Here's the big guide. We've got 22 characters in Genshin Impact, some of them favoring very well, with others being not very useful. In this Genshin Impact Tier List guide, we're going to try to break down each character and their usefulness in different scenarios. There will be a primary focus on how they fare in combat, as that's mostly what a tier list is for, but will also have a note for how each character fares exploring the world.
Before we get into the nitty gritty, we're going to spend some time going over the different classes that each of these characters might fall into.
- DPS - These are characters that will excel at dealing as much damage as fast as possible.
- Support - These characters are able to use their abilities to combine in some way or another with other parts of a party. This will normally result in some kind of buff or chance for additional damage from the DPS of the party.
- Healer - These characters, as the name suggests, work to heal the party or provide restorative boosts.
It's also important to note that these characters are being ranked by just their skills. There's a lot more that can be done to a team to change its dynamics and power it up, such as the weapons and artifacts that you equip to your characters.
Just because you don't have every S-Rank character in this Tier list doesn't mean you're not going to be able to complete the game and have a fun time. The most important thing is to find characters that fit a playstyle you like and enjoy the game!
If you want to make your way quickly to a character then you can select on their name in the rankings below
For a more detailed an in-depth explanation not only of a characters Class, Weapon, and Element but of their abilities and how they can be used together all characters are listed below. There are links at the bottom of each Ranking section that will bring you back to the top in case you want to look more at specific characters.
Genshin Impact Tier List
S-Class
Diluc - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Claymore
- Element: Fire
If you've been following any Genshin Impact groups on Reddit or otherwise, you probably already know that Diluc is who is the most coveted. As a DPS class, quite simply, he hits the hardest. With the claymore, the normal hit combos are sure to take chunks out of enemies, and the Claymore spinning charged attack combines some great range with continuous damage (especially if you've been working on raising your stamina).
After first character ascension, his charged attack stamina cost also drops to 50%. What complements Diluc's powerful Claymore the most is his Elemental Skill dealing up to three hits of Pyro slashes ahead of him with the short cooldown of 10 seconds. His Elemental Burst, which, after the powerful straight line attack and explosion of a phoenix then, leaves Pyro on his weapon for eight seconds, really doubles down on his damage output. At that point you just become a flaming beyblade of death.
His constellations continue to stack more chances to deal more damage, whether it be enemy health above half, that Diluc has just been hit, or his Elemental Skill will become more powerful. Every way you look at Diluc, he just gets stronger and stronger when thinking of combinations.
Qiqi - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS, Healer
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Cryo
Qiqi's main focus is as a healer but whose healing is tied to inflicting damage to others, making her solid DPS the perfect combination for this character. While her normal sword attacks are so-so, it's in the way you use the Elemental Skill that you can combine the two for a greater healing effect.
Qiqi's Elemental Skill has a couple of effects, including that damage Qiqi deals will regenerate some HP for your entire party, the current character will regain additional HP at set intervals, and that enemies nearby will take Cryo DMG. Think of Qiqi as the capable last member of your party in Pokemon.
If your DPS and other support are down in HP, you can use Qiqi to hold her own in battle while also healing everyone. The combo of following elemental damage and swapping to another party member that could use it for Elemental Combos is also an enticing use while also gaining those healing effects.
Qiqi's Elemental Burst will also tag certain creatures to slowly deal Cryo damage over time, while this is good on its own, there's the added benefit that any character who hits the marked enemies will regain part of their attack as health.
The aggressive healing playstyle works out well as long as you're dealing more hits than you're taking, but up against shield enemies you do need to watch out that you don't waste your chances. Qiqi's health regen is very much tied to her damage, though you need to make sure to keep her leveled and with good equipment/artifacts. No use in her being a healer if she can't stand the heat of battle.
Fischl - ★★★★★
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Bow
- Element: Electro
The immediate benefit of the bow is Fischl's long range, but being a support class, you're going to be using Fischl's Electro attacks to help set up as many reactions as possible. Fischl is best suited on a team that has another element that can readily stack on top of an enemy being affected by Electro.
