Updated:
06 Nov 2024
Which Genshin Impact Characters Deal The Most Damage?
In Genshin Impact, DPS characters are characters who will constantly be deployed, and will be the main damage dealers for your teams.
So that probably raises the question, who are the best, and who are the worst? Let's take a look.
Things to consider
Before we begin this, we must consider the following;
- We will be looking at the characters based on their DPS potential: These are in no way comments on other aspects of the characters such as design, personality, role within the story, popularity, or how well they work in other roles. I personally like some of these characters, even if they scored rather low on this tier list (spoiler: looking at you Freminet, Kaveh and Dehya).
- I’m focusing mostly on characters that are mainly used as DPS, or have high potential for DPS: It would be unfair to compare characters that are usually geared and regarded as support against DPS characters on a DPS list. There is one notable exception (Kokomi), but that is because she is used surprisingly frequently as DPS, however, for the rest, assume that they are characters geared towards DPS.
- I’m not telling you that you must or mustn't play these characters: Again, this is in consideration of gameplay and efficiency. If a character you like isn’t as high up on the list, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play that character. You have free will, I’m not going to tell you to stop. I am simply analyzing and displaying the current meta (as of version 5.1).
- Finally, in-depth analysis will be for top 5 best, top 5 worst, and honorable mentions: At the moment, there are some 36 (give or take) characters that can be considered a DPS, with a 37th one that is a support, but has been surprisingly frequently used as a DPS. If I were to do in-depth looks at all, then one, the title won’t make as much sense, and two, let's be real, you probably won’t finish it, and I’ll be burnt out. So, top 5 and 5 worst. There will also be a look at the honorable mentions, of which there are 6.
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The Genshin DPS Tier list (5.1)
How this will work
The main criterias for rankings of these characters are as follows;
- Ease of build: How much effort is required to build them to be effective. If you need to put in more effort to build them to become competitive with other DPS characters, the lower the score.
- Efficiency: Do they need one specific team build to be the most effective? Do you have multiple options? Can slamming them into any build work? Solo the game with them? Again, how much you have to manage to make them effective will play a role in score.
- Kit in the context of DPS: How does their skills, bursts, passives play into their ability to take the role of DPS. Some characters might be well suited for other roles, but maybe not as DPS.
- Meta/General consensus: A lot of the aforementioned topics ultimately play into the current state of the game’s Meta. A huge part of that is shaped by general consensus of the player base.
As for what it takes to be in a tier, there are criterias for it all.
- SS/S+: This is what peak performance looks like. They are the meta.
- Arlechino: 98/100
- Neuvillette: 95/100
- Alhaitham: 89/100
- S: These are strong options that might need a more specific look into how they can become broken. And they have plenty of options for that.
- Raiden Shogun: 87/100
- Mualani: 86/100
- Kinich: 85/100
- Hu Tao: 84.9/100
- Ayaka: 84/100
- Navia: 83/100
- Lyney: 82.5/100
- Clorinde: 82/100
- A: If SS and S tier are power tools, then A tier are hammers. They might not be as fancy as the two tiers above, but dang it they are reliable, and are pretty strong generalists. Many of them used to be highly regarded within the game community before being powercreeped, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still powerful (spoiler: I say this as a Diluc main).
- Wriothesley: 80/100
- Wanderer: 79/100
- Ayato: 75/100
- Diluc: 73/100
- Tartaglia: 70/100
- Xiao: 69.9/100
- Eula: 69/100
- Itto: 67/100
- Ganyu: 66.9/100
- Tighnari: 66/100
- Gaming: 65/100
- B: They take a lot more effort to become devastating, and they might not compete with those in the tiers above, but they are still very efficient, and are oftentimes sufficient replacements if you lack characters in the above tiers.
- Yomiya: 63/100
- Keqing: 62/100
- Cyno: 60/100
- Noelle: 59/100
- Klee: 58/100
- Sethos: 56/100
- Heizou: 55/100
- C: Characters here have what B has, but a little worse. Many of these characters also suffer from the fact that they could do DPS, but have other roles they can perform better. You’d have to put in a lot of effort for these characters to be competitive in the realm of DPS. Basically, only build them if you generally love the characters, and want to do cool things with them.
- Freminet: 54/100
- Yanfei: 53/100
- Kaveh: 50/100
- Ningguang: 49/100
- Kokomi: 45/100
- Dehya: 43/100
- D: Situational at best, and at worst, you have to hope that they can fill another role, or else they are useless (gameplay-wise).
