Columbina or neuvilette?

I recently made a new account for genshin and am only on the inazuma archon quest. I have unlocked most of fontaines map, sumeru, etc. I am guaranteed for a character, but I don’t know who to choose! I heard that neuvilette is a DPS which I LOVE, but I also know that columbina could be a sub-dps and they are both hydro. So, who should I pull, or should I try for both?

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dearmusic2026-01-13 12:25

If you are a new account without any Nod Krai characters to take advantage of Columbina, then go for neuv

DaSpood2026-01-13 12:36

Columbina will be better *if and only if* you also manage to get Ineffa, who will be on the same banner (meaning you have a limited amount of time to get the primos required for it). Otherwise, Ineffa herself will be a more useful sub-dps overall, since the shield she provides will be helpful to most teams and her own damage tends to be higher than Columbina's.

Neuvillette is really really nice especially for new accounts because he is self-sufficient and works everywhere. He heals himself, he does AoE, he hits hard enough with little investment, and you can put pretty much anyone in his team. So far we've seen almost every non-DPS character become his "new best teammate" when they release lol. His damage is not as impressive as some newer DPSes, but his ease of use makes him still one of the best units in the game especially if you're limited on how many characters you can pull.

Because of that, between the two, I'd say Neuvillette will be a better pick.

Another way to look at it would be to pull on Ineffa's banner, and if you get her, try to get Columbina, if you don't, go for Neuvillette. And if you get Ineffa but don't end up getting Columbina, you'll still benefit from Ineffa by getting Neuvillette. That means you have the entire first half to try to get 1 or 2 characters, and if you fail, you have the entire second half of the update to farm more primogems and get 1 very good character anyway. For a new account, there is a *ton* of primogems to get just from exploration, so it's very doable.

HourDifficult29942026-01-13 12:40

Can I ask why ineffa? Sorry I have not played genshin in YEARS so I got no idea what she does

RamenPack12026-01-13 12:50

Columbina’s kit is designed around the 3 lunar reactions. Lunar charge/bloom/crystalise

Bloom and Charge have premium supports in Lauma and Ineffa.

The point of Columbina’s kit is to exacerbate the damage of those reactions while dealing her own lunar bloom damage (yeah she deals dendro dmg as well).

And Ineffa + Columbina make up the best new wheelchair in the game.

DaSpood2026-01-13 12:56

Ineffa is a sub-dps similar to Columbina, but instead of enabling all lunar reactions, she focuses only on Lunar Charge. In exchange for that, her damage and buffs to this reaction are much higher, and also most importantly, she is a shielder. That means she is extremely helpful in a lot of teams where the main DPS doesn't have a lot of interruption resistance and is thus at risk of getting stunned/knocked back by enemy attacks (this is the case for most main DPS characters, including Neuvillette). Columbina doesn't provide that kind of survivability help.

Second thing is Columbina really wants more Nod Krai characters, not only because her buffs will benefit those more than lunar reactions for non-Nod-Krai characters, but because even her own damage is going to be unreliable. Her sub-dps' attack radius will be very small if your team doesn't have another Nod Krai character, and the only "free" alternative is Aino, who does basically no damage, so you pay for Columbina's damage by having a team member that does no damage. Meanwhile Ineffa works better on her own.

TLDR: Ineffa does everything Columbina does but better (sub-dps and support), with the downside of not enabling Lunar Bloom (which does no damage on its own) and Lunar Crystalize (which does comparable damage to Lunar Charge anyway).

If we had to rank your possible pulls next patch in order of most powerful to least powerful:
- Zibai + Columbina
- Ineffa + Columbina
- Ineffa + Neuvillette
- Zibai
- Neuvillette (pretty close to Zibai alone when accounting for possible teams tbh, if not better depending on what other characters you have)
- Ineffa
- Columbina

And from lowest effort to highest effort (in both team building and gameplay) to achieve good power:
- Ineffa + Columbina
- Ineffa + Neuvillette
- Neuvillette
- Ineffa
- Zibai + Columbina
- Zibai
- Columbina

I included Zibai because she is also an option for the upcoming patch, but honestly I wouldn't recommend getting her over Neuvillette unless you get Columbina first, and I wouldn't recommend getting Columbina before Ineffa. And if you get these two together, you don't really need Zibai.

So getting Ineffa first then either Columbina or Neuvillette gives you the strongest starting point for a comfortable gameplay down the line. Ineffa alone provides good damage and utility in most teams. Combine her with Columbina and you have a duo that can carry whatever characters you pair them with to a very meta level of power, or combine her with Neuvillette to have a very strong DPS carry that won't have to worry about interruption.

HourDifficult29942026-01-13 13:35

Thank you so much for this!!

HourDifficult29942026-01-13 13:37

I think I will go with neuvilette and ineffa!

Bierzgal2026-01-13 12:36

Honestly I'd wait for more Varka info. I love Neuvillette but he's getting a tad old DPS-wise.

RamenPack12026-01-13 12:52

You could save for Zibai if you’d like…

She’s less dependent on Columbina than the other lunar carries and a newer dps than Neuvilette. Her banner also has all the parts you need.

That said, pull for who makes you happy, it’s a game.

Arnimon2026-01-13 16:42

First, do you prefer one over the other in general? If not, Columbina is a better choice. If you think you can afford two characters, pulling Ineffa+Columbina wil make your account strong, both short and long term.

HourDifficult29942026-01-14 05:44

The thing is though I don’t think I could get columbinas mats. I have no idea how to get to nod krai

Fit-Professor18312026-01-13 16:58

Dont pull Neuvilette unless you are in love with design and dont care about damage. It's 2 years old character, it is already outdated. In the next month we will get better DPS

HourDifficult29942026-01-14 05:45

Some of the best dps characters are older than that?

Fit-Professor18312026-01-14 11:44

What DPS is old? Best DPS now are Mavuika, Varesa, Skirk.
Kinich, Chaska and Mualani are good also, but a little weaker. Arleccino and Neuvilette are MAYBE still good, but they will be powercreeped first. Probably with Varka that will be released soon