Genshin Impact’s Best Character Picks, Ranked by an AR 60 Player
I haven’t missed a day of Genshin Impact since 2020, and this may be the only time it’s ever paid off.
I’ve seen characters come and go from the Spiral Abyss meta. At Adventure Rank 60, I’ve co-op’d with people with terrifying builds. I bore witness to players turning their Barbaras into damage dealers, to everyone’s horror. There’s nothing I haven’t seen before.
These characters are going to be the best investments you’ll ever make. Each made their way to this tier list because of their utility, strength, and timelessness. I won’t be including constellations for 5-star characters in this tier list.
Genshin Impact is a gacha game, so getting every new character will leave your wallet begging for mercy. But if you’ve been around for as long as I have, feel free to fight me on this tier list.
Best Geo Support
You’ve seen this coming from a mile away. The God of Geo, Zhongli, is still on your overworld team and your Spiral Abyss team. Shielders like Baizhu and Layla have come around, but they both pale in comparison to Zhongli. He may be a five-star character, which makes him harder to acquire, but Zhongli isn’t picky with weapons and will shield characters perfectly with just the Black Tassel, a 3-star weapon.
His elemental skill, Dominus Lapis, produces a shield that can take damage based on Zhongli’s maximum HP. Many damage dealers in the game tend to be interruptible when enemies attack them. But with Zhongli, you can keep spamming damage without dodging or taking damage.
Best Dendro Support
“Support” is a loose term for Nahida, the Dendro Archon. She can work as a main damage dealer by spamming her normal attacks too, but many of Nahida’s teams have her as a Dendro Support character. Her Dendro application is unmatched in the game, and she’s an essential Dendro support for many teams.
Aside from being the best Dendro applicator in the game, Nahida also has a passive skill everyone loves. During overworld explorations, On All Things Meditated can take harvestable items from a distance. It also allows Nahida to read people’s minds, but only if they’re from Sumeru.
Best Anemo Support
As much as I love Venti, the best Anemo Support in this game is undeniably Kazuha. This exile from Inazuma can group enemies and amplify your elemental damage when he swirls with his elemental burst.
You don’t need to pull a 5-star weapon to make the most of Kazuha. He can equip either the Favonius Sword or the Iron Sting, and he’s as powerful as can be. Additionally, his passive skill, Cloud Strider, will decrease your team’s sprinting stamina consumption by 20%. That’s perfect for both Spiral Abyss gaming and overworld exploration!
Best Cryo Support
Shenhe’s an amazing cryo buffer that’s needed in almost every permafrost team composition. Bennett, who is also an excellent damage buffer, is a good alternative. But if you don’t want Bennett to accidentally proc the melt reaction, Shenhe would be a better choice for your cryo-centric team.
The only downside to Shenhe is her burst cost, which is 80 energy. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have energy recharge weapons. You’ll want at least 170% ER (energy recharge) on Shenhe since her burst is the most important part of her kit.
Best Electro Support
There are at least three characters contending for the top spot as the best Electro Support. But among them, Fischl, the “prinzessin,” takes the number one spot. Yae Miko might have more damage through her burst, but her performance is highly comparable to Fischl, who is merely a 4-star character.
Fischl is present on every Tazer team and has been made stronger since the introduction of the Dendro element to the game. If you give her a Stringless Bow or any Crit-scaling bow, Fischl can dish out at least 30,000 damage through Oz.
Best Hydro Support
Of all the choices on this list, this one is likely to spark the most debate, since all Hydro Support characters in the game are essential to a great number of teams. Now that’s out of the way, Furina, the former Hydro Archon, is the best Hydro Support in the game.
Her elemental skill provides the best Hydro application in the game, and she can be used in Freeze, Bloom, Vaporize, and Tazer teams. Furina can also heal all party members with her elemental burst. Her kit isn’t exactly something we haven’t seen before.
Kokomi can heal better than Furina, and situationally, Yelan may be the better damage dealer. But many teams that were once occupied by Kokomi and Yelan seem to perform better with Furina taking their place.
Best Pyro Support
Bennett. Next question. Seriously, do I need to explain myself? Bennett is Genshin Impact’s staple attack buffer. Xiangling is also a great support character, but she’s lacking without Bennett.
I could count all the teams that will fall apart without Bennett. Believe me when I say most vaporize, melt, and pyro-related teams will not survive without Bennett.
Best Physical Damage Dealer
Since her release in Version 1.4 of Genshin Impact, Eula has been the most powerful Physical Damage Dealer, despite being a Cryo character. Up to date, her single-target damage hasn’t been beaten in the Physical Damage category.
Physical Damage is niche and doesn’t require elemental reactions. That doesn’t make Eula any less powerful, because at constellation zero, several Eula players have been able to hit one million damage with their burst. Eula doesn’t even need 5-star support characters in her team to achieve these absurd damage numbers.
Best Geo Damage Dealer
Back then, a constellation six Itto would mean total obliteration through Geo. But this has all changed since Navia came out. Her elemental skill, Ceremonial Crystalshoot, can easily score damage numbers in the hundreds of thousands.
Unlike most Geo damage dealers, Navia isn’t confined to having team members of the same element. It’s even better if she has two other teammates from different elements, because Navia’s damage relies on the crystallize reaction.
Best Electro Damage Dealer
Chlorinde may be out, but the Raiden Shogun’s damage is timeless. It wouldn’t be fair to characterize her as a damage dealer only, since Raiden is also a great electro support in several Dendro teams.
Raiden’s known for her ‘Raiden International’ Team (Rational), consisting of Kujou Sarah, Bennett, and Kazuha. This team, consisting of two 5-star characters and two 4-star characters, has been a Spiral Abyss staple for many players throughout each version.
Best Cryo Damage Dealer
The best Cryo damage dealer is situational at best, but many players are inclined to believe it’s Ayaka. She can easily clear many enemies with her powerful elemental burst and her consistent cryo application.
Ayaka is best played on freeze teams. But for additional damage, many put Ayaka as their main damage dealer in melt teams.
Best Hydro Damage Dealer
There’s only one answer to this, and it’s the Hydro Sovereign, Neuvillette. He’s the strongest Hydro damage dealer in Dendro-related teams and freeze team compositions. Even with a 4-star weapon, many players have shown that they can easily clear the Spiral Abyss and produce 6-digit damage numbers.
It’s important to note that there are many great Hydro DPS in the game. If you have characters like Nilou or Childe, pulling for Neuvillette wouldn’t be a necessity since both characters are also known for their terrifying nuke numbers.
Best Dendro Damage Dealer
Alhaitham is more than just an academic who prefers the company of books over people. This ‘feeble scholar’ can produce damage numbers of 30,000 and above per tick in an aggravate team. The only difficulty with Alhaitham is knowing his attack pattern.
He’s not a character you can simply spam attacks with. You’ll have to get used to his attack string to make the most of his damage potential.
Best Pyro Damage Dealer
Pyro is a strong element with many 5-star characters. The House of the Hearth’s Father, Arlecchino, is currently the strongest Pyro DPS in the game. But it would be more correct to say that she’s currently the strongest DPS in the game.
Arlecchino’s normal attacks that have been infused with pyro can easily hit beyond 35,000 damage without elemental reactions. With elemental reactions such as vaporize or melt, expect her damage to climb to a whopping 65,000 at the very least. Even her burst damage can range from 500,000 to a million damage, under the right setup.
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