What This Artifact Guide Covers and Why It Matters
This artifact guide explains Genshin Impact artifacts (also called flower, feather, hourglass, cup, and circlet) in enduring terms. It focuses on core systems that change slowly: main stats, sub stats, artifact sets, and how to optimize builds for any character. Whether you are new or experienced, you will learn how to read stats, choose sets, and farm efficiently without chasing short-lived trends.
Understanding Artifact Types and Main Stats
Artifacts in Genshin Impact have five positions: flower, feather, hourglass, cup, and circlet. Each has a fixed main stat group:
- Flower: HP%
- Feather: ATK%
- Hourglass: Energy Recharge or ATK% / DEF%
- Cup: Elemental DMG Bonus or Elemental Mastery
- Circlet: CRIT Rate or CRIT Damage
Main stats are set by position and cannot be changed. Sub stats provide variations in ATK%, DEF%, HP%, Energy Recharge, CRIT Rate, CRIT Damage, and Elemental Mastery. Prioritizing ATK% or DEF% on hourglass depends on your weapon and scaling needs. Energy Recharge main stats become important for battery and uptime on certain characters.
Typical Main Stat Priority by Role (Evergreen)
While exact needs vary by build, these priorities remain broadly useful across patches:
- DPS: ATK% or Energy Recharge on hourglass, CRIT Rate/DMG on circlet
- Sub-DPS or Hybrid: Energy Recharge or ATK%/DEF% on hourglass, tailored circlet stats
- Support: Energy Recharge on hourglass, typically lower CRIT focus
How to Read Sub Stats and Weigh Options
Sub stats appear randomly and can include ATK%, DEF%, HP%, Energy Recharge, CRIT Rate, CRIT Damage, and Elemental Mastery. Early artifacts often yield fewer useful sub stats, so you should plan expectations. A high-value substat is generally one that directly improves your core damage or support consistency:
- ATK% scales with both weapon and artifact
- DEF% and HP% help survivability on tanks and some off-damage dealers
- Energy Recharge supports elemental burst uptime
- CRIT Rate and CRIT Damage increase damage ceiling
- Elemental Mastery boosts specific damage and reaction triggers
When comparing similar artifacts, prioritize pieces that give you meaningful steps toward your target stats rather than chasing perfect main stats immediately. Use an Artifact Calculator in-game to compare potential rolls.
Popular Artifact Sets and Their Roles
Set bonuses in Genshin Impact provide powerful, enduring effects that define many builds. Some sets focus on damage, others on support or survivability. Below are widely used sets that have remained relevant across multiple patches.
| Set Name | Set Effect (2) | Set Effect (4) | Typical Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viridescent Venerer | Increases Normal and Charged Attack DMG | Reduces enemy Elemental RES and Geo RES by 40% | Swirl, Quicken, Hyperbloom, most Physical and Elemental DPS |
| Thundering Fury | Increases Electro DMG by 20% | After Skill use, gain 25% Electro DMG for 8s | Electro DPS, especially with on-field catalysts or battery builds |
| Shimenawa's Reminiscence | Increases Skill DMG by 20% | After using Elemental Skill, Normal and Charged Attack DMG +20% for 15s | Xiangling, battery and hybrid builds using frequent Skill casts |
| Maiden Beloved | Healing Effectiveness increased by 15% | When healed, HP healed +35% for 30s (max 3 stacks) | Bennett supports and healing-focused characters |
| Retracing Budding Fortune | Max HP increased by 20% | When HP falls below 50%, CRIT Rate +30% | HP-based characters, especially on-field DPS like Zhongli, Swirl Dendro |
| Archaic Petra | After attacking, there is 50% chance to gain 20% Stonefate DMG for 15s | When using Elemental Skill, give all nearby party members 20% Stonefate DMG for 30s | Swirl Dendro and some battery or AoE builds |
| Gladiator's Finale | ATK increased by 20% | ATK +25% when in battle | ATK-based DPS and some hybrid builds |
| Bloodstained Chivalry | ATK increased by 20% | When HP falls below 50%, ATK +25% | DPS that can maintain or recover HP above 50%, or bursty windows |
Choosing Sets: General Guidelines (Evergreen)
- Match set synergy to your element and reactions: Viridescent Venerer for Swirl, Hyperbloom, Quicken; Thundering Fury for Electro on-caster damage.
