With so many options, finding the best artifacts in Genshin Impact is no easy task. Every artifact set has its own two and four-piece effects, so you need to match the best effects to the most suitable character. Of course, as running Domains for artifacts is pretty time-consuming, it’s important to know which sets are worth farming before you invest a lot of time.
First of all, keep in mind that although some artifacts are great for certain characters, they can be really bad on others. To help you navigate the different types we’ve divided the best Genshin Impact artifacts over the following categories: DPS characters, Elemental DPS characters, Healers, and other Supports.
As a general rule of thumb, the highest-tier artifacts (five star) are better than the lower tier artifacts (one to four star). Some of the five-star artifacts are dropped from bosses, but most are only found in Artifact Domains. Farming these Domains is the best way to get a great set. Without further ado, let’s have a look at the best artifacts in Genshin Impact.
GENSHIN IMPACT BEST ARTIFACTS
Every Genshin Impact character can wear up to five different artifacts at the same time. Wearing two artifacts of the same type grants a two-piece set effect. This is usually straightforward: an Attack power bonus, an Elemental damage bonus, or a healing bonus. If a character wears four pieces of the same set, they gain an extra set bonus on top of the two-piece effect. These full-set bonuses are usually more complicated but also more powerful.
This also means that one artifact slot is left open when a full set is equipped. You can simply ignore set effects for this final slot and go for the strongest artifact you have left. As artifacts are dropped with random stats, you always have to be a bit lucky to get a great one.
Best Main DPS Artifacts
Gladiator’s Finale
- Two set piece: ATK +18%.
- Four set piece: If the wielder of this artifact set uses a Sword, Claymore, or Polearm, increases their Normal Attack DMG by 35%
Pale Flame
- Two set piece: Physical DMG Bonus +25%
- Four set piece: When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, ATK is increased by 9% for seven seconds. This effect stacks up to two times and can be triggered once every 0.3s. Once two stacks are reached, the two-set effect is increased by 100%
Ever since Genshin Impact’s release, the Gladiator’s Finale has been the go-to artifact set for DPS characters. Although many damage dealers move on to more specialised sets eventually, the Gladiator’s Finale works on almost all of them (especially the two-piece set) and is very easy to farm. For that reason, it’s better than Shimenawa’s Reminscence.
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Main DPS characters who rely on Normal and Charged Attacks and wield a Sword, Polearm, or Claymore, can also use Pale Flame. It’s not as generally applicable as Gladiator’s Finale, but has an even stronger damage bonus on the right character (such as Eula).
Best Elemental Artifacts
Blizzard Strayer
- Two set piece: Cryo DMG Bonus +15%
- Four set piece: When a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, their CRIT Rate is increased by 20%. If the opponent is Frozen, CRIT Rate is increased by an additional 20%
Thundering Fury
- Two set piece: Electro DMG Bonus +15%
- Four set piece: Increases damage caused by Overloaded, Electro-Charged and Superconduct by 40%. Triggering such effects decreases Elemental Skill CD by one second. Can only occur once every 0.8s.
Crimson Witch of Flames
- Two set piece: Pyro DMG Bonus +15%.
- Four set piece: Increases Overloaded and Burning DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using an Elemental Skill increases the two-Piece Set Bonus by 50% of its starting value for ten seconds. Max three stacks.
If you’re building an Elemental DPS character, the artifact set with the corresponding Elemental bonus is usually a good choice. Still, some of them offer better full-set bonuses than others.
Thundering Fury, for example, offers a unique Elemental Skill cooldown reduction to Electro characters who can easily trigger Elemental Reactions. And the Blizzard Strayer set, meant for Cryo characters, grants an amazing 40% Critical Rate increase. Lastly, the Crimson Witch of Flames is great on almost any Pyro DPS character.
Best Healer Artifacts
Ocean-Hued Clam
- Two set piece: Healing Bonus +15%.
- Four set piece: When the wearer heals a character, a Sea-Dyed Foam will appear for three seconds, accumulating the amount of HP recovered from healing (including overflow healing). At the end of the duration, the Sea-Dyed Foam will explode, dealing DMG to nearby opponents based on 90% of the accumulated healing. Each Sea-Dyed Foam can accumulate up to 30,000 HP. Only one Sea-Dyed Foam can be produced every 3.5 second, with no more than one Sea-Dyed Foam active at any given time. This effect can still be triggered when the wearer is not on the field.
Maiden Beloved
- Two set piece: Character Healing Effectiveness +15%
- Four set piece: Using an Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst increases healing received by all party members by 20% for ten seconds
Maiden Beloved and Ocean-Hued Clam are the only five-star artifact sets specifically meant for healers. So if you’re building Barbara or Kokomi, these are by far the best options. The question is, which set is the best?
To put it simply: Maiden Beloved increases healing capacity, and Ocean-Hued Clam manages to turn your character’s existing healing power into damage. If your healer can easily carry the team to victory, Ocean-Hued Clam is arguably the best option because of this additional damage. However, if you need more HP recovery or you simply want the easiest artifact set to farm, you should go for Maiden Beloved instead.
Best Support Artifacts
Noblesse Oblige
- Two set piece: Elemental Burst DMG +20%
- Four set piece: Using an Elemental Burst increases all party members’ ATK by 20% for 12s. This effect cannot stack.
Many artifact sets offer some degree of team support, but Noblesse Oblige stands out because of its general usefulness. As it increases Burst damage (great for most DPS and Sub DPS characters) and grants an Attack increase even after swapping places (great for most DPS, Sub DPS, and Support characters) it’s an extremely useful set to keep in your inventory.
And that wraps up our list of the best Genshin Impact artifacts. If you’re unsure which artifacts to use, check out our best Genshin Impact builds and which characters are the best in our Genshin Impact tier list.