Best Childe (Tartaglia) Genshin Impact build: Artifacts, weapons, more

Childe waving in Genshin ImpactmiHoYo

Childe is a special case in Genshin Impact: The Hydro Bow user can flex between that and a melee weapon, pumping out insane damage regardless of form. We’ve got the best build right here, including his top artifacts and weapons, to make the most of his kit.

Childe is one of the most popular characters in Genshin Impact — especially given how many re-runs he’s had. Hailing from Snezhnaya, the 11th Harbinger of the Fatui plays on both sides of the conflict in Teyvat ⁠— allowing him to strike on unsuspecting ‘allies.’

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He loves causing chaos, and if you manage to recruit him in Genshin Impact, that’s exactly what he will do. The Hydro-Bow user isn’t just all good looks ⁠— he can swap between Ranged and Melee form and dish out an insane amount of damage as both.

If you’re looking for the best Child build in Genshin Impact, you’re in the right place. Here’s his top artifacts, weapons, and more so you can master the form-swapping Hydro character.

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Contents


Childe banner rerunHoYoverse
Childe has featured on numerous banner reruns.

Childe abilities in Genshin Impact

Normal Attack: Cutting Torrent

  • Normal Attack: Childe sends out up to six consecutive shots with a bow.
  • Charged Attack: Childe performs a more precise aimed shot with increased damage, applying both Hydro DMG and Riptide, which buffs his future attacks with AOE damage.
  • Plunging Attack: Childe fires off a shower of arrows in mid-air before falling and striking the ground, doing AOE damage on impact.

Childe’s Normal Attacks with his bow don’t really do a lot. The only benefit of them is the Charged Attack bonus for applying Reactions and also getting the Riptide buff up. Use that to then power up the rest of his kit.

Childe Elemental Skill: Foul Legacy Raging Tide

Childe’s Elemental Skill builds on his basic attacks, swapping from his traditional Bow to a melee weapon. All attacks do Hydro DMG compared to only his charged shots, leading to massive Elemental combos with other allies.

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  • Normal Attack: Childe performs up to six consecutive Hydro strikes.
  • Charged Attack: Childe consumes stamina to unleash a cross slash, dealing Hydro damage.

Childe can’t do a Plunging Attack while in his Melee form, but he gains extra damage when attacking an enemy affected by Riptide. This does massive amounts of damage as it counts as Elemental Skill damage, so you want to keep Riptide up as much as possible.

Childe Elemental Burst: Havoc Obliteration

Childe’s Elemental Burst changes based on the stance he is currently in.

If he is still in his ranged stance, Childe fires a Hydro-imbued arrow, which applies Riptide. If he’s activated his Elemental Skill, Childe instead slashes in a large radius, dealing Hydro damage to nearby opponents.

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The latter also triggers Riptide Blast, leading to massive Hydro explosions that dish out tons of damage.

Childe sitting down in Genshin ImpactHoYoverse
Childe can be built as both a Main and Sub DPS.

Childe constellations

If you find multiple copies of Childe, you’ll have access to some of his great constellation buffs.

  • Level 1 ⁠— Foul Legacy: Tide Withholder: Decreases the CD of Foul Legacy: Raging Tide by 20%.
  • Level 2 ⁠— Foul Legacy: Understream: When opponents affected by Riptide are defeated, Tartaglia regenerates 4 Elemental Energy.
  • Level 3 ⁠— Abyssal Mayhem: Vortex of Turmoil: Increases the Level of Foul Legacy: Raging Tide by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
  • Level 4 ⁠— Abyssal Mayhem: Hydrospout: If Tartaglia is in Foul Legacy: Raging Tide’s Melee Stance, triggers Riptide Slash against opponents on the field affected by Riptide every 4s, otherwise, triggers Riptide Flash. Riptide Slashes and Riptide Flashes triggered by this Constellation effect are not subject to the time intervals that would typically apply to these two Riptide effects, nor do they have any effects on those intervals.
  • Level 5 ⁠— Havoc: Formless Blade: Increases the Level of Havoc: Obliteration by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
  • Level 6 ⁠— Havoc: Annihilation: When Havoc: Obliteration is cast in Melee Stance, the CD of Foul Legacy: Raging Tide is reset. This effect will only take place once Tartaglia returns to his Ranged Stance.

Best Childe Artifacts in Genshin Impact

Like most DPS characters, Childe thrives on Artifacts that boost his Elemental Damage. Anything that powers up Hydro DMG is great, especially as a main stat, but Heart of Depth as a Set also gives that to you. ATK% and CRIT stats are also desired as main and sub stats.

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If you’re struggling though, you can run the usual 2-Piece Sets of Gladiator’s Finale, Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, or Noblesse Oblige. Pick which sets have the best stats in your inventory, as both the ATK buff and the Elemental Burst buff is great.

You can find a full list of Childe’s best artifacts below.

Artifact Details
Heart of Depth Genshin Impact

Heart of Depth

2-Piece Set: Hydro DMG Bonus +15%

4-Piece Set: After using an Elemental Skill, increases Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG by 30% for 15s.

Noblesse Oblige

2-Piece Set: Elemental Burst DMG +20%

4-Piece Set: Using an Elemental Burst increases all party members’ ATK by 20% for 12s. This effect cannot stack.

