Genshin Impact tier list March 2024: the best characters in 4.5

Looking for a Genshin Impact tier list? There are currently 82 Genshin Impact characters available, providing you with a wide variety of candidates to construct your dream team. But with so many weapons, elementals, talents, ascension bonuses, and constellation upgrades, finding your favorites can be challenging.

Don’t let the placement of the characters on our Genshin Impact tier list deter you from pulling on the next character banner. While base stats and elemental abilities are important, the value of a character also depends on personal playstyle, available weapons and artifacts, and team composition. It doesn’t matter if your favorite Genshin Impact character is on one of the lower tiers; you can still make it work with our recommended Genshin Impact builds. Being on a lower tier in the free PC game means that there are better alternatives, or the character needs a very specific build or team to shine. We’ve spent hundreds of hours trying different variations of teams in Spiral Abyss to establish who the best characters are in Genshin Impact.

Here are the best characters in Genshin Impact right now, sorted by tier:

SS-Tier

Furina

Furina is the Hydro Archon, the fifth one in the game, and unsurprisingly she’s one of the best characters around. The best way to look at Furina is to see her as a Hydro version of Bennett, which most players should understand is a very big deal. Her healing abilities, combined with the damage buff she applies to her party, are incredibly powerful, giving long-time players new ways to build powerful teams. Furina’s damage buff applies when her party has 50% health or below, adding a little bit of risk to her game plan. As long as you manage to stay alive, you should have no problems fighting off the strongest enemies Genshin Impact has to offer.

Ayaka

The Genshin Impact 2.0 update introduced Ayaka, the Cryo Sword user to the game. A lot of people had high expectations from this character, and it’s fair to say she has met them. As a Cryo user, she can trigger the Melt reaction easily when paired alongside Pyro characters. Ayaka performs exceptionally well in the DPS role, and she can also fulfill the sub-DPS role if necessary. Most recently appearing on the Genshin Impact 3.5 banners, Ayaka remains one of the best characters in the game due to her synergy with so many members of the roster. When you utilize the best Ayaka build, you may struggle to find a better Cryo DPS character on this list.

Kazuha

The first character hailing from Inazuma, Kazuha impressed the Genshin Impact community right away with his incredible versatility. Using the best Kazuha build, this Anemo Sword character can deal large amounts of damage on his own. If you can put him into a team composition that utilizes elemental reactions, the amount of damage you can build up is truly staggering.

Zhongli

There was a brief moment in history where Zhongli was seen as underpowered due to the state of Geo at the time, but that hasn’t been the case for a long time now. Zhongli is known for his powerful Jade Shield ability which gives other characters the freedom to fight without needing to carefully time their attacks. Your DPS characters can deal larger amounts of damage as they spend more time attacking and less time dodging. Give our Genshin Impact Zhongli build a look to see how you should build this defensive monster.

Hu Tao

This Polearm and Pyro character can become devastatingly powerful when set up with the right build. Hu Tao is a risky character to play as she becomes stronger when her health is under 50%, but if you learn to keep the perfect balance in combat, she is easily one of the best DPS characters in Genshin Impact. Check out our Hu Tao build to see what you need to put together this Pyro beast.

Raiden Shogun

When Raiden Shogun first joined the game, she seemed underwhelming at first due to the strength of the Electro element. As players learned how to get the most out of her abilities, Raiden Shogun has shot up in the ranks to become one of the best Genshin Impact characters. Her incredible support build generates an absurd amount of energy, making it very easy for her to slot into a variety of teams. Not only can she become a top-tier DPS character with very little effort, but the Dendro element has also only made her stronger.

Yelan

The consensus about Yelan is that she’s essentially the five-star version of Xingqiu, and as some of you may be aware, Xingqui is easily one of the game’s best characters. Compared to a lot of the other five-star options, you don’t have to invest a lot of time finding the perfect weapons and artifacts for Yelan as she scales with HP. Utilize the best Yelan build to create an excellent sub-DPS character, then pair her with the best Genshin Impact Yelan team to get through the hardest levels of the Spiral Abyss.

Bennett

Bennett fills the support role in most parties, providing the entire team with a damage boost, heals, and is capable of dealing damage when required. There’s a reason why Bennett has the highest pick rate of all characters in the hardest Spiral Abyss floors – he’s the perfect all-in-one character.

