Highlights

• In Genshin Impact, including characters with high DPS potential in your party is crucial for efficient gameplay and reducing grinding time.
• Noelle, despite being known for her healing abilities, can be a main DPS character due to her wide range of Geo Damage and high Defense stat.
• DPS characters like Lyney, Furina, and Hu Tao offer powerful elemental abilities and are considered some of the best in their respective elements.

Once players get past the bliss of the anime world spliced with the Breath of the Wild gameplay formula, then it becomes readily apparent what kind of game Genshin Impact really is. Like most mobile RPGs, it involves a lot of grinding and while it has a dizzying amount of in-game resources to keep track of, the most important will always be the players' time.

When it comes to shortening the amount of time spent on grinding in Genshin Impact, DPS is always the most important factor. As such, including characters in your party with the highest DPS potential is paramount to efficiency. Besides, these characters give players a sense of power and strength. For the record, these characters were officially designated as "DPS" by the developers themselves, so put down those pitchforks and torches, pretty please?

Updated March 22, 2024, by Sanyam Jain: Chiori has been added as yet another Geo DPS unit in the game, but she might not be nearly as powerful as Navia except in some specific scenarios. This list has been updated with her position.

Noelle

• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Claymore

Noelle deserves a spot as a main DPS despite being reduced down to her healing abilities by nearly everyone (though her ability to heal is also a big reason she's amazing). Her Elemental Burst can trigger a wide range of Geo Damage from her Normal Attacks, allowing you to build on moves instead of just rotating between them as the Cooldowns end. She also offers a high Defense stat even without building her up, so enhancing this is the frosting on the defensive cake.

You can build up her Elemental Skill to raise how much HP she regenerates, but even if you don't, this move will give everyone in your party some of their health back as she continues to attack, which is a clear advantage over your enemies. Even though she tends to be used as a Support character, it is worth building her as a DPS, even if it's just to back up your Main.

Shikanoin Heizou

• Element: Anemo
• Weapon: Catalyst

Shikanoin Heizou was first released alongside Kazuha's rerun, but his abilities made him stand out. As a Catalyst user, he can deal constant Anemo damage to the enemies along with burst damage from his Elemental Skill and Burst. Anemo is a great element since you can trigger the Swirl reaction with it.

This reaction can help you reduce the opponent's RES if you have the Viridescent Venerer set. Overall, Heizou can dish out a good amount of damage regularly if you pair him with the right characters.

Kaeya

• Element: Cryo
• Weapon: Sword

Kaeya is a strong Cryo character with shorter Cooldown periods for his attacks, making his ability to stay on the field fighting one of his best attributes. He also offers a strong Normal Attack, so you can deal a lot of damage while using little energy. Kaeya is also one of a handful of characters that gain Elemental Skill damage multipliers easily and with higher impact.

Unfortunately, his Elemental Skill does have a short AoE, so his speed and short Cooldown period are needed to balance this out. A common complaint is that his Constellations are harder to obtain compared to a lot of other characters, and while this is true, his basic stats are strong and easy to build with Artifacts, which makes him a good DPS for anyone, but a great main DPS if you're a casual player or new to the game.

Diluc

• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Claymore

The fabled Diluc is currently considered the simplest DPS available by the community. That's because Diluc's Pyro damage stacks easily and hits like a train multiple times making it great against swarms of enemies or bosses. With time, multiple Claymores have been released in the game that caters to his abilities.

His Elemental Burst? He unleashes a fire phoenix that keeps pushing into enemies, damaging them until it explodes. His Elemental Skill can also be used thrice before it enters a short cooldown. The only problem is that his Burst pushes the enemies away from you, and that's the last thing you want while using a close-range character.

Tartaglia

• Element: Hydro
• Weapon: Bow

The first harbinger to be released as a playable character, Tartaglia (or Childe) is one of Hoyoverse's favorites. He has the highest number of reruns among all the characters, and he even got a signature Bow with his first rerun called Polar Star. Ever since the release, Tartaglia's ability to change his weapon has caught everyone's attention.

After activating his Elemental Skill, Childe will switch his weapon to dual blades that can attack the enemies in quick succession. Along with his Riptide effect, he is one of the best Hydro applicators in the game. However, the cooldown of his Skill has slowly brought him down in DPS ranking.

