Genshin Impact: Childe Analysis

About a week ago I analyzed Childe’s Banner, providing a quick analysis for the new featured characters, with their toolkit info, potential Party Builds, and more. Today, I will expand on those topics, by analyzing Childe’s Abilities more in detail, providing a better-defined list of suggested Artifacts, Weapons, and Parties, using the Zhongli analysis’ format to organize all the info.

The pics in this article are mostly taken from Honey Hunter World, a very well organized Genshin Impact database.

If anybody who has seen Childe in action for longer than 10 seconds had to find a single word to describe him, it would probably be damage, as the 11th Fatui Harbinger is capable of making countless numbers appear on the screen in a matter of seconds. Something that also stands out is his ability to change weapons during combat, but his main one is a Bow.

Let’s start from the beginning, his Ascension stat is Hydro Damage, which is perfect for his playstyle as you’ll see later in the article. His Base ATK value at lv 90 is 305, which isn’t as impressive as Diluc’s 335 for example, but it’s still respectable for a DPS character.

Regarding Childe’s practicality, his base Combo is probably the least interesting part of his kit, but it’s worth a look nonetheless.

His Normal Attack Skill Damage is similar to Fischl’s, so it’s decent damage-wise, but his Charged Shot is definitely a more juicy aspect

The reason is the Riptide mark that applies on hit - for 18 seconds -, and the Riptide Flash that gets activated if he hits a marked opponent with the shot, which results in continuous strong Hydro Damage AoE hits. It’s also a strong way to generate Elemental Reactions.

In any case, the main part of Childe’s toolkit is his Elemental Skill, which allows him to use a Melee Stance for 30 seconds at most.

He can go back to Bow Stance at any time, and the Sill CD will be equal to 6 seconds + the duration of his Melee Stance for that specific usage. If he switches to a standby character, the Melee stance automatically ends. If he keeps the Melee stance for 30 seconds without disabling it beforehand, the CD will last 45 seconds. What this tells us is that Childe isn’t a typical DPS like Diluc or Klee, who can stay on the field at all times, since his CD would become problematic.

However, his Damage ceiling is as high as anybody else’s, if not the highest in the game since one of his Talents makes him apply Riptide on enemies he inflicts Critical hits on while in Melee stance.

Every time Childe hits a marked opponent while his Elemental Skill is active, Riptide Slash activates. The difference with Riptide Flash is that this effect inflicts a single strong AoE Hydro hit - but it has a 1.5 seconds CD -. Overall, if Childe manages to apply Riptide on multiple enemies while they’re grouped, the AoE Damage will be ridiculously high. It’s also worth noting that Riptide Slash scales off Elemental Skill Damage.

Generally, his Melee Burst is the one that’s worth using, especially if Childe has practical ways to group opponents and inflict Riptide to all of them beforehand. Still, his Bow Burst can be resourceful, because its Energy recharge effect allows Childe to regain enough energy to use another Burst as soon as its CD ends, in some cases.

Last but not least, unlike most characters’ third Talent, Childe’s is useful in combat

It…depends on how you plan to use him. In short, Childe’s constellations do two things: increase his Damage and make his CD issue much less problematic.

In particular, his C6 is frustratingly - because only 0,1% of players can unlock it - strong, as it basically allows him to have 100% uptime in Melee stance.

His C1 also affects his CD, but to a lesser extent.

In fact, 20% is only significant if he stays in Melee stance for a long time, and even in that case it’s still not enough to make him a consistent carry DPS.

His C2 practically makes his Burst’s Energy requirement a non factor, which is good considering how strong its damage is.

His C4 is very strong as long as he can apply Riptide to a lot of opponents on the field

All in all, all his Constellations are at least good, and his C6 is absolutely required if you want to use Childe as the only DPS on the Team. However, this doesn’t mean Childe is a trash can at C0, quite the contrary. In the following paragraphs I’ll address his potential without Constellations.

Whether you use Childe as the main DPS or the secondary DPS on your Party, he has to be used alongside another strong Damage dealer that can assault opponents while Childe is on standby due to his Elemental Skill CD. A great single target DPS is suggested since Childe is better at inflicting AoE Damage thanks to Riptide.

In general, using Childe’s Melee stance for longer than 12 seconds - which already sets his CD at 18 seconds - isn’t recommended.

Keep in mind that in some situations it’s also good to use some of Childe’s Charged Shots in Bow Stance to hit weak points and apply Riptide Flash.

Secondly, to magnify his Damage it’s good to use an Electro Support like Fischl since his Hydro hits are so frequent, Electro-charge basically turns opponents into potato fries.

However, remember that if you’re running two Damage dealers, you ideally want to support both of them well.

Artifacts

Unfortunately, a Hydro set hasn’t been released (yet), but Childe still has some decent options:

• 2-pieces Noblesse + 2-pieces Gladiator: Decent Atk Buff and great Burst Damage increase, this is the most consistent combination for Childe.
• 4-pieces Bolide: 40% Normal Attack and Charged Attack Damage for Childe as long as he has a shield on. It definitely has the highest Damage potential out of any sets he can use at the moment, but it only works in very specific Party Builds.
• 4-pieces Thundersoother: With a Support like Fischl , you should be capable to constantly keep the Electro element on opponents to take advantage of this set's Damage Buff. C6 Fischl makes this very consistent on opponents that don't have another element applied on them beforehand.
• 4-pieces Noblesse: Considering Childe has to be used alongside another Damage dealer, buffing the whole Party’s ATK after a Burst comes in handy.
• 4-pieces Wanderer or Bloodstained: Purely for the Charged Attack Buff, it’s not really optimal but it has some offensive upside in both stances for Childe.

