Open-world exploration tier list for Genshin Impact 2.2

Finishing up an adventure on Inazuma’s new islands? These characters are the best for getting to a 100% exploration rate.

Open world content is what Genshin Impact is all about, so it’s no surprise that many characters come with abilities to make exploration easier. Assembling an open-world team is all about balancing damage with utility. It’s important to be able to clear enemy camps and immediately head towards the next battle or puzzle. By adding either extra mobility or useful passives, the best exploration characters have a spot on any Genshin Impact team.

Here’s the tier list for the best Genshin Impact characters for open-world exploration. The biggest factors for these rankings are mobility options followed by smaller bonuses like increased sprint speed or reduced stamina consumption. It’s easy to clear overworld content with any team of characters you’d like. These characters will only speed up the process.

Venti is the best open world character

The very first limited five-star is still one of the strongest units in the game for exploration. Venti’s charged elemental skill summons a massive wind gale under the player. It boosts the character up and doesn’t cost stamina for the animation. Venti also reduces the amount of stamina it takes to glide. Combined with the Red Feather Fan gadget, Venti makes getting anywhere a breeze.

In addition to the best vertical mobility in the game, Venti’s elemental burst is also perfect for destroying an enemy camp in one fell swoop. The only way to get Venti is to wish for him in a limited five-star banner. He was the game’s inaugural banner and came back for one rerun in 1.4. Considering there are still many Inazuma characters to go, Venti probably won’t see a re-run until Sumeru gets closer.

Xiao, Albedo, Kazuha, and Zhongli great for exploration

These four limited five-stars are right below Venti on the exploration tier list. They all provide a similar function by boosting mobility.

Xiao’s air dash makes him great for jumping from cliff to cliff, plus he makes climbing easier. Albedo and Kazuha are both similar to Venti in that they boost the player up into the air. Albedo’s flower has a low cooldown but Kazuha also reduces sprint stamina cost.

Zhongli ends this tier as an excellent Genshin Impact open-world character. His Geo constructs are very tall and his shield makes any character extremely tanky. Zhongli and Venti are both archons from Liyue and Monstadt, and both are handy in the overworld. Inazuma’s archon Baal doesn’t really fit into the trend. 

Mona, Ayaka and Sayu are mid tier explorers

This tier is pretty distinct from the rest because these characters all have something pretty special. Mona and Ayaka have alternate sprints that are much faster than the normal run speed. That makes them perfect for zipping from camp to camp. They can also run across water, which is much better for medium distances than an ice bridge. Mona and Ayaka are also great picks for support and main DPS respectively.

Sayu has a different ability that makes it easier to hunt down Crystalflies. Crystal cores are required for making Condensed Resin, which will double the drops of any domain or leyline. They’re valuable, but a pain to collect. If Sayu’s passive doesn’t seem to work, know that the Crystalflies won’t move until you grab one. The first grab will trigger the group to start flying away.

Liyue and Monstadt speciality finders

This small tier consists of characters that mark useful resources on the map. Ningguang is probably the least useful of these, but she can mark out mineable ores on the minimap. Klee has the unique passive to scout out Monstadt specialty items like Cresselia and Philanemo Mushrooms. 

Qiqi and Yanfei have the same talent for the Liyue region. They’re useful for hunting down Cor Lapis, Qingxin Flowers, and more.

Characters with useful open world passives

The rest of this tier list is any character with a useful open world passive. For most of them, their passive talents provide a reduced energy cost. Kaeya and Razor boost sprinting while Beidou and Kokomi help you swim. Amber has the same gliding talent as Venti, so she can be useful as a passive team member. Rosaria has the most niche ability in the game. She grants a run speed boost during nighttime, a mechanic unique to her.