[Top 15] Genshin Impact Best 4 Star Characters 5.1 (Ranked)

Updated:

04 Nov 2024

Which Are The Best 4 Star Characters in Genshin Impact?

In Genshin Impact, it’s no secret that the 5 star characters get a lot of attention. Most 5 stars are limited with their own dedicated Event Wish banners, they have flashier Burst animations, and more often than not the Spiral Abyss caters to their strengths while their banners are active.

But that doesn’t mean that the 4 star character should be overlooked. There are plenty of 4 stars that perform their roles exceptionally well, sometimes even better than 5 stars with the same niche! And as a bonus, 4 star characters can be pulled on any active Wish, so you can passively get Constellations for them over time.

Here are the best 4 star characters in Genshin Impact as of version 5.1!

15. Sethos (On-Field DPS)
14. Beidou (Off-Field DPS)
13. Thoma (Support)
12. Faruzan (Support)
11. Gorou (Support)
10. Kirara (Support)
9. Yaoyao (Support)
8. Gaming (On-field DPS)
7. Chevreuse (Support)
6. Kuki Shinobu (Support)
5. Sucrose (Support)
4. Fischl (Off-field DPS)
3. Xiangling (Off-field DPS)
2. Bennett (Support)
1. Xingqiu (Off-field DPS)

15. Sethos (On-Field DPS)

What secrets is Sethos keeping?

Sethos is a recent 4 star to arrive in Genshin, debuting alongside the 5 star character Clorinde in the first half of 4.7. An Electro bow, he should primarily be played as an on-field Aggravate or Hyperbloom DPS.

What really sets Sethos apart from other Electro DPS characters is his unique kit - he has 2 distinct play styles to choose from. He can sacrifice some of his Elemental Energy to greatly increase how fast he charges his charged shots, or he can use his Burst once his Energy is full to infuse his normal attacks with Electro. Do note that his enhanced normal attacks during his Burst are considered charged attacks. Effects that buff normal attacks won’t impact them, but they’ll still be improvedby effects that buff charged attacks like the Wanderer’s Troupe artifact set.

So, why should you build Sethos? These are his key strengths:

Great Flexibility: Because Sethos has 2 different ways you can play him, he is an extremely flexible character. Depending on the enemy that you’re facing, you can choose to use the play style that works best for the specific situation.
Not Constellation Dependent: Because 4 star characters can be pulled from any banner, they tend to be much more dependent on higher Constellations to unlock their full potential than 5 star characters. That isn’t really the case with Sethos, however. His Constellations do provide a bit more damage, however he still feels like a complete character at C0.

If you decide to give Sethos a try, here are some of his best teammates:

Off-field Dendro characters are extremely important in Sethos’ teams. Nahida is the best option, however the Dendro Traveler, Kirara, or Baizhu can also be slotted in.
Off-field Electo characters like Fischl or Kuki Shinobu are good to pair up with Sethos to provide him with more Energy. Because both of his play styles are Energy dependent, having another Electro teammate can allow you to build less Energy Recharge on him and invest into more Crit or Elemental Mastery.
If you want to run him in a Hyperbloom team, his best teammate for off-field Hydro application is Furina. Her summons attack automatically and don’t rely on Normal attacks like Yelan or Xingqiu. Do be aware that she will drain your team’s HP and plan accordingly if you use her.
Sethos has low defense, so he appreciates shielders like Zhongli or Kirara. A shielder also helps to keep him from being interrupted if he is hit while aiming a charged shot. If you’re running Sethos with Furina, Baizhu makes for a great teammate because he provides teamwide healing.

14. Beidou (Off-Field DPS)

Captain Beidou, setting sail!

Beidou is an off-field DPS with defensive utility built into her kit. Her Burst deals Electro damage that bounces between enemies. It also decreases the damage that your team takes and increases your team’s resistance to interruption.

