Genshin Impact Character Exploration Tier List and Rankings | Genshin Impact (2024)

Welcome to our Genshin Impact exploration character tier list and rankings for version 2.0 The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia! This guide will give a detailed explanation of how each character can help explore the world of Teyvat and get the most out of it.

This tier list will be updated when new characters are released for Genshin Impact. If you have any feedback, please leave a comment below so we can revise it as soon as possible!

Tier List Methodology

This tier list will show you all the strengths and weaknesses of a particular character as you explore the world. Our primary goal is to explain what each character can do for you so you can use them to their full potential. No character is truly a must-have while exploring but you use this list to min-max your team. This way you’ll also have an idea of which character you may want to wish for. If a situation arises at some point in the game that you need a certain character, chances are you will already have them in the form of free-to-play characters such as the Traveler, Amber and Kaeya.

We also recognize that swapping between different characters in the current game system is cumbersome, so having a party that can cover all the important bases would be ideal. Our goal is to help you find the right team with the perfect balance as your Adventure Rank and character pool increase.

Although the ranking is largely opinion-based and mostly for fun, we try to be systematic and provide a detailed reasoning on how we came to the final conclusion. Rankings are calculated based on the following character traits:

• Talents, both active and passive
• Elemental alignment
• Weapon-type that they can wield
• Other miscellaneous factors, such as a character’s height

Talents

Most characters have at least one passive talent that gives your party a slight boost when exploring the world. This boost can be something like reducing Stamina consumption when sprinting, swimming, or gliding. Some characters detect item nodes on the mini-map which is very helpful.

We also take into account talents that give additional bonuses when crafting or cooking certain items as well as talents that reduce expedition time. These characters do not have to be in your active party, but they can save you a lot of materials and time so they are highly valued.

While most active talents are designed for combat, some have applications outside of this as well. For example, Venti can fly using his ability; Diona and Barbara’s Elemental Skills grant a temporary Stamina consumption decrease; Geo characters like the Traveler, Albedo and Zhongli can summon Geo Constructs to climb and grab things normally out of reach; Kaeya and freeze the water in front of him to walk across it.

Element

Each character has an Element they are aligned to and many objects in the world require specific ones to activate. The Totems that help solve puzzles are the most obvious ones you will come across. Some of these are timed so you may need characters that have short cooldowns on their skills or ones that can infuse their attacks with their Element.

Having two Anemo characters in your party activates the Elemental Resonance Impetuous Winds. It decreases Stamina Consumption by 15%, increases Movement Speed by 10% and shortens Skill Cooldown by 5%. This is one of the best exploration bonuses you can have as it increases the value of your subsequent Anemo characters since the main character (Anemo Traveler) is already available to everyone. Though other character talents also give a 20% Stamina buff for sprinting and swimming, they do not stack.

Some items require certain Elements to harvest. Some examples that you will find include:

• Flaming Flower Stamen: Requires Cryo or Hydro attacks to extinguish
• Electro Crystal: Requires Pyro attacks to break
• Mist Flower Corolla: Requires Pyro attacks to melt
• Dandelion Seed: Requires Anemo attacks to release

Weapon

There are mainly two weapons relevant for exploration: Claymores and Bows. Claymore attacks are the best for mining ores and they generally only requiring a few attacks to break. Plunging Attacks or Geo infused attacks are also decent alternatives.

Ranged attacks also come in handy from time to time, as you may need to shoot down targets for various challenges. Bow users also infuse their Element with their aimed shots with no cooldown. In Dragonspine, you can even infuse your weapon with the Scarlet Quartz to shoot down ice from afar.

Miscellaneous

Other than their innate abilities, characters may also have other traits that make them useful for exploration. For example, each character’s height is taken into consideration when running and climbing. This makes the “Adult Male” models of characters such as Diluc, Kaeya , Tartaglia and Zhongli the best to walk around the world in, as opposed to the shorter models of “Female Child” characters such as Klee and Diona.

Tier List and Rankings

Tier 1

Characters that provide you with abilities that are very useful most of the time if left in your active party.

1. Venti
2. Kaeya
3. Razor
4. Mona
5. Zhongli
6. Albedo
7. Keqing
8. Xiao
9. Kaedehara Kazuha

Tier 2

Characters that have some useful niche exploration abilities including their Elemental alignment and weapon-type. They usually rely on other members of the party to realize their full potential.

