With the Sumeru arc officially done, the dust is settling around the Genshin Impact tier list after some seismic changes. The addition of Dendro unlocked new teams and supercharged many existing archetypes, and some of the game's strongest five-stars have arrived in the past few months. Genshin Impact's roster is getting enormous, and the gap between the best characters and worst characters is also bigger than ever.
Obviously, Genshin Impact isn't a super difficult game so you don't strictly need to use any one character, nor should you ignore characters you really like even if they aren't very strong. Make your own fun and all that. That said, if you're looking for the best Genshin Impact characters to use, you're in the right place.
Genshin Impact characters quick links
Best:
- Nahida
- Kaedara Kazuha
- Raiden Shogun
- Yelan
- Bennett
- Xingqiu
- Zhongli
- Kamisato Ayaka
- Alhaitham
- Hu Tao
- Xiangling
- Sucrose
- Fischl
- Sangonomiya Kokomi
- Kuki Shinobu
Good:
- Xiao
- Arataki Itto
- Ganyu
- Venti
- The Wanderer
- Nilou
- Cyno
- Yae Miko
- Kamisato Ayato
- Tartaglia
- Tighnari
- Jean
- Beidou
- Shenhe
- Diona
- Yoimiya
- Baizhu
- Yaoyao
- Rosaria
- Keqing
- Gorou
- Yun Jin
- Kaeya
- Thoma
Not bad:
- Eula
- Kirara
- Albedo
- Mona
- Sayu
- Barbara
- The Traveler
- Yanfei
- Qiqi
- Shikanoin Heizou
- Ningguang
- Layla
- Kaveh
- Diluc
- Klee
- Faruzan
- Collei
- Noelle
- Chongyun
- Razor
- Lisa
Worst:
Best Genshin Impact characters
Nahida
Dendro instantly became one of Genshin Impact's strongest elements, and Nahida is the strongest character in that element by a mile. Because she uses a catalyst, even her normal attacks can apply heavy Dendro, to say nothing of her easy-to-use elemental skill which is further buffed by her unique burst. Nahida can be played on-field as a main DPS enabling reactions, or you can drop her in a team just to use her elemental skill for off-field Dendro. She's already incredibly powerful in a huge variety of teams, and she'll only get better with the release of future characters.
Kaedahara Kazuha
Kazuha provides a massive damage bonus to every character that doesn't rely on Geo, Anemo, Dendro, or physical damage, and he can deal considerable damage through the Swirl reaction while supporting his team and grouping enemies together. If you're running a Pyro, Cryo, Electro, or Hydro DPS, there's a good chance you want Kazuha in your team. It can be tough to get elemental mastery artifacts for Kazuha, but even with a weak Viridescent Venerer artifact set and decent EM, he can dramatically buff your entire team.
Raiden Shogun
Raiden's elemental skill provides free off-field Electro, increased burst damage, and energy particles, but her burst is her true claim to fame. It only lasts a few seconds, but that's more than enough time for Raiden to deal immense Electro damage and regenerate a significant portion of your entire team's energy. Raiden can smooth out your team's rotations while boosting your DPS, making her an indispensable part of many compositions. The release of Dendro also gave her some Hyperbloom utility – load her up with elemental mastery and watch your Dendro blooms tear through anything.
Yelan
Yelan is similar to Xingqui in that she deals Hydro damage off-field whenever your active character attacks, but she deals more damage at the cost of applying less Hydro overall. Yelan's burst also grants a ramping damage buff to your active character, substantially increasing their own DPS. Plus her skill can be used as a long-distance dash for tagging enemies or sprinting out in the world too, which is super fun and valuable.
Bennett
Jokingly referred to as a hidden five-star, Bennett can empower many teams with his elemental burst, which not only gives a huge attack boost to anyone standing inside, but also heals them incredibly quickly. The short cooldown on his elemental skill also allows him to generate a ton of Pyro energy for your team. This makes him a great unit in many cases – though we are seeing more and more non-attack scaling characters – but especially in Pyro teams. You can get Bennett and his Constellations (his C1 is especially valuable) through the in-game Starglitter shop, so keep your eyes peeled for when he pops up.
