Learn how to put together the best possible Gorou build in Genshin Impact
For details of Gorou’s best build — including weapons, artifacts, party composition, and levelling requirements — read on below.
How to build Gorou for a support role in Genshin Impact
Alternative:Sacrificial Bow
Gorou’s strengths lie primarily in his Elemental talents, and so I don’t recommend equipping him with a 5-star weapon unless you’re in the enviable position of having a spare Elegy for the End lying around. Fortunately, you can actually achieve better effects for Gorou with theFavonius Warbowthan with any of the rarer weapons anyway. With this bow, Gorou’s Normal Attack crits have a high chance of generating an elemental orb which restores his energy faster, allowing him to refill his far superior Elemental Burst with desirable speed.
Alternatively, the sturdySacrifical Bowhas a slightly smaller chance to end the cooldown on Gorou’s Elemental Skill after he damages an enemy with the latter. However, this can only occur once every 30 seconds and isn’t quite as likely as triggering the Favonius Warbow’s elemental effect, so I recommend opting for this weapon only if you don’t have a Warbow to give to Gorou or are extremely keen on his skill.
Set bonuses:
Alternative:Replace Emblem of Severed Fate with Noblesse Oblige or Archaic Petra
Since Gorou’s best role lies in supporting his party’s DEF, you absolutely want to equip him with two pieces from theHusk of Opulent Dreamsset if at all possible. Here’s a vital hint though: if you’ve already given away all your Husk of Opulent Dreams pieces — which is likely in Gorou’s recommended party set-up — theDefender’s Willset has an identical 2-piece bonus and so can be substituted here freely.
The rest of his best artifact loadout is more debateable, but my preference is for 2 pieces from theEmblem of Severed Fateset, since this provides a significant Energy Recharge boost that brings Gorou’s Elemental Burst back online that much quicker.
However, there’s also a strong argument to be made for replacing the Emblem of Severed Fate pieces with either 2 pieces from theNoblesse Obligeset (for +20% to Elemental Burst DMG rather than recharge) or 2 pieces from theArchaic Petraset (for a simple-yet-powerful +15% to all Geo DMG Gorou inflicts).
Unsurprisingly, you’ll want the stats and substats on Gorou’s artifacts to focus primarily on DEF increases. Aim for the following:
Alternative:Juuga: Forward Unto Victory (Elemental Burst)
I strongly recommend sidelining Gorou’s fairly weak Bow attacks in favour of focussing on his Elemental talents. His Elemental SkillInuzaka All-Round Defenseshould be the top priority if you’re placing him in a support role for a team primarily made up of other Geo characters. This is because his General’s War Banner effect becomes extremely powerful when in a party with at least two other Geo users, and starts providing vital DEF boosts straight away.
However, Gorou’sJuuga: Forward Unto VictoryElemental Burst applies similar benefits, buffing DMG rather than DEF, so it’s an important secondary talent to keep up with.
Here’s a full list of Gorou’s talents and what they do:
5-star alternative:Arataki Itto as main DPS, while Ningguang replaces Xinqui as sub DPS
Thanks to Gorou’s skills increasing in benefit with every Geo character in his party, it’s a good idea to fill the team with as many Geo users as possible. However, you’ll hit a bit of a snag in that Geo characters suitable for DPS duties are thin on the ground, since the element lends itself primarily to support roles.
Ningguangis perhaps the only 4-star Geo character who makes for a good DPS main; and without at least one 5-star, you unfortunately won’t be able to pair her with a Geo sub DPS. Fortunately,Xinquimakes a great Hydro sub DPS for Ningguang, as their elements can react together to form the Crystallize reaction, and Xinqui’s Elemental Burst can buff his team’s damage. However, the dream team here is assembled by placing 5-starArataki Itto(if you’re lucky enough to have him) in the main DPS role and positioning Ninggaung as the sub DPS. At the cost of cutting Xinqui from the roster, you can then proceed with an all-Geo team.
While Gorou himself focuses on DEF support and elemental damage,Noellemakes an excellent shield support character for this team. As another Geo character she’ll add power to Gorou’s capabilities, and on a team with no dedicated healer, her shield’s ability to restore HP to the entire party will prove extremely valuable.
To fully ascend Gorou, you will need the following materials:
Prithiva Topaz pieces are obtainable through a number of means, primarily by defeating Normal or Weekly Geo bosses, gaining commission rewards, or buying them from the shopkeeper characters in either Mondstadt or Liyue. Sango Pearls are forageable items found exclusively on Watatsumi Island in Gorou’s native Inazuma. Spectral pieces are dropped by defeated Specter enemies of increasing difficulty, while Perpetual Hearts are exclusively dropped by defeated Perpetual Mechanical Array at Lvl 30+.
To fully level up one of Gorou’s talents, you’ll need the following materials. Be aware that if you choose to triple crown all three of his talents, you’ll need to collect all of this three times over.
Spectral pieces are gained from Specter enemies in the same way they are for Ascension materials. Meanwhile, you can pick up the books required for Gorou’s talents at the Forsaken Rift domain (Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday only), while Molten Moments are awarded for completing the Narukami Island: Tenshukaku trounce domain at Lvl 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight can be obtained through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.
Gorou has a 4-star rarity, so if you make frequent use of Genshin Impact’s gacha system, you’re liable to end up pulling duplicates of him from time to time. When this happens, you’ll unlock the following Constellation bonuses for your original Gorou:
Now you know everything you need to put together the best build for Gorou, quite possibly Genshin Impact’s most adorable puppy-themed hero (sorry,Razor). But there are loads of playable characters in Genshin Impact to choose from, so if you’re looking for details on how Gorou compares to the others, be sure to check out ourGenshin Impact character tier list.
