The best Genshin Impact characters, as of Version 7.0 in September 2026, are led by Neuvillette, Furina, Nahida, Kazuha, Raiden Shogun, and Navia — a mix of self-sufficient hypercarries and supports so flexible they slot into almost any team. With six years of characters to pull from, deciding where to spend Primogems is less about finding a “best” unit and more about finding the one that solves your team’s actual problem.
How This List Is Built
This ranking reflects where Game8’s 7.0 tier list and other tracked tier lists consistently place these characters heading into Version 7.0, cross-checked against their actual kits rather than just copied from one source. It leans toward characters that are strong with reasonable investment, not ones that only work fully min-maxed. Banner availability rotates constantly, so treat this as a guide to who’s worth building when they run, not a live pull recommendation.
The Best 5-Star Characters, Ranked
1. Neuvillette (Hydro)
Neuvillette is built to be played almost alone: his charged attacks hit hard, scale off his own high HP, and heal him at the same time, so he needs less support investment than most hypercarries to perform. That self-sufficiency is exactly why he’s stayed a top-tier pick since his 2023 release rather than fading as newer units launched.
2. Furina (Hydro)
Furina converts her own HP into a teamwide damage buff, and her ability to apply Hydro off-field makes her one of the best enablers for reaction-based teams in the game. She’s less a damage dealer in her own right than a multiplier on everyone else’s, which is why she pairs so naturally with Neuvillette.
3. Nahida (Dendro)
Nahida is generally regarded as the best Dendro character available, catalyzing Bloom, Quicken, Aggravate, and Spread reactions more efficiently than any other Dendro unit. Almost any Dendro-reaction team benefits from having her in it, which keeps her relevant no matter what else changes in the meta.
4. Kaedehara Kazuha (Anemo)
Kazuha groups enemies, buffs elemental damage, and applies Anemo for Swirl reactions, making him one of the few characters that fits into nearly every team archetype in the game rather than one specific comp. That flexibility is the whole case for him: he rarely makes a team worse and often makes it meaningfully better.
5. Raiden Shogun (Electro)
Raiden Shogun’s Elemental Burst restores energy to the whole party, which makes burst-heavy team compositions function at all, on top of solid Electro damage of her own. Newer artifact sets built around Hyperbloom and Aggravate reactions have kept her a mandatory pick in those team types years after her original release.
6. Navia (Geo)
Navia is a fast, front-loaded Geo carry whose kit is built around Crystallize reactions, letting her clear both single targets and groups of enemies quickly. She’s a more standalone pick than Kazuha or Nahida — built around her own Geo team rather than slotting into everything — but she’s one of the strongest options once that team is built.
Why So Many Best-Characters Lists Disagree
Tier lists for a six-year-old gacha game disagree constantly, and it’s rarely because one site is wrong. Genshin Impact’s reaction system means a character’s value depends heavily on who else is in the party — Nahida is close to mandatory in a Dendro team and irrelevant outside one, while Neuvillette barely needs a team at all. A list built around solo-carry potential and one built around Spiral Abyss clear speed will rank the same roster differently, and both can be right for different players.
Genshin Impact has grown into one of the biggest live-service games on the market by any measure: it has reportedly crossed an estimated $10 billion in lifetime player spending as of late 2025, according to industry tracker Shane the Gamer, faster than any other mobile game has hit that mark. That scale is also why HoYoverse has started diversifying rather than repeating itself — its newer Nodusfall is a gritty co-op action game that looks nothing like Genshin at all. Banner and tier-list discourse still moves fast on the flagship game, though — a huge, active playerbase means every patch gets picked apart within hours.
If you’re just getting started rather than chasing meta picks, our Genshin Impact beginner team comps guide covers what to build first without needing any of the characters above.
| Character | Element | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Neuvillette | Hydro | Self-sufficient main DPS |
| Furina | Hydro | Teamwide damage buffer |
| Nahida | Dendro | Reaction-team support |
| Kazuha | Anemo | Universal crowd control / buffer |
| Raiden Shogun | Electro | Energy battery / sub-DPS |
| Navia | Geo | Standalone Geo carry |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best Genshin Impact character overall?
Neuvillette is most commonly ranked at the top for raw solo damage, though Furina and Nahida are ranked just as highly as enablers who make entire teams stronger.
Is Kazuha good in every team?
Nearly. His crowd control and elemental damage buff work with almost any element combination, which is why he’s rated one of the most universally useful 5-stars in the game.
Do I need Furina to make Neuvillette work?
No, but they pair unusually well — Furina’s HP-scaling buff and off-field Hydro application boost Neuvillette’s own Hydro damage on top of her general teamwide buff.
Does this ranking apply to free-to-play accounts?
The roles described hold at any investment level, though hypercarries like Neuvillette and Navia need more built gear to reach top performance than flexible supports like Kazuha.
