Sword is the most balanced among the available weapons in Genshin Impact. It has a decent range, damage, and attack speed. Unlike weapons like bows, swords also have a small AOE, although not as wide as claymores.
The sword is the first weapon players come across in Genshin Impact. It is wielded by the Traveler, who is also the first 5-Star character everyone has. In addition, one of the 4-Star characters, Kaeya, was also given at the start of the game. Taking all that into consideration, players might wonder, are free characters good? Luckily, this article answers all those questions.
Updated August 30, 2022, by Nahda Nabiilah: Genshin Impact’s roster will always be updated with more characters wielding one of five available weapons: Polearms, Bows, Catalysts, Claymores, and Swords. Each weapon has its own unique moveset mixed with the wielding character’s playstyle. That combination gives each character a new fresh flavor to add to Genshin Impact. Many Sword users are unique like that since they can add so much to their team compositions, but the best sword users in Genshin Impact really do set themselves apart.
13 Qiqi
The little zombie is made to be a support, but she fails to offer the most basic utilities. Qiqi's Cryo application is inconsistent in Genshin Impact and she can’t work as a battery. She also fails to deal enough damage, so anytime she’s on the field, it is considered a DPS loss.
As a healer, there’s no doubt Qiqi performs well in that area. However, although Qiqi’s healing is underrated, she doesn't add anything else to her team. Luckily, though, with the existence of Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set, Qiqi is now more viable than she once was, as she can heal and deal damage while staying off-field.
12 Anemo, Geo, And Electro Travelers
The Traveler, also known as Main Character (MC), is the first 5-Star unit players get in Genshin Impact. The Traveler is unique because they can wield different Elements. So far, the MC can wield four Elements: Anemo, Geo, Electro, and Dendro. The Anemo Form debuffs enemies and reduces their resistance, which is quite good. However, the mechanic is clunky. The Elemental Burst throws enemies out of reach, while the Elemental Skill is a DPS loss due to the long casting time.
Similarly, Geo Form offers decent support and damage, though spamming the area with Geo buildings often complicates fights. As for the Electro Form, MC simply becomes a battery support. This isn't bad, but there are a lot of characters that can do the same while offering other benefits to the team. Traveler is a good support, but, unfortunately, they're often outshone by other Genshin Impact characters that can offer a lot more.
11 Kaeya
Kaeya works great as both DPS and support in Genshin Impact. As a DPS, he currently has the highest Normal Attack scaling among all sword users. His Cryo vision is an additional benefit to his scaling, as he can easily trigger Superconduct.
While support Kaeya works well with any character that requires close-range Cryo application, his Elemental Skill also generates a lot of Elemental Particles, making him an excellent battery. The only downside for the Cavalry Captain is that he's exclusively available on the Standard Banner. Therefore, it is hard for players to get his Constellations. Eventually, Kaeya's performance is outshone by other 4-Star characters with full Constellations.
10 Keqing
Keqing has an entertaining combat style. All of her attacks have a unique movement that allows her to blink all over the battlefield. She can easily blink to initiate attacks or to dodge them. Unfortunately, she wields an Electro vision, which affects her damage significantly.
This is why most Genshin Impact players build Keqing as a Physical DPS. While it works for C0 Keqing, once players get her Constellations, Electro build is more optimal. Sadly, Keqing's performance is still underwhelming even with some Constellations. However, considering Dendro Elemental reaction is released, Keqing may yet have a chance to rise in rank. After all, the Aggravate reaction can significantly increase her overall DPS.
9 Jean
Jean's blessings are also her curse. While she performs well in every role, she's mediocre at best in all of them. Jean can heal, support, damage, cleanse, and crowd control. While her crowd control is unique (and super fun), Jean fails to match Venti, Kazuha, and Sucrose's crowd control. Furthermore, she's not as practical as the other Anemo users to trigger Swirl.
Without a doubt, healing is Jean's best supportive ability. But, her Elemental Burst has insignificant damage as it is meant for healing and cleansing. It also has a high energy requirement, so she mostly needs field time to heal. Overall, Jean truly earns the Jack of All Trades title in Genshin Impact. Unfortunately, she's also the Master of None.
