The world of Genshin Impact is probably its biggest selling point. The game takes a Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild-esque approach to crafting their world, and it works wonders. While it doesn't have the kind of physics tomfoolery that BoTW offers, there's still a huge world to explore at leisure, with beautiful characters.
Related: Genshin Impact: Every Playable Character's Age, Height, And Birthday
One of these characters is Chongyun. The adorable Cryo exorcist packs quite a punch. If freezing enemies then shattering them with a massive sword is a player's idea of fun, they will like Chongyun. However, for every character, there are some builds that can extract the most of their abilities, and these are the ones for Chongyun.
Updated on August 1st, 2021, by Scott Vengel: As Genshin Impact continues to expand, the need for stronger characters has been more crucial than ever. In just the first few weeks of Inazuma's release alone, the game has seen a massive increase in difficulty. From sturdy samurai with good defense and offense to massive mobs of machines with unique capabilities, the rough island nation is like nothing the Genshin Impact community has ever seen before. Naturally, some new characters do offer great benefits to make gameplay easier, but sometimes, upgrading some of the game's classic favorites can make all the difference. For this reason, this guide will be expanded to make building Chongyun easier with more clarity.
Chongyun is a 4 star Cryo claymore character and focuses on DPS. However, there is an interesting, icy twist to this young exorcist. While he does deal massive amounts of damage just with his claymore, his Elemental Skill creates an area where every attack does bonus Cryo damage. So after activating his elemental skill, there is basically an area of constant, boosted Cryo damage which makes him a very versatile character. His elemental burst, similarly, drops giant ice swords from the sky, applying Cryo damage and knockback to enemies nearby.
Because of his well-rounded Cryo kit, he can play a lot of roles in a team. Chongyun's builds in Genshin Impact focus on boosting either his base damage or his Cryo damage. Attack damage is obviously the most important stat for DPS builds, but some other stats that also work well with his abilities. Crit chance, Crit damage, and energy recharge are all good stats to prioritize, as they allow him to put out more and more damage from his elemental burst, as well as making critical hits more consistent and devastating.
The full list of best artifact stats to focus on for Chongyun's builds include:
- Attack % to increase Chongyun's base damage
- Elemental Mastery to increase reaction strength
- Energy Recharge in order to use Chongyun's elemental burst more often
- Cryo Damage % to increase elemental damage
- Crit rate/damage to increase the frequency and strength of critical hits respectively
This build focuses on all-out DPS and keeps Chongyun as the main damage dealer for the team. The weapon and the Artifact set should both focus on boosting Chongyun's base damage and adding buffs to Cryo damage and his elemental burst. This build can output a massive amount of damage, and easily melt most mobs. It is also strong against most bosses, since they aren't affected as much by knockback, and quicker cooldowns allow him to deal ridiculous amounts of damage.
The equipment for this build is mostly set up for maximizing Chongyun's own damage and Cryo skills and make him the main damage dealing member in the party. Here is the stuff players need for this Chongyun build.
The best weapon for a DPS-focused Chongyun build is easily the Skyward Pride. It offers up to a 16% boost on base damage and after an elemental burst, it creates extra vacuum blades that hit for up to 160% physical damage for some time. Wolf's Gravestone is also a great alternative, as it offers a better flat damage boost but doesn't have the extra effect.
Related: Genshin Impact: Things You Didn't Know About Chongyun
The ideal equipment set for this build is a mix/match set rather than a 4 piece. The ideal set is a 2-piece Blizzard Strayer, which offers a boost to Cryo damage, and a 2-piece Gladiator's Finale. Both these combine to give players the best possible boost, by increasing both Cryo damage and base-attack. However, entire 4-piece sets of either kit are good alternatives too.
While he is great as the main DPS, the best build for Chongyun is as a support DPS. His abilities and stats work brilliantly as a support/sub DPS character. His elemental skill is great to set up Melt reactions on characters or to soften them up for the main DPS character, and the elemental burst is great for crowd control and for setting up big damage on stronger enemies. Chongyun really shines as a support DPS character, and here is what players need for that build.
The equipment in this Chongyun build is focused on increasing Cryo damage. It also uses equipment boosts which ensures that every action players take benefits the rest of their party.
The best weapon for this build is easily Wolf's Gravestone. The claymore offers a great Flat attack boost, but more importantly, it boosts the entire party's attack up to 80% for 12 seconds in certain conditions. The Favonious Greatsword is a decent alternative as it boosts energy recharge, which plays well with the artifact set.
Related: Genshin Impact: Most Powerful Elemental Combinations
The best artifact set for this build is the 4-piece Noblesse Oblige set. It increases flat damage, Cryo damage, and Elemental Burst damage for Chongyun. But, it also boosts the entire team's attack on using Elemental Burst, which makes it a great set for the support role.
A good team lineup for most Chongyun builds is one that takes advantage of the Cryo effect, either with Pyro for Melt reactions or Hydro for Freeze reactions. The best party members for a Chongyun team are:
- Diluc – Great DPS and huge Melt potential with rapid, repeated reactions
- Mona – High DPS, high AoE attacks, and the ability to lock enemies down with Freeze
- Xingqiu – Offers a good set of defensive traits, and the ability to Freeze
- Bennett – Healing and support abilities, and Melt reactions for good DPS
- Keqing – Keqing is great as the main DPS, with Chongyun providing solid attack boosts and Cryo reactions
For the most optimal team composition, players will want to have Chongyun in the sub-DPS slot. For the main-DPS, Diluc will be the most beneficial as for his easy access to Melt reactions. In the support category, Xingqiu makes for the best teammate for any Chongyun build; Xingqiu's Rain Blades transfer, making for easy Freeze reactions (which increases damage efficiency for claymore users like Diluc.) Finally, for the healer slot, almost any character from Genshin Impact's extensive roster of healers will do. However, for players looking to increase critical hit efficiency, Qiqi or Diona make for the best option because of their Cryo resonance when paired with Chongyun.
Most of the characters and equipment presented here are premium characters that are pretty hard to get. However, for players lucky enough to get Chongyun as a F2P character, there are builds for them too. The F2P friendly build for Chongyun focuses on his Elemental Skill and its effects.
As a F2P player, the most effective equipment players can use for Chongyun is the Favonius Greatsword. Another great option is the Prototype Archaic. For team lineups, Bennett and Barbara are good to have in a party, and the Traveller is always good. In addition, Kaeya can make for free access to a Cryo resonance, and Xiangling makes for a good, free DPS character. These F2P builds and team compositions utilize Chongyun as a solid support DPS character.
Next: Genshin Impact: All 5-Star Characters, Ranked By Power