned with either Pneuma or Ousia. Lyney’s Prop Arrows, and Hydro Traveler’s Skill can deal Pneuma-aligned damage, whereas Lynette’s Skill can deal Ousia-aligned damage. By dealing Arkhe damage to an enemy with the opposite Alignment, it is possible to dispel or counteract certain enemy mechanics.
New Artifact Sets	• Golden Troupe • Marechaussee Hunter Two new artifact sets obtained in Fontaine from the Domain “Denouement of Sin.” They will also be obtainable through Spiral Abyss Tier I and II Reliquaries starting 1 September 2023.
New Battle Pass Weapons	• Wolf-Fang (Sword) • Talking Stick (Claymore) • Ballad of the Fjords (Polearm) • Sacrificial Jade (Catalyst) • Scion of the Blazing Sun (Bow) Five new 4-star weapons were added to the Battle Pass (Gnostic Hymn), all with CRIT Rate secondary stats. Old Battle Pass weapons are still available.
New Fontaine Craftable Weapons	• Finale of the Deep (Sword) • Tidal Shadow (Claymore) • Rightful Reward (Polearm) • Flowing Purity (Catalyst) • Song of Stillness (Bow) Five new 4-star weapons can be forged via recipes obtained in Fontaine.
New Fontaine Fishing Reward	Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (Sword) A free 4-star Sword obtained from the Fontaine Fishing Association. It is a useful alternative to Favonius Sword or other ER Swords if you need one.
New Limited-Banner 5-Star Weapon	The First Great Magic (Bow) A new 5-star Bow that is Lyney’s signature weapon. Its CRIT DMG secondary stat allows it to be a 5-star stat stick option, and it is a competitive option for Ganyu and other ATK-scaling Charged Attack DPS characters.
Hydro Traveler	A new Element for the Traveler, unlocked by interacting with a Statue of The Seven in Fontaine. Their Elemental Skill can deal Pneuma-aligned damage.
Lyney	An Event Wish–limited 5-star Pyro Bow character. His Charged Attack can deal Pneuma-aligned damage.
Lynette	A 4-star Anemo Sword character who is available to all players after reaching Adventure Rank 25. Her Elemental Skill can deal Ousia-aligned damage.
Freminet	Information on Freminet is subject-to-change until his official in-game release. Stay tuned!
New Artifact Strongboxes	• Pale Flame • Tenacity of the Millelith • Emblem of Severed Fate • Shimenawa’s Reminiscence • Husk of Opulent Dreams • Ocean-Hued Clam • Echoes of an Offering • Vermillion Hereafter Eight artifact sets were added to the Mystic Offering Artifact Strongboxes at the Crafting Bench, making it easier to farm certain artifact sets.

Arkhe Mechanic Overview

Genshin Impact Version 4.0 introduces a unique mechanic involving the Pneuma and Ousia Alignments, which are intrinsic to characters and enemies hailing from Fontaine.

Fontaine characters can use Arkhe attacks from certain Talents, dealing either Ousia-aligned or Pneuma-aligned damage. Arkhe attacks can only trigger after specific intervals and deal damage of the character’s Element but cannot apply an Elemental aura or trigger reactions. As of Version 4.0, characters only possess Arkhe attacks on one of their Talents, and exclusively deal either Pneuma-aligned or Ousia-aligned damage. However, future characters may not follow this precedent. 

Arkhe attacks are not specifically meant for dealing raw damage but instead to interact with mechanics specific to Fontaine.

Players are guaranteed at least one character of each Alignment:

• Hydro Traveler is Pneuma-aligned and can be unlocked by interacting with a Statue of The Seven in Fontaine. 
• Lynette is Ousia-aligned and can be obtained after reaching Adventure Rank 25.

