Summary
Catalyst characters inGenshin Impactare those who can deal Elemental DMG through their Normal Attack by default. This makes them an excellent candidate for Elemental reactions in battle, although there are some conditional downsides. For example, Klee won’t be able to kill Pyro Slimes because they are immune to Pyro. This also applies to World Bosses, like the Pyro Hypostasis. Thus, to avoid this downside, it’s always best to have various Elements at the party.
Luckily, this is an easy feat considering there’s a catalyst character of every Vision. Just like other weapons, some catalyst characters are better than others. To know which one is the best, read on.
Updated on July 20, 2025, by Nahda Nabiilah:Catalyst users are known to be one of the best Supports in Genshin Impact. In fact, one of the main reasons for that is the amount of supportive catalysts that help increase their kit’s value. For example, weapons likeHakushin RingandThrilling Tales of Dragon Slayersare F2P, yet, allow many catalyst users to shine as supports even if they weren’t dedicated to playing that role. For that, this piece will be updated to include the new catalyst characters and fix the ranking.
17Barbara
A Decent 4-star Healer
Barbara is the second free catalyst character thatGenshin Impactplayers can obtain. This Favonius Church Sister is a Hydro Vision holder. It is said that Barbara has an angelic voice, one with healing properties. This is likely why Barbara is a healer.
While she fully excels in this job, she, unfortunately, doesn’t offer much else to a party. Her Elemental Skill solely heals, as does her Elemental Burst. The only addition she offers is a minor Hydro application. However, it’s worth noting that with constellations, Barbara is a decent support for Hydro DPS. She also can revive a fallen character with full HP.
16Lisa
Underused But Can Still Be Viable
Lisa’s main feature as a DPS is her Hold Skill. To master this, players need good management between using her Charged attacks and Tap Skill. Timing her Hold Skill perfectly is also crucial to get the most out of it. On the other hand, Lisa is much easier to use as a support. For this role, players simply have to cast her Elemental Burst and then swap her out.
Lisa is one of the free characters that players can obtain early on. Like the other first F2P characters, it ishard to get Lisa’s constellations, making the Resident Librarian a not popular pick among the player base.
15Shikanoin Heizou
Great Driver, Underwhelming DPS
There might be speculations about whether Shikanoin Heizou is a good DPS or not. But one thing is for sure, he has such good gameplay. Although Heizou is a catalyst user, he still operates as a melee unit, driving his team’s reaction DMG while inflicting some decent DMG himself.
Shikanoin Heizou’s main DMG source comes from his Elemental Skill, where he charges its DMG by stacking up to four Declension to land some decent shots at enemies. Overall,Heizou doesn’t offer that much as a DPSand many other characters perform better than him, even someone like Wanderer who’s also an Anemo catalyst unit.
14Yanfei
Pyro DPS But Is Often Used As A Shielder
Yanfei is another Pyro DPS inGenshin Impact. This Liyue character has a similar (but much smoother) playstyle to Ningguang, where players have to do a fixed rotation between her Normal and Charged Attack. Because Yanfei is a Pyro character, this means that she can be played in both Vaporize and Melt comp to amplify her DMG. While this may seem great, it also means that Yanfei needs a specific team to perform her best.
Furthermore, Yanfei is also a selfish DPS. She shines best when her Elemental Burst is active, yet her Elemental Skill is not the best battery. So, players who wish to play Yanfei have to build a team around her. This lack of flexibility puts Yanfei at the lower end of the list. However, players who don’t mind using her in an unusual manner can try unlocking Yanfei’s fourth Constellation and using her as a shielder.
13Charlotte
Say Cheese!
Other than being a healer, Charlotte is a decent Cryo user who can continuously apply Cryo with her Elemental Skill. Her utility can be helpful in Freeze teams where she can apply Cryo and help freeze enemies. Being a Catalyst user, Charlotte can operate as a support and wield weapons like Thrilling Tales Of Dragon Slayers to notably buff their ATK% orFavonius Codexto help her team regenerate their Elemental Bursts back.
12Klee
Fishes Aren’t The Only Thing She Eradicates
Klee may be young and small, but she shouldn’t be underestimated. Just like Yanfei, Klee is also a selfish DPS. When her Elemental Burst is active, she can’t be swapped out; or else the Burst will disappear.Klee doesn’t offer much support, except for the little mines left by her Elemental Skill.
The Spark Knight’s range is the shortest among the other characters, yet she has one of the highest DPS counts among the catalyst users inGenshin Impact. That alone earns Klee a spot in almost the middle ranking.
11Ningguang
Should’ve Been A 5-Star
The Tianquan of the Qixing may be a 4-star character, butNingguang is actually one of the best catalyst DPS inGenshin Impact. After players get used to Ningguang’s clunky Charged Attack, they will find that this unit packs a hard punch.
Not only that, but Ningguang is also highly flexible to use. With her Elemental Skill, she can deal decent DMG, battery herself, and grant a Geo DMG buff. Because she’s a Geo character, players don’t have to pair her with any Elemental reactions to shine. However, Ningguang is only viable as a DPS with her first constellation; after getting her full constellations, Ningguang simply enters a new level of DPS.
10Yae Miko
Right Here. Right Now. Emerge!
Yae Miko can easily be considered one of the most popular characters inGenshin Impact. Her wit and sassy personality alongside the number of hilarious scenes she participated in are enough to make her that popular.
But during combat, Yae Miko wasn’t what fans expected. Her DMG is underwhelming, and she consumes a lot of time on the field as a sub-DPS. The introduction ofDendro reactions inGenshin Impactimproved her viability a little, but still, Yae Miko remains underperforming against other Electro sub-DPS units.
9Xianyun
Niche But Very Good At What She Does
Xianyunis a very unique Anemo Catalyst user inGenshin Impact. Her gameplay involves applying new mechanics on the battlefield that allow all characters to behave differently during combat. When activating her Elemental Burst, Xianyun grants other characters the ability to jump higher and Plunge attack. She will also buff their Plunge attack damage and heal them based on her ATK%, which makes it important for her to wield a catalyst that boosts that stat.
Although Xianyun’s utility is very promising and unique, her being an Anemo user who can run 4pc Viridescent Venerer is still one of her most important features since it allows her to shred enemies’ resistance and further helps her team deal more damage.
8Wriothesley
First Cryo Catalyst
Wriothesleyis the first Cryo Catalyst inGenshin Impact, and he uses his fist to annihilate enemies. His damage is okay, but he can’t fulfill any other role except the main DPS. His mechanic is somewhat similar to Wanderer; he needs his Elemental Skill for his Normal Attack to deal good damage (but unlike the Harbinger, Wriothesley’s Skill deals no damage), and his Elemental Burst is a simple damage ability. Wriothesley also wants people to use his Charged Attack every once in a while, just like the ex-Fatui.
