Genshin Impact Childe build guide - best Childe weapons, Artifacts, and F2P build

The best Genshin Impact Childe build turns an already versatile character into a Hydro powerhouse.

Childe might be a bow user, but he excels in melee combat and has the potential to be your party’s best source of Elemental damage. There’s a new bow designed essentially just for him, but our F2P Childe build ensures he can still keep up the pressure just the same.

Genshin Impact Child build guide - Is Childe a DPS character?

Yes, emphatically. His attack might not be as high as Baal or Diluc, but Childe excels in a DPS role. His charged basic attack inflicts Riptide, a Hydro effect that lets him deal additional AoE damage with each hit and boosts the power of his Skill and Burst hits. Childe also has a unique Skill that transforms his bow into a blade that can deliver up to six rapid strikes in a row.

The downside is the Skill’s cooldown. The timer increases as he stays in the form longer.

Genshin Impact Childe build guide - The best Childe build

There’s no practical way to split Childe between DPS and Elemental DPS, since he’s so heavily DPS focused. Our pick for the best build

Childe build guide - The best Childe weapon

The new Polar Star bow is the best pick for Childe. It’s tied with Thundering Pulse as the strongest bow and automatically increases Elemental Skill and Burst damage. The user gains an Ashen Nightstar stack after any attack connects with a foe, for a maximum of four, with an attack boost of 10/20/30/48% at the base refinement tier.

In other words, it’s essentially made for Childe.

Thundering Pulse is a suitable second choice if you grabbed that previously but don’t manage to get Polar Star.

Childe build guide - The best Childe Artifacts

Childe’s Artifact build has room for flexibility depending on your playstyle, though Heart of Depth is the natural fit.

• 2-piece effect: Hydro damage +15%
• 4-piece effect: Using an Elemental Skill increases normal attack and charged attack damage by 30% for 15s

It’s also fairly difficult to get a full set, though. A two-piece Heart of Depth set works well combined with Shimenawa’s Reminiscence’s 2-piece effect (+18% attack increase) or Martial Artist (+15% for normal, charged, and plunge attacks).

If you’re fine with his current damage output, we recommend using a 4-piece Gambler set.

• 2-piece effect: Increases Elemental Skill damage by 20%
• 4-piece effect: Defeating an opponent has 100% chance to remove Elemental Skill cooldown. Can only occur once every 15s

This boon removes Childe’s cooldown regardless of how long he stays in his Skill stance, though the 15 second effect timer means you can’t quite spam it endlessly.

Genshin Impact Childe build guide - The best Childe F2P build

Childe’s F2P build focuses more on his Elemental Burst and regular attack damage, though it’s still a potent one.

The best Childe F2P weapon

Prototype Crescent meshes perfectly with Childe’s Riptide effect. Charged shots on weak spots increase movement speed, but they also boost attack by up to 72% for 10 seconds at higher refinement tiers.

The Favonius Warbow is a solid complement to Childe’s abilities if you have some Primogems to spare or pulled one in an earlier Wish. Critical hits have a high chance of restoring six Energy particles to the user, and which means his Energy meter is rarely below half full.

The best Childe F2P Artifacts

The slight boost to Elemental Skill strength is the only difference between this and the first build, so the same Artifacts work just as effectively with this one.

If you wanted to bolster his physical attack further, you could opt for the full Martial Artist set.

• 2-piece effect: Increases normal attack and charged attack damage by 15%
• 4-piece effect: After using Elemental Skill, increases normal attack and charged attack damage by 25% for 8s

Genshin Impact Childe build guide - The best Childe party comp

Childe’s dual nature as a ranged and melee attacker make him a good fit for any party. Since his skill repeatedly applies Wet to enemies, he works best with characters that also have repeat effects, such as Bennett, Diona, and Baal, so he can continue triggering Reactions while his Skill is active.

Hydro’s Elemental Resonance is only good for healing. If you need an extra health boost, add Kokomi or Barbara to the party, and switch them in during Childe’s cooldown.

You'll need a good party to handle the latest Genshin Impact world quest, A Particularly Particular Author. You'll need to finish Reminiscence of Seirai first, and while you're there, you might as well tackle the Amakumo Peak puzzle as well.