Best Genshin Impact 5-star characters

15 ELO points separate Xiao from Kamisato Ayaka at the top of the Genshin Impact 5-star character ranking, after 33717 duels.

Xiao claims first place with 1299 ELO points across 285 duels, edging out Kamisato Ayaka by 15 points. The real divide emerges lower down: 39 ELO points separate Hu Tao in third from Venti in fourth, the sharpest gap in the top ranks. Hu Tao's 1279 ELO and 59% win rate cement her place on the podium, while Venti lags at 1240 despite facing 318 duels. At the bottom, Qiqi languishes at 1019 ELO with a 28% win rate, suggesting the community finds little use for her abilities compared to damage-dealers like Xiao and Hu Tao. The preference for offensive powerhouses over support specialists defines this ranking.

This TopList gathers 33717 duels from 650 players across 18 five-star contenders, updated on 10 October 2026. The voting reveals which characters players prioritize for team composition in one of the most popular action RPGs. Whether you favor Anemo DPS like Xiao or Cryo applicators like Kamisato Ayaka, your vote shapes the ranking. Head to VAINKEURZ and pick your first choice in the next duel.

Updated on October 10, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →