May 7, 2025: We added Escoffier and Ifa to our tier list.
Our Genshin Impact tier list ranks each character so you know who to roll for. There are also always rumors of new characters on the way, and we plan to update this guide with them as soon as they're available. So, as a result, we recommend that you bookmark this list and keep checking back to keep on top of the latest changes.
If you're looking for other Hoyoverse games to play, we thoroughly recommend checking out our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail codes guides. For those of you who are only interested in Genshin, browse our Genshin Impact codes list and Genshin Impact banner guide.
Genshin Impact tier list – update 5.6
- We added Genshin Impact's Escoffier to S-tier.
- While she helps amplify damage in certain teams, she's restricted to freeze comps, so she isn't usable across the board.
- We also added Genshin Impact's Ifa to A-tier.
- Ifa can provide healing and plenty of swirl reactions, and gets better with cons. If you're F2P or like his character, he's a solid anemo option. His movement ability is also excellent for getting around.
To help us decide our rankings, we take into account our own experience with each character and look at opinions from the community. However, tier lists are entirely subjective, so if you love a character in a lower tier, feel free to use them!
Here are the best Genshin Impact characters:
| Tier | Genshin Impact character |
| SS | Alhaitham, Arlecchino, Baizhu, Bennett, Furina, Iansan, Kazuha, Mavuika, Nahida, Navia, Neuvillette, Raiden Shogun, Xiangling, Xilonen, Yelan, Zhongli |
| S | Chasca, Childe, Citlali, Cyno, Emilie, Escoffier, Fischl, Gaming, Ganyu, Hu Tao, Kamisato Ayaka, Kamisato Ayato, Kinich, Kokomi, Kuki Shinobu, Lyney, Mualani, Nilou, Tighnari, Varesa, Venti, Wanderer, Wriothesley, Xianyun, Xiao, Xingqiu, Yae Miko |
| A | Albedo, Charlotte, Chevreuse, Chiori, Clorinde, Diluc, Diona, Eula, Faruzan, Gorou, Ifa, Itto, Jean, Keqing, Lan Yan, Ororon, Rosaria, Shenhe, Sucrose, Thoma, Traveler (dendro), Yaoyao, Yoimiya |
| B | Barbara, Beidou, Candace, Collei, Dehya, Freminet, Heizou, Kachina, Kaeya, Kaveh, Kirara, Klee, Kujou Sara, Layla, Lynette, Mika, Mizuki, Mona, Noelle, Sethos, Traveler (anemo, electro), Yanfei, Yun Jin |
| C | Chongyun, Dori, Lisa, Ningguang, Qiqi, Razor, Sayu, Sigewinne, Traveler (geo, pyro) |
| D | Aloy, Amber, Traveler (hydro), Xinyan |
Genshin Impact SS-tier characters
Alhaitham
If you like a dendro team comp, we recommend Genshin Impact's Alhaitham. He's a five-star, sword-wielding DPS character from Sumeru and has massive success in electro-based teams. Using him alongside characters like Kuki, Raiden, and Fischl pays massive dividends with quicken and aggravate reactions. You can safely use him in a hyperbloom comp as well, to really bump up the numbers. For a "feeble scholar", he really packs a punch.
Arlecchino
Hoyo's game isn't short of pyro DPS characters, but Genshin Impact's Arlecchino is the best of them all. The Fatui Harbinger is a five-star character who uses a polearm, and can deal some eye-wateringly high damage numbers. She excels with buffers like Bennett, Kazuha, and Xilonen. You can use her safely in mono-pyro or reaction-based teams.
Baizhu
To keep your DPS safe, you're gonna need a healer. We recommend Genshin Impact's Baizhu. He's a five-star dendro character who uses a catalyst and heals with his elemental skill and burst. Though he fits best in a support role, his dendro application is very appreciated in aggravate, bloom, and hyperbloom teams. Also, while in the overworld, picking up plants provides a little extra dose of healing for your active character, thanks to Baizhu's passive talent.
Bennett
Now for a four-star option – Genshin Impact's Bennett. Clumsy as he is adorable, Bennett is a great choice for a support character with some handy attack buffs. He wields a sword, and his element is pyro, but he works in almost any team that requires firing up. While in his circle, active characters gain an attack boost, and if he's at C6, he applies pyro infusion, as well.
