Genshin Impact’s Childe, also known as Tartaglia or Ajax, is a hydro bow user and one of the eleven Fatui Harbingers – and with this Childe build, we teach you all about his powerful yet tricky kit, so you can make the most of his unique ability to switch between ranged and melee attacks. So let’s take a look at his role, skills, and team comps, as well as his best artifacts, weapons, and more.
If you need some help planning out a team, check out our Genshin Impact tier list. We’ve also got a list of all the new Genshin Impact codes, along with guides to the current and upcoming Genshin Impact update and Genshin Impact events.
Here’s everything in our best Genshin Impact Childe build.
What’s the best Childe build?
Childe (Tartaglia) is a five-star hydro bow wielder. He’s best suited to a burst DPS or main DPS role.
He dishes out strong multi-target damage and fast hydro application that enables other members of his team. His elemental burst is pretty strong, and you can use it in either ranged or melee mode. When Chile is in his ranged stance, his burst also has very low energy requirement, allowing you to use it more frequently. This makes him incredibly valuable on a quickswap team with short rotations.
Here’s a brief overview of our best Genshin Impact Childe (Tartaglia) build:
| Rarity | ★★★★★ |
| Element | Hydro |
| Weapon | Bow |
| Best weapon | Main DPS: Polar Star Burst DPS: Aqua Simulacra |
| Weapon substitutes |
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| Best artifact set | Heart of Depth |
| Artifact substitute | Two pieces of Heart of Depth with two pieces of Gladiator’s Finale or Noblesse Oblige |
| Main stats |
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| Sub stats |
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When it comes to equipment, Childe’s best weapon relies on whether you want to use him as a main DPS or a burst DPS. As a main DPS, we recommend Polar Star, whereas as a burst DPS, Aqua Simulacra is best. Regardless of role, Heart of Depth is the best artifact set for Childe, with crit, attack%, elemental mastery, and energy recharge being his most important stats.
Which talents you should prioritize also depends on how you want to use him. In a melee focused build, you level up his elemental skill, then his elemental burst, then his normal attack. On the other hand, in a burst focused build, you should level up his elemental burst first, then his elemental skill, then his normal attack.
He’s pretty flexible when it comes to team comps, has a unique rotation that switches between ranged and melee, and he isn’t constellation reliant, meaning you don’t need more than one copy for him to be a worthy member of your team.
How to use Childe
As with many bow-wielding characters, we generally advise against using Childe’s normal ranged attacks as the damage they deal is negligible.
Outside of that, the most important part of mastering Childe’s kit is working out how long to leave him in melee stance. The longer you leave him in melee stance, the longer his elemental skill’s cooldown will be. Therefore, the ideal time scale for a comfortable 24 second rotation at C0 is to stay in melee mode for nine seconds, which gives you a cooldown of 15 seconds before you can activate it again.
If you want a more specific breakdown suited to your personal Childe build, you can check out this community-made Childe melee duration calculator. Or, for a simpler way of counting, you can use markers from other characters, such as Bennett’s burst buff, Fischl’s Oz duration, Beidou or Xingqiu’s aura durations, or even your stamina bar. Eventually you should get a feel for how long melee mode should last to suit your team.
In terms of Childe’s burst, there’s some pros and cons to both the ranged and melee version. His melee burst deals higher damage, but has a higher energy cost and makes it more difficult to trigger vaporize reactions due to stance change.
On the other hand, Childe’s ranged burst has a lower energy requirement, a quicker animation, and is better for triggering vaporize reactions. You can also use it in his downtime while waiting for his skill cooldown. However, it does deal significantly less damage than the melee version.
Overall, remember that higher damage doesn’t mean better DPS. You need lots of energy recharge to be able to make the most of Childe’s ranged burst, but focusing on building him with more attack and crit instead of energy recharge results in higher overall damage. Therefore we generally recommend that you use Childe’s ranged burst over his melee burst.
What’s the best weapon for Childe?
The best weapon for main DPS Childe is Polar Star. It offers a substantial boost to his crit rate, and its skill compliments his kit perfectly, offering a substantial boost to his attack when he uses any of his attacks.
