Genshin Impact: Lost the 50/50 to Keqing? Don't worry, here's how to build her
The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing works great in a variety of builds and team compositions
So you lost the 50/50 pulling for that one Genshin Impact character you want.
We’ve all been there, finally getting that gold pull, only to be disappointed the moment the silhouette shows up on screen, and suddenly you’re unlocking C-something for a certain standard character you don’t even use.
But here’s the thing: there are no bad characters in Genshin Impact, only bad builds!
If you’re finally at that point in your gaming experience where you’re resolved to utilising your Standard characters, or maybe just want to try out and see how far you can go with your Standard character, we’ve got just the thing you need: the ultimate build guide.
Let's start with the lovable Keqing, a 5-star Electro sword character and Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. And with the release of Dendro and its many elemental reactions, specifically Aggravate, Keqing has actually become one of the strongest characters in the current metagame!
So from talents, team compositions, strategies, and gear, here’s everything you need to know about Keqing!
Driving Thunder
The best selling point about Keqing’s kit is that she’s a very fast attacker, opting to dish out quick and powerful hits instead of one big damage number. She can also be quite versatile, working well as both the on-field Main DPS or more of a quickswap DPS, as such, she works great in a variety of builds and team compositions that can help buff her even further.
Keqing’s skill, Stellar Restoration, is where the brunt of her damage comes from. She casts a Lightning Stiletto which deals Electro DMG, and she can either teleport to where the Stiletto is, or perform a Charged Attack to deal another instance of Electro DMG at its location.
Keqing's burst, Starward Sword, allows Keqing to deal multiple instances of Electro DMG in a large area-of-effect before ending in a strike that deals massive Electro DMG.
Keqing's A1 passive, Thundering Penance, infuses her Normal and Charged Attacks with Electro for 5 seconds when she recasts Stellar Restoration with an active Lightning Stilleto.
Meanwhile, her A4 passive, Aristocratic Dignity, increases her Crit Rate and Energy Recharge by 15% after casting Starward Sword.
While Keqing's burst may seem to be the best DMG dealer in her kit, your priority when it comes to ascending her talents should be her Normal Attack, skill, then burst.
That’s because Keqing’s playstyle, that being about fast attacks, sees her perform consistent slashes with her Normals, while her skill, besides being an almost consistent source of Electro application and DMG, gives her an avenue to deal a flurry of infused attacks towards her enemies.
Of course, you'd want all your talents to be leveled up to the maximum to make the most of her kit.
Trulla Cementarii: How good are Keqing's constellations?
As a standard character, you can find yourself passively acquiring Keqing's constellations whenever you lose the 50/50 or pull in the standard banner. But how good are they?
As one of the game's earliest characters, Keqing doesn't have any eye-popping constellations that those released later on have. However, she still has a couple of good ones that significantly increase her damage output.
Keqing's C4, Attunement, gives her a 25% ATK increase whenever she triggers an Electro-related elemental reaction. Since you'll be doing a lot of Electro-related reactions with Keqing, this constellation provides a steady source of bonus ATK.
Her C6, Tenacious Star, gives her a 6% Electro DMG Bonus whenever she initiates a Normal Attack, Charged Attack, skill, or burst.
The bonuses she gains from each action are counted independently, letting you gain up to 24% Electro DMG Bonus. That's gonna be a big boost, and is easily attainable too when considering just how fast Keqing's attacks are.
Of course, constellations that increase the talent level cap for your skill and burst also boost your damage. For Keqing, her C3, Foreseen Reformation, and C5, Beckoning Stars, increase the level cap for her burst and skill, respectively.
Enough procrastinating: Keqing's best teams
The flexibility of Keqing’s kit means that she can work well in a variety of strategies and team compositions, either focused on Electro DMG and other Electro-related elemental reactions, or even Physical DMG, whichever you pick.
Aggravate - Allows Keqing to deal enhanced Electro DMG through Dendro’s Catalyze and Aggravate reactions. With her lightning-quick attacks, Keqing is one of the characters that utilize the Aggravate reaction the best. This build won't deviate from normal Keqing builds, although Elemental Mastery will become an important stat to gain through artifact substats or buffs from other party members.
