Genshin Impact version 2.4 — Which 5-star character is best

Genshin Impact‘s version 2.4 update — known as “Fleeting Colors in Flight” — becomes available on January 5. It includes several 5-star characters. Although we’ll see banner reruns, you might want to know which one to pick in case you’re saving up on primogems. Here’s our Genshin Impact guide on the best 5-star character in the version 2.4 update. We’ll choose between Shenhe, Xiao, Ganyu, and Zhongli.

Note: For more information about the game, check out our Genshin Impact guides and features hub. You can also take a look at our Anniversary Tier List to see how we rank all the characters.

Genshin Impact best 5-star character in version 2.4 – Shenhe, Xiao, Ganyu, or Zhongli

Both Shenhe and Xiao are expected to become available when the Genshin Impact version 2.4 update goes live on January 5. After those two, we’ll see Ganyu and Zhongli at the same time. This is the game’s Character Event Wish-2 mechanic where two featured banners are showcased simultaneously. Surprisingly, this is also the first time that a rerun goes live alongside a new 5-star character’s banner. That leads us to…

4th place: Shenhe

As of now, I’d have to put Shenhe in last place. I do admit that we’ve yet to see her in action since she hasn’t been released yet. However, if we look at her kit — which you can check via Honey Impact — we’ll notice that she acts as a support for Cryo characters. Her elemental skill, Spring Spirit Summoning, creates the Icy Quill buff for party members. Attacks, elemental skills, and elemental bursts that deal Cryo damage will trigger this effect, boosting the damage based on Shenhe’s ATK stat. Likewise, the triggers also have a “quota,” a limit as to how many times you’ll receive the damage buff. Getting her up to Constellation 6 (C6) negates this limit for normal and charged attacks only, and that’s quite expensive already.

We have to remember that Shenhe still needs those other Cryo characters, to begin with. Basically, you need to invest heavily in another teammate before you can make the most out of her. Shenhe excels if you can buff someone like Ganyu or Ayaka; Rosaria should be okay as well, as long as you built her primarily for Cryo DPS. Conversely, someone like Eula won’t benefit much given that she relies more on Physical DPS.

Another factor I’m considering is that Xiao’s rerun occurs at the same time that Shenhe’s banner is up. Normally, people look at the statistics to see which banners did well for a certain two-week timeframe. Seeing Xiao there to perhaps boost the profits for that period doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in Shenhe.

3rd place: Xiao

Xiao is still one of the best DPS characters in the game. He doesn’t require a lot of investment (i.e., a couple of Viridescent Venerer and Gladiator’s Finale pieces should be fine). Likewise, his playstyle is fairly straightforward: dash and hit enemies a couple of times with his elemental skill, then use his burst and spam plunging attacks.

Unfortunately, there are a few downsides:

• He doesn’t regenerate energy if you use his elemental skill during his burst. As such, he needs a “battery” (i.e., another character who can generate particles).
• He loses health whenever his burst is active, which means you might need a healer, a “shieldbot,” or perfect dodging.
• Although he uses Anemo, he has no crowd control/pulling abilities.

Xiao is great at what he does best: annihilating enemies as a main DPS character. Sadly, he’s third in line if we’re comparing the whole bunch in Genshin Impact‘s version 2.4 update. You can learn more about Xiao in our character build guide.

2nd place: Zhongli

The Geo daddy is back (it’s the third time that Zhongli’s banner has been featured). He still remains an excellent choice owing to his kit:

• His elemental burst deals tremendous damage. It can also petrify enemies, making it a great option for crowd control.
• When characters gain a shield from his elemental skill, they will reduce the Physical and Elemental resistances of nearby enemies.
• His abilities scale off his max HP. As such, you can just stack the HP stat and turn him into a “shieldbot.”

Zhongli provides unrivaled survivability and support for your squad regardless of the team composition. You can learn more about Zhongli in our character build guide.

1st place: Ganyu

Let’s face it, if you had a choice between Zhongli and almost every other banner out there, then the Geo Archon should be your pick. There are a few exceptions, though, such as his banner releasing alongside Ganyu’s. Even if Zhongli provides amazing support for your team, that doesn’t change the fact that your party still needs amazing damage dealers. Ganyu fulfills that role in an exceptional manner:

• Ganyu’s elemental skill deals AoE damage while acting as a taunt. It can help force enemies to crowd in one spot.
• Her elemental burst has near-100% uptime and has a massive AoE.
• Her charged attack, however, is what makes her shine the most. After aiming for just a couple of seconds, she’ll fire devastating shots that are more akin to rockets than arrows. The shots will “bloom” to deal AoE damage, too. She’s the epitome of low investment, ease of use, and unparalleled DPS.
• Lastly, you can bring almost any Hydro character to easily make a permafreeze comp.

Long story short, the best 5-star character in Genshin Impact‘s version 2.4 update is none other than Ganyu. If you can only pull for one, then she should be your pick. You can learn more about Ganyu in our character build guide.

Genshin Impact is available via its official website. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.