Ever sinceGenshin Impact’srelease, Hydro has been one of the few elements that have constantly stayed at the top. Not only can this element react with the rest of the six elements in the game, but it also contains some of the best reactions possible. However, there are quite a few characters that use this element.
From the versatile support of Candace to the powerful DPS of Nilou, and the complex playstyle of Tartaglia, this article ranks all Hydro characters based on their usefulness in the team so that you may have an easier time deciding which one you want to build.
Updated on June 06, 2025, by Sanyam Jain:While Natlan might be the land of Pyro, the first character released alongside the region’s release was Hydro in the form of Mualani. This character took the community by the story with her staggering damage, but her weaknesses were revealed as people got to play her more.
14Candace
Having a parry-type play style in Genshin Impact is always fun, andCandace is one of the few characters that offer it. If you time your Skill correctly withCandace, you can instantly finish charging it and save a lot of time. However, the low multipliers of Candace’s overall kit is what lands her in the last position here.
She provides a buff to her party members' Normal Attacks during her Ultimate, but she also releases a Hydro wave when you switch characters. This is a little counter-intuitive since you wouldn’t want to switch off from a character that deals high Normal Attack DMG. However, she can be a little more viable if you have her with maximum constellations.
13Hydro Traveler
Whenever a new region is released in Genshin Impact, the Traveler gets a set of new abilities belonging to the element of that region. However, it seems like HoYoverse doesn’t want to give too much utility to any Traveler ability sets. Hydro Traveler can produce constant Hydro DMG from their Skill and Burst.
However, they need to stay on the field to produce most of this damage, but the multipliers aren’t high enough to warrant this. Ideally, you may still use them in a reaction-based team where the other elements deal higher damage and are applied off-field, but you can’t use this character without a shielder in the team.
12Barbara
The deacon of Mondstat is known for her healing abilities and Elemental Skill, Let the Show Begin, which summons watery musical notes that periodically heal active characters and deal Hydro DMG to nearby opponents. Her Elemental Burst, Shining Miracle, also heals large amounts of HP for her entire party.
Barbarais the only healer character players can obtain without wishing and can apply Hydro immediately, which helps trigger Elemental Reactions. However, her Elemental Skill has a long cooldown and applies the Wet status effect to active characters, making them vulnerable to being Frozen or interrupted by Electro-Charged reactions.
11Mona
Mona Magistus is a 5-star Hydro Catalyst character who sure loves the stars. Her alternate sprint, Illusory Torrent, lets her go under the ground and even sprint on water. Her Elemental Skill, Mirror Reflection of Doom, creates a Phantom of Fate that taunts nearby enemies, drawing aggro and dealing continuous Hydro DMG.
Moreover, her Burst engulfs opponents in a giant AoE and gives a damage boost to your characters.Monahas been a great support character to increase your DPS' damage from the beginning of Genshin Impact, and she can still fulfill that role quite well. The only reason for her to be this low on the list is the presence of better supports in the game.
10Tartaglia/Childe
Tartaglia, also known as Childe, is a 5-star Hydro character,the first playable character from Snezhnaya, and a member of the Fatui. Childe is unique because he can switch his weapon type, primarily using a bow, but he can also use a watery sword during his Elemental Skill. He had a lot of hype surrounding him during the initial release.
However, with time, the negative aspects of his kit started appearing as you had to get perfect cycles with him to make him viable. The Elemental Skill gets quite a long cooldown and his damage also got powercrept by other characters. However, he can still be a great Hydro applicator to use alongside characters like Xiangling.
9Sigewinne
Sigewinneis supposed to be a healer in Genshin Impact, and to be honest, she does that job quite phenomenally. Unfortunately, the game’s meta doesn’t really have a place for just healers at the moment since you could easily use characters like Bennett who not only heal, but also provide an ATK boost to the team.
Moreover, Sigewinne is directly competing with Sangonomiya Kokomi, another Hydro healer. Between these two, Kokomi has a much higher and AoE Hydro application, which leaves Sigewinne’s Burst damage to be the only reason for using her. She does become viable if you have her at Constellation Six, but that’s not possible for most people since she’s a five-star.
8Xingqiu
Xingqiuis one of the original four-star characters in Genshin Impact, and he’s also been one of the meta supports ever since the beginning. His Elemental Burst allows him to deal off-field Hydro damage to the opponents whenever the active character performs a Normal Attack, making him perfect for reactions.
He does rely on his Elemental Skill to refill particles, which might take quite long, but you’re able to easily change that by using Sacrificial or Favonius Sword on him. Once you build and use Xingqiu properly, you wouldn’t want to stop using this character.
7Kamisato Ayato
Introduced in Version 2.6,Kamisato Ayato is known for his excellent damage outputand unique move sets. Ayato’s Elemental Skill, which is his main focus, allows him to enter the Takimeguri Kanka state, dealing with swift attacks that convert Normal Attack DMG into AOE Hydro DMG. Ayato can deal with up to 15 attacks and generate Namisen stacks in this state, increasing his DMG output.
However, Ayato’s abilities as a sub-DPS are limited due to his high Energy cost, and he needs to be more capable of dealing with high-damage single-strike attacks. Overall, Ayato’s significant damage over time and unique move sets make him a great addition to any party, particularly when facing mobs or clearing domains.
6Sangonomiya Kokomi
Kokomi is one of the characters in the game who weren’t as good when they were first released, but they entered the meta aftercertain gameplay changes, which is the introduction of Dendro for her. Her Elemental Skill, Kurage’s Oath, summons a Bake-Kurage that heals nearby allies and applies Hydro DMG to nearby opponents.
Her Elemental Burst lets her heal the entire party while she can also walk on water. Apart from the healing, the main reason to use Kokomi in any party is her high Hydro application. She can easily be the reaction trigger for any type of reaction while also keeping your team alive.
5Nilou
Nilou is a 5-star sword-wielding characterwho’s mainly a sub-DPS to use off-field. Her powerful ability, Bountiful Cores, deals massive AoE damage but is limited to a party consisting of only Dendro and Hydro characters. This made her a little niche at her launch but with time, new characters have made her far more viable.
you’re able to now easily create a Hydro and Dendro party with a healer/shielder, buffer, DPS, andNilou. As long as you have enough application for both the elements in the team, you’ll constantly see high damage numbers with her. The best part about her kit is that she doesn’t need to build much Crit.
