[Genshin Impact] Best Gorou Build: Artifacts, Weapons & Team Guide

---

Background

Gorou is a 4-star bow user from the region of Inazuma. He acts as the general for Watatsumi Army and is known to be reliable and trustworthy by his men. He views the soldiers under his ranks as his own comrades. Although he lacks the combat experience of veteran soldiers, Gorou is a fast learner and will fulfill any directive given to him. The traveler first meets him during the fight between the Shogun’s Army and the resistance of Watatsumi Army.

Gorou views Kokomi with great respect and is a loyal follower of hers. He works alongside her regarding the war efforts, but lets her handle civilian duties like providing supplies for the army.

As a general, Gorou wants to uphold his image and doesn’t want his soldiers to see his insecurities. He also doesn’t understand the concept of romance very well and has difficulty conversing with types of people like Yae Miko, who can see his weaknesses and insecurities.

Fun fact: Gorou is able to understand the language of dogs.

---

Gorou Skill Talents

Gorou is a Geo support character that relies on summoning his General War Banner to provide DEF and other buffs to his team. His playstyle requires 3 Geo characters to maximize the banner’s buffs.

Gorou’s normal attack, Ripping Fang Fletching, has 4 attacks in its combo. The first attack will be the weakest, with the fourth dealing the most damage. Gorou’s charged attack will shoot a crystal to deal Geo DMG at its target. For the most part, Gorou’s normal attack is lackluster as his main role will be to buff the team’s DEF off the field. Leveling it up is optional in a support build.

Gorou’s elemental skill, Inuzaka All-Round Defense, deals Geo DMG and summons the General’s War Banner that will provide various buffs depending on the number of Geo characters on the team, including Gorou:

• 1 Geo character: Adds “Standing Firm” – DEF Bonus.
• 2 Geo characters: Adds “Impregnable” – Increased resistance to interruption.
• 3 Geo characters: Adds “Crunch” – Geo DMG Bonus.

The General’s War Banner is stationary and is not considered a Geo construct. Gorou can only create 1 banner at a time and characters can only gain the buffs from one banner. By holding down the skill, players can adjust the location of where the banner is summoned. Its buffs are great for Geo teams and characters that rely on DEF like Noelle and Itto to boost their attacks. However, you must have 3 Geo characters to fully enjoy the effects so your other elemental reactions will have to be downgraded. The DEF bonus is also a set amount based on the talent level and does not scale based on Gorou’s DEF stat. Gorou’s elemental skill has a cooldown and duration of 10 seconds, allowing him to consistently summon the war banner without waiting. Gorou’s General War Banner will remain in effect even if Gorou switches out.

Gorou’s elemental burst, Juuga: Forward Unto Victory, deals AoE Geo damage and summons the General’s Glory with the following three effects:

• A General’s War Banner is created with the same effects and scaling as the one from his elemental skill. However, instead of it being stationary, it will now follow the active character around. This greatly improves its usability, allowing your characters to freely move around.
• 1 Crystal Collapse will be generated every 1.5 seconds to deal AoE damage to 1 enemy.
• Nearby elemental shards created from the Crystalize reaction will be pulled toward’s the banner every 1.5 seconds, allowing your characters to easily collect them.

Casting Gorou’s burst will destroy his active General War’s Banner if one exists on the field already. During the duration of his burst, his elemental skill will also not create any new banners. The effects will disappear when Gorou runs out of HP. Gorou’s burst has a high energy cost of 80 with a cooldown of 20 seconds. It will only last 9 seconds.

Gorou’s role in co-op is greatly reduced to only supporting Geo teams, as currently, no other characters need DEF buffs besides a small number of characters. His banners effects also rely on having 3 Geo characters, lowering the chance of triggering other elemental reactions besides Crystalize. If you have Gorou at constellation 4, he is able to play the role of a healer when his burst is active.

---

Gorou Passive Talents

Gorou’s passive talent allows you to find Inazuma materials easier. His ascension talents grant his teammates increased defense and boost the skill damage of both his elemental skill and burst.

Gorou’s passive talent, Seeker of Shinies, allows him to view any nearby unique materials of Inazuma on the mini-map. It doesn’t display the kind of materials, but is a useful talent to make resource collecting easier.

