Genshin Impact tier list: Best characters as of the September 2021 anniversary

S-tier characters in Genshin Impact

Characters in Genshin Impact who are considered S-tier are those who could truly excel in a vast majority of situations. They are some of the best support characters or best DPS characters in Genshin Impact.

Bennett

• Element: Pyro
• Role: Support (ATK buff and healing)
• Pros:
  • One of the best support abilities to buff the damage of characters; 12-second duration with a 15-second cooldown; easy to recharge.
  • Because Bennett is a Pyro character, he works well with some of the best types of elemental reactions (i.e., melt and vaporize).
  • Can be upgraded to C6 to infuse all attacks with Pyro (mono-Pyro setup), but is better off left at C5.
• Cons: Healing can only be done by his burst, but we’re not really looking at Bennett as primarily having a healer’s role anyway.

Ganyu

• Element: Cryo
• Role: Main DPS
• Pros:
  • One of the strongest DPS characters in Genshin Impact.
  • Doesn’t require hefty investment (just level up her normal attack talent for the AoE bloom).
  • Relatively easy to use since you just focus on charged shots.
  • High uptime with her burst.
  • Elemental skill can taunt enemies.
  • Ideal for perma-freeze and melt comps.
• Cons: Nothing that’s too glaring.
• Related article: Ganyu build guide

Xingqiu

• Element: Hydro
• Role: Sub/Off-field DPS
• Pros:
  • The best off-field DPS ability.
  • Rain Swords will easily proc elemental reactions as a stronger main DPS engages enemies.
  • Ideal for vaporize and perma-freeze comps.
• Cons: Will need to reach C6 for maximum efficiency.

Kazuha

• Element: Anemo
• Role: Sub/Burst DPS or Support (Elemental mastery and crowd control)
• Pros:
  • Multiple instances of damage from the initial pull with the elemental skill and plunging attack to several infused hits with the burst.
  • Can infuse elements from the surrounding environment without having to interact or be affected by them.
  • Is viable in a DPS or support role (boosting main DPS characters via elemental mastery).
  • One of the best elemental shield-breakers in the game.
• Cons: Nothing that’s too glaring, except perhaps how his pull capability is decent, but not as strong as Venti’s.
• Related article: Kazuha build guide

Zhongli

• Element: Geo
• Role: Sub/Burst DPS or Support (Shields)
• Pros:
  • When fully stacking HP, it’s unlikely for your shields to break in most situations.
  • The shield lowers the physical and elemental resistances of nearby enemies.
  • Has an extremely useful crowd control ability with petrification.
• Cons: Nothing that’s too glaring.
• Related article: Zhongli build guide

All right, let’s go ahead and take a look at the A-tier characters in the next part of our Genshin Impact September 2021 anniversary tier list.