At the start of their Genshin Impact journey, Travelers will soon unlock a few companions for their team. At first, they will meet Amber, the Pyro Archer. Afterward, players will also obtain Lisa and Kaeya for their party. Traveler, Amber, Lisa, and Kaeya are often referred to as the starter characters. However, when it comes to guaranteed units, there are more than these four.
Noelle is guaranteed from the Beginner's Wish, Barbara is awarded to Travelers at Adventure Rank 18 (or above) that have completed the A Long Shot quest, while Xiangling is obtainable by reaching floor four of the Spiral Abyss for the first time. Because any Travelers would own all these characters, they will be included in this list of ways to use the starter characters of Genshin Impact.
6 Noelle Is The Jack Of All Trades
Noelle is often called the jack of all trades, and she truly earned the name. The Favonius maid can shield, heal, or even play as the main DPS. While it is better for players to focus on one role at a time, Noelle can totally take them all at once.
One thing to note is that the Favonius maid can only fully perform as a DPS at maximum Constellations. Furthermore, as Noelle doesn't generate Energy on her own, Travelers have to include a Battery like the Geo Traveler.
5 Kaeya Is A Great Sub-DPS
Among the many sword users in Genshin Impact, Kaeya has one of the highest normal attack multipliers. This means that he can make an excellent DPS, especially at C1. However, as a starter character, it can be really hard for people to unlock Kaeya's Constellations. Because of this, players usually choose to use Kaeya as a Sub-DPS instead.
As a Sub-DPS, Kaeya can offer off-field Cryo damage that lasts for eight seconds. With his Elemental Skill, the Cavalry Captain also makes an amazing Battery. So while most Travelers may not be able to use Kaeya as the Main DPS, he definitely deserves a chance to be the Sub-DPS in a team.
4 Never Miss Out On Xiangling
It is rare to see a player that doesn't use Xiangling in their journey. Not only is the Liyue chef free, but she is also very overpowered. By far, she is one of the best Sub-DPS in Genshin Impact. Where, like Kaeya, can offer massive off-field Pyro damage.
Most of Xiangling's Constellations further boost her Sub-DPS abilities. Considering how getting Xiangling won't be as hard as getting Kaeya, missing out on the Liyue chef can bring extra hardships in the Travelers' journey.
3 Electro Traveler Is One Of The Best Battery
After Inazuma is released, the Traveler can finally resonate with the Electro Element. Like many other Electro characters, this version of the protagonist has abilities that revolve around Energy regeneration, where this Traveler mainly exists to be a Battery in their Genshin Impact party. Surprisingly, the Electro MC is actually great at this job. They can offer constant Energy regeneration, Electro damage, and Electro application.
Of course, as a free unit, the protagonist won't out-perform premium characters like Raiden Shogun. Nevertheless, this version of the Traveler has come up as a pleasant surprise.
2 Lisa Can Reduce Enemy’s Defense
Not only is Electro deemed as underwhelming, Lisa, being both an Electro character and a starter character, puts her in a terrible position. Her Elemental Skill doesn't generate energy, so she's incapable of being a Battery in the team. Meanwhile, her Elemental Burst can deal damage off-field but is limited to a certain AoE. This makes her overshadowed by characters like Fischl who can do off-field damage better.
However, what most people miss out on is that her second passive Talent reduces the defense of enemies that got hit by her Burst by 15%. This will allow Lisa's teammates to deal higher damage.
1 Barbara Freezes Often, But She Could Also Save Your Life
One thing people hate about Barbara is the fact that she constantly applies Hydro when her Elemental Skill is active. This can be used for cleansing Elemental debuff, but most of the time, she simply causes the character to be Frozen in place. Of course, this is not weird among Genshin Impact Hydro users, where units like Sangonomiya Kokomi or Xingqiu will also trigger the Frozen reaction. The problem with the Mondstadt idol is that she does her Hydro application not just once, but several times in her Skill duration, making this excruciating process repetitive.
Luckily, the church sister is also a valuable teammate in the party. Her Elemental Burst can act as an emergency button that players can use when their party is in danger. With her ultimate, Barbara can put the team back to full HP. Furthermore, if Travelers own her final Constellation, Barbara can revive a fallen character. This effect can trigger even in the Genshin Impact Spiral Abyss. So even though the sister may cause the players to be frozen often, she can also be a lifesaver.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.