His first ascension talent, Heedless of the Wind and Weather, grants nearby teammates a 25% increase to their DEF stat for 12 seconds after using Gorou’s elemental burst. This talent will help further boost your team’s defenses combined with the effects of Gorou’s war banner.

Gorou’s fourth ascension talent, A Favor Repaid, increases the skill damage of both his elemental skill and burst based on a portion of his defense stat. This isn’t a support skill, but will help boost Gorou’s Geo DMG.

Gorou gets a boost to his GEO DMG based on his ascension rank.

---

Gorou Constellations

Gorou’s constellations boost his support potential and usefulness in battle by decreasing his skill cooldown and extending the duration of his burst. At C4, his burst will start to heal your active character during its duration. His constellation 6 effect boosts the Crit DMG of Geo characters.

C1: Rushing Hound: Swift as the Wind decreases the cooldown of Gorou’s elemental skill by 2 seconds when other characters within the war banner’s range deal Geo damage to the enemy. Although Gorou can not trigger the effects himself, the Geo DMG from his elemental burst effect can trigger the cooldown reduction. He will also be off the field for the majority of his fights, so having to rely on other characters to activate this constellation should not be a major issue. The only issue is that only Geo attacks will trigger the effects. This effect can also only occur every 10 seconds, which aligns with the duration of his elemental skill. The cooldown reduction will lower his cooldown to 8 seconds, 2 seconds less than the total duration of the skill. This constellation will help Gorou use his elemental skill more quickly, but isn’t generally a big improvement as the duration and cooldown of the skills are both 10 seconds. It is also important to note that Gorou can not create a new banner from his elemental skill when his burst is active.

C2: Sitting Hound: Steady as a Clock extends the duration of his elemental burst effect by 1 second when a character within its range collects an elemental shard triggered by Crystallize. This can occur every .1s, with a maximum increase of 3 seconds. This constellation does require you to collect crystals, but will work to extend the duration of Gorou’s burst from 9 seconds to up to 12 seconds.

At C4: Lapping Hound: Warm as Water, Gorou gains the ability to heal any active character within his burst by 50% of his defense stat. This is a great constellation, as it allows you to heal your active character, and the effects follow you around and are not stationary. The healing is triggered every 1.5 seconds and works well with his C2 to extend the duration of the healing effect. However, the amount he can heal isn’t great, so it isn’t recommended for him to be your only healer.

C6: Valiant Hound: Mountainous Fealty massively boosts the Crit DMG of all nearby Geo characters when Gorou uses his elemental burst or skill. The boost depends on the number of Geo characters on the team. This constellation helps raise the damage of your Geo characters, but relies on having 3 Geo characters on the team to maximize its effects. It will also only boost the damage of Geo characters, limiting its usefulness in other elemental teams. Effects of this constellation can not be stacked with each other.

Constellation Levels	Effects
C1: Rushing Hound: Swift as the Wind	When characters (other than Gorou) within the AoE of Gorou’s General’s War Banner or General’s Glory deal Geo DMG to opponents, the CD of Gorou’s Inuzaka All-Round Defense is decreased by 2s. This effect can occur once every 10s.
C2: Sitting Hound: Steady as a Clock	While General’s Glory is in effect, its duration is extended by 1s when a nearby active character obtains an Elemental Shard from a Crystallize reaction. This effect can occur once every 0.1s. Max extension is 3s.
C3: Mauling Hound: Fierce as Fire	Increases the level of Inuzaka All-Round Defense by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
C4: Lapping Hound: Warm as Water	When General’s Glory is in the “Impregnable” or “Crunch” states, it will also heal active characters within its AoE by 50% of Gorou’s own DEF every 1.5s.
C5: Striking Hound: Thunderous Force	Increases the level of Juuga: Forward Unto Victory by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
C6: Valiant Hound: Mountainous Fealty	For 12s after using Inuzaka All-Round Defense or Juuga: Forward Unto Victory, increases the CRIT DMG of all nearby party members’ Geo DMG based on the buff level of the skill’s field at the time of use: “Standing Firm”: +10% “Impregnable”: +20% “Crunch”: +40% This effect cannot stack and will take reference from the last instance of the effect that is triggered.

