Genshin Impact is full of places to explore, lore to get absorbed in, and characters to meet. The game keeps adding new characters both as NPCs and playable ones. A lot of them are available for a limited time in special banners, while others are regularly cycled through or available on the permanent banner.
When starting the game, you might not be sure which characters to bring along, or which characters to roll for. Even if you happen to have a variety of characters at your disposal, you might wonder which ones to invest in first. There are a few characters that can give you quite an advantage in the early game.
Updated on January 03, 2023, by Sanyam Jain: With the Version 3.0 update, the developers released the final element that was missing from the game. Along with the fourth main region in Teyvat, multiple characters have joined the huge roster in the game, and some of them are great for players who are just starting out.
15 Thoma
Thoma is a likable and unique character. Originally hailing from Mondstadt, he settles down in Inazuma, where players can find him. He's a Pyro polearm user and a four-star character. He can be a great Sub-DPS for a starter Genshin team with constant Pyro application during his Elemental Burst.
Thoma shines when it comes to creating reactions and keeping them going on your team. His Pyro skills can help build Energy for his Elemental Burst, but he's also good on a team with another DPS Pyro character, letting you get an attack boost through Pyro Elemental Resonance.
14 Sayu
Sayu was also introduced to Genshin Impact during the Inazuma storyline. She's a miniature-sized ninja who wields a Claymore and has a passive ability that makes it easy to farm for materials. This is useful for players of all levels, but especially if you're a beginner who has trouble catching animals like fish and crystalflies.
Genshin requires a lot of farming, and Sayu's ability keeps animals from being startled and running away when you approach them to farm them. Plus, since she's a Claymore user, she's useful for mining ore, making the grind easier. Her Elemental Burst also deals damage while healing your party, making her truly multipurpose.
13 Xiangling
From the beginning of the game, Xiangling has been one of the most prominent Pyro Support characters in the game. The best part about this character is that you can unlock her for free after progressing to a certain floor in Spiral Abyss. After playing the game for a few hours, you'll be able to unlock this domain.
Xiangling's Elemental Skill leaves Gouba on the field to deal AoE Pyro damage at regular intervals. Moreover, her Elemental Burst summons a Pyro tornado that revolves around your active character, constantly dealing high Pyro damage to the surrounding enemies. While her constellations are great, she can still be a great starter character in Genshin Impact even at C0.
12 Collei
Talking about characters you can get for free from the Spiral Abyss, Collei was the first four-star Dendro character added to the game alongside the update that released Sumeru. Just like Xiangling, you can get a free copy of Collei from Spiral Abyss, and you can also randomly summon her on any of the banners.
There was also a limited-time event in the same update that gave you a free copy of the character. Her skills are simple and easy to understand since you just have to press them and there's no aiming or holding involved. Her Elemental Burst is great for applying off-field Dendro to enemies.
11 Noelle
Noelle sports a charming design, an interesting background story, and great power. She's also your first guaranteed pull, as part of the beginner exclusive banner, essentially making her a free character. Unfortunately for that same reason, she tends to get overlooked when players are building their teams.
Noelle is actually an incredibly powerful character. She has a very high defense, and her elemental skill allows attacks to heal the party, making her a good choice to keep on your team. Her Claymore also makes mining easier and allows for unique attack combos.
10 Kaeya
When starting Genshin Impact, you'll want to focus on exploring as much as you can, to unlock various Statues of the Seven and teleport waypoints. This is one of the areas where Kaeya excels. Kaeya is a free character, meaning players get him by simply progressing through the game's story, making him a great choice for beginners.
His constellation makes him a force to be reckoned with, and his Elemental Skill allows players to freeze water and walk across it, letting them explore new areas. His Elemental Skill also has a short cooldown time so that it's viable for walking on water, which is another plus, and he should absolutely be brought along when exploring.
9 Shikanoin Heizou
When you think about the Anemo element, the Swirl reaction is the first thing that comes to mind. Most characters wielding this element are used as reaction carriers because of how strong Swirl is in combat. Although, there are a few characters that can be used as a main damage dealer in your team.
Among different DPS Anemo characters in the game, Shikanoin Heizou is the only four-star. He was released for the first time along Kazuha's rerun, and his skills are quite straightforward as well. You can hold his Elemental Skill to deal higher damage, and your Burst deals a lot of damage if it Swirls an element.
