Genshin Impact Element tier list: Every Element ranked from best to worst

Seven seas, seven hills, and seven elements.

Skirk holding a ball of energy containing the massive whale boss and looking back slightly.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

One of the most unique factors of Genshin Impact is its Elements and their reactions. They are the core and essence of Genshin’s fantastic gameplay and team building. 

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Like characters in Genshin, Elements have pros and cons, so it’s important to know which Elements you should focus on. Here’s a list of every Element in Genshin, ranked on their strength and value from best to worst.

SS Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Hydro

Neuvillette displays the real power of the Hydro element.
Neuvillette is a majestic and powerful Hydro dragon. Image via HoYoverse

I am sure this comes as no surprise to anyone, but Hydro is simply the king of this hill. It’s the most valuable and flexible Element in the game, offering a ton of utility, damage, and various team building. Hydro is the Element with the most Elemental reactions in Genshin, making it the most popular one right now. It can resonate with every other Element, and with its stacked roster, Hydro is undoubtedly the best Element in the game.

S Tier Elements in Genshin Impact 

Dendro

Nahida charges up her Elemental Burst where she displays the power of Dendro.
Nahida is one of the best Dendro characters ever. Image via HoYoverse

The Element that unlocked one of the strongest Elemental reactions with its introduction in Genshin’s version 3.0 has ever since cemented itself as one of the best Elements in the game. Dendro is a straightforward Element that has access to powerful reactions such as Bloom, Hyperbloom, and Aggravate, but where its true value lies is that it’s very easy to build your teams around this Element by only stacking Elemental Mastery. The only reason why Dendro is behind Hydro is because it lacks flexibility.

A Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Anemo

By using his Elemental Skill, Kazuha jumps very high in the air.
Kazuha is one of the best Anemo supports. Image via HoYoverse

The first Element introduced to us is still going strong. Anemo is an outstanding Element that provides the best utility and damage boost out of any other Element in the game. It has one of the best characters in the game, Kazuha, and is used in a variety of teams. The only thing Anemo lacks is offensive capabilities, so A Tier is a perfect spot for it.

B Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Electro

Electro energy flows through Raiden's body.
Raiden Shogun is the almighty Electro Archon and the best Electro character. Image by HoYoverse

Once one of the worst Elements in the game, Electro has come a long way. There’s no doubt the introduction of Dendro was its saving grace, but even before that, Electro was always special in its own way. While Electro specifically shines in Dendro reactions, it has value elsewhere, such as Energy Regeneration. With characters like Raiden Shogun and Fischl, Electro will always excel at dealing massive damage while providing great support at the same time. 

C Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Pyro

Charging up his Burst, Diluc infuses his giant claymore.
Diluc is still one of the best Pyro damage dealers. Image by HoYoverse

This Element, all about offense and attacking, isn’t to be taken lightly. Pyro is the most offensive Element in Genshin with the sole purpose of dishing out a ton of damage, and unfortunately, that’s all there is to it. It doesn’t provide any utility or support capabilities, and while Pyro works well with Hydro and Cryo, it also has a downside of creating reactions such as Overload and Burn that are very weak at the moment.

D Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Cryo

Ayaka charging her Elemental Burst, infusing her sword.
Ayaka is the one and only Cryo queen. Image via HoYoverse

If there wasn’t another Element remaining, this one would be at the very bottom. Cryo’s biggest problem is that it only has two Elemental reactions: Freeze and Melt. While Melt can be strong and useful sometimes, Freeze is very limited since it only works on smaller enemies and not on bosses. Cryo is simply outmatched and outperformed by other elements, and it looks like it will stay that way for much longer.

F Tier Elements in Genshin Impact

Geo

Using his Elemental skill, Zhongli protects everyone from any danger.
Zhongli is the Geo Archon and his shields are simply the strongest. Image via HoYoverse

Arguably the worst Element currently in Genshin, and for a good reason. Geo is an Element that has stayed the same ever since the start of the game. It has no reactions with other Elements, highly depends on Geo constructs easily destroyed by bosses, and has only one viable team, a full Geo team. While it has its niche in creating shields from Elemental particles, it’s simply not enough. Geo is definitely in dire need of rework, and until that happens, it will stay at the bottom of the ladder.  

Author
Image of Lazar Pavlovic
Lazar Pavlovic
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering games like Genshin Impact, VALORANT, World of Warcraft and League of Legends to new releases. When he's not writing, you can find him grinding dungeons and raids in World of Warcraft.