Ganyu

Ganyu remains one of the best DPS characters in Genshin Impact as her Cryo abilities make it easy to permanently freeze enemies with a Hydro character in the party. She also has the unique ability to shoot different kinds of Cryo arrows with just her charged attack, including one with AoE damage. Together with her powerful AoE elemental abilities, the best Genshin Impact Ganyu build can continuously harm and freeze her enemies with very little effort.

Xiangling

She may not do the highest melee damage with just her Polearm, but there’s no denying that Xiangling is one of the best Pyro characters in Genshin Impact. Her elemental skill drops an auto-targeting, fire-breathing teddy bear, while her elemental burst surrounds her with fire for up to ten seconds. Xiangling enables a lot of team compositions to exist due to the strength of her abilities – don’t let this four-star character fool you, she’s very good!

Yae Miko

Ever since the 3.0 update launched with Dendro, Electro characters like Yae Miko have been increasingly popular. Electro and Dendro elemental reactions are incredibly powerful, turning good characters like Yae Miko into excellent characters. If you use our best Yae Miko build to gear her toward the sub-DPS role, she can excel providing you also run an Electro battery character.

Nahida

Archon characters are usually some of the best in the game, so there was a lot of excitement before Nahida’s release as the community expected her to be extremely powerful. It’s fair to say Nahida lives up to the hype thanks to her incredible synergy with most of the Genshin Impact cast. Dendro was already a synergistic class, but now Nahida can replace characters like the Traveler to instantly improve your Dendro parties. Check out our best Nahida build to put together everything the Dendro Archon needs to dominate enemies.

S-Tier

Navia

Navia serves as the flagship five-star character of the 4.3 update, and she’s already stolen our hearts with a kit that’s simultaneously unique and quick to master. As a Geo DPS, her damage output relies on triggering the Crystallize elemental reaction to generate Crystal Shrapnel Stacks. This makes her very flexible when it comes to team comps. These stacks are then converted into Rosula Shardshot ammunition for her powerful Gunbrella. Her rotation is also both straightforward and pretty malleable: frontload your assault with her burst to generate stacks and apply Geo damage over time, then adapt to whatever teammates she had alongside her. All in all, she’s a solid damage dealer who bucks the trend of lackluster Geo and Claymore users.

Neuvillette

As a dedicated on-field damage dealer, Neuvillette can be considered the first Hydro hyper carry to arrive in Genshin Impact. His kit revolves around his charged attack, a devastating hydro cannon that can be deployed at a distance. This attack also deals more damage the higher his health is, so it’s important to support Neuvillette with units that can apply shields and off-field healing. Equally, while Neuvillette’s on-field damage output is a higher priority than elemental application, his Ascension passive buffs his charged attack’s damage when triggering Hydro reactions – so we highly recommend pairing him with Dendro, Pyro or Electro units that apply continuous off-field application to keep Neuvillette front and center.

Xiao

As the only Anemo character focused purely on DPS, Xiao does a great job of attacking multiple enemies at once with his plunging attacks. He can easily trigger the elemental reaction Swirl with a host of characters, allowing Xiao to slot in with most of the roster. Check out our Genshin Impact Xiao build to see how to get the most out of his elemental skills.

Albedo

Unlike other Geo characters in Genshin Impact, Albedo can continuously trigger highly damaging Geo-infused elemental reactions. His elemental abilities create Geo explosions with a large area of effect, and Albedo’s elemental skill has an exceptionally short cooldown time of only four seconds.

Klee

This bombing expert has a high base attack, extra ascension Pyro damage, and a Catalyst. As a result, she’s very easy to build for maximum Pyro damage. Check out our Genshin Impact Klee build to find out how. Klee’s main downside is that finding the right range between her and her enemies can be tricky.

Tartaglia

This Hydro character is not just handy with a Bow; by triggering his elemental skill, he can swap his ranged weapon for melee Hydro daggers. Unlike most Hydro characters, Tartaglia is capable of dealing high elemental damage. He can easily set up Hydro/Electro or Hydro/Cryo combos as well, making him useful in many ways.

