Every character in Genshin Impact is equipped with their own set of skills. Among them, there’s always an Auto Attack, Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst, Utility Passive, Passive, and Ascension Passives. Unlike the rest of the Passives, the Ascension Passive is unlocked along with the character’s Ascension, so it’s not immediately available.
A character’s first Ascension will unlock the First Ascension Passive (A1), while the fourth Ascension unlocks the Fourth Ascension Passive (A4). Many units in Genshin Impact have thir kit highly negligible, while some others make their way to the meta because of it. As an example, here are some of the most useful Ascension Passives in Genshin Impact.
7 Yelan’s A4
- Fourth Ascension Passive: So long as her Burst is in play, the active character deals 1% more DMG. This increases by a further 3.5% DMG every second, Max 50%. This effect will reset if the Burst is recast.
Yelan’s First Ascension Passive isn’t bad, but it’s not very important; when the party has 1/2/3/4 Elemental Types, Yelan's Max HP is increased by 6%/12%/18%/30%. But, what’s noteworthy about Yelan is her A4. It slowly increases the active character’s DMG, making Yelan a far more offensive version of Genshin Impact Xingqiu.
6 Shenhe’s A1 and A4
- First Ascension Passive: An active character within the field created by Shenhe’s Elemental Burst gains a 15% Cryo DMG Bonus.
- Fourth Ascension Passive: After Shenhe uses Elemental Skill, she will grant all nearby party members the following effects:
- Press: Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG increased by 15% for 10s.
- Hold: Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG increased by 15% for 15s.
Even though Genshin Impact Shenhe has a lot of limitations, she’s undoubtedly the best support a Cryo DPS can have. Her First Ascension Passive grants an endless 15% Cryo DMG Bonus, while her A4 grants a universal DMG Bonus (not only Cryo) according to how people cast her Skill.
5 Sangonomiya Kokomi’s A1 and A4
- First Ascension Passive: If Kokomi's Elemental Skill is on the field when she uses Elemental Burst, the Skill's duration will be refreshed.
- Fourth Ascension Passive: While her Burst is active, the Normal and Charged Attack DMG Bonus Sangonomiya Kokomi gains based on her Max HP will receive a further increase based on 15% of her Healing Bonus.
Kokomi’s A1 basically allows her Jellyfish Skill to always stay on the field, as long as players can cast her Burst a few seconds before it expires. This is a highly useful trick that should be utilized even if Travelers don’t want Kokomi to use the rest of her Elemental Burst. As for her A4, it allows the Watatsumi Priestess to deal higher damage in the duration of her Burst. Because of this Passive, Healing Bonus is a better stat for Kokomi’s Circlet than HP.
4 Raiden Shogun’s A4
- Fourth Ascension Passive: Each 1% above 100% Energy Recharge that the Raiden Shogun possesses grants her:
- 0.6% greater Energy restoration from Elemental Burst.
- 0.4% Electro DMG Bonus.
Similar to Yelan, Raiden Shogun’s First Ascension Passive isn’t very important. However, her A4 really brings her to another level. As players will stack Energy Recharge on the Electro Archon, she will highly benefit from her passive. For example, if players have 220% ER on Raiden, she will gain 72% greater Energy restoration, making her a better Genshin Impact Battery than she already is. Additionally, she will also get an insane 48% Electro DMG Bonus, higher than an Elemental Goblet that grants a 46.6% DMG Bonus.
3 Zhongli’s A1 and A4
- First Ascension Passive: When Zhongli’s Shield takes DMG, the character will gain 5% Shield Strength, stacking up to 5 times, and lasts until the Shield disappears.
- Fourth Ascension Passive: Zhongli deals bonus DMG based on his Max HP:
- Normal Attack, Charged Attack, and Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 1.39% of Max HP.
- Dominus Lapidis' Stone Stele, resonance, and hold DMG is increased by 1.9% of Max HP.
- Planet Befall's DMG is increased by 33% of Max HP.
The Geo Archon doesn’t actually need his First Ascension Passive as his Shield is already amazing anyway. However, there's no doubt that this helps boost Zhongli to become the best Shielder in Genshin Impact. Meanwhile, his A4 is more on the offensive side. Players likely won’t use Zhongli’s Auto Attack, and the damage from his Skill is rather negligible, but the extra damage on his Elemental Burst really makes a difference.
2 Sucrose’s A1 and A4
- First Ascension Passive: When Sucrose triggers Swirl, all characters in the party with the matching Element (excluding Sucrose) have their Elemental Mastery increased by 50 for 8s.
- Fourth Ascension Passive: When Sucrose’s Elemental Skill or Burst hits an opponent, increases all party members' (excluding Sucrose) Elemental Mastery based on 20% of Sucrose's Elemental Mastery for 8s.
Sucrose is a top-tier support for anyone who wishes to play with Elemental Reactions in Genshin Impact. Both her A1 and A4 boost the team’s Elemental Mastery. The first one is a flat +50 EM, while the fourth scales with Sucrose’s Max EM. This is why players should focus on the Elemental Mastery stat when building her.
1 Kazuha’s A1 and A4
- First Ascension Passive: If Kazuha’s Skill comes into contact with Hydro/Pyro/Cryo/Electro when cast, it will absorb that Element and if Plunging Attack is used before the effect expires, it will deal 200% ATK of the absorbed Elemental type as DMG.
- Fourth Ascension Passive: Upon triggering Swirl, Kazuha will grant all party members a 0.04% Elemental DMG Bonus to the Element absorbed by Swirl for every point of Elemental Mastery he has for 8s. Bonuses for different Elements obtained through this method can co-exist.
Similar to Sucrose, Kazuha’s Ascension Passive is the reason why he’s one of the best supports in Genshin Impact so far. However, unlike Sucrose, his A1 focuses more on his personal damage. Meanwhile, Kazuha’s A4 is the part that everyone longs for. If players manage to reach 1000 Elemental Mastery, then Kazuha will grant a whopping 40% Elemental DMG Bonus for the Element he Swirled. This is close to an Elemental Goblet that grants a 46.6% DMG Bonus.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
Source: Genshin Impact Wiki