Keqing is a 5* Electro Sword DPS best known for her fast attacks and high mobility. She is also one of the five Standard Banner 5* characters that players have a high chance of obtaining instead of the limited 5* characters they’re trying to get.
Because of this, most players who have Keqing got her when they were trying to get another character and are left wondering what their consolation prize is good for.
In this Keqing build guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know about running Keqing as an Electro DPS. She can also be played as a Physical DPS, but this becomes less viable as you unlock more of her constellations.
And given that she’s a character you can lose the 50/50 to, it’s not unreasonable to expect that you’ll get her constellations, even as a F2P player. We will leave some footnotes for her Physical DPS build, but the focus will be on Electro DMG.
So with that out of the way, let’s begin.
Table of ContentsShow
Keqing’s Talent Priority
| Talent | Description | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack (Yunlai Swordsmanship) | Normal Attack Perform up to 5 rapid strikes. Charged Attack Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to unleash 2 rapid sword strikes. Plunging Attack Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact. | Keqing’s Normal Attacks don’t have a particularly high scaling, but her Charged Attacks hit hard. To get the most DMG out of Keqing, players will often spend their entire Stamina meter on a sequence of Charged Attacks. All in all, this is her most important talent. |
| Elemental Skill (Stellar Restoration) | Hurls a Lightning Stiletto that annihilates her opponents like the swift thunder. When the Stiletto hits its target, it deals Electro DMG to opponents in a small AoE, and places a Stiletto Mark on the spot hit. Hold Hold to adjust the direction in which the Stiletto shall be thrown. Stilettos thrown by the Hold attack mode can be suspended in mid-air, allowing Keqing to jump to them when using Stellar Restoration a second time. Lightning Stiletto If Keqing uses Stellar Restoration again or uses a Charged Attack while its duration lasts, it will clear the Stiletto Mark and produce different effects: • If she uses Stellar Restoration again, she will blink to the location of the Mark and unleash one slashing attack that deals AoE Electro DMG. When blinking to a Stiletto that was thrown from a Holding attack, Keqing can leap across obstructing terrain. • If Keqing uses a Charged Attack, she will ignite a series of thundering cuts at the Mark’s location, dealing AoE Electro DMG. | Keqing’s Elemental Skill is one of the most fun and versatile abilities in all of Genshin Impact. It can be used to maneuver around the battlefield, hit flying enemies, or deliver an Electro Charged Attack from a safe distance. Unfortunately, the DMG of this skill is lacking. You should still level it as highly as your resources allow, but it is her lowest priority talent. |
| Elemental Burst (Starward Sword) | Keqing unleashes the power of lightning, dealing Electro DMG in an AOE. She then blends into the shadow of her blade, striking a series of thunderclap-blows to nearby opponents simultaneously that deal multiple instances of Electro DMG. The final attack deals massive AoE Electro DMG. | Using Keqing’s Burst makes you feel like you’re playing a character from an anime more so than any other ability. It does decent DMG, but nothing overwhelming. If anything, the best use of this ability is to dodge huge instances of incoming DMG, as it provides one of the longest invincibility durations of all Elemental Bursts. All in all, this is Keqing’s second priority talent. |
Keqing’s Passive Talents
| Talent Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Land’s Overseer | When dispatched on an expedition in Liyue, time consumed is reduced by 25%. | This is only useful for farming that one ore expedition in Liyue. In other words, it’s negligible. |
| Thundering Penance | After recasting Stellar Restoration while a Lightning Stiletto is present, Keqing’s weapon gains an Electro Infusion for 5s. | This talent is what enables Keqing to be played as an Electro DPS. The fact that it’s tied to her Skill and not her Burst is a big bonus. |
| Aristocratic Dignity | When casting Starward Sword, Keqing’s CRIT Rate is increased by 15%, and her Energy Recharge is increased by 15%. This effect lasts for 8s. | Keqing’s Burst only has a 12-second cooldown and a 40 Energy cost. In other words, it’s easy for her to maintain this extra CRIT Rate most of the time. And with how difficult it is to get CRIT Rate in this game, this is amazing. |
Keqing is a DPS who, unfortunately, doesn’t do enough DMG to compete with newer units. Tackling the highest floors of Spiral Abyss with her is more difficult than with any other 5* DPS. It can be done, but this requires a high investment in terms of 5* weapons and some of the best 5* supports in the game. In other words, you have to put an enormous amount of time and energy into making Keqing somewhat competitive with the top A-Tier DPS characters. Many are quick to lay the blame on her being Electro for this, but it has to do more with her scaling.