Recommended Builds

Geo Support

Gorou is best used as a Geo support character with his ability to boost the team’s DEF and Geo DMG with his elemental skill and burst. You will want to have 3 Geo characters on the team to fully maximize his buffs. Gorou’s normal attack will not be needed as he will be supporting the team off the field until it is time to use his skill or burst again. Leveling up his elemental skill is critical as his skill only gives a flat bonus on DEF and does not scale based on Gorou’s own stats. Building up Gorou’s DEF isn’t necessary until you have his ascension 4, which boosts his skill and burst damage based on his DEF. At C4, Gorou will also unlock the ability to heal the active character with his burst, which will also scale base on his DEF stat. Gorou’s burst also requires a lot of energy, so optimizing its uptime is crucial. This build will focus on Gorou’s energy recharge while providing options for a DEF% build.

For Gorou’s teammate, you will want characters like Itto or Noelle that have their skills scale off their DEF stat. Bennett will be useful to heal the team and increase your team’s ATK. Gorou will also be able to heal the team at C4.

Gorou’s recommended weapon is either the Elegy of the End or the Favonius Warbow. The Elegy of the End is a 5-star weapon with an Energy Recharge stat. It is a great support weapon that will boost Gorou’s elemental mastery and provides a buff to nearby teammates’ elemental mastery and ATK when all 4 Sigils of Remembrance are collected. The 4-star Favonius Warbow also has a passive stat in Energy Recharge and can provide energy for the entire team when Gorou lands a critical hit. The 4-star Sacrificial Bow can also be used to boost Energy Recharge and reset Gorou’s elemental skill when it damages an enemy.

There is no optimal bow for a support Gorou, so any 3-stat bow will be decent until you are able to get a better weapon for him.

For Gorou’s artifact set, you will want to use a 4-star The Exile. Although it is a 4-star artifact set, Gorou won’t be focused on damage and he will be more focused on supporting the team. The Exile set provides an Energy Recharge increase and provides energy for the team when Gorou uses his burst. You may also use the 4-piece Noblesse Oblige set to boost the damage of Gorou’s burst and grant the team a buff to their ATK. A 2-piece Emblem of Severed Fate and The Exile can also be great to provide Gorou +40% in Energy Recharge.

Gorou’s artifact set should be:

• Sands: Energy Recharge
• Goblet: Geo DMG Bonus%
• Circlet: Crit Rate% or DEF%

If you have C4 unlocked or if you want more a DEF% build:

• Sands: Energy Recharge
• Goblet: DEF% or Geo DMG Bonus%
• Circlet: DEF% or Healing Bonus%

In the sub-stats, focus on Energy Recharge, DEF%, and Crit Rate. Crit Rate will be vital if you are using the Favonius Warbow on Gorou. Focus more on DEF% if you want to deal more damage due to his ascension 4 talent. DEF% will also be helpful to heal the team when his constellation 4 effect is unlocked. Healing Bonus% on the circlet can also work when paired with his C4.

Support

If you feel Gorou’s energy recharge is already high and doesn’t need additional help, then use the Noblesse Oblige set to boost the damage of his elemental burst and provide an ATK bonus to your team when Gorou uses his burst.

This build is similar to the first one, with just some changes to Gorou’s team composition. Like Itto, Noelle can convert her DEF stat in ATK when her burst is activated. The Raiden Shogun can passively deal Electro DMG and her burst is powered-up by casting the bursts of her team.

---

Recommended Party Members

---

---

Advantages	Disadvantages
C4 can heal the team for a bit of HP	DEF buff is flat and does not scale off Gorou’s own stats
Burst follows the character around	Weak normal attack and high energy cost
Great support for Geo teams with bonus DEf and Geo DMG	Need 3 Geo characters on the team to fully benefit from his abilities

---

Conclusion

Gorou is a 4-star Geo support that will benefit from having 3 Geo characters on the team to maximize the buffs he provides with his elemental skill and burst. He doesn’t work in any other elemental team, as his abilities mostly only apply to Geo characters. The number of characters he can provide support to is limiting, as only a couple of characters have skills that scale off their DEF. Overall, Gorou plays a very niche role, but will provide DEF, Geo DMG, and even healing for a Geo-centered team.

---

Other useful links:

• Gorou Wiki

*Images of gameplay owned by miHoYo