Aqua Simulacra is another great option for main DPS Childe, and is the best option for burst sub-DPS Childe. It also offers crit damage, as well as a damage buff when facing multiple enemies. However, this one’s a bit more situational, and falls off when fighting bosses.
Thundering Pulse is the second-best weapon for both main DPS Childe and sub-DPS Childe. It offers a crit rate boost, as well as a buff to his normal attack damage that’s pretty easy to activate with his playstyle.
The best four-star weapon for main DPS Childe is Viridescent Hunt. Unfortunately, it’s a battle pass exclusive, but Childe appreciates both its crit rate buff and the additional damage offered through its cyclones. However, it does rely on higher refinement ranks to reach peak performance, meaning you need to purchase the battle pass for a few months in order to make the most of it.
The best four-star weapon for burst sub-DPS Childe is Mouun’s Moon at R5. It offers a great damage boost to his elemental burst, which is very valuable in a burst-focused team with quick rotations. Alternatively, R5 The Stringless is a solid four-star weapon for burst sub-DPS Childe. It’s especially useful in teams that rely on elemental reactions, and also boosts his elemental skill and burst damage.
| Polar Star | Base stat: crit rate Skill: elemental skill and elemental burst damage increases by 12%. After a normal attack, charged attack, elemental skill or elemental burst hits an opponent, gain one stack of Ashen Nightstar for 12 seconds. When 1/2/3/4 stacks of Ashen Nightstar are present, attack increases by 10/20/30/48%. Stacks of Ashen Nightstar created by the normal attack, charged attack, elemental skill or elemental burst are counted independently of the others |
Limited banner |
| Thundering Pulse | Base stat: crit damage Skill: increases attack by 20% and grants the might of the Thunder Emblem. At 1/2/3 stacks, the Thunder Emblem increases normal attack damage by 12/24/40%. The user obtains one stack of Thunder Emblem in each of the following scenarios:
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Limited banner |
| Aqua Simulacra | Base stat: crit damage Skill: HP increases by 16%. When there are opponents nearby, the wielder’s damage dealt increases by 20%. This takes effect whether the character is on-field or not |
Limited banner |
| Mouun’s Moon | Base stat: attack Skill: for every point of the entire party’s combined maximum energy capacity, the elemental burst damage of the equipping character increases by 0.12%, to a maximum of 40% |
Limited or standard banner |
| The Stringless | Base stat: elemental mastery Skill: increases elemental skill and elemental burst damage |
Limited or standard banner |
| Viridescent Hunt | Base stat: crit rate Skill: upon hit, normal and aimed shot attacks have a 50% chance to generate a cyclone, which continuously attracts surrounding opponents, dealing 40% of attack as damage every 0.5 seconds for four seconds. This effect can only occur once every 14 seconds |
Battle Pass reward |
What are the best artifacts for Childe?
Generally, the best artifact set for DPS Childe in most situations is Heart of Depth. However, if you don’t have a Genshin Impact’s Bennett to spare for your Childe team, you should combine two Heart of Depth and two Gladiator’s Finale.
For burst DPS Childe, you can combine two Noblesse Oblige with two Heart of Depth for a great damage boost. For a more in-depth breakdown, check out Kequing Mains’ super detailed guide.
| Heart of Depth | Two equipped: Hydro damage is increased by 15% Four equipped: After an elemental skill is used, normal and charged attack damage is increased by 50% for 15 seconds |
Obtain from Peak of Vindagnyr domain, Dragonspine, Mondstadt |
| Gladiator’s Finale | Two equipped: attack +18% Four equipped: increases normal attack damage of the wielder by 35% if they use a sword, claymore, or polearm |
Obtain from world and weekly bosses, artifact strongboxes, etc |
| Noblesse Oblige | Two equipped: Elemental burst damage is increased by 20% Four equipped: When an elemental burst is used, all party members’ attack is increased by 20% for 12 seconds |
Obtain from Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern domain, Minlin, Mt. Aozang |
Stat and sub-stat recommendations
Main stat:
- Sands – attack% or elemental mastery
- Goblet – hydro damage%
- Circlet – crit rate/crit damage
Sub-stats:
- Crit rate/crit damage (try to maintain a 1:2 ratio)
- Attack%
- Elemental mastery
- Energy recharge
What are the best Genshin Impact Childe team comps?
