As Genshin Impact releases more versions, the pool of characters also expands. These perpetual changes affect characters in various ways. One of them is the shifting Meta. For example, at first, Sucrose was the most sought Anemo support. But now, Kazuha takes her throne and Sucrose has to settle with the lower tier.
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With the release of Arataki Itto and Gorou, there are now fresh additions to the Genshin Impact Characters Tier List. As of December 2021, here's where every unit stands.
D-Tier
Aloy
Aloy is currently in a dark place in Genshin Impact. Since she’s a free character, it seems like miHoYo tried their best not to let her slip into the Meta. Her skills and damage are unbearably weak. Maybe if she ever had her own Constellations, they could save her. Maybe.
Amber
Amber suffers from many weaknesses and limitations. Even on C2, when she is supposed to shine as a DPS, the game asks players to aim their arrow at the feet of her bunny, which is ridiculous and unnecessary in an already limited character.
Lisa
The weird part about Lisa is that she is supposed to count on Elemental Reactions through her Elemental Mastery for her damage. Yet, Electro's Elemental Reactions are too poor to be viable.
C-Tier
Barbara
Barbara still and will always be a reliable healer in Genshin Impact, if only she stops making every character extremely vulnerable to Cryo.
Gorou
Gorou may have some useful buffs, especially for characters that count on defense. Yet, his buffs are only sufficient for Geo characters which completely limits his supportive abilities.
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Qiqi
Qiqi is one of the best healers in Genshin Impact. Not only that, she can actually revive fallen characters on her C6. Well, most players would know that since they must have collected seven Qiqis by now.
Razor
Razor used to be a top-tier Physical DPS. He still inflicts high damage, but not enough for the evolving Meta.
Traveler
Whether it's Anemo, Geo, or Electro, the twins suffer from adding much to their teams. They barely perform as supports and their damage is non-existent.
Xinyan
As a Pyro, Xinyan can't inflict high numbers via Melt or Vaporize. Instead, she relies on Physical hits to deal damage. Usually, Physical DPS should either be Cryo or Electro. Since Xinyan is a Pyro, she needs both Elements to support her in dealing Superconduct. Basically, she's not worth the investment.
B-Tier
Keqing
Keqing can be a force if players knew how to use her. Unfortunately, her Normal and Charged attacks are outperformed by most new characters. Even so, she can still Burst endlessly and make a good combo with characters like Raiden Shogun.
Beidou
Beidou shines as an Electro support. Her Burst provides a shield with continuous Electro damage and application. Sadly, Electro supports in Genshin Impact are mostly used in niche formations.
Chongyun
Chongyun can be a deadly Sub-DPS with his talents. His Burst has a low cooldown and can be used frequently. Alas, he still suffers from more negatives than positives with his unique playstyle.
Kaeya
Although Kaeya can be an amazing support, he still struggles to deal decent damage with his talents. Also, players can hardly get his Constellations, making him less viable than other units. He is best used as a battery and Cryo applicator.
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Kujou Sara
Sara is an attack buffer like Bennett. However, while Bennett can do this job without taking field time, Sara needs to be on-field more often to do hers. Furthermore, her buffing requires an impractical method. Most of the time, she's not worth the DPS loss.
Noelle
Noelle is a jack-of-all-trades. This means she excels in many roles but is mediocre in specific ones. She can shield, heal, and be a Sub-DPS. But her shield is unreliable, she needs field time to heal her team, and finally, Noelle can only be a Sub-DPS after reaching C6.
Rosaria
Rosaria can be very helpful when players need a battery or Cryo applicator in their team. But she's not the best support around.
Sayu
Sayu can be a reliable healer and can reduce enemies' Elemental Resistance with her Swirls. Unfortunately, there are always better healers and better Anemo users.
Thoma
Thoma can be a good shielder when players unlock his C4. It reduces his Cooldown and increases his Burst uptime. But that's pretty much all that he can offer.
Yanfei
Although Yanfei is so close to Ningguang in terms of playstyle, she still consumes a small amount of stamina when hitting her Charged attacks. This causes her to lose a lot of her reliability.
Yoimiya
Yoimiya is definitely a top-tier single damage dealer in Genshin Impact. She can finish any boss quickly. However, she struggles when she goes against a group of enemies, or even worse, moving enemies.
A-Tier
Diluc
Once upon a time, Diluc was considered an SS tier. Diluc is now barely used in the Abyss. Not to mention, maybe in the entire game. Even with the low Diluc usage, he can still deal some satisfying damage.
Jean
Jean is very useful in several areas. She can heal, CC, and reduce enemies' resistance, allowing her teammates to inflict more damage. She's without a doubt an important addition to any team.