Fischl's Elemental Skill creates an electric raven that will stay in position for 10 seconds, dealing Electro damage to those around it. You can move it with you by reactivating the skill. The raven also stays present when swapping characters, allowing you to keep the Electro damage source when swapping to a Hydro or Anemo character. The Elemental Burst will cause Fischl to turn into a giant raven quickly moving around the field, allowing you to affect as many enemies as possible with Electro, after which the normal effects of the Elemental Skill will occur.
As you ascend Fischl further, you'll even be able to fire charged arrows at the raven to create a large AoE Electro attack. All of her abilities in one way or another set up the field for some high-pressure Electro combinations. If you're fighting around a location with water, you'll already be dealing increased damage as Electro hits chain amongst enemies. Your DPS characters should be able to easily capitalize on all of Fischl's opportunities.
Barbara - ★★★★☆
- Class: Healer
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Healer
Barbara is in the S-Tier list for a lot of the same reason as Qiqi is. As one of the few healers in the game, they're quite strong and essential to have, unless you plan to be scarfing down chicken the whole battle. Barbara's Elemental Skill is similar to Qiqi's in that it creates a area of wet for the character, damage she does is transferred to the whole party, and the active character gets healed continuously.
Barbara also has the added effect that her Charged Attack generated 4x the amount of healing as her normal attacks. Focusing on Barbara using the ability will net a lot of HP, but having a wet-inflicting shield in effect can do wonders for any melee Electro fighter causing big reactions.
Barbara's Elemental Burst doesn't require as much fighting as Qiqi so you can use it and then quickly swap Barbara back out as she heals everyone for a large amount of HP that scales with her own. If you're attaching Artifacts to Barbara anything that boosts max HP is a smart choice.
Note: Barbara is not only a good character, but if you get to Adventure Rank 20 before Oct. 11, you should also get her for free, a fantastic addition to your team.
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A-Class
Venti - ★★★★★
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Bow
- Element: Anemo
WHile the Support you've seen so far has been about chaining with DPS characters, Venti is all about crowd control. Still dealing good damage with his regular and charged attacks, his Elemental Skill will create winds that will lift enemies into the air and deal Anemo AOE damage. The Cooldown for this skill pressed is only 6 seconds, making it very repeatable, especially as Venti is a bow character and will want to be hanging back.
His Elemental Burst is to fire off an arrow that will draw in enemies and deal continual Anemo damage, the added benefit here is that any enemy already affected by Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro will trigger the Swirl elemental combination.
The trick with Venti will be to keep juggling and controlling where you enemies are, and when the opportunity arises with another support character whose managed to effect a lot of characters to home in with a powerful swirl-triggering attack.
Mona - ★★★★★
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Hydro
Being a catalyst user, Mona is able to hang back and deal continuous Hydro damage to enemies. This pairs with her Elemental Skill—creating a Phantom that enemies will aggro on—is great for one-on-one fights and staying clear of damage. The Phantom will also deal Hydro damage and then explode, dealing AoE Hydro damage.
This is another character whose focus will be afflicting as many enemies as possible to assist the DPS getting those Elemental Combos in. Her Burst affects a large area of enemies with the Illusory Bubble status, meaning they're marked and take more damage; they'll also take additional Hydro Damage.
Even Mona's dash can be used to affect enemies as she disappears into water, inflicting wet on enemies as she reappears. At first ascension, this is buffed by causing a Phantom to appear if she's been using the skill for 2 second. It's not as powerful as the normal Phantom, but it's an extra attack where there wasn't one before. The real fun begins with her Constellations that increase the damage of reactions when enemies are affected by a reaction and are also marked by an Omen.
Xiao - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Polearm
- Element: Anemo
Xiao is all about the fast and powerful attacks. Between his polearm dealing out up to six consecutive hits and his Elemental Skill doing a powerful Anemo dash through enemies, you'll be continuously moving with Xiao. His Elemental Burst is also incredibly powerful, transforming him into a large demonic form.
During this time Xiao can attack harder and further and deals straight Anemo damage with each strike. The big downside and what puts a hamper on this ability is that Xiao will continuously lose HP. Literally a glass cannon, he will lose up to 45% of his health over the duration of its 15-second activation time.
There is a chance after unlocking some Constellations that when his HP is below 50%, his defense doubles, but that slow tick from his Burst form is still going to be taking the flat amount. If you're wanting to try finishing a fight quickly, then it's worth it, but anything prolonged and Xiao just doesn't have enough to back him up.
