One of the first “Husbandos” to ever be playable in-game is Tartaglia. His real name is Ajax, and he has the codename “Childe” which we will be using in addressing him throughout his article. Childe, in my opinion, is a unique character because he is also the first playable “bad guy” since he is the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, and we also get to fight him as a weekly boss (hence the “when you fight the boss vs. when you unlock him” memes). Childe had his rerun during patch 1.4 and if you still haven’t built him, this article might help you on that.
Childe is quite underrated because some people say he is “unusable” at zero constellations. However, this is far from the truth. Childe is my first 5-star character, and he has helped me clear a lot of abyss floors. Whatever constellations you may have on Childe, he can be used as a main DPS character or a nuke/burst DPS character. To
First and foremost, you must know what role your Childe will play in your team composition to know what artifacts, weapons, and party composition you’ll be using. If you want to use him as a main DPS and be out in the field for a long time, you’d want to go with the 4-set Heart of Depth and have him accompanied by someone who can give him an attack boost. Bennett is a good choice for this or any support character that uses a 4-set Noblesse Oblige artifact set.
If you want to use Childe as a burst DPS or a Nuke, which is ideal for quick-swap teams, you may want to avoid the 4-set Heart of Depth since you will not benefit from its bonus. 2-set Noblesse Oblige and 2-set Heart of Depth are the way to go for this type of setup. Have him accompanied by characters who can boost his Elemental Mastery or Attack, as well as someone who would let him trigger Vaporize easily. Notable characters for this type of setup are Kazuha, Sucrose, Mona, and Bennett. People also seem to be eyeing the new 4-set Shimenawa’s Reminiscence but due to its recency, it is still subject to further research.
With the artifacts quite settled, we will now discuss what weapon you’d want to use and for what setup.
5. Prototype Crescent
Childe testing his enemies with the Prototype Crescent
Prototype Crescent takes the fifth spot in our list because it is the best free-to-play and early game option for Childe since it is craft-able and its passive works well with him.
What Prototype Crescent Excels in:
- Free-to-play and is obtained through crafting.
- Enhances attack and movement speed when a charged attack hits a weak spot.
- Gives bonus attack stats through its sub stat.
The great thing about this weapon is that the passive syncs well with Childe’s playstyle be it in the open world or the Spiral Abyss. The catch is that you have to aim for the enemy’s weak spot, nothing a little practice can’t fix. After hitting an enemy’s weak spot, your attack and movement speed will be increased by 36% at refinement rank 1 and 72% at refinement rank 5 with a 10-second duration.
Childe’s fully charged aim-shots automatically apply Riptide to the enemy hit which deals AoE Hydro damage when either hitting an enemy with another fully charged attack, hitting a critical strike using his melee stance (unlocked at his ascension phase 4), or defeating an enemy with the Riptide mark. Activating the Prototype Crescent’s passive together with the Riptide will massively increase Childe’s damage output.
The weapon has a 510 base attack which is pretty average but paired with its 41.3% attack sub stat, you’ll receive 720 attack stat just with the weapon, Childe’s attack stats not included. If you want to use this weapon, you’d want to aim for good artifact rolls and you’d want to use the 4-piece Heart of Depth.
Players gain access to the Northlander Bow Billet as soon as they can beat weekly bosses – the earliest ones are Dvalin and Lupus Boreas, though it isn’t guaranteed. The guaranteed way is by going to Liyue and purchasing it from the souvenir shop for 225 Geo Sigils.
Build Details:
- The weapon’s sub-stat is Attack Percentage which means your artifact farming won’t be easy, especially if you aim for 1:2 or 1:3 crit-ratio.
- For a DPS Childe, you’d probably want to go with a Sands with Attack Percentage main-stat, Goblet with Hydro Damage Bonus main-stat, and a Circlet with either Crit-damage or Crit-rate.
- For substats, aim for as much crit-rate and crit-damage as possible, it’s also good to have attack percentage sub-stats. The ideal crit-rate is at least 50% and after achieving that, aim for 100%-150% crit-damage.
4. The Stringless
Childe shows his mastery of the bow using The Stringless
Our fourth sport goes to The Stringless, if you want your Childe to deal massive damage with his burst or if you enjoy seeing six-digit numbers on your screen, this weapon is one, if not the best, option for you.
What The Stringless Excels in:
- Increases elemental burst and elemental skill damage.
- Gives elemental mastery.
- Great when using Childe as a Nuke.
