In thisGenshin Impact GuideI’m going to be showing you myFrost Shattering Warrior buildforChongyun, that utilizes his Elemental Skill to freeze every enemy, and then shatter them for additional damage. Composing a party for each situation inGenshin Impactcan be a bit of a challenge, especially with the limited options for those focusing on free-to-play. In thisGuideI’ll explain just how to make a damage dealer and crowd controller out ofChongyun, that can be used for most domains, world events, daily activities, and weekly bosses. I’ll go through what Weapons to use, what Artifacts to upgrade and which companions to pick up. If you’ve been looking for a Free to Play, Cryo and Shatter endgame Build, then check this one out!
Genshin Impact Build: Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior
Chongyunis a four star character, featured as a rate up character inZhongli’s Wish Banner during December. Due to these facts, you have a high chance to getChongyunand several of his Constellations unlocked.Chongyunis a good support for Pyro characters, and that’s the easiest way to build him. But with one or two Constellations, his damage-dealing capabilities start to shine and this is a good reason to build him for DPS. It’s much safer to face difficult content with a freezing build, that can stop every enemy in their tracks. You can get behind the massive shields of Hilichurls, and freeze Ruin Guards in the middle of their whirlwinds. It offers a simple solution for many situations, and feels really good to be in control of on the battlefield.
TheFrost Shattering Warrioruses a combination of Cryo and Hydro characters together in a party. You can either utilizeChongyunas the sole Cryo character, along with three Hydro characters for maximum freeze uptime. Or you can use two Cryo characters and two Hydro characters, for a Critical Rate bonus fromElemental Resonance.When it comes to Cryo, you can pickKaeyaalongsideChongyun. For Hydro, pickXingqiuandBarbarafor a free to play team. But for five stars team, you can replaceBarbarawithMona, and replaceKaeyawithQiqi. But here in this guide, we will focus on the most likely free to play options.
Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior Attributes
We are puttingChongyunin a sustained carry role, with his normal attack converted to Cryo damage through his Elemental Skill. So our focus will beCryo damage, then to deal some goodCrit RateandCrit damage.Finally, we can get% AttackandElemental Mastery, as this last one affects hisShatterdamage output.
You have to keep a 1:2 ratio betweenCrit Rate: Crit Damage, but consider adding a 15% to your Crit Rate calculations, as this comes from Elemental Resonance, and doesn’t show up on the character attributes page.
Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior Weapon
The Frost Shattering Warrior uses a Claymore, the two-handed version of swords inGenshin Impact. For the weapon, you might get some good four star weapons from the Wish system, but forChongyun, the crafted weapon is plainly better. We use a three star weapon,Debate Clubas an easy free to play choice for starting out. We can refine it to level 5 easily, creating a powerful weapon early on, that increases in power the more hits you score on enemies. If you plan on replacing it, don’t waste many resources on Ascending it though.
Crafting A Four Star Weapon
I recommend craftingPrototype Aminus, a weapon with a great base attack, high Attack bonus, and consistent damage output. Farm weekly bosses, or buy theNorthlander Claymore Prototypefrom the Souvenir Shop located in Monstadt and Liyue. Also farm White Iron Chunks and Crystal Chunks, in order to craft the four star Claymore at The Blacksmith. You need more of them to craft another, to refine your crafted weapon. It’s an easy weapon to acquire, as well as to maintain, and doesn’t have a special condition to proc damage.
The Ultimate Weapon
The ultimate weapon in this case would either be the Battle Pass weaponSerpent Spine, or theRoyal Greatswordfrom Paimon’s Bargains. The reason I preferSerpent SpineforChongyunover the 5 star weapons is the fact thatChongyunfreezes everything. Meaning he will get hit less often, so he can maintain higher stacks ofSerpent Spinedamage passive than any other character.
The passive gives the character 6% more DMG and takes 3% more DMG per stack, and gains a stack every 4 seconds with the character on the field. This effect has a maximum of 5 stacks and will not be reset if the character leaves the field, but will be reduced by 1 stack when the character takes DMG. That’s why it’s very strong onChongyun.It’s also a guaranteed weapon for 10 bucks, along with all the huge benefits of the Battle Pass, and doesn’t require spending hundreds of dollars gambling for a 5 star weapon.
Finally, the secondary stat onSerpent Spineis Crit Rate, versus % Attack on the 5 star weapon.Chongyunhas a ton of % Attack from leveling and ascending him, so % Attack will have more diminishing returns. While Crit Rate on a weapon would allow you to pick up Crit Damage on Headpiece for a huge damage increase.
