Genshin Impact Tier List 7.1 Best Characters Ranked 

Best Main DPS Characters

These are best Genshin Impact DPS characters who are also known as the on-field carries that set the pace of a rotation. In Version 7.0 going into 7.1, the strongest Main DPS Characters sit in Stellar, Lunar, Melt, Freeze, and flexible Pyro cores.

T0 Main DPS

• Sandrone (Cryo / Physical, Claymore): Still the highest-ceiling on-field carry in 7.0 when her Stellar Conduct / Physical kit is fully enabled. She remains the benchmark other new DPS units are measured against.

• Mavuika (Pyro, Claymore): The most flexible top carry. She can sit on-field or drop off-field Pyro, and she still anchors Melt and Vaporize teams that do not need Snezhnaya units.

• Skirk (Cryo, Sword): Freeze carry with very high personal damage when Escoffier is on the team. She reruns in 7.1 Phase 2, so she is the safest “old premium DPS” pull if you skipped her first run.

• Odette (Cryo): Patch 7.0’s face unit. Many call her as a Sub-DPS first, but she also functions as a Cryo carry in Stellar teams and is the unit Vesna wants most.

• Arlecchino (Pyro, Polearm): Still a version-defining Bond of Life carry. She dropped a step only because newer Stellar and Lunar teams raised the ceiling, not because her kit got worse.

• Zibai (Geo, Sword) and Flins (Electro): Top Lunar / Stellar-adjacent carries. Pull them if your account already has their supports; skip them if you are starting a Stellar Swirl core from zero.

• Vesna (Anemo, Sword): Projected T0 Stellar Swirl Main DPS for 7.1. She converts Cryo Swirl into Stellar Swirl, builds Sword Essence, and spends it to command Spirit Blades. Attacks near a Stellar Vortex count as Stellar Swirl damage. She is the reason this patch exists for on-field Anemo players.

T1 Main DPS

• Neuvillette (Hydro, Catalyst): Still brain-dead strong AOE, but he is no longer uncontested T0 now that Stellar and Lunar teams outpace raw Charged Attack Hydro.

• Varesa (Electro), Kinich (Dendro), Chasca, Wriothesley, Varka: High personal damage with tighter team requirements. Varesa is also the best pick on the 7.1 limited 5-star selector if you do not own her.

• Raiden Shogun (Electro, Polearm): No longer a “must-have core of every Electro team.” She is a reliable T1 hypercarry / battery, not the 2022–2024 default.

T2 Main DPS

• Xiao, Hu Tao, Ayaka, Ganyu, Alhaitham, Clorinde, Navia, Wanderer: Still clear Abyss with premium supports. They are not the first units you should spend limited wishes on in 7.1 unless you already love the playstyle.

Best Sub-DPS Characters

Sub-DPS units from this Genshin Impact tier list deal most of their damage off-field and should not steal the carry’s field time.

T0 Sub-DPS

• Odette: Off-field Cryo, Stellar damage percent, and the single best partner for Vesna. If you can only build one 7.0 Snezhnaya unit before Vesna’s banner, build Odette.

• Furina (Hydro, Sword): Still the most universal off-field damage + team buff package in the game.

• Escoffier (Cryo): Off-field Cryo, healing, and Freeze enablement. She reruns with Skirk in 7.1 Phase 2.

• Columbina, Ineffa, Durin: Lunar / Hexerei off-field cores. They carry whole team archetypes rather than one character.

• Mavuika (off-field mode): Same kit, different job. If your on-field slot is already filled, she is still a T0 Pyro applicator.

T1 Sub-DPS

• Yelan (Hydro, Bow): Still the cleanest off-field Hydro applicator for Vaporize and most Hydro cores. Xingqiu covers the F2P version of this job.

• Fischl, Xiangling, Emilie, Nahida, Raiden (off-field burst): Proven, cheap, and still used in 7.0 Abyss.

• Cryo Traveler: Free, off-field Cryo, and a real damage slice in Stellar Swirl teams. Do not ignore this unit if you plan to play Vesna on a budget.

T2 Sub-DPS

• Xingqiu, Yae Miko, Albedo, Chiori, Kuki Shinobu: Fine in the right team, replaceable if you already own a T0 option in the same slot.

Best Healers & Sustain Characters

Sustain is anyone who keeps the on-fielder alive long enough to finish the rotation: healers, shielders, and interruption RES. So, the best healers and sustain characters in Genshin Impact are:

T0 Healers & Sustain

• Bennett: Healing plus the ATK buff. Still the first sustain most accounts should finish.

