Every Genshin Impact Element, Ranked Worst To Best (2024)

Genshin Impact's seven elements are crucial parts of the game, and although each contributes to gameplay in its own way, there is a hierarchy to them. The seven multi-faceted elements affect numerous parts of the combat and exploration systems and are some of the first things players should learn to master. Doing so unlocks new opportunities in combat and exploration, making Genshin Impact much easier than it would be otherwise. While learning how each element works alone is essential, it is equally so to understand the reactions and interactions they share with each other.

Genshin Impact initially launched with only six elements, but there were signs that a seventh would be added to the title. This seventh element was Dendro, which launched with the 3.0 update that added the Sumeru region. There have since been hints that Genshin Impact will add new elements, such as Light and Dark, as there are hints of their presence in the world of Teyvat - but any playable inclusion of them would likely come far down the line. This leaves the seven elements as the foundational pillars of the elemental system, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

7 Geo Is The Worst Element In Genshin Impact

Best Characters: Zhongli, Noelle, And Navia

Though it may have some fantastic designs and potential, Geo is undoubtedly the worst element in Genshin Impact. Geo has a single elemental reaction, Crystallize, whereas most other elements have three or four. Crystallize combines with Cryo, Pyro, Hydro, and Electro, but even so, it's not all that useful. All Crystallize does is give the player a shield, and it doesn't last long. With the right build, Genshin Impact's Geo characters can do the trick. However, apart from all-Geo teams that take advantage of Geo resonance, which increases the party's shield strength and damage output, they're not very helpful.

The only two outliers in this are Zhongli, the game's most powerful shielder, and Noelle, who's good for players just starting out. Exploration is another area where Geo offers little to the player. Outside certain areas where Zhongli and the Geo Traveler can help speed up traveling, no other Geo character offers a beneficial exploration ability. Past that, the best use of Geo abilities is to mass break ores scattered across the world.

Recently, Geo got much better with the release of Navia, but she is still heavily reliant on other Geo characters for increased Crystallize reactions. Chiori's release, which was heavily anticipated, was something of a disappointment seeing that she, as a Geo sub-DPS, has double-scaling and does not really serve much of a purpose other than trigger Geo resonance. There are hopes that Geo will improve with the rumored release of Xilonen in Genshin Impact 5.1, who will have more significant bonuses based on each party member's elemental type, but that has yet to be officially confirmed by developer HoYoverse.

6 Electro Is One Of The Weaker Elements

Best Characters: Raiden, Fischl, And Clorinde

Electro may include some of the most remarkable characters in Genshin Impact, but the element itself feels weak in comparison. It has many reactions, many of which can be convenient in combat. Superconduct deals AoE damage while reducing enemy physical resistance, and Quicken is an important step in inflicting a wide variety of status effects. The problem Electro has lies more in the lack of characters who can use these powerful reactions to their full potential - heavy hitters like Raiden or Fischl are usable in most teams, but others like Yae Miko or Beidou require more niche comps.

Many Electro characters saw a rise in popularity with the inclusion of Dendro, which created more reactions for Electro, but it still falls short of other elements. In regard to exploration, Electro offers slightly more than Geo since Sumeru's addition. Before, the only use for Electro was solving the puzzles sprinkled around Inazuma, but now Electro also helps navigate around the lush landscape of Sumeru. Outside those two uses, Electro doesn't offer much more in terms of overall exploration of Teyvat.

The release of Clorinde in Genshin Impact helped increase the element's reputation, though it is still subpar compared to others. Prior to that, Fontaine also introduced Charlotte, who is a superb Pyro support character who can boost Overloaded reactions, triggered when mixing Pyro with Electro, so the Electro element itself did get something of a buff. Of course, Hyperbloom, still remains as one of the most powerful reactions in the game, but it can be tricky to trigger it effectively thanks to rotation downtime and how long elemental spread sticks onto enemies before dissipating.

5 Anemo Is Highly Flexible

Best Characters: Venti, Kazuha, And Xinyan

Anemo is undoubtedly the most flexible element in Genshin Impact, playing well with other elements while having some benefits on its own. The Swirl reaction, which does elemental damage, synergizes incredibly well with Cryo, Pyro, Hydro, and Electro and has led to the high standings of great supports like Venti and Kazuha. Anemo also has excellent crowd-control capabilities that speed up combat against multiple enemies, eventually becoming a crucial part of clearing the higher floors of the Spiral Abyss. Overall, Anemo can be a vital part of most team comps but still relies on the strengths of other elements.

In addition, Anemo just happens to be the best exploration element in the game. Anemo resonance gives reduced stamina composition and increased movement speed, making it the best for quick travel in any region. This has made characters like Sayu and Kazuha great for moving around the world. Anemo is also used in solving many of Genshin Impact's original puzzles that are hidden throughout the world.

Anemo has gained a significant buff with the release of Xinyan, who is not only a fantastic healer and support character for Plunging teams, but she can effectively transform any DPS into a Plunging DMG DPS. Teams with Xiao as the main DPS, Xinyan as the healer and support, Faruzan as the buffer, and some off-field sub-DPS can be some of the strongest in the game, and most of it is composed of Anemo DMG and an occasional Swirl reaction.

4 Cryo Is Good, But Hasn't Gotten Any Better

Best Characters: Ayaka, Ganyu, And Wriothesley

Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with Cryo, as it is home to many of the game's most used characters and deals plenty of damage. The popularity of characters like Ayaka, Ganyu, and Kaeya is a testament to this fact. Cryo's reactions are also very useful in their own right, especially Superconduct and its defense reduction, or Frozen and its immobilizing crowd control capacity. Cryo's biggest weakness is that the elements above it have gotten stronger while, for the most part, Cryo has stood still.