Royal Greatswordon the other hand is a free to play option to buy with 24Masterless Starglitterfrom Paimon’s Bargains. It gives both % Attack and Crit Rate, but in smaller numbers than theSerpent Spine. It is still a very solid and competitive option.
Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior Artifacts
Figuring out how to customize yourArtifactsets is one of, if not the hardest part of making a Build inGenshin Impactas there are a lot of components involved, and generally takes a try or two before getting it right. In this section, I want to show you how I’ve set this up for maximum performance in this build.
Blizzard Strayer Set
The new Cryo Set released with 1.2 Dragonspine chapter is naturally the best in slot for Cryo DPS such asChongyun. It comes with the perfect stats for our build, 2 Pieces gives 15% Cryo DMG Bonus, and 4-Piece gives two amazing modifiers. First, you get a 20% CRIT Rate when a character attacks an enemy affected by Cryo, then you get an additional 20% if the enemy is frozen. We will always be freezing enemies, so we gain full benefits from this Set. (15% Cryo damage +40% Crit Rate). This allows you to build all-outCrit Damageon main and sub-stats, for massiveChongyundamage.
Blizzard Strayer drops from the brand new domain in Dragonspine called “The Peak of Vindagnyr”, so make sure to save your fragile resin if you want to farm the Blizzard Strayer Set there.
Gladiator’s Finale Set
For a free to play build it may be a little easier to obtain is theGladiator’s FinaleSet, it is the only suitable five stars artifact Set. It’s not ideal for Cryo characters, and doesn’t benefitChongyun’s elemental skill nor elemental burst. But it’s a good placeholder, that can help him clear endgame content for now.
Flower of Life & Plume of Death
The main stat on these artifacts is predetermined, with Flower always giving a primary HP stat, and Plume always giving Attack. This makes it easier to pick an Artifact with perfect sub stats on these two slots, because it has fewer variables. We want any combination ofCrit Rate, andCrit Damageon sub-stats here. With% Attack, andElemental masterybeing good bonuses, but with lower priority.
There’s a high chance you will have a five star Flower or Plume from any of the Sets you build. So ensure to not level any 4 starGladiator’s Finaleunless it has the absolute best sub-stats, because you will probably get a better 5 star later.
Sands of Eon
This is a more flexible Artifact, with the focus being on the main stat. It can roll different stats as main, and that’s why it’s harder to acquire the perfect pieces, but it also has a higher ceiling. We seek% Attackmain stat, then seek a couple good sub-stats. These are% Attack, Crit Rate, Elemental MasteryandCrit Damage.
Goblet of Enotherm
We need aCryo Damage Bonuson the main stat here. It’s harder to get the right bonus because Goblet can roll every elemental damage bonus, so the pool of modifiers is larger than any other piece. So Goblets don’t have to belong to your 4 piece set. You can have your four piece Set on all other slots, and get the Goblet from any set that has the right main stats, and some good sub stats. These are% Attack, Crit Rate, Elemental masteryandCrit Damage,with Critical stats having the highest priority.
Circlet of Logos
We need this Headpiece dedicated to eitherCrit RateorCrit Damageas a main stat. It’s a very important stat, and kind of a build enabler. You will pass with% Attackas the main stat on Headpiece if you are using thePrototype Aminusin early game. But for Endgame you’ll need a good damage output, so it’s a good idea to concentrate on Critical stats here. Keep a1:2Crit rate: Crit Damage ratio, taking into consideration the 15% Crit Rate from Elemental Resonance from having two Cryo characters. Get some of the good sub-stats as well, these are% Attack, Elemental Mastery, Crit Rate,andCrit Damage.
Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior Talent Skills
Normal Attacks consist of a four time combo, with the first two swings being relatively quick, and later two swings being slower, but more impactful.Chongyunhas a good AOE, and with Elemental Skill, he converts all normal and charged attacks into Cryo damage. With the first Constellation, the last hit in the combo launches three icy spikes that add more AOE, and deals more damage. So it’s important to continue the combo to the final hit, to benefit from the extra damage. It’s challenging to control the final hit direction, and takes some time to master.