Venti

Bow and Anemo character Venti is arguably the best elemental support in the game. He can use his elemental skill to launch his enemies or himself into the air, while his elemental burst creates a massive Stormeye which draws in all nearby enemies. It also absorbs Pyro, Electro, Hydro, and Cryo elements, which is then converted into 50% extra damage output of that elemental type.

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Mona

Hydro character Mona’s elemental burst can immobilize several enemies at once, potentially freezing them in combination with a Cryo teammate. Furthermore, she can protect your main DPS from taking too much damage by spawning her taunting Phantom. Mona also has a special evasive ability, making this Catalyst-wielder extremely mobile.

Keqing

Keqing features incredibly high base stats which make her stand out against the other characters. This Sword and Electro user ranks among the best in all categories: attack power, HP, and defense. This makes her an amazing melee fighter, but she also has strong Electro abilities. Unfortunately, she doesn’t pair well with other characters as Electro hasn’t been upgraded in some time.

Kokomi

Given the number of characters on the Genshin Impact roster, it’s become difficult for the developers to create a new type of healer that players haven’t seen before. Kokomi is the latest Hydro healer to join the game, and while she failed to impress the community when she first arrived, the meta has shifted to make healers viable once again. With the introduction of the Dendro element, Kokomi has exploded in popularity as she utilizes the new elemental reactions better than anyone. Use the best Kokomi support build to get the most out of Kokomi’s excellent healing abilities, allowing you to negate any damage caused by bleed effects.

Itto

When Arataki Itto was first announced, there was some hesitancy from the Genshin Impact community about how well a Geo DPS character could perform. The Geo element isn’t known for its DPS capabilities, and Itto’s abilities scale based on his defense stats, casting further doubt on his potential. It’s fair to say Itto has shattered all expectations as he can deal huge amounts of damage when paired with the right party members. The only thing stopping Itto from reaching the highest tier is his need for Geo characters – your team needs to revolve entirely around Itto, whereas the very best characters don’t need anywhere near as much support.

Ayato

If you were hoping Kamisato Ayato could become your next primary DPS character, you’re in luck as he appears to be viable if you use him in the right team compositions. Using our best Genshin Impact Ayato build, we can utilize Ayato’s Hydro attacks to create elemental reactions – this is particularly strong with Cryo characters to freeze enemies to the ground. Ayato is far from the worst character in the game, but his abilities aren’t overpowered enough to shift the meta.

Eula

Eula is one of the top-tier damage dealers in Genshin Impact – she’s able to output a massive amount of physical damage by building up stacks of Grimheart to unleash enormous AoE burst damage with her Lightfall Sword. Her attack speed is faster than most Claymore users, and she can also inflict Cryo for Superconduct elemental reactions, which reduce the enemies’ physical resistance for even more potential damage. Our Eula build guide explains how to get the most out of her as a physical carry.

Alhaitham

Dendro teams have received a new DPS character in the form of Alhaitham, though he isn’t as easy to play as the leaks may have suggested. Alhaitham’s main source of damage comes from his Dendro mirrors which can only be activated using his elemental skill. The problem is that his mirrors only last four seconds, and the cooldown for his elemental skill lasts a whopping 18 seconds. This makes Alhaitham difficult to play for beginners as you may be punished if you aren’t fighting as optimally as possible. As long as you can fight effectively with Alhaitham, he’s a great pick for Dendro teams as he can provide the firepower you need to tackle the deepest Spiral Abyss floors. Read our Alhaitham team comp guide to get the most out of his abilities.

Kuki Shinobu

Kuki Shinobu was a difficult character to recommend prior to the launch of Dendro as teams would struggle to use her healing abilities effectively. We’ve never seen a character realize their true potential as much as Kuki Shinobu did when more Dendro characters like Nahida and Collei joined the game. When paired up in a team designed to trigger the Hyperbloom elemental reaction, the best Genshin Impact Kuki Shinobu build truly shines as she can heal her team while dealing significant amounts of damage on the battlefield.

Baizhu

We’ve seen Dendro support characters in the past, including Yao Yao who works surprisingly well considering her four-star rating, but now you can elevate your team even further with Baizhu. Picking the perfect Baizhu build and team comp won’t be hard as most teams can find a spot for a Dendro character that can create high-strength shields in an instant. Baizhu may not have the level of flexibility as someone like Zhongli, but he has a lot of potential when combined with Hydro characters.