Character	Alignment	Activating Talent	Arkhe Attack Interval
Hydro Traveler	Pneuma	Elemental Skill	9s
Lynette	Ousia	Elemental Skill	10s
Lyney	Pneuma	Level 2 Charged Attack	6s

Some Fontaine enemies are aligned to either Ousia or Pneuma. Hitting enemies with Arkhe of the opposing energy (Pneuma against Ousia-aligned, Ousia against Pneuma-aligned) triggers “Annihilation”. Annihilation can be used to weaken enemies by disabling certain mechanics, as well as to interact with Arkhe structures.

In the overworld, Pneumousia Blocks (of either energy) can be found, which allow the player to interact with Arkhe mechanisms without needing a Fontaine character. It is likely that enemies will spawn in Spiral Abyss chambers with their special mechanics already active. 

New Artifact Sets Overview

The new artifact sets are found in the Domain of Blessing called Denouement of Sin, located in Romaritime Harbor in Fontaine.

Fontaine’s two new artifact sets are most impactful to characters who can make use of consistent HP changes (including healing and self-damage) and characters whose damage comes primarily from their Elemental Skill. The 2pc set effects of both artifact sets are also quite versatile.

DISCLAIMER: The following suggestions are based on early analysis. Please wait for further calculations and testing before investing a significant amount of Resin into farming these artifacts.

Marechaussee Hunter

The Marechaussee Hunter artifact set’s 2pc effect can be utilized in 2pc mixed sets for characters whose damage is dealt mainly through Normal and Charged Attacks, such as Hu Tao, Yoimiya, and Wanderer. The 4pc effect is much more notable, which potentially grants a massive 36% CRIT Rate buff if its HP change condition is entirely met. For characters who can maintain full stacks, CRIT DMG weapons or Circlets may be preferred to avoid overcapping on CRIT Rate.

How Does Marechausee Hunter’s 4-Piece Set Bonus Work?

• HP Drain or self-damage from certain character Talents (like Xiao’s Burst) are a reliable trigger. However, the number of stacks that can be maintained varies between characters.
• Self-inflicted damage from Burgeon or Bountiful Blooms also triggers the effect. Healers are useful in these circumstances.
• Healing can trigger the effect, but generally isn’t as effective as self-damage, as it does not grant stacks when received at full HP. However, weaker forms of healing like Prototype Amber can be more reliable for stacking the set effect.
• Incoming damage from enemies can trigger the 4pc effect but it is not recommended to be your sole trigger since enemy behavior can be too inconsistent and you can risk dying outright. The Corrosion effect from Riftwolves is consistent, but it is not advisable to farm this set for such a niche circumstance.
• Damage withstood by shields does not trigger the 4pc set effect, so strong shields will prevent you from obtaining stacks.

Which Characters Can Use Marechausee Hunter?

While the current roster of characters who can fully capitalize on Marechausee Hunter’s 4pc effect is limited, this set’s value can increase with the introduction of new characters whose kits feature consistent HP-changing mechanics for themselves or for their allies.

Best 4pc Set Users

Lyney	Lyney’s Level 2 Charged Attacks (Prop Arrows) drain his HP, allowing him to easily build and maintain stacks on the 4pc effect. For this reason, it is better to perform his Skill and Burst after his Charged Attacks to allow them to benefit from the increased CRIT Rate.
Xiao	Since Xiao’s Burst slowly drains his HP over its duration, he can easily maintain full stacks on 4pc Marechausee Hunter without any additional effort. It performs similarly to Vermillion Hereafter and can even surpass it in teams where he receives significant ATK buffs from teammates. Note that the 2pc effect does NOT buff Plunging Attack DMG.

Viable 2pc Set Users

Normal and Charged Attack DPS

The 2pc set of Marechausee Hunter can be useful for mixed sets on characters whose Normal and Charged Attacks make up the vast majority of their damage output such as Hu Tao, Yoimiya, or Wanderer.