10. Ningguang
11. Klee
12. Qiqi
13. Geo Traveler
14. Jean
15. Sucrose
16. Anemo Traveler
17. Xingqiu
18. Amber
19. Beidou
20. Diona
21. Barbara
22. Yanfei
23. Ayaka
24. Yoimiya
25. Sayu

Tier 1

Venti

Venti is considered a top tier character whether it’s for combat or for exploration! His talent, Skyward Sonnet allows him to ride the wind by creating a current that lasts for 20 seconds. This allows you to grab stuff from the sky, overcome many obstacles and gives you the freedom to explore things more efficiently.

As a Bow user, his ranged attacks may also come in handy from time to time.

Venti also helps activate the Elemental Resonance Impetuous Winds if put in a party with another Anemo character.

If that wasn’t enough, Venti also has the Windrider passive talent which decreases all party member’s gliding Stamina Consumption by 20%. All that combined should help you roam around the world without having to stop for a break too often!

Kaeya

Kaeya is one of the best characters to have in your party for exploring purposes, and get him for free! First, his Hidden Strength passive talent decreases all party member’s sprinting Stamina consumption by 20%.

Since he has an “Adult Male” model, his sprinting and climbing speed is considerably more efficient than others compared to the shorter builds of Klee or Diona.

Kaeya’s Frostgnaw ability has a short cooldown so it can activate Cryo puzzles in quick succession. It also has an important bonus that many may forget that exists but it comes in handy at some point. You can use Frostgnaw to freeze water to form a bridge and walk across any distance you desire. Of course, this method is slower but has a 100% success rate if you are not confident in your swimming Stamina.

Razor

There are two major benefits of having Razor in your exploration team. First is the valuable passive talent Wolvensprint, which decreases all party member’s sprinting Stamina Consumption by 20%. The second is his ability to wield the Claymore. When combined with his Elemental Skill Claw and Thunder, they make quick work of mining ores.

Mona

Mona can activate the Illusory Torrent talent which gives her a burst of increased movement speed. It costs 10 Stamina to activate and drains 15 per second, so it is more useful during battle as intended and not as efficient over longer distances. However, the real perk of this ability is moving across water much more quickly.

Zhongli

Zhongli’s Dominus Lapidis comes in handy at various points of the game. When he summons (Press) a Stone Stele, you can climb it to reach items previously out of reach. It can also be used to solve puzzles involving pressure plates in Liyue. Unlike the Geo Traveler who everybody has access to, Zhongli can only summon one Stone Stele unless you have his first Constellation, Rock, the Backbone of Earth.

The real juicy part comes when he summons a Jade Shield (Hold) as it can blast nearby ore veins in one shot. While this is a convenient way of mining, as long as you have a Claymore user handy, getting ores should not be a huge chore.

Zhongli, like Kaeya or Diluc, is classified as an “Adult Male” so his travelling speed when sprinting or climbing is the best in the game. Combined with the Geo Construct, Zhongli is a decent partner for exploration.

As a bonus, the passive talent Arcanum of Crystal also refunds 15% of the ores used when crafting Polearm-type weapons.

Albedo

Albedo’s Solar Isotoma talent lifts the character standing on it into the air. Its use is similar to that of other Geo Constructs that Zhongli and the Traveler summons. Once in the air, you can use a Plunging Attack to deal damage to ore veins if you do not have a Claymore wielder in your current party.

The passive talent Flash of Genius gives you a 10% chance to receive double the amount of Weapon Ascension Materials crafted via Alchemy. This saves you a lot of potential farming time and most importantly, Resin!

Keqing

Keqing’s exceptional mobility in combat is useful in exploration due to her Elemental Skill, Stellar Restoration. You can Hold to release theLightning Stiletto into the air and then blink to its location. This allows her to fly up. With the help of this skill, Keqing goes pretty high, more so than the Geo Constructs formed. It is comparable to Venti’s up currents. The biggest advantage of the ability is its flexibility while positioning.

The passive talent Land’s Overseer reduces the time consumed on an expedition in Liyue by 25%.

Xiao

One of the strongest characters in the game, Xiao’s skills can not only deal a lot of damage but can also help during exploration.

Since Xiao is an Anemo character, when paired with another character of the same element, he activates Anemo resonance. Impetuous Winds decreases stamina consumption by 15% and increases movement speed by 10%. It also decreases skill CD by 5%.

