Best Support Characters And How To Use Them

Genshin Impact is an immersive game that emphasizes teamwork and tactical gameplay. Every team of four characters has a unique set of roles, with damage dealers and healers usually receiving the most praise from the community. However, support characters are often overlooked and deemed mediocre, yet they are essential to a team’s success as they provide the lifeline for the damage dealers to maximize their output and have a greater impact than what some players may realize.

Generally speaking, a support character in Genshin Impact is anyone who plays a role other than that of a DPS or healer. These roles include providing healing, buffing, debuffing, crowd control, battery, shielding, and enabling, while not being present on the battlefield most of the time.

Updated on January 17th, 2024, by Elara Leclair: Genshin Impact’s latest major expansion, introducing the Fontaine region starting from version 4.0, has brought forth a diverse array of characters. This includes exceptionally strong new DPS units like Neuvillette or Wriothesley, as well as finally introducing new additions to the Geo roster with characters like Navia. Additionally, the region has introduced plenty of support characters, some more generalist than others, with the expectation of more to come.

22 Niche Support Characters: Sara, Gorou, Shenhe, Faruzan, Mika, Chevreuse

Since the launch of Sara, the first niche support character that specializes in amplifying the power of a single element, Genshin Impact has followed up with further support characters that are only truly effective when used in teams focused on a particular element’s damage. The game currently offers Sara (Electro 4-star), Gorou (Geo 4-star), Faruzan (Anemo 4-star), Shenhe (Cryo 5-star) and Mika ( Cryo/Physical 4-star) support characters, all of which necessitate the presence of their respective element within the team in order for their support capabilities to be effective.

Another downside of these specialized support characters is that, in order to compete with more generic support characters, they require constellations, which can be harder to obtain for certain characters such as Shenhe. While these characters can provide a significant boost to a team if used correctly, their lack of versatility is why they are not as popular as other support characters.

Another noteworthy addition is Chevreuse, who stands out by not joining the roster as a single-element buffer like the others. Instead, she focuses on the Overloaded reaction, which has been somewhat overlooked compared to other Pyro or Electro reactions typically considered to bring more DPS output. However, Chevreuse deserves recognition in this section due to her niche and the limitation of benefiting only from having Electro and Pyro characters in the team (similar to Nilou’s bloom reactions to some extent). She is also able to heal the active character. Particularly with her last constellation, she can exceptionally buff Pyro or Electro-oriented teams, even surpassing commonly desired support characters like Kazuha in her niche.

21 Xiangling

• Rarity: 4-star polearm-user
• Element: Pyro
• Support Type: Enabling, Attack-boosting

It is difficult to categorize Xiangling as a traditional support character since her Pyro application makes her better suited to act as a sub-DPS. Her consistent Pyro application allows her to easily enable melt and vaporize reactions off-field, which can be highly beneficial in many team compositions. At Ascension 4, Gouba will leave a Chili Pepper after disappearing. This Chili Pepper will provide a 10% increase in character attack damage, giving a small but welcome boost to whoever picks it up.

Xiangling’s constellations can be a great asset to Pyro DPS units, as her first constellation reduces the Pyro resistance of enemies by 15% when hit by Guoba, and her sixth constellation increases the Pyro DMG of characters by 15% during the duration of her Elemental Burst, Pyronado. As Xiangling’s most valuable ability is her Burst, it is recommended that players focus on her Energy Recharge values, as a low Energy Recharge will make it difficult to keep her Burst up consistently due to its high Energy cost.

20 Kirara

• Rarity: 4-star sword-user
• Element: Dendro
• Support Type: Shielding, Burst-Support, Enabling, Exploration

Kirara is the latest addition to the Genshin Impact roster, while also being the first and only Inazuma Dendro character up-to-date. Gameplay-wise, what makes Kirara unique is that, alongside her certain abilities during combat, she is one of the best Exploration characters whenever players need to traverse large distances or climb high hills. This is because she transforms into a state where her climbing and sprinting speed is greatly enhanced while using less stamina. For those who are still exploring the map, she is a very enjoyable and convenient character to include in the team.

When it comes to combat abilities, Kirara also has some benefits. By far the most significant ability she possesses is to be able to create a shield, which can come in quite handy, especially in team compositions that utilize Bloom and its variants since these can inflict damage to the team members upon their explosion. As such, Kirara being the only Dendro shielding character alongside Baizhu, who may be considerably more difficult to obtain considering that he is a 5-star limited-time character, may allow many players who did not obtain Baizhu to still utilize a Dendro shielding character. Additionally, Kirara is able to play both on-field and off-field, giving her quite a versatility based on the team composition, and as such, can also work as a Burst-Support or Dendro enabler when built accordingly.

