Mihoyo: Zhongli Working as Intended in Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact’s newest 5-star character, Zhongli, got very mixed receptions from players. This prompted Mihoyo to give a response on the power level of the character, and while there is a bug with one of Zhongli’s abilities, the character itself is basically working as intended.

Mihoyo gave a rather lengthy response addressing Zhongli’s power level on Genshin Impact’s forums. The developer wrote that Zhongli is designed as a support character, and his core abilities do just that. His Jade Shield provides “effective absorption and cover without relying on any other equipment,” while his Elemental Burst, Planet Befall, “exerts effective control over groups of enemies without relying on elemental reactions or equipment bonuses.”

“From a design standpoint, these two features enable Zhongli to fulfill his role as a support character, and from a review of actual game data, we have discovered that Zhongli is, in fact, effectively improving Travelers’ survival capabilities,” Mihoyo added.

What about the bug with Zhongli’s ability? Turns out, when his Level 2 Constellation ability is active, casting an Elemental Burst may not trigger the damage boost given by the Elemental Resonance effect of Enduring Rock (which increases attack damage by 15% when protected by a shield). This will be fixed with an update on 10 December, and as compensation, Mihoyo will give 100 Primogems to all players.

“We are engaged in a deep analysis of Zhongli. In future versions, we will continue to analyse, assess, and adjust things so that all the characters you love have their roles to play and moments to shine. We can only ask that Travelers continue to be patient in the meantime,” said Mihoyo.

I managed to pull for Zhongli in the current banner, and while he’s not the most ideal DPS character, the utility of his shield and Elemental Burst (which hits quite hard) are nice to have for survivability and crowd control. Of course, some players are of the opinion that these abilities do not match his status as a 5-star character, but it’s worth pointing out that this may change in the future.

After all, if rumours are to be believed, more Geo characters are coming to Genshin Impact. The upcoming Version 1.2 update, for one, is said to add Albedo as another 5-star Geo character. We’ll find out soon if Zhongli and Albedo will be able to complement each other’s abilities.