Niche 4pc Set Users

Hu Tao	Hu Tao does not make good use of Marechausee Hunter’s 4pc set effect in most cases since her Skill’s HP drain only grants a single stack. Her Burst isn’t reliable either due to its limited use at the end of a rotation. However, weak forms of sustained healing such as Prototype Amber can allow Hu Tao to obtain additional stacks of the 4pc effect, though possibly at the cost of her A4 Passive.
Dehya	Dehya can benefit from the 4pc set effect’s CRIT Rate buffs for most if not all of her Burst’s duration, assuming that the DoT caused by her damage mitigation remains active during her field time.  This set is also much more Resin-efficient to farm than Vorukasha’s Glow (VG). However, similarly to VG, this set is less effective without her C4 as her high ER requirements tend to make Emblem of Severed Fate a more practical option at lower Constellations.
On-field DPS in Burgeon	On-field DPS units in Burgeon teams can use Marechausee Hunter well because of the constant self-damage incurred by these Bloom-related reactions. Units that don’t tend to focus on building EM for reaction damage benefit more, such as Ayato. This set is not recommended in Hyperbloom since the reaction’s AoE is too small to guarantee self-damage.
Lynette	Lynette can use Marechausee Hunter well in her C6 on-field Anemo DPS playstyle, as she appreciates the 2pc effect while her Burst can dynamically benefit from stacks gained by her Skill’s HP drain. However, the 4pc set does not trigger from off-field; in such cases Emblem of Severed Fate is preferred in Anemo-focused teams. For general use, 4pc Viridescent Venerer is much preferred to increase team damage.

Not Recommended

Hydro Traveler

Hydro Traveler (HMC) can easily build full stacks on Marechausee Hunter’s 4pc effect as their Elemental Skill will continuously drain HP above 50% for its duration. However, HMC isn’t a particularly good damage dealer anyway; even this set’s massive CRIT Rate buff is unlikely to fix that.

Golden Troupe

Both the 2pc and 4pc effects of Golden Troupe provide rather straightforward Skill DMG%, with further incentives for characters who deal damage while off-field. Off-field Elemental Skill DPS units can enjoy a total of 70% Elemental Skill DMG Bonus with the 4pc effect; however, this does not equate to a 70% increase in damage due to the way the stat works in damage calculation.

Which Characters Can Use Golden Troupe?

Golden Troupe has fairly good value as a number of characters appreciate its Skill DMG% buffs to varying extents. For most characters, it serves as a decent 2pc alternative to their other sets, while the 4pc set is quite competitive on several characters.

Best 4pc Set Users

Fischl	4pc Golden Troupe is likely Fischl’s universal Best-in-Slot artifact set. The Elemental Skill DMG% buff affects Oz’s damage as well as Fischl’s A4 Passive procs and her C6 coordinated attacks.  Fischl’s reduced field time often lets her benefit from the 4pc effect’s off-field bonus. In Quicken teams, Fischl’s damage also scales better with Skill DMG% than with ATK or EM, as it benefits both her unreacted and Aggravate damage.
Yae Miko	Yae is an excellent user of 4pc Golden Troupe (especially with Constellations) since her Sesshou Sakura turrets are her main source of damage. In Quicken teams, she also appreciates the Skill DMG% buffs more than additional ATK or EM buffs. Golden Troupe does lose effectiveness in an on-field playstyle as Yae cannot maximize the 4pc effect in this circumstance. Furthermore, it does not buff her Burst, which limits its value in AoE scenarios where her Burst is more impactful.
Albedo	In most teams, Albedo rarely uses his Burst and instead has all his damage output in his off-field Skill, which makes him a viable user of 4pc Golden Troupe. The set’s performance is similar to 4pc Husk of Opulent Dreams, but it can be more Resin-efficient if you do not need more than one Husk set nor an Ocean-Hued Clam set. However, Albedo is commonly used in Mono Geo teams, where you would want to farm another 4pc Husk set for Itto or Noelle anyway.

Viable 2pc Set Users

Elemental Skill DPS Units

Any character who deals a significant portion of their damage via their Skill can appreciate its 2pc effect in mixed 2pc sets. Some examples include Heizou, Bennett, and Alhaitham.

