In the beginning, a new Genshin Impact player will spend some of their time using 3-star weapons quite frequently, but upon reaching mid and high adventure ranks, most characters will leave their 3-star weapons behind for much better 4-star and 5-star options. In these early stages, it is a good idea to focus on using some of the Best 3-Star Weapons in Genshin Impact.
Indeed, before you convert all of your 3-star weapons to Weapon EXP, you should know that there are several 3-star weapons that are viable even at the top adventure ranks in Spiral Abyss or other endgame combat situations, especially for F2P and budget players. We’ll be ranking Genshin Impact’s Best 3-star Weapons in the list below.
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Genshin Impact’s Best 3-Star Weapons
3-star weapons can be obtained in several ways, and the method will vary from weapon to weapon. Most commonly, they come in high quantities from wishes as filler rewards, but they also can come from loot chests and NPC merchants. In most cases, these weapons aren’t always the best option, but a usable enough one for players who do not yet have one of the Best 4-Star Weapons or Best 5-Star Weapons.
Please note that any stat and passive effect numbers will be presented as if the weapon is ascended to level 90, and Weapon Refinement 5 as most of these weapons are easy to obtain in sufficient quantity to refine to Weapon Refinement 5, unless otherwise stated below.
1. Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers
This Catalyst, available from Wishes, is undoubtedly the Best 3-Star Weapon in Genshin Impact that players can get their hands on. Its secondary stat is 35.2% HP if leveled up, but its passive effect is where it truly punches above the weight of a 3-Star Weapon.
This passive, called Heritage, grants 10 seconds of a 48% ATK boost when the player switches away from the Character who wields this weapon. In most cases the passive is the only reason to use this weapon, so players might choose not to level it, but in some cases such as with Sangonomiya Kokomi, leveling the weapon for the HP% bonus will help fuel their talent scaling.
The weapon is ideally used by off-field Support Characters without specific weapon or stat needs and spend a small amount of time on-field to activate an Elemental Skill or Burst and then swap out to another character. Try it on Kokomi, Baizhu, Barbara, Mona, Sucrose, Lisa, or even a Shield Yanfei build at Constellation level 4.
2. Slingshot
Slingshot is a simple, but strong, close-range bow that is obtained from Wishes. It has a 31.2% Crit Rate, and its eponymous passive introduces a compromise, where players gain 60% increased damage if their normal or charged attacks hit a target within 0.3s of being fired, but otherwise suffer a 10% damage penalty.
60% additional damage and a not-insubstantial 31.2% crit rate definitely makes this bow very powerful for a 3-star Weapon. However, 0.3s is not a lot of arrow travel time to hit a target, which is the determining factor for who can use this weapon effectively.
Ideally, bow users who are able to be up close to enemies to reduce their range will be able to use it properly. Players may also consider putting a Shielder in their teams alongside Characters who are using this bow. Slingshot is best used by Yelan, Yoimiya, Tighnari, but Amber, Fischl, and Aloy may be able to make some use of it circumstantially, as well.
3. Dark Iron Sword
Only one copy of Dark Iron Sword may be obtained per account. Therefore, please note that this sword currently cannot be refined, and the numbers in this segment will be for Weapon Refinement 1.
One of Liyue Harbor NPC Chen the Sharp’s dialogue options will reward the sword, which has 141 Elemental Mastery, and its passive ability, Overloaded, will trigger after causing any damage-dealing elemental reaction that involves Electro, granting a 20% ATK increase for 12 seconds.
It’s not the strongest passive around, and its Elemental Mastery is lower than 4-star and 5-star Elemental Mastery swords. However, since it’s easily obtained and the 4-star Elemental Mastery swords require forging, good luck with wishes, or came from past limited-time events, some players will find this one handy to have around.
The most obvious user of this weapon would be Kuki Shinobu, but players could try it on various Traveler builds or future characters as long as the wielder triggers the reaction.
4. Harbinger of Dawn
This sword, the Harbinger of Dawn, comes primarily from Wishes and possesses 46.9% Crit DMG, as well as the passive, Vigorous, which increases Crit Rate when HP is above 90%.
This weapon is strong because it is offering both Crit DMG and Crit Rate via secondary stat and passive, which are among the highest value stats for damage dealers. The caveat to remain above 90% HP, however, is a tradeoff that incentivizes giving this weapon to off-field DPS Characters, or bringing a Shielding support character into the team.
The best users of this weapon would be Albedo or Xingqiu, but pretty much any sword-using Main DPS Character can use it if there’s nothing better available.
5. White Tassel
The final weapon on our list, the polearm White Tassel, comes from Chests in Liyue. An important precaution for players who haven’t completed Liyue exploration: make sure to refine one to rank 5 and lock it, as they become difficult or impossible to find once all Liyue treasure chests are opened!
This weapon’s secondary stat is Crit Rate and its passive, Sharp, increases Normal Attack DMG by 48%. In spite of this simplicity, this spear performs surprisingly well as long as the wielder uses normal attacks enough to make it worthwhile. Cyno is the best user of this weapon, but Hu Tao can make use of it in a pinch with an adjustment to her usual combos to include more normal attacks.
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