Best Genshin Impact Characters & Teams
Decision-focused rankings: who to pull, who to build first, and which teams clear content with the least investment.
Best DPS Characters in Genshin Impact 2026 — Main DPS Tier List
Ranked by damage ceiling first, then by how demanding each character is to play. A character that only performs at 100% with frame-perfect cancels is ranked below one that deals 90% of the damage with a third of the effort.
- Neuvillette — The strongest and most self-sufficient carry in the game. His charged attack beam scales purely on HP, heals himself, and ignores reaction uptime entirely.
- Mavuika — Highest burst damage ceiling among Pyro carries, with a bike-style stance that also works for overworld traversal.
- Arlecchino — Bond of Life scaling gives her enormous multipliers without the HP-tanking downside that Hu Tao has. Very strong in Vaporize and Overload.
- Hu Tao — Still the single-target Vaporize benchmark. At C1 with Double Hydro her damage per rotation is near the top of the game.
Best Support Characters in Genshin Impact 2026 — Support Tier List
Supports decide whether a team works. This ranking prioritizes universal value — the supports that fit the most teams and stay relevant across every Abyss cycle.
- Furina — Up to 75% team-wide damage bonus plus strong off-field Hydro. She is the single largest damage increase you can add to most teams.
- Kazuha — Two multiplicative amps in one slot: 40% Viridescent Venerer RES shred plus Elemental DMG Bonus that scales with his EM.
- Bennett — The best 4-star in the game. Huge ATK buff plus healing in one burst, and he batteries the team with Pyro particles.
- Nahida — The only off-field Dendro applicator that also shares 25% of her EM to the on-field character — she is the core of every Dendro archetype.
Best 4-Star Characters in Genshin Impact 2026 — Who to Build First
Some 4-stars outperform 5-stars at the same role. This list ranks the ones that stay relevant in late-game content, not just early progression.
- Bennett — Best ATK buffer and healer in one slot. Nothing else in the game compresses this much value into one character.
- Xingqiu — Highest off-field Hydro application, damage reduction, and interrupt resistance — the engine behind Vaporize and Hyperbloom.
- Xiangling — Best off-field Pyro damage in the game thanks to snapshotting. Available for free from the Abyss.
- Fischl — Best single-target Electro application via Oz, and a strong battery for any Electro team.
Best F2P Teams in Genshin Impact 2026 — Teams Without 5-Star Weapons
These teams clear Spiral Abyss with 4-star characters and craftable or event weapons. Each one is built around a reaction loop rather than raw stat investment.
- Hyperbloom (Nahida + Xingqiu + Kuki) — The most accessible endgame team in the game. Only the trigger needs investment (level 90 + full EM), and the reaction damage ignores CRIT entirely.
- Raiden National — Raiden + Xiangling + Xingqiu + Bennett. A perfect energy loop where everyone batteries everyone else, with all 4-star teammates.
- Nilou Bloom Budget — Nilou + Dendro MC + Barbara + Collei. Massive AoE damage with only one limited 5-star required.
- Freeze (Ayaka + Shenhe + Sucrose + Diona) — Freeze teams work with modest investment because CRIT Rate comes from Blizzard Strayer and Cryo resonance instead of artifacts.
Best Hyperbloom Team in Genshin Impact 2026 — Comps, Builds & Rotation
Hyperbloom converts Dendro Cores into homing Dendro projectiles that scale only with the Electro trigger's Elemental Mastery and level. That single rule is why the archetype is so cheap to build.
- Kuki Shinobu — best trigger — Her skill follows the active character, applying Electro off-field while healing, so she covers the trigger and sustain slots at once.
- Raiden Shogun — best 5-star trigger — Her skill triggers cores off-field with 100% uptime and no HP cost, and she can run a full EM build in Hyperbloom.
- Nahida — best Dendro applicator — Marks up to 8 enemies from off-field and shares 25% of her EM with the on-field character, which directly raises Hyperbloom damage.
- Xingqiu — best Hydro applier — Highest off-field Hydro application rate plus damage reduction, which generates Dendro Cores faster than Yelan in single-target.
Best Freeze Team in Genshin Impact 2026 — Comps, Rotation & Builds
Freeze teams are the most artifact-friendly archetype in the game: Blizzard Strayer plus Cryo resonance gives up to 55% free CRIT Rate, which means your Cryo carry needs almost no CRIT investment.
- Ayaka — best Freeze carry — Highest AoE burst damage in the game, and her sprint applies Cryo on demand to start Freeze immediately.
- Kokomi — best Hydro enabler — Her jellyfish applies Hydro off-field with near-permanent uptime while healing, which frees the fourth slot for a buffer.
- Shenhe — best Cryo amplifier — Icy Quills add flat damage based on her ATK, and Ayaka's burst ticks consume them extremely efficiently.
- Kazuha — best Anemo slot — 40% Viridescent Venerer RES shred plus Elemental DMG Bonus, and he groups enemies so the carry's burst hits everything.
Best Aggravate Team in Genshin Impact 2026 — Comps, Rotation & EM
Aggravate adds flat damage to Electro hits while Quicken is active. Unlike transformative reactions, Aggravate can crit and is amplified by CRIT, so it rewards full carry builds plus 200-300 EM.
- Yae Miko — best off-field Electro — Three Sesshou Sakura turrets apply Electro continuously off-field, so Aggravate keeps proccing while another character is on field.
- Fischl — best Electro battery — Oz provides the most reliable single-target Electro application in the game and generates energy for the whole team.
- Nahida — best Dendro enabler — Her mark applies Dendro from off-field to up to 8 enemies and keeps Quicken active permanently.
- Kazuha — best Anemo slot — VV shreds Electro RES and his Elemental DMG Bonus amplifies Aggravate damage further.
Best Genshin Impact Characters for Beginners 2026 — Who to Build First
Early resin is the scarcest resource in the game. This list prioritizes characters that stay relevant in Spiral Abyss, so nothing you invest in early becomes wasted later.
- Bennett — The best 4-star in the game. He buffs ATK, heals, and batteries — and he is still used in endgame teams years later.
- Xingqiu — Highest off-field Hydro application, plus damage reduction and interrupt resistance. He enables Vaporize, Hyperbloom, and Freeze.
- Xiangling — Free from Spiral Abyss, deals the best off-field Pyro damage in the game, and The Catch R5 is a free weapon that suits her perfectly.
- Kuki Shinobu — Turns any Dendro plus Hydro pair into a Hyperbloom team, and needs only level 90 plus EM artifacts to reach near-maximum damage.