What are the best characters in Genshin Impact?

Characters in higher tiers tend to be more powerful.

Genshin Impact, the latest action RPG from miHoYo, has two dozen characters along with many more coming soon. As with any gacha game, the best Genshin Impact characters require a fair bit of luck and/or money to add to your team. Characters each have different rarity levels and belong to different tiers. Typically, the higher up the tier they are, the more powerful they are. So, which characters should you be hoping for and investing your resources in leveling up? We’re here to help.

How many playable characters are there?

There are two dozen different playable characters in Genshin Impact. A handful are rewards for completing certain portions of the story, including the protagonist, but most are pulled in gacha style wishes. There are a few different types of wishes as well as a multitude of ways to earn the currencies to make those wishes. While buying the currency with real money is an option, even if you have a ton of money to sink into this game, you will still need some luck to pull the best characters. Let’s just say you have unlimited access to all of the characters in the game. Knowing which are worth investing your time and resources into leveling up is also important.

Characters are ranked in this guide based on overall utility. While even the low ranked characters have certain areas where they excel, the higher a rank, the more places you’ll be able to really get the most out of these characters. If you are playing FtP, the S and A rank characters are the ones you should hold out for in your rerolls.

S Rank Characters in Genshin Impact

The best of the best, if you are lucky enough to roll one of these characters, hold onto them and invest your resources and time into them. These characters all perform remarkably well in nearly every area of the game.

Name & Rarity	Element	Weapon	About this character
5⭐ Venti	Ameno (Wind)	Bow	Easily one of the best characters in the game so far, with an Elemental burst capable of absorbing Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, and Electro power, and inflicting that damage on enemies, Venti is extremely versatile.
5⭐ Diluc	Pyro (Fire)	Claymore	Diluc is capable of breaking enemy shields and deflecting all but the largest of enemies’ attacks.
5⭐ Qiqi	Cryo (Frost)	Sword	QiQi is extremely easy to use individually and with other characters. Her Cryo abilities freeze enemies in place and she’s the best healer in the game.
4⭐ Fischl	Electro (Lightning)	Bow	With a Raven summon and the ability to deal ranged damage over a large area, Fischi can be a little tricky to handle but more than makes up for that with the amount of damage he inflicts.

A Rank Characters in Genshin Impact

While S rank characters are the ideal, A Rank characters will absolutely get the job done. These characters are versatile and will get you through most of the game with relative ease.

Name & Rarity	Element	Weapon	About this character
5⭐ Mona	Hydro (Water)	Catalyst	Mona’s high speed and ease in setting up Elemental Reactions make her an excellent addition to any party. She is also capable of dashing across the water, but be careful when using this – if she runs out of stamina in the water, she will still drown.
4⭐ Barbara	Hydro (Water)	Catalyst	While not quite the healer that QiQi is, if you don’t have QiQi, Barbara is a decent healer. She can also cover large areas with water, allowing easy set up for Elemental Reactions.
5⭐ Jean	Anemo (Wind)	Sword	Jean makes for a powerful main weapon and can gather enemies closer. Her Dandelion Breeze can both attack enemies and heal your party simultaneously. She also has an added 12% of doubling your cooking results.
5⭐ Keqing	Electro (Lighting)	Sword	Capable of dealing a lot of damage with Elemental Reactions, Keqing is easy to use and very solid for dungeon crawling. Despite being a sword user, she can do both melee and ranged attacks.
4⭐ Xiangling	Pyro (Fire)	Polearm	Xiangling is capable of summoning a fire breathing bear and her melee attacks are easy to pull off. She also gives a 12% chance of doubling cooking results when there is a red icon in the corner.

B Rank Characters in Genshin Impact

Although B rank characters aren’t worth getting excited over, they give solid performance across a number of areas in the game. Your first character, one of the Traveler twins falls in this rank. You can get through the game with a team of these characters, but you’ll have to work harder and switch out more often.

