Underrated Characters That Secretly Carry Teams in Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact has no shortage of flashy five-star characters dominating social media feeds and tier list discussions. Players chase the latest limited banners, pour resources into high-rarity units, and sometimes overlook the quiet workhorses sitting in their roster, collecting dust. The truth is, some of the most valuable characters in the game are the ones nobody talks about. These underrated units do not just fill a slot — they hold entire team compositions together, amplify damage in ways that are not immediately obvious, and often outperform expectations at a fraction of the cost.

Here is a closer look at characters that secretly carry teams and deserve far more credit than they receive.

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Making the Most of These Characters

Understanding which characters carry teams is half the battle. The other half is having the resources to build them properly — artifacts, leveling materials, and talent upgrades all demand significant in-game currency. Players looking to accelerate their progress often turn to Genshin top up services to ensure they have enough Genesis Crystals or Primogems to keep their account moving forward.

For those who prefer a straightforward and secure way to recharge, LootBar is a well-regarded shop that offers competitive rates on Genshin top up options. The store provides a smooth experience for players wanting to invest in their accounts without the hassle of navigating multiple payment methods.

Fischl — The Electro Engine Nobody Appreciates Enough

Fischl is one of the oldest characters in the game and, arguably, still one of the most efficient sub-DPS units available. Her Elemental Skill summons Oz, a raven familiar that continuously deals off-field Electro damage without requiring Fischl to stay on the field.

What makes her genuinely exceptional is her synergy with reaction-heavy team builds. In Aggravate compositions, Fischl feeds Electro energy to trigger Quicken and Aggravate reactions consistently, boosting the on-field character’s damage significantly. In Superconduct teams built around Physical DPS units like Eula or Razor, she reduces Physical resistance by 40% with minimal effort. Her second Constellation also refunds energy when Oz triggers a reaction, making her loop practically self-sustaining.

She is a four-star character, widely available, and yet competes directly with five-star Electro options in many scenarios. Players who dismiss her as an early-game staple are leaving real damage numbers on the table.

Xiangling — The Best Free Character in the Game, Hands Down

Xiangling is awarded for free after clearing Floor 3 of the Spiral Abyss, and many newer players treat her as a placeholder until they pull something better. That is one of the biggest mistakes in Genshin Impact.

Her Elemental Burst, Pyronado, deals continuous off-field Pyro damage that follows the active character around for a full eight seconds. Pair this with Bennett’s attack buff and a Hydro applicator for Vaporize reactions, and Xiangling outputs damage numbers that rival most dedicated five-star DPS characters. She is the backbone of the National Team, one of the most consistent and high-performing team compositions in the game.

Her biggest limitation is energy — she needs 80 Energy to cast her Burst — but that is easily solved with Bennett’s Burst providing energy particles and a good Favonius weapon on a support unit. Once that flow is established, Xiangling cycles her Burst reliably every rotation and keeps Pyro application nearly constant.

For players serious about climbing Spiral Abyss, investing in Xiangling is not optional. She genuinely carries.

Rosaria — A Cryo Support With Hidden Depth

Rosaria tends to be overlooked because she sits in the shadow of more popular Cryo supports like Shenhe or Ganyu. But Rosaria brings something unique to a team: her passive ability shares a portion of her own CRIT Rate with the entire party when she uses her Elemental Burst.

This mechanic is surprisingly powerful. Building Rosaria with a high personal CRIT Rate means every other character on the team benefits, reducing the pressure of stacking CRIT stats individually. She also provides decent off-field Cryo application, Energy generation for other Cryo units, and contributes to Cryo Resonance, which further boosts CRIT Rate in Cryo-heavy teams.

In a Freeze team or a Superconduct setup, Rosaria quietly does three or four jobs at once. She is a four-star unit with a five-star support toolkit, and her value becomes obvious the moment players stop treating her as a filler pick.

Sucrose — The Budget Kazuha That Is Not Actually Budget at All

Sucrose is frequently described as a budget version of Kazuha, which undersells her considerably. She shares Elemental Mastery with the team through her Ascension passives — up to 20% of her own EM transferred to teammates — and groups enemies reliably with her Anemo abilities.

Her Elemental Burst is particularly potent in reaction-focused teams. It pulls enemies toward a vortex repeatedly and triggers whichever element it absorbs, enabling consistent reaction damage for the duration. In Vaporize, Melt, or Electro-Charged compositions, Sucrose becomes a reaction accelerator, not just a support.

Experienced players who build her with high Elemental Mastery see her EM sharing translate into massive damage boosts for teammates. She may not have Kazuha’s signature one-handed aesthetic or his elegant kit, but the results she delivers in practice are genuinely impressive.

Faruzan — The Anemo Buffer Nobody Talked About Until They Needed Her

When Wanderer (Scaramouche) was released, players quickly realized that his team needed a specific kind of support, and Faruzan answered that call. She is the only character in the game who directly reduces enemy Anemo resistance while also providing a flat Anemo damage bonus to the active character.

Her C6 is frequently discussed as necessary for her full potential, which puts some players off. However, even at lower Constellation levels, her resistance shred alone meaningfully boosts Anemo damage. In a Wanderer or Xiao team, she can account for a significant portion of the overall DPS increase.

The issue is that she requires investment and some knowledge to use well. Her charge attack mechanics and energy requirements demand attention. Players who put in the effort, though, find that Faruzan transforms Anemo carries from good to exceptional.

Kuki Shinobu — The Quiet MVP of Hyperbloom Teams

Kuki Shinobu might be one of the most underappreciated four-stars in the current meta. Her Elemental Skill places a healing ring that both heals based on her Max HP and applies off-field Electro continuously, without consuming her time on the field.

This setup makes her ideal for Hyperbloom teams, where the goal is to trigger Bloom seeds with Electro to produce Hyperblooms — a reaction that deals enormous Dendro damage. Kuki provides the Electro application needed to trigger this reaction while also keeping the team alive passively. She does not compete for field time with the on-field DPS and she does not demand excessive investment.

Building her with Elemental Mastery increases Hyperbloom damage directly, since reaction damage scales with EM. A well-built Kuki can effectively be both the healer and the primary reaction trigger in a team, filling two roles with a single character slot.

Gorou — Essential, Not Optional, in Geo Teams

Gorou is often treated as a niche pick, useful only in specific Geo compositions. That assessment is accurate but undersells how dramatically he changes those compositions. In a triple or quadruple Geo team, Gorou provides a stacking DEF bonus, Geo damage bonus, and resistance to interruption through his Elemental Burst.

For characters like Itto or Noelle who scale off DEF, Gorou’s buffs are not supplementary — they are foundational. Itto’s team would not function at the same level without Gorou enabling consistent DEF stacking and keeping Geo Resonance active. He is a specialist, yes, but within that specialty, he is irreplaceable.

Final Thoughts

The strongest teams in Genshin Impact are rarely built around the most famous names. Characters like Fischl, Xiangling, Sucrose, Rosaria, Kuki Shinobu, Faruzan, and Gorou demonstrate that four-stars and story-reward units can be just as impactful — sometimes more so — than the limited five-stars players spend months saving for.

Exploring these underappreciated picks often leads to discovering surprisingly powerful synergies and team compositions. Whether a player is climbing Spiral Abyss or tackling Imaginarium Theater, these characters deserve a second look and, in many cases, a permanent spot on the team.