One of Genshin Impact’s most draining discourses has to do with the RNG-riddled artifact system. Players will spend countless amounts of resin in hopes of an ideal drop from their domain of choice and will often be disappointed. However, what’s even more tragic is that some people will invest in artifacts that aren’t even that good because the\ system is just so convoluted.

Beginners might not know right away if an artifact will work well with their character or not, which makes sense because of all the information dropped on you at the game’s start. However, even when you get into the nitty-gritty of picking out ideal substats, there’s more to consider about whether or not you should keep investing in an artifact depending on what happens as you level it.

Try to avoid blindly investing in something because of a guide. Here are some tips to keep in mind when deciding if your Genshin Impact artifacts are “good enough” or not.

Read the character descriptions

Many beginners look up guides or watch videos for character builds without knowing why the authors are recommending the gear that they are. However, if you actually thoroughly read about your character’s talents, passives, and constellations, you might start to realize why.

For example, Diona’s Icy Paws description notes that the shield damage scales are based on her HP. It specifies under “Skill Attributes” exactly how much damage she can absorb with her shield. Using this formula, I was able to calculate which would benefit her shield more: a two-piece Tenacity of the Millelith or Retracing Bolide set. It turns out the 20% HP from Millelith buffed it more – not that it mattered, since I ended up equipping both sets anyway.

HP and DEF do matter

So Diona needs HP. Noelle and Xinyan benefit from DEF. Meanwhile, Fischl especially enjoys ATK. Read the descriptions to see what your characters can utilize.

Some people will outright say that HP and DEF are useless. However, that’s not the case depending on who you need an artifact for. Noelle’s shield and heals scale based on her Defense, which is why the Whiteblind Claymore is perfect for her. As her healing capabilities and shield grow stronger with Defense, it makes sense that any artifact with a Defense substat would be ideal. A two-piece Husk of Opulent Dreams DEF buff would increase her utility even more.

Avoid investing in flat stats

For the most part, flat stats suck. Here’s why.

Say you get an artifact with flat ATK. That might seem good at first because it’s an attack boost. It’s not going to be as efficient as ATK%, though. A main DPS should ideally hit above 1000 damage when fully leveled and built — and even that’s quite low. Your +15-40 flat ATK won’t be doing you any favors. Even a 5.8% ATK boost will give you more than that with a 1000 ATK base.

Of course, some stats will always be flat. Elemental Mastery is always flat, and so is HP for flowers and ATK for feathers. However, for DEF, ATK, and HP substats, you can do better.

Critical Rate, Critical Damage, and Energy Recharge tend to be the universally appreciated stats. Sure, support characters might not benefit as much from Critical Rate and Critical Damage since they aren’t attacking as often, but it doesn’t hurt them in any way. Some characters have naturally higher Energy Recharge, which makes that stat less necessary. However, faster ER never hurt anyone either. Just make sure the ideal stats for your character are present.

Build with purpose, even if it’s not “meta”

There’s some room for variation, depending on what you want to focus on. Most use Xingqiu as a Hydro Sub DPS for steady Hydro damage and a killer Elemental Burst, but his base ER is abysmal. Taking that into account, it’s easy to see why Sacrificial Sword and a four-piece Severed Fate set is the current meta. However, if you read his talents, you’ll notice that he has the potential to heal based on his max HP.

This healing potential has inspired players to experiment with hybrid healer Xingqiu builds. You can equip two Severed Fate artifacts for the Energy Recharge boost and add two Maiden’s Beloved artifacts for a healing bonus with room for an offset Hydro DMG goblet. Alternatively, you can use two Heart of Depths artifacts for a Hydro DMG boost and use a healing bonus headpiece. It just depends on what you want to maximize.

Know when to settle

The Artifact system is one of the most controversial parts of Genshin Impact. You can count on content creators and other prominent figures complaining about it every other week because of how demoralizing its RNG-layered system is. We get it: You can grind for artifacts forever and still not get a perfect set. So you have to settle – and that’s okay.

Of course, you shouldn’t settle on an artifact that’s completely useless. You might even feel the urge to take a gamble at an artifact with two unideal stats or a four-star one, which is fine. Just watch for which stats level up as you go, though. Remember: If you don’t have four stats to level immediately, then a random one will unlock every four levels. Then it’s a whole other mess if RNG chooses to level up unworthy stats.

For example, I’m running a Pale Flame hourglass on my Eula. The hourglass has two flat stats, but I decided to keep going because it kept buffing the Critical Damage. Of course, I wish it had Critical Rate and ATK% in there. However, until I find that perfect hourglass, this one adds at least some value to her build. She also has a four-star Crit Rate mask equipped because the domain won’t give me a five-star one.