Originally posted on October 5 2023
5) Kamisato Ayato
Kamisato Ayaka’s older brother, Kamisato Ayato, may keep a low profile, but is far from a quiet presence on the battlefield. Ayato is one of the Hydro element’s best Main On-field DPS characters due to his great damage output and ability to set up great Elemental Reactions. His Elemental Skill, Kamisato Art: Kyouka, infuses his normal attacks with Hydro and does considerable damage with a relatively large area of effect. This ability provides Ayato with some resistance to interruption, as well as creating a Water Illusion when the skill is first used. If there are enemies nearby (or after 6 seconds, if not) the Illusion will explode, dealing considerable damage and applying Hydro. This incredible Elemental Skill is the main part of your kit and one of the best Main DPS skills in the game.
Thanks to Ayato’s passive, which allows him to recharge energy while off-field, he is able to quite consistently use his Elemental Burst, Kamisato Art: Suiyuu. This ability creates a large field which rains down Bloomwater Blades, dealing considerable Hydro damage and boosting Ayato’s normal attack damage. The 18 second duration of this ability is incredibly long, making it very valuable and worth its relatively high energy cost.
Ayato’s kit makes him an excellent pair with Dendro or Electro characters to trigger their respective Elemental Reactions. We recommend the Primordial Jade Cutter as a weapon for Ayato, with a 4-piece set of either Heart of Depth or Echoes of an Offering.
4) Nilou
Although she specializes in dancing, Nilou is no pushover in battle. In fact, Nilou uses her dancing abilities to fight, and does so very well! Nilou’s kit focuses around Bloom reactions, with her Passive Talents boosting their effectiveness. Nilou’s passive turns any Dendro Cores into Bountiful Cores that can only Bloom, not Hyperbloom or Burgeon. However, they explode much faster and deal increased damage in an increased area of effect. Her other passive boosts her Bloom damage by 9% for every 1000 Max HP she has over 30000. Therefore, you’ll want to build HP on her!
Nilou’s Elemental Skill has her perform a series of dance moves, and can be used three times in quick succession. The third hit will produce a Whirling Water Wheel around the active character, consistently applying Hydro to nearby enemies. Nilou’s Elemental Burst deals AoE Hydro damage and applies the Lingering Aeon effect, dealing damage over time.
You’ll want to use some Dendro characters to get the most out of Nilou’s kit, increasing her HP as high as you can to get the most out of her passives and deal huge Bloom damage. We recommend using her signature sword, Key of Khaj-Nisut, as it has a huge HP% boost. As for artifacts, we recommend a 4-piece Deepwood Memories with a focus on HP% main stats.
3) Yelan
As Ningguang’s Secret Intelligence Agent, Yelan is a shady individual with incredible stealth. She makes great use of this stealth in combat, however, by afflicting many enemies with Hydro and setting up for huge Freeze, Vaporize or Electro-charged reactions!
Yelan is a great off-field support, with her Elemental Skill allowing her to run around a group of enemies, dealing Hydro damage and inflicting all of them with Hydro. This is a great means of Hydro application, and also generates a ton of energy to charge up your Elemental Burst.
Yelan’s Elemental Burst creates a die that will fire three blasts of Hydro damage alongside every normal attack. This combines incredibly well with Pyro characters like Hu Tao or Xiangling, allowing them to deal huge Vaporize damage on every hit and defeat enemies very quickly.
Since Yelan’s Elemental Burst is such a huge part of her kit, we recommend running the Energy Recharge-boosting artifact set Emblem of Severed Fate on her. As for a weapon, we recommend the Favonius Warbow for very similar reasons - it has an Energy Recharge main stat, and also can provide even more energy if Yelan lands a Critical Hit.
2) Sangonomiya Kokomi
As the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Kokomi has a responsibility to ensure the good health of her people. Thankfully, she’s one of the absolute strongest healer characters in the game and makes an excellent addition to any team!
Kokomi’s Elemental Skill allows her to place a jellyfish, which creates waves that considerably heal your active character. That’s not all, though - the jellyfish also deals Hydro damage to enemies and inflicts them with Hydro, allowing for some easy Vaporize reactions, or making it easy to Freeze a group of enemies.
Kokomi’s Elemental Burst allows her to channel some powerful waters, increasing her damage output considerably based on her Max HP as well as making her attacks heal the whole party. When combined with a Cryo, Pyro or Electro DPS character, Kokomi can not only be an incredible healer but also do some considerable damage with her Elemental Burst. Her Elemental Burst also allows her to walk on water, which has very little advantage when it comes to combat, but is really cool and worth mentioning!
Kokomi is one of the game’s best wielders of the 3-star weapon Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, which makes her a relatively cheap and easy character to build compared to many others. For her artifacts, we recommend using a 4-piece Tenacity of the Millileth set.
1) Xingqiu
With our list being comprised of many 5-star characters in positions of power within the world of Teyvat, you may have expected a powerful, Godlike being. But it’s Xingqiu!
Despite Xingqiu being a 4-star character, he more than makes up for it by being one of the greatest support characters in the game. Xingqiu’s Elemental Skill slashes twice and surrounds him with the maximum amount of Rain Swords. These Rain Swords reduce incoming damage and improve the active character’s resistance to interruption.
However, the real crowning jewel of Xingqiu’s kit is his Elemental Burst, which happens to be one of the strongest in the game. Activating Guhua Sword: Raincutter will surround Xingqiu with the maximum amount of Rain Swords. For the duration of the Elemental Burst, all of your active character’s normal and charged attacks inflict Hydro on enemies, as well as dealing additional Hydro damage. Xingqiu is one of the absolute best characters at inflicting Hydro on enemies, thanks to his Rain Swords. This allows him to be an excellent off-field support, allowing characters like Xiangling or Ayaka to take advantage of this rapid Hydro application with their own Elemental Reactions, Vaporize or Freeze respectively.
If you want to use Xingqiu for yourself, equip him with a Sacrificial Sword to make up for his long Elemental Skill cooldown, and a 4-piece Emblem of Severed Fate artifact set to increase his Energy Recharge and Elemental Burst damage.