However, if we were to rank characters on their fun factor and open-world use, Keqing would be at the top. Her Elemental Skill allows you to cheese many puzzles and challenges, her Burst rarely feels like overkill against open-world mobs, and due to its low cooldown and mana cost, you never feel bad about casting it, which isn’t the case with big, expensive Bursts that Xiao, Eula, or Ayaka have.
All of this is to say that, while this build guide will focus on making Keqing as optimal as possible for difficult endgame content, she’s one of the best 5* units to get as you start playing Genshin and going through its early game. But anyway, let’s look at how you can optimize your Keqing, starting with her constellations.
Keqing’s Constellations
| Constellation Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Thundering Might | Recasting Stellar Restoration while a Lightning Stiletto is present causes Keqing to deal 50% of her ATK as AoE Electro DMG at the start point and terminus of her Blink. | At point-blank range, this deals 100% of Keqing’s ATK as AoE Electro DMG. It’s a nice DMG upgrade, but it won’t make you feel better about losing the 50/50 to C1 Keqing. |
| Keen Extraction | When Keqing’s Normal and Charged Attacks hit opponents affected by Electro, they have a 50% chance of producing an Elemental Particle. This effect can only occur once every 5s. | This is easily Keqing’s most useless constellation, the reason being that she doesn’t need the extra help maintaining her Burst uptime. |
| Foreseen Reformation | Increases the Level of Starward Sword by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | As mentioned, Keqing’s Burst is used more for the CRIT Rate and its evasive property because its DMG just isn’t impressive. This still doesn’t make the Burst hit like a truck, but it’s an okay DMG upgrade. |
| Attunement | For 10s after Keqing triggers an Electro-related Elemental Reaction, her ATK is increased by 25%. | Keqing should have no trouble triggering Electro reactions, so you can consider this a permanent 25% ATK buff, which is quite sizeable. |
| Beckoning Stars | Increases the Level of Stellar Restoration by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | Along with C1, this constellation starts to significantly boost Keqing’s Elemental Skill DMG. It’s still not a constellation you’ll feel great about, but it’s better than C2. |
| Tenacious Star | When initiating a Normal Attack, a Charged Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst, Keqing gains a 6% Electro DMG Bonus for 8s. Effects triggered by Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, Elemental Skills and Elemental Bursts are considered independent entities. | It doesn’t take long after a fight starts for Keqing to get the maximum 24% extra Electro DMG. Like her C4, this is a sizeable DMG buff that benefits Keqing’s entire kit. |
Overall, Keqing’s constellations are mediocre. They’re not horrible, unlike Qiqi’s constellations, but they’re just not exciting. All of them also reward you for playing her as an Electro DPS, which is why we’re placing a much greater focus on it than on Physical DMG Keqing in this guide.
In other words, if you’re a fan of Keqing and you actively use her, then you shouldn’t feel too bad about getting her constellations, with her C2 being the only exception. All other constellations are DMG buffs that—while small on their own—do add up.