Chongyunattacks have lower modifiers than many other Claymore users, that’s why many rank him as B tier. However, converting his attacks to Cryo allow scaling with Elemental damage modifiers, and allows a very important reaction to occur. With a character dedicated to applying Hydro element in the team such asXingqiu, and a second Cryo character likeKaeya, you will have enemies frozen before you hit them withChongyun. So whileKaeya’s Burst is active, every hit fromChongyunwillShatterenemies, dealing secondary damage based on an Elemental level ofChongyun. Even though Shatter is the second strongest reaction after Overload, it’s commonly overlooked by content creators. It has to meet special conditions in order to happen, a Hydro and Cryo character for freeze, and then a heavy weapon to cause the reaction. With thisChongyunbuild however, we meet all these conditions, so it’s a very consistent source of damage.
Finally, withSteady Breathingpassive, you will get to increase the attack speed ofChongyunby 8% within the range of his Elemental Skill. Attack speed is a rare DPS multiplier that’s hard to get normally, andChongyunwill have it for free.
Spirit Blade - Chonghua’s Layered Frost
The build defining Elemental Skill ofChongyunputs down a huge field of Ice. It deals damage initially, then converts all melee attacks to Cryo damage. At the end of its duration,Spirit Bladedeals damage again. WithRimechaser Bladepassive, enemies struck by the final blade will have their Cryo RES decreased by 10% for 8s.
Spirit Blade - Chonghua’s Layered Frostis the main reason to pickChongyun, whether as a support or main DPS. It’s also the core talent of our build, so ensure to level it as high as possible. Leveling it up extends the duration of Cryo damage conversion buff, to last up to 3 seconds after the main buff ends.
Spirit Blade - Cloud-parting Star
Chongyun’s Elemental Burst is another damage talent in your arsenal. With a low Energy Cost of 40, and a standard cooldown of 12 seconds, it deals damage three times with a 214% modifier at skill level 7, resulting in total 642% damage. It also launches enemy high into the air, causing them to lose their footing and knocking them off balance.
You can either use an Elemental Burst before the Elemental Skill, or after the end of the Elemental Skill duration. If you use it before Elemental Skill, it allows the Elemental skill to generate Energy and recharge Elemental Burst quickly. However, using it after the Elemental Skill duration, allows you to benefit from the Cryo resistance reduction on enemies to deal some major damage.
Chongyun, Frost Shattering Warrior Party Composition
Genshin Impact has a unique playstyle that relies on switching characters, and chaining combos across these characters. So a solid part ofChongyun’s build is knowing which characters will accompany him, and what roles they will play. In this section, I’ll fill you in on some of the best characters that synergise well with this build. I’ll only use Four Star characters here, to make sure it’s achievable for free to play players or those who don’t want to invest too much.
The funny-speaking, book-reading, Guhua-geeking,Xingqiuis the best four star support in the game. He can heal, he can reduce incoming damage, and apply a good Hydro element passively for elemental reactions. He can also deal some decent damage with his Elemental Skill. We had an increased chance to getXingqiuby using wishes on the “Klee Sparkling Steps” temporary banner, when it was available.Xingqiuwas a good enough reason to use your free wishes on this banner for him alone, as he’s a solid character and his Constellations are great. So if you have used this banner, you probably have him and some Constellations unlocked.
We will buildXingqiufor spamming both Elemental Skill and Elemental Bursts on Cooldown, or even before cooldown. His Elemental Skill gives a damage reduction buff, and heals active characters whenever he takes damage. While his Elemental Burst keeps shooting Rain swords with Hydro damage with each normal attack, and persists after switching characters. That’s why it synergise well with normal attacks likeChongyun,Razor, orDiluc’s. His skills are a very important component to keep enemies frozen, and this is needed all the time forshatterto proc.
Another good thing about usingXingqiuin a team built around Freeze and Shatter, is that the Element order doesn’t matter. Whether Hydro procs Cryo, or vice versa, things will always get frozen. By havingChongyunas a carry, he will always procShatter, and no one else. It’s a very convenient playstyle you will enjoy as it has some flexibility in terms of playstyle.
We should scaleXingqiu‘sHP, for maximum efficiency in healing. Then we will seek aHydro damage bonus, because it increases both damage forXingqiuand damage reduction for the entire party when hisElemental Skillis active.Energy RechargeandAttackare useful as a secondary stat, and that’s about it.
For this build, we can use either theSacrificial SwordorFavonius Swordfor Xingqui, as it has a better Energy Recharge. Especially theSacrificial Swordas it can reset the cooldown ofXingqiu‘sElemental Skill. A 21 seconds cooldown is a really long time in this rotation, asChongyun’s Elemental Skill lasts only 10 seconds, and 3 more seconds with a temporary buff, before you switch characters. If theSacrificial Swordallows the use of one more Elemental Skill, it’s doubling the effect ofXingqiu.
