The Best Free Genshin Impact Characters, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• A total of 10 Genshin Impact characters have been given out for free since its release.
• Characters like Xiangling remain top choices due to excellent synergy and damage.
• Some free characters, like Amber and Lisa, are weaker and less viable for investment.

Genshin Impact is home to some of the most beautifully designed characters. The game features an ensemble and diverse cast of 89 characters that is ever-growing with subsequent patches. These characters are the stars of the show and a large reason for the game’s success.

To make the open-world experience that much more enticing, every player has the opportunity to obtain free characters by completing certain goals that are set in stone. This serves as a great way to build a formidable team as players start their journey in Teyvat.

Updated on November 19, 2024, by Siddarth Narasimman: Over four years have passed since Genshin Impact graced the screens of players across the world. Since then, a total of 10 characters have been given out for free, permanently, to make the experience of exploring Teyvat that much easier and more appealing. These characters serve as a headstart for players to have a capable team to brave the challenges of various regions. However, not every free character is equal in terms of strength. There are clear differences in the power level of the permanently available characters, and this list should help players decide which free characters are worth investing in and which ones aren’t.

Limited and Exclusive Free Characters

A total of 27 characters, including seven 5-star characters, were available for free during specific periods. Most of them were featured as part of a version’s Flagship Event, with a few exceptions, where achieving a set of goals resulted in obtaining a copy of the character. The following characters were given out for free during particular timeframes :

• Jean, Diluc, Mona, Dehya, Tighnari, Keqing, and Qiqi (“A Quest to Kindle Ancient Flames” limited-time event)
• Fischl (1.1 and 2.8 Flagship Events)
• Beidou, Chongyun, Ningguang, Xingqiu, Xinyan, Yanfei, Yun Jin, Yaoyao, and Gaming (various Lantern Rite and Flagship events)
• Aloy (Reach Adventure Rank 20 before Version 2.2. No longer available)
• Diona (1.5 Flagship Event)
• Dori (3.2 Flagship Event)
• Faruzan (3.6 Flagship Event)
• Layla (3.8 Flagship Event)
• Bennett (4.0 Flagship Event)
• Freminet (4.2 Flagship Event)
• Gorou (4.6 Flagship Event)
• Kirara (4.8 Flagship Event)
• Candace (5.1 Flagship Event)

10 Amber

Knights Of Favonius’ Outrider

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Bow
• Role: Sub-DPS

It has been four years since Genshin Impact’s release and Amber still remains as one of the worst characters in the game. The first character every player would receive was already a weak character when the roster was quite small.

With a plethora of characters introduced in countless patches, Amber is straight-up awful and not worth building unless players really like her design and kit. There are dozens of characters that perform her role far better. Amber is easily the weakest free character players can get in Genshin Impact.

9 Noelle

The Maid Of All Maids

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Claymore
• Role: Main DPS, Support

Noelle is a pretty solid Main DPS for beginners to build. However, she suffers from being a Geo unit, an element that is not really popular in the current meta, with a few exceptions like Xilonen, Zhongli, and Navia.

Noelle brings decent damage and defensive abilities to the table, but she lacks good synergy with a lot of the popular teams in the meta. Noelle is a decent character to get past the early game of Genshin Impact, but she quickly peters out once players start obtaining better characters.

8 Lisa

Knights Of Favonius’ Librarian

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Electro
• Weapon: Catalyst
• Role: Sub-DPS, Support

Lisa is one of the initial characters players will get for free. She is a serviceable Electro user who can enable various elemental reactions while doing decent personal damage. However, she has long cooldowns and is lackluster when compared to other Electro units.

4-star characters like Fischl, Xingqiu, Xiangling, and more just fit better in almost any team composition where Lisa can slot in. Her animations take way too long and her overall kit isn’t noteworthy enough to warrant a higher spot on this list.

7 Kachina

Nanatzcayan Young Braveheart

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Geo
• Weapon: Polearm
• Role: Sub-DPS

Kachina is the latest free character to be released in Genshin Impact. Like other Natlan characters, she has excellent exploration abilities, which makes her a smooth character to use. In terms of combat, Kachina isn’t remarkable.

