Top 17 Support Characters And How To Use Them

Genshin Impact is a game based entirely on teamwork and tactical gameplay. Every team of four complex characters has an intricate set of specialized tasks that each character excels in. DPS, or Damage Per Second, and healers get a lot of respect from the community. While some frown on supports as apparently mediocre characters, a good one is the lifeline of any DPS’s damage output by setting up crowd attacks and elemental reactions.

There are a lot of definitions for what a support character is, with many lumping other positions like enablers into the group. Generally speaking, the most inclusive way to define a support character in Genshin Impact is anyone who doesn’t excel at DPS or healing.

Updated January 8, 2022, by Scott Vengel:Once again, Genshin Impact has made major progress in its combat system. In version 2.4, the introduction of Shenhe and Yun Jin made a lasting impact on how players strategize in making their teams. Now, players must carefully consider their choice in DPS characters. Luckily, the version has also offered the greatest amount of reruns so far: after Shenhe and Xiao, both Ganyu and Zhongli will also receive rerun banners. As three of Genshin Impact’s most popular DPS characters, players are having more trouble than ever choosing who to pull for, given the new supports. Nonetheless, this article has been updated to add the new supports, as well as the recently released Gorou.

20/20 Gorou
* Rarity: 4-star bow-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Defensive/attack-boosting

Genshin Impact’s version 2.3 update marked a major upheaval for support mechanics in-game. The most important part of this came in the form of Gorou, a four-star Geo user capable of boosting the strength of active characters within his range. Specifically, Gorou boosts the defensive stats and Geo damage of teammates based on the amount of Geo characters in the team.

This was the first time a character based the strength of their talents on their teammates, so players looking to use Gorou must pay close attention to the way they build their team compositions. Gorou’s support potential maximizes when his team has one or two more Geo users in his team. That said, players should also note that having a full-Geo team will not have any effect on Gorou’s skill more than a three-Geo user team. An ideal Gorou team composition will have three Geo users and another character from another element.

19/20 Shenhe
* Rarity: 5-star polearm-user
* Element: Cryo
* Support Type: Attack-boosting, enabling

After version 2.3, Genshin Impact continued to change the way support characters worked. Specifically, with the introduction of Shenhe and Yun Jin, support characters were given the interesting mechanic of being both offensive and defensive depending on whether their elemental skill was pressed or held.

For Shenhe, this mechanic in her elemental skill means the difference between applying individual Cryo damage against one opponent when pressed, or AoE Cryo damage against a group when held. This makes her an excellent Cryo applier for teams with multiple DPS characters. Her elemental skill also adds the Icy Quill mechanic to all teammates, which increases the attack power of Cryo attacks that hit opponents. This makes Shenhe an excellent support for teams that have Cryo DPS characters.

18/20 Yun Jin
* Rarity: 4-star polearm-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Attack-boosting, shielding

Like Shenhe, Yun Jin has multiple ways to use her elemental skill depending on whether it is pressed or held. In her case, Yun Jin this means either doing a quick slash of Geo damage with a pressed attack, or dealing more Geo damage and gaining a shield with a held attack. Players can choose to start cooldown quicker with a pressed attack, or have the support boosts of the held attack at the expense of time needed to charge.

Yun Jin’s elemental burst also has high potential for support. When her burst is used, Yun Jin will enter the Flying Cloud Flag Formation (in addition to dealing AoE Geo damage), which deals additional damage to her team’s normal attacks based on Yun Jin’s defense stat. Additionally, this formation will deal the effect multiple times if it hits more than one opponent, making Yun Jin a great support character for crowd control teams.

17/20 Lisa
* Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
* Element: Electro
* Support Type: Enabling

Free characters are among the most common support types to be abandoned in the early game. However, this is a fatal mistake, as Lisa is among Genshin Impact’s best supports. Granted, her skills take some time to learn, but after fixing some common mistakes, she becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Despite strong opinions from the community, Electro can make for some destructive elemental reactions like overload and superconduct. With Lisa’s attacks and her burst which automatically applies Electro status in an area of effect, she makes for one of the best supports in Genshin Impact for overload reactions. In the worst-case scenario, Lisa can also make for a strong DPS and sub-DPS with her lightning attacks.

16/20 Mona
* Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
* Element: Hydro
* Support Type: Enabling

The astrologer from Liyue now located in Mondstadt, Mona has been a member of the Genshin Impact cast for a long time. Nonetheless, her support capabilities are yet to be overshadowed, with attacks that make applying Hydro status easy. Mona’s elemental skill creates an automated phantom that applies Hydro status effects, and her burst creates a bubble trap for nearby opponents in a certain area. Not to mention, her normal Hydro catalyst attacks are incredibly strong.