The Stringless is a 4-star gacha weapon, it’s not rare for this weapon to be rated up in the weapon banner and it is also available in both the standard banner and the character banner, so you are likely to have at least one copy of it. If that’s the case, you might want to try it and use it on a Burst-type Childe. The only thing that may stop you from trying this build is that it requires some characters with specific roles, but if you’re able to pull it off, it will give you a satisfying feeling as well as a satisfying amount of damage on your screen.
First of the specific roles required to pull off this setup is a supporting character who gives Elemental Mastery, notable mentions are Kazuha. Sucrose, and a full constellation Diona. The second role to be filled for Burst Childe setup is someone who can amplify his damage, people usually put Mona, Bennett, or someone equipped with a 4-set noblesse oblige artifact set. The last is another DPS or a sub DPS, to still deal damage even when Childe’s Elemental Burst is not available.
The artifact set to use on Childe with this weapon is 2-piece Heart of Depth for the 15% Hydro Damage Bonus, and 2-piece Noblesse Oblige for that 20% boost on the elemental burst damage. The weapon automatically boosts your Elemental skill and Elemental Burst damage by 24% at refinement rank 1, and 48% at refinement rank 5. It also gives 510 base attack stat, accompanied by 165 Elemental Mastery at level 90, so with the recent Elemental Mastery buff and members of your party who are capable of giving Childe extra Elemental Mastery points, you’ll see some huge numbers with this weapon.
Build Details:
- Using Childe with this weapon is quite unique and you want to do as many elemental reactions as possible.
- For artifacts, you may go with Elemental Mastery or Attack Percentage for Sands’ main-stat. For Goblet, the only choice is Hydro Damage Bonus, and for Circlet, you can choose between Crit-rate or Crit-damage main-stat.
- For sub-stats, try to have as much Elemental Mastery and Crit-stats as possible. The ideal crit-ratio should be 1:2 and if you’re lucky, having 1:3 crit-ratio is great.
- Since the weapon revolves around Elemental Reactions, it’s a good choice to have characters in your team that provide elemental buffs. Kazuha or Sucrose is a great choice here, a C6 Diona was mentioned earlier but she can mess up your Reactions. Bennett and/or Mona should be in your party also, one of them should be equipped with a full set Noblesse (ideally Bennett), try to proc Vaporize as often as possible.
3. Rust/Viridescent Hunt
Childe slicing through enemies with Rust and Viridescent Hunt
The third spot of our list is divided into the 2 best 4-star weapons for the main DPS Childe. Though obtained through different methods, these weapons serve the same purpose and that is to boost Childe’s damage output. First to discuss on our third spot is the weapon Rust.
What Rust Excels in:
- Increases normal attack damage.
- Great when using Childe as the main DPS.
- Enhances attack through its sub stat.
- Suits Childe’s aesthetics.
Rust is a 4-star gacha weapon that gives Childe 510 base attack and 41.3% attack sub stat. As you might’ve noticed, this is the same as what the Prototype Crescent gives us. But the great thing about Rust is its passive which gives your normal attacks a 40% damage bonus at refinement rank 1 up to 80% damage bonus at refinement rank 5. Using Childe as the main DPS means having to use his normal attacks more often, and in this case, Rust is a great option.
Rust’s passive also syncs with the Heart of Depth’s 4-piece passive since it gives you 30% additional normal and charged attacks after using an elemental skill. Notice that the HoD passive includes charged attacks in its bonus, this is a good thing since Rust decreases your charged attack damage by 10% regardless of refinement rank.
With Rust’s sub stat being bonus attack stats, you may now focus on getting critical status when farming for artifacts, or some may also want to try an Energy Recharge sand piece. This weapon is Childe’s weapon in his Character Demo and Trailer on YouTube, which means in a way, it is his canon weapon.
Build Details:
- Like Prototype Crescent, this weapon’s sub-stat is Attack Percentage which means your artifact farming won’t be easy, especially if you aim for 1:2 or 1:3 crit-ratio.
- For a DPS Childe, you’d probably want to go with a Sands with Attack Percentage main-stat, Goblet with Hydro Damage Bonus main-stat, and a Circlet with either Crit-damage or Crit-rate.
- For substats, aim for as much crit-rate and crit-damage as possible, it’s also good to have attack percentage sub-stats. The ideal crit-rate is at least 50% and after achieving that, aim for 100%-150% crit-damage.
The next weapon on this spot on our list is the Viridescent Hunt. This weapon’s aesthetics doesn’t quite suit Childe’s appearance unlike Rust, but it makes up for its utility and playability.
What Viridescent Hunt Excels in:
- Gives a crit rate sub-stat, which results in easier artifact farming.
- Easily obtainable through the battle pass.
- Gathers enemies in an AoE and deals damage over time.