Her key strengths are:

High Damage Potential: Most of Beidou’s damage comes from her Burst, which has the potential to deal a lot of damage in multitarget scenarios. This also enables your on-field character to trigger reactions while she is providing Electro application to enemies from off-field.
Defensive Capabilities: Beidou allows your team to gain many of the benefits that a shielder provides without running a dedicated shielder. Beidou is a DPS at her core, so her damage output will be higher than shielders like Zhongli while still providing the interruption resistance that comes with a shield.

If you build up your Beidou, these are great teammates for her:

Dendro characters are great teammates for Beidou and she works great in a Quicken team. Yaoyao and Baizhu are great options to combine off-field Dendro application and healing. Aside from healers, Nahida is the premier off-field Dendro character for most teams, and Beidou’s teams are no exception. If you don’t have her, then Dendro Traveler is also a fine option. Beidou can also work as a support for on-field Dendo DPS options like Alhaitham.
Beidou’s ER requirements are quite high, so she usually needs to be paired with another Electro character. Fischl is one of her best teammates for this, providing high off-field Electro damage and a lot of Energy. Although Fischl is the most consistent, you can also use her with Kuki Shinobu or Yae Miko as well to fill this role. She can also be paired with an on-field Electro DPS like Cyno, Keqing, or Clorinde.
Beidou also performs well in Electro-Charged teams. Off-field Hydo applicators like Yelan and Xingqiu have good synergy with Beidou. Xingqiu in particular can make Beidou teams extremely tanky. Xingqiu is a character that also has some defensive utility through the damage reduction and healing provided by his Rain Swords. This, combined with Beidou’s defensive capabilities, makes it much easier to run teams without a healer to allow you to focus more on increasing your damage.

13. Thoma (Support)

Thoma can do a lot more than just housework.

Thoma is a Pyro shielder. In addition to providing a shield that scales on his max HP, he also provides off-field Pyro application and damage through his Burst. When his Burst is active, your active character’s Normal attacks will trigger a Fiery Collapse that deals Pyro damage to enemies and refresh the Blazing Barrier shield on them. The shields that Thoma creates are weaker than those created by characters like Layla, Kirara, or Zhongli, however they can be refreshed every 1 second so the uptime on the resistance to interruption that shields provide is very good.

Thoma’s strengths are the following:

Build Flexibility: Thoma can be built purely as a shielder by stacking HP to increase the strength of his shields if you want to run him in a purely supportive role. However, he can also use an Elemental Mastery build to work as an off-field Burgeon trigger.
Additional Support from Constellations: If you have Thoma’s C6 activated, he also provides a 15% damage buff to all character’s Normal, Charged, and Plunging attacks whenever his Blazing Barrier is refreshed. His Burst is triggered by Normal attacks, so this makes him a particularly good support for on-field DPS characters that rely on Normal attacks for a large part of their damage.

Thoma works well with these team members:

As a support option, Thoma is a good choice for on-field DPS characters who spam Normal attacks like Ayato and Arlecchino. Wanderer deserves a particular mention here as well, because he benefits from Thoma quite a lot. Wanderer is very prone to being interrupted while he is in the air, so really appreciates being run alongside a shielder. Most of his teams also utilize Bennett as a support, so using Thoma over another shielder not only provides the Normal attack bonus (if you have his C6), but also activates Pyro resonance to give your whole team an attack boost.
As a Burgeon trigger, Thoma will need a Hydro teammate with fast Hydro application. Ayato as an on-fielder or Xingqiu as an off-fielder are very good in this role. Slower Hydro application from Yelan or Furina won’t keep up with his Pyro application, and then you’ll end up triggering the weaker Burning reaction instead of Burgeon.
Off-field Dendro characters like Nahida, Yaoyao, and Baizhu are great in Burgeon teams. Alhaitham also works as an on-field Dendro DPS for these teams because his Normal attacks become infused with Dendro to allow him to trigger Thoma’s Burst.

12. Faruzan (Support)

Mind your manners around Madam Faruzan.

