Keqing's Guide: Mastering Aggravate in Genshin Impact

Keqing, the swift and elegant Electro character in Genshin Impact, has seen a resurgence in popularity with the introduction of Dendro reactions, particularly Aggravate.

This guide goes deep into maximizing Keqing's potential in Aggravate teams, focusing on her talents, artifacts, weapons, and optimal team compositions.

Let's dive in!

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Keqing's Guide: Best Artifacts, Weapons and Team Comps

Keqing’s Talents and Abilities

Elemental Skill: Stellar Restoration

Keqing’s Elemental Skill, Stellar Restoration, is a two-phase attack.

Initially, it throws a Lightning Stiletto that deals Electro damage.

Reactivating the skill or performing a charge attack triggers different outcomes.

Double-tapping the Elemental Skill infuses Keqing's attacks with Electro for five seconds.

This is key in Aggravate builds, enabling frequent Electro application for reactions.

Alternatively, pressing the skill and then performing a charge attack will explode the Stiletto without infusing her attacks with Electro, suitable for physical damage builds.

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Elemental Burst: Starward Sword

The Elemental Burst unleashes a series of AOE Electro slashes with a high damage scaling.

It’s efficient with a low cooldown (12 seconds) and energy cost (40), making it spammable in combat.

After using the Burst, Keqing gains a 15% crit rate increase and enhanced energy recharge for 8 seconds.

This significantly boosts her overall damage output.

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Charge Attacks

Keqing's charge attacks are a major component of her damage output.

They are powerful and should be woven into combat rotation.

Continuous charge attacks deplete stamina.

A balanced approach of normal attacks followed by charge attacks is recommended for stamina conservation.

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Passive Talents

• Thundering Penance: After recasting Stellar Restoration (the Elemental Skill), Keqing's weapon gains Electro infusion for five seconds.
• Aristocratic Dignity: Upon casting Starward Sword, Keqing's crit rate and energy recharge are increased by 15% for 8 seconds.
• Land's Overseer: An exploration-related passive that increases the efficiency of dispatched characters in Liyue.

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Talent Prioritization

Elemental Skill

Stellar Restoration is Keqing’s main tool for applying Electro, which is crucial for triggering Aggravate reactions.

Double tapping this skill infuses her attacks with Electro, making it pivotal in Electro-based builds.

Given its dual functionality and frequency of use in combat, investing in this talent maximizes both her Electro application and direct damage output.

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Elemental Burst

Her Burst deals significant AOE Electro damage, essential for clearing groups of enemies or dealing burst damage to bosses.

The post-cast crit rate boost is a significant enhancer of her overall DPS, making investment in this talent highly beneficial.

Its spammability due to low cooldown and energy cost makes it a consistent part of her damage rotation.

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Normal and Charged Attacks

In Aggravate builds, Keqing’s charge attacks are essential, forming them between normal attacks for optimal DPS.

Balancing charge and normal attacks is key, as constant charge attacks can drain stamina quickly.

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Artifact Sets for Keqing

Thundering Fury Set (4-Piece)

Essential for boosting Keqing's Electro damage.

Enhances her ability to spam Elemental Skills, crucial for maintaining high Electro application.

Both the frequent use of her Elemental Skill and the Electro DMG bonus are highly beneficial to optimize her damage output.

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Thundersoother Set (4-Piece) - Alternative Option

Effective if Keqing is consistently applying Electro, ensuring enemies are almost always under this effect.

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Gilded Dreams Set (4-Piece) - Elemental Mastery Focus

Within 8s of triggering an Elemental Reaction, ATK and Elemental Mastery increase by 14% and 50 respectively for each party member that shares an element with the trigger character, up to 2 stacks.

Enhances the power of Aggravate reactions.

Offers an increase in both Elemental Mastery and ATK, beneficial for reaction-based builds.

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Mix and Match: 2-Piece Combinations

2-Piece Thundering Fury + 2-Piece Gladiator's Finale/Shimenawa's Reminiscence: Offers a balance of Electro DMG Bonus and ATK boost.

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Main Stats Priority

Sands: ATK% or Elemental Mastery

• ‍ATK%: Standard choice to boost overall damage.‍
• Elemental Mastery: If focusing on maximizing Aggravate reaction damage, particularly effective in a Dendro-Electro team.

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Goblet: Electro DMG Bonus is essential to increase her Electro damage, directly influencing the Aggravate reaction strength.

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Circlet: Crit Rate/Damage

• ‍Crit Rate or Crit Damage: Balance is key. Aim for a 1:2 ratio of Crit Rate to Crit Damage.‍
• Crit Rate: If Keqing’s Crit Rate is significantly lower than 50%, prioritize this to ensure consistent critical hits.‍
• Crit Damage: Opt for this when Keqing has a high base Crit Rate (especially considering bonuses from her Elemental Burst).

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Sub-Stats Priority

Crit Rate and Crit Damage: Achieve the ideal balance (1:2 ratio) for maximum DPS output. Prioritize based on what’s lacking in the main stats.

Elemental Mastery: Enhances the power of Aggravate reactions, making it a valuable stat in a Dendro-Electro composition.

ATK%: Increases overall damage output. While not as impactful as Crit stats or Elemental Mastery for reaction-based builds, it’s still beneficial.

Energy Recharge: Secondary priority, useful if Keqing struggles with energy uptime. Important to ensure frequent use of her Elemental Burst for the Crit Rate bonus.