Childe can fit into quite a wide range of teams due to his healthy hydro application and flexibility between ranged and melee stances. Unless you intend to focus on a more physical, bow-focused build, we generally recommend teams based around elemental reactions, so he can take full advantage of his kit.
The most popular team comp for him is Childe national. Much like Raiden national, it pairs Childe with Xiangling and Bennett, who unite to offer off-field pyro application for vaporize reactions throughout Childe’s melee duration. Of course, Bennett’s burst also offers healing and a substantial attack buff that can truly see Childe’s damage soar.
Childe national is usually vaporize-focused but, due to Chile supplying the hydro, it doesn’t require Xingqiu like Raiden National does – though he’s a great flex option. Alternatively, you can switch Xingqiu out for an anemo character that can offer crowd control and resistance shred, like Kazuha or Venti. You can also fill the slot with a geo like Zhongli, who offers a great shield to his pal.
Childe can also fit comfortably into electro-charged teams alongside characters like Beidou and Fischl, both of which help provide great markers for his melee duration.
But honestly, Childe can fit in a huge variety of team comps – a comfy freeze lineup? He’s got you. Bloom or hyperbloom? No problem. Overload? Say no more, comrade. If you enjoy Childe’s playstyle and build him well, he can fit into just about any team. Just have fun! You can also head over to the r/childemains sub-reddit for some great showcases and personal advice to suit your available pool of characters.
Here are some examples of strong Childe team comps:
| First character slot | Second character slot | Third character slot | Fourth character slot |
 Childe |
 Zhongli |
 Xiangling |
 Bennett |
| Childe |
 Kazuha |
Xiangling |
Bennett |
| Childe |
 Raiden |
 Nahida |
 Yaoyao |
| Childe |
 Beidou |
 Fischl |
Bennett |
| Childe |
Nahida |
 Xingqiu |
 Kuki |
What are Childe’s skills?
Here are all of Childe’s attacks and passive talents. Keep in mind that you can level up Childe’s normal attack, elemental skill, and elemental burst using the talent materials listed later in this guide.
Childe’s active skills
| Normal attack | Cutting Torrent Normal: perform six shots with a bow Charged: fire off an aimed shot with increased damage. When fully charged, the arrow deals hydro damage and applies the Riptide status. Enemies affected by riptide suffer from AoE hydro damage when you attack them.
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| Elemental skill | Foul Legacy: Raging Tide Childe enters a melee stance and deals AoE hydro damage. In the melee stance, his attacks change in the following ways:
After 30 seconds, Childe returns to his ranged stance |
| Elemental burst | Havoc: Obliteration This move does different things depending on what stance Childe is in:
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Childe’s passive skills
| A1 | Never Ending Extends riptide duration by eight seconds |
| A4 | Sword of Torrents While in melee stance or when a normal or charged attack critically hits, riptide is applied to the enemy |
| Utility | Master of Weaponry Increases party members’ normal attack levels by one |
What are Childe’s constellations?
If you manage to pull a duplicate of Childe, you can unlock his next constellation. All six of Childe’s constellations offer unique buffs that make him into an even more formidable fighter.
Here are all of Childe’s constellations:
| C1 | Foul Legacy: Tide Withholder Reduces the cooldown for Foul Legacy: Raging Tide by 20% |
| C2 | Foul Legacy: Understream When you defeat an opponent affected by riptide, you restore four elemental energy |
| C3 | Abyssal Mayhem: Vortex of Turmoil Increases the level of Foul Legacy: Raging Tide by three, to a maximum upgrade level of 15 |
| C4 | Abyssal Mayhem: Hydrospout If Childe is in Foul Legacy: Raging Tide’s melee stance, he triggers Riptide Slash against all on-field opponents affected by Riptide every four sexonds. Otherwise, he triggers Riptide Flash. Riptide Slashes and Flashes triggered by this constellation aren’t subject to the time intervals that typically apply to these two effects, nor do they have any effect on those time intervals |
| C5 | Havoc: Formless Blade Increases the level of Havoc: Obliteration by three, to a maximum upgrade level of 15 |
| C6 | Havoc: Annihilation When Childe casts Havoc: Obliteration in melee stance, the cooldown of Foul Legacy: Raging Tide resets when he returns to ranged stance |
What are Childe’s ascension materials?