• Furina: Not a dedicated healer, but her teamwide HP change plus a healer partner (Bennett, Escoffier, Baizhu, Vodyanitsa, Jean) is the current standard.

• Escoffier: Heal + Cryo application in one slot. Premium Freeze sustain.

• Vodyanitsa: Dedicated 7.1 healer. Her Skill heals the active character on a short interval, grants interruption RES, and shreds Hydro / Cryo RES. In Stellar Swirl teams she also shreds Anemo RES when a Vortex forms. Target around 60,000–65,000 Max HP.

• Xilonen / Citlali / Zhongli: Sustain through shields and comfort rather than raw HPS.

T1 Healers & Sustain

• Baizhu (Dendro, Catalyst), Sangonomiya Kokomi (Hydro, Catalyst), Sigewinne, Kuki Shinobu, Yaoyao, Diona, Layla, Thoma: All still clear Floor 12. Baizhu and Kokomi are the “I never want to think about dying” options. Kuki remains the Hyperbloom default.

T2 Healers & Sustain

• Qiqi, Barbara, Mika, Sayu, Noelle: Usable. Not a reason to spend limited wishes.

Where Do Vesna and Vodyanitsa Rank?

This is where most players are being curious of when looking for these Genshin Impact characters. So, where do both Vesna and Vodyanitsa belong?

Vesna — Projected T0 Main DPS for Stellar Swirl

• Role: On-field Anemo Sword carry. Youngest Commander of the Druzhna. 5-star.
• Kit: Skill puts her into an armed state, builds Sword Essence, and lets her spend that resource to send Spirit Blades. Burst deals AoE Anemo and refunds Essence. Cryo Swirl from the party becomes Stellar Swirl. Hits near a Stellar Vortex count as Stellar Swirl damage. She also flies in the overworld as a Vila.
• Why she ranks T0: She is the dedicated Stellar Swirl on-fielder for 7.1. Her damage scales with ATK, CRIT, and consistent Cryo application. She does not need her signature sword to function, which matters for F2P and low-spend accounts.
• What she needs: At least one off-field Cryo unit. Odette is best-in-slot. Cryo Traveler, Escoffier, Diona, or Qiqi can fill the second Cryo slot. Vodyanitsa or Faruzan / Sucrose take the last slot.
• Who should pull: Players who want a new Anemo carry, players who already built Odette, and players who like fast, mobile on-field kits. Who can skip: accounts that already clear with Sandrone / Mavuika / Skirk and do not want a third premium carry this patch.
• Banner: Phase 1, September 23–October 13, 2026. Signature sword: Beyond the Chrysalis.

Vodyanitsa — Projected T0 Support and T0 Healer

• Role: Off-field Hydro Catalyst. Prima Donna of the Korolevskiy Troupe. Water Imp. 5-star.
• Kit: Skill turns her into her Water Imp form, heals the active character, shreds Hydro and Cryo RES, grants interruption RES, and applies off-field Hydro. Burst is an HP-scaling Hydro nuke. Passives convert Stellar Swirls into Vortices, shred Anemo RES when those Vortices form or explode, and add HP-scaling bonus damage to Hydro, Cryo, or Stellar Swirl hits.
• Why she ranks T0 in two lists: She is not a Main DPS. She is a sustain + shred + buff unit that slots into Vesna Stellar Swirl teams and into Skirk / Escoffier Freeze teams. That double role is why she is the more flexible of the two debut 5-stars.
• What she needs: HP. Prototype Amber or Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers is enough for F2P. Tenacity of the Millelith is the safe artifact set. Do not build her for CRIT.
• Who should pull: Anyone building Vesna, anyone who plays Skirk Freeze and wants a healer that also shreds Cryo RES, and accounts that still use Kokomi or Bennett as their only comfort unit. Who can skip: accounts that already have Escoffier + Furina + a second healer and have no plan to play Stellar Swirl.
• Banner: Phase 1, September 23–October 13, 2026, alongside Vesna. Signature catalyst: Hymn of the Maelstrom.

Short answer if you can only pull one: pull Vesna if your account needs a Main DPS; pull Vodyanitsa if your account needs a healer / shred support that works in two metas. Pulling both is the premium Stellar Swirl plan, not a requirement to clear 7.1 content.