Regarding the main rolls, the Goblet must buff Hydro Damage, Crit Rate/Damage% on Circlet, ATK% on Sands. Regarding substats, it’s Crit Rate%>Crit DMG%>ATK%>Energy Recharge% like for most DPS. Crit Rate is more important on Childe than on other characters since it makes his Riptide easier to apply, so 50-60% is optimal.

Weapons

• Skyward Harp: Extremely strong option as it increases both Crit Rate and DMG%, has high Base ATK stat since it’s a 5* weapon, and has a good additional Damage effect.
• The Viridescent Hunt: Another ideal option for Childe thanks to its Crit Rate% Secondary stat, and its vortex effect that inflicts good Damage and groups opponents, making Childe’s Riptide really easy to apply.
• Rust: While Childe’s Riptide Slash doesn’t scale off Normal Attack%, his Normal Attack chain while he’s in Melee Stance do, so Rust is a good 4* option.
• Amos’ Bow: High stats since it’s a 5* weapon, and good damage increase for Childe in both Melee and Bow stance, but ultimately it fits better on more typical Bow DPS.
• Royal Bow: Nice Crit Rate%+ on hit effect for Childe since he has a very fast Normal Attack chain.
• Blackcliff Bow: Crit DMG% secondary stat, and long lasting ATK Buffs on the effect.
• Alley Hunter: Crit Rate% secondary stat, and respectable Crit DMG% -  ATK% Buffs from its effect, which is sadly quite situational.
• Prototype Crescent: If you really have to use him as a Charged Shot DPS…

Secondary DPS

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the strongest side-DPS of all?

• Diluc/Klee: They’re overpowered in general so it’s easy to suggest them as good DPS-secondary DPS in a Childe Team. Since they’re Pyro DPS, they have good synergy with Electro Supports just like Tartaglia, and there is also some Vaporize synergy between them that can be exploited in interesting way - Elemental Burst on switch in while Pyro or Hydro is still applied on opponents -.
• Ningguang: She’s a very self-sufficient Single Target DPS - although she has some AoE upside with constellations -, and her Crystalize Reactions come in handy if you use Retracing Bolide on Childe.
• C6 Fischl: It’s tricky, but if she has enough Energy Recharge% she can work as a secondary DPS and a Support at the same time for Childe. Oz has to stay on the field at all times, so she has to be able to constantly alternate her Elemental Skill with her Burst. Alternatively, you can use the Sacrificial Bow on her to make his Elemental Skill more consistent, but you’re sacrificing some of her Damage by doing that.
• Mona/Xinqui: Both are great in the Sub-DPS role as they can inflict high Hydro Damage - so Electro Support is great for them as well -, and Support Childe Offensively at the same time. Also, the Hydro Resonance is good in tough content
• Xiangling: Good Physical DPS that can also use her Skill/Burst in supportive ways for Childe. Decent Synergy with Electro Supports as well.
• Keqing: She’s strong in general so she works well, the only thing is that there must be a Pyro Support on the Team instead of an Electro one.
• Razor: Very strong Physical DPS, but it’s hard to Support both him and Childe well at the same time since he does well with Cryo Support for Superconduct, but the same can’t be said for Tartaglia since he can’t Shatter opponents after Freezing them.
• Jean: Good DPS and great Healer, Swirl is also very versatile as an Elemental Reaction - although it’s not quite the focus of her Damage -.
• Chongyun: He can switch in and Freeze the opponents that are still affected by Hydro, while also inflicting good Damage. A Pyro Support is the only option for him and Childe together.
• Noelle: She needs to be C6 for optimal use in this role and she completely relies on her Elemental Burst, so it’s a situational pick but not bad as Noelle is quite Self-sufficient.

Damage/Elemental Reactions Support

• Fischl: She fits perfectly with Childe and has good synergy with many potential Sub DPS. At C6 her Electro hits become even more consistent. She does well with Stringless and a lot of Energy Recharge%, or alternatively Sacrificial Bow for guaranteed 100% Oz uptime.
• Beidou: This is more situational, but if you have her C1 and use a self-sufficient character as Secondary DPS, you can use her as a Shield Support for Childe if he wields Retracing Bolide. A good combination is Childe-Beidou-Ningguang for guaranteed shield uptime- Her Burst is also good for Electro Support purposes, but its high Energy cost makes it situational.
• Xiangling: Good Pyro Support, but Vaporize isn’t as good as Electrocharge for Childe except on Elemental Burst activation.
• Bennett: His ATK Support is one of the most versatile things in existence, but since he relies on his Burst it’s hard for him to Support two characters at the same time. Also, he needs to constantly use his low CD Skill for optimal Energy Recharge, but doing so means activating Childe’s CD preemptively.
• Diona: If you need to activate Superconduct on a character, you can use her as the second Support on the Team alongside an Electro Support for Childe. This is viable since she’s also a decent Defensive Support for the Team thanks to her Heal and Shield - which can also potentially be used for Retracing Bolide synergy, but it’s not consistent-. If you have C6 Fischl as Sub-DPS, you can use Diona as the main Support.

Last Spot

• Bennett: While he’s not really good as the Party’s main Support as explained above, he fits really well in a Healer-Secondary Support role if he has enough Energy Recharge%
• Venti/Sucrose: Alongside another Support and two DPS, they’re some of the best option to magnify Damage even further. However, not using a healer is very risky in hard Abyss floors.
• Qiqi: of course, the ultimate Healer is a great option for the Team in the last slot.
• Barbara: Her healing capabilities are increased thanks to Hydro Resonance.

Why are you even reading this and not just destroying any opponent in game with whatever Party composition?!?

So, this is it. Have you been lucky enough to pull Childe? Have you experimented interesting Builds for him that this Guide hasn’t considered? Let us in the comments below!