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The Ultimate Guide: Which Claymore Should You Refine in Genshin Impact?

Refining weapons in Genshin Impact is a crucial aspect of character progression, allowing you to maximize your team’s potential. For claymore users, selecting the right weapon to refine can significantly impact your damage output and overall gameplay experience. But with so many options, the question arises: Which claymore is actually the best to refine?

The answer, while not a simple one-size-fits-all, leans heavily towards the Serpent Spine. This is especially true for players who have obtained it from the Battle Pass, making it a readily available and consistently powerful choice. While some 4-star craftable options and even niche 5-star weapons hold their own, the Serpent Spine’s unique passive and substantial stat boosts after refinements make it a top contender for most claymore users. It’s a standout choice, particularly considering the consistent access for Battle Pass purchasers and its effectiveness even before R5.

Why Serpent Spine Reigns Supreme for Claymore Refinement

The Serpent Spine is a 4-star Battle Pass claymore known for its strong offensive capabilities. Its passive effect grants increased damage, but also increases damage taken, making it a balancing act of offensive power and careful play. Here’s why it’s such a great refinement choice:

Consistent Damage Increase: At refinement rank 1 (R1), the Serpent Spine provides a 6% damage increase for every 4 seconds a character is on the field. This stacks up to 5 times. With each refinement, this percentage increases significantly. At Refinement Rank 5 (R5), that damage increase becomes a whopping 10% per stack for a maximum of 50% bonus damage. This dramatically boosts a character’s damage output, making a huge impact on your overall DPS.
Crit Rate Substat: The Serpent Spine has a Crit Rate substat, which is very valuable for damage dealers, especially those relying on critical hits for significant damage. High Crit Rate allows you to reliably deliver critical hits. This synergizes extremely well with the damage increase passive, making your critical hits truly deadly.
Scalability: Unlike many other weapons, Serpent Spine gets a substantial boost at each refinement level. With each refinement, it becomes more effective, making it a weapon that is worth consistently upgrading as you get more copies.
Accessibility: Being a Battle Pass weapon means that it is fairly easy to obtain provided you are willing to invest in the game’s Battle Pass. This consistent availability also makes it easier to acquire the necessary copies to refine.

Other Claymores to Consider For Refinement

While the Serpent Spine is the top recommendation for many, here are other Claymores that are worth considering for refining:

Prototype Archaic: The F2P Friend

The Prototype Archaic is a craftable 4-star claymore with an ATK% substat and a passive that deals additional AoE damage. This weapon is easily accessible, making it a solid option for early-game players or those seeking a readily available alternative.

Good Starter Option: The Prototype Archaic is an excellent free-to-play (F2P) friendly option. Its ATK% substat is beneficial for characters needing more damage, especially early on in the game.
Easy to Refine: Being craftable makes it easy to obtain duplicates for refinement. While its refined passive effect is not as strong as some of the other options, its availability makes it worth refining for F2P players.

The Debate Club: An Underdog 3-Star

Surprisingly, the Debate Club stands out as a strong 3-star Claymore. The passive effect offers substantial area-of-effect damage after using an elemental skill. This can be a great option for certain team compositions.

Strong Combo Potential: The passive effect of this weapon is really good. After using an Elemental Skill, the Debate Club gains a special effect that deals 60% AoE damage on Normal and Charged attacks.
Effective Against Groups: This effect is especially effective against groups of closely-packed enemies. This means it is very good when used on enemies that bunch up together.

When to Avoid Refining

It’s crucial to know when not to refine, particularly with certain weapon types:

5-Star Weapons (Generally): As a general rule, avoid refining 5-star weapons unless you are a high-spending player or have already maxed out everything else in your arsenal. The benefit of having multiple 5-star weapons for different characters usually outweighs the minor stat boosts from refinements. Keep multiple copies for different characters, especially if you plan on using them on multiple teams.
Favonius Claymore: While Favonius weapons generally benefit from refining, unless your specific character heavily relies on energy particle generation, there are often better choices for refining. Favonius weapons often perform best at higher refinement ranks, so keep duplicates until you are sure it’s what you need.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify the topic of claymore refinement:

1. What makes a weapon good for refinement?

A weapon is good for refinement when its passive effect provides a significant boost that scales well with each refinement level. A good substat is also important, such as Crit Rate or ATK%.

2. Is it worth refining 3-star weapons?

Yes, refining 3-star weapons can be beneficial, especially early in the game or for niche builds. The Debate Club is a good example of a 3-star weapon that is good to refine.

3. Should I refine Battle Pass weapons like the Serpent Spine?

Yes, absolutely. The Serpent Spine is one of the best weapons to refine in the game due to its consistent damage output increases and Crit Rate substat.

4. Is Solar Pearl a good refinement choice?

The Solar Pearl is a good option for certain characters, but its refinement is not as high of a priority as the Serpent Spine. It benefits characters who use Elemental Skill, Burst, and Normal Attacks.

5. Are there any 5-star claymores worth refining?

Generally, no. You should typically keep 5-star duplicates for other characters or teams. The benefits of having additional 5-star weapons for other characters will be more beneficial than minor performance increases from refining. However, if you are a high spender and already have multiple 5-star options, then refining a duplicate is worth considering.

6. What is the maximum refinement level for weapons?

The maximum refinement level for any weapon in Genshin Impact is Refinement Rank 5 (R5).

7. How do you refine a weapon?

You can refine a weapon by using a duplicate copy of the weapon to enhance the passive effects. You can do this from the weapons menu.

8. Is the Prototype Archaic good for early game?

Yes, the Prototype Archaic is a very solid choice for early-game players, due to its easy accessibility and ATK% substat.

9. Is the Blackcliff Slasher worth refining?

The Blackcliff Slasher can be useful, but its passive is situational, and other options like the Serpent Spine offer more consistent damage output. It is generally not a priority to refine.

10. Should I level up my weapon before refining it?

Yes, always level up your weapon before refining it. Leveling up increases the overall base attack and substats of the weapon.

11. Is Wolf’s Gravestone the best Claymore overall?

While Wolf’s Gravestone is considered one of the best claymores, its high rarity means its less accessible to players, and its passive is not always the best choice compared to consistent damage increases from other options like the Serpent Spine.

12. Is Skyward Pride good to refine?

Skyward Pride is a strong option for characters who need energy recharge, but it is generally not a priority to refine unless you have multiple copies and a specific team that would benefit from the higher energy recharge.

13. What is the best F2P Claymore alternative?

The Prototype Archaic is the best F2P claymore alternative for damage dealers, due to its ease of access and the ATK% substat.

14. Is it worth refining Favonius weapons?

Favonius weapons benefit from refining, with higher refinements greatly increasing the chance to trigger energy particle generation, but unless your specific character heavily relies on energy particle generation, there are often better choices for refining.

15. Are there any specific characters that heavily benefit from refining the Serpent Spine?

Yes, many claymore DPS characters like Eula, Arataki Itto, and Diluc, greatly benefit from the Serpent Spine, as its consistent damage increase complements their offensive playstyles.

Conclusion

In summary, the Serpent Spine is the best claymore to refine for consistent damage output and Crit Rate. Its substantial damage increase at higher refinement levels makes it a prime choice for optimizing your claymore characters. However, weapons like the Prototype Archaic and Debate Club are also very useful. Remember, always consider your character’s needs and team composition before choosing a claymore for refinement. Avoid refining 5-star weapons unless you are a high-spending player. By considering your weapon options carefully, you can effectively increase your overall damage output and progress through Genshin Impact.

What is the best Claymore to refine?