Chevreuse

It’s fair to say the characters from Fontaine have been a hit so far, and Navia continues that impressive streak by introducing a powerful four-star Pyro character. According to YouTuber TGS, Chevreuse has the potential to compete with Kazuha’s DPS output in single-target situations, and at C6 she can even surpass his damage. When it comes to building free-to-play teams, Chevreuse might be one of the most important characters to launch in some time as she’s able to go toe-to-toe with some of Genshin Impact’s best characters.

Xianyun

The only five-star party member available in the 4.4 update, Xianyun, also known as the Cloud Retainer, finally arrives in Genshin Impact as an Anemo support character. Xianyun’s role increases the damage of your other party members, specifically their plunging attacks which makes a range of underutilized characters suddenly viable. That said, unless you’re using a fighter with strong plunging attacks like Xiao or Diluc, you may not see the best out of her. All in all, Xianyun is a decent character that will introduce some older, forgotten characters into the mix, but at this point in the game’s life, you’re probably better off using Bennett in most instances.

A-Tier

Wriothesley

As a bare-knuckle brawler, it should come as no surprise that Wriothesley sports a close-range kit that revolves around sacrificing health to bolster the efficacy of his normal attack. Wriothesley’s also breaking new ground in the Genshin meta as the first Cryo Catalyst character. He should be the primary on-field damage dealer in any team comp, with Pyro units like Bennett and Xiangling to provide elemental synergy and damage buffs. Overall, Wriothesley’s kit is very flexible, but he’s held back somewhat by the limitation of Cryo damage output, and the risk-reward of his sacrifice mechanic demands a dedicated healer or shielder in support.

Chiori

Genshin Impact’s 4.0 updates continues its latest trend to release Geo characters, this time we see Chiori, a Geo support character launch with 4.5. Chiori is designed to fight alongside other Geo characters, primarily DPS dealers to boost their damage output.  While we’ve seen Geo characters like Chiori in the past, namely Albedo, Chiori needs Geo characters in order to be a viable option. Unless you have some top tier Geo users like Arataki Itto and Zhongli, don’t bother pulling for her as you’re going to be severely let down by her abilities.

Razor

If you don’t have a 5-star main DPS yet, Razor is your next best option. Armed with a Claymore and high attack power, he is one of Genshin Impact’s best melee fighters. His elemental abilities enhance his melee attacks but are less useful when creating elemental reactions.

Yanfei

Compared to the four-star characters, Yanfei has the joint third-highest base attack (tied with Rosaria). Pyro characters usually end up being strong due to elemental reactions, and Yanfei is no exception to this. Our Genshin Impact Yanfei build goes into detail about what artifacts and weapons you should equip to get the best out of this ace attorney.

Rosaria

Whether you want to build Rosaria as your main source of damage or as support for your stronger characters, this Cyro-based four-star character excels in several areas. Though Rosaria’s damage output may not match the very best characters, her abilities are incredibly versatile allowing her to slot into a variety of teams. Find out exactly how to create the best Genshin Impact Rosaria build here.

Jean

Jean’s base attack is on the lower side, but her versatility as an Anemo support and healer makes up for it. While she doesn’t truly excel in one particular role, she can carry a team with her combined melee attacks, crowd control abilities, and HP regeneration. Check out our Genshin Impact Jean build guide to find out how to use her in combat.

Fischl

The Prinzessin of Electro damage has the unique ability to spawn Oz, her familiar, on the battlefield. Although Fischl needs some constellation and talent upgrades to maximize Oz’ Electro damage output, this ability has very high potential and is amazing for creating Electro-infused elemental reactions. You can find out how to build the best Genshin Impact Fischl build here.

Barbara

This Hydro Catalyst character may have the lowest base attack of all the Genshin Impact characters, but she is an amazing healer. She can either heal characters one by one using her elemental skill, or heal the entire team at once with her elemental burst. Unfortunately, she also causes the ‘wet’ condition, making her healing unsuitable against Cryo enemies.

