Genshin Impact Heizou Build Guide: Best Weapons, Artifacts, and Team

Unleash the full potential of Shikanoin Heizou in Genshin Impact with the ultimate guide to his best builds! As a unique Anemo Catalyst user, Heizou combines melee prowess with elemental mastery, making him a formidable DPS character. Whether you’re looking to maximize his Swirl reactions for crowd control or focusing on single-target damage, this article will equip you with essential strategies, artifact recommendations, and weapon choices to dominate the battlefield. Dive into the intricacies of Heizou’s playstyle and discover how to tailor your approach to suit any combat scenario!

General information

Traveler (Anemo) is a versatile character in Genshin Impact, serving primarily as a Sub DPS with the ability to create powerful Swirl reactions. As a 5-star character, Traveler can adapt to various team compositions, enhancing overall elemental damage through his skills. His Elemental Skill, Palm Vortex, and Elemental Burst, Gust Surge, allow him to manipulate wind currents effectively, making him an essential support for teams that rely on elemental reactions. The optimal build for Traveler focuses on maximizing Elemental Mastery and utilizing the Viridescent Venerer artifact set to enhance his damage output and provide debuffs to enemies.

Shikanoin Heizou is a 4-star hero of Anemo element, fighthing with a Catalyst.This hero is difficult to master, as positioning is key with him, but his damage output exceeds virtually every 4-star character in the game.

When building Heizou, you should focus on Elemental Mastery first, as this will be the main source of your damage-dealing potential.

Best team compositions

In Genshin Impact, crafting the right team composition is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of characters like Shikanoin Heizou. The ideal setup for Heizou typically includes Faruzan as a sub-DPS to enhance Anemo damage, alongside Yelan and Bennett to provide additional elemental reactions and healing support. This combination allows players to leverage Heizou’s unique abilities while ensuring a balanced approach to damage output and survivability. The synergy between these characters can create powerful Swirl reactions, amplifying overall team damage and making encounters more manageable.

1. Anemo Main DPS – Heizou/Yae Miko/Yelan/Kuki Shinobu
2. Anemo Main DPS – Heizou/Xingqiu/Beidou/Fischl

Anemo Main DPS Build

For an effective Anemo Main DPS Build in Genshin Impact, Shikanoin Heizou harnesses the power of Anemo to deliver significant damage while also providing crowd control through his abilities. The primary focus should be on maximizing Elemental Mastery and Crit Rate, as these stats enhance his damage output and effectiveness in triggering elemental reactions. Recommended weapons include the Freedom-Sworn for its Elemental Mastery boost and additional damage, or the Primordial Jade Cutter for its high Crit Rate. When it comes to artifacts, the Viridescent Venerer set is ideal, as it amplifies Swirl damage and reduces enemy elemental resistance, allowing Heizou to excel in both single-target and AoE scenarios. Prioritizing talents that enhance his Elemental Skill and Burst will further optimize his performance as a main DPS character.

Playing Heizou as a Main DPS will mainly involve creating Swirl reactions, for which you need other elements than Anemo. Each his attack has a chance of activating Swirl, provided a different hero will deal damage from his element without being on the field (e.g. Fischl with Oz).

1. Artifacts – 4x Viridescent Venerer/4x Wanderer’s Troupe
2. Weapons – Skyward Atlas/Mappa Mare

One of the best artifact choices for Heizou is 4x Viridescent Venerer. Not only Anemo DMG is increased by 15% – Swirl reaction will deal 60% more damage and the resistance to the element that was used as a base to Swirl will be lowered for all enemies to 40% for 10 seconds. Swirl are easily created with all of Heizou skills and normal attacks.

However, if you want to focus on max Elemental Mastery, you can use 4x Wanderer Troupe. With this set, not only Elemental Mastery is increased by a hefty 80 points, and additionally, as a Catalyst wielder, Heizou has Charged Attack damage increased by 35%.

Heizou’s first weapon of choice is a 5-star Catalyst – Skyward Atlas. The weapon provides additional 12% to Elemental DMG. In addition, normal attacks have a chance of activating Favour of the Clouds, which for the duration of 15 seconds, will seek enemies and attack them, dealing 160% ATK (the effect can occur once per 30 seconds).

The second weapon pick, is a F2P option called Mappa Mare. You can create this Catalyst at a smith based on materials you gathered earlier. With this weapon, your Elemental Mastery is increased, and additionally activating elemental reactions guarantees 1 stack (up to 2) which will grant you 8% Elemental DMG (with 2 stacks, 16%).

