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For the longest time, the Genshin Impact community had always been joking about how Hydro characters only come as premium 5-Star characters. Inazuma has come and gone, and not a single 4-Star Hydro character was introduced, that is, until the Sumeru update. Essentially breaking the long-time joke in the community, HoYoVerse finally decided to introduce us to Candace, a female desert-folk warrior and the first 4-star Hydro character released since launch.
As the guardian protector of the Aaru Village, Candace is known for her gentleness and benevolence as she welcomes any desert dwellers and visitors who seek refuge from the harshness of the desert. Despite this, she also has a reputation for being terrifying when angry; even desert-hardened Eremites were aware not to cross her line. Armed with a lance and shield and her Hydro vision, anyone who dares break the rules of Aaru Village or harms its people will definitely get washed off to meet their fate in the desert.
In this Candace Genshin Impact guide, we will explore the different sides of Candace as we discuss all of her playstyles and builds so that she may give you comfortable, enjoyable, and interesting gameplays as you venture out in Teyvat.
Best Artifact Set for Candace
Candace can have a lot of builds and play styles depending on her role on a team. Each of these roles has dedicated artifact sets and combinations, so we have listed some of the notable builds for her popular roles.
Heart of Depth
The Heart of Depth artifact set grants the following effects:
- 2-Piece Set: Hydro DMG Bonus +15%
- 4-Piece Set: After using Elemental Skill, increase Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG by 30% for 15s.
The Heart of Depth artifact set is a solid fit for DPS Candace who does have bigger Normal Attack multipliers than average for polearm users. If you’re having trouble getting a full set or want to play her as a sub-DPS instead, you can settle for artifact set combinations that can give her either Hydro DMG Bonus, HP%, or Elemental Mastery.
Noblesse Oblige
The Noblesse Oblige artifact set grants the following effects:
- 2-Piece Set: Elemental Burst DMG +20%.
- 4-Piece Set: Using an Elemental Burst increases all party members’ ATK by 20% for 12s. This effect cannot stack.
For a support role, the 4-piece set of the Noblesse Oblige is the most popular choice to empower her Elemental Burst’s Hydro infusion. The Noblesse Oblige artifact set will give the party a decent ATK buff just for casting her Elemental Burst, thereby increasing the team’s overall damage output.
Artifact Stats to Prioritize
Candace’s stat priority will vary from one role to the next, so as a rule of thumb, these are the stats that she would want to have:
- HP% / Energy Recharge (Sands or substats)
- CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG (Circlet and substats)
- HydroDMG Bonus (Goblet or substats)
- Elemental Mastery / ATK% (substats)
Most of Candace’s damage and buff scales come from her HP stat, so we mostly recommend HP% sands for her, though she can also use Energy Recharge sands to help her achieve a better uptime on her Elemental Burst. The more HP% she gets makes her more durable to tank tougher hits while also improving the buff she passes to her ally.
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If Candace ever decides to go on the offensive, investing in a balanced CRIT ratio can put some much-needed force behind her Burst and Skill damage. She can also be used in Vaporize or Bloom teams, so using a Hydro DMG Bonus goblet or getting some Elemental Mastery substats will raise her damage numbers.
Best Weapons for Candace
Candace acts as Aaru Village’s guardian and protects her people with the use of her mighty spear and shield. While there’s no obtainable shield weapon in Genshin Impact (so far), there’s already a plethora of great polearms to choose from.
- Staff of Homa (CRIT DMG) – HP increased by 20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 0.8% of the wielder’s Max HP. When the wielder’s HP is less than 50%, this ATK Bonus is increased by an additional 1% of Max HP.
If the Staff of Homa worked for the HP-dependent Pyro DPS like Hu Tao, then it’s not surprising that it’ll be one of the best for an HP-dependent Hydro DPS like Candace. This limited 5-Star polearm grants a massive amount of CRIT DMG for its secondary stat and an additional HP% passive. Its weapon effect also translates a certain percentage of her health into more ATK.
- Staff of the Scarlet Sands (CRIT Rate) – The equipping character gains 52% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, the Dream of the Scarlet Sands effect will be gained for 10s: The equipping character will gain 28% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. Max 3 stacks.
Despite her 4-star rarity, Candace is actually seen wielding the Staff of the Scarlet Sands in her official trailer. Players who want to use her in an elemental reaction based team can get a lot of mileage from this weapon due to its high CRIT Rate stat and the ability to convert some of her Elemental Mastery into raw ATK, which can compensate for her low ATK stat without an ATK% boosting timepiece.
- Skyward Spine (Energy Recharge) – Increases CRIT Rate by 8% and increases Normal ATK SPD by 12%. Additionally, Normal and Charged Attacks hits on enemies have a 50% chance to trigger a vacuum blade that deals 40% of ATK as DMG in a small AoE. This effect can occur no more than once every 2s.
Candace’s Elemental Burst allows her allies to temporarily infuse their attacks with Hydro. In order to maintain this ability constantly, patching up her Energy Recharge with weapons like the Skyward Spine is the way to go. Skyward Spine also has the added benefits of slightly increasing her CRIT Rate and allowing her to move and attack faster during her burst’s duration.