- Razor: 40/100
- Xinyan: 35/100
- Aloy: 30/1003.
The Top 5 Best DPS
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Arlechino
1.Arlechino
A comparatively new addition to the Genshin roster, Arlechino has quickly risen to fame within the community as a really powerful choice.
- By using Bond of Life, an artificial way to track pyro infusion is created, making it easier for players to figure out how much DMG they can deal.
- Rather distinctly, she is rather quite self-sufficient, meaning most of your team can be rather geared towards buffing her even further.
- Her scaling alone means that she is actually quite easy to build.
- Combos done by her can be rather simple, minimizing downtime.
- Her charged attack can also be useful for exploration, though be warned, it does consume stamina.
- Be warned, she is rather built to be a high-risk, high reward build.
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Neuvillette
2. Neuvillette
Neuvillette has risen to a prominent role, and maintains the title of the premier catalyst DPS character, and the best for Hydro characters for DPS (admittedly, there isn't too much competition, but the point stands).
- With high scaling, his regular charged attack can deal massive amounts of DMG to foes, both individually and in groups.
- Is well suited for a vast variety of Hydro focused teams, and with how Hydro interacts with other elements, that means he can be easily supported by a broad variety of options.
- As he hovers during his charged attack, he has high mobility in combat, and a speedy one at that.
- His hovering also is useful for exploration, again though, it does consume stamina.
- His only real weakness is the fact that his charge attack can be fairly easily interrupted, but that can be easily fixed either by getting him to C1, or using a shielder.
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Alhaitham
3. Alhaitham
Alhaitham is the premier Dendro DPS, and is well suited for almost any Dendro focused build.
- Whether it be a focus on a single enemy, or carpet bombing a cluster of enemies, high amounts of DMG will be dealt.
- Well suited for any Dendro focused team builds, especially because he can apply Dendro particularly fast, especially as its infusion doesn’t have to wait for a burst.
- That said, practice is required to make sure you get it right, as well as heavy investment into your teammates as well.
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Raiden Shogun
4. Raiden Shogun
- While overall one of the best characters, as a DPS, she remains one of the best options.
- She is distinctly well suited for both DPS, Sub DPS, and Support roles, giving her a large degree of flexibility.
- Her energy recharge scaling benefits both her damage and her team’s utility as well. For this article though, this means that she can become the battery for her own skills and bursts, as opposed to having to rely upon another.
- Her C2 in particular enables her elemental burst to ignore 60% of enemy DEF, meaning that when she cuts, she cuts through them like a hot knife through butter.
- She is compatible with most if not all Electro based team compositions, but is particularly devastating in a Hyperbloom team.
- That said, her burst doesn’t really work with some characters, such as Beidou, but that’s less about her as a DPS, but should still be noted.
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Mualani
5. Mualani
Perhaps one of the newest of the DPS family, she has quickly found her way both into the hearts of many players, and into the team compositions of just as many.
- Her elemental skill enables her to both mark and deal DMG to enemies, with each mark increasing that DMG.
- This DMG is also dealt increasingly early, enabling her to easily start elemental reactions like bloom, electrocharge or vaporize.
- The source of her DMG comes from her HP, which in turn means that her choice of artifacts, leveling, and weaponry, as well as elemental resonance means that everything can improve her DMG capabilities.
- Her skill is also absolutely superb for exploration, enabling her to cross broad stretches of water (though, to be honest, almost all the Natlan characters so far are extremely good for exploration).
- Her elemental skill can miss foes if they move. The only solution for that is basically just practice.
The Honorable Mentions (the S tiers)
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Kinich
1.Kinich
Perhaps the newest of the dedicated DPS, Kinich has quickly garnered a sterling reputation within the Genshin community, as well as within its Meta.
- His skill’s DMG scales on a large scale, meaning that any DMG dealt is very front loaded.
- The skill also gives him a great deal of evasion potential, which could free up slots on his team for other roles aside from shielders or healers. Furthermore, this evasion does not detract from his DPS potential.
- His elemental skill latches onto enemies, and assists in aiming as well, so Kinich has reach, and can take out ranged foes that other melee characters would have trouble with.
- His Elemental Burst is spectacular for dealing off-field AoE Dendro DMG, and if you decide to keep him on field, then his nightsoul blessing’s duration is extended by it, meaning his burst is very flexible.
