Genshin Impact Weapon Refinement Explained: Is It Worth It?.
Genshin Impact’s weapon refinement system lets you boost a weapon’s passive effect by consuming duplicates, but it comes at the cost of precious resources and flexibility. Refinement increases a weapon’s passive effect rank up to a maximum of five, enhancing bonuses like increased elemental damage or crit rate with each level. To refine, you need an identical copy of the weapon or a specific refinement material plus Mora, with costs scaling from 500 Mora at Refinement Rank 2 to 16,000 Mora at Rank 5 for five-star weapons. While refining can significantly power up frequently used weapons, it permanently consumes duplicates and any enhancement materials already applied to the fodder weapon. Deciding whether to refine hinges on weapon rarity, the availability of duplicates, resource management, and your roster’s needs.
What Is Weapon Refinement?
Weapon Refinement in Genshin Impact upgrades a weapon’s passive effect, making it stronger each time you refine. Weapons of three stars and above have passives that grant bonuses such as damage boosts or energy regeneration; Refinement increases the potency of these bonuses by one rank per refinement, up to Rank 5.
Refinement requires an identical copy of the weapon (or its event‐exclusive refinement material) and Mora. When you fuse two copies of the same weapon, say, two Refinement Rank 2 Favonius Lances, you get a single Rank 4 weapon, but any Mora spent on the fodder weapon is forfeited.
How Weapon Refinement Works
Mechanics and Process
- Open your Inventory and select the weapon you wish to refine
- Tap “Refine” and choose a duplicate or the proper refinement material
- Confirm the refinement, consuming the duplicate and Mora; the weapon’s passive effect increases by one rank
Mora and Material Costs
Refinement costs vary by weapon rarity and target rank:
- 3-Star Weapons: 500 → 1,000 → 2,000 → 4,000 Mora for Ranks 2→5
- 4-Star Weapons: 1,000 → 2,000 → 4,000 → 8,000 Mora for Ranks 2→5
- 5-Star Weapons: 2,000 → 4,000 → 8,000 → 16,000 Mora for Ranks 2→5
Event‐exclusive weapons require special refinement materials obtainable only during limited events.
Costs and Requirements
Duplicates vs. Flexibility
Refining permanently consumes duplicates, reducing your ability to equip multiple characters with that weapon. Unrefined duplicates can be shared among characters, which is valuable in content requiring varied team compositions.
Resource Investment
Beyond Mora, you lose Enhancement Ores or XP materials applied to the fodder weapon, meaning every refinement carries an opportunity cost.
Is It Worth It?
3-Star Weapons: Always Worth Refining
Since three-star weapons are abundant and cheap, refining them to Rank 5 is almost always beneficial, granting strong buffs for niche characters without denting your resources.
4-Star Weapons: Situational but Often Beneficial
For four-star craftable weapons you plan to keep (e.g., Black Sword, Snow-Tombed Starsilver), a single refinement can meaningfully boost performance. However, if you pull multiple copies, balancing between keeping a spare for flexibility and refining one copy depends on your roster.
5-Star Weapons: Rarely Worth Unless You’re Wallet-Heavy
Five-star weapons are seldom duplicated unless you’re a heavy spender. Refining them demands significant Mora and duplicates that could be used by other characters. Only refine five-stars if you have guaranteed extra copies and excess Mora.
Weighing Pros and Cons
Refinement permanently alters weapon availability and consumes resources that could go toward leveling new weapons. Before refining, consider whether the boost to a single character’s output outweighs the broader utility of keeping duplicates.
