Is Zhongli the best support character in Genshin Impact?

Zhongli will be obtainable soon on his rerun banner in Genshin Impact 1.5. His rerun will surely cause more hype for the version, along with new features.

Not only will there be a rerun banner, but Zhongli will also come with his story quest, Act Two. It is safe to say that he has been getting more conversations than Eula, the new Cryo character who will also have a banner in Genshin Impact 1.5.

Did a poll on Instagram, and it seems more are interested in Zhongli than Eula. Poll is still up for more than 14h, but I don't think there's going to be any significant changes. pic.twitter.com/dwQ6fKqRPi

— Genshin Impact (@WorldOfTeyvat) April 23, 2021

Zhongli's kit makes him unique from all other supports. He's mainly an amazing shielder that helps players' teams survive longer. But can he be deemed the best of the other supports?

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Is Zhongli the best support character in Genshin Impact?

Zhongli, Diona, and Noelle are shield supports in Genshin Impact

There are a lot of shielders in the game. However, no one can maintain a 100% uptime currently other than Zhongli. His skill allows for a 12-second cooldown, while the shield will be up for 20 seconds. This is far more superior compared to other shields like Noelle's, Diona's, and Xinyan's.

Not only that, the Geo shield is the only shield that has 50% extra strength against Physical damage (and against all other damage). This means that the Geo shield can be used effectively against all types of enemies. Zhongli's shield also reduces the enemy's resistance by 20%.

Furthermore, unlike Diona, who has a max base HP of 9,570, Zhongli's max HP is 14,695. There's clearly a massive gap between their stats. Originally, Zhongli's HP is only beneficial for his shield and burst damage, but after the Geo Archon's buff on Genshin Impact 1.3, HP also increases the damage of Zhongli's skill and normal attack.

pspspspsps Zhongli pls come home everyone is waiting for you 🥺#GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/Xv0vNUe1CC

— Mizu @ P3/P5/Genshin (*´・ｖ・) (@mizururu) April 22, 2021

In short, Zhongli is the best shielder in Genshin Impact. Not only does Zhongli have great defensive capabilities, but he also offers decent damage dealing and reliable CC on his burst.

Apart from all these amazing abilities, Zhongli does not offer everything. For example, unlike Diona and Noelle, Zhongli does not have a healing kit (unless players unlock his sixth constellation).

Zhongli does not offer a massive attack boost like Bennett's burst, nor does he offer any amplifying elemental reactions like Xingqiu. Zhongli is also incapable of cleansing elemental debuffs like Bennett, Barbara, Xingqiu, Diona, Beidou, and Jean.

In quiet moments they get along. #genshinimpact #原神 pic.twitter.com/eXQDdKpkdp

— eco @ Brother Nier best Nier (@darkecoracer) January 11, 2021

Lastly, Zhongli does not offer massive Crowd Control like Venti, nor Elemental Mastery inheritance like Sucrose.

While Zhongli is definitely the best shielder in the game, other supports can offer things that Zhongli can't. In short, the best supports in Genshin Impact are those that are utilized properly based on their best abilities.