Name & Rarity	Element	Weapon	About this character
5⭐ Traveler (Anemo)	Anemo (Wind)	Sword	The main character of Genshin Impact, the twin you selected at the beginning of the game is capable of changing Elements throughout play. While not the best choice if you’ve done well in your gacha pulls, the Ameno Traveler is great for beginners. Their melee attacks are easy to pull off and they’re capable of inflicting Wind damage over a large area and with their normal attacks. Pays to be an outlander!
5⭐ Traveler (Geo)	Geo (Earth)	Sword	When changed to Earth, the Traveler retains its ease for melee use and gains the ability to raise a pillar from the ground. Using this ability in conjuntion with your ranged fighters, the Traveler can put an archer up out of range of enemy attacks. They’re also good for climbing puzzles.
4⭐ Razor	Electro (Lightning)	Claymore	While Razor is solid for close range, melee attacks, he doesn’t work well for players who switch often and he has very limited Elemental Reaction potential. However, he is great to have in your party because of his passive ability that cuts stamina lost while sprinting by 20%.
4⭐ Chongyun	Cryo (Frost)	Claymore	As a Claymore user, Chongyun is slow, but hits hard. He’s great for setting up Elemental Reactions, and can use rain or nearby water to freeze enemies. Because of his Elemental Skill, he can be used to quickly cross water without burning stamina by freezing the surface with his attacks.
4⭐ Xingqiu	Hydro (Water)	Sword	A great character for beginners, Xingqui is easy to use for close range attacks, but he has a very small range, requiring a lot of dashing to dodge attacks. His passive skill gives a chance of regaining materials while crafting, so he’s definitely worth keeping around if only for that.
4⭐ Bennett	Pyro (Fire)	Sword	Although Bennet has a unique passive skill that reduces Expedition time by 25%, his strengths revolve around his fire alignment. Diluc and Xiangling perform better in these areas, but if you don’t have either, Bennet is the next best Pyro character.

C Rank Characters in Genshin Impact

C Rank characters are, generally speaking, worth re-rolling. There are definitely areas where they shine, but they’re a lot more limited and there are much better characters in each of those areas. However, if you’re 100% FtP, characters like Lisa and Noelle are easy to get and will bolster your team.

Name & Rarity	Element	Weapon	About this character
4⭐ Kaeya	Cryo (Frost)	Sword	Kaeya is easy to use in close combat and though his Elemental Skill doesn’t do a ton of damage, it recharges fast, allowing you to continually freeze enemies. He also has a passive talent that reduces the stamina used sprinting by 20%.
4⭐ Noelle	Geo (Earth)	Claymore	Noelle is guaranteed in the first draw of the Beginners’ Wish pack. Her Elemental Skill puts up a shield to protect your party while also granting a chance at healing. She also provides a 12% chance of doubling the results while cooking defense boosting food.
4⭐ Ningguang	Geo (Earth)	Catalyst	Primarily defensive, Ningguang protects your party from ranged attacks. She can also inflict earth damage, setting up for the Crystalize Elemental Reaction. When farming for Ore, you’ll want Ningguang in your party because her passive skill reveals ore deposits on the map.
4⭐ Lisa	Electro (Lightning)	Catalyst	Lisa can deal significantly more damage than some of the other welfare characters because of her wide area attacks. If you didn’t get lucky in your gacha pulls, you’ll want to invest in building her up. Her Catalyst weapon also allows her to deal Elemental damage with normal attacks, and she has a chance of regaining materials from crafting and potions.
4⭐ Beidou	Electro (Lightning)	Catalyst	Beidou is slow, like most claymore wielders, but her charged attacks can cancel out enemy attacks. Her biggest strength is the ability to reduce damage while charging her Elemental Skill. She also reduces the stamina burned when swimming by 20%.
4⭐ Sucrose	Anemo (Wind)	Catalyst	As a Catalyst wielder, Sucrose can deal elemental damage with her normal attacks and most of her attacks hit across a wide range, letting her excel in Time Trials. She also has a chance of regaining materials when crafting.

D Rank Characters in Genshin Impact

There is currently only one D rank character and she’s a freebie. She is the first playable character you meet after selecting your twin, and is largely how Genshin Impact teaches you to play multiple characters.

Name & Rarity	Element	Weapon	About this character
4⭐ Amber	Pyro (Fire)	Bow	The very first party member you meet, Amber is definitely at the bottom of the pile. However, in the early game, she complements the Traveler quite well. She can target enemies from far and hit their weak spots, dealing extra damage and even stunning some enemies. She is also a welfare character and does fire elemental damage, so you can’t complain too much, especially if you’re FtP.

Coming Soon Characters in Genshin Impact

Like any gacha game, Genshin Impact will continually release new characters to keep things fresh. While some characters were revealed during the closed beta tests who have yet to be released, others have been teased on Twitter or in the official manga. The following are all the characters we expect to see soon, as well as what we know about them:

Keep in mind, what details we do know could change before release.

Questions about characters in Genshin Impact?

Do you have any questions about the playable characters in Genshin Impact? Did you luck out and pull an S rank on your first wish? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check back. As more characters are released, we’ll be here to break them down.