Faruzan is a support character dedicated to buffing Anemo damage. She provides a small amount of crowd control via the enhanced Charged Attack enabled by her Skill, and her Burst increases your team’s Anemo damage as well as decreasing enemies’ resistance to Anemo damage.

The highlights of her kit are:

Huge Anemo Buffs: Combining both an Anemo damage bonus and Anemo resistance shred, Faruzan is hands down the best support for any Anemo DPS. She is an irreplaceable character who should be slotted into any Anemo DPS team.
Additional Buffs Unlocked at C6: If you have Faruzan’s 6th Constellation unlocked, she provides your team with an additional 40% Crit Damage on all Anemo damage dealt when her Burst is active. Her Burst also allows her to generate a lot more energy once she is C6. She is extremely Constellation reliant, and feels much worse to play at C5 and below. Prior to C6, she will usually need to build upwards of 300% Energy Recharge.

If you give Faruzan a shot, her best teammates are:

Xiao, Wanderer, and Shikanoin Heizou are on-field Anemo DPS characters and you’ll want to include one of them in a team with Faruzan to make the most out of her Anemo damage buffs.
The other support characters on the team will largely depend on which main DPS Faruzan is supporting. Bennett is a great option for all three of the on-field DPS options. Xianyun is a particularly good support character to bring along in a Xiao team, and Jean if you have her C4 unlocked can be another source of Anemo res shred to stack with the res shred that Faruzan provides.

11. Gorou (Support)

The great Watatsumi general himself!

Gorou is in a similar place as Faruzan in that he’s a dedicated buffer for Geo damage. He’s rated slightly higher on this list because he isn’t prone to the same energy issues that Faruzan is prior to C6. His Skill provides buffs to the team based on the number of Geo characters in the party. For the duration of his skill, Gorou creates a circle that characters must stay within to receive these buffs; his Burst deals additional damage and provides the same buffs as his Skill, but without the restriction of staying within the circle.

Gorou is worth considering for the following reasons:

Strong Geo Buffs: Gorou provides Geo teams with really strong buffs - with 1 Geo character he provides a Defense bonus, with 2 he provides resistance to interruption, and with 3 he provides a Geo damage bonus. In mono Geo teams, he is an irreplaceable team slot that greatly increases the team’s damage.
Additional Support with Constellations: At C4, Gorou gains a small amount of healing during his Burst that scales on his Defense. At C6, his burst adds a Crit Damage buff for Geo damage based on the number of Geo characters in the party, with a maximum of 40%.

The best characters to pair Gorou with are:

The primary on-field DPS options for mono Geo teams are Arataki Itto and Noelle. Navia can also be considered, but because her kit relies heavily on triggering Crystallize reactions, she can be harder to slot into a mono Geo team because you need to have other elements present to Crystallize.
Chiori and Albedo make good teammates because they are Geo characters who deal high damage from off-field. They require very little field time to use their Skill and switch out, so they synergize with the higher field time requirements of Itto and Noelle while also taking full advantage of Gorou’s buffs.
Shielders are valuable in mono Geo teams because Geo resonance requires your active character to be shielded in order to deal increased damage and decrease enemies’ Geo resistance. Zhongli is the premier shielding option, but 4 star characters like Thoma or Layla can work as well.

10. Kirara (Support)

Rest assured, Kirara will make any delivery on time!

Kirara is a Dendro shielder. Her Skill provides a shield that scales on her max HP. If the Skill is used again, this shield can stack creating a shield that can absorb twice the amount of damage as the original shield.

Kirara’s key strengths are:

Strong Shields: Kirara is the strongest 4 star shielder, and her stacked shield is the second strongest in the game after Zhongli. This can help to make your teams feel a lot more comfortable to play because strong shields make dodging less important and increase your resistance to interruption.
Additional Buff at C6: If you have her C6, Kirara additionally provides a 12% damage bonus to all elemental damage after using either her Skill or Burst. Not an insane buff, but it’s a nice bonus that has great uptime.