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18 Albedo

• Rarity: 5-star sword-user
• Element: Geo
• Support Type: Elemental Mastery-boosting, Shielding

Albedo’s exceedingly short cooldown on his elemental skill grants him an excellent AoE zone, making him an ideal sub-DPS for Geo DMG off-field. Moreover, each interval of the AoE zone can help to form shields with Crystallize reactions when used with a Pyro, Cryo, Electro, or Hydro user. The most unique aspect of Albedo’s Crystallize generation is that he does not remove the applied element when doing so, meaning that he does not interrupt other potential elemental reactions.

Furthermore, Albedo’s 4th ascension passive, which increases team Elemental Mastery by 125 after he uses his Elemental Burst, can be a great addition to many teams. Additionally, due to his easy build and scaling with DEF, Albedo can also be a great addition to support a Geo-focused team with Gorou and Itto. Furthermore, Albedo also works very well with Navia, thanks to his Crystallize reaction being quite convenient.

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16 Mona

• Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
• Element: Hydro
• Support Type: Enabling, DMG Buff, Crowd Control

Players who have been closely following Genshin Impact for a long time have likely noticed that Mona has become a popular choice for top-tier Burst DPS builds. This is due to her Elemental Burst ability, which amplifies Elemental DMG when used at the right time. Mona’s Burst ability creates a debuff bubble that not only traps enemies but also amplifies the damage dealt to them and deals an additional explosion of Hydro damage when the bubble is popped. This Hydro explosion can be used to trigger powerful Elemental Reactions such as Melt or Vaporize, dealing massive amounts of damage. Furthermore, Mona’s first Constellation, which is relatively easy to obtain as she is a Standard 5-star character, provides a significant buff to her support capabilities for Elemental Reaction-based teams.

Alongside her Elemental Burst, Mona was the first exploration character to feature an alternative sprint, making travel in the water much faster and allowing a unique movement style for high-speed actions. Her Elemental Skill allows for an easy Hydro Application, which is best suited for Freeze teams, and this skill also has additional crowd control ability, as it summons a decoy that taunts enemies.

15 Diona

• Rarity: 4-star bow-user
• Element: Cryo
• Support Type: Shielding, Healing, Battery, Enabling

Diona is widely known as a healer, thanks to her Elemental Burst, but she also brings some unique advantages to the team. Her Cryo application isn’t as powerful as many other enablers, but her AoE healing zone also applies Cryo in intervals. Furthermore, Diona’s Elemental skill is extremely useful, generating a shield and energy, particles making her a formidable battery for the team.

Additionally, if her sixth constellation is unlocked, Diona can be an invaluable asset for teams that rely on Elemental Reactions and high Elemental Mastery. Her sixth constellation will not only allow her Elemental Burst to heal but also grant additional Elemental Mastery to all party members, greatly boosting their damage output.

14 Charlotte

• Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
• Element: Cryo
• Support Type: Healing, Battery, Sub-DPS, Enabling

Charlotte is quite similar to Diona to some extent, considering that both are Cryo characters with healing capabilities. What potentially makes Charlotte more valuable for certain team compositions over Diona is her healing style being more in sync with many Fontaine characters, such as Wriothesley, who benefit from a faster increase and decrease of HP to trigger the effects of artifact sets like the Marechaussee Hunter.

Additionally, alongside her healing capabilities, Charlotte can function as a sub-DPS, with her Elemental Skill having a similar mechanic to Nahida’s Elemental Skill. While Charlotte, without the help of specific artifact sets, cannot buff the team like Diona with Elemental Mastery, she is a perfect candidate, especially for Perma-freeze teams, with her consistent Cryo application in an AoE form.

13 Yaoyao

• Rarity: 4-star polearm-user
• Element: Dendro
• Support Type: Healing, Battery, Enabling

Yaoyao, the highly anticipated first Dendro Healer in Genshin Impact, was finally made playable in patch 3.4. Her unique skill set offers both on-field and off-field healing, making her one of the most powerful healers, in the game. To maximize her utility as a support character, players should strategically place her White Jade Radishes to ensure the most effective Dendro application and reactions for their team as she can have significant Dendro application capabilities if she’s positioned well.

Yaoyao is a relatively straightforward character to build and offers immense value as a support. Players should focus on HP%, Energy Recharge, and Elemental Mastery when constructing her and, if fortunate, unlocking her first constellation, to maximize her healing and particle production, while also amplifying Dendro Damage and Dendro Reactions. Further constellations will add even more healing and utility to the team.