Xingqiu
Before Yelan, Xingqiu almost single-handedly carried the entire Pyro element as a Hydro support. His elemental burst summons Hydro swords that attack alongside your on-field character's normal attacks, dealing high damage over time and applying Hydro for elemental reactions, namely Vaporize. Xingqiu is irreplaceable in many teams, and a borderline mandatory support for characters like Hu Tao. He's also incredibly strong when paired with Yelan, to the point that you barely need any more damage dealers in a team with this duo.
Zhongli
Zhongli is the ultimate defense unit. His elemental skill places a Geo pillar that deals AoE damage in a small area (or a big area when paired with characters who can chain this damage to other geo constructs), and you can hold this skill down to create an incredibly tanky shield that makes nearby enemies take more damage from all sources. His elemental burst, meanwhile, deals solid damage and petrifies enemies in place for a few seconds. The so-called CEO of Geo is a potent mix of offense and defense that makes almost any fight considerably easier.
Kamisato Ayaka
Ayaka is one of the most consistent DPS characters around since her Cryo infusion is tied to her dodge rather than a cooldown-based ability, and she has arguably the strongest elemental burst in the entire game. Her normal attacks and elemental skill are basic but reliable, and her burst will tear through just about anything. Ayaka gets a ton of free critical rate from the Blizzard Strayer artifact set and her best teams focus on freezing enemies to set up for AoE bursts.
Alhaitham
Ayaka is one of the most consistent DPS characters around since her Cryo infusion is tied to her dodge rather than a cooldown-based ability, and she has arguably the strongest elemental burst in the entire game. Her normal attacks and elemental skill are basic but reliable, and her burst will tear through just about anything. Ayaka can get a ton of free critical rate from the Blizzard Strayer artifact set and her best teams focus on freezing enemies to set up for AoE bursts.
Hu Tao
Hu Tao rewards aggressive play. Most of her damage revolves around her elemental skill buffing her charged attacks at the expense of her HP, plus she deals more damage when she's below half health, so she excels at short windows of incredibly high damage. She's a fun, characterful, and powerful Pyro DPS option, and her attacks can land some huge hits if you set up Melt or Vaporize reactions with support units like Xingqiu, Yelan, and even Rosaria. Her elemental burst heals her considerably, making her one of the safer picks for a no-healer team, though you'll still probably want a shielder like Zhongli or even a tanked-out Yanfei.
Xiangling
Everyone can get Xiangling just by clearing the early Spiral Abyss floors, and she's easily the best free unit in the game. Her elemental skill, the summoned bear Guoba, is average at best, but her whirling burst is devastating. Even without her fourth Constellation, which greatly extends her burst's duration, Xiangling is capable of dealing huge Pyro damage entirely off-field, freeing you up to layer in reactive elements with your active character. Xiangling also pops up in the Starglitter shop, and up to C4, her constellations are extremely valuable.
Sucrose
Sucrose is generally treated like a four-star Kazuha, which is already high praise, but she has unique strengths of her own. She's capable of shredding resistances with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set while dramatically boosting your team's elemental mastery, plus she can use the attack-buffing Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers catalyst. Her grouping and personal damage are less potent than Kazuha's, but Sucrose's shared EM can compete and even surpass him in some situations, making her an excellent Anemo support in several teams. Sucrose is especially valuable in Dendro teams since the element is so dependent on elemental mastery.
Fischl
As a four-star who's repeatedly been given out for free and offered in the Starglitter shop, Fischl has always been one of the best sub-DPS characters in Genshin Impact. The release of Dendro, and particularly the Aggravate reaction, has simply pushed her over the top. Fischl applies so much Electro, even without Constellations, that she can trigger and fuel countless elemental reactions. She's the core of many Dendro, physical, and Electro-Charged teams, and her personal damage and energy generation are high enough to earn a spot almost anywhere.
