Want to learn how to create the best build for Candace in Genshin Impact? It’s fair to say that two years after its initial release, Genshin Impact has loads and loads of playable characters. However, there are still some weapon/element combinations that haven’t been represented yet, and so it’s exciting whenever we get a new character like Candace: Genshin’s first ever Hydro polearm wielder!
Since she’s available at a 4-star rarity, the odds are good that you’ll soon have a copy of Candace in your archive. So read on for details of the best build we’ve seen for her so far, including her best weapons, artifacts, party members, and more.
How to build Candace as a sub-DPS in Genshin Impact
Best weapon: Staff of Homa
4-star alternative: The Catch
The best 5-star weapon for Candace’s build is the Staff of Homa, since it plays well with Candace’s preference for her HP stat. This polearm increases base health by 20%, then provides an ATK bonus equal to 0.8% of Candace’s Max HP. If Candace’s health drops below 50%, the ATK bonus increases by a further 1% of her Max HP until she heals up.
However, it’s not always realistic to equip a 4-star support character with a 5-star weapon. Fortunately, there are plenty of 4-star polearms that suit Candace’s build. The Catch is one such option: easily obtained through Genshin’s fishing mini-game, it provides generous bonuses to Candace’s elemental DMG (+16% to Burst DMG and +6% to Burst CRIT Rate).
Best artifacts: Heart of Depth
Candace’s best 4-to-5-star artifact set is undoubtedly the Heart of Depth, since the two-piece set bonus grants her a nifty +15% Hydro DMG bonus. Moreover, at four pieces, this set provides a useful bonus to Candace’s elemental skill: after triggering the skill, her Normal and Charged ATK DMG is increased by 30% for 15 seconds.
Aim for the following stats and substats to best support this Candace build:
- Circlet of Logos: CRITs
- Sands of Eon: HP
- Goblet of Eonothem: Hydro DMG Bonus
- Substats: Energy Recharge, HP, CRITs
Talent priority: Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide (Elemental Burst)
Secondary: Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum (Elemental Skill)
As with most elemental DPS and sub-DPS builds, Candace’s elemental talents should take high priority over her normal attacks. Her elemental burst is her most powerful feature, but her elemental skill doesn’t lag far behind and certainly shouldn’t be neglected. Note that her elemental talents both scale purely off of her HP, so it’s important to pay attention to other factors in this build which work to increase that stat.
Here’s a full list of Candace’s talents and what they do:
- Gleaming Spear: Guardian Stance (Normal Attack):
- Normal Attack: Candace performs up to four consecutive spear strikes.
- Charged Attack: Candace consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to enemies along the way.
- Plunging Attack: Candace plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
- Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum (Elemental Skill): Tap to have Candace rush forward with her shield, dealing Hydro DMG to opponents in front of her. Hold to have Candace raise her shield to block incoming attacks from nearby opponents, forming a barrier that absorbs DMG based on her Max HP and absorbs Hydro DMG 250% more effectively. This barrier lasts until the Elemental Skill is unleashed. After holding for a certain period of time, Candace will finish charging, and when the skill button is released, the skill duration expires, or when the barrier is broken, she will perform a leaping strike that deals Hydro DMG to opponents in front of her.
- Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide (Elemental Burst): Raising her weapon high, Candace calls upon a divine blessing that deals AoE Hydro DMG based on her Max HP and continuously confers the Prayer of the Crimson Crown on your active character. This effect has the following properties: characters deal increased Elemental DMG with their Normal Attacks; whenever a character takes the field, they will unleash a rippling wave of water that deals Hydro DMG to nearby opponents; there is a limited number of waves that can be triggered in the duration of this skill. Sword, Claymore, and Polearm-wielding characters under this effect will obtain a Hydro Infusion.
- To Dawn’s First Light (Utility Passive): Decreases climbing Stamina consumption for your own party members by 20%. (Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects.)
- Aegis of Crossed Arrows (1st Ascension Passive): If Candace is hit by an attack in the Hold duration of her Elemental Skill, the skill will finish charging instantly.
- Celestial Dome of Sand (4th Ascension Passive): Characters affected by the Prayer of the Crimson Crown caused by Candace’s Elemental Burst will deal 0.5% increased DMG to opponents for every 1,000 points of Candace’s Max HP when they deal Elemental DMG with their Normal Attacks.
Party composition
- Main DPS: Kaeya
- Sub-DPS: Candace
- Sub-DPS/Support: Shikanoin Heizou
- Healer/Support: Kuki Shinobu
5-star alternative: Kamisato Ayaka replacing Kaeya as DPS
This team composition focuses primarily on the Freeze reaction, which can be spread across a wide area using a combination of Hydro, Cryo, and Anemo elemental talents. Pair Candace with a swift Cryo DPS — Kaeya is a great F2P option, while Kamisato Ayaka is one of the best options in the game if you have access to some 5-stars. Shikanoin Heizou brings the Anemo support to increase the area of the Freeze effect, and can also perform a secondary sub-DPS role thanks to his unique melee Catalyst kit.
I’ve chosen to round out this team with a healer who can also provide some more elemental reactions on the side. Kuki Shinobu is at her best as an off-field healer, and her Electro skill can deal continuous DMG while active and can trigger Electro-Charged and Superconduct recations for even more damage.