Kirara makes a great teammate for these characters:

Kirara is a nice option in Nilou Bloom teams to minimize the damage that your team takes from your Dendro cores. Bloom damage is considered Dendro damage and her shield has increased effectiveness against Dendro, which can make these teams feel a lot more comfortable. Other good Hydro options in these teams are Sangonomiya Kokomi, Barbara, Xingqiu, Yelan, and Ayato. These Hydro characters, besides Nilou, can also be used with Kirara in a Hyperbloom team.
Kirara’s Dendro application will generally not be enough for her to be the only Dendro character on the team, so you’ll often want to pair her with another Dendro teammate like Nahida, Dendro Traveler, Alhaitham, or Tighnari. Tighnari is a bow character who relies on Charged shots, so he definitely appreciates being run alongside a shielder to prevent him from getting staggered while aiming.
For Hyperbloom or Quicken, characters like Cyno, Keqing, Clorinde, Fischl, and Yae Miko are great options to use alongside Kirara.

9. Yaoyao (Support)

Don't be fooled by her small size - Yaoyao is a formindable ally!

Yaoyao is a Dendro healer. Using her Skill, she provides healing to your active character and some Dendro damage to enemies while off-field. Her Burst requires her to stay on-field to use, but it allows you to heal your entire team while also dealing Dendro damage.

Yaoyao excels at:

Strong Healing: Yaoyao’s healing is very good and you should have an easy time using her to sustain your team. Her Burst doesn’t need to be used on cooldown, but it’s a great panic button to push when your whole team’s health gets low and you want to heal them all quickly.
Off-field Dendro Application: When Yaoyao’s skill is active, she’ll deal Dendro damage to nearby enemies if your active character’s HP is above 70%, and heal them if they’re below 70% HP. Her Dendro application won’t be enough to be the solo Dendro character in a Bloom or Hyperbloom team, but she can absolutely be the only Dendro character in a Quicken team.

Yaoyao works well with very similar characters to Kirara:

She can be used as a healer in both Nilou Bloom or Hyperbloom teams. If you use Yaoyao, Barbara or Kokomi would be redundant so this opens up a slot for a more offensive Hydro option. Besides those two healers, she works great with the same Dendro, Hydro, and Electro characters as Kirara.
Because she can work as the solo Dendro option in an Aggravate or Spread team, this opens up a team slot to run an Anemo character equipped with the Viridescent Venerer set like Kaedehara Kazuha, Venti, or Sucrose to enable Electro res shred and grouping. This is especially nice if you’re running an on-field Electro character like Cyno, Keqing, or Clorinde.

8. Gaming (On-field DPS)

The best Wushou dancer you've every seen!

Gaming is a Pyro on-field DPS. He has a unique play style where his Skill enables him to jump high into the air and then perform a Pyro-infused Plunging attack. His Burst reduces the cooldown on his Skill, allowing these Plunging attacks to be performed more frequently.

His highlights are:

High DPS Scalings: Gaming’s DPS output is very strong, and he has higher scalings than most other 4 star characters. At C6, his damage output becomes competitive with a lot of limited 5 star DPS characters.
HP Manipulation: Gaming has HP manipulation built into his kit. He is able to decrease and heal his own HP, so he is able to self sufficiently run the strong Marechaussee Hunter artifact set without relying on Furina. This is great if you don’t have Furina or if you do have her but want to use her on your other team in the Spiral Abyss.

Gaming can be played alongside these characters:

The two best support characters for Gaming are Bennett and Xianyun. Bennett’s Burst provides a massive attack buff and, if you have his C6, his Burst also provides a Pyro damage bonus and infuses melee weapons’ Normal, Charged, and Plunging attacks with Pyro. Xianyun’s Burst allows your characters to jump extremely high to perform Plunging attacks, so C6 Bennett and Xianyun combined really lessen Gaming’s reliance on his Skill and allows for more sustained damage output.
Gaming excels in Vaporize teams, so Hydro units are great options to run with him. Furina is a nice option because her Hydro application isn’t limited to Normal attacks like Xingqiu and Yelan, although she absolutely isn’t necessary. Kokomi also provides off-field Hydro application and can run the Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers catalyst to provide Gaming with an additional attack buff. Xingqiu and Yelan still can be run as solid options if you weave Normal attacks in between your plunges in order to apply Hydro.