Sangonomiya Kokomi
Kokomi's kit is fairly simple, and her inability to deal critical hits does limit her personal damage, but she provides so much utility that she still earns a spot in many top-tier teams, including Freeze, Hyperbloom, and Burgeon. Her skill applies a lot of Hydro off-field, her burst can heal your entire team (and deal non-trivial total damage with the new Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set), and she's a great user of support gear like the Tenacity of the Millelith artifact set and the Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers catalyst. Kokomi is also vital to many Dendro teams since she combines off-field Hydro and healing, which are both in high demand right now, plus she has the option of the Deepwood Memories artifact.
Kuki Shinobu
Kuki was a bit underwhelming at launch, but the release of Dendro has made her unique role as an Electro healer extremely valuable. Kuki can trigger support artifacts like Tenacity of the Millelith and Noblesse Oblige, her constant Electro skill ticks make reactions like Quicken and Hyperbloom easy, and her healing is generally enough to keep up with incoming damage. Her personal damage is technically low, but the frankly unfairly high damage of Hyperbloom lets her demolish virtually all content with a cheap elemental mastery build. Seriously, with decent Dendro and Hydro application, Hyperbloom Kuki will out-damage almost everyone in single-target fights.
Good Genshin Impact characters
Xiao
Xiao is similar to Hu Tao in that his damage output is explicitly tied to an ability that sacrifices his health, but he feels very different in practice. His burst converts all of his damage to Anemo, boosts his jump height, and allows you to spam powerful plunge attacks while taking mild damage over time. Even compared to the power of pyro reactions, Xiao still shines as one of Genshin's strongest AoE attackers, though he can be pretty dependent on supports like Bennett and Zhongli, and he always wants at least one Anemo support to give him energy particles. The release of Faruzan finally gave him a dedicated elemental support, and while hard to get, Xiao backed by a max-constellation Faruzan is one of the strongest possible options in many situations.
Arataki Itto
Itto is the first and only five-star Geo DPS we've seen, and his charged attack play style allows for huge cleave damage backed by a powerful elemental skill. Itto is considerably stronger when paired with Gorou, who's a bit further down this list, and his high-cost burst demands additional Geo support characters as well, but he rewards niche team-building with high damage that doesn't rely on elemental reactions. This obviously limits who you can run him with since Geo is comparable to physical damage in how little it reacts with other elements, but it also makes him useful in a variety of situations, and Itto is strong enough to propel an all-Geo team.
Ganyu
The sheer power of Ganyu's Cryo charged shots makes her one of the strongest and safest attackers in the game. Her skill is a handy taunt and her burst deals heavy Cryo damage in a huge area, but charged shots are her bread and butter. You don't even need to land headshots to deal damage since her charged arrows explode on contact. If you're looking for a true ranged fighter, especially for open-world shenanigans, look no further.
Venti
Venti's elemental burst is iconic. It basically summons a small black hole that clumps enemies together for juicy AoE damage while causing countless Swirl reactions. His burst is less effective on large enemies, and not all characters can effectively attack targets caught floating in his burst, but when Venti is good, he's all but unbeatable. He's the weakest archon on average, but the best character in the entire game in the right scenario.
The Wanderer
Like Itto, the Wanderer is essentially a two-in-one package who all but requires a specific support – in his case, Faruzan. There's a reason the two were released together; without Faruzan, the Wanderer's damage and value falls off considerably, with other Anemo characters generally able to fulfill his role and then some. But paired with strong supports like Faruzan and Bennett, as well as more niche options like Thoma and Yun Jin, the Wanderer becomes a strong main DPS that excels at single-target damage and delivers strong exploration utility via his pseudo-flight ability. The Wanderer is one of the more unique DPS characters out there, not just because he glides around, and a worthy incarnation of Scaramouche.
