Nina Forneloza 
With Genshin Impact featuring so many free-to-play potentially viable teams, players are likely to wonder which team offers the best long-term strength and value.
Genshin Impact isn’t known for being generous, and that’s largely due to its brutal gacha system. Getting a five-star character at early pity is tough enough, let alone winning 50/50. Still, players who miss out on five-stars aren’t completely out of options.
While most meta teams in Genshin Impact do rely on five-stars, one team proves four-star characters are just as viable. Here’s a look at the best free-to-play team in Genshin Impact and why it works.
What’s the best free-to-play team in Genshin Impact
When it comes to free-to-play teams, the National Team is one of the most popular choices in Genshin Impact, and it’s likely the best.
Five-star characters tend to have better scaling due to having higher multipliers, but the National Team, mainly consisting of four-star characters, has proven time and again that it can keep up. The National Team has been around since the early stages of the game, and not even busted units like Neuvillette and Arlecchino have knocked it out of relevance.
The National Team consists of Xingqiu, Xiangling, Bennett, and Sucrose. While there are several variations of the National Team, Xingqiu, Xiangling, and Bennett remain its core members.
Unlike hypercarry teams that focus on stacking buffs for a single unit, this team shines best at combining personal damage and triggering multiple reactions.
Xiangling is the team’s primary damage dealer. Guoba and Pyronado deal Pyro damage at intervals, inflicting significant damage on impact. Meanwhile, Xingqiu is an off-field Hydro sub-DPS who applies the element at a quick rate through Rain Swords, making him the game’s best applicator. Alternating between Pyro and Hydro damage triggers continuous Vaporize reactions, effectively doubling their damage output. Bennett takes the healer role while also serving as a flat Attack buffer, burst sub-DPS, and battery for Xiangling.
The last slot can be filled by any unit, such as Chongyun, Lynette, or Raiden Shogun. For the best free-to-play team in Genshin Impact, Sucrose is a great pick here. She plays multiple roles in this team while acting as a driver to enable Xingqiu’s off-field attacks, buffing the team’s damage through the Viridescent Venerer set and Elemental Mastery increase, and providing crowd control.
This team fares well in most battles, whether against a single or multiple targets. One major downside of this team is that it isn’t particularly effective against mobile enemies as Bennett’s burst limits movement within a small radius.
While players have the best chances of acquiring these characters by pulling for them during their rate-up banners, they can still get them in some other ways. Xiangling is a free character players can get during the early parts of the game, after beating Floor 3 chamber 3 of the Spiral Abyss. She can also be obtained from the Paimon’s Bargain alongside her teammates Xingqiu and Bennett.
What makes this team even more free-to-play friendly is that their best-in-slot weapons are relatively easy to obtain. Here’s a breakdown of their best weapons and where to find them.
- Xiangling: The Catch is a four-star weapon obtained by fishing
- Bennett: Aquila Favonia is a five-star sword from the standard banner
- Xingqiu: Sacrificial sword is a four-star weapon obtainable through gacha
- Sucrose: Sacrificial Fragments is a four-star weapon obtainable through gacha
Combining their easy access with the strength they represent together, it’s clear to see why this line-up of characters makes for the best free-to-play team in Genshin Impact.
