Building a strong character in Genshin Impact isn’t just about leveling up—it’s about knowing their role, best weapons, artifacts, and talents to maximize their potential, like in any self-respecting RPG. A well-built character can change how you tackle combat, whether you’re facing weekly bosses, clearing Spiral Abyss, or exploring Teyvat.

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This guide covers everything you need to know about character roles, weapons, talent prioritization, constellations, and the best characters for different content. Whether you’re a casual player or aiming for meta builds, here’s what you need to know to get the most out of your team.

Character Roles and Team Composition

Your roster in Genshin Impact can fulfill many roles, depending on their skills, talents, constellations, and other factors. For practical purposes, we’ve compiled them into four key roles:

• Main DPS: The primary damage dealer, typically on the field the most. Examples: Hu Tao, Raiden Shogun, Ganyu.
• Sub DPS: Provides off-field damage through elemental skills or bursts. Examples: Xingqiu, Yelan, Fischl.
• Support: Buffs teammates or enables reactions. Examples: Kazuha, Shenhe, Sucrose.
• Healer: Restores HP to keep the team alive. Examples: Bennett, Kokomi, Jean.

Each team should have a balanced mix of roles. For example, a strong Hypercarry team focuses on one Main DPS with multiple supports to boost their damage, while a reaction-based team (like Vaporize or Aggravate) relies on coordinated Elemental Reactions for extra damage.

Certain characters can fill multiple roles, like Bennett (Healer/Support), Raiden Shogun (Main DPS/Sub DPS), or Kazuha (Support/Sub DPS). Understanding a character’s strengths makes it easier to build a synergized team.

Choosing the Right Weapon

Each character’s performance in combat depends heavily on their weapon type and stats. While 5-star weapons usually offer the best performance, many 4-star and F2P weapons work as solid alternatives.

Weapon Types and Their Strengths

Sword: Balanced, fast attacks. Great for hybrid DPS/support characters (Keqing, Jean).

Claymore: Slow but high damage, excels at breaking shields (Eula, Diluc).

Polearm: Fast and fluid, ideal for sustained damage or quick bursts (Hu Tao, Raiden Shogun).

Bow: Offers ranged combat, with some characters relying on charged shots (Ganyu, Tighnari).

Catalyst: Fully elemental attacks, perfect for reaction-heavy characters (Klee, Nahida).

Best Weapons Based on Role

Though there’s not one-size-fits-all when it comes to weapon types, there are some staples across the different roles that you should consider, especially when it comes to choosing weapons based on their stats:

• Main DPS: Prioritize Crit DMG, Crit Rate, or ATK% weapons. Example: Staff of Homa (Hu Tao), Polar Star (Tartaglia).
• Sub DPS: Energy Recharge is key for frequent bursts. Example: Favonius Warbow (Fischl), The Catch (Raiden Shogun).
• Support: Weapons that provide Energy Recharge or buffs are best. Example: Sacrificial Sword (Xingqiu), Freedom-Sworn (Kazuha).
• Healer: Look for HP% or Healing Bonus weapons. Example: Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (Kokomi), Favonius Codex (Barbara).

A character’s ideal weapon depends on their stats and playstyle, so consider their elemental abilities, energy needs, and role when picking a weapon. Also, consider that, while weapons can function as stat sticks to boost a character’s power passively, they can also have unique effects that can make or break builds. Make sure to read weapon descriptions to get a good feel of what characters would wield them best.

Talent Prioritization and Best Builds

Talents define a character’s effectiveness in combat, influencing how they deal damage, support teammates, or heal. Prioritizing the right ones makes a big difference, but it’s important to note that this guide only provides a general overview. If you’re looking for the absolute best builds for every situation, you may need to explore more detailed character-specific resources. However, if you just want to understand how talents work and what to focus on, here’s what you need to know.

Which Talents to Level First?