Nilou
Nilou is arguably the weirdest character in Genshin. Her true power lies in an exclusive, souped-up version of the Bloom reaction which is unlocked when you play her in a team that only uses Dendro and Hydro characters. This limits her team-building options considerably, especially since the self-damage from Bloom basically forces you to run at least one healer, but Nilou is incredibly powerful in the right situation, especially when paired with Nahida. She excels at damaging big groups of enemies but struggles in single-target scenarios. You can find some wiggle room in her teams with Hydro units like Yelan and Xingqiu, who can help muscle through single-target fights.
Cyno
Cyno is an on-field Electro normal attacker that resembles Xiao and Itto in terms of play style and team-building, though his personal damage can be slightly lower. That said, thanks to reactions like Hyperbloom, his team damage can still compete. Cyno's burst converts and empowers his normal attacks for up to 18 seconds, so you generally want teammates that can add off-field damage to those attacks for a long time, like Fischl or Beidou. A Dendro teammate is also all but required for Cyno since he gets such a massive damage boost from the Aggravate reaction due to his fast attacks, innate elemental mastery bonus, and low-cooldown skill. Baizhu is the best option here thanks to the long duration of his burst.
Yae Miko
Yae Miko plays like a souped-up Fischl with a much stronger burst, though her energy generation and Electro application are lower. She lays down a web of three auto-targeting Electro turrets which can be detonated for a huge chunk of damage and then swiftly replaced. Yae provides consistent off-field Electro damage and she's pretty simple to build thanks to her flexible weapon and artifact choices, but she's also a bit more demanding than Fischl thanks to her staggering 90-cost burst.
Kamisato Ayato
The latest Kamisato sibling uses Hydro damage to cut through groups of enemies, often while enabling tons of Electro-Charge reactions with characters like Yae Miko, Beidou, and Fischl. Kamisato Ayato uses normal attacks for most of his damage (though this damage is determined by his skill, so you don't actually need to level his normal attack talent), so one of his best support units is Yun Jin. That said, his wide-reaching and persistent elemental burst also gives him some off-field utility, letting Ayato fit into a lot of teams. Ayato also benefited greatly from Dendro, as he's a great Burgeon and Hyperbloom driver.
Tartaglia
Tartaglia's normal attacks totally change once you use his elemental skill, which swaps his bow for twin swords that deal heavy Hydro damage – and exponentially higher damage against groups thanks to stacking AoE. The longer you use this skill in one go, the longer the cooldown will be when you toggle it off, so to play Tartaglia effectively, you'll want to pair him with sub-DPS characters to cycle through while his skill is recharging. His best supports are characters like Xiangling and Beidou, who can use Tartaglia's heavy Hydro damage to trigger tons of reactions.
Tighnari
Tighnari was Genshin Impact's first Dendro five-star (Traveler excluded), but as a character who was also added to the standard banner (as of update 3.1), his power level is balanced between a unit meant to show off a new element and one meant as a permanent addition to the game. Tighnari isn't on Ganyu or Hu Tao's level, but the rapid attacks from his Dendro charged shots and 12-hit, low-cost burst make him a solid choice in quick-swap and Quicken teams. His skill also gives you three near-instantaneous charged shots, which front-loads his damage and makes him very fluid to play, especially in single-target scenarios.
Jean
The de facto leader of Mondstadt is one of the most flexible characters in Genshin Impact. Jean's skill can clump enemies together and send smaller ones flying for heavy fall damage, her burst can heal your entire team while taking a chunk out of enemies, and her Anemo abilities can be combined with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set to make enemies take more elemental damage. She's not quite on Zhongli's level, but Jean is a good pick for nearly any party. She also has incredibly strong constellations, so don't be disappointed if you end up pulling multiple copies of her in the long run.