Yoimiya

Despite Yomiya’s abilities being based on fireworks, her attacks don’t deal a lot of AoE damage. As a result, Yoimiya can’t easily run through the hardest parts of Spiral Abyss without huge support from her team – while it can be done, it’s just not optimal to play her this way. There is a chance that the community kicks up a big enough fuss about her that the developers decide to buff her, just like they did with Zhongli. Check out our Yoimiya build to discover how to get the most out of her abilities.

Thoma

Similarly to the rest of the four-star characters from Inazuma, Thoma fits a niche role in very specific teams. Using our Thoma shield support build, you can create shields for your teammates that provide non-flinching status each second. Against some of the bigger, slower bosses in Genshin Impact, you can afford to continue your attack animation knowing you won’t get launched into the sky. Unfortunately, Thoma’s shield just isn’t strong enough to compete with the best support characters. That being said, there’s definitely room for Thoma in some Pyro-focused parties, but he won’t be as dominant as a five-star character like Zhongli.

Diluc

Diluc used to be considered one of the best DPS characters thanks to his impressive base attack power and high critical rate. His elemental abilities are capable of dealing devastating Pyro damage, while being perfect for elemental reactions. As if that’s not enough, Diluc’s elemental burst cooldown is 12 seconds and only needs 40 energy. Though he’s still usable on the toughest Spiral Abyss floors, compared to the latest SS-tier characters, Diluc damage output can’t compete against the very best.

Tighnari

As Genshin Impact’s first five-star Dendro character, Tighnari has done an excellent job of showing off the brand-new element and how it encourages new team compositions. Dendro reactions pair surprisingly well with Electro, breathing new life into characters that have been ignored like Kuki Shinobu and Fischl. The team compositions that utilize the best Tighnari build aren’t as powerful as the meta-defining Spiral Abyss teams, they’re a lot of fun to play with and are capable of completing the endgame content with ease.

Cyno

Cyno’s primary role is to serve as the party’s main damage dealer, and it looks like he can accomplish this task with ease. Using the best Cyno build, you can beat the final Spiral Abyss floors without losing any of your characters. That being said, there are plenty of alternate options that can deal more damage than Cyno while having much better team compositions. Cyno is a good character, but it feels like he’s missing something to unleash his potential, and we have a feeling that might be the Dendro Archon.

Wanderer

The Wanderer has a unique playstyle that is unlike any other character thanks to his temporary flight ability. Arriving in the 3.3 alongside an Anemo artifact set that looks like it has been built specifically for the Wanderer, his damage output is lacking compared to the best DPS characters. Coupled with Faruzan who has been designed to increase Anemo damage and the best Wanderer build, the Wanderer’s damage still seems to fall short of his competition.

Yaoyao

Yaoyao’s kit suggests she may be useful in a support DPS role, but she works best when built as a healer. Yaoyao heals her party members by throwing out White Jade Radishes, these radishes also deal damage to enemies when they explode. There aren’t many Dendro characters to pick from, so it’s nice to have her as a healer in case your team desperately needs one. As far as four-star healers go, you could do a lot worse than Yaoyao. When paired alongside an Electro character to trigger elemental reactions, her abilities shine as she’s able to keep your team alive while dealing somewhat decent damage.

Kaveh

The Dendro element has received a number of excellent characters since it was introduced, and that hasn’t stopped with the 3.6 update which introduces Kaveh. In simple terms, Kaveh is the four-star equivalent of Alhaitham. His damage output might not seem great right away, but when you create a team designed around the Bloom and Burgeon reactions, he can tear apart enemies with explosive elemental reactions. Check out our Kaveh build if you want to see what this Sword user can do in the Spiral Abyss.

Kirara

Taking a look at Kirara’s abilities, this Dendro sword user is surprisingly powerful as a support character if you need a shielder. Kirara gains a buff against Dendro enemies, increasing her shield’s durability by 250%. If you haven’t completed all of the quests in Sumeru, you’re going to want to pick up Kirara as a support option. That said, if you don’t want Yoimiya or Yae Miko, you might not want to spend your primogems as it’s always difficult to guarantee a four-star character like Kirara.

Charlotte

As far as four-star characters go, you could do a lot worse than Charlotte. Don’t be fooled by her flashy normal attack animations, they might look nice but they’re useless compared to the competition. If you utilize Charlotte as a support character, she works very well in teams that can capitalize on elemental reactions thanks to her ability to apply Cryo. Her abilities require a fair amount of energy, so you need to run a battery character alongside her.