Exploration-wise, Cryo has one great use that makes it handy for quickly getting to hard-to-reach places. Ice bridging across bodies of water saves stamina and speeds up the whole venture, and is useful across many different regions. This process is excellent for players who have not invested in the Statues of The Seven in Genshin Impact and is one of the chief methods of reaching the Spiral Abyss.

As is the case with a lot of the previously mentioned elements, Cryo got a lot stronger with the release of a new character. Wriothesley arrived to change the meta when it comes to Freeze and Melt team comps. The 5-star character uses a Catalyst in battle, allowing his Normal Attacks to spread Cryo, making Cryo-related elemental reactions much easier to trigger. Combined with a reliable Hydro spreader, he can constantly keep enemies Frozen, and, with a Pyro unit, trigger Melt for increased damage output.

3 Dendro Requires Work, But Is Incredibly Powerful

Best Character: Nahida

Genshin Impact's newest element takes a bit of thinking and building, but once that is done, it becomes one of the strongest in the game. Dendro's reactions are more complicated than the others, but each is incredibly strong and has allowed other characters to rise back to prominence. Besides that, Dendro can pump out immense damage, and its team comps provide an excellent fun factor. Genshin Impact has many good Dendro characters, but not quite as many as other elements. That's mostly a result of its newness. However, that problem is solved if players have Nahida.

Exploration with Dendro is a bit weird, and can be hit or miss depending on the location. Inside Sumeru, it is crucial to solving puzzles and navigating across the landscape. Outside Sumeru, Dendro has little use in exploration, which is a bit of a letdown considering its potential.

As the last element to arrive in the game, Dendro is still experimenting with its limitations and new gameplay avenues. This can be seen with Emilie, one of the first truly usable Dendro sub-DPS characters in the game. Her off-field Dendro spread is great for teams trying to reach the almighty Hyperbloom or Burgeon reactions. With Emilie, even the lowly Burning reaction got a significant buff so, while it already debuted as a strong element, chances are that it will only become stronger – especially with the release of the 5-star Dendro DPS Kinich in Genshin Impact 5.0.

2 Pyro Does High Damage And Is Highly Flexible

Best Characters: Hu Tao, Yoimiya, Lyney, and Arlecchino

Since the beginning, Pyro has often been the most popular element when it comes to dealing damage. Initially, Klee and Diluc dominated the fiery element, but in recent versions, it has moved to Hu Tao and Yoimiya. Pyro's three significant reactions, Vaporize, Melt, and Overload, are some of the easiest to use and understand, but also the most robust in the game, making them a large part of Pyro's strength. Pyro has also been blessed with insanely strong character kits, making the element even better, even if indirectly.

Sadly, Pyro has no exploration capabilities or benefits to be used in traveling. In fact, one could argue Pyro is a hindrance to exploration, as lighting oneself on fire and having health tick away becomes an annoyance. However, this is a small setback in the grand scheme of things, so it's not like avoiding Pyro during exploration is a necessity.

As of late, while it still retains its full power, Pyro has fallen into disuse compared to other elements. Arlecchino's release was a great one to revive it and help players who no longer saw reasons to use Hu Tao or Lyney as their main DPS. With Arlecchino's Bond of Life mechanic, players can significantly increase their damage output. Now that the game is heading into the Nation of Pyro, hopes are that Pyro will be back under the spotlight, especially with the future release of Mavuika, the alleged Pyro Archon who uses a claymore in battle.

1 Hydro Is The Best Element In Genshin Impact

Best Characters: Furina, Neuvillette, And Yelan

While it was once one of the weaker elements, Hydro is now Genshin Impact's best element. It has high damage capabilities, especially in the hands of characters like Furina and Neuvillette, while also having the supportive abilities of Mona, Xingqiu, and Yelan. All of Hydro's reactions are strong, and it can even be used to trigger Vaporize, which increases the damage of the attack that inflicts the status effect. Vaporize is even stronger if Hydro is the one that activates it, doubling damage instead of multiplying it by 1.5.

Hydro and its characters continue to dominate the combat aspect of Genshin Impact. Hydro may not have the same exploration buffs that Anemo has, but it is still useful. Yelan and Mona have untargetable dashes that make avoiding enemies a breeze. Meanwhile, Barbara and Kokomi can be portable healers that, along with being better than food, prevent needing to teleport to a statue to heal – in addition to having superb Hydro spread capabilities, easily helping set up other reactions.

Every element in the game is fun and usable, and at the end of the day, that is what's most important in a video game. With the game's expansive nature and the continuous release of new characters and regions with its unique mechanics, there will always be a shift in the power dynamic. However, some elements are better than others, and in the interest of optimization, it's important to know how Genshin Impact's elements rank from worst to best.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact is an online, open-world, action RPG from the creators of Honkai 3rd Impact. In the game, players assume the role of the Traveller, a powerful being separated from their sibling during an intense battle. Stricken with amnesia and lost in a new world, players will guide their hero with the help of their new companion, Paimon, through the world of Teyvat.

RPG

Action

Adventure

Gacha

Platform(s)

Mobile , iOS , Android , PC , PS4 , PS5

Released

September 28, 2020

Developer(s)

HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)

Publisher(s)

HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)

ESRB

T for Teen - Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference

How Long To Beat