Tech Talk

Diluc, Mona, Fischl, oh my!

So, you've been playing Genshin Impact for a little bit now. You've used some Wishes, gotten some characters, and maybe found a few you like. But now you're wondering, which ones are actually the best? Should I really be using Xiangling, or should I be putting Wishes into pulling Klee? Is Venti really as good as everyone says?

It can be difficult to navigate team building and leveling up in Genshin Impact, especially given that whoever you get past your initial team of characters is mostly random. But don't worry. Here's a simple guide to who are currently the best characters available in Genshin Impact for each element:

Tackling Teyvat together

Genshin Impact

Free on Google Play Free on PS4

A Ghibli-esque open-world adventure

Genshin Impact puts you in the shoes of the Traveler, a world-hopping protagonist stranded in the world of Teyvat, which is stuffed with elemental magic and mystical beings. As you search for your lost sibling, you'll meet new companions with diverse elemental powers and skills, seven deities, and a strange sprite named Paimon who will help you hone your abilities, conquer dungeons, and save Teyvat and your family.

Jump to:

• Who are the best characters?
• Pyro
• Hydro
• Electro
• Anemo
• Geo
• Cryo
• Characters for exploration
• Building a team

Who are the best characters in Genshin Impact?

Pyro

Currently, there are two main stand-out Pyro users in Genshin Impact: Diluc, and Klee. Both are heavy damage dealers.

Diluc uses a Claymore, meaning he's an up-close fighter with some heaviness to him. Both his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst deal fire damage to those directly in front of Diluc, and his Elemental Burst additionally knocks them back. Between these abilities and his blade staying on fire for extra time after using his Elemental Burst, it's easy to keep things on fire, constantly with Diluc, all while dealing heavy damage. Diluc is currently one of the best damage dealers in the game and you should add him to your party immediately if you get him.

Klee is another strong Pyro user, and one you may have if you stuck it out through the recent Wish event. Klee isn't quite as strong as Diluc and focuses on ranged attacks where she throws explosive bombs or leaves explosives around the arena. That said, her damage is also quite strong, and if you don't have access to Diluc, she can be quite formidable.

Finally, if neither of these characters are available to you, Xiangling is a bit more common of a pull from Wishes and is also decently strong. Xiangling uses a polearm and her companion, Gouba, will ignite enemies around her. Gouba has a short cooldown and will remain on the field even if you swap Xiangling out, so this can be very useful for setting up Pyro reactions with other elements — especially if you have Fischl as well.

Hydro

Hydro is primarily a support element, so while its users aren't the highest damage dealers, their other abilities can be vital for a party's survival. At the moment, there's one Hydro user who's a cut above the rest: Mona.

Mona deals solid damage with her Reflection of Doom skill and can immobilize enemies temporarily with her Elemental Burst, Stellaris Phantasm, while also making them more vulnerable to damage for a period of time after. She can also run across water and move quickly over land using her skills, making her great for exploration as well.

Though not as strong as Mona, Barbara is also a decent choice for a Hydro user as she's a pure healer. By using Let the Show Begin, Barbara will heal your entire party as she attacks for a period of time, and Shining Miracle is a massive heal to all allies all at once. However, Barbara does extremely weak damage and her attacks give her the Wet status, making her more vulnerable to things like Cryo (something to keep in mind if you use her).

Electro

There are a number of strong Electro users available to you in Genshin Impact, and fortunately, two of them aren't even five-stars!

At the top tier are Fischl and Keqing. Fischl is a bow-user, making her extremely handy for ranged attacking, and she can summon her bird friend, Oz, to deal Electro damage alongside her. Oz remains on the field while she's swapped out, making her a very convenient character to use to trigger elemental reactions.

Keqing fights with a sword and has some excellent mobility with her Stellar Restoration ability, giving her a free teleport — even up cliffs or across the field. Keqing's main drawback is that she's a five-star, so by the time you get your hands on her you're already likely to have Fischl or Razor instead, and it may not be worth pouring resources into her.

If you can't get Fischl or Keqing, Razor is also a strong option. He uses a claymore, and his skillset with Claw and Thunder can be a bit tricky to use but devastating if pulled off correctly. His Elemental Burst, Lightning Fang, is great at fighting massive bosses. His main drawback is that it's hard to trigger elemental reactions with other characters when using him, but he's still quite strong in his own right.