In addition, Mona was the first exploration character to feature an alternative sprint, making travel in the water much faster. Overall, Mona can be used in a variety of positions, from sub-DPS to main-DPS to support. For best effects as a support character, Mona works best paired with a DPS that excels in crowd warfare, like Diluc.

15/20 Raiden Shogun
* Rarity: 5-star polearm-user
* Element: Electro
* Support Type: Energy Generation

The Raiden Shogun was a notable inclusion in the Inazuma portion of the story. Of course, like the other Archons, Raiden Shogun offers a diverse skill set focused on the power associated with Electro. Therefore, players will find that Raiden Shogun is the best energy regeneration support in Genshin Impact. Her support is focused on her elemental skill, which will increase team regeneration of energy the more often she hits opponents.

That said, creating a team with Raiden Shogun as a support character will be notably different from other team compositions in Genshin Impact. Unlike other support characters that will use their skills and then leave the battlefield, Raiden Shogun’s synergy works the longer she stays in the fight. Therefore, players are advised to invest in a support with a strong elemental burst and good defense, like Zhongli.

14/20 Kokomi
* Rarity: 5-star catalyst-user
* Element: Hydro
* Support Type: Enabling, Healing

Interestingly enough, while Sangonomiya Kokomi is not easily applied as an offensive character in any capacity, she is almost too natural at being one of the best healers and supports in Genshin Impact. Her elemental skill creates a “bake-kurage” which automatically applies Hydro-based status conditions (much like Mona’s phantoms). However, the twist is that Kokomi also includes healing capacities and an increase in “bake-kurage” strength with her elemental burst.

As such, there are generally two ways to place Kokomi in a team: as a support healer and a main healer. By placing Kokomi as a support healer, players should focus on using both her elemental skill and normal attacks often. This also allows for a main healer in addition to Kokomi (or a second DPS), made using a less sturdy DPS with heavy-hitting attacks more beneficial.

13/20 Albedo
* Rarity: 5-star sword-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Tactical Skills, Shielding

When it comes down to it, kill-zoning is a valuable skill for Genshin Impact support characters like Bennett and Diona. It’s this very skill that Albedo specializes in, helping to down opponents by creating AoE zones rather than through direct attacks.

Albedo does this with his elemental skill, creating a zone that releases Geo energy. Combined with a Pyro, Cryo, Electro, or Hydro character, this makes for a perfect recipe for devastating damage and incredible shield production. Furthermore, Albedo’s 4th ascension passive which increases team elemental mastery doesn’t hurt either.

12/20 Venti
* Rarity: 5-star bow-user
* Element: Anemo
* Support Type: Crowd Control

Crowd control makes for a fair niche area of support skills; however, Venti does show the strength of this skill in particular. Some in the community would even call Venti the best support character in Genshin Impact.

With a burst that sucks opponents in and a skill that launches them in the air, moving the battle is Venti’s specialty. In fact, the only concern for Venti is accidentally downing his foes, but few players will find this to be a true downside. For best results, players should pair Venti with a Pyro, Cryo, Electro, or Hydro enabler to boost swirl damage.

11/20 Ayaka
* Rarity: 5-star sword-user
* Element: Cryo
* Support Type: Enabling

Few characters introduced with Inazuma have left quite the impression that Kamisato Ayaka has. One of the ruling siblings of the Yashiro Commission, Ayaka is better known for her Cryo DPS potential. However, for players that already have a good DPS, Ayaka can also double as a Cryo sub-DPS or support.

With a sprint that activates her Cryo infusion, Ayaka has perhaps the easiest access to Cryo in the game. This comes in addition to her crowd attacking elemental skill and burst, creating fierce winds of ice and snow. And, at the end of the day, Ayaka’s natural strength is never a downside even as a support character.

10/20 Sucrose
* Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
* Element: Anemo
* Support Type: Crowd Control, Tactical Skills

The queen of elemental reactions herself, there are a lot of different builds that players can choose for Sucrose. Sucrose falls very uniquely into the support category because she uses skills that can work for crowd control and elemental reactions.

Many in the community would disagree, however, saying that Sucrose has enough damage potential to qualify as a DPS. Nonetheless, a character that can be used for damage and support can still qualify as the latter, and Sucrose does both very well.

9/20 The Traveler
* Rarity: 5-star sword-user
* Element: Interchangeable
* Support Type: Crowd Control, Energy Generation (depending on the element), Strategic Resonance

The Traveler gets a lot of criticism, despite being the only free 5-star character in the game. Players aren’t particularly happy that the main character isn’t a natural-born DPS character. However, the Traveler has a marvelous support build, with crowd-controlling bursts of air in Anemo form, barriers in Geo, and energy recharge boosts in Electro.