Jean - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS, Support, Healer
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Anemo
Jean is interesting as she has a solid array of all class-type abilities. For dealing DPS, she has her normal attacks quickly slashing away at enemies, and when using her press Elemental Skill, she's able to deal big Anemo damage to her enemies. She's also able to use her held Elemental Skill to create a whirlwind, trapping enemies in it while she guides it around. She can pull enemies in closer for a big attack or push them further from her. With a cooldown of 6 seconds, it makes this ability very dependable.
Just when you think Jean couldn't get any better, her Burst pushes enemies away, dealing Anemo damage WHILE she regains a large amount of HP for everyone. The effect will linger, and any character fighting within it will not only continue to regain HP but will also have the Anemo attribute added to their attacks.
It is worth noting that the amount of healing is nowhere near as much as Barbara and Qiqi, so while Jean is reliable in all fields, she also isn't going to be the stand out in any of them. If you have no other opportunity for a healer, then Jean is a good shot though.
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B-Class
Xiangling - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS, Support
- Weapon: Polearm
- Element: Pyro
Xiangling's Polearm attacks do a decent job of dealing damage, but unfortunately aren't anything special. Her Elemental Skill has her toss out Guoba, her stuffed bear... thing that will breath fire in the area. When using Guoba, you need to take note to stay close to it; unlike other stationary summons, it doesn't aggro enemies to it.
The one big thing that Xiangling has going for her is the Burst skill, which creates a Pryonado out of a spinning polearm that will circle her for 10 seconds. It deals high damage, has good range, and can inflict Pyro on a lot of enemies, but for her only useful skill to be her Burst a lot of the time unfortunately makes her not worth using.
As her levels increase, she does get a few abilities to increase the range of Guoba's fire and have him deal more damage, but you're going to have better luck with other characters so much faster that she might not be worth the upgrade.
Keqing - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Electro
Keqing is a fast-paced Electro sword fighter. Her character is built around tagging enemies and building up charges, and then using that to deal massive amounts of damage. Using the Elemental Skill, you'll deal Electro damage and mark enemies with the Stiletto Mark. Holding this skill will mean you can place marks wherever you want.
If an enemy gets marked by the Stiletto, then the next time you use the ability you teleport to their location, slashing and dealing further AoE Electro damage, but if she uses a charged attack, then those afflicted with the mark will have heavy Electro AoE damage inflicted. Even Keqing's Burst ability deals further Electro AoE damage.
There's heavy use of Electro and with so much AoE occurring, it makes Keqing easy to combo into or out of.
Razor - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Claymore
- Element: Electro
Of course another Claymore DPS character. Razor's standard attacks do quite a bit of damage on their own, and his abilities are key to buffing himself. His press Skill is to attack with an electric claw and to start building up Electro Sigils to increate energy rate. He can get an increase of 20% per sigil with a max of three sigils. His hold can be used to consume the Electro Sigils for Energy as well as dealing AOE Electro damage.
Using his Elemental Burst will also consume the Electro Sigils for Energy, but when in Burst, Razor's Wolf stand will appear, increasing his attacks to deal more Electro Damage. You'll attack faster and hit harder but as soon as Razor is swapped, the effect is over.
Another character that you could chain into with some good Hydro, but most of his work is done buffing himself, so you'll need to set up the effects you want and then change into Razor vs using him in a continuous chain.
Traveller (Anemo) - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Anemo
The Traveller. In their Anemo state, you're probably most familiar with this character. Really the focus of this character is the fast melee attacks and the focus on setting up Traveller to use Swirl. Regardless of whether you're using their Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst, your aim with Traveller will be to get as many enemies affected by Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro to use Swirl and add additional damage.
Each of the Traveller's constellations works to emphasize the use of their Elemental Skill either by using it to pull enemies in for more efficient damage, that you can use it faster, or that you take less damage when in use (important as you'll probably set yourself on fire once or twice). Their abilities paired with some Artifacts that reduce enemy resistance to key elements could go a long way of charging them up.