Niche 4pc Set Users

Alhaitham	The bulk of Alhaitham’s damage output comes from his Mirror Projection attacks, which count as Skill damage. While he does appreciate the hefty Skill DMG% buff even without the off-field buff, this set may not be a large improvement over his other sets like 4pc Gilded Dreams because he gets additional benefits from EM.
Nahida	Nahida’s Skill makes for the majority of her damage output. However, Nahida’s teams often benefit more from her equipping 4pc Deepwood, as she can maintain its Dendro RES Shred effect more consistently (especially in AoE) than many other characters. This also allows her teammates to run more damage-oriented sets, as she generally does not contribute the majority of team damage.  4pc Gilded Dreams and 2pc combinations also remain strong and Resin-efficient options since Nahida greatly benefits from EM thanks to her Skill’s direct EM scaling as well as her Ascension Passives.
Heizou	Golden Troupe can be a decent option for Heizou as the majority of his personal damage is dealt via his Elemental Skill. It is best used in teams where he does not need to hold 4pc Viridescent Venerer.
C6 Faruzan	At C6, Faruzan’s Burst gains additional damage instances that are considered Skill damage. While Golden Troupe does increase her personal damage output, it can be preferable to run 4pc Tenacity of the Millelith instead if she is supporting a hypercarry like Wanderer, since it likely results in higher team DPS.
Geo Traveler, Zhongli	Golden Troupe is a good option on Geo Traveler or Zhongli if playing a team focused around Geo Constructs, given the majority of such teams’ damage stems from Elemental Skills. The quickswap nature of the playstyle allows for good uptime on the full set effect.
Xingqiu	4pc Golden Troupe can be an option on Xingqiu for niche Vaporized Skill–focused “damage per screenshot” setups, which allows for tremendous front-loaded damage at the cost of his sustained Burst damage.

Not Recommended

Nilou	At lower Constellations, Nilou’s personal damage from Talents is negligible compared to the damage she brings from buffing Blooms, and she often prefers using the Tranquility Aura variant of her Skill, which does not deal damage. In such cases, stick to her typical HP% and/or EM sets. Even at higher investment or in non-Bloom teams, this set does nothing to buff Nilou’s Burst, which can contribute sizable damage in Hydro damage–focused playstyles.
Amber	A mediocre option for Amber’s “Bunny Bomber” playstyle, which requires her C2 and ideally her C4 to function. It is difficult to achieve full stacks on the 4pc effect due to her Charged Shot wind-up time. Even with full stacks, its performance falls behind other options.
Ayato, Tartaglia	While Ayato and Tartaglia have special melee attacks that scale with Skill Talent levels, the actual attacks performed are considered Normal Attack damage.  Although Tartaglia has some synergy with the set thanks to his Riptides, it is not particularly advantageous over other 2pc set options that improve all aspects of his damage.

New Free & Craftable Weapons Overview

Fontaine’s craftable weapons have a consistent theme of passives that involve HP or healing. Weapon descriptions are stated on a range of R1–R5.

DISCLAIMER: The following suggestions are based on early analysis. Please wait for further calculations and testing before investing in billets and ore to craft or refine these weapons.

Finale of the Deep (Sword)

Finale of the Deep is a good free-to-play option for any ATK-scaling Sword damage dealer, assuming their ER requirements have already been met. While its buffs are appreciable, it is generally not worth modifying rotations to snapshot the buff obtained from the Bond of Life, nor building HP to maximize it; simply treat it as a useful buff for damage dealers with longer field times.

Note that the Bond of Life will prevent the character from restoring HP while it has not yet been cleared; this can reduce survivability somewhat and limit stacks with the Marechaussee Hunter set, though these issues are negligible with consistent healing.

For higher ER requirements, other options such as Favonius Sword, Amenoma Kageuchi, or Sacrificial Sword may still be more useful.

