Genshin Genshin Impact Characters Tier List

Ranking Criteria

This is an Endgame Tier List. We take into account performance primarily in Stygian Onslaught and Spiral Abyss, with the former being our main vector. This is because good performance in Stygian Onslaught will almost always translate to good performance in Spiral Abyss, while the inverse is not true.

Imaginarium Theater is not considered despite its rewards, by nature of its limitations and variability. If a unit is good in the other endgame modes, they will typically be very good in IT.

A character can be powerful and useful in many ways, including but not limited to:

• Content Matchup
• DPS / Damage Contribution
• Flexibility

Other factors such as Ease of Play, Skill Ceiling, and more will also be considered to determine how valuable a unit is in endgame scenarios.

Ranking Assumptions

• Limited 5 star characters are considered to be at C0 without their Signature Weapons, aka C0R0. If a limited 5 star character is part of the 'Temper Thyself and Journey Far' event, they will be considered to be at C1R0. Standard Banner 5 star characters are considered to be at C2R0. 4 star character assumptions will be more variable and individual, depending on their time of release, availability, and importance of their Constellations.
• A 5 star character's potential for vertical investment beyond our standards will not be considered in the Tier List. However, it will be explored and explained in their Guides.
  
• Stygian Onslaught is considered at Fearless Difficulty. A character's performance in Fearless Difficulty at C0R0 will oftentimes map to their performance in Dire Difficulty with some vertical investment.
  
• Spiral Abyss is always considered to be at Floor 12 only.
  
• We don't assume a character is automatically performing at their damage ceiling or optimal conditions. If a character has significant room for growth, it will generally be considered a plus, as long as it's achievable by reasonable in-game means. Mavuika is not ranked based exclusively on her performance with Buffer Cancels; Arlecchino is not ranked based exclusively on her performance with Advanced Walk Combos; etc. However, their ability to improve their performance with advanced mechanics and good play is taken into account.
  
• Characters will be ranked based on the relative strength of their best teams in which they are key pieces of. Flins - Columbina - Ineffa - Sucrose is a Flins team; Dehya - Columbina - Ineffa - Sucrose is not a Dehya team. The more important a character is for a strong team, the higher their value. For example: the performance of a Varesa Overload team is more impactful on Varesa's ranking than the performance of a Varesa Lunar-Charged team.
  
• A character having multiple strong teams and teammates is generally a bonus. How big of a bonus it is depends on the details of their teams and flexibility.

Disclaimers

The Tier List is not meant to be indicative of the best characters in any singular endgame cycle, including the current. Characters will be ranked based on their overall proven performance, and a theoretical assessment of the potential of their future performance in some shape or form. The current endgame cycle will always favor newly released characters and the characters that are re-running. How good a character's performance is in the endgame scenarios that aren't directly meant to favor them is a major criteria for their ranking.

The Tier List is meant to be indicative of a character's current and potentially future strength; it is not meant to be a definitive measure of who to pull. Check out a character's guide for an explanation of why they are strong or not, and make informed wishing decisions.

S-Tier

The best units available. Characters in the S-tier will generally have an easy time clearing the content available in any given endgame rotation, or will be otherwise significant in doing so. Their flaws are few or unimportant, and they will be currently excellent and useful in most any account.

A-Tier

Exceptional units, but not quite as good as S-Tier units. They have a few more flaws or kinks that prevent them from always being the best available to you, but they're still presently very powerful and will be able to perform well in almost all current endgame scenarios.

B-Tier

Strong, but their flaws start being more obvious or more impactful. B-Tier units still generally be useful in many situations, but have a much higher potential of running into issues or requiring more resources to perform as well as the characters in A-Tier.

C-Tier

Still competent at clearing, but C-Tier units will have some clear struggles. They come with caveats and will not have the easy time clearing the units in the tiers above them generally should have. They might be useful for certain teams, but their usefulness is limited or conditional. There will be endgame rotations where they struggle to be useful.

D-Tier

Can clear specific endgame scenarios under the right circumstances, but will face significant difficulties outside of those circumstances. Potentially directly outclassed by units in C-Tier or higher, not very useful in currently strong teams, or their aren't very strong. They might be limited in the capacity of what they can offer, have gameplay issues, etc.

E-Tier

E-Tier units will require exceptional circumstances in order to have a decent time clearing endgame scenarios. They will require significant effort, investment of time or otherwise, and will often highly struggle regardless. Directly outclassed by several units in the same role, or their unique niches are simply not useful in the current landscape.

F-Tier

Characters in this tier are significantly and directly outclassed in every way, or will have a very difficult time clearing the vast majority endgame scenarios. There might be niche situations in which they or their mechanics are useful, but they are generally not worth using under most circumstances within our ranking criteria.