Kaeya - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Cryo
Kaeya is a story character that you get pretty early into Genshin Impact. He's a competent character, and his Cryo abilities can do a good job at subduing his enemies. His basic Skill will blast Cryo in front of him (most effective when combined with the Wet status), and his Burst ability surrounds him with icicles. They deal continuous Cryo damage and are great for swapping to another character who can complement Cryo enemies to deal some continuous damage.
As he upgrades, he does have some interesting abilities added to his arsenal, such as healing off skill damage and increasing Crit rates, but not much else that will help in the grand scheme of things.
Chongyun - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS, Support
- Weapon: Claymore
- Element: Cryo
With the obligatory DPS class for a Claymore user, Chongyun is interesting that he's able to convert that raw strength into elemental. His Elemental Skill creates a Cryo AoE but then creates a frost field. Every melee attack (Sword, Claymore, Polearm) in the area is inflicted as Cryo damage. This is his main support ability as his Burst is just three large AoE Cryo attacks.
There isn't that much more to Chongyun in terms of strategy except for turning high melee damage into Cryo, but when there's stronger melee characters out there, the trade off isn't that great.
Klee - ★★★★★
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Pyro
Klee is an interesting character as even her normal attacks are AoE. Attacking with her catalyst deals Pyro damage, and each hit causes a small explosion. This theme is continued to her bouncing explosive Skill "Jumpy Dumpty" that will explode with each of the three bounces, and then become smaller mines. While they look flashy and can do big damage in a group, if fighting a smaller group or single enemy, it's not as useful. Even her Burst is just further Pyro explosives.
In a big group, Klee is a fantastic part of the party, but when so much of boss fights, or even world encounters, have less than five participants, it's just not as useful to have. When some kind of swarm boss appears, Klee will have her moment to shine, but until then, this firework is a bit damp.
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C-Class
Traveller (Geo) - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Geo
Once reaching the Liyue region and interacting with a Statue of the Seven, the Traveller has their Anemo powers swapped for Geo. While their normal sword attacks and class do not change, their skills do. Their Skill summons a meteorite that deals AoE Geo damage and creates a place to climb/stand, and their Burst creates a large shockwave, sending enemies back and creating a stone wall at the edge.
You'll mostly be wanting to use these abilities to create elemental shields with Geo's effect. But creating a platform in the middle of a flat area can also provide your characters extra cover, as well as a place to launch plunging attacks from.
Bennett - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Fire
Bennet is a bit of a strange character. He creates a lot of buffs on himself, and even his Skill works differently than any other characters. His Elemental Skill has three levels based on pressing, and holding for a short or long amount of time. They deliver 1, 2, or 3 fire strikes with his sword. The final level of charge will also trigger a Pyro explosion that will not only send the enemy, but Bennet, flying. While he doesn't take any damage from the launch, it's still strange to be taking a knockback from your own attack.
After his initial fire attack with his Burst, he then leaves a field that will regenerate character HP to 70%, and once above 70% get an attack bonus. Those characters will also have the Pyro element applied. While the cooldowns on these abilities aren't that bad and the extra field on the Burst will do a good job buffing a character, you might want to swap to a character whose skill doesn't launch you away.
Lisa - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Electro
Lisa is an Electro catalyst user, and any time you're near a body of water (which is more often than you'd think), she is extremely useful. On top of her normal attacks, her Skill when pressed will create a ball of energy to make enemies conductive, and held down, it can create a massive AoE attack. This is excellent for crowd control and for afflicting as many enemies as possible with a status effect.
Her Burst ability is the best part of her loadout, creating a large Electro rose in the air that will continuously deal large Electro AoE. While lasting for 15 seconds with a large range is absolutely amazing, the ability has knockback. You end up throwing enemies outside of the range of the attack, reducing its usefulness. Lisa really shines in water, and to get Electro on all enemies, but she isn't able to help with a lot of the big hits.
Xingqui - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS, Support
- Weapon: Sword
- Element: Hydro
Xingqui is an interesting character who I'd say is DPS, but almost does support for himself. The regular sword attacks on their own are pretty powerful, and a lot of his abilities buff himself. Using his Elemental Skill, he creates rain swords around him that aren't used to attack but instead will reduce the damage he takes as each one is destroyed. These also increases Keqing's resistance to being interrupted. Up to 24% of Keqing's incoming damage can be reduced. This allows Keqing to somewhat throw caution into the wind, showing off that attack damage.
