The best Genshin Impact Pyro characters don’t just wreak havoc on the field. Their Electro companions have that covered. Like the best Hydro companions, Genshin’s top Pyro fighters offer a mix of support and damage that make them invaluable assets on any team. More than most, though, you can really see how HoYoverse’s character design philosophies changed and developed over the years with this lot. Confusing kits and poor balance plague the middle ranks of Pyro characters, though a more recent addition points to a promising future for the next round of firebrands.
Amber
Poor Amber. She’s really one of the worst characters in the game. Her skill takes too long to be useful, and it’s not that great anyway. Her burst does what most characters’ skills would do, and it’s also just… not that great anyway.
Dehya
Dehya’s not as bad as she used to be. The Fontaine Artifact set Marechausse Hunter works as well for her as it does for someone like Lyney and Neuvillette. She still takes too much setup and deals too little damage, though, which is kind of unacceptable for a 5-star character.
Xinyan
Xinyan’s had some excellent story moments, but her kit is one of the most confused in the game. It’s like HoYo couldn’t decide whether she should be a damage dealer or a shielder, so they made her both. Her shield scales on defense, and her DPS ability works on attack, which means you can’t get either of them high enough to help Xinyan realize her full potential.
Thoma
Thoma should be good. His powerful elemental shield makes him like Pyro Layla, and he can apply Pyro even while he’s off hte field. His cooldowns are too long to make him practical, even at C6, and his damage multipliers mean you can’t really get much out of him as a physical damage dealer unless you invest a lot in his setup and bring Mika along for the ride.
Klee
Klee shows up every summer in a set of adorable story quests, but she’s also very much an early character. Like Diluc, Klee is very slow. Her normal attacks are slow, her charged attack is slow, and her skill only affects a limited area. Klee’s burst deals powerful damage, but it also affects a small area. Like a lot of early characters, Klee doesn’t have many passive talents either, so she won’t do your party much good outside of her main talents.
Yanfei
Yanfei can dish out a lot of damage, but her kit is a little challenging to handle properly. Her two big positives are applying Pyro constantly with her catalyst weapon and racking up big numbers through charged attacks. Her skill, burst, and charged attack only affect comparatively small areas, though, and it’s pretty difficult to manage her stamina effectively as a main DPS without constellations. She’s also not the greatest at setting up reactions.
Diluc
Diluc is a tough one to rank. He’s quite good for anything that isn’t Spiral Abyss related, particularly if you give him high energy recharge and the Sacrificial Greatsword. He hits hard, and his skill has the unique advantage of triggering three times in one use – six, if you’re using the Sacrificial weapon. His burst also does a decent amount of damage and applies Pyro to pretty much everything in its path.
However, he moves far too slow to be practical in the Spiral Abyss’ more difficult challenges. His burst also pushes enemies away, when you typically want to group them together nearby.
Yoimiya
Yoimiya is a strong character with a unique kit, but that unique kit is also her biggest drawback. Yoimiya’s skill infuses her normal attacks with Pyro and raises their power, and her burst applies an effect on enemies that triggers Pyro whe they’re attacked. That’s a good thing, as her skill cooldown is pretty long and limits what you can do with her. She needs high energy recharge and a strong team to make up for the drawbacks.
Hu Tao
Hu Tao is a strange one. She’s one of the strongest DPS characters in the game, but only in the right circumstances. Hu Tao’s base stats are actually pretty bad, though her skills scale on HP. Her skills wear foes down quickly while they sap her own HP, so having a lot of health is a must.
The downside is that only a few polearms help with HP, including her signature Staff of Homa, though HoYoverse added more ways to make her viable without it in recent updates. The Staff of Scarlet Sands is one option that bumps her critical damage up, or you can try the reliable Dragon’s Bane, which increases all damage to enemies afflicted with Pyro.
Lyney
It looked like HoYoverse forgot about Pyro for a long time, but then Lyney took the stage. Not only is he an excellent Pyro character himself, but he helps other Pyro characters shine a little brighter as well. He’s capable of clearing the field on his own with strong charged attacks, and one of his passive talents provides a buff for all Pyro characters. The only downside with Lyney is that he needs specific party members to set up reactions, ones whose skills linger on the field, which limits the kinds of party compositions you can create if you want more than mono-Pyro.
Xiangling
Xiangling is one of the best supports in the game, and even better is that she’s free. Xiangling provides a near-constant source of Pyro with her elemental skill, and while that’s not an excellent source of damage, it does boost Xiangling’s Pyro power. Her burst creates a swirl of fire that remains active while she’s off-field, making it easy to set up reactions and deal plenty of damage without you even having to do much.
Bennett
Bennett is the best support, assuming you don’t unlock his sixth Constellation. His skill is whatever, but his burst is exceptional. It creates a field that heals the active character and raises their attack, while applying Pyro to any enemy that steps inside it. He’s simple, but that’s what makes him so good. Bennett works with everyone in every situation. Just don’t unlock that final Constellation. It applies an effect on his burst field that infuses everyone’s attacks with Pyro, which seriously limits what you can do with him.
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Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