Best Users

Ayaka, Ayato, Kaeya, Jean, Xingqiu	Damage dealers who can use this weapon well assuming their ER requirements have already been met.
Keqing	While Keqing’s teams often prefer a shielder over a healer, which limits this weapon’s effectiveness, she can still make good use of it thanks to the ATK% it provides.

Tidal Shadow (Claymore)

Tidal Shadow is a simple ATK% stat stick for ATK-scaling Claymore users that can be a decent upgrade over Prototype Archaic if run with consistent healers, especially for on-field units. It is generally not worth modifying rotations specifically for its passive buff. 

While Itto and Noelle’s Normal Attacks scale with ATK, their Bursts’ DEF to ATK conversion means that Whiteblind is still the superior option.

Best Users

Diluc, Eula, Beidou, Razor, Chongyun, Xinyan, Dehya

Damage dealers who can use this weapon well assuming their ER requirements have already been met.

Rightful Reward (Polearm)

Rightful Reward is currently an underwhelming option due to its confusing mix of stats. While there are characters who would appreciate both HP% and Energy restoration, this weapon is rather unimpressive in comparison to other Polearms.

Characters that care about high Base ATK currently do not want HP% for a secondary stat, while characters that want HP% would prefer Black Tassel, a 3-star weapon with a higher HP% secondary stat. 

While its Energy restoration is greater than other options for the wielder, it lacks the team utility of Favonius Lance, and its passive is more restrictive than Kitain Cross Spear’s.

Best Users

Mika, Yaoyao

Can reliably trigger the passive with their own healing. However, they typically don’t need extra HP% from their weapons to provide sufficient healing for their team. Favonius Lance is more beneficial in teams with Energy-hungry units (e.g., Eula).

Not Recommended

Thoma	Favonius Lance or Kitain Cross Spear are about as effective options for reducing Thoma’s ER requirements. However, Favonius Lance provides Energy to the team, while Kitain has the added benefit of increasing Thoma’s EM in Burgeon. Thoma also often replaces the team’s healer, which can prevent him from even proccing the weapon’s passive.
Zhongli	Shield bot Zhongli generally doesn’t use his Burst, and usually replaces the team’s healer; as such, he often does not benefit from the weapon’s passive. Black Tassel is much better for increasing his Shield’s durability, while Favonius Lance provides better team utility.
Hu Tao	While Hu Tao’s damage does benefit from HP%, she does not particularly care about the high Base ATK and Energy restoration from its passive. White Tassel remains a more effective option while also being easier to obtain and cheaper to level.

Flowing Purity (Catalyst)

Flowing Purity is a much appreciated free-to-play weapon option for any ATK-scaling Catalyst DPS, with a more universally useful secondary stat (ATK%) than that of Mappa Mare (EM), and a much better passive than that of Frostbearer, even without considering the Bond of Life effect. It is not recommended to build HP just to increase the Bond of Life effect, nor is it worth modifying rotations solely for snapshotting the Bond of Life buff.

Note that the Bond of Life will prevent the character from restoring HP while it has not yet been cleared; this can reduce survivability somewhat and have some anti-synergy with the Marechaussee Hunter set, though these issues are negligible with consistent healing.

Best Users

Wanderer, Heizou, Ningguang	Catalyst damage dealers who do not make good use of EM in their traditional damage builds.
Klee, Yae Miko, Yanfei, Lisa	Purity is still a potent alternative to Mappa Mare for these characters in reaction teams, while also performing well in teams where they do not trigger reactions frequently, if at all.

Song of Stillness (Bow)

Song of Stillness is a simple ATK% and DMG% stat stick (assuming you are able to trigger its passive). It is not advised to modify your rotations heavily just to maximize the passive buff. 

However, Hamayumi is likely to be more reliable for Bow characters focused around their Normal or Charged Attacks, and Prototype Crescent is more effective if the enemy has weak points. This weapon also requires the team to include a healer to be competitive with the other options.

Best Users

Fischl

Fischl benefits from the ATK% stats and the potential buff from the passive.

