Updated for Version 4.0

Ningguang is a 4-star Geo Catalyst character in Genshin Impact who offers both burst damage and sustained damage at range. Learn about Ningguang’s best builds, Talent priority, best weapons, best artifacts, and best teams in this KQM Quick Guide.

The information in this guide may change if new discoveries are made.

For more detailed analysis, please read the KQM Ningguang Extended Guide.

New Content

Flowing Purity (Fontaine craftable weapon)	Flowing Purity is a strong option for Ningguang if you can clear its Bond of Life every rotation, but it falls short of other top 4-star options otherwise. Nevertheless, it is her best craftable weapon.
Sacrificial Jade (Battle Pass weapon)	Sacrificial Jade is good for Ningguang in teams with Bennett purely because of its high CRIT Rate stat. However, it’s an overall worse option for her than Solar Pearl, the alternative Catalyst you can select from the BP Bounty.
Golden Troupe (artifact set)	Both 2pc and 4pc Golden Troupe are weak options for Ningguang, as her Elemental Skill contributes too little to her total damage output.
Marechaussee Hunter (artifact set)	2pc Marechaussee is a viable option for Ningguang but generally worse than her other recommended 2pc sets. 4pc Marechaussee is strong only if she can maintain stacks without being interrupted by enemy attacks. However, achieving this can be very difficult, so it is inadvisable to farm this artifact set specifically for Ningguang.

Infographic

Character Overview

Playstyles

Damage Dealer

Ningguang is an on-field damage dealer with flexible field time, which allows you to switch characters whenever necessary to accommodate other party members. She casts her Elemental Skill and Burst when they’re available, then fills any gaps in rotations with her Normal and Charged Attacks.

It’s worth noting that her personal damage is lower than other popular damage dealers but still sufficient when played properly.

Talents

Talent Priority

Talent Priority
Elemental Burst ≥ Normal Attack > Elemental Skill

All of Ningguang’s Combat Talents contribute meaningfully to her damage output, so it’s worthwhile to level up all three. Before Constellation 6 or in quickswap teams, prioritize Ningguang’s Elemental Burst, then her Normal Attack. At Constellation 6, prioritize her Burst and Normal Attack equally.

Talent Overview

Constellations

Combos

N# = The specified number of Normal Attacks
C = Charged Attack

N2C	Ningguang’s best combo in most situations. This combo is the Tianquan Ningguang’s bread🍞 and butter🧈 that nourishes the hungry mouths of the Liyue Qixing.
N1C	Ningguang’s best combo at melee range.

Artifacts

ER Requirements

Burst every 12s, 1 Skill, 2–3 other Geo units	110–130%
Burst every 15s, 1 Skill, 1 other Geo unit	120–140%
Burst every 15s, 1 Skill, 2 other Geo units	110–120%
Burst every 20s, 2 Skills, 1 other Geo unit	100–110%

Note: in the table, “Skill” refers to Elemental Skill casts that generate Energy particles. Casting Ningguang’s Skill twice within 6s will only generate one set of particles.

You can use the Energy Recharge Calculator to determine exact requirements for your team and rotation.

Artifact Stats

Sands	Goblet	Circlet
ATK%	Geo DMG Bonus	CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG

Substats: Energy Recharge (until requirement) > CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG > ATK%

Artifact Sets

4pc Thundersoother / 4pc Lavawalker	Powerful if you can consistently maintain a respective Electro or Pyro aura on enemies, which is more difficult in teams that trigger more reactions.
4pc Emblem of Severed Fate	Strong in quickswap teams if Ningguang needs 2pc Emblem to meet her ER requirement.
2pc Archaic Petra + 2pc ATK%	Decent across most team compositions and scenarios.
Other 2pc + 2pc sets (Archaic Petra / Noblesse Oblige / ATK% / Emblem of Severed Fate)	The 2-piece sets with the best substats generally deal the most damage. However, 2pc Noblesse is less desirable outside of quickswap teams, and 2pc Emblem is less desirable when it grants Ningguang more Energy Recharge than she requires.
4pc Archaic Petra	Ningguang’s best option for maximizing team damage, as she can usually obtain Elemental Shards effortlessly while on-field.