During his elemental skill, Lemniscatic Wind Cycling, Xiao lunges forward, allowing him to cover short distances in the blink of an eye. The skill comes with two charges that can be used back to back and have a 10s cooldown overall. If you have Xiao’s first constellation, Dissolution Eon: Destroyer of Worlds, it’ll add an additional charge. This skill can be used while mid-air to make gliding faster.

His passive talent, Transcension: Gravity Defier, reduces stamina consumption while climbing by 20% for all party members.

Lastly, no matter the height that Xiao plunges down from, he will not take any damage.

Kaedehara Kazuha

Kazuha’s elemental skill, Chihayaburu, not only pulls in enemies but also launches him into the air. This can be useful while exploration as Kazuha can grab things above him. He can also use this skill to scale small hills without having to climb.

When paired with another Anemo character, he can activate Anemo resonance, Impetuous Winds. This can decrease stamina consumption and increase movement speed.

Finally, Kazuha’s passive talent, Cloud Strider decreases the stamina consumed while sprinting by 20%. This effect is applied to all party members.

Tier 2

Ningguang

Ningguang’s Trove of Marvelous Treasure passive talent displays the location of nearby ore veins (Iron Ore, White Iron Ore, Crystal Ore, Magical Crystal Ore, and Starsilver) on the mini-map. If you do not have a Claymore user in your party, her Geo-infused attacks are also just as good at mining.

Ningguang’s Jade Screen can also be placed on pressure plates to solve puzzles, which the default Geo Traveler can also do. It is more useful for Geo altars that need to be activated in quick succession which is harder for the Traveler or Noelle to do due to their long cooldowns.

Klee

Klee’s passive talent All Of My Treasures! displays the location of nearby resources unique to Mondstadt on the mini-map while she is in your party. She does not have to be the active character. The resources are not differentiated from each other and are indicated by a hand icon. They are:

• Calla Lily
• Cecilia
• Dandelion Seed
• Philanemo Mushroom
• Small Lamp Glass
• Valberry
• Windwheel Aster
• Wolfhook

Klee is classified as a female child, which means her small stature would not be suitable for sprinting and climbing. Though it can be useful when attacks during combat and in some cases sneaking under obstacles.

Qiqi

Qiqi’s passive talent Former Life Memories displays the location of nearby resources unique to Liyue on the mini-map while she is in your party. She does not have to be on the field for this talent to work. Just like Klee’s ability, the resources are indicated by a generic hand icon. They are:

• Cor Lapis
• Glaze Lily
• Jueyun Chili
• Noctilucous Jade
• Qingxin
• Silk Flower
• Starconch
• Violetgrass

Also like Klee, Qiqi is classified as a female child, and her small stature is not the best for sprinting and climbing. Though it can be useful for dodging enemy attacks and in some cases sneaking around.

Geo Traveler

The Geo aligned Traveler’s Elemental Skill, Starfell Sword, will be an essential exploration tool while you’re in Liyue. Once placed down, it allows you to climb to higher places to grab things in the air (mainly Geoculus) and place it on pressure plates to solve puzzles. You can summon up to two Geo Constructs at a time, as opposed to Zhongli who requires his first Constellation level to achieve this.

Jean

Jean’s Elemental Skill Gale Blade can blast enemies into the air which gives them fall damage. If blasted into the water, it can even kill them instantly. This can be useful as your World Level increases and enemies get stronger. Her healing prowess also plays a factor as it allows your team to power on without having to go back to the Statue of The Seven.

Jean helps activate the Elemental Resonance Impetuous Winds for having two Anemo characters in your party.

Her passive talent Guiding Breeze gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with restorative effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Sucrose

As a Catalyst user, Sucrose’s normal attacks are infused with Anemo energy which allows you to activate objects that require Anemo. You can also collect Dandelion Seeds with ease.

Sucrose helps activate the Elemental Resonance Impetuous Winds for having two Anemo characters in your party.

Her passive talent Astable Invention gives you a 10% chance to receive double the amount of Character and Weapon Enhancement Materials crafted via Alchemy. This is Sucrose’s most sought after ability, as it can save you a lot of potential farming time.

Anemo Traveler

Similar to Jean our main character has the Elemental Skill Palm Vortex which can throw enemies off edges and kill them instantly if you throw them in water.

The Traveler in their original Anemo form helps activate the Elemental Resonance Impetuous Winds for having two Anemo characters in your party.

As with other Anemo characters, you should find plenty of use for the Traveler, especially during your first exploration in Mondstadt.