Best Weapons For Keqing
| Weapon Rarity | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Mistsplitter Reforged 5* | With the way this weapon looks, you’d think it was designed specifically for Keqing. While this isn’t the case, it’s still her BiS 5* weapon, giving her a ton of base ATK, loads of CRIT DMG, and a buff to her Electro DMG bigger than the one provided by her C6. She can’t make as good a use of the passive as Ayaka, but she’s still adept at utilizing Mistsplitter Reforged to its fullest. |
| Primordial Jade Cutter 5* | Primordial Jade Cutter is the next best thing after Mistsplitter, providing a significantly lower base ATK, but making up for this by giving Keqing extra ATK scaling based on her HP. Most importantly, it gives an ungodly amount of CRIT Rate, which lets you focus on stacking Keqing with CRIT DMG. |
| The Black Sword 4* | The Black Sword is easily Keqing’s BiS 4* weapon, providing her with a sizeable amount of CRIT Rate, increased Normal and Charged Attack DMG, and even giving her some healing. |
| Lion’s Roar 4* | You have to run Keqing in a specific team to get the most out of this weapon, but if you do, you’ll be rewarded with a massive DMG buff that gets significantly better with refinement. |
| Harbinger of Dawn 3* | Provided you can keep your Keqing healthy enough for the passive to kick in, the Harbinger of Dawn will net you more than enough CRIT stats to make up for its low base ATK. Thanks to corrosion, it’s not viable for endgame content, but this is a weapon that can see you through the entire early and midgame. |
| Aquila Favonia/ Prototype Rancour 5*/4* | We have to give two honorable mentions for Physical DMG Keqing, namely Aquila Favonia and Prototype Rancour. Both of these weapons give massive base ATK for their rarity, in addition to Physical DMG bonuses. The fact that Prototype Rancour is a craftable weapon is what makes many C0 Keqing players gravitate towards Physical DMG Keqing. |
Best Artifacts For Keqing – 2-Thundering Fury + 2-Piece Gladiator’s Finale/Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
Unlike Diluc—her fellow standard 5* DPS—Keqing doesn’t have a 4-piece artifact set bonus tailor-made for her kit. This means she has to do with scrounged-up combinations of 2-piece set bonuses.
For the most consistent DMG, it’s best to equip her with the 2-piece Thundering Fury and 2-piece Gladiator’s Finale/ Shimenawa’s Reminiscence. This will increase both her Electro DMG and give her some extra ATK.
As far as main stats go, Keqing wants ATK% on the Sands, Electro DMG on the Goblet, and CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate on the Logos. Since she gets plenty of CRIT DMG from leveling up, she’ll likely need CRIT Rate. In any case, aim for a 1:2 CRIT Rate to CRIT DMG ratio. Needless to say, Physical DMG Keqing will want a Physical DMG Goblet.
In terms of substats, you should aim for CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate, ATK%, and Energy Recharge.
Now, there are two other 4-piece set bonuses that Electro Keqing can utilize well, but that are more situational.
Firstly, the 4-Piece Thundersoother set bonus which provides a massive 35% DMG buff against opponents affected by Electro. You have to run Keqing in an Electro-Charged team for this, but the benefits are huge when you can pull it off. Unfortunately, some enemies simply cannot be affected by Electro, meaning this set bonus is either amazing or useless, depending on the situation.
Secondly, the 4-Piece Shimenawa’s Reminiscence set bonus which provides a massive 50% Normal and Charged Attack DMG bonus at the cost of 15 Energy. If you can maintain good Burst uptime, then this set bonus becomes amazing, but it’s clunky to use.
For Physical DMG Keqing, you want a combination of 2-Piece Bloodstained Chivalry and 2-Piece Pale Flame.
Elemental Synergies
Electro DMG Keqing benefits the most from having an Anemo support who can use the 4-piece Viridescent Venerer set bonus. She also plays very well with off-field Hydro applicators who can let her stack Electro-Charged reactions on top of one another.
Physical DMG Keqing requires a Cryo support who can help keep opponents affected with Superconduct, which reduces Physical Resistance.
Pyro is arguable the worst Element to pair Keqing with. Overload causes enemies to get knocked back, forcing you to expend precious Stamina to chase them down.
Geo is neither good nor bad. Shields are always welcome, especially so Keqing doesn’t have to worry about dodging as she’s spamming Charged Attacks. But if you want to completely forgo dodging, you’ll likely need something stronger than Crystallize shields.
