Best 5-Star Genshin Impact Characters

The characters of Genshin Impact are one of the game's biggest attractions. It's easy to understand why, as the game hosts a massive roster of characters for players to choose a favorite from—43 different playable characters currently exist in Genshin Impact. And it's a roster that will only grow over time.

With so many characters in Genshin Impact, it can be difficult to figure out who really stands apart from the rest. So, to help, we've decided to put together a list of who we think the best overall Genshin Impact characters of each Element are. Without further ado, here are the best Five-Star Genshin Impact characters.

Who are the best Five-Star characters in Genshin Impact?

Sangonomiya Kokomi

• Character Info: Sangonomiya Kokomi
• Vision Element: Hydro
• Weapon: Catalyst
• Region: Inazuma

Sangonomiya Kokomi's ability to heal the party while doing damage is top-notch. Her Elemental Skill creates a Bake-Kurage avatar out of the water, which will then both heal nearby active party members and deal Hydro Damage to nearby enemies. Her ability to heal scales with her Max Health, though, so make sure to focus on increasing her Health stat.

Kokomi's Elemental Burst coats her in the waters of Sangonomiya, increasing her Attack and Bake-Kurage Damage based on her Max Health. While in this state, Sangonomiya Kokomi will also restore the Health of nearby party members when hitting enemies with Normal or Charged Attacks. Because her damage and healing abilities both rely on her Max Health, she has the potential to be an enduring powerhouse on any team.

Ganyu

• Character Info: Ganyu
• Vision Element: Cryo
• Weapon: Bow
• Region: Liyue

Ganyu is great at distracting enemies and doing damage from a distance. Her Elemental Skill creates an Ice Lotus that deals Cryo Area-of-Effect Damage while also taunting nearby opponents. Upon being destroyed, the Lotus explodes, dealing further Cryo Area-of-Effect Damage. The Ice Lotus scales with Ganyu's Max Health, meaning the more Health that Ganyu has, the longer it will stick around.

Ganyu's Elemental Burst summons an enormous, floating Sacred Cryo Pearl. This Pearl will remain even if Ganyu leaves the field and continuously rains down shards of ice on enemies, dealing massive Cryo Area-of-Effect Damage to anything caught within its radius. If you're looking for a way to slow enemies down while still dealing damage, Ganyu's Cryo abilities do a fantastic job.

Related: Who is Baizhu in Genshin Impact and when will they release?

Hu Tao

• Character Info: Hu Tao
• Vision Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Polearm
• Region: Liyue

The young and energetic Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Director, Hu Tao, uses the Pyro Element and spirits to aid her in battle. Her Elemental Skill consumes a small portion of her Health to infuse her attacks with Pyro, increasing her Attack and knocking back nearby enemies upon activation. In this state, Hu Tao's Charged Attacks will apply the Blood Blossom debuff, causing afflicted enemies to take Pyro Damage every four seconds.

Hu Tao's Elemental Burst summons a massive, fiery spirit to deal Pyro Area-of-Effect Damage. This spirit also regenerates a percentage of Hu Tao's Max Health upon striking an enemy. This effect can be triggered up to five times, with both its Damage and Health regeneration effects increased if Hu Tao's Health is below or equal to 50 percent. Her abilities scale with her Health, so she'll still be standing as everything burns around her.

Raiden Ei

• Character Info: Raiden Shogun
• Archon Element: Electro
• Weapon: Polearm
• Region: Inazuma

The Electro Archon of Inazuma, Raiden Ei, brings a few things to the table—coordinated-attacks, the ability to regenerate Energy, and a lot of Electro Damage. Her Elemental Skill creates a buff called Eye of Stormy Judgement. This buff will attack alongside whatever character is currently on the field, dealing Area-of-Effect Electro Damage to enemies. It also increases the buffed character's Elemental Burst Damage.

Her Elemental Burst infuses her attacks with Electro, dealing Electro Damage for the Burst's duration. Each time Ei hits an enemy in this state, she'll regenerate Energy for nearby party members. This can occur once every second, up to a maximum of five times per Elemental Burst. Because she scales with Energy Recharge, she'll be using her Burst often, meaning more Energy for your party.

Related: Who is Varka in Genshin Impact and when will they release?

Zhongli

• Character Info: Zhongli
• Archon Element: Geo
• Weapon: Polearm
• Region: Liyue

Zhongli is the king of creating shields, which is fitting considering his status as the Geo Archon. His elemental skill creates a pillar that will deal Geo Area-of-Effect damage, along with a shield that scales with Zhongli's Max Health. The higher that Zhongli's max Health is, the more damage this shield will absorb before breaking. The shield even has the potential to restore Health to the character it is protecting.

Both the pillar and the shield will cause the Elemental Reaction Crystallize to occur when coming in contact with an Element. This creates small crystal shards of the respective Element, creating Elemental Absorption shields when picked up. To top it all off, Zhongli's Elemental Burst applies the Petrify status effect to any enemies it hits, turning them to stone for a short period of time.

Kaedehara Kazuha

• Character Info: Kaedehara Kazuha
• Vision Element: Anemo
• Weapon: Sword
• Region: Inazuma

If you want crowd control, Kaedehara Kazuha is your guy. His Elemental Skill sees him leaping into the air, dealing Area-of-Effect damage and leaving behind a small vacuum that pulls enemies in towards it. The Elemental Reaction Swirl will occur when another Element comes in contact with the vacuum, infusing the vacuum with the respective Element.

Kaedehara Kazuha's Elemental Burst creates a massive, circular domain around him infused with Anemo, dealing damage at regular intervals to the enemies within its radius. Like his Elemental Skill, the first Element to come in contact with this domain will cause the Elemental Reaction Swirl to occur, infusing the field with the respective Element. This domain will remain even if Kazuha leaves the field.

This list will change as more characters are released, so be sure to check back in here at Pro Game Guides for future updates! If you're looking for more great Genshin Impact content, be sure to take a look at Genshin Impact: When is the Next Banner Coming?