Strongest Genshin Impact Character
Even in a non-competitive game (other than comparing times): what is the strongest Genshin Impact character is still a question players frequently ask. However, it’s a question of how the player builds their character rather than any objective measure. No matter how shiny and cool 5-star characters are, they’re not necessary for progress or having fun. They make things easier, but they’re all you need if you build the 4-star characters well.
Still, we’ll try to answer this question in a few different ways.
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Genshin Impact Strongest Character in Lore
When talking about the lore in the game, the Archons win the title, hands down. There’s no question about it. They’re the ones who won a years-long war to take their position, so they deserve their place in the pantheon.
Venti, who looks like a harmless spoony bard, once flattened Mondstadt, which was filled with mountains and peaks. Some of the mountains he sent flying landed in the Golden Apple Archipelago, which Albedo noted in last year’s events. There was also his show of power when he laid the adventurer Stanley’s soul to rest. The mentioned character died in a place where the wind does not blow, though the archon had a little help.
Zhongli, as the oldest known character, has to be counted. Throughout his long life, he’s been through several wars and survived until the current times of the game’s events. Though time has eroded some of his powers, his achievements of note include:
- Creating the Guyun Stone Forest by sealing the god Osial under his stone spears
- Winning the Archon War for the seat of the Lord of Geo
- Sealing a rampaging Azdaha
- Saving Xiao from a life of servitude
- Safeguarding Liyue until he wanted to retire
Even as a playable character, he’s almost always in Spiral Abyss teams for his strong shields and crowd control ability.
Raiden Ei, the Shogun of Inazuma, wields the Musou no Hitotachi. It was said that this technique was used in slaying the god Orobaxi, as evidenced by the Musoujin Gorge on Yashiori Island. While cleaving the island is impressive, what usually escapes people’s notice is that Mt. Yougou was also cut in two. You can draw a line from the gorge and it matches up! Besides that, she served as a shadow warrior for the previous Electro Archon for several years before she took the position.
Of course, this covers only the currently known Archons. While Kusanali (if it was indeed her) was able to contact the Traveler in the Archipelago through Venti’s Dodo-communicator, we still don’t know how she achieved her position. The same goes for the rest of the Archons, as they have replaced the previous ones who won the war.
There’s also the issue of the Celestia gods, who are above the Archons in power. The Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles was able to subdue the Traveler twins in a short, one-sided fight. She was then able to seal both of them and somehow take away their power. Considering she’s only one god out of many, Celestia is terrifying in power.
Among the Vision-users, (Yae Miko not included because she’s almost a minor deity as a long-lived yokai) there are a few that stand out.
As the last living Guardian Yaksha, Xiao has fought all his life. That translates to years of battle experience none can match.
Diluc dismantled several Fatui bases without his Vision, though a popular interpretation of the lore says he was using a Delusion at the time.
Beidou is also impressive in slaying Haishan, a sea monster like a dragon and a fish. That act rewarded her with her Vision, meaning she killed a sea serpent monster of the deep without one.
Klee blew off the top of the Stormbearer Mountains, inadvertently copying what Venti did an age ago. Though this speaks more of her ability to create and position bombs for maximum effectiveness, you cannot deny her skillful use of explosives.
Noelle is physically strong, as her character stories note that she can easily lift bookshelves. She also threw some merchants’ burning carts into the lake and dived to save the merchandise in full armor. Wagner, Mond’s resident blacksmith, was always troubled because Noelle would permanently destroy her weapons after a few uses. It then dawned on him that it wasn’t his work that was the problem; she was just too strong.
Bennett is another strong character when you consider his lore. He was born under an unlucky star, and misfortune follows everywhere he goes. Still, he’s an optimistic and cheery person, not letting his track record with fate get him down. It’s a wonder that he’s still alive despite all the bad luck he faces.
Genshin Impact Strongest Character in Gameplay
Things get a little dicey in gameplay. Many factors to deal with, especially your luck in receiving artifacts. When considering DPS characters, their ATK, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG are the best markers of their damage output. There are also the multipliers on their skills and Bursts to consider.
Here are the contenders if we’re basing it on Elemental Burst multipliers. Note that these values are calculated with a level 13 Burst, meaning the Constellation upgrade for a +3 to the ability is activated.
- Single Hit
- Zhongli (1084%)
- Raiden (with 60 Resolve stacks: 1347%, not counting the following Electro-infused attacks)
- Childe/Tartaglia (melee stance, 986% not counting any damage from Riptide marks activating)
- One Burst instance, multiple hits
- Ayaka (4653%, goes up to 8081% at C4)
- Eula (7097% C6 with Broken Pines)
- Damage Over Time
- Xingqiu (if all 60 Rainswords hit, 6900%)
- Ganyu (if all 50 icicles hit, 7467%)
- Beidou (at C2 with at least 2 enemies, ~10000%)
Remember that these are theoretical values. In practice, only about half to 80% are used in the multiple hits and damage over time categories. The single-hit ones rarely miss, but they may. Some even have specific conditions to reach those numbers.
Besides, these multipliers can be high, but if you build them wrong, they can still underperform. Multiplying 10,000 by 1 is still 10,000, and that’s a measly number considering players are always trying to get millions of damage.
Then there are those who are strong but not through skill multipliers. Take Kazuha as an example. His multipliers aren’t as high as those listed above. However, if you combine the VV artifact set with tons of Elemental Mastery, he becomes lethal to enemies. He also boosts elemental attack damage through his fourth ascension passive. Let’s list the effects:
- 4-set VV: Reduces the enemy’s resistance to the Swirled element by 40%
- With 1,000 EM, Elemental DMG Bonus to that element increases by 40%
- Swirl damage boosted by EM
While he cannot take advantage of these bonuses other than the Swirl damage, your DPS gets a high damage boost. It’s no wonder he’s among the top 5 picks to bring into the Spiral Abyss.
The Real Strongest Characters in Genshin Impact
In gameplay, numbers can only get you so far. If you don’t like the style of the character, you don’t use them at their best. Lisa is a strong character, especially once you get some of her constellations. However, the fact that you have to hold her E to get the highest damage isn’t a good thing in a hectic, timed battle. You’re still for a few seconds, meaning you’re not dealing damage in that time. Players would rather use someone else with consistent attacks.
So who is the strongest character? Well, that would be your favorite one! The one you spent hundreds of your resins to farm the best artifacts for. Then you pulled for their best-in-slot weapon. You farmed for their skill books and triple-crowned them. It’s the character you invested the most on and love to play. Whether 4-star or 5-star, they’re the best character on your roster.
Have fun playing Genshin Impact!