Weapons

Memory of Dust / Skyward Atlas	Ningguang’s best 5-star options. The ATK% they provide supplements Ningguang’s low Base ATK, but it also reduces the effectiveness of other ATK buffs. (The relative strength of Memory of Dust is conditional on high shield uptime.)
Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds	A strong 5-star option purely because of its stats. Ningguang cannot fully utilize its passive because of her short field time.
Tulaytullah’s Remembrance / Kagura’s Verity	Decent 5-star options purely because of their stats. Their passives have relatively little impact on Ningguang’s total damage output.
Solar Pearl	The most consistent 4-star option. To utilize its passive, Normal Attack once before casting Ningguang’s other skills. Refining this weapon is not worthwhile or recommended.
The Widsith	A strong 4-star option, but its randomized buffs can lead to inconsistent damage.
Eye of Perception	The strongest 4-star option in multi-enemy scenarios.
Oathsworn Eye	A good free-to-play option, but its passive makes it less desirable in teams where Ningguang has a lower ER requirement.
Dodoco Tales	A strong 4-star option, especially in teams where Ningguang receives more field time. To utilize its passive, execute one Charged Attack combo (e.g., N2C) before casting her other skills.

Teams

Teambuilding

Geo Resonance: Enduring Rock

Increases shield strength by 15%. Additionally, characters protected by a shield will have the following special characteristics: DMG dealt increased by 15%, dealing DMG to enemies will decrease their Geo RES by 20% for 15s.

• Ningguang’s damage benefits significantly from Geo Resonance, which requires having at least two Geo characters in the party. As the damage buffs from Geo Resonance are conditional on shield uptime, this also forces her to make use of either a shielder or the Crystallize reaction.
• Ningguang is relatively flexible with team compositions and can adapt her field time to accommodate many different buffers and off-field damage dealers. Nevertheless, she works especially well with Zhongli and Albedo, so her strongest teams tend to contain at least one of them.
• In multi-enemy scenarios, it’s advisable to pair Ningguang with a strong multi-target damage dealer to compensate for her limited AoE damage.

Notable Teammates

Zhongli	Zhongli provides immense survivability through his shield, which also applies 20% Universal RES Shred to nearby enemies and guarantees uptime on the damage buffs from Geo Resonance. Additionally, he can provide decent Energy generation through Favonius Lance. Zhongli’s Stone Steles can also resonate with a nearby Jade Screen to deal some additional damage; however, carelessly positioned steles can obstruct Ningguang’s projectiles and Jade Screen creation.
Albedo	Albedo offers consistent Energy generation and significant personal damage, with low field time requirements. He is an excellent option when healing or shielding is provided by another party member.
Gorou (C6)	At Constellation 6, Gorou offers excellent damage buffs to Ningguang and is especially potent when paired with Albedo, who benefits from his DEF buffs. At lower Constellations, Gorou is not worthwhile for Ningguang teams.
Bennett	Bennett offers healing and immense ATK buffs from his Burst and 4pc Noblesse, which compensate for Ningguang’s glaringly low Base ATK. However, when played as the only Pyro character on a team, he requires either more field time or more Energy Recharge to fulfill his Energy needs.
Xiangling	Xiangling offers immense AoE damage to compensate for Ningguang’s largely single-target damage. However, she has extremely high Energy needs that are only partially alleviated by pairing her with Bennett. Xiangling can’t Vaporize in Ningguang teams, which noticeably reduces her personal damage.
Fischl	Fischl offers consistent particle generation and sizable single-target damage from off-field. Ningguang can consistently trigger Fischl’s Ascension 4 Passive to deal additional damage, and her flexible field time allows Fischl to maintain Oz uptime.
Yae Miko	Yae offers high damage through her Elemental Skill and Burst. She has high Energy needs and field time requirements, but Ningguang’s synergy with Fischl and flexible field time help alleviate these. However, the forced pairing of Yae and Fischl severely limits their team compositions to single-target damage.
Kujou Sara	Sara offers a Flat ATK buff on a shorter cooldown than Bennett, which synergizes with Ningguang in 12s rotations.

Team Compositions

Ningguang — Zhongli — Geo — Flex

These teams execute 12s rotations and cast Ningguang’s Burst every rotation by relying on Energy generation from Zhongli’s Favonius Lance and the other party members. These compositions place the most emphasis on Ningguang’s personal damage, so they benefit significantly from her Constellations.

Ningguang — Geo — Bennett — Flex

These quickswap teams execute 15–18s rotations and are Ningguang’s most accessible and versatile compositions. Bennett is not functionally necessary in these teams, but he provides very valuable utility and is highly recommended. Gorou is only a worthwhile option at Constellation 6.

Ningguang — Geo — Flex — Flex

Sample Teams

These teams execute longer rotations to accommodate party members with longer Elemental Burst cooldowns. Ningguang’s teammates tend to deal significant damage in these compositions, which makes equipping her with 4pc Petra especially valuable. In the teams displayed above, Ningguang can also equip a respective 4pc Lavawalker or 4pc Thundersoother set to maximize her personal damage instead, provided you can maintain uptime on its 4-piece set bonus.

Credits

alehannita, chasing_haze, cuzimori, grankrathalos, idkanonymized, irokei, itslin, kolvii, lostguide, nikatosaurus, rafael0055, quinslay