7. Chevreuse (Support)

You should be afraid if Chevreuse's musket is aimed at you.

Chevreuse is a Pyro character who is a dedicated support for Overload teams. She provides powerful res shred for both Pyro and Electro, an attack buff for Pyro and Electro characters, and healing for your active character. You do need to ensure that your team only consists of Pyro and Electro characters, or else you won’t receive the res shred from Chevreuse.

Chevreuse is strong for these reasons:

Powerful Buffs: The res shred and attack buff that Chevreuse provides for Pyro and Electro are very strong. Even though you won’t be able to run an Anemo character to swirl Pyro and Electro with the Viridescent Venerer set, the buffs that Chevreuse provides more than make up for that. Overload was generally a pretty weak team archetype before Chevreuse’s release, but she is able to make Overload teams a very strong and viable option.
Role Consolidation: Chevreuse is both a powerful buffer and a healer. This consolidates both a damage buffer and healer into one team slot, allowing you to dedicate the rest of your team slots to increasing your team’s damage.

Chevreuse excels with these characters:

The one of the best support characters to run alongside Chevreuse is Bennett. Even though they are both healers, the huge attack buff that Bennett provides more than makes up for the redundancy.
Strong Pyro and Electro DPS characters should be run in a Chevreuse team. On-field options include Arlecchino, Yoimiya, Lyney, and Raiden Shogun. Off-field DPS characters like Xiangling, Beidou, Fischl, and Yae Miko are also great teammates for Chevreuse.

6. Kuki Shinobu (Support)

Looking after the Arataki Gang is hard work...

Kuki Shinobu was a pretty weak character when she first released, but Dendro has given her a new lease on life. She is an Electro healer, and since the launch of Dendro she has become a core member of many Hyperbloom and Quicken teams.

Kuki’s strengths are:

Easy Dendro Core Dendro Core Detonation: Kuki’s Skill creates a ring around your active character that provides healing and also deals Electro damage to nearby enemies. This ring activates Dendro cores very easily to trigger the powerful Hyperbloom reaction. At base her healing scales on her max HP, however she has a passive talent that also increases her healing based on her Elemental Mastery so even on a full EM build her healing will generally be enough to sustain your team and maximize Hyperbloom damage.
Role Consolidation: Combining the Hyperbloom trigger and healer into one team slot makes team building very flexible.

Kuki works well with these characters:

Kuki’s best teams are Hyperbloom and Quicken teams. Alhaitham, Nahida, and Dendro Traveler make for great Dendro teammates. She can also be used with Tighnari, however you should keep in mind that you’ll need to be in melee range of enemies for her Skill to hit them. Because Tighnari is a bow user who relies on Charged shots, you may not want to stay that close to the enemies because he is prone to being staggered without a shield.
Hydro options for Hyperbloom teams tend to be characters that apply Hydro from off-field like Xingqiu and Yelan. Furina isn’t a great choice to pair with Kuki because Kuki doesn’t have any team-wide healing, so you won’t be able to max her Fanfare stacks.
Kuki can be run alongside other Electro characters. On-field Electro characters like Cyno and Keqing can work in both Hyperbloom and Quicken teams. In Quicken teams she can also be paired with other off-field Electro characters like Fischl and Yae Miko.

5. Sucrose (Support)

Sucrose is always working on her experiments.

Sucrose is an Anemo Swirl support and Elemental Mastery buffer. Because she’s a catalyst user, she can easily trigger Swirls and is a great asset to any team that relies on elemental reactions.

