Is it OK to Have Two Main DPS Characters on Your Genshin Impact Team?

Hey friend! As a long-time player and data analyst, I‘ve done extensive testing around dual carry team compositions in Genshin Impact. There‘s no simple yes or no answer, but I‘m here to break down the pros, cons, and tips to make dual DPS teams workable. Buckle up for a deep dive on this unorthodox team building approach!

Defining Main DPS vs Sub DPS Roles

First, let‘s clarify the key differences between main DPS and sub DPS characters:

• Main DPS – Also called hypercarries. They stay on field using normal/charged attacks, only swapping to use skills/bursts. Receive the bulk of buffs and field time. Goal is maximizing their personal damage above all.

• Sub DPS – Swapped in briefly for elemental skills/bursts, but don‘t remain on field attacking. Focused on providing off-field damage, reactions, or utility. Xingqiu is a premier sub DPS example.

Many teams feature one hypercarry with 3 supports. But dual DPS teams split investment between two main damage dealers.

Why Consider Using Two Main DPS Characters?

Running two fully invested main DPS units is an unconventional approach, but can provide unique benefits:

Coverage Against Various Enemies

Having two diverse damage types allows you to counter different enemy compositions and shield types. For example, combining cryo and pyro DPS to handle floor 12 heralds and lectors in the Spiral Abyss.

Dual DPS gives more flexibility to adapt on the fly without needing to swap in entirely new teams.

Elemental Reaction Support

Some characters like Xingqiu excel at enabling big reaction damage for an off-field pyro DPS through vaporize. Fischl similarly boosts electro-charged teams.

By pairing dual carries that complement each other‘s reactions, both benefit.

Flexibility in Team Building

With two interchangeable main DPS characters, you have more options to adjust your team on each side of the Spiral Abyss depending on the floors/enemies.

You can also freely swap them around in overworld teams without compromising the core strategy.

Maximizing Damage Uptime

Rotating two main DPS units allows you to minimize downtime between bursts while having a primary on-field attacker at all times.

Their elemental skills and bursts can cover each other‘s cooldown windows as well.

What Are the Downsides to Dual Carry Teams?

However, there are also some notable drawbacks to watch out for:

• Less team buffs and support – With two damage dealers, fewer slots remain for dedicated supports like Bennett, Kazuha, Zhongli etc. This can hurt overall synergy.

• Energy generation problems – Without enough particles or regenerative weapons, both characters may not recharge their bursts off cooldown. Big DPS loss.

• Lower total team damage output – Dividing buffs/resources between two DPS units instead of hyper-investing into one results in lower cumulative damage in many cases.

• Reaction interference – Applying too much of both elements can waste potential reactions or trigger unwanted ones like overload knocking back enemies.

Let‘s explore some ways to mitigate these issues.

Tips to Make Dual Carry Teams Work

From my testing, here are some tips to optimize dual DPS team compositions:

Choose Units With Strong Synergy and Rotations

The two main DPS carries should complement each other and seamlessly rotate on field time.

For example, Raiden helps battery Eula‘s costly burst while benefiting from Eula‘s cryo application and superconduct shred in return. Their elemental bursts align nicely as well.

Example Dual Carry Team	Key Synergies
Hu Tao + Xingqiu	Vaporize enabler for Hu Tao off-field damage
Ayaka + Ganyu	Cryo resonance, freeze extension
Raiden + Eula	Battery, superconduct

Smooth rotations are critical to dual carry success.

Manage Cooldowns and Bursts Carefully

Pay close attention to your skill and burst cooldowns. The goal is to alternate field time between the two DPS units to maximize uptime and cover downtime.

Staggering your elemental burst uses is also important to keep up damage. Funneling a bit more energy recharge through artifacts or weapons can help offset potential generation issues too.

Include Batteries and Targeted Buffs

Having dual carries leaves fewer team slots for pure buffing. So including characters who can battery both main DPS units makes a huge difference.

Examples include Fischl for electro, Diona for cryo, and Bennett for general energy. Equipping them with Favonius weapons can generate even more particles.

When possible, target buffs that affect both carries. For example, Thrilling Tales or Tenacity on a flex support. Or double dipping from an offensive set bonus like Noblesse.

Leverage Strong Reactions

Units like Xingqiu who can enable big vaporize numbers through rain swords substantially boost the combined team damage.

Same goes for enablers like Fischl (overload, electro-charged), Kaeya (freeze, melt) or hybrids like Albedo who provide off-field damage.

Fill Utility Gaps

Without pure supports, value characters that provide healing, shields, crowd control, cleansing and other utility.

For example, Jean can heal while refunding energy and holding VV shred. Zhongli provides beefy shields and resistance shred in one slot.

Example Team Compositions

Here are some proven examples of effective dual carry team comps and why they work well together:

Raiden + Eula

• Superconduct physical resistance shred
• Raiden battery for Eula‘s 80 energy cost burst
• Cryo application for Raiden‘s burst
• Alternating bursts for max uptime

Hu Tao + Xingqiu

• Vaporize enabler for Hu Tao‘s skill and burst
• Damage reduction and interruption resistance
• Healing water swords sustain Hu Tao under 50% HP
• Xingqiu burst bridges Hu Tao skill cooldown

Ayaka + Ganyu

• Cryo resonance crit rate bonus
• Ganyu burst cryo application extends Ayaka freeze
• Nearly endless freeze uptime
• Alternating bursts for continuous damage

There are plenty of other potent combinations like Yoimiya/Fischl, Itto/Noelle, Ayato/Ayaka, etc. The key is filling gaps with supports that enable both main DPS characters.

When to Stick to One Main DPS Instead

While dual carries can unlock creative team building, focusing on one hypercarry is optimal for many characters:

• Easier to optimize reactions around one element

• Can concentrate buffs like Bennett, Kazuha, and VV shred into one DPS

• Smooth rotations and energy funneling for burst uptime

• Other slots reserved purely for support purposes

Characters like Ayaka, Hu Tao, and Ganyu who rely heavily on reactions and buff stacking generally perform best as true hypercarries.

But options like quickswap teams exist between the two extremes.

Putting it All Together

Dual main DPS team compositions require more effort to optimize, but can be rewarding when done right. The key considerations are:

• Strong synergy, rotations and uptime between the two carries
• Batteries and targeted buffs/support for both units
• Powerful reactions from enabling supports
• Healing, shields, utility to fill gaps

With the right complementary team, dual DPS can be viable and open up more team building creativity. But also keep in mind the potential energy, buffing, and synergy issues compared to a standard one hypercarry setup.

The Bottom Line

So can you run two main DPS characters effectively in Genshin Impact? Yes – with the right supports and strategy in place, dual carries can work wonderfully together. Though it takes more optimization, the flexibility and coverage provided by splitting your damage sources can be rewarding.

The ideal dual DPS partners complement each other‘s rotations, buff needs, energy requirements, and elemental reactions. Pay close attention to synergy, utility characters, and rotations to maximize their combined potential.

Thanks for reading my deep dive on this unorthodox team building approach! Let me know if you have any other questions. I‘m always happy to theorycraft creative Genshin team ideas with a fellow fan.

Your friend,

Terry