Beidou
Pound for pound, Beidou's elemental burst is among the strongest in the game against multiple targets. Her skill is a unique and satisfying parry, but it's the off-field Electro damage from her burst that really elevates her. Combined with Hydro or Electro supports, plus a normal attacker to trigger the hits, Beidou's burst alone can provide enough damage to clear most challenges. Beidou gets a huge damage spike with her second constellation, so watch for her in the Starglitter exchange.
Shenhe
Shenhe is a damage-boosting support who only benefits Cryo characters, but she really benefits Cryo characters. Ayaka (especially Ayaka), Ganyu, Chongyun, Rosaria, Kaeya, and even Diona all get a massive damage bonus from Shenhe's abilities, so if you can spare the slot in your team, Shenhe will take your Cryo damage to the next level.
Diona
Just as Albedo scales with defense, Diona can make good use of all your HP artifacts since the tankiness of her shield and the power of her healing both scale with HP. Even if she deals virtually no damage, Diona can add a lot to your party by generating tons of energy, protecting you from most attacks, and healing you up when you do get hit.
Yoimiya
Yoimiya can struggle against groups of enemies, but she excels against single targets. Her Pyro-infused normal attacks are fast and powerful, and she's a great partner for supports like Beidou, Xingqiu, and Yelan since she can shred enemies at range. Bennett is often Yoimiya's best friend, and Kazuha isn't far behind since she's reliant on raw damage due to her limited elemental reactions. That said, she's also great with Yun Jin, who makes Yoimiya's normal attacks much stronger, and Zhongli, who prevents enemy attacks from interrupting her attack string. Yoimiya doesn't need any particular support, which makes her teams pretty flexible.
Baizhu
Baizhu provides more than enough healing to keep your team alive, and though his shield is weak, it's strong enough to prevent attacks from interrupting you and refreshes quickly. Baizhu is somewhat unexciting for a five-star, but healers who apply Dendro are in high demand and he does his job well. If he has a niche, it's enabling Aggravate for Cyno, a great pairing for this snake-charming physician.
Yaoyao
Yaoyao is functionally a four-star Baizhu, only she has much better Dendro application during her burst, especially in AoE. Both of them are Dendro healers who scale off HP and have negligible personal damage, and either of them will keep your characters healthy.
Rosaria
Rosaria is one of the few characters who can boost your team's critical rate, and her backstabbing elemental skill is a handy gap-closer too. Her elemental burst provides decent Cryo AoE for Pyro and Hydro carries to play off, and combined with her crit bonus, this makes her a good all-rounder.
Keqing
With access to fast physical and Electro damage, Keqing is relatively easy to build and always fun to play. You can use her skill to perform a teleporting slash that converts your damage to electro, or you can detonate her thrown stiletto with a charged attack for an Electro explosion, usually to trigger Superconduct and lower enemy physical resistance. Electro got a huge buff with the release of Dendro and Aggravate, and Keqing's rapid small attacks are perfect for spamming Aggravate.
Gorou
Gorou's personal damage output is incredibly low, even at high investment, but he adds so much damage to defense-scaling Geo characters like Itto and Albedo that you won't care. Load him up with energy recharge and defense and you'll have an essential support unit for many Geo teams.
Yun Jin
Yun Jin is another extremely niche support unit eking out a living in the shadow of Bennett – who is so overpowered that new support units have to be balanced around him through specificity – but if you want to buff your normal attacks, she's quite good. Yun Jin is simple to build as a support since she just needs a bunch of defense and energy recharge, and her elemental burst buffs the pants off normal attacks.
Kaeya
Kaeya's Cryo element and high basic attack damage make him a decent physical carry, while the short cooldowns on his abilities suit a support role. He's great when paired with Pyro or Hydro units since his skill and off-field burst can apply Cryo pretty well while dealing respectable damage. Kaeya is one of the better units from the initial freebies you get through the story, so don't hesitate to invest in him.
Thoma
Thoma's burst grants a minor shield every time your current character attacks, but while this is good for shrugging off attacks, it doesn't offer much in the way of actual damage mitigation. Thoma also has surprisingly low HP for an HP-scaling shielder, so his overall utility is limited. However, Dendro has given him a unique role as a Burgeon enabler which lets his Pyro burst shine, though building him for elemental mastery makes his already fragile shield even flimsier.