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Weapon Choices

5-Star Weapons

Primordial Jade Cutter

High Crit Rate boost and ATK% increase based on HP.

Exceptional for Crit-focused builds, enhancing both DPS and survivability.

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Mistsplitter Reforged

Offers Crit DMG, increased Elemental DMG, and stacks buffs depending on the number of Elemental types affected.

Superb for maximizing Electro DPS, especially potent in reaction-focused builds.

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Summit Shaper

Boosts ATK% and provides a shield strength bonus.

Ideal for sustained combat and synergizes well with shield support characters.

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Aquila Favonia

Provides physical DMG bonus, but its high base ATK and ATK% bonus are valuable.

Less ideal for Aggravate build but can be a good placeholder.

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4-Star Weapons

The Black Sword

Increases Crit Rate and provides healing on CRIT hits.

Excellent for sustained DPS and self-sufficiency in combat.

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Lion's Roar

Increases DMG against enemies affected by Pyro or Electro.

Highly effective in Electro-focused builds, amplifying Aggravate reactions.

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Iron Sting

Provides Elemental Mastery and increases all DMG after triggering an Elemental reaction.

Tailor-made for reaction-based builds like Aggravate.

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Prototype Rancour

Increases ATK and DEF on hit, but has physical DMG bonus.

Not the best for Aggravate build, but decent as a general weapon due to its ATK bonus.

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Team Compositions

Core Team Composition

Keqing (Electro DPS)

Main damage dealer, consistently applies Electro for Aggravate reactions.

Maximize Electro damage and reaction frequency.

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Dendro Support (e.g., Nahida, Dendro Traveler, Collei)

Applies Dendro to trigger Aggravate reactions with Keqing's Electro.

Essential for Aggravate reaction; choose based on Dendro application rate and utility.

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Electro Support (e.g., Fischl, Beidou)

Supplements Electro application, enhances reaction rate and damage.

Increases Aggravate reaction frequency, benefits from passive talents boosting reaction damage.

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Flex Slot (Anemo Support or Shield/Healer)

Anemo Support (e.g., Kazuha, Sucrose, Venti)

Swirls Electro for resistance shred, buffs team with Viridescent Venerer set.

Enhances overall team damage, provides crowd control.

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Shield/Healer (e.g., Zhongli, Jean)

Provides survivability and/or healing.

Shields protect Keqing, enabling aggressive play; healers like Jean can also provide Anemo support.

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Variant: Hydro Support for Additional Reactions

Hydro Character (e.g., Xingqiu)

Adds Hydro for additional Electro-Charged reactions.

Be mindful of overriding Dendro with Hydro, potentially reducing Aggravate reactions.

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Gameplay Dynamics

Focus on Reaction Synergy: Keqing's role as an Aggravate enabler should be complemented by teammates enhancing or sustaining these reactions.

Flex Slot Strategy: Choose based on team needs—Anemo for damage amplification or Shield/Healer for survival.

Rotation: Apply Dendro -> Trigger Aggravate with Keqing -> Use Electro and Anemo support for enhanced damage and reaction frequency.

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Constellation Breakdown

C1: Thundering Might

Recasting Stellar Restoration (Elemental Skill) immediately triggers a Lightning Stiletto that deals 50% of her ATK as AoE Electro DMG.

Increases her AoE damage potential, particularly effective in crowd situations.

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C2: Keen Extraction

Triggers an elemental particle generation (50% chance) when normal and charged attacks hit enemies affected by Electro.

Improves energy generation, aiding in faster burst availability, especially beneficial in teams where Keqing is the primary energy source.

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C4: Attunement

For 10s after Keqing triggers an Electro-related Elemental Reaction, her ATK is increased by 25%.

A substantial DPS boost, especially in reaction-heavy teams like Aggravate or Electro-Charged setups.

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C6: Tenacious Star

When casting Starward Sword, Keqing's Normal and Charged Attacks are converted to Electro DMG for 10s.

Additionally, her Normal Attack SPD is increased by 10%, and DMG dealt is increased by 6%.

This constellation turns Keqing into a consistent Electro damage dealer, synergizing well with Electro-reaction focused teams.

The increase in attack speed and damage significantly boosts her overall DPS.

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Gameplay Strategy

Combo Execution

Opening with Elemental Burst: Use Starward Sword to deal initial damage and gain the CRIT Rate bonus.

Electro Infusion: Double-tap Stellar Restoration to infuse Keqing's attacks with Electro, maximizing reaction potential.

Charge Attack Combo: Alternate between Normal Attacks and Charged Attacks (ideally 4 Normal Attacks followed by a Charged Attack) to sustain damage output and manage Stamina.

Skill Recast: Use the reduced cooldown (especially with Thundering Fury set) to frequently reapply Electro with Stellar Restoration.

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Energy Management

Keqing benefits from moderate Energy Recharge to maintain Elemental Burst uptime.

C2 improves energy generation through Normal and Charged Attacks on Electro-affected enemies, enhancing rotation flexibility.

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Final Thoughts on Keqing

With the introduction of Dendro and the Aggravate reaction, Keqing’s gameplay has evolved, emphasizing her Electro capabilities.

By optimizing her build with the right artifacts, weapons, and team composition, you can unleash Keqing’s full potential in this new elemental landscape in Genshin Impact.