This particular team comp has been around for a long time in Genshin Impact, but it has since spawned multiple variations. Regardless of the iteration, players swear by the effectiveness of these so-called National Teams, so it’s worth looking into what makes them so great.
RELATED: Genshin Impact Releases Teaser Trailer for Cyno
Genshin Impact National Teams
The original National Team is made up of Bennett, Chongyun, Xiangling, and Xingqiu. It’s regarded as one of the best options for beginner and/or free-to-play (F2P) players because every character is a four-star. Plus, with a little investment, the original National Team can clear most of the main game’s content as well as the harder Genshin Impact Spiral Abyss.
That said, the origins of the term “National” are unclear. Some think it refers to the nation of Liyue, but only three characters are from there given Bennett is from the City of Mondstadt. Others trace the term back to Chinese Genshin Impact players, as the term “national” often refers to something that is good but not too expensive in that country.
Regardless, the team has undergone plenty of changes since its conception, spawning multiple National Team variants. Chongyun is the weakest link in the original National Team, being a four-star DPS. He’s the least “broken” when compared to the other three characters, so he’s often swapped out for another, stronger DPS character found in Genshin Impact.
Probably the most popular example is the Raiden National Team, which swaps out Chongyun with Raiden Shogun. Some have even shortened its name to the Rational Team, as Raiden National is one of the strongest team compositions in Genshin Impact that’s still relatively F2P-friendly - so long as the player pulls for the Electro Archon. Bennett, Xiangling, and Xingqiu serve as excellent supports, while Raiden Shogun helps with the team’s energy recharge and Electro damage.
Another variant of the National Team is International Team, which includes characters from different regions. While it retains Bennett and Xiangling, it swaps Chongyun and Xingqiu with Childe and Kazuha. National Team variants like this are far less F2P-friendly given they slot in two five-star characters, but it’s one of the strongest damage-dealing teams available. However, some players have raised the issue of whether it’s still a “National Team” variant since it no longer has the three baseline four-star characters.
Finally, there are less popular National Team variations that retain Bennett, Xiangling, and Xingqiu, then try out different characters for that last spot. Aside from Raiden Shogun, some players opt for Kazuha, Zhongli, or even Sucrose among the remaining list of Genshin Impact characters. Every player has the freedom to alter the National Team how they want, and that’s part of the fun.
However, it’s interesting to note that not a lot of National Team variants with Dendro characters have cropped up. This may be because Dendro doesn’t lend well to Pyro alone. Even though a team with the Dendro Traveler, Bennett, Xiangling, and Xingqiu sounds viable, it wouldn’t be as effective as other teams given Xiangling’s near-constant Pyro application would overshadow Xingqiu’s Hydro attacks. This leads to the Burning reaction, which isn’t nearly as powerful as Bloom and Burgeon, the new Genshin Impact Dendro reactions. As a result, the community might not see new National Team variants for a while.
Genshin Impact is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Nintendo Switch version is in development.
MORE: Genshin Impact: Sumeru’s Four-Star Characters Might Have the Same Problem as Inazuma’s