Xingqiu

Xingqiu’s passive talent Flash of Genius gives you a 25% chance to refund a portion of Character Talent Materials crafted via Alchemy. While this ability does not help you move around the world more quickly, it is extremely useful as the extra books can save you a lot of Resin over time – one of the most valuable resources in the game!

Amber

As one of the first characters that you obtain in Genshim Impact, Amber is not particularly known for her combat prowess but she is useful for your exploration party. As a ranged Pyro character, she can activate puzzles with ease and from a distance.

The Baron Bunny summoned from Explosive Puppet can also activate the smaller pressure plates in Liyue, though the Geo Traveler can do this job much better.

She also has the Gliding Champion passive talent which decreases all party members’ gliding Stamina Consumption by 20%.

Beidou

Beidou’s Conqueror of Tides passive talent decreases all party member’s swimming Stamina consumption by 20%. As a Claymore user, she is good for mining when combined with her Elemental Skill Tidecaller.

Diona

Diona’s passive talent Cat’s Tail Secret Menu is unlocked at the first Ascension and grants characters shielded by Icy Paws a 10% Movement Speed increase and a 10% Stamina Consumption decrease. If you hold the ability, this can last up to 9 seconds with a 15-second cooldown.

Like Klee and Qiqi, Diona’s small size makes running and climbing speed less efficient so be sure to swap her with a taller character when exploring. As a Bow user, Diona’s ranged Cryo attacks will also come in handy at various points of the game.

Her passive talent Complimentary Bar Food gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with restorative effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Barbara

Barbara’s passive talent Glorious Season is unlocked at the first Ascension and grants characters affected by Let the Show Begin a 12% Stamina Consumption decrease. This can last up to 15 seconds but with a long 32-second cooldown.

The passive talent With My Whole Heart gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with restorative effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Yanfei

Yanfei’s passive talent, Encyclopedic Expertise, can be very useful during exploration as it pinpoints the locations of Liyue specialities on the mini-map. These specialities are:

• Cor Lapis
• Glaze Lily
• Jueyun Chili
• Noctilucous Jade
• Qingxin
• Silk Flower
• Starconch
• Violetgrass

Unlike Qiqi, since Yanfei is a 4-star character, she can be obtained from the standard banner as well as the limited banner even if she doesn’t have an increased drop rate.

As a catalyst user, all her attacks are infused with pyro so she can easily activate pyro mechanisms and totems. She can also use these attacks to obtain Electro Crystals and Mist Flower Corrolla.

Ayaka

Ayaka’s sprinting style is similar to Mona’s. While sprinting, she disappears from sight and travels underground, applying Cryo when she reappears. This has two advantages. Firstly, instead of using Ayaka’s skills to activate Cryo totems and mechanisms, Ayaka’s sprint can do the job. It doesn’t really have a cooldown except for the stamina consumed so it can be used liberally. A disadvantage is that while sprinting, if presented with something of a slightly higher elevation, like a rock, Ayaka will get stuck.

Much like Mona, Ayaka can also move across water faster and when she reappears, she forms a temporary Cryo bridge. However, the duration for this bridge is much shorter compared to the one formed by Kaeya. If you’re not careful, you’ll fall into the water and will have to swim from there.

Lastly, her passive talent, Fruits of Shinsa, has a 10% chance of receiving double the product when Ayaka crafts a weapon ascension material.

Yoimiya

Recently added to the Genshin character roster, Yoimiya is a fun character to have on your team, especially for exploration. As a Pyro vision holder, she can easily light up Pyro mechanisms and torches since her charged shots don’t have a cooldown.

But the thing that makes Yoimiya so unique is her homing arrows. Even if you fire the arrows without setting a target, they will search for a target on their own and take it down. This is especially useful when you’re hunting for fowl and raw meat. Even if the birds are flying, Yoimiya’s arrows will hit them. If you load her charged shot all the way, she’ll release not just one but three arrows at a time. This makes hunting for resources easier.

Her passive talent, Blazing Match, helps out when you’re crafting furniture for your teapot. If she crafts ornaments, decorations or landscape type furniture, she will have a 100% chance to refund the material used.