B-Tier

Sayu

Sayu is an Anemo and Claymore user who can deal damage and heal party members. As is the case with most four-star characters, Sayu struggles to stand out against characters like Ganyu or Diona who are the best in their class. That being said, if you did unlock Sayu and you want to use her, there are certainly team compositions where she could perform very well. Read our Sayu build guide to see our support and DPS builds for this squirrel warrior.

Xingqiu

Xingqiu’s Sword attacks are just average, and his elemental cooldowns are very long. He is not the most suitable Hydro to apply the wet condition to large enemy hordes. But on the plus side: Xingqiu’s passive skill will heal the current character, which can be very useful in the right team.

Xinyan

Pyro Xinyan has the highest base attack of all four-star characters. However, she also has the misfortune of being equipped with the same weapon and elemental type as the beloved Diluc. Although she is by no means a bad character, she easily gets overshadowed by better Claymore and Pyro characters.

Chongyun

Chongyun is quite good as a Claymore melee, but he truly shines as an area-of-effect Cryo character. In combination with a good Hydro, he can freeze a lot of enemies at once. Thanks to a mere 12-second cooldown elemental burst, he can freeze, freeze, and freeze again.

Sucrose

Alchemy-enthusiast Sucrose can launch enemies in the air with her elemental skill, dealing Anemo damage in the process. She can also absorb all Pyro, Electro, Hydro, and Cryo elements with her burst, converting it to extra damage output. Sound familiar? Sucrose is basically Venti, but not as good.

Diona

Katzlein Diona is not that useful as a ranged damage dealer, but her Cryo abilities can easily freeze several enemies at once. She can also heal and create protective shields. While Diona is not the best at either of these roles, it makes her a great elemental support for beginner teams.

Kujou Sara

Without any constellation upgrades, Sara is undoubtedly one of the most awkward characters in the game due to her clunky moveset. The best Genshin Impact Sara build has been designed to build her as an Electro battery. At the bare minimum, try to have at least one additional Electro character in your party to get the most out of Sara.

Gorou

Gorou is the first character designed to support Geo characters first and foremost. As a result, Gorou isn’t the best character simply because he doesn’t work well in many teams. Gorou’s abilities become stronger when you pair him with additional Geo party members, providing huge buffs to characters like Itto, Zhongli, and Albedo. If you’re running a Geo team, Gorou is a must-pick member as he can help your party in ways that no one else can.

Yun Jin

Characters that wield the Geo element usually have the burden of having to assemble a Geo-only team. Yun Jin destroys this notion as she heavily benefits from having a party with different elements – the only stipulation is that you need to use characters that primarily attack using normal hits only. Fortunately, that’s not much of a problem as Yun Jin can get the most out of underused characters like Yoimiya to unleash their true potential. Try out our best Genshin Impact Yun Jin build to see what you need to assemble the strongest version of Yun Jin.

Shenhe

As a Cryo support character, Shenhe has been designed to buff other characters off the field, but her abilities primarily affect other Cryo characters. When she was released back in 2022, Shenhe filled a niche role that made her seem not as useful. In 2023, Shenhe still isn’t a must-use character, but the amount of teams you can use her in has greatly expanded, pushing her higher in the tier list than ever before. Use our best Genshin Impact Shenhe build to maximize her support potential.

Heizou

Inazuma’s final character is none other than Shikanoin Heizou, the Anemo Catalyst user and self-proclaimed number-one detective in the Tenryou Commission. Most Catalyst users prefer to fight from a distance, but Heizou attacks his enemies using close-range melee attacks. He’s surprisingly dangerous when you use the best Heizou build alongside the best Heizou team comp to boost his damage. Heizou’s flexibility to slot into teams with ease makes him a great option for free-to-play users.

Candace

Candace is the first Hydro polearm user featuring the unique ability to provide certain characters with Hydro infusion. She also comes with a powerful shield capable of absorbing huge amounts of damage when used correctly. Similar to most four-star characters, Candace doesn’t provide her party with enough support to make her a must-pick. With all that said, we’d love to see a five-star version of Candace as she’s a fun character to play thanks to her versatile kit. Try out the best Candace build to get the most out of this Hydro support character.