Possible Users

Yoimiya, Lyney, Ganyu

Hamayumi and Prototype Crescent are strong alternatives to this weapon for Normal or Charged Attack–focused characters, as their passives can be much more consistent. These characters still prefer to run a shielder even with a healer due to their vulnerability to interruption.

Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (Sword)

Fleuve Cendre Ferryman is basically an Energy Recharge stat stick. It greatly incentivizes characters to catch Particles generated by their own Elemental Skills. This weapon is most useful if you do not have enough Energy Recharge Swords (such as Favonius Sword or Sacrificial Sword) to go around.

Best Users

Kazuha, Jean, Xingqiu, Dendro Traveler, Electro Traveler

These characters enjoy the Energy Recharge secondary stat of Fleuve Cendre Ferryman and benefit from the passive effect. Nonetheless, other Swords like Favonius Sword should be used if available.

Possible Users

Bennett

Sapwood Blade has a higher Base ATK which is preferred as it increases Bennett’s ATK buff.

New Battle Pass Weapons Overview

The new set of Battle Pass weapons are CRIT Rate stat sticks, each of which having a somewhat unique buffing mechanic. Of the new selection, the Sword and Polearm stand out as potent 4-star options, but are by no means required on characters they work well on.

DISCLAIMER: The following suggestions are based on early analysis. Please wait for further calculations and testing before purchasing and selecting a Battle Pass weapon.

Wolf-Fang (Sword)

Wolf-Fang is a fairly strong 4-star weapon for Sword characters whose primary sources of damage are their Elemental Skill or Burst. This weapon is best used on characters who stay on-field, as they can maintain the passive’s CRIT Rate buffs. 

Best Users

Alhaitham	Greatly appreciates the CRIT buff for his Elemental Skill.
Ayaka, Keqing	Their Burst have high hit counts that quickly stack the Burst CRIT Rate buff from the weapon’s passive.
Lynette, Xingqiu, Kaeya	These characters utilize the weapon as a decent CRIT Rate and Burst DMG% stat stick, but they often have limited uptime on the CRIT Rate passive.

Not Recommended

Albedo, Layla

Save yourself some money and just use Harbinger of Dawn on these characters, unless you really have trouble keeping them over 90% HP.

Talking Stick (Claymore)

Talking Stick’s passive is relatively difficult to trigger, often requiring characters such as Bennett or Dori to apply auras to their teammates. Trying to trigger this passive by deliberately receiving enemy attacks is not advised.

This weapon faces stiff competition from the alternative Battle Pass Claymore, Serpent Spine, which provides more CRIT Rate (generally more valuable than Base ATK) and also more DMG% at full stacks of its passive, ranging from 30-50% depending on refinement. It is also much easier to build stacks on Serpent Spine, simply by idling with the equipping character before fights.

The Stick may become more relevant if more Claymore characters unable to use Serpent Spine’s passive are released, but at the current moment it is generally not a big improvement.

Talking Stick is not recommended in general.

Ballad of the Fjords (Polearm)

Ballad of the Fjords is a good alternative to Deathmatch for Polearm DPS units who scale better with EM than ATK, assuming that they can abide by the passive’s team encouragement. Thankfully, many effective team archetypes involve at least three different Elements anyway.

Best Users

Hu Tao	Apart from wanting either Xingqiu or Yelan (or both), Hu Tao’s team compositions often slot in a third Element to enable reactions like Melt or Overloaded. Zhongli is also a popular choice that fulfills the three Element requirement.
Cyno	This weapon works well for Cyno in Aggravate and Quickbloom teams.
Xiangling	Xiangling finds this weapon a decent choice in Vaporize/Overvape compositions, though it has to compete with the Catch which can be obtained for free.

Possible Users

Raiden	Ballad of the Fjords is a decent weapon for Raiden in Aggravate, but likely not much better than the free Catch. For Hyperbloom, an R1 Dragonsbane is much more cost-efficient.
Rosaria	In Reverse Melt teams, Rosaria can make good use of this weapon, but restricts her to either relying Jean or Nahida for Pyro application, or prevents slotting in a second Cryo unit, increasing her ER requirements.

