Originally posted October 5, 2021
When it comes to Hydro characters in Genshin Impact, there aren’t a ton of options to choose from. However, out of the four available to choose from, there are some great options, especially if you happen to have Childe.
Hydro is also wonderful to use if you’re running a Pyro or Cryo character -- the Elemental Reactions between them are some of the best in the game. Let’s not forget about chaining Electro with Hydro as well. In short, there’s no real reason not to run a Hydro character unless you just don’t have one (which is completely possible with the small number of them in the game.)
If you’re trying to find the best Hydro character to use, then you’re in luck. Here are all the Hydro characters ranked.
1. Childe
The Childe, or Tartaglia, is a fan-favorite, five-star Hydro character that has a ton of purpose. In fact, his whole kit makes him extremely adaptable to different situations in general.
His main ability will let him switch between shooting a bow, his main weapon, and pulling out duel swords made of water. These swords do Hydro damage while attacking extremely fast. If you build Childe with Crit Rate in mind, you can do some serious damage very quickly.
When he’s using his bow, Childe is just as devastating. However, he’ll generally do more damage with his duel swords. If you’re looking to apply Hydro to a large group of enemies, then his Elemental Burst is perfect. If you use the burst while he’s got his bow out, then water will rain down on an area. If you use it while his duel swords are out, then Childe will apply Hydro and deal massive damage to any enemies surrounding him.
The only thing to be careful of when using Childe is his cooldown times, especially when it comes to switching to his duel swords. They don’t last forever, and they can take way too long to cool down if you don’t specifically build him with cooldown reduction in mind. Childe also starts getting exponentially better the more times you pull him, and a plain Childe can feel lackluster.
2. Xingqiu
Xingqiu is a Hydro healer that provides a ton of amazing support to his team. In fact, he’s only a four-star character and he beats out some five-star healers. He’s even better than the other five-star Hydro character.
When it comes to healing, Xingqui’s ability can heal one character at a time, but the healing is pretty decent. However, he also supports the team in other ways. His other ability is where he shines the most, and how he can boost a team.
Xingqiu is one of the only characters who can provide damage reduction for his team. This can be incredibly helpful, especially if you’ve got a team that can also create shields -- who needs to heal when you barely have your damage touched?
He also has a pretty high attack speed, making it so that he can quickly apply Hydro damage to his foes. Paired with another character, you can get some Elemental Reactions to trigger pretty quickly.
The only area where Xingqiu struggles is his damage output. He can’t hit the same numbers as other four-star attackers, so he’s best suited as a support.
3. Mona
While Mona is beaten out by the four-star Xingqiu, she can easily hold her own in a fight. She’s also a great support character. Considering she’s on the standard banner, she’s also a five-star character that’s pretty easy to get.
Everything about Mona screams “fast.” Her abilities all deal massive bursts of damage, and they apply Hydro long enough for you to switch to another party member and pop off some Elemental Reactions. On top of that, she can quickly move to enemies without taking any damage as part of her shift movement.
That shift movement is also helpful for exploring Teyvat. She can walk on water, and she can move so quickly and avoid enemies so that you can easily get around the map. This can be helpful if you’re exploring new areas.
The downside to Mona is that she needs some kind of follow-up to do damage. For a five-star character, this isn’t ideal, especially when there’s a four-star character like Xingqiu that can provide a team.
4. Barbara
Barbara is the last Hydro character on the list, and she’s another four-star healer like Xingqiu. However, she just isn’t as good, and she doesn’t provide all the other stats that Xingqiu does.
Barbara can apply Hydro to enemies while also healing her party members. This is pretty great, but that’s about all she can do. Unfortunately, she doesn’t do much damage, and so she’s just a basic healer. On top of that, her heals have some long cooldowns as well.
When she’s C6, she can automatically revive a teammate every so often. However, this will take a long time to get. Even once she’s at that level, you’ll more than likely have a better healer. Revives are nice, but you’ll find that you won’t need that too often. And if you do, then you can always revive with food and heal with another healer afterward.
One good thing that Barbara can do is heal really quickly or heal over time. This lets you decide how and when you heal. Plus, she’s one of two characters in the game who can get an alternative outfit, which makes her pretty unique.
With all of that being said, if you need a basic healer on your team, then Baraba’s a decent option if she’s the only healer you have -- any healer is better in most cases than no healer. There are better options in most team compositions, but she can go well on a team if your main attacker is Pyro or Electro.