12 Venti

• Rarity: 5-star bow-user
• Element: Anemo
• Support Type: Crowd Control, Battery, Debuffer (via 4p Viridescent Venerer)

Crowd control makes for a fair niche area of support skills. However, Venti does show the strength of this skill in particular. In general, Venti is one of the best support characters in Genshin Impact when it comes to crowd control. Venti’s Elemental Burst sucks opponents in and a skill that launches them in the air, constantly dealing Anemo Damage. Although this ability is less effective against larger and more mobile enemies, it can still be used effectively in melee teams that would otherwise have difficulty hitting the enemy, as it can be used to group them together without launching them into the air.

If built correctly, Venti can be an outstanding battery and sub-DPS, especially if players have some of his constellations unlocked. As with other Anemo user support characters, Venti can take advantage of the Viridescent Venerer artifact set, which not only increases Swirl DMG but also decreases the opponent’s Elemental RES to the element infused in the Swirl by 40% for 10s. This means, even if it is difficult against self-infused enemies, if his Burst is infused with the right element, it can significantly increase the damage output of the main DPS of the party.

11 Kokomi

• Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
• Element: Hydro
• Support Type: Enabling, Healing

Interestingly enough, while Sangonomiya Kokomi is not easily applied as an offensive character in any capacity, she is almost too natural at being one of the best healers and supports in Genshin Impact who gained extra popularity thanks to Dendro-related reactions. Her elemental skill creates a “bake-kurage” which automatically applies Hydro-based status conditions (much like Mona’s phantoms). However, the twist is that Kokomi also includes healing capacities and an increase in “bake-kurage” strength with her elemental burst.

As Kokomi is able to heal, deal damage and apply Hydro to enable elemental reactions all off-field at the same time, she can be considered a versatile character that can fill many roles in a team composition. She is best suited for Bloom and Hyperbloom teams, as she will be able to heal the character that takes damage from Dendro Core explosion with ease.

10 Raiden Shogun

• Rarity: 5-star polearm-user
• Element: Electro
• Support Type: Battery, Enabling

As the Electro Archon Raiden Shogun brings a wide range of skills centered around the power of Electro, she is also the best energy regeneration support in the game. Raiden can be slotted into any team comp that needs an Electro element, a Sub-DPS burst unit, and a support unit that can help recharge the Elemental Burst of the team. Thanks to their unique abilities and skill set, Raiden Shogun is one of the most versatile characters in the game, making her one of the best characters to obtain.

Her Elemental Skill is extremely valuable for enabling Elemental reactions, as it provides consistent Electro application off-field while also providing a buff that can increase the party’s Elemental Burst Damage. Meanwhile, her Elemental Burst is also incredibly powerful, allowing her to be used as a Burst-DPS, especially when used after other Elemental Bursts. Following the initial Burst Damage, if players prefer to keep Raiden on the field and continue attacking with electro-infused attacks, she can also help generate Energy for herself and other party members during this duration.

9 Zhongli

• Rarity: 5-star polearm-user
• Element: Geo
• Support Type: Shielding, Debuffing, Crowd Control

Zhongli is a five-star character renowned for offering a unique shield, and as the Geo Archon, this ability is truly remarkable. Objectively speaking, Zhongli’s shields are the strongest in Genshin Impact with base 150% damage absorption against all elemental and physical damage, to the point that players don’t even need a healer in their team if they have a well-built Zhongli. He can also fit any team composition with ease.

Characters protected by the Jade Shield of Zhongli will decrease the Elemental RES and Physical RES of opponents within a small AoE by 20%, providing a significant offensive boost. His Elemental Burst is also incredibly powerful, boasting a sizeable AoE and temporarily petrifying enemies. No other character can match the strength and duration of Zhongli’s shield, along with the additional benefits it provides.

8 Yelan

• Rarity: 5-star bow-user
• Element: Hydro
• Support Type: Enabling

Yelan is an incredibly versatile character, able to fulfill both sub-DPS and support roles. Her Elemental Skill is also a form of a fast sprint, allowing them to traverse the game world with ease during exploration. Additionally, the skill also generates a Hydro-infused string, which Yelan can use to bind enemies to deal massive damage.

Overall, her skills are highly useful for supplementing the downtime of Main DPS characters, making her a great unit for a variety of team compositions. Her Elemental Burst is particularly noteworthy, dealing massive Hydro DMG when used in combination with an Active character’s normal attack, and consistently applying the Hydro application. She is especially effective in Vaporize and Bloom teams.