Best Team Composition For Keqing
Free-to-Play Electro Keqing
- Keqing
- Xingqiu
- Sucrose
- Beidou
Xingqiu provides loads of off-field Hydro DMG. More importantly, he applies Hydro on enemies. Normally, when two Elements combine to trigger an Elemental Reaction, they are both removed from the enemy. But when Hydro and Electro trigger Electro-Charged, the enemies stay affected with Hydro, letting you trigger multiple Electro-Charged Reactions in quick succession.
Sucrose is here for her ability to carry the 4-Piece Viridescent Venerer, which is essential to bringing out Keqing’s full DMG potential. However, her kit also synergizes well with this team, keeping the enemies clustered together and giving Elemental Mastery to party members for stronger Electro-Charged reactions. She can also buff up Keqing’s ATK with the Thrilling Tales of the Dragonslayer, or serve as the party healer with the Prototype Amber. You could replace her with any Anemo unit, including Sayu and Anemo Traveler. You could also use Jean, whoisn’t exactly a F2P character, but whom many F2P players have.
Beidou is here to provide additional Electro DMG. Moreover, she unlocks the Electro Resonance, which will generate Electro particles every 5 seconds in an Electro-Charged team. And to top it all off, both Xingqiu and Beidou provide DMG resistance. In other words, even if you don’t have a shielder, the amount of DMG your active character will be taking is significantly lowered when you have these two characters in your team. If you don’t have Beidou, you could use Fischl, Kujou Sara, or Electro Traveler. Electro Traveler is the best option for making sure Xingqiu always has energy for his Burst.
Free-to-Play Physical Keqing
- Keqing
- Diona
- Bennett
- Yun Jin
Diona is here for her versatility as a shielder, healer, and Cryo applicator for Superconduct. You can also use Kaeya or Rosaria instead of Diona. Rosaria is especially good as she can also increase Keqing’s CRIT Rate and, with enough constellations, her Physical DMG as well.
Bennett is here for his massive ATK buff. He also provides some decent healing, in case you’re not using Diona. If you don’t have Bennett, we recommend replacing him with a Geo character who will unlock the Geo resonance along with Yun Jin. Burst Support Ningguang is a good option. You can also use a second Cryo character to have the Cryo Resonance, which will increase Keqing’s CRIT Rate.
Yun Jin is a Normal Attack buffer like no other. If you’re using her, you aren’t pigeonholed into spamming Stamina-costly Charged Attacks for DMG. You really should have either Bennett or Yun Jin, if not both, to maximize a F2P Physical Keqing’s DMG output. If you don’t have Yun Jin, we once again recommend putting in a second Cryo unit.
For Whales
- Keqing
- Kazuha
- Bennett
- C6 Kujou Sara
Kazuha both buffs up Keqing’s Electro DMG and reduces the enemies’ Electro Resistance when using the 4-piece Viridescent Venerer. In other words, Kazuha buffs up Keqing’s DMG by a lot.
Bennett buffs up Keqing’s ATK. What’s great about this is that the buffs provided by Kazuha and Bennett complement each other well, as you don’t run into any diminishing returns.
Sarais basically a worse version of Bennett, but if you have her at C6 she can significantly increase Keqing’s CRIT DMG. Alternatives for C6 Kujou Sara include Zhongli, for extra protection and some additional Resistance shredding, and Raiden Shogun, for the big DMG Elemental Burst spamming that will, unfortunately, make Keqing feel weak.
Is Keqing Worth It?
Keqing is an incredibly fun-to-play character who’s just fallen off so hard. She may yet receive a significant DMG boost if she gets her own BiS weapon and a dedicated artifact set, but at the moment she’s underwhelming.
No standard character is worth pulling for if it means spending your hard-earned Primogems on the Standard Banner. The point of this guide was to let players who got Keqing on accident know how they can make good use of her. If you’ve got her on accident, she still isn’t worth investing limited resources into if you’re after meta-chasing team compositions.
However, Keqing is arguably one of the best 5* characters you can get for open-world content and exploration. So if you’re a casual Genshin Impact player who doesn’t care about endgame content or the Spiral Abyss, the Keqing is definitely worth it. But for players who are already high AR and have several High Tier 5* units, Keqing doesn’t offer much.