Not bad Genshin Impact Characters
Eula
Eula is one of Genshin Impact's few dedicated physical damage dealers, but what she lacks in elemental reactions she makes up for in raw power and fluid attacks. Her elemental skill can reduce enemy physical defense, priming them for her immensely powerful burst attack which summons a floating sword that detonates after charging for a few seconds, dealing more damage based on how many hits you land while it's charging.
Kirara
Kirara's transformative skill generates a shield and lets her roam around as a little cat-box for a few seconds, dealing rapid Dendro damage to enemies she collides with. This is actually pretty potent in Nilou bloom teams, and it's useful for open-world exploration and climbing too. Her burst has a surprisingly high damage multiplayer, but its attack scaling is hampered by Kirara's focus on building HP. Kirara's shield does get pretty tanky though, so she's a decent defensive option who can also trigger Quicken.
Albedo
One of the most underrated five-stars, Albedo can fit onto virtually any team. His elemental skill adds free Geo damage to your attacks, and his talents give your whole team a nice bump in elemental mastery. This makes his kit a bit uneven, since Geo doesn't want elemental mastery, but it also gives him a lot of use cases. Albedo can also make good use of all those defense artifacts you've likely stockpiled since his skill damage scales with defense. Depending on how you build him, his burst can be strong as well. Albedo's a true jack of all trades that shouldn't be overlooked, especially if you've received the free weapon Cinnabar Spindle, which is among Albedo's best options.
Mona
You've probably seen Mona in some highlight reels flashing giant damage numbers, and there's a reason for that. Her elemental burst not only makes enemies take way more damage for a short period, it also hits extremely hard on its own, making Mona a wombo-combo machine. She's particularly good with Cryo characters like Ganyu since the freeze status effect can extend the damage boost provided by her Hydro burst, or Pyro characters who can Vaporize her own burst. The taunt provided by her elemental skill is handy, too.
Sayu
Sayu is essentially a weaker, four-star version of Jean, but she's still a healer who can use the Viridescent Venerer artifact set, and that's more than enough for a spot on many teams. She also comes with the considerable advantage of rolling around at the speed of sound, which shouldn't be overlooked. Sayu's rolling skill can be infused with Electro or Hydro to trigger a lot of Dendro reactions, and it's a fast and easy way to get around the open world, to the point that she's been an exploration staple for years.
Barbara
Barbara is similar to Qiqi in that her entire kit revolves around healing. Her skill and burst don't do appreciable damage, so while she can hit enemies using the Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set, her kit is fairly low-value. However, she can also use the Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers catalyst to boost the attack of another character, and her slow Hydro off-field application is uniquely valuable in some new Dendro teams. Barbara is especially good in Nilou teams due to the heavy incoming Bloom self-damage, plus you can equip her with cheap four-star artifact sets like Exile or Instructor to double down on support.
The Traveler
The Traveler now has access to Anemo, Geo, Electro, and Dendro powers, with Dendro generally being the best of the lot due to the high damage floor it gains through elemental reactions. Geo is a bit underpowered and Electro feels extremely clunky, but Anemo Traveler can also be decent if you don't have any other Anemo options. But even with other Dendro options, Dendro Traveler is still a solid teammate, just probably not your first choice.
Yanfei
Yanfei's charged attack-focused catalyst play style is very similar to Ningguang's, and the way her skill and burst fuel her charged attacks has also drawn comparisons to Klee. Yanfei's abilities feel great to use and her charged attacks hit like a truck when you time them right, so if you're looking for a Pyro attacker but haven't rolled any of the five-stars, Yanfei is a fantastic choice. And if you unlock her fourth constellation, you can even build her with HP for an underrated shielder.