- Finally, like all the Natlan characters, his elemental skill is amazing for exploration.
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Hu Tao
2. Hu Tao
A favorite of many, for a long time, she was the premier Pyro DPS, before being supplanted by Arlechino. That said, only a fool would consider her weak (granted, Hu Tao herself might not mind too much).
- Her unique mechanic is HP being converted to ATK, contributing to both good scaling, and huge potential for certain elemental reactions, namely vaporize.
- She was, and remains, one of the boss killers, as DPS is particularly strong on lone foes, and bosses are definitely the loneliest of foes.
- Her burst is surprisingly self-sufficient, which is really good for her high-risk, high-reward play style.
- Her CRIT rate becomes her team’s CRIT rate, so while a dedicated DPS, she also gives a little something to the other teammates who help her.
- She actually has a surprising degree of flexibility to her build, as well as who she can work with, so players have options, which can be very useful.
- Please note, that her playstyle is very high risk, high reward. Have a cracking good healer or shielder if you want to increase the odds of her getting hit but not dying.
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Ayaka
3. Ayaka
Another fan favorite, to the point where considering her overrated is just as popular, Ayaka remained for a long time a powerful choice for Cryo DPS, with few who can conceivably compete with her.
- Her Elemental Burst DMG has high scaling, a very useful thing if you wish to deal with multiple engagements, like Boss runs.
- Almost all her talents can easily apply Cryo, which combined with its high scaling, means that if you want a Cryo DPS, she is perhaps one of the best options
- Her sprint applies Cryo DMG, meaning she can be useful both in fights and in exploration.
- She has amazing synergy with a lot of characters. Basically, if that character can apply either Hydro, Cryo, or Anemo, she can and will make use of them for her teams.
- She is also the premier character for Freeze builds, because of all that has been mentioned above.
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Navia
4. Navia
The boss of the Spina di Rosula, her chipper attitude belies the fact that she has quickly risen to be arguably one of, if not the best Geo DPS (though Itto would like to file some legal complaints about that).
- Her elemental skill deals excellent DMG, and it has two charges, so it can be used twice. Not to mention that it is an AoE DMG, perfect for both mobs and bosses.
- Shockingly easy to play, as she constantly generates geo crystals, meaning someone is always getting a shield.
- Despite being a limited 5 star, almost all, if not all of her best teams are frequently very F2P friendly.
- She avoids one of the major pitfalls of Geo characters, and that is the fact that she doesn’t have to be on a Mono-geo team to be effective. The more elements on her team, the more flexible she can get, and the more useful.
- She is a metaphorical sledge hammer, dealing most if not all her DMG frontload. In other words, she is great if you wish to strike fast and strike hard. However, this also does mean that she begins to struggle the longer a fight goes on.
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Lyney
5. Lyney
An early fan favorite when Fontaine was released, Lyney is a very solid DPS, both on field and off-field.
- His DMG scaling is one of the highest, both for Pyro characters and for characters who use charged attacks. This grows stronger the more pyro characters you add.
- His burst is very easy to recharge and refresh via charged attacks. This means that he could easily use his burst, and swap out to let another character deal DMG as well, in effect, have two DPS.
- His burst also draws enemy attention to it, enabling him or other characters to focus down on enemies.
- His passive gives him a stack of 5 charges, increasing the DMG of his elemental skill. You should probably run him with a healer though as his charged attacks consume HP.
- His exploration passive also helps players find Fontaine regional specialities
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Clorinde
6. Clorinde
A rising star for Electro DPS, she is a swift, hard-hitting DPS from Fontaine, who can and will leave foes completely befuddled through the power of her kit.
- With her elemental skill and burst, she can easily apply high rates of Electro, and at a speedy rate as well.
- Her Elemental skill enables her to either be largely stationary, or zip around the place, enabling her to have a very flexible play style.
- With a Bond of Life, adding a healer can help offset it, enabling her to use her augmented skill on a broad scale without actually having to move, very good for that stationary style. Ignoring the healer can help lean in towards a more mobile play style as well (again, flexibility).
- When triggering Impale the Night (which is tied with the Bond of Life mechanic), enables her to self heal. This means that she can be surprisingly self-sufficient and also means that you can run her with three buffers instead of devoting one of them to shielding or healing.
