Weapons Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact splits weapons into exactly 5 types based on what a character physically holds: Sword (fast, balanced hits), Claymore (slow but heavy, good at breaking shields), Polearm (long reach, flexible combos), Bow (ranged, with an aim-shot that deals its own damage) and Catalyst (ranged magic attacks, for characters whose kit leans on ranged Elemental Skills). Every character is permanently locked to exactly 1 of these 5 types from release and can never switch weapon type, unlike Artifacts, which can be swapped freely.

So the first step when picking a weapon is always to filter by the character's locked weapon type, then compare Base ATK, the fixed Secondary Stat that comes with it, and the passive between weapons of that same type — a weapon whose passive actually fits the role (DPS/Support/energy recharge) is always worth more than a higher-rarity weapon whose passive doesn't.

Base ATK is a weapon's single most important stat, scaling with both level and rarity. Even at the same level 20, the gap between low- and high-rarity weapons is already clear — for example, the 3-star Claymore Debate Club sits at 87 Base ATK while the 5-star Claymore Wolf's Gravestone reaches 160 Base ATK at that same level (aggregated figures — worth double-checking against the specific weapon page since sources can differ slightly).

Leveling and ascending a weapon both cost Mora, and the total to bring one weapon all the way to level 90 also scales with rarity: a 5-star weapon costs roughly 1,132,000 Mora in total (907,000 for regular leveling + 225,000 for ascension), while a 4-star weapon costs roughly 755,000 Mora (currently confirmed by only one source, not yet cross-checked against a second). Note this is entirely separate from the Mora needed to level a CHARACTER to 90 — two distinct Mora costs that are easy to mix up when planning farming.

Every 2★-5★ weapon has its own passive, and that passive can be strengthened across 5 tiers called Refinement Rank R1 → R5: R1 is the default when you first obtain the weapon, and each additional duplicate of the same weapon (from Wish, crafting, or points exchange) raises it by one rank, up to R5. At each rank, the passive's numbers (extra DMG%, energy recharge%, activation threshold, etc.) increase by a fixed amount set by the game — always read the passive text at each rank before deciding to invest in refining.

Refining a 5-star weapon costs Mora that scales up with each rank: from around 500 Mora at R2 up to around 16,000 Mora at R5 (not counting the cost of obtaining the duplicate weapon itself, usually through Wishing or farming Events/Chests). Because the cost rises sharply at higher ranks, refining is only really worth it when the passive meaningfully affects a main DPS's damage or rotation — F2P weapons used on off-field characters are usually fine stopping at R1-R2.

Weapons in Genshin Impact come from 4 main sources, each suited to a different type of player: the weapon Wish Banner (Epitome Invocation/Wanderlust Invocation, gacha, with a chance of pulling the exact weapon you want), crafting at the Forge/Blacksmith — requiring a blueprint (Weapon Ascension/Prototype) plus farmable materials, no gacha needed, Event/Quest rewards — usually 100% free for every player who completes the content, and Treasure Chest drops in the open world.

F2P/craftable weapons (either craftable or free from events) are always worth weighing alongside 5-star gacha weapons, since many craftable 4-star weapons have a broad passive that works well across many characters of the same type without needing any gacha pulls; meanwhile signature weapons — usually a 5-star weapon released on the same banner as a specific character — are always designed with a passive that fits that exact character's kit perfectly (their "Recommended Users"), making them noticeably stronger for that one character, but requiring extra gacha pulls beyond the character banner itself.

F2P players should generally prioritize finishing off craftable/event weapons first, and only chase signature weapons once they have gacha resources to spare.

Genshin Impact keeps adding new weapons with every major update, usually alongside a new character banner or new event content, and the game currently has roughly 244-246 weapons in total as of around patch 6.6-6.7 / Luna VIII (the aggregated count still shifts slightly between snapshots since new weapons keep being added every patch, and there's no single fixed "final" count agreed across sources). Since this number keeps changing, the most reliable approach is to rely on a live, time-stamped counter rather than a static figure that quickly goes stale.

The gamevika weapons page always labels the current game version (currently Ver 6.7 / Luna VIII) alongside the exact update timestamp, so players can be confident the data they're looking at isn't outdated — the same approach major aggregator sites use, stamping a public update date at the top of the page every time a new patch lands.

The question "which weapon is the strongest" has almost no absolute answer in Genshin Impact, because a weapon's strength depends on the role the character wielding it plays. The same weapon can be a top pick for one role yet nearly useless for another. So before ranking anything, always ask: is this character a Main DPS (carries most of the damage), a Sub DPS (hits off-field then swaps out), or a Support (buffs/heals/shields)?