Xiangling

• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Polearm

At the start of the game, Xiangling was rated as one of the mediocre characters by the Genshin community. With time, her true potential was realized and she became one of the best off-field damage dealers in the game. Her Pyronado can deal a huge amount of damage, especially if you build her on Elemental Mastery with a Vaporize team.

Moreover, it seems like every single Polearm being released in the game can be used by Xiangling in some way. This is because she works with most stats like Energy Recharge, Elemental Mastery, ATK Percent, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG. Since you can also get a free copy of Xiangling from the Spiral Abyss, she's great for beginners as well.

Kamisato Ayato

• Element: Hydro
• Weapon: Sword

Hoyoverse did a lot of teasing before releasing Kamisato Ayato in the game because they knew that his design and abilities would attract a lot of players. Ayato is one of the two siblings from the Kamisato Clan who control the Yashiro Commission. Both his Elemental Skill and Burst are great applicators of the Hydro element.

After activating his Elemental Skill, you can constantly deal AoE Hydro damage in front that can be doubled with Vaporize reaction. His kit also paves the way for him to be an integral part of a Freeze team. With a short cooldown, he is great for open-world exploration.

Tighnari

• Element: Dendro
• Weapon: Bow

Tighnari was the first five-star Dendro character released in Genshin Impact, and he was added to the Standard Banner roster later. This means that you can get Tighnari at any point by wishing on the Standard Banner or if you lose your 50/50 on the Limited Banner. Once again, his Elemental Skill gives him a buff for a few seconds.

After using the Skill, Tighnari can charge his aimed shots much faster, and they deal two instances of damage. Moreover, his Elemental Burst also deals massive one-time damage, which can be great if you have a lot of Energy Recharge. His damage gets even better in a Spread Reaction team.

Cyno

• Element: Electro
• Weapon: Polearm

Elemental Mastery has been Hoyoverse's favorite stat when it comes to Sumeru characters. The entire Quicken, Aggravate, and Spread reactions are based around EM, and it's the same for Cyno's abilities. Whenever you activate his Elemental Burst, you can deal Electro DMG in quick succession.

His main damage output comes from using your Elemental Skill at the correct time during your Burst. Almost all of his damage during the Elemental Burst increases based on his EM after getting the Authority Over the Nine Bows passive.

Keqing

• Element: Electro
• Weapon: Sword

Keqing is one of the characters that can be acquired through the Standard Banner. Her Elemental Skill shoots out a Stiletto that damages enemies within a small AoE, and you can blink to this Stiletto and perform another AoE attack. After blinking, your weapon gains Electro-infusion for a few seconds.

With time, Keqing went down in the ranking of best DPS, but the introduction to the Aggravate reaction brought her right back up. If you put this character with a few good Dendro applicators, she'll delete all the surrounding enemies. She performs the best against a horde of smaller enemies.

Chiori

• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Sword

Chiori is an off-field turret-type Geo damage dealer in Genshin Impact with her Elemental Skill being the main source of all her damage. Whenever you use this ability, she spawns a Tamoto on the field with a chance of spawning an additional one if you have a Geo Construct or a normal Geo character with her first constellation.

After using the Skill once, you can either get Geo Infusion on Chiori or switch to the next character in your party based on the button you press. While her kit looks quite good on paper, she's held back by the value of Geo reactions and the long intervals between the damage from her Tamoto. It's important to note that Chiori goes much higher on this list if you get her on constellation six.

Yoimiya

• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Bow

Yoimiya was one of the most troubled releases for Genshin Impact as a lot of the players critiqued her playstyle focus. On one hand, her Elemental Skill focuses on enhancing her Pyro damage. On the other hand, her Elemental Burst is more or less a support ability for the party.

However, people quickly discovered the power of Yoimiya with the Shimenawa's Reminiscence artifact set, and she quickly became one of the best characters to fight boss enemies. Moreover, you won't have to pull Amber out for every Pyro torch puzzle when you have this character.

Arataki Itto

• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Claymore

It's about time Genshin Impact introduced a five-star Geo character that focuses on DPS. In that regard, Arataki Itto slaps - both literally and figuratively. He can unleash tons of Geo damage in quick succession using his abilities. Moreover, he easily synergizes with Geo characters for that sweet resonance.