Qiqi
The Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set was a big boost for her Qiqi because it turns her excessive healing into decent passive damage. Qiqi provides more healing than basically anyone else, so she's sure to keep you alive even in the most punishing content. She still has energy issues and doesn't deal much damage with her Cryo abilities, but Qiqi is a much more reasonable pick nowadays.
Shikanoin Heizou
Heizou was the first male catalyst user in Genshin Impact, and his unique melee play style makes him stand out from the many spellcasters in the game. Heizou can rapidly apply Anemo with his normal attacks to trigger reactions like Electro-Charged, his skill can be charged to deal burst-level damage, and his actual burst gives him some ranged damage and light grouping. As an Anemo unit, he's more damage-focused than the likes of Sucrose and Kazuha, but he's still able to boost his team while dealing respectable damage.
Ningguang
Plenty of four-star characters are viable for a main DPS role, and Ningguang is an old favorite. With a fast burst, a skill with surprising utility, and powerful ranged attacks, Ningguang excels when paired with other Geo characters like Albedo or Zhongli. Running two Geo characters enables the powerful Geo party resonance, and Geo is a pretty neutral element, so you can fill the rest of your team with staple characters like Bennett without fussing over elemental reactions.
Layla
Compared to Diona, Layla provides less defensive utility – with a total lack of healing – in exchange for more personal damage. Her Cryo damage and application are relevant, but only when you have your shield up, which you means you need enough HP to maintain a shield, and that in turn takes away from her attack-scaling damage. Layla is far from unusable, but her split scaling hurts her usefulness.
Kaveh
If you don't have Nilou or Alhaitham, you can sort of get dramatically weaker versions of both through Kaveh. His abilities allow for stronger Dendro blooms that can be detonated on command, and his burst lets his normal attacks apply Dendro, so he is a decent driver in Hyperbloom teams especially. That said, he's far weaker than his five-star counterparts, and loses to other four-stars in many situations.
Diluc
Diluc is one of the old guard DPS characters, and even after all this time, he's still a solid pick. His burst has a short cooldown and huge AoE, his skill is easy to spam to trigger the Crimson Witch of Flames artifact set, and his innate critical rate boost makes him easy to build.
Klee
Klee is a tiny little monster who can match or even exceed Diluc's Pyro damage output with proper play. She's a unique catalyst user who lobs short-range bombs with her auto attacks and elemental skill, while her elemental burst zaps enemies with orbiting Pyro lasers. That said, her chunky attacks take some getting used to, and her poor defense makes healing or shielding a must.
Faruzan
Faruzan is similar to Gorou and Sara in that she buffs the pants off a single element, but while she can be a strong Anemo support, she's extremely constellation-reliant compared to competing support characters. At base, she's difficult to play effectively due to low ability uptime, poor energy generation, and extremely high energy requirements, requiring monstrous energy recharge and awkward rotations. At max constellations, she's practically a different character entirely, providing a considerably larger damage buff and doing a much better job self-sustaining. Faruzan has a high ceiling but performs poorly on average with a dramatically lower floor, which is why she ranks so low on this list.
Collei
Collei was released alongside Tighnari, and perhaps because she and Amber are best friends, her abilities and power level aren't that far off of Amber's. Her boomerang skill deals two hits of Dendro damage and her burst creates a relatively small Dendro AoE. These skills aren't bad in a vacuum, but due to unique restrictions on her abilities, Collie can't actually apply Dendro that frequently, which limits her usefulness since Dendro is so reliant on triggering rapid reactions. Collie isn't bad, and she's a decent second pick for a double Dendro team, but she's generally a weaker pick than the Traveler.
Noelle
Noelle can deal damage, heal your team, and provide a decent shield, but she doesn't excel in any of these roles. Her damage is far behind Itto's, her shield is weaker than Diona's, and her healing is relatively low. That said, she's a guaranteed unit, and she'll get you through some tough situations.