Main DPS wants the highest Base ATK possible, a crit Secondary Stat (CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG), and a passive that boosts its own damage (ATK%, DMG%, stacking effects from landing hits). Sub DPS / off-field prioritizes Energy Recharge to fire skills on rotation, or Elemental Mastery if the character relies on elemental reactions. Support depends on which stat the character scales with (HP%, Elemental Mastery, Energy Recharge) and favors passives that buff the whole team or generate energy.

Passive examples by role: the Favonius family has a chance to generate Elemental Particles on a CRIT hit — ideal for a support that needs to battery the team; the Sacrificial family has a chance to reset the Elemental Skill cooldown — great for an off-field character that needs to re-cast often. This is why a craftable 4★ sometimes fits the role better than an off-role 5★.

Beyond Base ATK, most weapons (3★ and up) come with exactly one fixed Secondary Stat you can't change, and that stat grows as the weapon levels up. It's usually why two weapons with the same Base ATK still differ clearly once equipped — the Secondary Stat is what decides whether the weapon actually fits the role.

The common weapon Secondary Stats are: CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, ATK%, Elemental Mastery, Energy Recharge, HP%, DEF% and Physical DMG Bonus. A very common misconception: a weapon never carries an "Elemental DMG Bonus" substat (Pyro/Hydro/Electro DMG...) — that elemental damage bonus only comes from the Artifact goblet, not from a weapon.

When comparing two weapons of the same type, read the Secondary Stat before the passive: an off-role stat (say DEF% on a crit Main DPS) wastes most of the weapon's value no matter how high the Base ATK is.

A very common beginner mix-up: weapons and characters use completely different EXP sources. Characters level up with EXP books (Hero's Wit and its lower tiers), while weapons level up with Enhancement Ore (Enhancement Ore, Fine Enhancement Ore, Mystic Enhancement Ore) or by "consuming" spare weapons you don't use. Don't pour character EXP books into a weapon — the game won't let you, and vice versa.

Alongside leveling, weapons also need ascension to break past level caps and continue toward the max level of 90. Each ascension costs Mora plus three material groups: (1) a weapon ascension material from a Domain (available on a weekly day rotation), (2) an elite enemy drop, and (3) a common enemy drop.

Because the Domain material only opens on certain fixed days of the week, check the domain schedule and farm on the right day so you don't stall. Enhancement Ore is far easier to get — buy it from shops, craft it, or pick it up in the open world — so leveling is rarely the bottleneck; the real bottleneck is the day-gated ascension material.

As noted above, there is no single "absolute strongest" weapon — the table below ranks by how strong and flexible a weapon is when used on-role, split by the 5 types and 3 tiers: SS (top), S (very strong), A (strong, with several F2P options). The ranking signal comes from the BiS weapons that meta characters actually run, plus current 6.7 / Luna VIII meta knowledge. Almost every patch adds a new 5★ signature weapon that is nearly always top-tier for its own banner character — so treat this as a snapshot, not a fixed chart.

Sword

Tier	Weapon	Best for / why
SS	Primordial Jade Cutter (5★)	HP + CRIT, fits most crit DPS and HP-scaling characters
SS	Mistsplitter Reforged (5★)	CRIT DMG + stacking elemental DMG, on-field elemental DPS
SS	Absolution (5★)	Arlecchino signature, on-field Pyro DPS
S	Freedom-Sworn (5★)	team-wide buff + EM, all-round support
S	Splendor of Tranquil Waters (5★)	HP-scaling, high-HP DPS/sub
S	Haran Geppaku Futsu (5★)	normal-attack DPS (Kamisato)
A	Aquila Favonia (5★)	ATK + healing, durable stat stick
A	The Black Sword (4★)	CRIT + normal/charged, F2P DPS
A	Sacrificial Sword (4★)	resets skill CD, off-field support

Claymore

Tier	Weapon	Best for / why
SS	Wolf's Gravestone (5★)	ATK + team ATK buff
SS	Redhorn Stonethresher (5★)	DEF-scaling + CRIT DMG (Itto, Noelle)
SS	A Thousand Blazing Suns (5★)	Mavuika signature, Pyro DPS
S	Verdict (5★)	Navia signature, Elemental Skill DMG
S	Beacon of the Reed Sea (5★)	ATK + HP, on-field DPS
S	The Unforged (5★)	ATK, excels with a shield up
A	Skyward Pride (5★)	ER + ATK, all-purpose
A	Serpent Spine (4★)	CRIT + stacking, F2P DPS (Battle Pass)
A	Sacrificial Greatsword (4★)	resets skill CD, support

Polearm

Catalyst

Bow

F2P craftable/Battle Pass weapons like Serpent Spine, The Catch, The Widsith and The Stringless are on this list because, used on-role, they beat many off-role 5★ weapons — F2P players should finish these before spending gacha on a signature weapon.