Her main strengths are:

Great Buffing Abilities: Like all Anemo characters, Sucrose can shred the enemies’ resistance to any element that she Swirls with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set. Her Burst also gives her entire team an Elemental Mastery buff. On top of that, her C6 provides an additional damage buff to any teammates that match the elements that she Swirls.
Grouping Capabilities: Sucrose’s Skill has a small suction effect that draws enemies toward its point of impact. Her grouping isn’t as strong as Kazuha’s or Venti’s, but you can give her the Sacrificial Fragments catalystto allow for multiple uses of her Skill.
On-field Driving Ability: Sucrose is a catalyst user, so her Normal attacks naturally deal Anemo damage. This means that she can be run as an on-field driver alongside off-field DPS characters to continuously Swirl their attacks and trigger elemental reactions.

Sucrose is great on any team that relies on elements that can be Swirled:

On-field DPS characters like Hu Tao, Wriothesley, Neuvillette, and Clorinde benefit a lot from Sucrose’s res shred and buffs. In these teams she assumes an off-field role to set up your on-fielder to maximize their damage.
Off-field DPS characters like Xiangling, Fischl, and Xingqiu are great teammates. These characters work well with Sucrose if you are playing her as an on-field driver or if you’re playing her with an on-field DPS.

4. Fischl (Off-field DPS)

Just what is the Prinzessin der Verurteilung up to now?

Fischl is an Electro DPS who deals her damage from off-field via a raven named Oz that she summons with her Skill. Oz’s duration can be refreshed with Fischl’s Burst, so her off-field damage has great uptime.

Fischl’s strengths are:

Fast Electro Application: When Oz is on the field, he is constantly attacking nearby enemies and applying Electro to them. Not only that, but her Ascension 4 passive launches an additional Electro attack whenever your on-field character triggers an Electro-related reaction.
High Energy Generation: Fischl generates a lot of Electro particles, so she’s a great battery for energy hungry Electro characters.
High Damage Ceiling: Fischl has the potential to deal a lot of damage. She even got a buff with the release of Fontaine and the Golden Troupe artifact set. In the right teams, Fischl’s damage rivals and sometimes even exceeds 5 star off-field DPS characters like Yae Miko.

Fischl is best paired with the following characters:

Fischl makes a great battery for Electro characters like Cyno, Sethos, and Beidou. These characters have high energy requirements and Fischl’s energy generation makes getting their Bursts ready much easier.
Fischl is a great option in Quicken teams paired with Dendro units like Alhaitham, Nahida, and Tighnari.
She can also be used as an Electro off-field DPS in a Chevreuse Overload team.

3. Xiangling (Off-field DPS)

I wonder what new recipes Xiangling will come up with next...

Xiangling is a Pyro DPS that deals high damage from off-field through her Burst’s Pyronado. She deals damage in a huge AoE, and this makes her very strong in multitarget fights. She also applies Pyro very quickly, and her damage output in single target fights is nothing to scoff at either.

Xiangling’s key strengths are:

High Damage Output: Xiangling has the potential to dish out a lot of damage. Her Burst hits enemies in a wide range and applies Pyro without any internal cooldown. This allows her to keep up with other characters who apply their own elements quickly to proc a lot of reactions.
Pyronado Snapshots Buffs: Xiangling’s Burst retains any buffs that were active when it was cast. This means that any attack or damage buffs that Xiangling receives will buff the entire duration of her Pyronado, even if the buff expires before her Burst ends.

Xiangling is great with these teammates:

The absolute best support character for Xiangling is Bennett. He’s a Pyro character, which helps Xiangling with potential energy issues. His Burst also gives your active character a huge attack buff, and Xiangling’s Pyronado will snapshot this buff when cast and retain its increased damage even after Bennett’s Burst expires.
Xiangling applies Pyro very quickly, so characters that have very fast Hydro application like Tartaglia and Xingqiu to trigger Vaporize are very strong with her.
Xiangling is a great off-field Pyro DPS for Chevreuse Overload teams.
Xiangling can be a great source of Pyro for Melt teams with an on-field Cryo character like Ganyu or Wriothesley.