His Burst turns those swords from defenders into attackers. While the swords don't chip away at enemy health, each normal attack while buffed will deal Hydro damage. If you swap away from Keqing, here the Hydro normal attack will carry too.
He's a good character if you need some DPS, but overall his abilities aren't going to change the flow of battle.
Ningguang - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Geo
Ningguang is probably where you're going to get as close to a tank character as you will in Genshin Impact. A lot of Ningguang is built around defense. Using the Catalyst to attack with Geo from a distance, Ningguang can erect a Geo shield using her Skill. On creation it deals AoE Geo damage but it stays on the battle field, with HP equal to half of Ningguang's. As this character ascends and improves their constellations, additional bonuses are put on the Jade Screen, like when it's broken its cooldown is immediately reset. This allows you to continuously use it for protection.
Ningguang's Burst is a simple Geo homing attack. More projectiles are made if the Jade Screen is active, but aside from that, it's pretty standard.
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D-Class
Amber - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Bow
- Element: Pyro
Amber is a good character, and the perfect compliment to Traveller (Anemo), so it makes sense that she's a character given to them early. Her Skill will keep the heat off you to get used to the bow mechanics and set up a lot of Pyro AoE damage, and her Burst is simply a shower of arrows. Each deals good damage, and combos perfectly with Traveller (Anemo) but their synergy serves more as a tutorial, than a power to be reckoned with in battle.
As Amber ascends, her abilities get stronger, but still not enough to make her work in the long run.
Noelle - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS, Healer
- Weapon: Claymore
- Element: Geo
Another tanky character, this time with some DPS to back it up from the Claymore. Noelle also has a fair bit of healer among her abilities that's an interesting mix. Her Skill creates a Geo shield around her. When hitting enemies with attacks, there's a chance it heals the party, and your damage against Geo is greatly reduced. This allows you to go into a fight with a bit of extra protection and even be building up health faster than you're losing it.
Her Burst is a large strike dealing Geo AoE. After its use though, Noelle now does Geo damage, has a larger AoE for her attacks, and buffed attack. Doesn't have that impressive a DPS, but it complements her sturdiness and ability to also be defensive.
Beidou - ★★★★☆
- Class: DPS
- Weapon: Claymore
- Element: Electro
Beidou is another DPS Claymore, unfortunately just not giving as much into those powerful swings as the rest of them. Beidou's skill works quite differently based on whether it's used as a press or hold. When pressing the Elemental Skill, she will charge her blade with lightning and swing forward dealing Electro damage. When held however Beidou, takes a defensive stance, absorbing damage off enemies to then redirect them in a counter attack. After unleashing this powerful attack, her attacks will also gain the Electro Ability.
Her Burst creates a buff around her that will cause lightning to arc between enemies on Normal and Charged attacks. The biggest benefit from this buff is that Beidou will have increased resistance to being interrupted. You can use this with the Claymore charged attack (spinning like a top) to do some impressive damage and chain electricity to a number of foes.
Beidou's biggest strengths come from the buffs she's able to give herself. She doesn't work too well comboing with other party members though.
Sucrose - ★★★★☆
- Class: Support
- Weapon: Catalyst
- Element: Anemo
Sucrose is the weakest of the Anemo users. While the Catalyst weapon will be dealing a lot of Anemo damage, that's best used when combining with other elements. Her Elemental Skill creates a wind spirit that pulls in enemies and launches them away, and her Burst creates a larger force sucking enemies towards it. At least these skills both have the added bonus of Swirl when coming into contact with enemies affected by Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, and Electro her abilities.
In reality, she's a less useful version of Traveller (Anemo) that is a character everyone begins with. Unless you wanted to use Traveller (Geo) there's no time that Sucrose would fill a character slot that Traveller (Anemo) wouldn't be better suited.
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What do you think of the Genshin Impact Tier List? Do you think any characters are in the wrong place? Have you got any S-Tier characters yet?
Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net
Andrew has written Video Game and Entertainment news, reviews, and guides for 10+ years. As Senior Content Manager, he assists in creating and editing… More about Andrew