This composition should consist of Keqing, a Dendro support, an Electro support, and a flexible spot for an Anemo character or another Dendro character.
Here are some compositions you can try:
Keqing, Nahida, Yae Miko, Kaedehara Kazuha
Keqing, Nahida, Fischl, Kazuha
Keqing, Dendro Traveler, Kuki Shinobu, Sucrose/Collei
Mono-Electro - As the name suggests, this team is all about dishing out pure Electro DMG and can either consists of all Electro characters or three Electro characters with one Anemo buffer.
Here are some compositions you can try:
Keqing, Raiden Shogun/Yae Miko, Kujou Sara, Jean
Keqing, Raiden Shogun/Yae Miko, Kuki Shinobu, Kaedehara Kazuha
Keqing, Beidou/Fischl, Kuki Shinobu, Sucrose
Hypercarry - As with any other Hypercarry lineup, this team is all about buffing Keqing's damage to the maximum. It will consist of Keqing, Bennett, Kaedehara Kazuha, and Kujou Sara with C6 unlocked.
Physical - This foregoes much of Keqing's kit, as her abilities will only be used to trigger the Superconduct reaction to reduce the Physical RES of enemies. In order to do this, you must only cast Stellar Restoration once and do a Charged Attack instead, otherwise your attacks will be infused with Electro and will make this build useless.
Here are some compositions you can try:
Keqing, Rosaria, Kuki Shinobu, Zhongli
Keqing, Rosaria, Fischl, Layla
Keqing, Rosaria, Bennett (not C6), Xinyan
A Yuheng's Finery: Keqing's best gear
If you’re set on building Keqing, the best way to go is giving her 5-star swords like the Mistsplitter Reforged, which is her best-in-slot weapon. It's tied for the highest base ATK among swords, gives tons of Crit DMG, while having a passive that greatly increases your Elemental DMG Bonus.
Primordial Jade Cutter is also a great option, as it ascends with Crit Rate, giving you an even ratio as Keqing ascends with Crit DMG. The substat isn’t much to write home about however, as she doesn’t really need the HP increase.
Haran Geppaku Futsu focuses on increasing Normal Attack DMG while ascending with Crit Rate, which is near perfect for Keqing’s fast-attacking kit. It falls behind however as the 12% Elemental DMG bonus you get can’t compare to the max 28% Elemental DMG bonus you can get from Mistsplitter Reforged.
For a Physical Keqing, the obvious choice is Aquila Favonia, as it gives her Physical DMG Bonus, and gives her an additional 20% ATK bonus and instances of self-healing.
If you don’t want to break the bank to get these 5-star swords, you can opt for these 4-star alternatives:
Lion's Roar (Gacha)
Blackcliff Longsword (Starglitter Shop)
Black Sword (Battle Pass)
Amenoma Kageuchi (Craftable)
Kagotsurube Isshin (Kaedehara Kazuha Story Quest Reward)
For artifacts, there are a variety of sets you can choose from, that being:
4-piece Thundering Fury - The best generalist artifact set for Keqing, giving her Electro DMG Bonus and letting her cast her skill more often. You can also get this from the Artifact Strongbox, so farming will be less of a hassle compared to before.
2-piece Thundering Fury + any 2-piece ATK% bonus artifact - If you don't have a good 4-piece Thundering Fury set, then a mixed 2-piece set will do the trick. While you lose out on the cooldown reduction to your skill, this setup can still be competitive with the 4-piece set if you get good substat rolls.
4-piece Pale Flame - The go-to set if you're running a Physical Keqing build. She gets a 25% Physical DMG Bonus and can easily trigger the 4-piece effect that gives her up to 18% ATK and another 25% Physical DMG Bonus.
The main stats for your artifacts should be ATK% for your sands, Electro DMG Bonus for your goblet, and Crit Rate or Crit DMG for your circlet, whichever is lacking.
As for substats, go for Crit Rate/Crit DMG, ATK%, and Elemental Mastery if you're running her in an Aggravate team.
Now go forth, and unleash the original Electro maiden on your enemies.
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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