Genshin Impact: All Hydro Characters Ranked

Genshin Impact has a huge roster of characters spread across seven different elements. As we make our way into Fontaine, the region of the Hydro archon, it’s a solid time to look at the history of Hydro characters in Genshin Impact and see how they shape up three years into the game. Hydro is revered in the community as one of the strongest elements, and for good reason. Hydro lends itself to some of the strongest elemental reactions in the game, such as Hyperbloom, Vaporize, and Electro-Charged. And quite frankly, it’s hard to find a bad Hydro character in the game.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at all of the Hydro characters in Genshin Impact. Here’s all of the Hydro characters ranked in Genshin Impact.

Hydro Traveler

Sorry, Traveler, but you do not have main character syndrome. On the contrary, the Hydro Traveler is probably the only character in this list that you could quantify as “bad.” This character has an embarassingly bad Elemental Burst, unleashing a large water projectile that can literally fly off the map without dealing damage. His Elemental Skill does very low damage as well. Perhaps his only niche so far (aside from being a worse version of other Hydro characters in typical Hydro teams) is as a Neuvillette support, as Neuvillette can actually take advantage of the water orbs Hydro Traveler drops. He is also one of the only characters in the game so far who can deal Pneuma-aligned damage. (Read more about the new Fontaine battle system here.)

Candace

Candace is a jack of all trades, master of none. And unfortunately, there’s a big emphasis on the “none,” as Candace’s Hydro application and defensive utility are both subpar to characters who may be more accessible, namely Barbara and Xingqiu. Additionally, Candace is difficult to build, as she has a monstrously high Energy Recharge requirement (nearing 300%) which makes her difficult to implement in your team. While Candace is not as atrociously bad as the Hydro Traveler, she’s a character who you should only build if you’re a diehard Candace fan.

Barbara

Barbara is a free-to-play character that all players earn for free. Her low placement is not an indication of lack of usefulness, as Barbara can still output some decent Hydro application and sustain with her high healing. Barbara, however, does not offer much else besides healing, and her Hydro application is not as consistent or safe as Sangonomiya Kokomi’s. However, Barbara is still a good option in teams that need a healer.

Mona

Mona has fallen off a bit. Once a mainstay in Freeze teams, due to her nuke potential and Hydro application, Mona is now a difficult sell compared to other Hydro characters who are more consistent with their damage output and Hydro application. Mona’s nuking capabilites are still strong, but perhaps a bit cumbersome to set-up in favor of other teams who deal equal or more damage with less effort. Additionally, Freeze teams are less useful as HoYoverse aims to add more boss enemies who are immune to being Frozen (or enemies who resist crowd control in general.)

Nilou

Nilou is a very strong character who can deal insane damage with her buffed Bloom cores. However, Nilou is somewhat restrictive in her team building, as she only works with other Dendro and Hydro characters. Other Hydro characters are more flexible in their team building, while Nilou is designed to literally fill one niche. Under the right scenarios, Nilou is a much stronger character than she appears, but you’ll need to fulfill her strict requirements to make her work. You may simply find more use investing in other Hydro characters who have more flexible team comps.

Kamisato Ayato

Kamisato Ayato is a fun and strong Hydro DPS character who is renowned for his flexibility. Kamisato Ayato has tons of teams that he excels in, such as International Vaporize team with an Anemo swirl character and a Xiangling + Bennett combo. Additionally, Ayato can perform well in Hyperbloom teams with Dendro supports, or in Electro-Charged teams due to his insane Hydro application. He can even work in mono-Hydro teams as his personal damage is nothing to scoff at.

Sangonomiya Kokomi

Sangonomiya Kokomi is a strong Hydro healer comparable to Zhongli in terms of team safety. Her healing numbers are immensely high, so you won’t have to worry about dying with her on the team. Additionally, her Hydro application with her jellyfish is high, allowing her to fit in many teams like Bloom and Hyperbloom teams, as well as Freeze teams. Kokomi’s damage is low, however, so Kokomi is more of a “luxury” unit in that you might not need her high healing numbers.

Childe

Childe is a character released near the start of the game, yet he still finds immense success in today’s meta thanks to her Elemental Skill, which turns all of his basic attacks into Hydro attacks. His Hydro application is insanely high thanks to this, and combined with high personal damage, allows Childe to succeed in a large number of different teams. Childe is one of the safest characters you can pull in this game, as his build is free-to-play friendly, he’s very consistent, and his damage is high.

Neuvillette

Neuvillette has just released, yet he is shaping to be one of the strongest characters in the game. Neuvillette has extremely high damage thanks to his special Charged Attack, and is self-sufficient, as he has many ways to heal himself and keep himself alive. Neuvillette is also free-to-play friendly, as one of his competitive weapons is a free-to-play weapon you can easily craft. Neuvillette is a flexible character, working in many different team comps, and is all-around a great character.

Xingqiu & Yelan

Xingqiu & Yelan are tied here, as these two characters play nearly the same. They both have an Elemental Burst that allows the active character to attack and trigger additional Hydro attacks. This provides off-field Hydro application that is an absolute mainstay in many different team compositions. Yelan offers slightly more offensive utility, while Xingqiu leans more defensive, but either character provides insane value for your teams. Not to mention, these characters work so well, they’re often paired together just to amp up the Hydro application they both provide.

Genshin Impact is now available on PC, mobile, and console platforms. Download the game from its official website. Check out more Genshin Impact guides from our guides and features hub.

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