Viridescent Hunt is a battle pass option, players can obtain it by reaching level 30 of the paid battle pass be it the Gnostic Hymn or Gnostic Chorus. This weapon is great for low spenders who mostly want to spend their Primogems on new characters. This weapon has a 510 base attack, which is pretty common for 4-star weapons, but the great thing about the stats is its crit rate sub stat which reaches up to 27.6% at max level.
As mentioned earlier, its appearance doesn’t match Childe’s looks, but what it matches is his playstyle since its passive can gather enemies in a small AoE, making it easier for Childe to tear them apart while dealing 40% to 80% physical damage within the small circle. This weapon having the sub-stat of crit rate is a great thing since players who use this weapon for Childe may now focus on Crit Damage and Attack.
Using this weapon on Childe and equipping him with the 4-piece Heart of Depth will satisfy you with its effect. Being able to deal both physical and hydro damage at the same time, as well as constantly triggering Riptide Slash and Riptide Flash, this weapon will surely mull your enemies down.
Build Details:
- Given that the weapon’s sub-stat gives you high crit-rate, it’s out of question to go for a crit-damage main-stat Circlet.
- For the Goblet, go for Hydro Damage Bonus and for Sands, go for Attack percentage.
- Look for pieces with as many crit-stats as possible, have at least 50% crit-chance for damage consistency, and 1:2 or 1:3 crit-ratio is ideal for Childe to show his true potential
2. Amos’ Bow
Childe using Amos' Bow to defeat enemies
Our second-best weapon for Childe is a 5-star weapon and is also Ganyu’s best in slot weapon. Childe and Ganyu have different best weapons due to their difference in playstyles. With that said, this weapon still works great for Childe only lagging a bit behind his best weapon.
What Amos’ Bow Excels in:
- Has a high base attack.
- Increases normal and charged attack damage.
- Enhances attack further through the sub stat.
Amos’ Bow offers 608 base attack stat and 49.6% attack sub stat at max level, which gives Childe a huge attack boost. With this weapon, you’d want to try Childe as the main DPS and equip him with the 4-piece Heart of Depth.
This weapon’s passive increases normal and charged attacks by 12 to 24% at refinement rank 1 and refinement rank 5 respectively. It also will increase the damage from an arrow based on how far it travels or how long it stays in the air. This is great for charge attacking but that would change Childe’s play style a lot.
Build Details:
- Like Prototype Crescent and Rust, this weapon’s sub-stat is Attack Percentage which means your artifact farming won’t be easy, especially if you aim for 1:2 or 1:3 crit-ratio.
- For a DPS Childe, you’d probably want to go with a Sands with Attack Percentage main-stat, Goblet with Hydro Damage Bonus main-stat, and a Circlet with either Crit-damage or Crit-rate.
- For substats, aim for as much crit-rate and crit-damage as possible, it’s also good to have attack percentage sub-stats. The ideal crit-rate is at least 50% and after achieving that, aim for 100%-150% crit-damage.
1. Skyward Harp
Childe obliterating the Cryo Regisvine with the Skyward Harp
The Number One weapon on our list (for now) is the weapon that accompanied Childe’s banner, it is the Skyward Harp. It is also his weapon in the in-game character trials.
What Skyward Harp Excels in:
- Has a high base attack.
- Has a crit rate sub-stat.
- Gives additional crit damage from the passive.
- Deals additional physical damage in a small AoE.
- Passive and sub stat makes it easier to farm for Artifacts.
The thing that makes Skyward Harp Childe’s best weapon is its overall stats. It gives you 674 base attack stat, which is the highest among all the weapons on this list. The sub stat 22.1% crit rate at max level, accompanied by its passive which gives you an additional 20% crit damage at refinement rank 1 and 40% crit damage at refinement rank 5. Another passive that this weapon has is its ability to deal 125% physical damage sitting at 60% to 100% chance and has a cooldown of 4 seconds or 2 seconds, depending on what refinement rank you have.
This weapon is also the easiest one to build in this list since you don’t have to attain “god-rolls” for Childe to have a good crit-rate and crit damage ratio. However, if you want your Childe to deal godly damage, you’d want his artifacts to have a good crit rate, crit damage, and attack rolls. It goes without saying that when using this weapon, you’d want to use the 4-piece Heart of Depth artifact set.
Build Details:
- Similar to the Viridescent hunt, this weapon gives you crit-rate sub-stats, which means you must go for crit-damage main-stat Circlet.
- For the Goblet, go for Hydro Damage Bonus and for Sands, go for Attack percentage.
- Look for pieces with as many crit-stats as possible, have at least 50% crit-chance for damage consistency, and 1:2 or 1:3 crit-ratio is ideal for Childe to show his true potential
