[ Guide ] Genshin Impact: 4-star characters ranking with / without Constellations

The 4-star characters in Genshin Impact are theoretically much easier to raise, due to them being permanently available in the pool after their introduction version. This is especially more relevant to free-to-play players, who don’t necessarily have the resources to either get more of their constellations, or get the most optimized weapon.

As the game gets more mature, here’s our opinions for the 4-star characters in Genshin Impact, categorized as follows:

• Best Constellation 0
• Best Constellation 1
• Constellations Recommended ( C2 / C4 )
• Best Constellation 6

BEST CONSTELLATION 0

These characters can perform their roles just fine at their base level, and able to scale better / provide more buffs as you get more unlocks.

NAME	ROLE	NOTES
BARBARA	SUPPORT	Most likely every player's first dedicated healer, available for free after completing enough Archon Quests. Has regeneration and burst heals.
BEIDOU	SUB-DPS	Provides a counter-attack and a shield for off-field protection and damage.
BENNETT	SUB-DPS / SUPPORT	The premiere jack-of-all-trades, the boy brings healing (when below a HP threshold), an ATK buff, and can bring damage too.
CHONGYUN	SUB-DPS	Helping melee characters attack faster within his field and reducing Cyro RES with damage is nice. His primary weakness would be turning physical attacks into Cyro for the duration of said field.
DIONA	SUPPORT	Her shield can cleanse other elements while also buffing and defending your characters. Her healing field also applies Cyro for any combos.
FISCHL	SUB-DPS	Provides some off-field damage thanks to Oz, besides the initial Electro DMG burst.
KAEYA	DPS / SUB-DPS	With pretty quick skill rotations and a level of self-sustain, he's one of the best free characters you can obtain.
KUJOU SARA	SUB-DPS / DPS	Has some AOE capabilities and buffs her team.
NINGGUANG	SUB-DPS / DPS	While she has some defensive capabilities in blocking ranged attacks, she'll be better utilized for damage either with her charged attacks, or Burst.
NOELLE	SUPPORT	At this stage, she would be better for her shield, with some healing capabilities.
RAZOR	DPS	He only has one role, and that's DPS. He'll be able to quickly swipe at enemies, and only gets better with more Constellations.
ROSARIA	SUB-DPS / DPS	She can help her party members crit more, while also capable of being a DPS herself.
SAYU	SUPPORT	For healing and off-field damage. Her daruma can also be moved, like with Kazuha's Elemental Skill.
SUCROSE	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	Brings the crowd control, besides boosting Elemental Mastery.
XIANGLING	SUB-DPS	Guoba does his best to bring the heat, otherwise the fun would most probably be from her Burst, the Pyronado.
XINGQIU	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	His Burst can offer some defense and healing, besides providing off-field damage.
XINYAN	SUB-DPS	Rock it up with a shield or AOE burst Pyro damage!
YANFEI	DPS	Similar in flavour to Ningguang, alternate your Normal and Charged Attacks and Bursts.

BEST CONSTELLATION 1

These characters can be considered to have the best “value” C1 that boosts their effectiveness further.

NAME	ROLE	NOTES
BEIDOU	SUB-DPS	Gets a bulkier shield for more damage absorption for either herself or to assist the main DPS' survivability.
BENNETT	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	Removes the HP requirement for his Burst's buff and further improves the ATK buff.
FISCHL	SUB-DPS / DPS	Lets her deal more damage when on the field thanks to Oz's support.
KAEYA	DPS / SUB-DPS	Enables more DPS potential with the increased CRIT Rate on opponents affected by Cyro.
KUJOU SARA	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	Allows for faster skill rotations and more uptime on her buffs where applicable.
NINGGUANG	SUB-DPS / DPS	Eke out more DPS potential on her Normal attacks when in-between Charged attacks.
NOELLE	SUPPORT	Healing becomes guaranteed when both her Skill and Burst are active.
ROSARIA	SUB-DPS / DPS	Lets her get in more and harder-hitting attacks.
SAYU	SUPPORT	Her Burst now heals and damages simultaneously.
SUCROSE	SUB-DPS / SUPPORT	For one extra charge for either Energy generation or soft crowd control.
THOMA	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	Allows for faster skill rotations.
XIANGLING	SUB-DPS	If Guoba can land hits, helps debuff Pyro RES on enemies.
XINGQIU	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	One more Rain Sword means more defense / healing.
XINYAN	SUB-DPS / DPS	Gives her the option to stay on the field longer with faster attack speed.
YANFEI	DPS	Lets her spam more Charged attacks and reduces the chances of enemies interrupting her.

CONSTELLATIONS RECOMMENDED

These characters would work much better when you get more duplicates, without maxing them out. C6 value will be rated separately.