Klee
Because Klee is a Pyro user, she's supposed to have a top-tier DPS. Unfortunately, her kit didn't get upgraded through the versions, which put other characters in favor when it comes to dealing the most damage.
Tartaglia
Childe is the king of melee AOE damage. When he activates his Elemental Skill and enters his melee stance, Tartaglia's damage won't be easy to read as his passive will keep triggering Hydro explosions. Sadly, he is completely useless against bosses and single targets. His long Elemental Skill Cooldown also makes him an unpopular choice among the fanbase.
Sangonomiya Kokomi
Undoubtedly, Kokomi is the best healer in Genshin Impact. She can also fill the role of a Sub-DPS. Previously, she would've ranked lower, but thanks to Ocean-Hued Clam, she can now fare with top-tier units.
Mona
Mona's true power resides in her Elemental Burst. Other than that, she can't really offer anything to her team but some mediocre Hydro applications.
Ningguang
Ningguang is an excellent 4-star Main and Sub-DPS. In terms of damage, her C6 can be on par with 5-star DPS characters. Moreover, since she's a Geo user, Ningguang doesn't rely on Elemental Reactions and can be flexible in many compositions.
Fischl
Fischl was one of the most used supports in Genshin Impact. However, like any other Electro user, wielding the Electro vision is her curse. Although Fischl possesses some amazing abilities, she can't really fit in most team compositions due to her vision. Furthermore, Fischl is now clouded by Raiden Shogun.
S-Tier
Arataki Itto
While players are still discovering Itto's potentials, his Elemental Burst alone got him in high rankings on every tier list. Arataki Itto can carry the team's damage, but only if the team is dedicated to support him.
Eula
Eula can deliver some devastating Physical blows, especially during her Elemental Burst. Her Lightfall Sword has the ability to delete enemies if they're still alive when it happens.
Kamisato Ayaka
Ayaka wasn't considered a top-tier character when she was first introduced. Later on, players discovered how deadly her Kamisato Art: Soumetsu is when paired with other characters' Elemental Bursts.
Xiao
There's no doubt that Xiao is one of the best characters in Genshin Impact. Once he wears his Yaksha Mask, Xiao violently and quickly starts defeating enemies around him.
Venti
At the start of the game, Venti was easily the best character available. After a while, miHoYo started introducing more and more enemies that are not controlled by Venti. But still to this day, the Anemo Archon is an outstanding support, especially against smaller enemies.
Albedo
The recent buff on Albedo's Artifacts and Sword shifted his damage to a whole new level. Right now, Albedo can inflict massive damage and provide endless Crystallize supplies without consuming any field time.
Diona
Diona was and still is an absolutely amazing support. She can cleanse, shield, heal, and apply Cryo periodically. She can even be a decent battery, especially if she was wielding Favonius Warbow or Sacrificial Bow.
Sucrose
If used right, Sucrose can cause chaos on the battlefield. Her Skills and Bursts are packed with Crowd-Controls and Anemo hits. She can also buff the team's Elemental Mastery, making her an excellent choice for compositions that rely on Elemental Reactions.
SS-Tier
Bennett
Ever since players discovered how crazy of a support Bennet is, he remained in SS and he won’t leave that tier anytime soon.
Ganyu
Ever since Ganyu's release in Version 1.2, there's no character that can mindlessly deal damage as high as her. If Genshin Impact wishes to avoid powercreep, Ganyu should stay in the SS Tier for a while longer.
Hu Tao
When Hu Tao activates her Elemental Skill and enters her Paramita Papilio state, she destroys everything in her dash. She’s easily a top-tier damage dealer.
Kaedehara Kazuha
The difference between Kazuha and other Anemo supports is the amount of damage and CC he can provide while boosting his whole team. This makes him an obvious contender for the SS spot.
Raiden Shogun
Raiden is so useful in many areas in Genshin Impact. Both her Elemental Skill and Burst offer utility that is needed to either increase damage or make the team Burst more frequently.
Xiangling
Xiangling’s damage is good, and her AOE is outstanding. The recent artifacts and weapons ensured that the Chef can keep her Burst up the whole fight. She can deal massive damage while staying Off-field.
Xingqiu
Another Off-field Sub-DPS is Xingqiu. His Elemental Burst is arguably unmatched by even 5-star characters. The damage he can inflict without consuming any field time is insane. Xingqiu can probably stay as a top Tier Sub-DPS for a long time.
Zhongli
When Zhongli's shield is on, there's nothing dangerous anymore in Genshin Impact. Corrosion debuff seems to be an attempt to balance his shield, but it doesn't stop people from using him.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
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