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Luckily, this is an easy feat considering there’s a catalyst character of every Vision. Just like other weapons, some catalyst characters are better than others. To know which one is the best, read on.
Updated on January 15, 2023, by Nahda Nabiilah: Since Genshin Impact is quickly becoming one of the most popular games, HoYoverse keeps expanding its gameplay, introducing more diversity in combat and mechanics. Of course, with more patches comes more characters, which some fit right into the Meta and some fail to meet it. For catalyst users, it’s always easier for them to fit in because of their strong Elemental application. Their ability to deal Elemental DMG throughout their entire kit is still considered useful to this day. For that, this article will be updated to include the new catalyst users and change their ranking.
12 Barbara
Barbara is the second free catalyst character that Genshin Impact players can obtain. This Favonius Church Sister is a Hydro Vision holder. It is said that Barbara has an angelic voice, one with healing properties. This is likely why Barbara is a healer.
While she fully excels in this job, she, unfortunately, doesn’t offer much else to a party. Her Elemental Skill solely heals, as does her Elemental Burst. The only addition she offers is a minor Hydro application. However, it’s worth noting that with constellations, Barbara is a decent support for Hydro DPS. She also can revive a fallen character with full HP.
11 Lisa
Lisa’s main feature as a DPS is her Hold Skill. To master this, players need good management between using her Charged attacks and Tap Skill. Timing her Hold Skill perfectly is also crucial to get the most out of it. On the other hand, Lisa is much easier to use as a support. For this role, players simply have to cast her Elemental Burst and then swap her out.
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Lisa is one of the free characters that players can obtain early on. Like the other first F2P characters, it is hard to get Lisa’s constellations, making the Resident Librarian a not popular pick among the player base.
10 Yanfei
Yanfei is another Pyro DPS in Genshin Impact. This Liyue character has a similar (but much smoother) playstyle to Ningguang, where players have to do a fixed rotation between her Normal and Charged Attack. Because Yanfei is a Pyro character, this means that she can be played in both Vaporize and Melt comp to amplify her DMG. While this may seem great, it also means that Yanfei needs a specific team to perform her best.
Furthermore, Yanfei is also a selfish DPS. She shines best when her Elemental Burst is active, yet her Elemental Skill is not the best battery. So, players who wish to play Yanfei have to build a team around her. This lack of flexibility puts Yanfei at the lower end of the list.
9 Shikanoin Heizou
There might be speculations about whether Shikanoin Heizou is a good DPS or not. But one thing is for sure, he has such good gameplay. Although Heizou is a catalyst user, he still operates as a melee unit, driving his team’s reaction DMG while inflicting some decent DMG himself.
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Shikanoin Heizou’s main DMG source comes from his Elemental Skill, where he charges its DMG by stacking up to four Declension to land some decent shots at enemies. Overall, Heizou doesn’t offer that much as a DPS and many other characters perform better than him, even someone like Wanderer who’s also an Anemo catalyst unit.
8 Klee
Klee may be young and small, but she shouldn’t be underestimated. Just like Yanfei, Klee is also a selfish DPS. When her Elemental Burst is active, she can’t be swapped out; or else the Burst will disappear. Klee doesn’t offer much support, except for the little mines left by her Elemental Skill.
The Spark Knight’s range is the shortest among the other characters, yet she has one of the highest DPS count among the catalyst users in Genshin Impact. That alone earns Klee a spot in almost the middle ranking.
7 Ningguang
The Tianquan of the Qixing may be a 4-star character, but Ningguang is actually one of the best DPS in Genshin Impact. After players get used to Ningguang’s clunky Charged Attack, they will find that this unit packs a hard punch.
Not only that, but Ningguang is also highly flexible to use. With her Elemental Skill, she can deal decent DMG, battery herself, and grant a Geo DMG buff. Because she’s a Geo character, players don’t have to pair her with any Elemental reactions to shine. However, Ningguang is only viable as a DPS with her first constellation; after getting her full constellations, Ningguang simply enters a new level of DPS.
6 Yae Miko
Yae Miko can easily be considered one of the most popular characters in Genshin Impact. Her wit and sassy personality alongside the number of hilarious scenes she participated in are enough to make her that popular.
But during combat, Yae Miko wasn’t what fans expected. Her DMG is underwhelming, and she consumes a lot of time on the field as a Sub-DPS. The introduction of Dendro reactions in Genshin Impact improved her viability a little, but still, Yae Miko remains underperforming against other Electro Sub-DPS units.
5 Mona
Mona is a support Hydro character; however, she’s not a healer. Instead, Mona’s role is to taunt, battery, and amplify the team’s DMG with her Omen, a debuff on enemies created by her Elemental Burst.
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Mona can deal great DMG with her Burst while allowing her teammates to do even greater DMG. This is why Mona is often paired with Sucrose, another character that can enhance the team’s overall DPS. Other than support, Mona is also viable as a DPS in her own right, making her one of the stronger catalyst characters.
4 Wanderer
Wanderer’s mechanics are such a breath of fresh air in Genshin Impact. His flying combat style and the way he moves give players the freedom any Anemo character should have. Of course, fans waited for a long time to put their hands on Scaramouche, the Sixth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, and he did not disappoint.
His personal DPS is decent, and he can drive the team’s DMG, which makes him super useful as an Anemo character.
3 Sucrose
So far, Anemo is the best support Element for Hydro, Pyro, Electro, and Cryo. With Viridescent Venerer, Sucrose can lower the enemy’s Elemental resistance. Considering Sucrose should have a maximum amount of Elemental Mastery to perform on a high level, her DMG shouldn’t be underestimated. All her Swirls will inflict some decent DMG thanks to her high EM stat.
As if that’s not enough, Sucrose also crowd controls the enemies, generates a lot of Elemental Particles, and inherits her Elemental Mastery to the team. Thanks to her long list of supportive abilities, Sucrose easily takes one of the top spots for the best catalyst.
2 Sangonomiya Kokomi
Kokomi is often called a 5-star Barbara, and there’s a rational reason behind it. Just like the Church Sister, Kokomi is a Hydro healer, but of course, the Watatsumi Priestess outperforms Barbara in most ways. Kokomi’s Elemental Skill has a wide Hydro application that deals decent DMG; moreover, she becomes a Sub-DPS when her Elemental Burst is active.
Once she’s equipped with 4pc Ocean-Hued Clam, Kokomi turns into a top-tier Sub-DPS, over-healing her teammates while continuously inflicting significant DMG. After multiple non-targeted buffs (like the existence of Ocean-Hued Clam, and Hydro Resonance buff), Kokomi quickly became one of the best characters in Genshin Impact.
1 Nahida
Without a doubt, an Archon would make her way into the top tier among all catalyst users in Genshin Impact. Not only that, Nahida is currently the best Dendro character as well. The Dendro Archon can offer anything a Dendro Support would offer while dealing some good off-field DMG. Nahida provides a great Elemental Mastery buff and becomes significantly stronger as both a damage dealer and support with her Constellations.
Not to mention, Nahida is a great world map companion since she can collect plants from distance using her Elemental Skill. All in all, Nahida can do everything but healing to her team, which puts her above most of Genshin Impact’s roster in terms of usefulness.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
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