While every character is different, these are some general talent priorities based on role:

• Main DPS: Normal/Charged Attack, along with Elemental Skill/Burst. Example: Ganyu (Normal Attack).
• Sub DPS: Elemental Skill and Burst first, Normal Attack is usually last. Example: Xingqiu (Elemental Burst > Skill > Normal Attack).
• Support: Elemental Skill/Burst take priority, as Normal Attacks aren’t typically useful. Example: Kazuha (Elemental Skill > Burst).
• Healer: Focus on healing-based skills first, damage talents are secondary. Example: Kokomi (Elemental Burst > Skill).

This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a general idea of how different characters function. Some characters don’t fit neatly into one category, so it’s always best to check their abilities and playstyle when deciding which talents to level first.

Artifact Recommendations

Artifacts are one of the most important aspects of a character’s build. The right Main Stats and Set Bonuses make a noticeable difference, but farming perfect artifacts takes time. This guide isn’t about chasing the best possible stats, but rather helping you understand the basics.

Main Stat Priorities General Guidelines

If you’ve noticed, all Artifacts in the game have implicit stats, though upgrading them grants them additional substats. When it comes to choosing the right Artifact for a specific character, keep in mind your gear’s implicit stats, as it will define which character would benefit the most from it:

• Sands: ATK%, Elemental Mastery, or Energy Recharge (depends on character).
• Goblet: Elemental DMG Bonus (best for damage dealers).
• Circlet: Crit Rate, Crit DMG, or Healing Bonus (depends on role).

Commonly Used Artifact Sets

Here are a few examples of Artifact sets that would go great with specific character roles:

• Main DPS: Gladiator’s Finale (ATK%), Shimenawa’s Reminiscence (Burst damage), Gilded Dreams (Reaction-based characters).
• Sub DPS: Emblem of Severed Fate (Burst-heavy), Noblesse Oblige (Support Burst).
• Healer: Maiden Beloved (Healing Bonus), Ocean-Hued Clam (Extra healing damage).

Again, these are just a few examples, and many characters have different artifact setups depending on playstyle. If you’re just starting out, focus on getting the right Main Stats first before worrying about perfect substats or farming ideal sets.

Constellations – Are They Worth It?

Constellations are extra upgrades unlocked by pulling duplicates of a character, which can change their effectiveness. While some constellations greatly enhance a character’s potential, others provide only minor improvements.

This guide doesn’t focus on whether constellations are worth pulling for—instead, it’s here to help you understand how they affect characters in general.

Game-Changing Constellations

Some constellations fundamentally improve a character’s playstyle:

• C1 Bennett: Removes his ATK restriction, making him a top-tier support.
• C2 Raiden Shogun: Boosts team energy regeneration and her burst damage.
• C6 Faruzan: Allows her to become a strong Anemo buffer, making her much more viable.

That said, most characters function perfectly fine at C0 (without any constellations). Unless you’re specifically aiming to improve a favorite character, constellations are not necessary for casual play.

Best Characters for Different Playstyles

Not every character excels in all content—some shine in boss fights, others are better for exploration, and some perform well in team-based reaction setups. This section isn’t a tier list, but rather a simple look at characters that fit different playstyles.

Top Choices by Category

• Best Main DPS: Hu Tao, Wanderer, Raiden Shogun, Alhaitham.
• Best Sub DPS: Yelan, Fischl, Xingqiu, Nahida.
• Best Support: Kazuha, Zhongli, Shenhe, Sucrose.
• Best Healer: Kokomi, Bennett, Jean, Baizhu.

Characters That Make Exploration Easier

• Wanderer: Hovering ability makes movement effortless.
• Alhaitham: Quick climbing due to elemental skill movement.
• Yelan/Sayu: Faster sprinting and rolling abilities for quicker travel.

Of course, many characters can work in different roles, and just because a character isn’t listed here doesn’t mean they aren’t useful. Use what fits your playstyle and build around your favorite characters rather than just chasing meta picks. And even if a character isn’t very good at combat, there’s a chance they might be great for exploration, if their skillset allows.

Building strong characters doesn’t have to be complicated—understanding their roles, weapons, and talents is enough to make any team viable. Whether you’re casually exploring Teyvat or pushing high-difficulty content, knowing the basics of character building helps maximize your experience without requiring hours of grinding for perfect stats.

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