Does happiness even exist anymore? In Genshin Impact, it supposedly does, but not in the way many players think. Sadly, happiness isn't found in contentment with the current roster of 4-star characters available. Otherwise, millions of Genshin Impact players wouldn't have gambled away billions of dollars just to get the coveted 5-star characters.
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Needless to say, happiness in Genshin Impact lies in being lucky enough to have a 5-star character, because they are the best when it comes to the game. It just so happens that their number keeps increasing with every update. Taking them all into account, which of them is the best?
Updated on July 24th, 2023, by Nahda Nabiilah:Getting 5-star characters in Genshin Impact is likely one of the most notable highlights when playing this gacha game. However, it's always important to remember that the current most powerful unit may be overshadowed by a shinier toy in the future. This is why players should make clear planning for their spending, especially those who don't spend a hefty sum from their wallets. Fortunately, so far, there's no major power-creep happening in the game, which means people don't have to feel like they lost their powerful unit. Nevertheless, there is a clear shift in the meta where it changes the ranking of 5-star characters in the game.
34 Aloy
- Element: Cryo
- Weapon: Bow
Horizon fans who were excited for Aloy sadly have to settle with an underwhelming character with many flaws. Although adored in her original universe, in Teyvat, her ability is impractical and rather weak. Additionally, she has no Constellation to make up for her shortcomings.
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Of course, players can make her a decent unit with plenty of effort, but if people were to put the required amount of time and investment into characters who are generally great, they could have gotten a far better unit than an "acceptable" Aloy.
33 The Traveler
- Element: Adaptive
- Weapon: Sword
The Traveler is infamous for being mediocre to bad, and in several of their Elemental ability, this is true. On anemo, they're simply impractical to use, for geo, they can be disruptive despite having decent damage potential, and with electro, they're overshadowed insanely by Raiden Shogun.
Fortunately, dendro Traveler is somewhat decent and can be a reliable off-field dendro damage dealer. If players rank Traveler solely on this, the protagonist likely would have placed a higher number, but when the entirety of their kit is considered, then the MC is still one of the most underwhelming units in Genshin Impact.
32 Qiqi
- Element: Cryo
- Weapon: Sword
As a healer, Qiqi is one of the worst in the game. This is ironic since she's a 5-star character and was actually one of the best until the game started introducing more practical healing characters. As a result, Qiqi is now considered one of the worst 5-star characters in the game.
When it comes to dealing and applying cryo damage, Qiqi is also mediocre. Her skill and burst both have long cooldowns, making them impractical and clunky. Moreover, Qiqi has no Energy generation, so she's generally unreliable. She badly needs a buff.
31 Keqing
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Sword
Electro becomes more viable with the release of dendro elemental reaction in Genshin Impact, but it's not enough to push Keqing into the top ranking of the best 5-star characters in the game.
What makes her a fun character, though, is her ability to teleport around the battlefield and zip past opponents with ease. Keqing can use this ability to travel as well.
30 Dehya
Dehya was hyped for her badass design and attitude, but sadly, HoYoverse somewhat disappoints by making her a character with endless flaws. The Eremite is supposed to be a tanking unit, but her tanking ability is limited, and she also can't grant reliable resistance to interruption.
When it comes to DPS, Dehya's pyro field has okay-ish damage, while her burst is so bad that people shouldn't be using it to deal damage. It would've been bearable if it at least trigger abilities like Xingqiu's Raincutter, but for some reason, it doesn't.
29 Jean
- Element: Anemo
- Weapon: Sword
Jean's skillset reflects her personality well. She's a workaholic and tries to do everything herself. As such, Jean also loves to fill in many roles in the party. Her element is anemo (or wind), making her an awesome DPS companion since Swirl is one of the most powerful elemental reactions.
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On top of that, Jean can also heal decently, though not as well as the more dedicated healers in the party. She's perfect for anyone looking to save a character slot in their current party since Jean can count as both a DPS support and healer.
28 Diluc
- Element: Pyro
- Weapon: Claymore
Right now, it seems that Genshin Impact's developers are intent on continuously dethroning Diluc for the standard benchmark DPS. He's seen better days, but he's still easily one of the most effortless damage dealers in the game.
Give him support, and he'll suddenly become a speedrunner's dream main character. Diluc can clear battlefields with one button and do it again a few seconds later since his skills have a low cooldown. He's perfect in every way. The worst thing about Diluc is how hard it is to get him.
27 Klee
- Element: Pyro
- Weapon: Catalyst
Klee is a great pyro DPS, but she's far from easy to play. There are many advanced techniques players have to master to use Klee effectively, yet all this effort won't put her ahead of better and easier DPS like Hu Tao and Raiden Shogun. Because of this, she has to settle on the lower-side of the ranking. Additionally, thanks to her pyro element, she can be helpless when facing pyro Abyss Mages or pyro slimes.
26 Mona
- Element: Hydro
- Weapon: Catalyst
Genshin Impact's popular tier listing put Mona in the sub-DPS class or role, making her quite a sight on the battlefield, both for her aesthetics and her skillset. She can easily cover the battlefield in hydro damage and status effects.
Hydro happens to be one of the best elements in the game. It's also the most versatile, as players can use it for crowd control with cryo and DPS with pyro or electro. Unlike other DPS characters, Mona isn't selfish, and can also be a supplementary damage dealer in addition to being the main one.
