Our adventurous Traveler has journeyed far and wide, already spanning three regions, and gaining a diverse multitude of allies along the way. Not all of them are built the same, of course, and some of them have abilities that make them stronger than the rest. Our editorial team huddled together to discuss and rank these characters, and we came up with a ranking list of which ones are the strongest, and which ones are less so. This tier list is based on version 3.0 of Genshin Impact, which includes all 5-star characters released up until version 3.0.
Before we proceed, please understand that tier lists are not absolute, and merely guide the player make informed decisions within the game. Most resources are gated by Original Resin, or even real-life money, and upgrading all characters to the maximum is impossible for the average player. Genshin Impact Tier lists guide players by informing which characters are worth more with the same investment, than others. However, all characters are completely playable, and viable with enough investment. If you really like a certain character, invest in them by all means. They should be able to clear most (if not all) content, as long as you commit your resources to them.
SS tier
Main DPS – Extremely high damage output, top hyper carries
Support – Universal Applicability, enables any team
S tier
Main DPS – Very high damage output, standard hyper carry
Support – Very wide applicability, enables a lot of strong comps
A tier
Main DPS – High damage output, not as strong as hyper carries, requires moderate investment
Support – Good applicability, enables certain comps
B tier
Main DPS – Good damage output but requires high investment
Support – Mediocre applicability, good in niche cases
C tier
Main DPS – Decent damage output, might struggle to perform in endgame without heavy investment
Support – Limited applicability, low team impact, only used in very niche cases
Genshin Impact Tier List Explanations
SS Tier
Ganyu – Still one of the strongest characters in the game, Ganyu set the bar really high for carries after her release. Her charged shots deal so much damage, can be used from afar, and doesn’t have a cooldown or energy restriction. Her Elemental Burst is also quite powerful, and is the centerpiece of the infamous Morgana Team. It is known for being one of the most busted (and popular) combos for clearing the Spiral Abyss.
Kamisato Ayaka – Our Shirasagi Himegimi is one of a kind, with the ability to infuse her attacks with Cryo, and deliver a devastating whirlwind of ice towards her enemies. She is very self-reliant and swift in combat, only relying on a bit of Hydro to trivialize most of her fights. Her Elemental Burst is what makes her shine among the rest, as it deals insane amounts of damage in a very short time.
Hu Tao – Her DPS window only lasts for 9 seconds, but those are 9 seconds of massive Vaporise/Melt damage. She has the most conditions required to achieve her maximum potential, like requiring a support Xingqiu, having adequate stamina, and keeping her health below 50%. If these conditions are met, Hu Tao can absolutely wreck all enemies that stand in her way.
Raiden Shogun – Burst-Swap teams have never been the same since Raiden Shogun came out. This Archon puppet deals an insane amount of damage by herself, while providing herself and everyone else a ton of energy to keep them going. Since she can carry and support at the same time, you can fit her into any team that doesn’t care about bringing Electro, and wants Energy to spam bursts.
Kaedahara Kazuha – This Anemo-type exile from Inazuma might not have as much crowd-control as Venti, but he makes up for it with his ability to buff his allies’ elemental damage. Kazuha is very versatile as a support, with the option to become a pure EM support, or even as a Reaction Sub-DPS. His buffs can easily amplify the team’s elemental damage to new heights, not to mention having the perk of applying the Viridescent Venerer debuff on enemies.
Venti – The first limited 5-star character stands his ground as still the strongest support character in the game. His Elemental Burst is so good, that against situations where there are multiple enemies, he completely trivializes the fight with his unparalleled utility and amazing reaction damage.
Zhongli – First appeared as a dark horse on his release, Zhongli has risen up to be one of the strongest defensive supports. After the buffs to his overall kit, Zhongli provides the most durable shield in the game, while also providing a sizable DEF and RES shred. His Planet Befall is also instrumental to his kit, immobilizing enemies for a good period of time.
Sangonomiya Kokomi – Yes, you read that right. She was considered a terrible character upon release, until the meta eventually shifted towards bringing multiple DPS units in a team, and bringing only one quality-of-life support. You’ll be surprised at how many meta teams Kokomi can comfortably support, like the Ganyaka Freeze comp, Itto Beatdown comp, or even many Hyperbloom Dendro teams as of late. She can equip the TTDS catalyst and the Tenacity of the Millelith artifact set, which are huge buffs for any team that scales with ATK.
S Tier
Arataki Itto – If you have the trifecta of Itto, Gorou, and Albedo, any content’s an easy content, as long you’re not fighting against Geo-immune foes. Itto requires a lot of investment to see damage out of him, but when he’s buffed, he hits like a truck.
Childe – Our beloved Harbinger used to have clunky skill design and content that works against him, but theorycrafters found out his real specialty: applying a ton of AoE Hydro. His strongest team is with Xiangling, utilizing his frequent Hydro application to allow every hit of the Pyronado to Vaporise. Since then, Childe has been a part of his so called “Childe International” team, which is a variation of the CN National Team led by Xiangling.
Xiao – He is the definition of ‘go big or go home’. In exchange for continuously draining his life, Xiao unlocks his kangaroo-like jumps, which are used to repeatedly perform plunging attacks. These plunging attacks are enhanced, which allows Xiao to deal massive damage over the long skill duration.
Eula – Physical carries are not common and have glaring drawbacks, but Eula addresses these weaknesses, which currently makes her the strongest physical carry in the game. Unlocking her potential damage is not easy, and requires good mechanical skills to execute. However, she is a ticking nuclear-bomb, and when it explodes, she can inflict the highest damage numbers this game has ever seen.