Top Meta Team Comps in Genshin Impact

And if you are looking for the Genshin Impact best teams, we have few names for you with better compositions as follows:

Team	Team Members
Stellar Swirl (7.1 premium)	Vesna + Odette + Cryo Traveler + VodyanitsaVesna + Odette + Sucrose or Faruzan + VodyanitsaSandrone + Odette + Sucrose + flex sustain
Freeze (still T0, stronger after Vodyanitsa)	Skirk + Escoffier + Furina + VodyanitsaSkirk + Escoffier + Shenhe + Furina
Flexible Pyro	Mavuika + Citlali + Bennett + Xilonen or FurinaArlecchino + Bennett + Yelan or Xingqiu + Kazuha or Xilonen
Lunar / reaction cores	Neuvillette + Ineffa + Xilonen + FurinaLauma + Nilou + Nahida + Kokomi
Evergreen F2P	Xiangling + Bennett + Xingqiu + Sucrose (National)Kuki Shinobu + Xingqiu + Dendro Traveler + Collei (Hyperbloom)

Best Genshin Impact Characters for F2P Players

“F2P” here means 4-stars, the Traveler, event / Archon Quest free units, and 5-stars you can grab from the 7.1 anniversary selectors without buying Genesis Crystals.

If you want the best, build these 4-stars first:

• Bennett: Best F2P character in the game, still. ATK buff and heal.
• Xiangling: Off-field Pyro. Pair with The Catch.
• Xingqiu: Off-field Hydro and interruption RES.
• Sucrose: F2P grouping and EM share. Often the fourth slot in Vesna budget teams.
• Fischl: Off-field Electro that never went out of date.
• Kuki Shinobu: Hyperbloom healer.
• Iansan and Chevreuse: Natlan 4-stars that still hold T0 / T1 support seats.
• Cryo Traveler: Free Cryo applicator for Vesna. Level this if you plan to play Stellar Swirl without Odette on day one.

Free and low-cost 5-star value in 7.1

• Version 7.1 is the sixth anniversary. Completing the new Archon Quest lets you pick one limited 5-star from Baizhu, Nilou, Varesa, Tartaglia, Chiori, or Clorinde. Varesa is the strongest C0 combat pick for most accounts. Nilou is the pick if you play Bloom. Tartaglia is a collection pick.
• A separate standard selector covers Jean, Diluc, Qiqi, Mona, Tighnari, Keqing, Dehya, and Yumemizuki Mizuki. Take the name you do not own. Mizuki has extra value if you want a Stellar Swirl on-fielder before or instead of Vesna.
• Alyosha is a 7.0 story unit worth building as a budget support if you already have him.

F2P Pull Advice for the 7.1 Banners

• Do not feel forced to pull both Vesna and Vodyanitsa. Vesna works with Cryo Traveler, Diona, and Sucrose. Vodyanitsa works with Prototype Amber.
• If you have enough for one limited 5-star and your roster has no premium healer, Vodyanitsa is the safer account upgrade.
• If your roster has healers but no modern on-fielder, Vesna is the upgrade.
• Save a second half of wishes for Skirk / Escoffier if you already like Freeze and missed them.

How to Quickly Farm Primogems?

Genshin Version 7.1 is a high-income patch. Use the free sources first. And them, focus on the following:

• Daily commissions and the new 7.1 events: Silverwing in Pursuit of the Moon, Stygian Onslaught, and the anniversary web events are the large Primogem nodes.
• Archon Quest and story rewards: The 7.1 Archon Quest pays a large one-time Primogem batch and unlocks the limited 5-star selector.
• Anniversary mail: Expect Primogems, 10 Intertwined Fates, and the two 5-star selectors across the September 28 window.
• Battle Pass and Welkin Moon if you already spend a little. They are still the best legal daily income.
• Exploration in Snezhnaya if you have chests and oculi left from 7.0.

If you are short for Vesna or Vodyanitsa after the free rewards, that is the only point where a top-up is worth considering.

Note: Phase 1 runs Vesna and Vodyanitsa together. Phase 2 brings Skirk and Escoffier back. If your pity is high and the free anniversary pulls are not enough, topping up through Enjoygm is the shortest path to finishing a 5-star before the banner flips. Compare prices first, then pull with a plan. A single well-chosen 5-star beats three random 10-pulls.

Conclusion

That is everything from this Genshin Impact tier list for version 7.1 Picking the right character from the Genshin Impact latest tier list matters. Clearing Floor 12 with a team you enjoy matters more. Did your Main DPS make the 7.1 cut? If the answer is no, the F2P block and the anniversary selectors are there so you are not locked out of the patch. If the answer is yes, you can skip Phase 1 and wait for Skirk, Escoffier, or a later Snezhnaya unit. So, take the next 10-pull when you have a reason, not when a tier list shouts at you.