You can get Childe all the way up to level 90, but need to ascend him at certain intervals along the way.
Here are all of Genshin Impact Childe’s ascension materials:
| 20➔40 |
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| 40➔50 |
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| 50➔60 |
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| 60➔70 |
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| 70➔80 |
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| 80➔90 |
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Here’s where to get all of Childe’s ascension materials:
- Varunda lazurite – drops from normal and weekly bosses
- Starconch – gather around the beaches of Liyue and Dargonspine, especially in Guyun Stone Forest and Yaoguang Shawl
- Recruit’s / sergeants / lieutenants insignias – drops from Fatui skirmishers, cicin mages, and pyro agents
- Cleansing heart – drops from the Rhodeia of Loch normal boss in Liyue’s Bishui Plain
What are Childe’s talent materials?
You can level Childe’s normal attack, elemental skill, and elemental burst up to a maximum of level ten each.
Here are all of Genshin Impact Childe’s talent materials:
| 1➔2 |
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| 2➔3 |
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| 3➔4 |
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| 4➔5 |
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| 5➔6 |
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| 6➔7 |
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| 7➔8 |
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| 8➔9 |
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| 9➔10 |
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Here’s where to get all of Childe’s talent materials:
- Recruit’s / sergeants / lieutenants insignias – drops from Fatui skirmishers, cicin mages, and pyro agents
- Freedom talent books – rewards from the Forsaken Rift domain in Springvale, Mondstadt, on Monday, Thursday, and Friday
- Shards of a foul legacy – drops from the Childe weekly boss in Liyue’s Enter the Golden House trounce domain
Talent priorities
When leveling up Childe’s talents, we recommend prioritizing the following.
Melee-focused build:
- Elemental skill > elemental burst > normal attack
Burst-focused build:
- Elemental burst > elemental skill > normal attack
Who is Childe?
Childe is the alias of the 11th Fatui Harbinger, Genshin Impact’s Tartaglia – though his birth name is actually Ajax. He grew up in Senzhnaya in a small fishing village. However, when he was a teenager, he fell into the abyss, changing his life forever.
While in the abyss he trained under his master, Genshin Impact’s Skirk. When he finally got out, he joined the Fatui, devoting his life to Genshin Impact’s Tsaritsa.
As one of the Genshin Impact Fatui Harbingers, he travels around Teyvat working in the Tsaritsa’s name. We first meet him in Liyue, where he plays a crucial role in the Tsaritsa’s plan to obtain the geo gnosis. However, despite fighting Genshin Impact’s Traveler and putting the entirety of Liyue Harbor at risk by raising Osial, he seemed to maintain a strong friendship with both the Traveler and Genshin Impact’s Zhongli afterwards.
Childe later plays yet another important role during our time in Fontaine, where he’s put on trial in front of Genshin Impact’s Neuvilette. In short, he always seems to be getting into trouble in one way or another.
Cheeky, charming, and passionate, Childe is a skilled fighter who lives for the thrill of battle. In fact, the reason he wields a bow is because that’s the weapon he struggles with most, and he intends to master it. However, when he’s not fighting or causing trouble, he’s actually an extremely sweet and generous person who cares deeply for his family, telling his siblings that he’s actually a ‘master toy maker’ and often sending them gifts from overseas.
Alright, comrade, that’s all we’ve got on Genshin Impact’s Childe, otherwise known as Ajax, otherwise known as Tartaglia, otherwise known as the best toy maker and big brother in the world.
If you need more info on the other Genshin Impact Harbingers, take a look at our Genshin Impact Columbina and Genshin Impact Arlecchino guides. We’ve also got a bunch of guides for Hoyo’s other exciting RPG, including our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail codes.