Genshin Impact 2.2: Updated Childe build, Talents, team comps

In this article, you’ll find the best-updated build for Tartaglia, better known as Childe, the 11th of the Fatui Harbingers. The Hydro Bow character is one of the most unique characters in the game, being the first character to introduce the Stance Change mechanic to the game.

Childe is best suited to the main DPS role, and while some of his weaknesses are very noticeable, it is just a question of adaptation and team building to play around them. With the right setup, he can be one of the most destructive characters in the game.

This guide is updated for the 2.2 version and includes all the recommended build options, teams, weapons, constellations, and talents order for Childe. Without much ado, let’s hop onto the build!

Artifact and Status

Building Childe was rough when he was first released. The Heart of Depth set wasn’t released yet, and his best 4-piece viable option was Retracing Bolide, which required having another Shield character on the team. His best choices were always mixed sets.

Now, we have many new options, and we’ll cover them here:

Main stats

Head: Critical Damage or Critical Rate (depending on your needs)

Flower: Hp

Feather: Attack

Goblet: Hydro Dmg

Sands: Atk%

Substats: Critical Damage = Critical Rate > Atk% > Energy Recharge

The usual choices for a DPS. Keep the balance between your Critical Rate/Damage, and use weapons to help balance them. Atk is also very important, and ER is more situational, but always helpful. 

READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.2: Release date, banners order officially revealed

Artifact sets

1 – Heart of Depth

The first choice is, logically, the Heart of Depth set. Its 4-piece effect provides Childe with everything he needs: Hydro damage and a boost to his attacks when he uses his Skill. This is the best option when using him as a Main DPS.

HoD is the strongest option for him and focuses more on a quick swap playstyle, which is one of the most optimal ways to play Childe.

2 – Shimenawa’s Reminiscence

A new set choice focused on the same playstyle as the previous one. Its 2-piece effect is the same as Gladiator’s Finale, and Childe can build its 4-piece effect very well.

This set is a solid option, with little difference in DPS from the previous one, so you may choose to use it if you have some pieces of it left alone on your inventory. 

Also, you’ll also get the Emblem set while farming it, which is one of the best current choices for a lot of other characters.

Here’s an observation: When using this set, you’ll lose some energy in order to activate its effect, so be aware of it, and build your team/substats around that. 

Also, don’t ever manually deactivate your Stance, or you may lose some unnecessary energy. Always switch Childe out instead. This is valid for every build.

3 – Retracing Bolide

This is still a solid set for Childe and other auto attack-based characters. The only requirement is to constantly apply Shields. This is a good option for when you have Zhongli or Thoma, who can potentially apply permanent shields. 

4 – Mixed options

Lastly, we can always choose to mix 2 different artifact sets in order to adapt to your playstyle. The most popular is to use 2-piece HoD and 2 Noblesse Obliged parts to maximize your Burst damage. 

Alternatively, you can use 2 Atk +18% + 2 HoD, 2 Shimenawa + 2 Gladiator, 2 Atk +18% + 2 Noblesse Obliged, along with some other viable options. Remember that artifacts stats are better than set effects most of the time, and Childe can build any of these options.

Weapons

The best weapons for Childe are, ranked from the strongest option, are listed below

From the 5-star options, Polar Star and Thundering Pulse work in similar functions, since their passives are similar to stack, and both help building their Critical stats. But both are limited, so they aren’t that easy to come by.

Skyward Harp is the best “always available” option, since it boosts his stats quite well and has a nice passive. Amos is also good as a stat stick since it has the highest base Atk between bows.

The BP bow has a lower base than Rust, but the extra critical and passive make up for it, so go with whichever you find better. Finally, The Stringless is a great option on a Burst-focused build, especially if you’re lucky enough to refine it.

READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.2: Polar Star, Wavebreaker’s Fin and other new weapons

Talents

The leveling order is Elemental Skill > Burst > Normal Attack for his usual DPS build.