Furina
Genshin Impact's Furina is a truly amazing five-star character, introduced in Fontaine. She's the hydro archon, who wields a sword and fits well into a support role thanks to her burst attack and heals. She can swap between pneuma and ousia-aligned skills – one of which deploys three hydro critters onto the field to deal constant damage, the other deploys a single creature that heals your entire team.
Iansan
Genshin Impact's Iansan offers a different option to Bennett – not that we don't like him, but there are two sides to the Spiral Abyss, which means we need two of him. Iansan fills that slot nicely with her attack buff. The more constellations of her you have, the better she is as she gains extra energy regeneration, stacks of her buff, and levels for her skills. We do recommend you use her with Natlan characters or the likes of Clorinde, who move around a lot, as some of her buffs don't apply as well to stationary DPS characters.
Kazuha
Genshin Impact's Kazuha is a five-star anemo character who has the best grouping abilities in the game. His elemental skill launches him into the air, then, using his plunge attack will group nearby enemies. His burst, on the other hand, creates a vortex that swirls the first element it comes into contact with, providing application for your main DPS to work with.
Mavuika
Finally, we have more off-field pyro application. Genshin Impact's Mavuika, the pryo archon hailing from Natlan, has both on and off-field capabilities with her kit. She summons a ring similar to Raiden Shogun's, which attacks with pyro at set intervals. On top of that, Mavuika's ultimate does a very big hit at first, which can easily take down smaller enemies and make a dent in bosses' health bars.
Nahida
This pint-sized dendro support unit is a five-star character who wields a catalyst. Genshin Impact's Nahida does a truly great job at buffing your team and dealing damage through dendro reactions. Using her with characters like Klee, Furina, and Raiden to drive reactions is really good fun, but you can use her in a cryo-reaction team with the likes of Wriothesley as well.
Navia
Fontaine also introduces us to Genshin Impact's Navia, a claymore-wielding geo character who is a fantastic DPS, overshadowing Itto at his own game. Her elemental skill is her main source of damage and is boosted through her Crystal Shrapnel Charges, and can do some seriously heavy damage in a single hit. She doesn't really rely on a specific build or team comp, so you can use her in plenty of different rosters.
Neuvillette
Genshin Impact's Neuvillette is a five-star, pneuma-aligned, hydro character from Fontaine. He's currently one of, if not the best, DPS unit in the game. Paired with the likes of Furina, Kazuha, and/or Xilonen will provide some of the highest damage output in the game, even at C0 and without his signature weapon. His elemental skill may need a little getting used to, but once you figure it out, he'll wash away the competition.
Raiden
One of Pocket Tactics' favorite characters is Genshin Impact's Raiden. She's a five-star electro character who wields a polearm and fits perfectly into a main or sub-DPS slot. She's also the electro archon and presides over Inazuma. Her elemental skill unleashes a coordinated attack at regular intervals from off-field, and her burst is a devastating lightning strike.
Xiangling
If you're looking for a proficient four-star character who just so happens to be free, Genshin Impact's Xiangling is a great pyro sub-DPS character. She's currently the best off-field pyro applicator in the game. Xiangling's burst is truly excellent, but it does require high energy. Building her properly with the right stats can pay dividends, and since heading to Natlan, she's excelling in burn and vape comps more than ever.
Xilonen
Genshin Impact's Xilonen is an excellent addition to hydro, pyro, electro, cryo, and geo teams – really, the only team she doesn't work in is an anemo team. Xilonen provides resistance shred for the elements listed above and can heal teammates in a comp with other elements than geo. Her kit can seem a little daunting, but she is absolutely worth a slot in your teams.
Yelan
Genshin Impact's Yelan is a five-star hydro bow-wielder who we recommend using in a sub-DPS role. Her talents help fill in the downtime between main DPS attacks and can pop off plenty of hydro-based reactions. She's an upgrade to Xingqiu, as a lot of her kit works off-field like his does, meaning you can get on with other things without worrying about applying the wet status to enemies.
Zhongli
Need a shield? Take Genshin Impact's Zhongli. He's a five-star geo character who uses a polearm and is the geo archon. Releasing very near the start of the game, he remains the best shielder in Genshin and can deal a good amount of damage with his giant meteor smash ultimate. Getting Zhongli's constellations improves his usability in terms of damage, can allow him to heal, and also provides shields to teammates in co-op.
That's it for our Genshin Impact tier list. We recommend that you check out our Genshin Impact reroll instructions to learn how to get your favorite character from day one. For something a little less Hoyoverse, head on over to our Pokédex and Pokémon Go code guides.