Sayu

Sayu is the shortest claymore user in the game and was added to the roster when the second banner of 2.0 was released. As lazy as she seems, she can really help when you’re collecting resources. Especially the kind of resources that run away at the slightest movement. Due to her passive talent, Yoohoo Art: Silencer’s Secret, as long as Sayu is in your party, you will no longer startle Crystalflies and other wildlife. The creatures that fall under the other wildlife category are:

• Loaches
• Frogs
• Crabs
• Lizards
• Butterfly
• Fireflies

Since Sayu is an Anemo character, she can activate Impetouos Winds when paired with another Anemo vision holder. This will give your entire party increased movement speed and decrease the stamina used while sprinting. It also decreases skill cooldowns.

Tier 3

Diluc

Diluc is one of the best DPS characters in the game. As pyro user, he also has the best Element so that which be enough for you to keep him in your party! Like Kaeya and Zhongli, he is classified as a tall character and that’s why he is best suited for sprinting and climbing. As a Claymore user, he is an effective miner.

His passive talent Tradition of the Dawn Knight refunds 15% of the ores used when crafting Claymore-type weapons.

Chongyun

Chongyun’s Spirit Blade – Chonghua’s Layered Frost infuses your weapon with Cryo for several seconds, allowing you to freeze the water in front of you. This is similar to Kaeya’s ability, and the difference is minor. As a Claymore user, he is also an effective miner at the same time.

His passive talent, Gallant Journey, reduces the time consumed on an expedition in Liyue by 25%.

Lisa

Lisa is a Catalyst user which means her normal attacks are infused with Electro energy. This allows you to activate objects that require this element with ease.

Her real exploration value comes from her passive talent General Pharmaceutics which gives her a 20% chance to refund a portion of materials used for Potions crafted via Alchemy. If you are crafting lots of potions, this can save you a lot of farming time!

Fischl

Fischl is more known for her combat abilities but does not provide too much utility for exploration other than being the only Electro Bow character.

Her passive talent, Mein Hausgarten, reduces the time consumed on an expedition in Mondstadt by 25%.

Tartaglia

Tartaglia is a tall character which makes him better suited sprinting and climbing, similar to Zhongli and Diluc. Other than that, he does not offer much when it comes to exploration. Though as your main DPS he can deal a lot of damage and that could be all your party requires.

Xinyan

Xinyan’s exploration utility is limited, but she can at the very least offer her Claymore for mining purposes.

Her passive talent, A Rad Recipe, gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with defensive effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Noelle

Noelle, as a starter character, does not offer too much in her kit. But she is a Claymore user if you need one for mining. Her defensive abilities and the Devotion passive ability is good for sustaining your party members.

Lastly, her passive talent, Maid’s Knighthood, gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with defensive effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Bennett

Bennett is not the best in our exploration rankings since he does not offer anything other than his Pyro attacks which have a low cooldown. However, considering he is the best support character in the game, what more can you ask for.

His passive talent, It Should Be Safe…, reduces the time consumed on an expedition in Mondstadt by 25%.

Xiangling

Xiangling’s Gouba can activate the smaller pressure plates in Liyue, though the Geo Traveler can do this job much better. As a free-to-play character, she excels as a DPS and can be an integral part of your team.

Her passive talent, Chef de Cuisine, gives you a 12% chance to obtain double the amount of food with offensive effects when Perfect Cooking is achieved.

Ganyu

Ganyu is a talented DPS who can deal high damage numbers when on the field. Since she is a bow user, she can be used to activate Cryo totems or mechanisms. Her charged attacks also help to shoot down multiple birds at once to obtain fowl.

With her passive talent, Preserved for the Hunter, Ganyu refunds 15% of the ores used to craft bow-type weapons.

Hu Tao

Hu Tao is a pyro vision holder and her skills can be used to activate Pyro totems. She can also use her elemental skill, Guide to Afterlife, to start a fire required for cooking or for warming up in Dragonspine.

Her passive talent, The More the Merrier, has a unique effect. If Hu Tao is used to cook a dish, she has an 18% chance to receive a suspicious version of that dish. While the suspicious dishes don’t provide any benefit to characters who might consume them, they can be used in certain quests.

Eula

Eula is one of the strongest DPS characters in the game. With enough Physical Dmg, she can take down enemies with ease. When it comes to exploration, she can only provide her Cryo abilities to activate Cryo totems/mechanisms. Since she has a tall character build, sprinting and climbing with her is more efficient.

Other than that, her passive talent, Aristocratic Introspection, can be helpful while crafting talent materials. If Eula is used while crafting talent, she has a 10% chance of receiving double the product. Since the drop-rate for talent books isn’t the best, this passive can be very useful.