If you’ve ever pulled a 10-pull on the standard banner and walked away with six 3 star weapons and four 3 star artifacts, you’ve probably asked yourself are 3 star weapons good in Genshin Impact, or if they’re just fodder for higher rarity gear. Most new players assume higher rarity always equals better, but that’s not always the case with Genshin’s weapon system. A lot of 3 star options have passives that are far more useful than low-refinement 4 star weapons, especially when you can easily max out their refinement for free. This guide breaks down exactly when to use 3 star weapons, which ones are worth investing in, and when you’re better off saving your enhancement ore for something rarer.
Are 3 Star Weapons Good in Genshin Impact for Early and Mid-Game Play?
For new players still building out their roster and gear collection, 3 star weapons are almost always a great investment. They cost 50% less enhancement ore to level to 90 than 5 star weapons, so you can get a fully functional weapon for your main DPS in half the time if you’re short on resources. You also get dozens of 3 star weapons for free from standard wishes, exploration rewards, event prizes, and even domain drops, so you can easily refine them to R5 without spending a single primogem.
R5 3 star weapons often outperform R1 or R2 4 star weapons for many builds, thanks to their boosted passive effects. For example, White Tassel (polearm) at R5 gives a 48% boost to normal attack damage, which makes it a better option for early-game physical Xiangling than a low-refinement 4 star polearm that doesn’t fit her build. The only catch is that 3 star weapons have lower base ATK than higher rarity options, so they fall off a bit for characters that rely heavily on base ATK stats for their damage.
That means for the first 20 to 30 hours of your playthrough, you can safely level 3 star weapons for your main team without worrying about wasting resources. Even if you pull a better 4 or 5 star weapon later, you can always use the leveled 3 star as fodder for the higher rarity weapon, with only a small percentage of resource loss.
Top 3 Star Weapons Worth Maxing for Endgame Use
You might be shocked to learn that many 3 star weapons stay useful even when you reach endgame and have a full collection of 4 and 5 star gear. Their unique, universal passives often fill niche roles that no higher rarity weapon can match, especially for support characters. These are the best 3 star weapons worth maxing, no matter how far along your account is:
- Slingshot (Bow): The 20% damage boost to normal, charged and aimed attacks (as long as the projectile hits within 0.3s) makes it a BIS option for sub-DPS Yelan and DPS Tighnari for players who don't have 5 star bow options. It's also great for any other bow user that relies on fast charged shots, like Ganyu if you only use her for overworld exploration.
- Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (Catalyst): This is a must-have for almost every account. Its R5 passive gives the character that switches in after the catalyst user a 48% ATK boost for 10s, which is perfect for buffer characters like Barbara, Kokomi, or Sucrose. It's used in even high-spender endgame teams for this broken passive, as no other catalyst gives a similar team-wide ATK buff.
- Debate Club (Claymore): R5 Debate Club gives an extra attack damage proc after normal or charged hits, which is amazing for low-investment physical DPS characters like Razor or Xinyan in early to mid game, and even works well for sub-DPS Beidou in some electro-focused team comps.
- Dark Iron Sword (Sword): This sword is only obtainable from one early Liyue quest, but its R5 passive gives a 24% ATK boost for 12s after triggering an elemental reaction, which makes it a great free option for Kazuha, Jean, or Bennett if you don't have better 4 or 5 star swords for them.
I’ve used R5 Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers on my Kokomi for over a year, even though I have two 5 star catalysts in my inventory. The ATK buff it gives to my main DPS when I switch is way more valuable than any extra stat a 5 star catalyst would give to Kokomi as a support. A lot of top Spiral Abyss players still use this weapon in their teams, even if they have every 5 star weapon in the game.
When You Should Skip Upgrading 3 Star Weapons
That said, not all 3 star weapons are worth your time or resources, and there are plenty of cases where you’re better off saving your ore for higher rarity gear. First, if you already have a R4 or higher 4 star weapon that fits a character's build better, there's no need to waste ore on a 3 star for that character. The higher base ATK of the 4 star will almost always make it a better pick, even if the 3 star has a slightly better passive.
You should also avoid upgrading 3 star weapons that have highly niche passives that only work for one or two characters you don't even own yet. For example, the 3 star sword Harbinger of Dawn only works well for characters that stay above 90% HP, which is only useful for Albedo or a healer build Jean, so if you don't have those characters, don't bother upgrading it. It will just sit in your inventory taking up space.
Once you get to late endgame and have a full stock of level 90 4 and 5 star weapons for all your main teams, you can stop upgrading 3 stars entirely unless you're building a niche team for a specific event or Spiral Abyss floor. If you’re only planning to use a character for two weeks of event content, it’s not worth dumping 500 enhancement ore into a 3 star weapon for them if you have a leveled 4 star that works even slightly better.
Smart Tips for Using 3 Star Weapons on Your Account
To get the most value out of your 3 star weapons without wasting resources, follow these simple tips that I’ve picked up over three years of playing the game. First, prioritize refining 3 star weapons before leveling them - the passive boost from R1 to R5 is way bigger than the stat boost from level 1 to 90 for most 3 stars, so if you have extra copies, refine first, then level only if you plan to use it regularly.
Second, you can use unused 3 star weapons as fodder for upgrading higher rarity weapons once you've refined the ones you want to keep to R5. Don't throw them away, but don't hoard them either - if you have 10 copies of Slingshot and already have it at R5, the extra 5 are perfect for feeding to your new 5 star bow. You’ll get almost the same amount of weapon XP as you would from dedicated enhancement crystals, so it’s a great way to save mora.
Third, if you're a free-to-play player, keep at least one copy of every 3 star weapon in your inventory, just in case a new character releases that works really well with its passive. You never know when a new 4 or 5 star character will have a kit that synergizes perfectly with a 3 star you were going to feed away. It only takes a few extra inventory slots to hold them, and it can save you a lot of frustration later.
If you run a lot of weapon enhancement domains, you’ll end up with tons of 3 star weapons as drops from the domain too, not just from wishes. Don’t automatically feed these to your higher rarity weapons first - check if you have that weapon refined to R5 already, and if not, refine it first. It only takes a few seconds to check, and you might end up with a powerful R5 weapon you didn’t know you needed.
At the end of the day, the answer to are 3 star weapons good in Genshin Impact depends entirely on your account progression, what characters you regularly use, and what higher rarity weapons you have lying around. For new players and free-to-play folks, they’re some of the most underrated resources in the game, with easy refinements and unique passives that can carry you through all the main story, most events, and even the first 8 floors of the Spiral Abyss without any issues. Even if you spend money on limited banners, many 3 star weapons have universally useful effects that make them a staple in endgame team comps, no matter how many 5 stars you pull. You don’t have to upgrade every single 3 star you get, but don’t write them off entirely either. A little bit of investment into the right 3 star can give you a bigger damage boost than a low-refinement 4 star you wasted dozens of wishes trying to get.