How to level up Candace in Genshin Impact
Ascension Materials
To fully ascend Candace, you’ll need the following materials:
| Ascension Level | Materials |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Varunada Lazurite Sliver, 3 Redcrests, 3 Faded Red Satins, and 20,000 Mora |
| 2 | 3 Varunada Lazurite Fragments, 10 Redcrests, 15 Faded Red Satins, 2 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 40,000 Mora |
| 3 | 6 Varunada Lazurite Fragments, 20 Redcrests, 12 Trimmed Red Silks, 4 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 60,000 Mora |
| 4 | 3 Varunada Lazurite Chunks, 30 Redcrests, 18 Trimmed Red Silks, 8 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 80,000 Mora |
| 5 | 6 Varunada Lazurite Chunks, 45 Redcrests, 12 Rich Red Brocades, 12 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 100,000 Mora |
| 6 | 6 Varunada Lazurite Gemstones, 60 Redcrests, 24 Rich Red Brocades, 20 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 120,000 Mora |
| Total | 1 Varunada Lazurite Sliver, 9 Varunada Lazurite Fragments, 9 Varunada Lazurite Chunks, 6 Varunada Lazurite Gemstones, 168 Redcrests, 18 Faded Red Satins, 30 Trimmed Red Silks, 36 Rich Red Brocades, 46 Light Guiding Tetrahedrons, and 420,000 Mora |
Note that Candace is a rare Genshin Impact character whose boss levelling materials come from a completely different source than her gemstone levelling materials. So you’ll need to tackle Hydro enemies for her gemstones and the Algorithm of Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network boss for her Light Guiding Tetrahedrons. Luckily, her other materials are abundant in Sumeru: tackle Eremine enemies for her red fabrics, gather Redcrest flowers in the wild, and you’ll be there in no time.
Talents
To fully level up one of Candace’s talents, you’ll need the following materials:
| Talent Level (+ required Ascension Level) | Materials |
|---|---|
| 2 (2) | 6 Faded Red Satins, 3 Teachings of Admonition, and 12,500 Mora |
| 3 (3) | 3 Trimmed Red Silks, 2 Guides to Admonition, and 17,500 Mora |
| 4 (3) | 4 Trimmed Red Silks, 4 Guides to Admonition, and 25,000 Mora |
| 5 (4) | 6 Trimmed Red Silks, 6 Guides to Admonition, and 30,000 Mora |
| 6 (4) | 9 Trimmed Red Silks, 9 Guides to Admonition, and 37,500 Mora |
| 7 (5) | 4 Rich Red Brocades, 4 Philosophies of Admonition, 1 Tears of the Calamitous God, and 120,000 Mora |
| 8 (5) | 6 Rich Red Brocades, 6 Philosophies of Admonition, 1 Tears of the Calamitous God, and 260,000 Mora |
| 9 (6) | 9 Rich Red Brocades, 12 Philosophies of Admonition, 2 Tears of the Calamitous God, and 450,000 Mora |
| 10 (6) | 12 Rich Red Brocades, 16 Philosophies of Admonition, 2 Tears of the Calamitous God, 1 Crown of Insight, and 700,000 Mora |
| Total | 6 Faded Red Satins, 22 Trimmed Red Silks, 31 Rich Red Brocades, 3 Teachings of Admonition, 21 Guides to Admonition, 38 Philosophies of Admonition, 6 Tears of the Calamitous God, 1 Crown of Insight, and 1,652,500 Mora |
You’ll need to collect all of this three times over if you want to triple-crown Candace; but fortunately, you probably don’t need to put a lot of time into developing her Normal Attack, so you can afford to let that one fall by the wayside if you start struggling for materials. Candace’s talent books are farmed from Sumeru’s Steeple of Ignorance domain on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Tears of the Calamitous God come from replaying The Shogun’s boss fight “End of the Oneiric Euthymia” at Lvl 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight can be obtained through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.
Constellations
Candace is a 4-star character, so odds are good you’ll end up pulling a few duplicates of her over time. Below are a list of all of Candace’s constellations, so you can decide whether they’re something you want to actively spend your wishes aiming for:
- Returning Heiress of the Scarlet Sands (C1): The duration of Prayer of the Crimson Crown effect triggered by Candace’s Elemental Burst is increased by 3 seconds.
- Moon-Piercing Brilliance (C2): When Candace’s Elemental Skill hits opponents, her Max HP will be increased by 20% for 15 seconds.
- Hunter’s Supplication (C3): Increases the level of Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide by 3, up to a maximum upgrade level of 15.
- Sentinel Oath (C4): Shortens the Hold cooldown of Candace’s Elemental Skill to be the same as that of the Tap cooldown.
- Heterochromatic Gaze (C5): Increases the level of Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum by 3, up to a maximum upgrade level of 15.
- The Overflow (C6): When characters (excluding Candace herself) affected by the Prayer of the Crimson Crown caused by her Elemental Burst deal Elemental DMG to opponents using Normal Attacks, an attack wave will be unleashed that deals AoE Hydro DMG equal to 15% of Candace’s Max HP. This effect can trigger once every 2.3 seconds and is considered Elemental Burst DMG.
How to get Candace in Genshin Impact
Candace is a 4-star character, which means that she’ll be joining the standard wish pool starting with the version after her introduction (in Candace’s case that means Version 3.2, expected around early November).
However, during her introductory phase, Candace is exclusively available as a promoted 4-star on the concurrent banners of Cyno and Venti. Those banners are running between September 28th and October 14th, so if you have some wishes saved up you want to put towards Candace, here’s your chance!
Now that you know all about Candace, be sure to take a look at our Genshin Impact character tier list to see how she ranks alongside the rest of the roster! Or if you need to save up a bit more before pulling for Candace in the gacha, have a look at our comprehensive guide to Genshin Impact’s various currencies, as well as our regularly-updated Genshin Impact codes page to help you score some free Primogems!
