Worst Weapons to Upgrade in Genshin Impact (Don’t Use These)

The weapons you choose to upgrade along with your characters provide valuable buffs in Genshin Impact. However, as far as the resources that go into those upgrades are concerned, some weapons have a considerably low return on investment in comparison to others.

With that said, these are five of the worst weapons in the game you should probably avoid investing too much in.

The Bell

Character Synergy

A 4* claymore with an HP% substat is not something that players generally need right now. Given how no particular character has a playstyle that synergizes with the use of this weapon, The Bell has kept the player base confused since its release. But why is that the case?

DPS units, generally considered claymore characters, prefer claymores as their main DPS weapon as they provide valuable ATK or Crit Rate% buffs. Furthermore, Tankers choose to opt for the more valuable Energy Recharge and Elemental Mastery substats, leaving The Bell in an awkward position with no actual use for it in the game’s current state.

The only character who can currently utilize The Bell’s HP% scaling is Beidou, but it’s a lackluster increase in damage compared to the trade-offs.

Weapon Buffs

Aside from the weapon's elemental skill, The Bell provides a subpar shield that can be broken in a couple of hits. Moreover, the weapon’s damage boost is mediocre at best, especially when you’re losing out on the potential damage multipliers on the weapon’s main substat. The biggest drawback, however, is that there’s a 45-second cooldown on the Passive, and in a game where timed challenges such as the spiral abyss exist, this is not optimal.

All in all, if you’re unlucky enough to pull this weapon, then avoid it until HoyoLabs decide to release a character that can synergize with it.

Ferrous Shadow

Character Synergy

The Ferrous Shadow is a 3* claymore that is relatively similar to The Bell in the sense that it provides a % HP increase as a substat. As we’ve already discussed, that’s not a good thing with how the game’s current roster lacks claymore characters that synergize with these kinds of claymores.

The pool of HP% claymore users is currently limited to Beidou, but with the 3.0 update, we may be able to see characters like the new claymore healer Dori being able to make use of such weapons.

Weapon Buffs

On paper, this weapon provides a substantial damage increase to charged attacks along with the added benefit of having a harder time being knocked down while performing them. However, the issue remains the same: the main substat is undesirable to any claymore DPS or utility unit, where not even the Passive’s potency can compensate for this drawback.

The weapon’s Passive provides a powerful damage buff to charged attack. While that sounds great, the reality is that charged attacks on this weapon are slow and telegraphed, making them an attack pattern most players avoid relying too much upon. Furthermore, they inhibit your ability to dodge while locking you in swing animations, leaving players vulnerable. This can prove to be fatal against enemies with powerful attacks or with immunity to stun locks.

So, while it may seem tempting for new players to invest in the Ferrous Shadow, you should still try to avoid putting too many resources into it until you can secure a better weapon.

Recurve Bow

Character Synergy

The Recurve Bow is a bow with a 3* rating, which, spoiler alert, suffers from the same problem of having a substat of increased HP%. Similar to the DPS units and Tankers, neither do the majority of bow characters really have no use for the increased HP% nor is the minor healing a very tantalizing option.

However, the one exception to the rule might be Yelan, who can use her Max HP scalings to utilize this weapon reasonably decently. Unfortunately, being useful to one character, in particular, does not outdo the generic lack of utility that comes with a weapon.

Weapon Buffs

The Recurve Bow doesn’t stand out as a 3* weapon - what you see is what you get. At face value, the base attack is nothing special, and the increased HP% is not something you want on 99% of the roster.

The Recurve Bow’s alleged redeeming trait is that its Passive offers an 8% of max HP heal upon every kill. Furthermore, this healing percentage on kill caps out at 16% at max refinement. While that sounds great in theory, the fact is that most bow users are focused on single target damage and cannot really use such a Passive.

So unless you’re one of the lucky few who managed to pull Yelan, I recommend you not bother with this bow.

Character Specific 5* weapons

Character Synergy

This may be a slightly contentious take, so first of all, I would like to apologize to Kokomi players, but I promise this isn’t just about you guys.

Everlasting Moonglow is a weapon specially released for Sanganomiya Kokomi during the Inazuma banners. This weapon is primarily meant to be used by Kokomi and has just her in mind. While characters like Barbara can use it, it’s not optimal as even a 3* weapon such as Thrilling Tails of Dragon Slayers can outperform it. This issue pops up repeatedly in many other similar cases.

The real issue with exclusive character-oriented 5* weapons is that they are made with a specific character and playstyle in mind. This generally renders them useless to be slotted onto most of the other characters in the game.

So, while you may have a weapon with a 5* rating, it will not provide much value to you and will also come at the cost of several pulls. That is unless you’re part of the lucky few who managed to get their desired character and weapons, in which case, congratulations!

Similar Weapons

These weapons are guilty of being expensive to get but barely usable relative to the costs. The Everlasting Moonglow is one of them, but others include:

• Redhorn Stonethresher (Arataki Itto Only)

• Everlasting Moonglow (Sanganomiya Kokomi Only)

• Song of Broken Pines (Eula Only)

• Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (Xiao Only)

I want to make it clear that none of this is to say these weapons are always the worst when it comes to performance. I’m saying that the general performance betrays their rarity as there are plenty of superior 4* options.

All the 1* and 2* Weapons

It is safe to say that the lowest rarity weapons that do not provide any unique passives or buffs should be ignored entirely. Though some of them may look cool and the descriptions seem promising, these weapons have none of the aforementioned capabilities and are practically useless. In fact, they can serve as upgrade fodder for your better weapons at best.

Therefore it is highly recommended not to waste your precious time and resources investing in these weapons as you will be able to find 3* weapons with significantly better performance quite easily.

That concludes our list of the top 5 least desirable weapons in Genshin Impact. If you’re also interested in learning about which artifact sets to avoid, check our guide on the worst artifact sets in Genshin Impact.