25 Yoimiya
- Element: Pyro
- Weapon: Bow
Plenty of players who were anticipating Yoimiya's arrival had high expectations since she came after Ayaka, which is an awesome DPS carry. Also, some in the community expected Yoimiya to be a pyro version of Ganyu, Genshin Impact's current apex predator.
While she didn't meet some of those expectations, Yoimiya is still a good pyro DPS if players can get over her weaknesses. For instance, since she deals the most damage from her last-hit sequence, she shouldn't be interrupted when shooting her arrows. Additionally, for some reason, she often misses her shots, which can be frustrating.
24 Tighnari
- Element: Dendro
- Weapon: Bow
Tighnari may be a Standard Banner character, but he's actually a pretty good DPS. He has a smooth rotation and can perform brilliantly as a quickswap DPS. However, he can't perform outside Quicken team as most of his damage comes from Spread reaction. In Bloom team, his dendro application isn't sufficient, while in other reactions, he's simply not viable.
23 Yae Miko
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Catalyst
Yae Miko's playstyle is similar to that of other catalyst users, but she requires more field time due to her abilities. Despite being several hundred years old, her powers are still not quite up to par with her best friend, Raiden Ei or Shogun.
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Thus, Yae Miko mostly fills in for niche roles and teams where she doesn't really excel in a specific area of the current meta. It can be challenging to weave her abilities into some of the most effective chains and combos in Genshin Impact, whereas other characters usually just press buttons, and enemies die faster and easier.
22 Tartaglia
- Element: Hydro
- Weapon: Bow
Childe is an excellent DPS in Genshin Impact, especially in AoE cases, but only when his Melee Stance is available. If not, he simply has to sit down and let another character take over until his skill becomes available again.
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Tartaglia has a fun battle system where players have to switch between his Melee and Ranged stance to get the most out of him, but his ridiculously long cooldown can throw people off from using him as a main DPS.
21 Ayato
- Element: Hydro
- Weapon: Sword
Ayato is one of the more notable additions to the Hydro family in Genshin Impact since he's a main DPS or hypercarry. Having that element and that role opens up Ayato for a lot of opportunities, making him great as a jack-of-all-trades damage dealer. At the same time, he can also provide a bit of sub-DPS or utility.
Players can go permafreeze, taser, or even vape with Ayato, making him one of the most versatile DPS characters in Genshin Impact. In fact, he even gives Childe a run for his money because he doesn't have any cooldown issues and his playstyle is a lot simpler and more accessible.
20 Baizhu
- Element: Dendro
- Weapon: Catalyst
Baizhu has been anticipated by so many players since his appearance in Liyue, but sadly, his release wasn't widely welcomed by the community. The shady doctor is an excellent healer, a good dendro enabler, and an acceptable shielder, but all these aren't exactly worth the Primogems required to get him. For instance, the 4-star Yaoyao is a great healer and dendro enabler even though she can't shield, while the best shielder in Genshin Impact remains the geo Archon, Zhongli. One thing Baizhu has the others don't is the damage bonus he provides for dendro reactions, scaling with his HP.
19 Wanderer
- Element: Anemo
- Weapon: Catalyst
Wanderer is an excellent DPS if there are enough enemies for him to destroy with his AoE attacks, but considering there are many boss-floor in the Spiral Abyss, he can't properly shine. However, despite not being the best damage dealer, getting Wanderer for exploration would probably be one of the best decisions players ever make. His skill allows people to travel through the open-world with ease, both vertically and horizontally.
18 Albedo
- Element: Geo
- Weapon: Sword
When it comes to selfless characters, Albedo is another sub-DPS character who's actually better than the Traveler at utilizing the geo element. All is forgiven for using a geo-focused Albedo since his skill gives noticeable damage that will down the enemies faster.
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His skill can drastically increase the DPS and defensive capabilities of characters along with the low cooldown. In addition to having more exciting skills than the Traveler, Albedo's burst also boost Elemental Mastery, perfect for characters like Hu Tao.
17 Yelan
- Element: Hydro
- Weapon: Bow
For a long time, Xingqiu's role as the best sub-DPS in Genshin Impact has been undisputed. Yelan's arrival shook things up for good ol' waterboy. Now, players don't have to just settle for one vape or permafreeze team in the Spiral Abyss. They can have both thanks to Yelan's exceptional Hydro support. Unfortunately, despite the undisputable power Yelan has, players may come across Energy issues while playing her, and they won't have the comfort of Xingqiu's protection.
16 Itto
- Element: Geo
- Weapon: Claymore
Arataki Itto is similar to Xiao or Eula. All three hypercarries bring their own brand of meta to Genshin Impact — one that doesn't rely on elemental reactions to procure high damage numbers. To that end, Itto is a strong self-sustaining character that many players will surely appreciate.
He's great in almost any team composition because of his innate damage. The best part about Itto's element is that it's easy for him to obtain Geo resonance, further increasing his defensive and offensive capabilities, all in one package. Plus, he smacks enemies with a giant corndog; what's not to like about that?
15 Cyno
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Polearm
Cyno is a selfish DPS that demands players build the party all around him since he doesn't function well without a dedicated team. He can dish out great damage when his ultimate is active, but he can't be switched out once he enters this state. Additionally, he also needs a proper Battery to recharge his Energy, otherwise, he'll be helpless and players will get stuck having to rely on his physical attacks to deal damage.
Fortunately, all the effort and investments put in trying to make Cyno work will be rewarded by the General Mahamatra as he can be one of the best DPS in the correct circ*mstances.