While he gets his signature weapon, he can also use one of the free-to-play friendly weapons and still produce good damage. He is also one of the few characters that excel in the mono team of the element he belongs to.

Gaming

• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Claymore

Gaming is arguably one of the most fun and detailed four-star units Genshin Impact has released, and his play style is also quite unique since it revolves around Plunge Attacks. Whenever you use his Skill to hit an enemy or a wall, he jumps high in the air. When you get launched using this skill, you can perform a special Plunge Attack dealing a ton of damage.

This ability gets buffed during his Ultimate as it allows him to use these special Plunge Attacks quite frequently. With the correct build and some constellations, you can easily use Gaming to beat the most difficult content in the game. Moreover, if you have Xianyun and Constellation Six Bennett with him, he can be ranked even higher on this list.

Yae Miko

• Element: Electro
• Weapon: Catalyst

The fox envoy living at the Grand Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko has a close relationship with Inazuma's Archon. Much like other Electro characters in the game, the Dendro element has increased her damage immensely. Using her Elemental Skill, you can drop three kitsune on the battlefield that will deal constant Electro DMG.

If you trigger her Elemental Burst with the maximum kitsune on the field, she will send four lightning strikes to destroy the enemies. The short cooldown of her abilities makes her a great character for open-world exploration, and the beautiful animations of this character add to the overall attraction.

Wanderer

• Element: Anemo
• Weapon: Catalyst

The second harbinger to join the playable character roster of Genshin Impact, Wanderer has had quite a history in the main story. Much like his personality, his kit is quite self-centered and brings him to the center of attention. His Elemental Skill lets him hover over the ground and buffs his Anemo DMG.

The best thing about Wanderer is that his normal attacks deal a good amount of damage even without any buffs. Moreover, you can use him as the main DPS or as a carrier of reaction with a few off-field applicators. Faruzan can also greatly buff Wanderer's damage, making him even stronger.

Nilou

• Element: Hydro
• Weapon: Sword

Nilou is a dancer who has a major role in Sumeru's Archon quest, and she has quite a unique kit. While she doesn't deal a lot of Hydro damage through her Skill or Burst, her special bloom ability is what makes her one of the best DPS. After using her Elemental Skill, Nilou applies an effect to all her party members.

This effect occurs if your party has Dendro and Hydro characters only, and it deals extra damage from the cores generated after triggering the Bloom reaction. Nilou can easily delete a horde of enemies if you pair her correctly, but her passives also make her quite a niche character and you have to build the whole team around her.

Eula

• Element: Cryo
• Weapon: Claymore

At the moment, Eula still holds the current highest record for the single biggest attack damage done in Genshin Impact. In the right configuration, she can dish out a jaw-dropping six million points of physical damage. This does happen in one second and is debatable whether it counts as DPS or not but one thing is for certain: anyone who gets hit by that and doesn't have a shield is going down.

While you shouldn't expect your typical Eula to deal that much damage, she is still the best Physical DPS in the game. Even with little resource investment in her weapon and artifacts, you can easily deal over 100,000 damage with her Elemental Burst.

Kamisato Ayaka

• Element: Cryo
• Weapon: Sword

Ayaka's fans spent a long time patiently waiting for her to arrive along with the Inazuma expansion and she didn't disappoint. She went well above and beyond expectations. She has stood the test of time and remains one of the top three DPS characters in Genshin Impact.

With Cryo Resonance and Blizzard Strayer set, she can easily deal with Crit hits even with a low Crit Rate, which allows you to focus on her Crit DMG. Moreover, her Elemental Burst can delete most of the enemies as far as you can prevent them from getting pushed back using an Anemo crowd-controlling character.

Navia

• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Claymore

Navia was assigned one of the least powerful visions and weapon types in Genshin Impact, and she still broke right past everyone's expectations. She's a burst-type DPS that can use her Skill every few seconds to deal massive damage to the enemies near her. This damage can be increased by giving her certain stacks.

You have to collect Crystallize Shards to gain these stacks, but this can easily be done by holding her Elemental Skill. You can also get Geo Infusion on her for four seconds every time you use the Skill, making her great as an on-field DPS as well.