- Her elemental skill and normal attacks can easily be done in conjecture, again helping with having a flexible fighting style.
- Should also be noted that her DMG is more team focused compared to other DPS characters, so having solid teammates is critical for her success.
- Her exploration passive also helps players find Fontaine regional specialities
The Top 5 Worst DPS
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Aloy
1.Aloy
Accessible only for a collab back in version 2.1 and 2.2, she was the first, last, and so far only collab character Genshin ever had. This fact alone helped cement her low tier status, and the rest of it doesn’t help either.
- She has no access to constellations, meaning that what you get, is what you get.
- Her ability to deal cryo is based around a mechanic called “coil stacks”, but these coil stacks are only gained by hitting enemies with her elemental skill.
- As she was a limited time character, most players who started after 2.1 and 2.2 will never even get the chance to get her.
- Her normal attack DMG is low, even by the standards of normal attacks which are usually pretty low DMG.
- She can convert her normal attacks into Cryo infused ones, but again, see above about the “coil stacks” mechanic
- Her burst DMG does deal high Cryo DMG, and has a low energy cost
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Xinyan
2. Xinyan
An oft forgotten member of the Liyue cast, she is very much the epitome of the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none”. She can be built as DPS, Sub DPS, or as Support, but for each of those roles, there are almost certainly better options for all of them, and DPS is no exception.
- Provides shield and can buff Physical DMG (pity that few characters are physical DMG focused).
- Her elemental skill and burst deals both Pyro and Physical DMG at the same time (you know suddenly the previous bullet point makes sense).
- Unfortunately, her scaling splits, either DEF for shielding, or ATK for DMG.
- To maximize her Pyro DMG while using her elemental skill, you must hit multiple enemies, which can make it hard to use her for bosses or for individual enemies.
- That said, get her to C2, and her Bursts immediately CRITs and casts a shield. Get her to C4, and her skill decreases enemy enemy physical RES.
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Razor
3. Razor
An early arrival for the game, while a potentially good comfort character, gameplay wise, he isn’t really one of the best.
- He can easily trigger superconduct, hyper bloom, or aggravate.
- Very physical DMG focused, as it scales with him.
- His burst both deals DMG and boosts his DEF.
- He can only really be used as DPS, with no capacity for Sub DPS or Support, meaning there are always better options.
- His burst ends when you switch to a different party member, so you are kinda stuck if you need to change party members.
- His attack and skill has fairly short range, which means he can get overpowered the longer a fight carries on, especially if that means more foes arrive.
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Dehya
4. Dehya
While generally considered an amazing character lore wise and design wise, gameplay wise, she is often found to be lacking. Part of it might be because most people aren’t quite sure what role she serves, and while she can fill all roles, almost all of them have better options, but DPS is the one that suffers the most.
- She has one of the highest base HP stats of any playable character (in a game where healing, shielding, and dodging are generally considered better ways of staying alive compared to just being built like a gorilla).
- She has strong resistance to getting interrupted, such as in her burst.
- She can provide pyro DMG, even when she is off-field.
- She is a surprisingly good option for Burn builds, albeit with the caveats below.
- Her DMG is below average without buffs.
- She needs to be run with a healer, as the longer she fights, the more support she would need.
- Her elemental burst has a high cost.
- The generation of said energy is pretty low, so she would also need a battery as well
- She often has poor team composition options.
- While she can be used as DPS, you will need to make sure that everyone else are support characters that can buff.
- (Basically, only build her if you actually like her… like me.)
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Kokomi
5. Kokomi
Kokomi is the unique one for the entire list. Simply put, she is considered one of the best support characters, and combined with her excellent exploration, she is often ranked quite highly on tierlists. However, she is used surprisingly frequently as a DPS, and as a DPS, she is not the best option.
- Her burst and skill covers a broad area, enabling her to apply Hydro DMG over a broad area.
- Her burst also refreshes the duration of her skill.
- She can’t crit under most, if not all circumstances. This means any DMG she deals will mostly have to be done through elemental reactions, meaning she will need to have really good Sub DPS and support.
- That said, she is actually well suited to be a DPS for two main builds: Bloom teams (which she can be in either as DPS or Sub DPS) and so called “Taser teams” (1 Hydro, 2 Electros, and 1 Anemo)
- Basically, she is designed to support, and for some reason a lot of people use her for DPS, and are then surprised that she isn’t a good DPS.