Alternatively, you can go for Elemental Burst > Skill > Normals when going for a Burst-focused build.

We’ll talk about his talents and both cases below:

Childe’s main source of damage comes from his Elemental Skill, which is his most defining feature. During this skill, all of his attacks deal Hydro damage, and this should be the prioritized talent. Before switching out, you should use your Burst, your second talent priority.

The main disadvantage is that the more you stay in this form, the longer will be its cooldown. So to mitigate this problem, a solution is to quickly swap to him, hit your enemies for a while, and use his Burst right after. It has high damage scaling, so it’s usually leveled second.

But of course, there’s always more than a way to play a character. If you intend to build Childe mainly as a sub DPS whose function is to simply use his Burst, focus on leveling it first.

But lastly, your final choice will always be his Normal Attacks. You’re not going to be using them very often, but it’s important to level it. The damage from Childe’s Riptide passive (the mark he leaves on enemies, which explodes when they are defeated) scales with it, so leave it at least at lv 6 (you’ll see it at 7 since he has the “Normal Attack +1” passive talent).

Constellations

Childe was initially considered a “whale character” because people believed that his Constellations were necessary to make him viable. In truth, they only make him more versatile and easier to use. They are worth discussing.

C1 and C6 affect his biggest problem: his cooldowns. C1 makes his Stance cooldown lower, and C6 makes it reset whenever you use your Burst during Melee. 

They allow you to keep Childe on the field for some extra time, so if you don’t like the quick swap style that much, C1 may be considered. But he performs extremely well without it, so don’t force yourself to get it.

C4 is interesting. It makes his Riptide passive to dish out some extra damage without having to trigger it manually. If you manage to get it, leveling your Normal Attacks will be even more necessary.

Team Comps

As we’ve mentioned before, Childe works best in quick swap teams. With those, you play around with his cooldown and make it almost irrelevant.

For good partners, Xiangling is the most common choice. Childe enables her Pyronado to dish out huge amounts of damage with constant Hydro application. Her Burst also doesn’t have an Internal Cooldown, which means that she can indefinitely create Elemental Reactions with him until the tornado ends.

Childe also got a new good partner in Thoma, his “Inazuman counterpart”. His Burst not only protects his team but also has some nice Pyro application, similar to Xingqiu. If you’re thinking about getting him, consider using both of the boys in the same team.

Electrocharged teams are also quite popular. Paired with Fischl, Beidou, or Raiden, these comps have great AoE damage with their constant reactions and Bursts. Raiden, in specific, is great for keeping the overall damage with her own Elemental Burst while Childe recharges his daggers.

For some freezing comps, Rosaria, Ganyu (as a sub DPS), and Diona are great options to leave some Cryo application on the field while Childe slaughters his opponents. 

Geo comps can be a good call, using the resonance to buff the Harbinger. Other popular choices include Bennett (for obvious reasons), Xingqiu (if you have C2, but he’s usually better used with other characters), and Swirl characters when going for big Burst numbers.

READ MORE: Genshin Impact leaks: Arataki Itto’s possible first image

Conclusion

Childe is the best on-field Hydro applier and a very versatile character in both usage and build. You can make him work as an enabler to other characters, the main DPS, or another Burst DPS to your team. 

Being Hydro, he’ll always be relevant by simply having some of the best reactions in the game available for him. And even if he eventually gets power creeped, Childe will always be fun to use, since currently, he and Raiden Shogun are the only ones capable of completely changing their Normal Attacks.

Genshin Impact is at the end of its 2.1 version, “Floating World Under the Moonlight”, which featured the conclusion of the Archon Quests in Inazuma, a new Weekly Boss, two new World Bosses, new characters, and two new areas for exploration.

You can play the game for free on mobile devices including Android, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Pc on both miHoYo’s official launcher and Epic Games Store. A Nintendo Switch version is stated to be in development.