Genshin Impact's lineup continues to expand with each patch, and while Fontaine takes a bow as we prepare to journey to the new land of Natlan, the Hydro characters got a lot of love in the 4.X versions.

Since character collection is the core mechanic of Genshin, you’ll often find yourself with few pulls, so it’s important to know which units are worth your resources. To help you make the right choice when collecting the best units, below you’ll find the best Hydro characters ranked by their power, utility, and overall value.

As one of the best elements in Genshin, Hydro is the most flexible as it has access to a ton of elemental reactions. While Hydro was initially considered a defensive element, the current stacked roster has covered everything from DPS to healers and utility supports. At the time of writing, there are currently 10 five-star and three four-star Hydro units, but only a few meet the criteria of the best Hydro characters.

Ayato is a powerful Hydro DPS that also has decent support capabilities thanks to his big Elemental Burst. While he is primarily a damage dealer, he can also function as a sub-DPS in a quick-swap team. He especially excels in AoE scenarios and is a very flexible Hydro carry that can fit into many teams. Thanks to his unique and valuable kit, he has access to some of the best elemental reactions, such as Bloom, Hyperbloom, and Vaporize.