The Claymore characters are Genshin Impact's heavy hitters, usually trading attack speed for an increase in damage or defense. Claymores can break shields, stagger or throw smaller enemies, and can be used to mine ore during exploration. For players who want the satisfaction of slamming a huge sword into their foes, the Claymore is the right class for them.
However, not all Claymores are the same, and the current roster features plenty of unique kits and abilities, which can make it difficult for players to choose who to add to their team. From pyro prince Diluc to high-speed healer Sayu, the Claymores all have something to offer, but some are more worth the investment than others.
Xinyan
Xinyan is a Pyro claymore who offers physical damage and a shield with her music-based kit. She's a unique, stylish character who, with her second Constellation, can provide pretty significant burst damage. She also provides a boost to her team's physical damage, giving her good synergy with characters like Eula or Keqing.
Xinyan suffers from some unfortunate scaling with her abilities and a heavy reliance on constellations. While her Ascendant and Burst stat is Attack, her shield scales off of Defense, meaning she can almost never function as a well-rounded character. Without good artifacts, her shield's poor scaling leaves it feeling so flimsy it's almost useless, but investing in Defense leaves Xinyan with almost no combat utility. She simply can't stand up against the other Shield Supports, who are overall much easier to use and can provide more to a team.
Chongyun
Genshin's Chongyun is best utilized as a Cryo Sub-DPS in Melt and/or Freeze reaction comps, where his excellent Cryo application is used to its fullest potential. His Skill converts Physical damage into Cryo and increases Attack speed, which can be useful for buffing the normal attacks of characters with high Cryo damage modifiers. For characters whose abilities do both Physical and Elemental damage (like Razor's Burst) Chongyun's Cryo field is an easy way to set up reactions.
Chongyun's Burst has a low cost, giving player's consistent access to his powerful AOE attack, and has a slight delay before dealing Cryo damage--providing an opportunity to switch characters and trigger a reaction. Chongyun is, however, limited by how his Skill completely replaces all Physical damage instead of just buffing it. This makes him entirely incompatible with Physical characters, limiting his overall viability.
Razor
Razor is currently the only Genshin character who gets Physical Damage as an Ascendant stat, making him an obvious choice for a Physical DPS. For a 4-star, he's the best choice for this role, his relatively simple kit delivering high physical and Electro damage. Razor's best asset is his Burst, which gives a well-needed speed boost to his slow Claymore swings and adds a significant amount of Eectro damage on top of his Physical damage. Razor also provides plenty of Energy Recharge bonuses to himself, self-sufficiently charging his Burst.
While Razor succeeds as a primary DPS, his most significant disadvantage is how restrictive his kit is. Razor can not reliably function as anything but an on-field DPS, as he offers no off-field utility and his personal buffs only work as long as he is the active combat character. This also means that a team best suited for Razor requires off-field supports, giving him a more limited pool of ideal character combinations.
Sayu
Sayu is a dynamic Support with a unique, high-mobility kit. While her skill can be a little difficult to navigate at first, its hefty duration gives players plenty of time to get used to it. It's also extremely versatile, capable of either Anemo/Swirl damage or (with a Hold Attack) Elemental Absorption, as well as faster dodging. As long as she's able to trigger Swirl reactions, Sayu can roll around avoiding enemies while healing your DPS until they're battle ready.
The major drawback of Sayu is that her first Constellation is necessary for utilizing her Burst effectively. Without it, she's still a perfectly functional Support, but her utility is stunted by restricting her burst to either Anemo damage or party healing. Her Constellation allows her Burst to do both automatically, making it effective at both off-field healing and damage. While this is a notable limitation, Sayu is a 4-star character and so it is significantly easier to gain her Constellations, even if a player is entirely free-to-play.
Beidou
Beidou has one of the more complex playstyles in Genshin, requiring a relatively good understanding of the dynamics of her kit in order to maximize her effectiveness. However, Beidou more than makes up for the time invested in figuring her out, delivering some of the best AOE and off-field damage in Genshin. While her counter can be a little difficult to learn, the high damage payoff and bragging rights for mastering the timing is well worth it. Plus, the opportunity to eat high damage attacks can be incredibly helpful when facing bosses or Spiral Abyss enemies.
One of Beidou's greatest strengths is her Burst, which provides off-field Electro damage that can set up some incredible elemental reactions. This makes Beidou a perfect match for Genshin characters like Hu Tao, who can do massive elemental damage with the right setup. While she needs a lot of energy for her Burst, setting her up with Fischl or Raiden (who excel at energy production) can help recharge Stormbreaker while also capitalizing on Electro resonance.
Noelle
Noelle is, at this point, the only true tank in Genshin Impact. Her high Defense, Shield, and healing (not only for herself but for her party) make her incredibly self-sufficient, able to sweep the battlefield on her own if necessary. And, especially with her Burst buffing her Attack based on her Defense stat, she is not only capable of handling damage but can deliver plenty of heavy hits herself.
Noelle ranks so highly not only for her solid utility but because of how invaluable Noelle is for Genshin beginners. Aside from her party healing and shields, her claymore's heavy hits stagger enemies and can be used to easily mine ore, she's able to take damage from bosses and offer a little leeway for beginners, and her Crystallize reaction provides elemental resistances. Compared to Genshin's other starter healer, Barbara, Noelle is easily the better option, providing more overall quality of life for the early game.
Diluc
Diluc was one of Genshin's original 5-stars and, even now, Mondstadt's uncrowned king remains one of the best and most consistent on-field DPS. Diluc's kit is remarkably simple for the damage it can do, while still leaving opportunities for strategically-minded players to push his mechanics. He is also one of the few characters (along with Anemo polearm Xiao, another of Genshin's strongest DPS) who has Crit Rate as an Ascension stat, which can be incredibly helpful for balancing Crit Rate/Damage ratios.
Diluc's strength is in his reliability, capable of interrupting enemy attacks to preserve his own momentum and providing constant Pyro damage and Elemental Reactions with almost no effort. If timed well, his Skill's incredibly short cooldown means he almost never attacks without Pyro application. And, in the case where there is a gap, his low-cost Burst not only provides massive AOE Pyro damage but sets his sword on fire. Chaining his Skill and Burst is relatively simple and allows Diluc to remain constantly aflame, easily tearing through whatever the world throws at him.
Eula
Eula is an unmatched Physical DPS. With the second-highest Attack in the game, Crit DMG as her Ascension stat, built-in resistances, and an array of stackable buffs, Eula is perfectly built to be a hyper-offensive on-field unit.
The synergy of Eula's kit gives her an additional edge, with her Grimheart accumulation offering Interruption resistances and Defense buffs, while her Grimheart attack cuts enemy resistances and sets off a small version of her Burst. With her second Passive, using her Burst cuts the cooldown of her Skill and instantly gives her a Grimheart, letting her chain abilities and buffs effortlessly. And, to top it all off, Eula's burst does massive AOE damage, capable of decimating enemy mobs. Suffice to say, with Eula's banner currently running, players won't want to miss the chance to bring the Spindrift Knight home.