Genshin Impact: best DPS characters for all elements

Make these characters the cornerstones of your teams

There are so many Genshin Impact characters by now that it’s hard to keep track of them all – and while most offer some benefit or advantage under different circumstances, a few of them are simply so strong that they stand out. The best DPS characters in Genshin Impact not only carry you through the story portions of the game, but also make your runs through the Abyss easy as pie.

Naturally, no character in Genshin Impact fights alone, as the action RPG always has you use four units as a team. Your Main DPS will need Support and Sub DPS characters to assist them, but those mainly depend on which Main DPS you choose. This makes them the cornerstone of each Genshin Impact team.

To make things a bit less complicated for you when choosing which team to build up, we’ve listed the best DPS characters in Genshin Impact for all elements in this guide.

Best Pyro DPS: Hu Tao – Genshin Impact

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Hu Tao can make a very solid case for herself being the best overall DPS character in Genshin Impact, but the issue was never even in doubt when it comes to the Pyro element. Thanks to a powerful damage-enhancing elemental resonance as well as devastating elemental reactions, Pyro is regarded as one of the strongest elements when it comes to dealing damage.

We have a full Hu Tao build and materials guide for you to check out, but here’s a quick rundown:

• Best Hu Tao weapon: Staff of Homa
• Best Hu Tao artifacts: 4x Crimson Witch of Flames
• Best Hu Tao team: Yelan (Sub DPS), Xingqiu (Support), Zhongli (Support)
• Best Hu Tao strategy: Charged Attacks after using Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst; Elemental Burst should be activated when Hu Tao has less than 30% HP.

Runner-up: Yoimiya.

Best Hydro DPS: Ayato – Genshin Impact

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Hydro is usually known for its fantastic Support and Sub DPS characters like Kokomi, Yelan, and Xingqiu, but it also offers a bunch of powerful Main DPS units – and Kamisato Ayato is the most powerful of them all. His ability to increase the range of his attacks in addition to very consistently infusing them with Hydro through his Elemental Skill is key to his success.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Ayato:

• Best Ayato weapon: Haran Geppaku Futsu
• Best Ayato artifacts: 4x Echoes of an Offering
• Best Ayato team: Xiangling (Sub DPS), Kazuha (Support), Bennett (Support)
• Best Ayato strategy: Normal Attacks after using Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst with Pyro off-field effects present.

Runner-up: Tartaglia.

Best Anemo DPS: Wanderer – Genshin Impact

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Anemo is in the same boat as Hydro, as it’s mostly seen as a support element, but several more recent additions to the game have opened up the possibilities of Anemo units to act as Main DPS characters. Wanderer is quite a unique character, coming with a hovering ability and being able to absorb other elements for special effects, which all makes him very potent.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Wanderer:

• Best Wanderer weapon: Tulaytullah’s Remembrance
• Best Wanderer artifacts: 4x Desert Pavilion Chronicle
• Best Wanderer team: Yelan (Sub DPS), Faruzan (Support), Bennett (Support)
• Best Wanderer strategy: Normal and Charged Attacks from hovering position after using Elemental Skill, finish with Elemental Burst.

Runner-up: Xiao.

Best Electro DPS: Raiden Shogun – Genshin Impact

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Electro has been on the upswing ever since Inazuma was released, but the addition of Dendro reactions with Sumeru really catapulted Electro to the next level. While not strictly a Main DPS character, Raiden Shogun is probably the best Electro DPS to build due to her versatility, as she can act as an on-field and off-field character.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Raiden Shogun:

• Best Raiden Shogun weapon: Engulfing Lightning
• Best Raiden Shogun artifacts: 4x Emblem of Severed Fate
• Best Raiden Shogun team: Xiangling (Sub DPS), Xingqiu (Sub DPS), Bennett (Support)
• Best Raiden Shogun strategy: Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst after everyone else on the team used theirs; once Elemental Burst is active, use Normal Attacks as quickly as possible.

Runner-up: Keqing.

Best Dendro DPS: Alhaitham – Genshin Impact

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Dendro is the newest element in Genshin Impact, making its pool of characters much smaller than for the others, and so far was mostly used to enable powerful Electro or Hydro reactions. Alhaitham is changing the game, though, claiming the position as the best Dendro Main DPS immediately upon his release.

We have a full Alhaitham build and materials guide for you to explore, but there’s the rundown:

• Best Alhaitham weapon: Light of Foliar Incision
• Best Alhaitham artifacts: 4x Gilded Dreams (4x Deepwood Memories, if it’s not present on a Support)
• Best Alhaitham team: Yelan (Sub DPS), Nahida (Support), Kuki Shinobu (Support)
• Best Alhaitham strategy: For a burst-oriented playstyle, use Elemental Skill and Charged Attack before Elemental Burst, for an infusion-based playstyle use Charged Attacks in regular intervals between Elemental Skill to preserve Chisel-Light Mirrors.

Runner-up: Tighnari.

Best Cryo DPS: Ayaka – Genshin Impact

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Cryo offers several powerful team variations thanks to reactions like Melt and Freeze, making it no surprise that Kamisato Ayaka and Ganyu, our runner-up in category, are counted among the best DPS characters in the entire game. Truth be told, they are pretty even when it comes to DPS output, so the main difference here is their playstyle (Freeze for Ayaka, Melt for Ganyu).

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Ayaka:

• Best Ayaka weapon: Mistsplitter Reforged
• Best Ayaka artifact: 4x Blizzard Strayer
• Best Ayaka team: Mona (Sub DPS), Kazhua (Support), Diona (Support)
• Best Ayaka strategy: Charged Attacks against frozen enemies intermixed with Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst.

Runner-up: Ganyu.

Best Geo DPS: Itto – Genshin Impact

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Geo is in a weird spot when it comes to mixing characters from this element into other teams, since it lacks high damage reactions and is primarily used for shielding. Team compositions with a Main DPS from this category are rare and often utilize only Geo units to maximize the effects of certain buffs, which is certainly the case for Itto.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Itto:

• Best Itto weapon: Redhorn Stonethresher
• Best Itto artifact: 4x Husk of Opulent Dreams
• Best Itto team: Albedo (Sub DPS), Gorou (Support), Zhongli (Support)
• Best Itto strategy: Elemental Skill and Normal Attacks to build up stacks for buffing Charged Attacks; use Elemental Burst whenever you can.

Runner-up: Ningguang.

Best Physical DPS: Eula – Genshin Impact

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Physical is not really an element, but nevertheless it’s an important damage type you should know about, because there are entire compositions that revolve around it. Physical damage is simply damage done through Normal and Charged Attacks that does not rely on elemental reactions. Eula is the top character in this category, thanks to her strong kit.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to build Eula:

• Best Eula weapon: Song of Broken Pines
• Best Eula artifact: 4x Pale Flame
• Best Eula team: Raiden Shogun (Sub DPS), Yun Jin (Support), Diona (Support)
• Best Eula strategy: Switch in after Raiden’s Elemental Skill and Yun Jin’s buffs, activate Elemental Burst, and follow up with Normal Attacks and Elemental Skill.

Runner-up: Zhongli.

We also have a best decks list for Genius Invokation, the Genshin Impact TCG, and a lore explainer on the Fatui Harbingers for you to enjoy.