Talents

Shikanoin Heizou’s talents are pivotal to maximizing his effectiveness as an Anemo DPS character in Genshin Impact. His Elemental Skill, Fudou Style Martial Arts, allows him to deal significant Anemo damage while building up Declension stacks, which enhance his Elemental Burst, Heartstopper Strike. This burst not only deals AoE Anemo damage but also triggers additional damage based on elemental reactions, making Heizou a strong candidate for teams focused on Swirl reactions. Prioritizing his talents in the order of Heartstopper Strike, Fudou Style Martial Arts, and then his Normal Attack will optimize his damage output and utility in combat scenarios.

Talents are special abilities divided into Combat and Passive categories. In case of Heizou, you should focus on these talents in this order:

1. Anemo Main DPS – Heartstopper Strike, Fudou Style Martial Arts, Windmuster Kick

Constellations

Shikanoin Heizou’s Constellations play a significant role in enhancing his combat capabilities, particularly in boosting his damage output and energy regeneration. While Heizou can perform well without any Constellations, unlocking them can significantly elevate his performance. For instance, his C1 Constellation increases his Normal Attack speed, allowing for quicker stack accumulation of his Declension effect, which is crucial for maximizing damage. C4 enhances energy regeneration from his Elemental Burst, enabling more frequent use of his powerful abilities. Ultimately, while Heizou remains a competent character at C0, acquiring Constellations can unlock his full potential and improve his effectiveness in various team compositions.

What makes Shikanoin Heizou a unique melee Anemo character

Shikanoin Heizou stands out in Genshin Impact as a unique melee Anemo character for several reasons:

1. First Male Catalyst User: Heizou is the first male character in the game to wield a Catalyst, a weapon typically associated with ranged attacks. This distinction not only adds diversity to the roster but also brings a fresh dynamic to gameplay as he engages enemies up close with melee attacks rather than from a distance.
2. Melee Combat Style: Unlike other Catalyst users who attack from afar, Heizou utilizes punches and kicks in his normal attacks, effectively making him a melee brawler. His ability to infuse Anemo into these attacks allows him to consistently trigger Swirl reactions, enhancing his role as an on-field damage dealer.
3. Elemental Reaction Synergy: Heizou excels at driving elemental reactions due to his Anemo abilities. His Elemental Skill and Burst can effectively group enemies and amplify damage when they are affected by other elements, making him a valuable asset in team compositions that focus on elemental synergy.
4. Declension Stack Mechanic: Heizou features a unique stacking mechanic called Declension, which enhances his Elemental Burst damage as he performs Swirl reactions. This mechanic encourages players to master timing and positioning, adding depth to his gameplay.
5. Versatile Role: Heizou can function both as a primary DPS and a support character, depending on team composition and build. His ability to apply Anemo consistently makes him adaptable for various combat scenarios, whether facing single targets or groups of enemies.

These characteristics collectively make Shikanoin Heizou an intriguing addition to Genshin Impact, appealing to players who enjoy a blend of melee combat and elemental strategy.

What are Heizou’s main strengths and weaknesses

Shikanoin Heizou possesses a distinct set of strengths and weaknesses that define his role in Genshin Impact.

Strengths

1. Unique Melee Catalyst User: Heizou is the first male character to use a Catalyst in a melee combat style, allowing him to deliver Anemo-infused punches and kicks, which enhances his versatility as a DPS character.
2. High Base ATK: He has a higher-than-average base attack for a 4-star character, which allows him to deal significant damage, especially when combined with his Elemental Skill and Burst.
3. Effective Elemental Reaction Driver: Heizou excels at triggering Swirl reactions due to his ability to consistently apply Anemo with his normal attacks. His Elemental Burst can also group enemies together, maximizing damage output when they are affected by other elements.
4. Stacking Mechanic: His Declension mechanic allows him to stack damage bonuses for his Elemental Burst, enhancing its effectiveness during combat.
5. Team Synergy: Heizou works well in teams that include characters capable of applying Cryo, Electro, Pyro, or Hydro elements, making him a valuable asset in elemental reaction-focused compositions.

Weaknesses

1. Reliance on Team Composition: Heizou’s effectiveness heavily depends on having supportive allies who can apply other elemental effects. Without them, his damage output can be significantly reduced.
2. Vulnerability During Skills: While using his Elemental Skill, Heizou can be interrupted by enemy attacks, making positioning crucial for maximizing his effectiveness.
3. Limited Single-Target Damage: Heizou struggles against single targets compared to dedicated DPS characters. His damage potential is more pronounced in scenarios with multiple enemies where Swirl reactions can be fully utilized.
4. Energy Generation Issues: He lacks strong energy generation capabilities, which can hinder the frequency of his Elemental Burst usage in prolonged battles.
5. Not Optimal as Sub-DPS: While he can deal decent damage off-field, Heizou is not as effective as other Anemo characters like Sucrose or Kazuha when it comes to support roles or quick-swapping strategies.

These strengths and weaknesses make Shikanoin Heizou a unique character that requires careful team planning and playstyle adaptation to maximize his potential in Genshin Impact.