The Traveler also brings a level of fine-tuning that is not possible in other supports. Players can experiment with the Traveler because they can effectively be any element, changing elemental resonance overtime to choose the best reactions for their playstyle.

8/20 Zhongli
* Rarity: 5-star polearm-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Shielding

The Geo Archon himself received a major buff in the 1.2 update to increase his damage potential, but that doesn’t make Zhongli any less of a great support character. No other character in the game can compete with Zhongli’s defensive capabilities after all.

Zhongli’s potential as a support is perhaps the most straightforward of all the characters on this list. With the best defensive capabilities in the game, he can take the brunt of enemy attacks while the skills of other characters are in recharge.

7/20 Barbara
* Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
* Element: Hydro
* Support Type: Enabling, Healing

Barbara is the idol of all Mondstadt, and everybody seems to love her (as the recent Hangout Event has made very clear). But when it comes to her own skills, she is mediocre in a few areas: her base healing components are rather low for a healer, she doesn’t boast a huge amount of damage, and her skills often make her afflicted by wet status.

That said, Barbara may shine the brightest as a support instead of a healer. Depending on what someone defines as a “support”, Barbara would be more suitably called an enabler. Her attacks make the enemy wet, which is a major asset when coupled with a Cryo or Electro DPS character.

6/20 Diona
* Rarity: 4-star bow-user
* Element: Cryo
* Support Type: Shielding, Enabling, Healing

Everybody’s favorite bartender is also an easy-to-use support. Diona makes enabling easy for the player by using a skill that homes in on the enemy to apply cold status.

This makes Diona a perfect enabler for frozen, superconduct, or melt reactions, maximizing the output of a mixed DPS team. Add this to a small, mobile model and passive healing properties, and the end result is a versatile character who can support the team in multiple ways.

5/20 Xingqiu
* Rarity: 4-star sword-user
* Element: Hydro
* Support Type: Enabling

The bookworm Xingqiu is an A+ support character. With an elemental skill that creates rain swords around the character, Xingqiu can easily apply wet status to any enemy he meets.

What makes Xingqiu an even better support is that his swords will transfer to anybody on the field, effectively making any player able to apply wet status. Creating a chain of elemental reactions with every elemental attack, Xingqiu elevates the normal attacks of Electro, Pyro, and Cryo characters to new heights.

4/20 Ningguang
* Rarity: 4-star catalyst-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Tactical Skills, Stat Boosts

The Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing is more often than not underappreciated among Genshin Impact support characters. Granted, her burst does make it easier to build her as more of an offensive character, but Ningguang’s other assets give her the potential to create some of the most situational defenses for a tactically-minded player.

Ningguang’s elemental skill, Jade Screen, creates a wall of Geo energy. Opponents will find it impossible to get projectiles past this wall, making Ningguang the sworn enemy of all Hilichurl Archers. Couple this with Ningguang’s passive talents, and the player has a character that actively supports the entire team. Team composition-wise, player will find the results when pairing Ningguang with at least one other Geo character.

3/20 Jean
* Rarity: 5-star sword-user
* Element: Anemo
* Support Type: Crowd Control, Healing

Jean is for the kinds of players who love throwing Hilichurls around with the Anemo Traveler’s elemental skill. What makes Jean great is that her skill can be aimed much better than the Traveler’s, making her a queen of crowd control.

Furthermore, Jean offers more versatility than most other characters. Her burst makes her a top-tier healer, not to mention that she has potential as a DPS. Jean is a master of all trades, including as a support.

2/20 Noelle
* Rarity: 4-star claymore-user
* Element: Geo
* Support Type: Shielding, Healing

To many, Noelle is like a free Zhongli. Her shielding is among the best in the game, making her the queen of all defensive characters.

More specifically, Noelle is a support healer, or a character that can complete minor crowd control/DPS tasks while providing healing in the meantime. Given this, Noelle is a support that can be built in a variety of ways, making it easy to fine-tune her to a team’s exact needs.

1/20 Bennett
* Rarity: 4-star sword-user
* Element: Pyro
* Support Type: Stat Boosts, Healing, Enabling

Jean may be a master of all trades, but Bennett is far more efficient than Jean is. 4-star constellations are easier to get than those for 5-star characters, so Bennett enjoys a lot of boosts that are impossible for the average 5-star owner.

Bennett is also a Pyro user, meaning that he can apply elemental status to opponents for reactions. Top of all, Bennett uses a very supportive elemental burst which heavily boosts team damage and offers minor healing.

Genshin Impact is available on mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.

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