7 Sucrose

• Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
• Element: Anemo
• Support Type: Elemental Mastery-boosting, Crowd Control

Sucrose is an invaluable Anemo user for any team. In the early days of Genshin Impact, she was often used in together with Mona, to showcase significant DPS numbers. Thanks to her powerful buffs, such as boosting Elemental Mastery, she has been a great addition to any party. Her Elemental Burst is a powerful AoE attack that draws enemies in, and she is particularly adept at creating Elemental Reactions since her charged Skill can hit multiple foes multiple times for greater damage.

For players looking for an Anemo support character, Sucrose is an excellent free-to-play option, particularly for those who don’t have Venti or Kazuha. However, players should be aware that infusing an element with her Elemental Burst could present a challenge, and also has a fairly high energy cost. Additionally, her grouping capabilities are not as great as Venti’s. Despite this, Sucrose remains one of the best support characters in Genshin Impact.

6 Bennett

• Rarity: 4-star sword-user
• Element: Pyro
• Support Type: ATK Boosting, Healing

Bennett is widely regarded as one of the most powerful support characters in Genshin Impact, thanks to his exceptional healing capabilities and his ability to significantly boost the ATK value of his team members. He is also fairly easy to build and even without much effort into his build, he offers benefits that cannot be found with any other healer.

Due to the recent changes and new characters introduced, Bennett’s popularity has still experienced a slight decline amongst other support characters. Although Bennett doesn’t have much Pyro application, assuming the players haven’t activated his sixth constellation, he can still disrupt Elemental Reaction setups. Additionally, the ATK buff is not as viable as it used to be due to the recent introduction of characters with higher HP or Elemental Mastery than ATK. Despite this, Bennett is still a viable character in the current meta, just not as versatile as others. Nevertheless, with the release of characters like Lyney, who requires a mono Pyro team to work as effectively as possible, Bennett may raise up to the top rankings again.

5 Xingqiu

• Rarity: 4-star sword-user
• Element: Hydro
• Support Type: Enabling, Damage Reduction, Healing, Battery

The bookworm Xingqiu is one of the best support characters, rivaling Yelan in many aspects. His Elemental Burst creates a rain of swords around the character, providing consistent Hydro application even when he is off-field. This makes Xingqiu an invaluable asset to any team.

Additionally, what makes Xingqiu distinguished from Yelan and a better support is his Elemental Skill, which provides Damage Reduction as long as the active character has at least one Rain Blade remaining. Xingqiu’s Elemental Skill also provides multiple Elemental Particles, and when equipped with Sacrificial Sword, he can be a good source for generating Energy. Furthermore, Xingqiu has a slight healing capability tied to his first ascension passive, in which the active character will receive a small amount of healing based on a percentage of Xingqiu’s HP and the remaining Rain Blades.

4 Baizhu

• Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
• Element: Dendro
• Support Type: Healing, Shielding, Buffing

Baizhu is another Dendro healer added to the game not so long after Yaoyao’s release. However, what gives him the edge over Yaoyao is his ability to Shield with his ultimate skill, combined with his ability to heal with both his Elemental Skill and Elemental burst at the same time. Compared to Yaoyao, however, it can be said that Baizhu’s healing is slower paced, but entirely off-field, while Yaoyao requires being on the field for a short while to be able to heal with her Elemental Burst.

What’s more, Baizhu’s Passive ability also allows for Dendro Elemental Reactions to be buffed based on his HP, which makes him an excellent character to utilize, particularly with Bloom teams, especially considering that his shielding ability can indeed prevent team members from taking significant damage from the Bloom explosions. Nevertheless, he can also be useful in Spread and Aggravate teams, though one downside of Baizhu is that he lacks a consistent Dendro application as opposed to Yaoyao, meaning that essentially pairing him with another Dendro character such as Nahida might be considered optimal to ensure that he can benefit the team with the Elemental Reaction buff as much as possible as well.

3 Nahida

• Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
• Element: Dendro
• Support Type: Buffing, Enabling

There is no doubt that Nahida, as the Dendro Archon, is an exceptional support—equally as impressive as the other Archons if not better. Her proficiency with the Dendro Application is unmatched, as she is a catalyst user and can consistently execute Dendro-infused attacks. Her remarkable ability to trigger Dendro Application off-field without an ICD makes her an invaluable asset to any team composition that is dedicated to a Dendro-reaction. Her proficiency in this area is unparalleled and highly sought-after.

At first, Nahida’s Elemental Burst may not seem so strong, but this would be a mistake. Her Elemental Burst is a great way to boost her and her allies’ damage. It has a great area of effect and lasts a long time, making it one of the best Elemental Bursts in Genshin Impact. All of this makes Nahida a great support character.