8 Dendro Traveler
Surprisingly, Dendro Traveler is actually good. Yes, Electro Traveler was fine, but just as a Genshin Impact Battery only, and then immediately got overshadowed by the Raiden Shogun the next patch. But now the Dendro Traveler has a lot going on in their kit, mainly because of how their Elemental Burst is original and reactive to other Elements.
In addition to dealing decent damage, the Dendro Traveler can be a decent Dendro enabler and tackle many other roles in the team. It’s hard to tell if there will be new Dendro units that can outperform the Traveler, but for now, Dendro MC can enjoy the attention they're getting.
7 Kuki Shinobu
As a 4-star character in Genshin Impact, Kuki Shinobu’s kit is too appealing for players because of many reasons. Kuki can heal with her Elemental Skill, yet, as much as that’s beneficial, healing is not what makes it special. The continuous AoE Electro application that no other Electro unit can produce as easily as Shinobu is a refreshing addition to most team compositions.
Additionally, just like her healing, Kuki Shinobu’s Elemental Burst scales with her full HP and can inflict high damage, especially if Kuki was involved in a team composition of two Hydro units, which will increase her HP by 25%.
6 Kamisato Ayato
Ever since the introduction of Ayaka and the revelation of her having a brother, fans have been speculating and waiting for the release of Kamisato Ayato. Just like his sister, Ayato didn’t disappoint with his kit, especially how easily he matched in any Morgana team composition. His unique Hydro field gives him insane supportive abilities in addition to its high damage.
For sure, there is nothing wrong with Kamisato Ayato, and he would’ve ranked much higher if not for this slight particular problem. Everyone ranked above Ayato is too overpowered, and the current Meta revolves around them.
5 Albedo
Albedo is easily one of the best supports in Genshin Impact. Albeit underrated, this Geo character can damage, buff, and shield the team at the same time. Through Crystallize reaction, Albedo drops enough Shards to protect the team while dealing great damage with his Skill. As for buff, his Elemental Burst grants 125 Elemental Mastery for the team.
In addition to all that, Albedo is easy to build. The 3-Star Harbinger of Dawn is one of his best weapons. Furthermore, this unit mainly needs DEF to perform, a stat that players surely have enough of.
4 Bennett
As a support, Bennett can do everything. He's a great battery for Pyro characters, and he also heals, cleanses, and buffs everyone's attack. Moreover, Bennett can help players activate the Pyro Resonance, further boosting the whole team's attack by 25%.
The only bad thing about him is his sixth Constellation. It is, by far, the most controversial Constellation, the one that causes the fanbase to demand a toggle to turn it off. When activated, Bennett will lose some of his supportive abilities for non-Pyro Melee characters. It's common knowledge that Bennett is a top-tier character in Genshin Impact. However, the Adventurer places the third spot simply because Kazuha and Xingqiu are both better than him.
3 Ayaka
Ayaka is a great Cryo DPS in Genshin Impact. The Kamisato Princess can have 100% ice infusion on her sword, making Cryo build the obvious choice for her since Cryo is the best when it comes to building Crit Rate.
With four Blizzard Strayer and Cryo Resonance, Ayaka will gain a free 55% Crit Rate on a Freeze comp. This way, players can solely focus on Crit DMG. This alone makes Ayaka superior to Keqing. However, while Ayaka may be the best sword DPS, the top ranks are dominated by support characters.
2 Xingqiu
It's hard to believe that Xingqiu is a 4-Star character in Genshin Impact. Xingqiu can continuously heal and reduce damage while dealing damage. If built on damage, he can deal up to 100 thousand Vaporize damage with his Skill.
The Guhua Disciple can do all that without taking field time. Furthermore, he also has a top-tier Hydro application, so Xingqiu can easily find a place in any team composition, whether with Electro, Cryo, Pyro, Anemo, or even Hydro. In the end, it's difficult to see miHoYo creating any new character as complete as Xingqiu. This Hydro unit truly deserves first place in the ranking.
1 Kazuha
Before Kazuha, nobody would argue that Venti is the best Anemo user in Genshin Impact. Kazuha's damage is on par with Venti's, but what makes the Samurai shine the most is his team buff.
When Kazuha triggers Swirls, he buffs his team's Elemental damage based on his Elemental Mastery. Furthermore, if players equip him with Viridescent Venerer, Kazuha will reduce the enemy's Elemental resistance while boosting his Swirls damage. Because of this, Elemental Mastery is the most desirable build for Kazuha.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.