Sacrificial Jade (Catalyst)

As of Version 4.0, Sacrificial Jade is primarily a CRIT Rate and EM stat stick for off-field Catalyst damage dealers. No units in the current Catalyst unit roster can make full use of all the weapon’s attributes, since they typically do not need HP, EM, and CRIT Rate in combination. 

This weapon faces stiff competition from The Widsith, whose passive tends to be much more impactful albeit inconsistent.

Best Users

Nahida, Yae Miko, Lisa, Yanfei, Klee

Catalyst units who can benefit from both EM and CRIT Rate. The added HP does nothing for damage, but shores up survivability. Yanfei is able to benefit more from HP, as the stat boosts her C4 shield durability.

Possible Users

Heizou, Wanderer, Ningguang

Catalysts users can still use this weapon as a CRIT Rate stat stick, even if they do not benefit from EM or HP. Alternative 4-star weapons with more synergistic passives (such as Flowing Purity) may have similar or even better performance.

Not Recommended

Kokomi	While Kokomi does benefit from HP (and EM in Nilou teams), her special passive that prevents her from critting completely wastes Sacrificial Jade’s secondary stat; stick to weapons like Prototype Amber or Sacrificial Fragments.
Baizhu	While Baizhu can use all of this weapon’s stats in a DPS build, his kit is not particularly suited to dealing damage anyway.

Scion of the Blazing Sun (Bow)

Scion of the Blazing Sun is a decent weapon for Charged Attack–focused Bow characters, inflicting a debuff on enemies that makes them receive more damage from subsequent Charged Attacks. However, this effect is primarily single-target and thus less impactful in AoE combat.

Best Users

Ganyu, Tighnari, Lyney

These Charged Attack-focused Bow characters can use the passive; however, other Bows are likely better still.

Possible Users

Tartaglia

While he often incorporates Charged Attacks into his Melee combos, his AoE focus often makes Viridescent Hunt’s crowd controlling passive more useful in practice.

New Event Wish-Exclusive Weapon Overview

The First Great Magic (Bow)

Lyney’s signature weapon. First Great Magic’s CRIT DMG substat is appreciated if using the Marechaussee Hunter and Blizzard Strayer 4pc sets due to the abundance of CRIT Rate they provide; the weapon’s Charged Attack DMG Bonus is also relevant for some Bow characters. Though the passive’s Movement SPD buff is not particularly impactful in combat, it is not worth modifying your team just to gain Gimmick stacks over other more important team-building considerations.

Best Users

Lyney	Lyney’s Best-in-Slot weapon, designed to synergize with his kit: his main source of damage are Charged Attacks, and his A4 Passive already encourages bringing Pyro teammates.
Ganyu	This weapon’s stats are very much appreciated for increasing the damage of her Charged Attacks. This weapon also has good synergy in her Freeze and Mono Cryo teams, where she gains additional ATK from having additional Cryo teammates.
Amber	Amber’s Best-in-Slot weapon in Melt Charged Shot, Physical, and Bunny Bomber playstyles.
Tighnari	An excellent choice for Tighnari, who benefits from all the stats it provides. The ATK% provided by the passive is especially useful if he already has a large amount of EM from his artifacts and external buffs.

Possible Users

Tartaglia & Other Bow Characters

Even without using its Charged Attack DMG Bonus, it still provides a high amount of CRIT DMG and ATK, which is well appreciated on many damage dealers. It has added benefits on characters who often run with another character of the same Element.

Not Recommended

Yelan

Yelan’s pure HP% scaling on her Skill and Burst mean she does not benefit at all from its passive. While it does provide a hefty amount of CRIT DMG, the 3-star Slingshot provides the equivalent amount in CRIT Rate.

Credits

nikatosaurus, .athene., redd, irokei, lostguide, polomo, casdela, notnilou, nyteshadows