Shimenawa's Reminiscence Artifact image

Shimenawa’s Reminiscene

2-Set Bonus: ATK +18%

4-Set Bonus: When casting an Elemental Skill, if the character has 15 or more Energy, they lose 15 Energy and Normal Attack DMG is increased by 50% for 10s.

Best Childe weapons in Genshin Impact

Childe got a custom-made weapon for his Genshin Impact update 2.2 rerun in Polar Star. The five-star Bow is the perfect addition to his kit, allowing him to stack massive amounts of damage with his Elemental Skill.

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Of course, there’s other options if you don’t want to invest too heavily into the banner. Skyward Harp and Thundering Pulse are still great options (the former for Sub DPS, the latter for Main DPS).

Rust is also a fine free-to-play option if you can’t roll for five-star weapons. It is a four-star bow, and while it does decrease his Charged Attack DMG somewhat, it’s worth it for the Normal Attack DMG increase that lets his Elemental Skill shine.

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Weapon Details
Polar Star weapon in Genshin Impact

Polar Star

Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG increased by 12%. After a Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst hits an opponent, 1 stack of Ashen Nightstar will be gained for 12s. When 1/2/3/4 stacks of Ashen Nightstar are present, ATK is increased by 10/20/30/48%. The stack of Ashen Nightstar created by the Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst will be counted independently of the others.
Skyward Harp

Skyward Harp

Increases CRIT DMG by 20%. Hits have a 60% chance to inflict a small AoE attack, dealing 125% Physical ATK DMG. Can only occur once every 4s.
Rust weapon in genshin impact

Rust

Increases Normal Attack DMG by 40% but decreases Charged Attack DMG by 10%.

Childe Talent Level-Up and Ascension materials

All of Childe’s Level-Up and Ascension materials can be found in Liyue (with the exception of Freedom books) ⁠— which ultimately makes sense considering that’s the region he was released in.

Starconchs can be found around the Qiongji Estuary and in the Sea of Clouds down by the Guyun Stone Forest. If you get a bit lost, just head towards the beach and you’ll find them there.

Insignia’s can be found by farming Fatui Harbringers across all of Teyvat. You can look them up in the Adventurer Handbook and your map will guide you from camp to camp so you can maximize your farming.

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Funnily enough, Childe is the only character in Genshin Impact that uses himself as a boss material too. You get the Shard of Foul Legacy by taking on Childe just outside of Liyue Harbor.

As for what you should max on Childe, as a Main DPS you should focus on boosting his Melee attacks by leveling up his Elemental Skill first. For Sub DPS, that changes to his Elemental Burst, as that applies a massive amount of Hydro on the battlefield to react with.

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Childe Talent Level-Up Materials

Talent Level-Up Materials
Talent Level-Up Materials Teachings of Freedom x9 Guide to Freedom x63 Philosophies of Freedom x114
Common Ascension Materials Recruit’s Insignia x18 Sergeant’s Insignia x66 Lieutenant’s Insignia x93
Weekly Boss Materials Shard of Foul Legacy x18

Childe Ascension Materials

Ascension Level Mora Cost Materials
1 20,000 Varunada Lazurite Sliver x1 Starconch x3 Recruit’s Insignia x3
2 40,000 Varunada Lazurite Fragment x3 Cleansing Heart x2 Starconch x10 Recruit’s Insignia x15
3 60,000 Varunada Lazurite Fragment x6 Cleansing Heart x4 Starconch x20 Sergeant’s Insignia x12
4 80,000 Varunada Lazurite Chunk x3 Cleansing Heart x8 Starconch x30 Sergeant’s Insignia x18
5 100,000 Varunada Lazurite Chunk x6 Cleansing Heart x12 Starconch x45 Lieutenant’s Insignia x12
6 120,000 Varunada Lazurite Gemstone x6 Cleansing Heart x20 Starconch x60 Lieutenant’s Insignia x24

Childe Genshin Impact trailer

Childe’s Genshin Impact trailer, called “Foul Legacy,” highlights his differences from the 10 other Harbingers of the Fatui. He takes to the battlefield head-first, making himself the star of every show.

However, it doesn’t dive too deep into his backstory ⁠— and that’s because he’s a rather secretive person. Instead of laying it all out to bear, he lets others warm up to him with his charismatic looks, before pulling the strings for Snezhnaya.

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Best Childe team comp

Kazuha Genshin ImpactHoYoverse
Kazuha really opens up Childe’s potential as a Main DPS.

Childe runs best in either a Vaporize or Permafrost team comp ⁠— depending on whether you want him as a Main or Sub DPS.

If you play him as your primary carry, you’ll want to maximize the Vaporize effect. Stack your team with Pyro supports like Xiangling and Bennett, throw in an Anemo Sub DPS or support like Kazuha or Sucrose, and go to town.

For a Permafrost comp, Childe’s main goal is to keep Freeze up as a Sub DPS. Pairing him with a double Cryo stack of either Ayaka or Ganyu as a carry, Diona as a support, and an Anemo flex option like Venti really makes Childe shine.

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Of course, if you invest heavily into Childe, you’ll find more success with him as a Main DPS. However, if you only just got him on the latest re-run banner and still need to farm resources, the Sub DPS comps are a nice bridge until you max him out.


Childe, with his form-changing Hydro damage, can be an impressive carry if built correctly — which sums up a lot of five-star Genshin Impact characters.

Need more allies to pair him with? Check out our other Genshin Impact character guides below:

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