Budget Alternatives
Life is hard in the desert, and Candace might not always have the best tools available for her at her disposal. These budget weapons, though slightly less rare and powerful, can still get the job done if used correctly.
- The Catch (Energy Recharge) – Increases Elemental Burst DMG by 16% and Elemental Burst CRIT Rate by 6%.
There’s not a single polearm in the game that is more budget-friendly than the aforementioned The Catch. Players can obtain this fantastic weapon and its refinements by doing a little bit of fishing. What makes The Catch a good catch for Candace is that it gives a massive boost to her Energy Recharge and improves her Elemental Burst damage via its effect.
- Black Tassel (HP%) – Increases DMG against slimes by 40%.
Don’t be fooled by the 3-Star weapon’s low base ATK. The Black Tassel’s secondary stat of HP% is more than enough to put it on par with other 4-star options. This free-to-play option is easily acquirable through wishes or by opening rare chests in the overworld.
- Dragon’s Bane (Elemental Mastery) – Increases DMG against enemies affected by Hydro or Pyro by 20%.
Much like Hu Tao, the Dragon’s Bane is the best 4-Star option for Candace if you want her to hone in on doing elemental reaction damage. It offers the best amount of Elemental Mastery from its secondary stat and synergizes well with Candace’s element, making this weapon perfect for Vaporize reactions.
Candace’s Talent Priorities
Her lineage to King Deshret bound her to the duty of acting as Aaru Village’s guardian even from a very young age. Years of training has made Candace a capable warrior of the sands who fulfills her duties with utmost care and competency. And if you want her to perform just as well on your team, level her skills accordingly.
- Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum (Elemental Skill) – This skill has a tap-and-hold version. If tapped, Candace will charge her shield forward, dealing Hydro damage to enemies hit. When held, Candace will raise her shield in a protective stance, which can absorb a certain amount of damage and charge up after a period of time. Once her shield reaches the damage cap or gets fully charged, Candace will do a leaping strike with her shield, dealing a massive burst of Hydro damage to everything in front of her. Generally, players maximize this skill first, as this is where you can get the most damage out of her.
- Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide (Elemental Burst) – Upon casting, Candace will deal damage to nearby enemies, grants her whole team bonus Elemental DMG on their Normal Attacks, and Hydro infusion to melee characters for 9 seconds. During the Elemental Burst duration, when switching characters, a wave of AoE will erupt from the character, dealing Hydro damage, which will only happen up to three times. All these damage scales from Candace’s max HP. If your focus is on supporting your main carries, maximizing this first is a good option.
- Gleaming Spear – Guardian Stance (Normal Attack) – Candace will perform 4 consecutive attacks with her polearm and shield, dealing Physical damage. When held, Candace will consume a certain amount of stamina and dash forward, dealing a bigger Physical damage. While most players wouldn’t bother leveling up Normal Attack for support characters, if you want to do the DPS build, it is important to level this skill as well.
Just like other counter-attack abilities such as Yun Jin and Beidou’s Elemental Skill, timing Candace’s skill to perfectly parry an enemy’s attack will automatically unleash the fully charged version of her Skill and deal its maximum damage. Candace has yet another passive that increases the Elemental DMG bonus given to the whole team’s Normal Attacks based on her max HP aside from her Elemental Burst’s effect. Additionally, this bonus Elemental DMG on Normal Attack counts for Bow and Catalyst users as well.
Candace Team Comp
Candace can fit into many teams that are in need of Hydro or Elemental-based normal attackers. As a Hydro character, she is given access to team combinations such as vaporize teams, bloom teams, infusion teams, or freeze teams. From Genshin Impact’s diverse roster of characters, here are the ones that synergize with Candace the best.
- Ayato (Hydro DPS that Candace can amplify its Normal Attack DMG and Hydro resonance)
- Yelan (Off-field Hydro sub-DPS, damage amplifier, and Hydro resonance)
- Diluc (He can self-vaporize using his Skills and with Candace’s Hydro infusion)
- Bennett (Pyro support, teamwide ATK buffer, and healer)
- Xiangling (Off-field Pyro applier and Pyro sub-DPS for Vaporize reactions)
- Wanderer (As an on-field DPS catalyst, Candace’s buff can easily amplify his normal attacks)
- Yaoyao (Off-field Dendro applier and healer)
- Dendro Traveler (F2P Bloom enthusiast and Dendro applier)
Vaporize teams offer Candace the most limelight as a Hydro DPS. Support her with Pyro characters that are able to consistently apply Pyro, and Anemo characters that can amplify the reaction through Swirl and resistance shred. After you’ve set your enemies ablaze with the supports, Candace can come in to quell the fire with her Hydro-infused Charged attacks to inflict consistent big Vaporize multipliers. Players can also run her with another Hydro character to gain access to Hydro Resonance which will increase her HP even more. Regardless of her role, enemies would be wise not to incur this benevolent protector’s wrath.
