Genshin Impact Tier List (January 2026): Best Characters Ranked

Genshin Impact, a community favorite action RPG, where you play as the Traveler, the fourth Descender in the world of Teyvat. In Genshin Impact, you will visit various Nations where you will meet people with unique personalities, and most of them will be playable in-game. That is why in this guide, we will be ranking these unique personalities in a tier list, which will help current and newer players to decide on which playable character they should invest their hard-earned Primogems.

So if you are interested in a Genshin Impact Tier List that will rank characters based on the player's perspective, and not just Constellation and Skill values, then this is the Genshin Impact Tier List that you are looking for.

Genshin Impact Tier List (January 2026)

In this Tier List, we have ranked the playable characters till Luna III version, as Luna IV has just arrived, ranging from the S Tier (Best) to D Tier (Poor). While ranking the characters, we have considered their abilities, Constellation, and how efficient they can be, even if their enemies have a different weakness besides their their the abilities and skill set. This way, our tier list points out the character who can be reliable even under the most hardcore challenge. That is why our Tier List rank ranges from:

• S-Tier
• A-Tier
• B-Tier
• C-Tier
• D-Tier

This way, we can rank all the playable characters efficiently without misjudging their utilities.

S-Tier

Characters in their tier are currently the strongest ones, who are self-sufficient in most cases, and they need minimal investments. While the Luna IV update is yet to release, it's expected that both the new 5-star units, Columbina and Zibai is going to join the S-tier.

• Mavuika: She is currently the strongest DPS in-game, and excels in Melt and Vaporize comps. Mavuika also has a unique gameplay mechanism where she won't need Energy to charge her ultimate; rather, it gets replaced with Fighting Spirit, which can be built up by consuming Nightsoul Points, and the best way to do that is by fielding Natlan characters in Mavuika's comp.

• Skirk: Currently, the strongest Cryo DPS in-game, Shirl excels in team comps featuring Hydro and Cryo units to maximize her DMG output. Her DMG output is simply too large for most world bosses, and if you managed to build her properly, then she is gonna create havoc on the battlefield.

• Furina: Furina, the human vessel who has been acting for 500 years as the Hydro Archon, currently lives as a normal human being, while the authority has been returned to the Hydro Dragon, who is currently ruling the Nation of Justice, as the Throne of Justice has been destroyed when the previous Hydro Archon Focalors sacrificed herself to deceive the Heavenly Principles. As a playable unit, she can act as both Sub-DPS/Support, depending on which stance she is using.

• Kazuha: Kazuha, a 5-star Anemo support unit, is considered the best Crowd Control unit till now, even better than the Anemo Archon, who recently got the Hexenzirkel buff. Even with the buff, Kazuha leads the way with this strong Crowd Control and RES Shred abilities.

• Bennet (C1): The only 4-star unit in the S-Tier ranking. Bennet was introduced as a playable unit previously, and since then, he has maintained his S-Tier ranking without fail. He is one of the best healers and battery units in-game and is a F2P-friendly character, with a wide arsenal of weapons. With his abilities, he can even deal decent Pyro DMG while recharging his fellow squadmate's Ult.

A-Tier

Characters in this tier are strong enough to deal with the strongest enemies, but would need strong support units to buff up their DMG outputs. Illuga, the new 4-star unit coming with the next Luna IV update, is expected to make a swift entry in the A-tier.

• Chasca: A 5-star cowboy style unit, who wields the Anemo element, and deals DMG via her massive gun, which can even fly through the skies of Natlan while burning Night Soul Points, The thing that makes her a unique and powerful unit is the ability to deal Electro, Pyro, Hydro, and Cryo lemental DMG when their is a unit from such element in her comp.

• Zhongli: One of the original Archons, and the current Geo Archon. As a playable unit, Zhongli currently has the strongest Shield, with almost no downtime, as his Skill CD is quite low. And with his ultimate, he can make his foes rock for a few moments, giving you ample time to switch to another unit to deal your next ATK.

• Navia: A well-known Geo DPS from the region of Justice, Fontain. She is currently the strongest Geo DPS in-game, and she wields a Claymore. Apart from hitting her targets like a truck, she is also the president of Spinal di Rosula, an organization from Fontain.

• Varesa: Varesa is currently one of the strongest Electro characters, who deals massive damage by jumping on her enemies. You can also use her skills to run throughout Natlan while consuming Night soul Points, which makes exploring the Nation of War fun.

• Xiangling: A renowned chef from Liyue, and a 4-star Pyro unit. Although 4-star, she has one of the most consistent Pyro applications in-game, which makes her a solid Sub-DPS unit in comps for Vaporize. But the only downside for her is that she will need a lot of Energy to apply her Ult.

B-Tier

Characters in this tier need significant resource investment, but when paired with the right weapon and support team, they can compete against even the strongest of bosses in Tevyat. If you are more interested in understanding Character types and roles, check our Genshin Impact Characters guide.

• Lan Yan: A community favourite Anemo character whose kit is focused on shielding and support. Her kit lets her create a versatile shield that can absorb incoming DMG of various elements, positioning her in the top ranks of shielding units. While her Ult provides strong Crowd Control utility, making her a valuable addition in various team comps.

• Ayaka: She is a dependable DPS who deals massive Cryo DMG in quick succession, but in the current meta, she will need strong supports like Shenhe(C1) or Escoffier to bring out her max potential. She also needs a dedicated Artifact set and weapon, making her not so F2P-friendly, but she can dish out massive DMG if the conditions are right.

• YaoYao (c6): Another community favourite 4-star unit, which specializes in healing. She is quite an F2P-friendly unit with multiple weapon and Artifact choices, allowing players to explore different combinations to try out. She mostly needs Energy, so try to pair her with a Polearm that provides Energy as its primary stat.

• Mona: Mona is a well-known Astrologer from Mondstadt, and also the student of Mage “B”. As a playable unit, she is an excellent choice for the Hydro application if you don't have Furina and can buff your teammates with her Ult.

• Hu Tao: The 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and a well-known 5-star Pyro DPS in the community. She can deal massive Pyro DMG with her Staff of Homa Polearm, and shines mainly in Vaporize comps, so better field some Hydro units like Mona, or Xingqiu. She is also F2P-friendly, and she scales on HP%, which makes it easier to build her, as Artifacts with HP stats are quite common.

C-Tier

Characters in this tier need heavy investments, but still struggle to clear the end-game challenges. So it's better to skip them if you have other powerful units. But still, if you have to build some from this tier, then go for the following five, as they offer useful utility compared to the other characters. These characters are:

• Diona
• Chongyun
• Tighnari
• Noelle
• Barbara

These five characters provide strong utilities for the early game part, and can deal with the early-game boss fights, but it's better to switch to better units once you get hold of those characters. If you are a regular player, check our Genshin Impact redeem codes article to grab some essential freebies.

D-Tier

Characters in this tier need buffs, as their current kit isn't going to win any fight unless you invest everything you have. There is no point in doing that, as there are far better units that can win those fights with half the investment. Still, the five best units among this tier are as follows:

• Yanfei
• Razor
• Heizou
• Kaveh
• Ningguang

Although they are at the bottom of the Character Tier List Genshin Impact, these five units still offer a decent kit, which might be helpful in the early gameplay. That's all for our Genshin Impact Tier List ranking the best characters. While you decide on which character to build your team around, how about you check out the latest coverage on Genshin Impact?