Dante
Editor-in-Chief at BrandAnimeDante is Editor-in-Chief (Lord Hokage), which means he runs editorial and operations at BrandAnime. That means this whole thing was his idea, and he spends...
Last Updated on June 3, 2025 by Dante
Characters in Genshin Impact are often categorized by combat roles.
Understanding the difference between DPS, Sub-DPS, and Support roles is essential for building effective teams, maximizing damage, and maintaining utility in battle.
In this guide, we’ll break down the different Genshin Impact DPS roles and how you can build an exceptional team.
Genshin Impact DPS Roles: Table of Contents
What is a DPS?
A Damage Per Second (DPS) character is the primary damage dealer on the team. They usually stay on the field the longest and rely on Normal, Charged, and Elemental attacks to deal consistent damage.
Key Traits:
- High personal damage output
- Needs strong artifacts and weapons
- Typically uses skill and burst rotations
- Often benefits most from Crit stats and ATK%
Examples:
What is a Sub-DPS?
A Sub-DPS supports the main DPS by dealing off-field damage, enabling elemental reactions, or contributing burst damage in short windows. They often swap in briefly to apply their skills or bursts, then rotate out.
Key Traits:
- Off-field elemental application
- High burst scaling or DoT effects
- Enables reactions for the main DPS
- Often uses Energy Recharge or Elemental Mastery
Examples:
What is a Support?
Unlike the two primary Genshin Impact DPS roles, support characters provide healing, shields, buffs, or crowd control to stabilize the team. Some supports also debuff enemies or boost damage through utility effects.
Key Traits:
- Heals or protects the team
- Buffs attack, EM, or crit stats
- May reduce enemy resistance
- Doesn’t require field time to be effective
Examples:
Hybrid Roles
Some characters can fulfill multiple roles depending on build, constellation, and team context.
Examples:
- Nahida: Sub-DPS and EM buffer
- Kazuha: Crowd control and elemental damage amplifier
- Kokomi: Healer and Hydro enabler for Bloom teams
- Jean: Healer with Anemo Swirl damage
- Albedo: Sub-DPS and Geo support with low field time
Ideal Team Composition
A balanced team usually includes:
- 1 Main DPS
- 1–2 Sub-DPS or Reaction Enablers
- 1 Support or Healer
This structure helps maintain consistent elemental reactions, burst uptime, and survivability in Spiral Abyss and world exploration.
Role vs Element Synergy
Roles are defined by a character’s element, kit design, and scaling type. For example:
- Lisa scales well, but her long skill cooldown limits her as a main DPS.
- Xiangling works best as a sub-DPS due to her Pyronado’s off-field presence.
- Raiden Shogun can function as both sub-DPS and main DPS depending on team comp.
▶ What to Read Next
Now that you understand Genshin Impact DPS roles, the next step is learning how to scale your damage effectively.
➡️ Crit Rate vs Crit Damage – Which Matters More?
Dante is Editor-in-Chief (Lord Hokage), which means he runs editorial and operations at BrandAnime. That means this whole thing was his idea, and he spends his time making stuff work and covering the latest anime and games. When he's not doing 100 things at once, he's usually... watching anime or playing games. His life isn't that interesting, honestly.
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