2. Bennett (Support)

It looks like Bennett's bad luck has struck again.

Bennett is a Pyro healer and buffer. His Burst heals your active character if they are under 70% of their max HP and provides a massive attack buff. This makes Bennett a very sought after support character who performs excellently in a wide variety of teams.

Bennett’s best aspects are:

Massive Attack Buff: The attack buff that Bennett provides to your active character is huge and is the single largest stat buff in the game. This makes Bennett an extremely flexible character who works well with almost any attack scaling character.
Role Consolidation: Bennett fulfills both the role of a buffer and healer in one teamslot, making team building with him very flexible.
High Energy Generation: Bennett’s Burst is high cost, however his Skill has a very low cooldown. This allows for easy spamming to get his Burst back up and to battery other Pyro units in your party, provided you’ve built some energy recharge on him.
Pyro Infusion and Bonus at C6: If you have Bennett’s C6 activated, he provides all characters in his Burst a Pyro damage bonus and infuses melee weapons’ Normal, Charged, and Plunging attacks with Pyro. This is a great bonus to have, but it’s important to note that Bennett isn’t really a Constellation dependent character. His C1 is his best Constellation, and he performs his main job of being a buffer and healer exceptionally well even at C0.

Some of Bennett’s best teammates are:

Pyro DPS characters like Xiangling, Gaming, Diluc, Arlecchino, and Lyney take full advantage of Bennett’s attack buff and the Pyro damage bonus that he provides at C6.
He’s a great buffer for on-field Melt carries like Ganyu and Wriothesley.
Jean deserves a mention because Jean and Bennett enable a team known as “Sunfire.” Their Bursts apply Anemo and Pyro to your active character respectively, and combining them allows you to continuously Swirl Pyro onto the enemies.
Bennett is often a core teammate in Anemo DPS hypercarry teams with units like Xiao or Wanderer.

1. Xingqiu (Off-field DPS)

How long will it be until Xingqiu sneaks off with a book?

Xingqiu is a Hydro character who deals damage from off-field through the Rain Swords created by his Burst. When your active character uses Normal attacks, Xingqiu’s Rain Swords trigger a Hydro attack on the same target.

He’s the best 4 star character in Genshin (and one of the best characters in general) for these reasons:

Fast, Consistent Hydro Application and Damage: Xingqiu’s Burst will deal fast Hydro damage alongside any character who uses Normal attacks. His Rain Swords also orbit around your active character and apply Hydro to any enemy that they touch. This makes Xingqiu the most consistent source of off-field Hydro application.
Defensive Support: Xingqiu has extremely strong defensive utility built into his kit. His Burst’s Rain Swords increase your active character’s resistance to interruption. They also provide damage reduction and a small amount of healing when they expire or shatter. Overall, Xingqiu provides a huge improvement to your team’s survivability in addition to dealing high off-field damage.

Hydro is an extremely strong element that is integral to many reactions, so Xingqiu is very flexible. Here are some of the characters that you can use him with:

Pyro characters like Arlecchino, Yoimiya, Hu Tao, and Xiangling are great teammates to trigger Vaporize reactions.
Yelan is another off-field Hydro character whose Burst is triggered by Normal attacks. They have great synergy and playing them together can enable extremely high levels of Hydro damage that requires minimal field time.
Xingqiu’s fast Hydro application makes him a solid option for Freeze teams with the likes of Ayaka or Wriothesley. His constant Hydro application makes it easier to keep the enemies frozen and in place.
Xingqiu is a great Hydro unit for Hyperbloom or Burgeon teams. He works well with on-fielders like Cyno, Clorinde, and Alhaitham who regularly use Normal attacks to trigger his Rain Swords.

And there you have it, the top 15 4 star characters in Genshin Impact! A few honorable mentions who were very close to making this list are Noelle, Charlotte, and Layla.

There are plenty of viable 4 star options in the game, and I hope this inspires you to build some characters you hadn’t considered trying out! If you have a favorite 4 star character in Genshin, let us know in the comments!