Yae Miko – Many have been disappointed at Yae Miko on her release, due to her janky gameplay and high energy cost. However, spend enough resources and she can be a huge source of burst damage when combined with the new Aggravate reactions.
Zhongli – First appeared as a dark horse on his release, Zhongli has risen up to be one of the strongest defensive supports. After the buffs to his overall kit, Zhongli provides the most durable shield in the game, while also providing a sizable DEF and RES shred. His Planet Befall is also instrumental to his kit, immobilizing enemies for a good period of time.
Albedo – One of the most underrated 5-star characters, Albedo makes his way into S Tier, thanks to his amazing off-field damage and shields, without requiring too much setup or preparation. When built correctly, he can deal up to 15-20K damage every two seconds, all while providing energy particles, and Crystallize shields that can effectively negate chip damage. The best part is that all of this can happen while Albedo is not on the field, and he only needs to show up every 30 seconds to reapply his Solar Isotoma.
Kamisato Ayato – Ayato is a fun character who can surprisingly support many reaction teams well, like Hutao or Permafreeze teams. His Elemental Skill is one of the coolest-looking abilities in the game, and his Burst is the perfect ability for applying Hydro over a large area for a long time.
Shenhe – She is a very niche support because her buffs are flat damage bonuses, but she sees a lot of use in Freeze and Mono Cryo teams. When built with only ATK in mind, she can actually magnify your main carry’s damage to extremely high levels.
Yoimiya – Yoimiya boasts very high single-target Pyro damage, but her lack of AoE damage and synergy with Vaporise/Melt ultimately sets her back from being at the top of the meta. Her single-target play style is still perfect with the addition of Yun Jin and Yelan, and fireworks have never been hotter when it’s this wet.
A Tier
Tighnari – Our Forest Watcher might have a lot of potential hidden within him, but he still has countless problems that plague his peculiar play style. He can play like Ganyu with his powerful Charge shots, but they charge significantly longer, and splits into three projectiles which are affected by ICD (making consecutive Quickens impossible). His Elemental Burst also doesn’t linger for long, which makes Dendro Traveler a better support for enabling Dendro Reactions.
Mona – Mona was a part of the Morgana Team, which consists of Mona, Ganyu, Diona, and Venti. Aside from that, Mona also provides a team damage boost and crowd control from her burst, along with a bit of off-field Hydro application from her skill. Mona’s Illusory Bubble does not explode when enemies are Frozen, so she excels in supporting perma-freeze teams.
Traveler (Dendro) – It’s still too early to know if this is the right tier for the Dendro version of our Traveler, but it’s safe to say that they are currently integral to many of the newer Dendro comps in Version 3.0. We might see a shift to this placement once we meet more Dendro characters, but it would still be in the far future by then.
Diluc – Diluc used to rule the world of Teyvat, dominating the depths of the Spiral Abyss early after the game’s release. Though, as time went by, stronger and better characters have been released, eclipsing the reign of the “Pyro Meta”, consisting of Diluc and Klee. Diluc is still a perfectly good character, and has no qualms when it comes to clearing any content in the game.
Klee – She is a walking minefield, disguised as an adorable, youthful little girl in red clothes. Klee specializes in a lot of AoE damage, but her massive charged attacks are where the most of her DPS comes from. With the right setup, she can easily do massive Vaporise or Melt damage, or do a consistent amount of pure Pyro damage with the rest of her skillset.
Jean – The Dandelion Knight has a lot of utility at her disposal, like having access to VV debuffs and a lot of healing. However, her swirls are not frequent and don’t have a lot of AoE, while her burst has a very high cost of 80 energy. Despite this, she can serve as a good support if you need someone who can swirl and heal at the same time.
Traveler (Electro) – Unlike the Anemo and Geo Traveler, the Electro Traveler is a beast of a battery, and can enable characters like Eula really well. This Traveler can supply their team with a lot of energy, while also giving frequent applications of Electro damage when needed.
B Tier
Keqing – Despite still being a good character, Keqing unfortunately got power-crept over time by stronger characters. However, she still is a competent Electro DPS character when invested upon, and also a great Physical DPS character thanks to her insane charged attack damage.
Childe – Our beloved Harbinger has always been plagued with clunky skill design and content that works against him. His strongest team is with Xiangling, utilizing his frequent Hydro application to allow every hit of the Pyronado to Vaporise. Because of his limited build and team options, Childe struggles at keeping up with the other DPS characters, and probably needs a buff for the longest time.
Traveler (Anemo/Geo) – The Anemo and Geo Travelers are decent supports especially for beginners, but they eventually get replaced after players obtain better support characters. Geo Traveler pulls ahead of Anemo Traveler, due to being a good battery for Ningguang if the player missed out on Albedo or Zhongli. Thus, this is his/her place in our Genshin Impact Tier List.
C Tier
Qiqi – During the early days of Genshin Impact, healers were very useful when food was scarce and bosses were hard. Qiqi excelled in this, and was the premier healer for all kinds of content. Nowadays, healing is less important than damage, and mechanical skills like performing i-frames can completely negate the need for active healing. Not only that, but Qiqi cannot generate Energy particles or provide additional damage for the team. The meta has changed, and Qiqi has fallen behind. But she’s still our cutest zombie girl out there. Hence, Qiqi is at the very bottom of our Genshin Impact Tier List.
We hope you found our Genshin Impact Tier List helpful! For more on Genshin Impact, click here.
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