	ROLE	RECOMMENDED CONSTELLATIONS	NOTES
AMBER	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2, C4	Being able to manually detonate Baron Bunny allows for more reliable reactions. One more Baron Bunny can further increase her potential damage.
BARBARA	SUPPORT / DPS?	C2	She can give bonus Hydro DMG besides the reduced cooldown on her skill. The bonus Hydro DMG could encourage a DPS Barbara if you so desire.
BEIDOU	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2, C4	More damage instances on her shield can further help a main DPS when shielded. She could transition into main DPS with the Electro DMG bonus when hit at C4.
BENNETT	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS / DPS	C2, C4	If you're only focused on using his Burst, keeping him at low HP could help you rotate it faster. Otherwise, he could become your DPS when using his already pretty spammable Skill.
CHONGYUN	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2	Normal attack chain aside, reducing cooldowns while within his field can be quite potent.
DIONA	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	C2	Boosts defensive potential, while also helping any other co-op partners nearby. A more attack-oriented Diona could benefit from her C4 for faster Charged Shots.
KAEYA	DPS / SUB-DPS	C2, C4	Even if he's not on the field, his Burst's duration can still be extended. He can also become more durable at C4 if you can get it.
LISA	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2	Being less likely to be interrupted besides the defense boost can be a godsend for Lisa. At C4, her Burst can increase her DPS potential.
NINGGUANG	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2	She can regain Energy faster for more Burst potential with her skill refresh. C4's defensive buff is arguably more a bonus.
NOELLE	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	C2	Since her healing is better with her Charged attacks, reducing her Stamina consumption with more DMG is extremely helpful. C4's DMG can be a nice bonus.
ROSARIA	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2	Having a longer duration Burst means more damage potential and longer window for Elemental Reactions. C4's Energy regeneration can allow for Burst potential too.
SAYU	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS?	C4	C2 gives her more damage potential. C4's energy generation for either her party or for her own Burst is quite handy too.
SUCROSE	SUB-DPS / DPS / SUPPORT	C2, C4	Increased Burst duration is always nice. Getting shorter cooldowns also allows for faster skill rotations, and lets her transition into a DPS role.
THOMA	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS	C2, C4	Longer duration skills are always nice. Recovering energy on skill usage allows for faster rotations too.
XIANGLING	SUB-DPS / DPS	C4	C2 would likely be better if you're planning on using her on the field for longer. Otherwise, a longer Burst duration is always nice.
XINGQIU	SUPPORT / SUB-DPS / DPS	C2, C4	A longer duration and lowering Hydro RES could allow him to become a better damage dealer, further boosted with his C4.
XINYAN	SUB-DPS / DPS	C2, C4	100% CRIT on her Burst and max-level shield for more damage over time is definitely handy. C4 can help her transition into a more DPS-focused role with its Physical RES debuff.
YANFEI	DPS	C2	It becomes easier for her to blow up enemies. C4 can give her more durability.

BEST CONSTELLATION 6

Maxed out Constellations can change playstyles, or make characters even more flexible which could be the case for these characters in specific. The rest “only” get better at the roles they can already perform at lower Constellation requirements.

NAME	ROLE	NOTES
BEIDOU	SUB-DPS / DPS	Could let her become a better main DPS with her Burst's Electro RES reduction, considering how wide her Skill's arc is.
FISCHL	SUB-DPS / DPS	For even more off-field support, or better DPS output from Fischl herself.
NOELLE	SUB-DPS / DPS / SUPPORT	Now has the option to fully transition into a main DPS, getting more damage scaling off her DEF.
ROSARIA	SUB-DPS / DPS	Could opt for a Physical DMG build over Cyro with her Burst's Physical RES debuff on enemies.
XINYAN	SUB-DPS / DPS	More flexible options to improve her damage by scaling off her DEF and push her to be a main DPS instead, besides reducing her Charged attack stamina consumption.

SPECIAL MENTION: BENNETT C6

Bennett’s C6 upgrade makes his Burst similar to Chongyun’s Skill, where his field turns melee attacks into Pyro. Many would consider activating this a mistake, as it can reduce party composition flexibility. If you know how to work around this apparent limitation, then do so at your own discretion.

CLOSING

Of course, with all that said and done, this is merely our thoughts on the characters. “True” viability can depend on how much you’ve invested in their Talents and Artifacts, or the weapons you’ve managed to acquire. You should build characters how you want to, which again, some will tell you certain characters are better than others in their respective roles.

Be sure to enjoy the game for yourself!

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Genshin Impact

Publisher: miHoYo

Developer: miHoYo

Release Date: 2020-09-28

Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy. You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.

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