Use two pieces of theThe ExileSet and two pieces of theScholarSet in early game. It’s a good way to get the Energy Recharge for the Elemental Burst, because it really increases the overall damage of the party. However, in endgame, we seek four pieces of theNoblesse ObligeSet, to increase the entire party damage.
Get aHydro Damage Bonusas the main stat on Goblet, and%HPon every other piece. For the secondary stats look forEnergy Rechargeand moreHP.
Kaeyais guaranteed to join your party after doing the questCrash CourseduringThe Outlander Who Caught the WindPrologue Chapter. He’s the easiest Cryo character to get, so we will be using him from the get-go. We prefer him overDiona, because he can apply Cryo element faster than her with his Elemental Burst. As for every Cryo element applied beforeChongyunhits, there’s a guaranteeShatterreaction proccing. We buildKaeyain this team as a full support, since any damage he deals,Chongyundoes better.
We want to stackEnergy RechargeonKaeya.He has a natural highEnergy Rechargefrom Ascension, so his Elemental Burst will likely be ready before anyone else in party. Then we need someCryo Damage,andAttackwhereEnergy Rechargeis not applicable.
Just use theFavonius SwordorSacrificial Swordmore Energy recharge, for Kaeya. Though if you have either of these, you probably prioritise it forXingqiu. So if you don’t have a spare four star weapon for him, the three starSkyrider Swordwill do a sufficient job.
You have a choice here, whether to go fullInstructorSet to boost Elemental Mastery for the entire team, which will buff Shatter damage forChongyun. Or otherwise, get the four piece setThe Exilefor more Energy Recharge for the party. Both of these sets makeKaeyaa great asset for the team, and you will switch to him often to use his Elemental Skill and burst.
Barbarawas free to acquire from Events after 1.1 patch. Another dupe of her was available if you reached AR 20 before patch 1.1, so most players will have her first Constellation by now. If you have rolled some wishes in Venti’s temporary Wish banner, you likely have even more Constellations. With Constellation 2 being the most impactful. Finally, a copy ofBarbarais available to purchase from Paimon’s Bargains if you need one more Constellation. If we keep getting free copies of her every month, eventually, we will have her with 6 Constellations. That makes her the strongest healer support, because she can revive fallen party members, even in Spiral Abyss.
Barbarais important for this team, and if you want to replace her, you will need both a Cryo healer and another Hydro support, as she fills these both roles. She’s also amazing at bringing down shields of the Pyro Abyss mages, and stunning the Pyro Regisvine boss. Even if you don’t use Barbara in your main party, you will need her in a second party in the Spiral Abyss. She also helpsXingqiurecharge his Energy faster, with every Hydro particle she regenerates with her elemental skill.
Build her all out inHP, as well asHealing Bonuses.Barbarais the last character you need to worry about, you don’t have to maximize her levels or stats. While leveling, leave her at level 40, and at endgame get her to 60 for the last passive, and leave her there.
The best weapon forBarbarain this composition is the three star CatalystThrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers. Surprisingly it’s very strong for a three star weapon, mainly because it works best for support characters that stay on the field for a very short amount of time, and can be switched out quickly. The passive buff it gives is up to 48% Attack increased to the new character taking the field afterBarbara. Now you see why it’s very good forChongyun’s damage, and why it’s important to switch toBarbaraas the third character in your rotation, and switch toChongyunafter her.
Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayersis easy to refine to level 5, and cheap to level up, though it’s not that important to level it at all. Level 1 will give the same buff to your carry as a fully leveled weapon, you only miss out on slightly small amounts of healing, which is not that crucial with two healing supports in your party. Leave it at low level, and save your resources for other cruel weapons that scale your party damage.
Maiden Belovedis ideal for healers, and the four piece bonus is amazing to help healing coming from bothBarbaraandXingqiu. In early levels, use any pieces with goodHProlls without caring about Sets, then slowly replace them withMaiden Belovedas you level up.
GetHPas the main stat on every piece, andHealing Bonuson circlet if possible.
We hope you found this build useful, and hopefully it gives you a good idea of how to maximizeChongyun’s potential.
Genshin Impactis available to play on PC, iOS, Android and PS4. If you enjoyed thisGenshin Impact Guidebe sure to check out more on ourGenshin Impact Wiki.you may also keep an eye out for more guides for Genshin Impact 1.1, and be sure to not miss ourGenshin Impact Getting Started Guide, as well as ourKeqing The Driving Thunder -Free To Play Guide