Nilou

The first batch of characters released during 3.0 and 3.1 focused on the elemental reactions of Hydro and Dendro. As you can see using our best Nilou build, once you equip her with Nilou’s best weapon and artifacts, she’s capable of dishing out lots of damage using the Bloom elemental reaction.   Until more Dendro characters are released, the amount of teams you can create using these new characters is limited. Players have also reported Nilou’s burst doesn’t always trigger, leading to missed damage during key moments in combat.

Lyney

Lyney is the first five-star character from Fontaine, the Pyro bow DPS dealer that requires players to perform charge shots to deal large amounts of damage. As with most charge-shot characters, Lyney is very difficult to play on mobile, so you may want to avoid him unless you’re playing on a controller. To get the most out of Lyney, you’re going to need to pair him alongside a team of Pyro users. Lyney’s list of strong teams is incredibly limited, making him a tough sell even if you have spare Primogems to burn.

C-Tier

Noelle

Noelle is an extremely defensive Geo Claymore character. She is most useful for early-game players thanks to her shield and healing ability. While her healing ability is weak, it can do the job in the absence of a better healer.

Lisa

This librarian’s AoE Electro powers are great for starting players. She has a higher base attack than the other three starting characters, she has AoE attacks, and it’s easy to maximize her Electro damage output thanks to her Catalyst. Still, she will be surpassed by others once you get more Wishes.

Kaeya

Sword-wielder Kaeya can fulfill the role of main DPS for beginning Genshin Impact players, but he should be replaced as soon as possible. His ascension stats may give him a higher energy recharge, but Kaeya’s elemental abilities are not nearly as useful as those of other Cryos.

Traveler

The Traveler’s biggest asset is the unique ability to change their elemental type. If your team needs an Anemo, Geo, Electro, or Dendro element, Traveler can help you out. The Traveler’s normal sword attacks are not very damaging, but can easily fit in any team thanks to their ability to swap elements at will. While we’ve slotted the Traveler into Tier C, it does depend on your team composition. For example, an Electro Traveler in the support and battery role with the right characters paired alongside them would bump the Traveler up in the tiers.

Ningguang

This Catalyst character has a rather unique shield ability that can be used to shape the battlefield; just place a massive Geo wall wherever you want, and stop incoming enemy hordes in the process. The new 1.3 update granted Geo characters a much-needed damage boost, so there’s a chance Ningguang might be placed higher as time goes on. Check out our Genshin Impact Ningguang build to learn how to play as this Geo DPS dealer.

Beidou

Beidou is a complicated character to build. Most other Claymore characters have a much higher base damage output, and Beidou’s elemental abilities only become powerful if her constellation level reaches four. In other words, it can take ages before Beidou reaches her potential, while there are easier and better alternatives available (looking at you, Razor!).

Qiqi

Let’s start with the best thing about Cryo Sword-fighter Qiqi: not only does she have very high attack stats, she has healing abilities that scale off that same attack powenately, the current meta has no place for healers which means Qiqi’s effectiveness in the later Spiral Abyss floors drops off significantly.

Aloy

The community wasn’t expecting a lot from Genshin Impact’s first crossover character as free characters usually don’t perform well. Aloy appears to be an exception to this as she is an excellent sub DPS option in the correct teams. The machine hunter is being held back by her lack of constellations, though there is a chance these could be introduced at a later date alongside Aloy’s story quest.

Mika

Mika is an extremely niche character that works well in a few team compositions by providing damage boosts to Cryo and Physical teams. His utility when using the best Mika build becomes even better with constellation two and six, providing a larger boost to critical damage, attack speed, and physical damage. When paired with characters like Eula, Razor, and Fischl, Mika’s strengths are clear for all to see, but because Physical as a whole has been largely ignored by the devs, it’s difficult to see Mika ever breaking into top-tier teams.

Collei

Collei is Genshin Impact’s first four-star Dendro bow user, and while she might be fun to play when using the best Collei build, she struggles to elevate teams to the next level. This is usually the case with most four-star characters, but what makes Collei worse than the average character is that Dendro Traveler is surprisingly powerful. Sure, you can acquire Collei for free in the Graven Innocence event, however, you’re going to have to work hard to deal as much damage as the Dendro Traveler can.