8 Barbara
Barbara is one of the game's best support and healing characters, and she's only a four-star, meaning new players can acquire her relatively easily. Her Elemental Skill can heal your character over time, allowing for constant support in the heat of battle. Plus, her Elemental Burst skill heals your entire party, giving them a refresh and letting you continue fighting.
Barbara only continues to get better once you roll duplicates of her. As her constellation unlocks, she becomes a better and better healer, and by Constellation level 6, she auto-revives fainted characters in your party, making her irreplaceable for the Spiral Abyss challenge.
7 Bennett
Bennett is a great four-star Pyro character, though you may not realize it at first. Not only does he have an incredibly endearing backstory that makes you want to adopt him or be his friend, but he's also very powerful in battle and will carry your entire team.
Bennett excels in support and DPS. He does a hearty amount of damage and his Elemental Skill has a quick cooldown, making it easy to dish out Pyro elemental attacks and build up your elemental burst gauge, and that's part of what makes Bennett fantastic. When activating his Elemental Burst, Bennett creates a circle on the ground that heals characters in the circle and gives them an attack stat boost. He truly brings the best of both worlds to any player's party.
6 Diona
Characters who can shield other members of your party are an important part of Genshin Impact. While it's great to have healers like Sangonomiya Kokomi constantly healing your character, it's even better if they don't take any damage in the first place. Although, the game tried to nerf shields by introducing mechanics like corrosion.
The best part about Diona is that she can shield and heal your characters at the same time. Her Elemental Skill gives you a shield that can tank more damage if you hold it, and your Elemental Burst creates a huge field that heals the characters within. She's also amazing at applying Cryo to the opponents.
5 Beidou
If you're an experienced action game player or even if you just enjoy them, then Beidou would be a top pick for your Genshin Impact party. Beidou's Elemental Skill is based on countering and absorbing damage, allowing players to defeat enemies effectively and deal massive amounts of damage.
Her skills are especially useful when trying to take on mobs of enemies, as they reduce the damage that she takes. Plus, Beidou makes for an excellent swimmer, making her ideal for your exploration party. When swimming, she uses less stamina than other characters, which helps you travel farther in water areas without risking drowning.
4 Fischl
Fischl can be easy to come by, especially if you've been playing the game even casually since its release. Being a four-star archer, Fischl makes an appearance on regular banners as well as special ones, so it can be easy to upgrade her constellation, too. Plus, her Elemental Skill involving her raven, Oz, is powerful and helps Fischl deal continuous bursts of damage that accumulate quickly.
Fischl is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to both enemy mobs and bosses. Her elemental skills make it easy to trigger Electro reactions, and she is a speedy archer, meaning she makes for a great sub-DPS character or even a main DPS character on any team, whether you're a beginner or seasoned player.
3 Sucrose
Sucrose is an excellent Anemo character, and she's accessible to pretty much everyone, thanks to being four stars. When it comes to handling mobs of enemies, Sucrose's skill is one of the best in the game, letting players take on Spiral Abyss and other game challenges with ease. Sucrose's charge attack can also be used for various missions that involve using Anemo, such as farming dandelion seeds in-game.
Just by having Sucrose in your party, she boosts the elemental powers of the rest of your party by an incredible 20%. Plus, using Sucrose to craft enhancement materials grants you the chance to receive extra products for no added cost, which adds to her viability.
2 Xingqiu
Xingqiu is one of the best characters in the game, and many players compare him to a five-star character because of how good he is, even though he is only a four-star rarity character. Xingqiu's elemental skill and elemental burst reduce damage and stick around even when you swap characters, making it easy to chain elemental reactions
He also has an incredibly fast attack speed, allowing him to dish out a flurry of attacks in very little time. Pairing him with characters that use Pyro or Cryo, like Klee, Chongyun, or Kaeya, allows players to dish out huge amounts of elemental damage before the enemy can even react.
1 Diluc
Though Diluc is a five-star character, which makes him much harder for a new player to get, he is also a regular character on all the banners, making him more viable than limited-run characters. While Diluc attacks slowly, in part due to his Claymore, his critical attack is nothing to sneeze at, and it increases as you level him up and ascend him, ensuring that he remains powerful.
Diluc's Elemental Skill allows him to interrupt enemy attacks, preventing you from taking damage, and they also deal Pyro damage multiple times, cranking up the elemental damage to enemies.