Tartaglia, or Childe, is a 5-star Hydro DPS Genshin Impact. Here are Tartaglia’s best weapons, artifacts, and teams to help you decide whether to whale for this whale.
Playstyles
Tartaglia is an on-field DPS. No matter what team you run him in, he needs to be on-field in order to do damage. Set up your supports, swap to Tartaglia, then use his Skill to enter melee stance. In his melee stance, he does increased Hydro damage with his Normal Attacks and can apply Riptide to enemies. His optimal combo can depend on his weapon and team, but for simplicity’s sake, I like to do two Normal Attacks followed by a Charged Attack (N2C).
Tartaglia’s Burst has two forms depending on whether he is in ranged or melee stance. His ranged Burst has a shorter animation time and refunds some Energy, but does less damage. Most teams will prefer to use his ranged Burst since it’s quicker, lowers Tartaglia’s Energy needs, and is easier to Vaporize. If using his ranged Burst, try to do it as soon as he swaps on-field before you use his Skill. (rQ > E > N2C combo)
His melee Burst has a longer animation time and does more damage. You can use melee Burst instead of ranged if you just need one more big hit to clear an Abyss chamber, or in teams where Tartaglia has plenty of Energy and isn’t triggering Vaporize (e.g., Electro-Charged, mono Hydro). If using melee Burst, it’s less important when it happens during your combo, so fit it in whenever it feels most comfortable for you.
Weapons
Polar Star – Tartaglia’s signature weapon. It’s generally his best-in-slot, but the other options on this list are perfectly fine too. Note that in some teams, you may not be able to fully stack Polar Star’s passive.
Aqua Simulacra / Skyward Harp / Hunter’s Path / Thundering Pulse – These are great 5-star Bows for Tartaglia. Their passives are useful to varying degrees, but at worst, they still provide a good amount of CRIT.
The Viridescent Hunt / Mouun’s Moon / Rust / The Stringless – 4-star Bows still perform admirably. Mouun’s Moon and Stringless are only recommended in teams where you can Vaporize Tartaglia’s Burst.
Prototype Crescent – The free-to-play option if none of the above are available to you. Activate its ATK buff with a quick Aimed Shot on an enemy weak point. This isn’t always possible though, depending on your matchup.
Artifacts
4pc Heart of Depths (4HoD) – As an on-field DPS, 4HoD is generally Tartaglia’s go-to set. However, in teams with shorter combos where a bigger proportion of his damage comes from his Burst, the 2pc combos below can gain value.
2pc combos of Hydro DMG and/or ATK – Mixing 2pc sets can be just as effective as a full 4HoD set, especially since 2pc sets are easier to farm. You have a lot of flexibility here, and you can even mix in Elemental Mastery sets or Burst DMG sets for a more Burst-focused build.
Artifact Stats
| Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
| ATK | Hydro DMG | CRIT Rate/DMG |
Tartaglia will generally want around 130% Energy Recharge for most of his teams that use his ranged Burst. It’s not worth building more Energy Recharge so you can use his melee Burst; either use ranged Burst instead or pair him with Energy-rich teammates.
Teams
Vaporize
Tartaglia’s most effective teams use him to provide a Hydro aura so that Xiangling can Vaporize her Burst hits. The core of this team is made up of Tartaglia, Xiangling, and Bennett. There is some flexibility for the third slot, with the best options being:
- Kazuha is the easiest to use and most reliable when trying to Swirl both Pyro and Hydro.
- Sucrose can technically be better than C0 Kazuha if you’re unable to reliably Swirl both Pyro and Hydro.
- Zhongli or another shielder provides interruption resistance, letting you perform your combos without getting staggered.
- Albedo is a bit of an uncommon choice, but he does decent off-field damage, buffs team Elemental Mastery with his Burst, and provides a bit of shielding through Crystallize.
Electro-Charged
One of the classic Tartaglia team archetypes is Electro-Charged. Just mix any combination of Hydro, Electro, and Anemo. With the exception of your Anemo unit, everyone should still be built with CRIT stats. You will need:
- One or two Electro teammates. Fischl is most recommended. Pair her with Yae Miko or Beidou to help with their Energy needs.
- One Anemo teammate. This can be practically anyone, including Kazuha, Sucrose, or Venti. Be aware that Tartaglia can sometimes struggle to reach enemies lifted by Venti’s Burst. If you need healing utility, consider Sayu or Jean instead.
- If you don’t want to bring a second Electro unit, you can slot in Xingqiu or Yelan for additional Hydro damage. Alternatively, try Bennett to heal your team and buff ATK.
Burgeon / Hyperbloom
Tartaglia provides plenty of Hydro for Blooms, making him a great on-fielder for Hyperbloom and Burgeon teams. You will need:
- One or two Dendro teammates to trigger Bloom. Nahida or Dendro Traveler are the best options for off-field Dendro. Baizhu or Yaoyao can also work if you need a healer, but their Dendro application is much slower.
- An Electro teammate for Hyperbloom teams. Your options are either Kuki Shinobu or Raiden Shogun with a full Elemental Mastery build.
- A Pyro teammate for Burgeon teams. Thoma is the best Burgeon trigger and provides some additional shielding.
- If you have a spare team slot, consider Kazuha or Sucrose for some crowd-control. You can also just bring any off-field DPS that won’t interfere too much with reactions, like Xingqiu, Yelan, or Albedo.