She offers good damage with her Turbo Twirly ability, but she requires a lot of on-field time for a unit that isn’t the primary damage dealer. She also has the problem of being a Geo unit, which naturally reduces the amount of team compositions that she can be used in.

6 Barbara

Popular Mondstadt Idol

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Hydro
• Weapon: Catalyst
• Role: Support

Barbara is the first free support players will receive as they progress through Mondstadt’s Archon Quest. A consistent Hydro healer, Barbara has strong synergy with a lot of teams thanks to her easy Hydro application.

However, her gameplay is very streamlined and leaves no room for diversity. All she can do is heal and amplify her team’s damage through specific means, such as using Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers. Barbara is a decent healer that can be used as a staple in the early game, but should preferably be swapped out for better characters in the mid to late game.

5 Kaeya

Knights Of Favonius’ Cavalry Captain

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Cryo
• Weapon: Sword
• Role: Sub-DPS

Kaeya is another Mondstadt character players will obtain very early into their journey. A strong off-field Cryo applicator, Kaeya works best in Freeze teams. The only problem is that Freeze teams have substantially fallen out of the meta in favor of other popular reaction-based teams such as Hyperbloom and Vaporize.

Kaeya is still a decent Sub-DPS, but his viability is very limited. He also never appears in limited-time character banners, making it extremely hard to get multiple constellations that boost his overall power even more. Kaeya is a great unit to pilot in the early to mid-game, but should ideally be dropped before ascending to higher world levels.

4 Lynette

Lyney’s Brother And Assistant

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Anemo
• Weapon: Sword
• Role: Sub-DPS

Lynette is the only free Fontaine character every player can obtain in Genshin Impact. She is a solid Anemo Sub-DPS that does not take a lot of field time. She is also great for exploration purposes and is generally one of the best free-to-play characters in the game.

Lynette’s primary issue lies in her long cooldowns and health consumption after using abilities, which can be detrimental for players still learning the game. Other than these flaws, Lynette is quite viable in many teams and can be used for most late-game content.

3 Collei

Avidya Forest Ranger Trainee

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Dendro
• Weapon: Bow
• Role: Sub-DPS

Collei is one of the best Dendro units in the game, especially if players do not have Nahida. She is available for free if gamers can clear the fourth floor of the Spiral Abyss. Collei’s direct competitor for most slots in team comps is the Dendro Traveler.

This is because Collei can apply Dendro more, but the Traveler has more consistent application of the element, making them a better choice in general. However, Collei is a strong choice for a Dendro unit if players wish not to use the Dendro Traveler.

2 Traveler

The Fourth Descender

• Rarity: 5-star
• Element: Anemo/Geo/Electro/Dendro/Hydro
• Weapon: Sword
• Role: Sub-DPS (Anemo, Geo, Dendro, and Hydro), Support (Electro)

As mentioned earlier, Dendro Traveler is a great sub-DPS. They are also the only 5-star every player will have access to. The selling point for the Traveler is its ability to harness five elements at the moment.

Unfortunately, apart from the Dendro Traveler, the other variants are quite poor and not worth investing in. Most of the variants lack meaningful field presence or are simply outclassed by better units. The Traveler ranks this high on the list purely because their Dendro variant is that good.

1 Xiangling

Wanmin Restaurant’s Head Chef

• Rarity: 4-star
• Element: Pyro
• Weapon: Polearm
• Role: Sub-DPS

Xiangling continues to keep her crown as the best free character in Genshin Impact, and she has had little competition to dethrone her from this prestigious spot. Xiangling is an incredible Pyro Sub-DPS with excellent Pyro application.

She has incredible synergy with some of the strongest characters in the game, a superb Elemental Burst, a consistent on-field presence without taking too much time, and deals a surprisingly great amount of damage too. Xiangling is the complete package when it comes to a Sub-DPS, and every player should invest in leveling her up as soon as they acquire her.