Chongyun
Paired with a few select characters like Shenhe or Bennett, Chongyun is actually pretty good. The thing is, he's actively bad in a lot of other teams. See, his elemental skill puts down a field that converts the melee attacks of everyone inside to Cryo damage (with a few infusion exceptions), and this can really throw off your build. Chongyun unlocks some fun Cryo synergies and his burst packs a punch, but he's tougher to use than someone like Kaeya.
Razor
DPS doesn't get much simpler than Razor, a physical damage carry whose elemental burst increases his attack speed. Razor's Electro abilities can trigger the ever-important superconduct reaction to lower physical resistance, so his entire kit was clearly built for physical damage. If you just want to swing a big sword and hit really hard – and summon a giant lightning wolf – Razor might be for you, though he can peter out since he doesn't have the power or AoE to punch through the limits of physical damage.
Lisa
Lisa's ability to reduce the defense of enemies caught in her burst is actually pretty powerful, but her utility is limited otherwise. Her elemental mastery ascension stat is often useless, her skill requires a lot of setup, and apart from defense shred, her burst can be tough to get use out of. That said, Dendro was a huge boon for her as well, not only because it meaningfully repurposes her elemental mastery ascension, but because it turns the rapid hits of her burst into usable Aggravate and Hyperbloom triggers.
Worst Genshin Impact characters
Dehya
Dehya's unique defensive ability is weaker than a normal shield, her personal damage trails behind four-star units, and her off-field Pyro application has low uptime. She's awkward to play, especially when jumping (perhaps to break out of a freeze) totally cancels her burst, and is easily replaced in every situation.
Mika
Physical is the weakest damage type in Genshin Impact, so it's unfortunate that its dedicated support unit, Mika, is also incredibly underwhelming. The buffs he provides are minor and inconsistent, and even with multiple constellations he loses to more generalist buffing units.
Candace
Candace is the only character in Genshin Impact that can give any melee character Hydro-infused normal attacks, but while she is unique, she isn't particularly strong. Her burst also buffs elemental normal attack damage on top of granting a Hydro infusion, but its damage bonus puts Candace firmly below Yun Jin in terms of sheer utility. Candace does enable some interesting reaction gimmicks, but like Chongyun's Cryo infusion, her abilities don't fit into most teams and can even sabotage otherwise reliable strategies. Her usefulness jumps at C6, but remains low overall.
Dori
Dori is a claymore user who can heal teammates while generating a small amount of flat energy. Her personal damage is incredibly low, to the point that it's generally not worth building offensive stats on her at all, and her utility is also limited elsewhere. The best healers in Genshin Impact are popular because of what they offer besides healing, and Dori's low Electro application, meager energy regen, and trivial damage make her a weaker choice than Kuki, the game's other Electro healer, in basically all cases.
Kujou Sara
Like Bennett, Sara can increase the attack of your other characters, but she's much tougher to use and usually needs an Electro battery to fuel her (actually pretty solid) elemental burst. She's also constellation-dependent, with her C2 making her less clunky and her C6 making her buff much more valuable for Electro characters. Pre-C6, she's basically one-quarter of Bennett.
Aloy
Sadly, Aloy left most of her gadgets back in Horizon Forbidden West, leaving her with little to work with in Teyvat. Her elemental skill is clunky and has a long cooldown, and while her burst deals a respectable chunk of Cryo damage, she's worse than even Chongyun in basically every scenario.
Amber
Amber is the first character you get in Genshin Impact, so it's no surprise that she isn't terribly strong. The taunt dummy placed by her elemental skill doesn't last long or deal much damage, and the same is true of her burst. She has some niche roles as a Pyro applier, but Amber loses to every other Pyro unit in almost every conceivable way.
Xinyan
Xinyan's skill creates a Pyro shield that can protect all your characters, while her burst deals a chunk of physical damage in a small area. She can be played as a main DPS or a burst support character with some shield utility, but without Constellations she's tough to fit into most teams. Her shield is weak, her burst doesn't scale very well, and even with Constellations she never really excels at any one role due to her split scaling.
