What are the best characters in Genshin Impact - Android
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 and when you finish, be sure to check out our best Android games for even more mobile fun.
Genshin Impact Tier List
- How many playable characters are there?
- S Rank Characters
- A Rank Characters
- B Rank Characters
- C Rank Characters
- D Rank Characters
- Coming soon
How many playable characters are there?
There are over 30 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, both permanent and temporary, 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, Venti has 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 | The best DPS in the game, Diluc is capable of breaking enemy shields and deflecting all but the largest of enemies' attacks. He has the highest attack and critical attack stats too. |
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. Unlike most healer class characters, Qiqi has high attack stats and heals directly in correlation with her attacks. |
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, as well as simply becoming water when she dashes. Add this to her taunting elemental skill, and Mona can be quite hard to hit. |
5⭐  Xiao | Ameno (Wind) | Polearm | Xiao stands out as the only main DPS Anemo character and he does a pretty great job in the role. His elemental burst sacrifices his own HP to do extensive damage, so pairing him with a healer is your best bet, but you can also use him in short bursts or by very carefully dodging to get the most out of his limited window. |
5⭐  Klee | Pyro (Fire) | Catalyst | An expert in incendiaries, Klee has a massive base attack, as well as great AoE potential. Just be careful with those bombs or you will find yourself surrounded by flames. |
5⭐  Zhongli | Geo (Earth) | Polearm | Capable of filling both sub DPS and support roles, Zhongli got a massive upgrade with the 1.3 update. He can deal a lot of damage, while also providing shields and buffs to other party members and even petrifying enemies. |
5⭐  Tartaglia | Hydro (Water) | Bow | Childe of the Eleven Harbingers, Tartaglia has the unique ability to switch between his bow and hydro daggers. As far as Hydro characters go, he is the best main DPS and his melee stance in particular pairs great with Cryo abilities. |
5⭐  Ganyu | Cryo (Frost) | Bow | With extremely high base attack power and powerful AoE abilities, Ganyu can constantly freeze enemies and deal loads of damage. She makes for a great main DPS. |
5⭐  Hu Tao | Pyro (Fire) | Polearm | Capable of sacrificing her own HP to do massive damage and healing herself, HuTao can be extremely useful on the battlefield with the right build and good timing. She's not the easiest character to use, but definitely worth the resources and time to master. |
4⭐  Bennett | Pyro (Fire) | Sword | Although Bennet has a unique passive skill that reduces Expedition time by 25% and he can heal based on his own HP. However, his attack stat is abysmal. As a support character, he's incredibly useful, but don't try to make him serve DPS. |
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⭐  Jean | Anemo (Wind) | Sword | Jack of all trades, Jean doesn't particularly excel in any one role, but can often make up for an empty slot in your team. She can heal, as well as perform solid crowd control. She also has an added 12% of doubling some of your cooking results. |
5⭐  Keqing | Electro (Lighting) | Sword | Capable of dealing a lot of damage with Elemental Reactions, Keqing is easy to use and has high stats all around. Despite being a sword user, she can do both melee and ranged attacks, and she can even teleport across the battlefield with her elemental skill. |
4⭐  Xiangling | Pyro (Fire) | Polearm | Xiangling is capable of summoning a fire breathing bear who auto targets enemies. She has an elemental burst that surrounds her with a swirling Pyronado and her melee attacks are easy to pull off. She also gives a 12% chance of doubling cooking results for attack boosting dishes. |
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 she inflicts. |
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. He can heal the current character, although is definitely outclassed by other healers. However, his passive skill gives a chance of regaining materials while crafting, so he's definitely worth keeping around if only for that. |
5⭐  Albedo | Geo (Earth) | Sword | A sub DPS character, Albedo is useful for setting up elemental reactions, as well as doing large AoE Geo damage with a very short cool down. His Solar Isotomas can also give other party members a boost. Literally. |
4⭐  Diona | Cryo (Frost) | Bow | An actual cat girl, Diona can be useful for support, but doesn't excel in any area in particular. She can heal, create shields, and freeze many enemies at once, but there are definitely better characters for each of those roles. |
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. Where Ningguang is really useful, however, is farming for Ore thanks to her passive skill which reveals ore deposits on the map. |
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⭐  Sucrose | Anemo (Wind) | Catalyst | Basically a budget Venti, Sucrose can be great for those who haven't been blessed with the Tone Deaf Bard. 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. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
4⭐  Barbara | Hydro (Water) | Catalyst | With an abysmal attack stat, Barbara is a much more traditional healer, which makes her good as a support character, but not much else. She can also cover large areas with water, allowing easy set up for Elemental Reactions, but this will work against you against any Cryo enemies. |
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. His elemental burst is pretty great and has a very short cool down, allowing him to constantly freeze enemies. |
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 can also be used to cross large bodies of water without burning stamina and his passive talent reduces the stamina used sprinting by 20%. |
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⭐  Xinyan | Pyro (Fire) | Claymore | Although Xinyin has the highest base attack of four star characters, there are better Pyro characters, better Claymore users, and, of course, Diluc. Still, if you didn't luck out pulling Diluc, she can fill the role. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
5⭐  Traveler (Anemo) | Anemo (Wind) | Sword | The main character of Genshin Impact, whichever 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. Their constellation material is also relatively easy to gain without needing gacha luck.. 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 conjunction 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⭐  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 and grants a chance at healing. She also provides a 12% chance of doubling the results while cooking defense boosting food. |
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. |
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 can also be useful for lighting torches. Regardless, Amber is a welfare character, 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:
Rosaria