- Balance main stats and set bonuses; sometimes a 2-set bonus with better main stats outperforms a full set with weaker stats.
- Consider team needs: supports often prioritize Energy Recharge, shields, or healing effectiveness; DPS prioritize damage and uptime.
- Use sets that remain strong across patches (e.g., Viridescent Venerer, Thundering Fury, Retracing Budding Fortune, Gladiator's Finale).
Farming Locations and Acquiring Artifacts
Artifacts drop from domain bosses, weekly bosses, and certain domains. Rotate farming according to your priorities:
- Viridescent Venerer: Artifact Domain IV (Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru), Artifact Domain Deepslots (limited spawns)
- Thundering Fury: Artifact Domain IV in Mondstadt (Stormterror’s Lair area)
- Retracing Budding Fortune: Artifact Domain IV in Liyue (among others)
- Maiden Beloved: Artifact Domain IV in Inazuma (certain domains)
- Gladiator's Finale: Artifact Domain IV in Sumeru (certain domains)
- Archaic Petra: Artifact Domain IV in Sumeru (certain domains)
Use domain runs, weekly resin, and occasional boss resets to steadily improve your inventory. Some artifacts also appear as rewards for completing quests or events. Prioritize artifacts that meaningfully advance your current team builds.
Step-by-Step Optimization Process
An optimized artifact setup aligns stats with your character’s kit and role. Follow this durable process:
- Define the character role: main DPS, sub-DPS, or support.
- Choose a set or mixed sets that provide the largest effective damage or support increase.
- Prioritize main stats by slot; use an in-game filter to exclude unwanted main stats quickly.
- Evaluate sub stats: count meaningful upgrades (ATK%, Energy Recharge, CRIT, EM) and accept lower-value rolls.
- Use the Artifact Enhancement system to upgrade main stats when possible; higher levels increase main stat values.
- Reforge artifacts in the Domain of Mastery when available to reroll main stats while preserving level.
- Recalculate damage or support impact after each major upgrade to confirm improvement.
Advanced Considerations and Common Pitfalls
Avoid common mistakes that persist across patches:
- Overvaluing perfect main stats while ignoring useful sub stats; a mix of good substats often beats mediocre main stats.
- Chasing set bonuses without considering stat quality; a 2-set weapon with strong main stats can outperform a mismatched 4-set.
- Ignoring energy recharge thresholds; many characters need 160–200% for reliable burst cycling, but exact needs vary.
- Forgetting team-wide effects; supports should balance their sets to improve party performance, not just personal stats.
Artifact Stats at a Glance (Evergreen Reference)
| Slot | Main Stat Group | Common Sub Stats | Key Example Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flower | HP% | HP%, ATK%, DEF%, Energy Recharge, CRIT | Maiden Beloved, Retracing Budding Fortune, Gladiator's Finale |
| Feather | ATK% | ATK%, HP%, DEF%, Energy Recharge, CRIT | Viridescent Venerer, Gladiator's Finale, Thundersing Fury |
| Hourglass | Energy Recharge or ATK% / DEF% | ATK%, DEF%, HP%, Energy Recharge, CRIT | Thundering Fury (on-caster), Viridescent Venerer (ATK%), mixed builds |
| Cup | Elemental DMG or Elemental Mastery | ATK%, HP%, DEF%, Energy Recharge, CRIT | Element-specific sets (e.g., Thundering Fury), Viridescent Venerer |
| Circlet | CRIT Rate or CRIT Damage | ATK%, HP%, DEF%, Energy Recharge, Elemental Mastery | Crit-focused sets, Viridescent Venerer (when not using dedicated set) |
Wrapping Up and Next Steps
Mastering artifacts is one of the most impactful long-term improvements in Genshin Impact. This artifact guide gives you stable principles that remain useful across patches: understand main stats, weigh sub stats carefully, pick sets that match your elements and team needs, and farm domains consistently. Apply these steps to your current roster, audit your inventory regularly, and iterate toward builds that fit your playstyle. For deeper optimization, use in-game tools and community calculators to compare artifact paths before committing resin.
Tags: genshin-impact, artifacts, build-guide, optimization