Key conclusions
- Sumeru's release brought Dendro units to Genshin banners, including the 5-star standard.
- Despite the lack of Bloom teams, Kaveh can blow up Dendro Cores and Collei shines in the early game for Dendro's reaction.
- Nahida is undoubtedly the best Dendro character you can have in the current meta due to her overall flexibility and utility.
For the first two or three years of Genshin Impact, players could only play with six of the seven elements, as Dendro was nowhere to be seen. However, this changed with the release of Sumeru, and the HoYoverse began populating the banners with various Dendro units, with one five-star even joining the standard banner.
As with any other game where characters have different abilities, not all of these characters are the best. As a F2P player or low-spending player, you need to make sure you spend your resources on the right character.
Updated on October 5, 2024 by Sanyam Jain: After releasing a ton of Dendro characters throughout the Sumeru Genshin arc, Impact slowed down those releases as they focused on other elements. However, with the release of Kinich in the 5.0 update, the element returned to the meta, causing one of his reactions to become higher as well.
11 Coffee
- weapon – Claymore
- Region – Sumeru
Although he might not be in the main story, Kaveh was still teased as Alhaitham's roommate from the beginning. This character's kit is quite unique, as both the skill and burst can immediately explode the tree cores created by Bloom's reaction, increasing their damage at the same time.
However, the reason it ranks lowest on this list is the lack of good Bloom teams. The only reason to use this reaction in the endgame is if you have Nilu, but her Dendro Cores are already instantly detonating, causing Kave to be out of place in the game at the moment.
10 Kirara
- weapon – A sword
- Region – Sumeru
Most of us have probably passed through the treacherous mountains of Liyue and Sumeru and have come to despise climbing in Genshin Impact because of it. For such people, Kirara is a breath of fresh air, as you can use her skill and climb any mountain quickly without losing your durability.
However, aside from the mobility afforded during research, Kirara doesn't do much. Sure, she can protect your party and protect them from damage, but many characters can do that and more.
9 Collies
- weapon – Onion
- Region – Sumeru
Collei is a free four-star unit that can be purchased through Spiral Abyss, and is great for building teams based around Dendro's reactions in the early game. Both her skill and burst can apply a ton of Dendro to enemies.
Unfortunately, as a support unit, she doesn't have much else going for her. Even after you get all of her constellations, you won't be giving any buffs to your party members, which is a huge disadvantage compared to the other Dendro support characters mentioned further down the list.
8 Dendro Traveler
- weapon – A sword
- Region – Unknown
HoYoverse might not normally like to give a decent set to Traveler in Genshin Impact, but it looks like they've decided to change it up a bit with Dendro Traveler. Not only do their abilities provide good value, but they're fun to use because of the different effects you can have on your burst depending on the element applied.
What's more, this is the only character you can get in Constellation Six for free simply by exploring Sumera and completing the Archon quest. They provide a phenomenal amount of Dendro casting in a large area, and also increase the mastery of your party's elements for better reaction.
7 Tignari
- weapon – Onion
- Region – Sumeru
Released as the first limited time banner in Sumeru, Tignari was later added as the only Dendro character to the Standard Banner roster. His charged attacks work similarly to Ganyu where they have two instances of charge and the second instance does more damage and also spawns some extra objects.
Tignara's skill can taunt enemies and increase his charge rate, while the extra damage from his burst makes him feel like a complete character. Just put it next to some off-field item applicators and you'll see some good damage.
6 Yaoyao
- weapon – Wooden weapon
- Region – Liue
Released alongside Baiju and being the only four-star character from Liyue, Yaoyao held her own quite well in Genshin Impact. She is a healer who throws out a bunny with her skill, and this bunny heals nearby party members when they are below 70 percent health and deals damage to the enemy when they are not.
After activating her Elemental Burst, you can run around the field and use both of her skill effects at the same time. She also allows some Dendro characters to deal extra damage to her constellations, making her a perfect support.
5 Emily
- weapon – Wooden weapon
- Region – Fontaine
Emily's initial release wasn't met with much excitement, but her net worth at the time of release was quite unexpected. She is a sub-DPS off the field that leaves a tower on the field with her elemental skill that is buffed for a while after using her Elemental Burst. This turret deals DMG to one Dendro target at regular intervals.
However, this damage can be greatly boosted along with some aspects of the area if there are enemies with the burn effect nearby. While it doesn't necessarily improve Burning's reaction like Nilou does with Bloom, it makes it a viable reaction to use in endgame content as Emily can destroy it if used correctly.
4 Kinich
- weapon – Claymore
- Region – Natlan
While Claymore characters carry a bit of a stigma in Genshin Impact due to their clunky playstyle, Kinich rises above all of these to become not only one of the best Dendro characters, but one of the best overall. He's also one of the most detailed characters in a long time with his grab mechanics and other animations.
Kinnich can deal a ton of damage on a single target, which can also turn into an AoE when enemies are nearby. He gets a huge buff when you use the Burning reaction with him, which also turns the reaction into a meta after being unused for a long time. Fortunately, Kinnich doesn't take much damage to his abilities outside of Natlan either.
3 I'm afraid
- weapon – Catalyst
- Region – Liue
Baizhu was first revealed during the original Archon Quest of Liyue, and HoYoverse has long delayed the release of this character. While some people may not be happy with his muscles being nerfed, he's still a phenomenal support unit in the game, especially if you're using him on Bloom's Neel team.
Not only does it constantly support your characters, but it also provides a two percent DMG Bloom boost. He is also one of the best candidates to use with Furina because of his party-wide cure.
2 Alkhait
- weapon – A sword
- Region – Sumeru
Alhaitham is one of the coolest characters in Genshin Impact both during the main story and when you play him. His Elemental Skill allows him to teleport to a nearby location while charging his Dendra weapon. You can easily deal constant DMG Dendro with this character if you manage it right.
This device is fun to play and requires quite a bit of skill to master. However, the best thing about him is that his playstyle changes quite a bit if you manage to get some of his constellations.
1 Nakhida
- weapon – Catalyst
- Region – Sumeru
Finally, who else would be worthy of the best Dendro character crown other than the Dendro Archon herself? Nahida has everything you could want in a Dendro character, from long skill duration and burst to a fun aspect with different effects depending on the characters you use.
Her ability leaves a mark on all nearby enemies, and marked enemies take Dendro DMG whenever the reaction triggers on them. She currently has the highest Dendro usage in the game, and you can use her as both a reaction trigger and off-field support.