Should You Level Weapons to 90 in Genshin Impact? A Comprehensive Guide

The question of whether to level weapons to 90 in Genshin Impact is a common one, and for good reason. Resources in Teyvat are finite, and making the right investment is crucial for maximizing your team’s potential. So, let’s cut to the chase: Yes, generally, you should level your weapons to 90 in Genshin Impact. This provides a significant and often overlooked boost to your character’s overall effectiveness, and is often a better investment than pushing characters to level 90.

Why Leveling Weapons to 90 is Worth It

The Math Behind the Might

While it might seem more intuitive to focus on leveling characters to their max, there’s a compelling argument for prioritizing weapon levels. Leveling weapons to 90 provides a consistent and substantial increase to their base attack stat, which is a fundamental part of damage calculations for all characters. This stat increase isn’t tied to the character, meaning any character that uses that weapon will benefit from its maxed-out power.

Furthermore, weapon sub-stats scale with levels too. For instance, a weapon that provides Crit DMG or Crit Rate will get a significant increase from level 80 to 90. Since Crit stats are very valuable in Genshin, this is another powerful reason to maximize weapons.

Efficient Resource Use

Interestingly, the resources used to level weapons, specifically weapon enhancement ores, are often passively accumulated and considered “free” due to the game’s daily commissions and exploration rewards. The Mora cost associated with leveling weapons, while present, is far less prohibitive than the sheer amount of Mora needed for artifacts, especially given the unpredictable nature of artifact farming.

Swappable Power

Perhaps the most compelling reason to level weapons to 90 is their versatility. Unlike a character’s level, which is tied to that individual, weapons can be freely swapped between characters. This means that a single level 90 weapon can be used on multiple team compositions, providing an instant damage boost whenever you need it. This is especially useful for players who like to experiment with different teams.

Consistent Improvement

While character levels only impact base stats and enable ascension bonuses up to level 80, weapon levels continuously improve damage output all the way to level 90. After a character has reached their sixth ascension at level 80, the base stats no longer directly influence scaling substats like Crit Damage, while leveling a weapon constantly increases its raw power.

When Should You Prioritize Leveling Weapons?

After Character Ascension

It’s often advisable to bring characters to their 6th ascension (level 80 and ascended) before committing to the final push to level 90. This is because the ascension unlock will provide all the character’s substat bonuses. However, after this is achieved, focusing on weapons provides more immediate and broader benefits.

Before Artifact Investment

While artifacts are crucial for high-end damage, their RNG nature makes them a less reliable investment. Before getting deep into artifact farming, which can take a massive amount of resources, focusing on maxing out weapons guarantees a consistent increase in power that your whole account will enjoy.

For DPS and Main Carries

Level 90 weapons should generally be a top priority for your primary damage dealers and main carries, as these characters will be dealing the bulk of your damage. Ensuring they have the maximum attack power possible should be your first goal before moving onto support characters.

Exceptions and Considerations

While leveling weapons to 90 is generally recommended, there are a few exceptions:

• Support Weapons: Some support weapons may not have a significant enough stat boost from level 80 to 90 to warrant the investment if they are primarily for their passive skills.
• Resource Limitations: If resources are tight, prioritize weapons you use frequently, especially on main DPS characters. It’s better to have a few highly leveled weapons than many at level 70.
• Character Leveling Priorities: Certain characters that scale off HP or DEF might get a good gain from levels 80 to 90, and some support characters that scale off reactions also benefit greatly, like Nahida.

The Bottom Line

Leveling weapons to 90 is a highly efficient and effective way to increase the overall damage output of your account in Genshin Impact. Their swappable nature, consistent improvements, and relatively low resource cost makes it an investment you won’t regret. While individual character levels provide some boost, weapons remain the foundation of most of your damage and therefore should be the first to get maxed out.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is leveling a weapon to 90 really that much better than leveling a character to 90?

Yes, in terms of immediate and consistent power gain, leveling a weapon to 90 is often better. Characters mostly gain minimal stat increases from 80 to 90, and that only impacts base stats, whereas weapons provide a notable boost to a primary damage calculation stat that impacts all characters that use the weapon.

2. Which characters benefit the most from being level 90?

Anemo and Dendro characters benefit significantly due to reaction damage scaling with level. HP and DEF scalers also benefit more than those who scale with ATK. Characters like Nahida, who deal a significant portion of their damage from reactions, are also excellent choices.

3. Should I level my main DPS to 90 first?

Yes, leveling your main DPS to 90 is recommended, as they are typically the source of most of your team’s damage. Characters like Ayaka and Xiao are great candidates to be maxed out due to their role as a damage carry.

4. What’s more important: Character level, weapon level, or artifacts?

All three are essential but in this order: Character ascension (level 80), weapon level (to 90), then artifact optimization. Ascending characters unlocks all their sub stats, then weapon level contributes to the character’s damage, while artifact farming can be incredibly time consuming and offer varying results.

5. Is there a big difference between level 80 and 90 for characters?

There’s a noticeable difference, but it’s not as significant as the difference between level 80 and 90 for weapons. Characters get an additional increase in base stats and the ability to level talents up to level 10 but no additional changes to core stats, whereas weapons scale directly in damage output all the way to level 90.

6. Is it worth leveling support weapons to 90?

It depends. If the weapon has a substat that scales well with level (like Crit), it’s worth it. Otherwise, level 80 might be sufficient, especially if the weapon’s primary utility lies in its passive effect.

7. How much damage should I be doing at AR 45?

At AR 45, a good benchmark is around 1500 per auto-attack, 10k per skill, and 50k per burst for a typical main DPS. This is an approximate average and can be higher depending on character and weapon investment.

8. Should I lower my world level if I’m having trouble with enemies?

Yes, if you’re struggling, lowering your world level can make the game easier. However, doing so will lower the rewards you get. If you can manage, it may be more useful to simply learn new team rotations and character builds.

9. Does power level on weapons matter?

No, power level on weapons doesn’t matter. The power level system is an archaic system that is no longer relevant in Genshin, and is simply a legacy indicator from earlier versions.

10. How much HP do level 90 Hilichurls have?

At level 90, Hilichurls have 24,354 HP.

11. Is Raiden Shogun worth leveling to 90?

Yes, Raiden benefits greatly from level 90 as her reaction damage scales with it. Because she is often the one triggering reactions with her eye, she greatly benefits from being at level 90.

12. Does Raiden need 300% Energy Recharge?

No, there’s no specific benefit at 300% ER. Balancing ATK and ER is key. It’s a lot about balancing ATK and ER. There are no specific thresholds or goals.

13. Should I ascend Zhongli?

Yes, ascending Zhongli is crucial to improve his stats, including health, attack, defense, and crit effectiveness. Use the resources to ascend and level him as his core kit gets better with those improvements.

14. Is Ayaka better than Hu Tao?

It depends on the content. Hu Tao excels against single targets and bosses, while Ayaka is better at multi-target scenarios with her Frozen teams.

15. Why do Hilichurls wear masks?

Hilichurls wear masks to conceal their faces, as they were turned into Hilichurls for their mixed ancestry. The mask is worn to hide the shame of seeing their original features reflected in water or other reflective surfaces.