Dori

While it took months for Yae Miko to finally realize her potential thanks to the way Electro reactions to Dendro, there’s a chance the same could be said about Dori. This four-star Electro healer uses a Claymore, but it doesn’t do anything to improve her damage output. Instead, the best Dori build focuses on building Dori as a support character. Unfortunately, the current batch of Dendro characters don’t do much for Dori, but we could see this change in the future with the launch of the Dendro Archon. Right now, Dori can barely compete with Beidou, let alone a five-star character like Yae Miko.

Layla

The characters from Sumeru tend to have additional properties to differentiate them from the rest of the cast, and Layla is no exception to this. Unlike Diona who is also a Cryo shielder, Layla’s abilities allow her to deal damage while protecting characters with her shield. Whereas Diona heals her party members, Layla’s extra damage output can help you take down enemies slightly faster. Our best Genshin Impact Layla build provides Layla with the strongest shield she can make to ensure your characters rarely take damage. Though Layla can be useful in specific Cryo teams, she needs to reach constellation three in order to truly shine, which is why she’s in C tier.

Faruzan

The Genshin Impact devs have been very good recently about releasing four-star characters that are viable without having to unlock multiple constellations, but this simply isn’t the case for Faruzan. While the best Faruzan build works as a support character to buff elemental damage, it’s her passive talent that increases Anemo damage, making her fit perfectly with Anemo DPS characters. At constellation six, Anemo characters deal 40% more damage, though it comes at a high cost that not everyone can afford. Unless you desperately want to play the strongest Xiao or the Wanderer team possible, you may want to avoid Faruzan.

Freminet

Freminet is essentially the four-star version of Eula. Freminet is a Cryo user who specializes in physical damage – the more damage you manage to deal, the more pressure you can build up with Freminet’s penguin, allowing you to deal a burst of physical damage. This mechanic is a neat little gimmick, but it’s not considerable enough to make Freminet worth picking outside of a party designed to make the most out of his physical damage.

Lynette

Did you really think the devs would give out a powerful four-star character for free without there being any downsides? Lynette was available for free in Genshin Impact 4.0 during the event ‘The Curtain Never Falls on Magic’, giving you access to the four-star Anemo sword user without spending a single primogem. Her abilities work well as a DPS support character, allowing you to suck in nearby enemies to set them up for your main DPS to deal with them.

Gaming

Do you enjoy using plunging attacks? Well, we might’ve found the perfect Pyro DPS character for you. Equipped with a Claymore, this four-star fighter is surprisingly capable at constellation zero. As long as you set him up with the correct elemental reactions (Melt and Vape), you should have no problems clearing quests in the overworld. However, as is the case with most four-stars, he benefits heavily from later constellations (unsurprisingly, his constellation six is amazing). Gaming doesn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before in Genshin Impact, but he’s worth using if you have no Pyro alternatives.

D-Tier

Amber

Where to start? Amber’s elemental skill has a long cooldown, very low damage output, and scales with her HP. Triggering the explosion manually takes ages. Her elemental burst and normal attack are nothing special either. Use her for puzzles and exploration only.

Dehya

When the information from the Genshin Impact 3.5 beta started to trickle out, it looked like Dehya showed a lot of potential as a five-star DPS unit. Unfortunately, she received a number of nerfs during the beta period which saw her damage output drop significantly. Even when paired with the best Geshin Impact Dehya build, level ten talents, and the perfect artifact set, her abilities are so awkward that they struggle to synergize with a party designed to buff her kit. As a result, she’s simply not at the level of a normal five-star character, let alone certain four-star characters. Dehya is by far the worst character ever released in Genshin Impact. We strongly advise you save your primogems for someone else.

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Now it’s time to choose and build the characters you like best from our Genshin Impact tier list, or check out all the potential new Genshin Impact characters. In the meantime, here are some Genshin Impact codes for free primogems and mora. Genshin Impact updates generally introduce at least two new characters that drastically change our expectations of what elemental units can do, so pay attention to the current and next banner in the anime game.

Original article by Marloes Valentina Stella.