Anemo

Everyone wants to pull Venti, the best Anemo user, but no one seems to be able to! And everyone similarly wants Jean or Xiao, who are also very good, but they're also rare as all get out. Because of the obnoxious scarcity of the strong Anemo users, you're probably going to want to wait and see which one you pull first, then build a team around them.

Venti, the bow user, is magnificent. He has incredible range, the ability to create his own updrafts, and the ability to stun a large number of enemies at once. With his range, his damage dealing, his combat abilities, and his utility in the open world, Venti is easily one of the best characters in the game alongside Diluc. If you're lucky enough to pull Venti, immediately work to build a party around him.

That's not to say Jean and Xiao are not also good choices. Jean has some healing abilities with her Elemental Burst, Dandelion Breeze, and can also launch enemies away from you to help with crowd control. Xiao is also not quite as strong but still good, with some strong movement abilities and damage, but he really needs to work alongside a healer so his Elemental Burst, Bane of All Evil, doesn't drain him too much.

Geo

Unfortunately, there are no truly stand-out Geo users available in Genshin Impact as it stands now. All the strongest Geo users are average-at-best, and while they're important for exploration, there's just really not a situation where you're going to want to bring one along to the game's highest tiers of content. Keep Noelle, Ningguang, or the Traveler with their Geo ability on hand for exploring the world, but don't fuss over trying to max one out to fight with.

Cryo

For Cryo, there's no one better than the healer Qiqi, who is the strongest healer in the game currently with her Elemental Skill working similar to Barbara's and healing allies and yourself as Qiqi attacks, and her Elemental Burst regenerating HP for the party with each pulse. If you are building a party around a healer and have been using Barbara, Qiqi is certainly the better choice to go for.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many other strong Cryo users aside from Qiqi. Chongyun is an okay damage-dealer but is out-classed by just about everyone else listed here.

What if I just want to explore the world?

The good news is, if you haven't gotten any of the best characters in Genshin Impact, you're still fine to experience most of the game's content. Having a strong party is important for doing high-level domains, but most of what you need to do for the majority of the game is able to be accomplished with your basic party given to you by the game, and leveling up your weapons.

For exploring the world, you're just fine with the Traveler (either in Anemo or Geo form depending on what area you're looking in), a bow user for long-range challengers, a claymore user (such as Noelle) to break rocks, and a Pyro user to burn down obstacles. If you're using Amber (who is, incidentally, the worst character in the game), fill your fourth slot with a strong damage dealer or swap out different members depending on what puzzles you're solving.

What should I consider when building a party?

When you're building a party for high-level challenges, there are a number of factors to consider, not just who the best characters are. You generally want to build a party around your strongest member — so if you have Qiqi, for instance, you probably don't also need Barbara as a second healer.

Generally, it's good to have a variety of both elements and weapon types. Having at least one bow user and at least one character good at up-close combat (either a sword, polearm, or claymore) is a good idea. It's also important to consider how the elements in your party interact with one another. For instance, Cryo and Hydro are a good pairing so you can easily freeze enemies, and Pyro and Electro can do devastating damage from Overload.

However, you do get boosts from having multiple characters of the same element in your party, so it's not necessarily disadvantageous to, for example, put both Venti and Jean in at the same time. That said, while you'll probably have a main party of four you use for most situations, it can be good to work on other characters too so you have options. If, for example, you're trying to do a Hydro-focused domain and your party hinges on Mona or Barbara, you might want to reconsider bringing them.

Any questions about Genshin Impact?

Want to know more about how to get the most out of Genshin Impact's character rosters? Let us know in the comments and Paimon (or us) will help guide you forward! If you're just starting out and are struggling without any of the best characters in Genshin Impact to help, check out our guide to everything you need to know about the game first. And if gacha pulls have you exhausted already, there are a number of other great Android games that you can try instead.

Tackling Teyvat together

Genshin Impact

Free on Google Play Free on PS4

A Ghibli-esque open-world adventure

Genshin Impact puts you in the shoes of the Traveler, a world-hopping protagonist stranded in the world of Teyvat, which is stuffed with elemental magic and mystical beings. As you search for your lost sibling, you'll meet new companions with diverse elemental powers and skills, seven deities, and a strange sprite named Paimon who will help you hone your abilities, conquer dungeons, and save Teyvat and your family.