Genshin Impact v2.3 tier list: All characters ranked from best to worst

Since its release a year ago, Genshin Impact has established itself as one of the most popular game's on the planet, with players and critics praising it for its setting, music, and its extensive roster, which allows players to enjoy and adapt their play style according to their quests and preferences.

With 42 playable characters available, and two more coming in the 2.3 update with the arrival of Arataki Itto and Gorou, it can be difficult to know which are your best options before you embark on your journey to defeat Teyvat's biggest threats.

That is where this guide comes in, with tier lists of each of the best characters according to their primary weapon. Although some of them may be difficult to obtain due to their rarity, their effectiveness and utility in combat make them essential pieces for any team.

Genshin Impact character tier list - How it works

These tier lists will be divided into four levels:

• SS-Tier: The best characters in the game, taking into account the current metagame.
• S-Tier: Characters that are strong and should excel in most situations.
• A-Tier: Good characters who can balance out your team.
• B-Tier: Not-so-bad characters, but they should be replaced by better ones as soon as you get the chance to do so.
• C-Tier: Only for emergency use, or if you don't have a character to fill in a specific role.

This goes without saying, but it's worth pointing out nonetheless, tier lists are not an exact science, especially in a game where most of your party preferences will depend on your luck or even your favourites, however, these lists will give you a better understanding of how to compose the best team in Genshin Impact.

So, without further ado, let's get started.

Bow characters

Thanks to his elemental burst, Venti can create a lot of CC while his high energy recharge rate allows him to spam his abilities faster. As for Ganyu, she can do lots of skill combos that can deal large amounts of damages to mobs.

Tartaglia has one of the highest DPS thanks to his arsenal, also having melee damage using his Hydro daggers. Yoimiya has good DPS, thanks to her attacks based on fireworks as well as her Pyro AoE skills.

Diona can provide lots of shields and heals, while her Cryo abilities can easily freeze several enemies at once. Fischl can deal tons of Electro DMG thanks to her crow Oz, being useful for many elemental reactions, however, she is overshadowed by Sara's power.

Aloy is a good DPS dealer, as she can strike hard when combined with her Predator bow, sadly, her potential is restricted as she is only available to PlayStation players. Kujou Sara has a lot of potential as a support and sub-DPS unit, thanks to the strength of her Electro skills that can boost your team and create impressive Elemental reactions.

Lastly, Amber is useful for puzzles and can be good for an emergency whenever you need to blow something up with Pyro attacks, however, if you already have Yoimiya, then forget about her.

Catalyst characters

Mona is one of the best supports as she can immobilise several enemies at once, allowing for Cryo reactions, and her taunting phantom can protect your other units.

Thanks to her bombs and her high base attack stats, Klee can become as strong as a supernova in battle, although her restricted range can prove tricky.

Sucrose can launch enemies into the air with her Anemo skills, and her Burst allows her to make some good elemental reactions in a gigantic vortex.

Ningguang’s unique shield can help you shape the combat as it blocks projectiles and grants buffs, and her attacks can inflict high DPS. Yanfei has a lot of strong charged attacks thanks to her Scarlet Seals passive, that increase her damage potential. Meanwhile, Sangonomiya Kokomi is the new healer of choice, as all of her abilities are purely based on making your team survive, vital against the toughest of opponents.

Barbara is another great healer, fantastic for emergencies, although she has the lowest base attack in the game. Lisa’s Electro skills are good due to her high base ATK, but these are just of little use compared to other Electro characters.

Claymore characters

Diluc is one of the best DPS characters in the game, with the highest base attack power and devastating Pyro abilities. Eula is also another great alternative, as she can deal massive amounts of physical damage thanks to her stacks, Cryo capabilities, and fast strikes.

Razor is among the best close combat characters thanks to skills that increase his melee damage, however, his lack of utility with elemental reactions can be quite hard to deal with. Noelle is a little weak compared to others, however, her defensive stats and abilities make her one of the tankiest characters in the game. Sayu can deal damage and also heal party members, and her elemental skill deals impressive amounts of damage as she spins across the battlefield.

Chongyun’s Cryo abilities allow him to do lots of elemental reactions, that can immobilize and overcome any enemy if paired with a good Hydro character.

Beidou is a character with explosive power that can deal with any challenge you are faced with, however, much depends on how much you upgrade her powers as she starts relatively weak.

As for Xinyan, she has the best base attack of all 4-star characters, a good option in case you don’t have Diluc or a reliable Pyro character on hand.

Polearm characters

Hu Tao’s attacks can deal large amounts of Pyro DMG thanks to her elemental skill, and combined with her burst, she can become an OP high-damage dealer. The Raiden Shogun shocked her way into the top tier, thanks to her majestic Electro abilities, which combined with her passive Energy regen, she is one of the best elements to carry around your team.

Zhongli’s Geo abilities make him one of the most wanted characters around the game, with big damage output and a lot of resilience in combat. Xiao is a character based on DPS, capable of hitting multiple enemies at the same time. Mastering his burst can prove absolutely devastating to enemies.

Xiangling is a good alternative Pyro character thanks to her area skills and rapid attacks, and Thoma is also a great pick due to his powerful shields that give you a brief Pyro affinity, and more resilience during the battle.

Rosaria’s arsenal makes her a very useful character for her Cryo AoE reactions, but compared to other Cryo characters, her utility is very limited.

Sword characters

Although Bennett doesn’t have impressive attack stats, his damage bonuses and healing as well as his good Elemental control makes him one of the best utility characters in the game. Moving onto Xingqiu, his Elemental skills can provide DMG reduction as some great elemental reactions, making him a fantastic sub-DPS unit.

Kaedehara Kazuha has potential as both a DPS and support boasting Anemo abilities that can strike your enemies and create incredible elemental reactions.

Kamisato Ayaka is also a great damage dealer, while her Cryo affinity can generate plenty of damage dealing reactions to help eliminate enemies.

Keqing has some of the best combinations in stats that, along with her Electro power, makes her an amazing melee fighter, while Albedo possesses skills that make him more viable to deal with hordes of enemies.

Jean’s versatility as support and sub-DPS is fantastic for your team, with CC abilities and HP regen, Qiqi has good attack stats as well as healing abilities that affect your whole team, and Kaeya is one of those characters that after the start of the main story, falls against another sword-user, however, his Cryo skills can be quite useful sometimes.

Finally, the Traveler’s attacks can deal decent damage in his Electro variant, along with useful elemental reactions. His Anemo variant can also be useful for some quick fights or when Pyro and Electro effects are in play, and finally, we don’t recommend his Geo variant, as there are lots of Geo characters more useful.

And with this, our Genshin Impact characters tier list has come to an end.

That said, you should look forward to everything that will arrive in Genshin’s 2.3 update, as your journey around Inazuma is still far from over.

• Read more: Genshin Impact 2.3: Release date, Gorou and Itto debut, featured events, weapons, artifacts, and more

In the meantime, don't forget to check our dedicated Genshin Impact section, where you can find all the news, guides, and previews you desire, as well as our Genshin Impact Twitter account.

Featured image courtesy of miHoYo.