In this Candace Guide, we discuss the best weapon build and the best artifact build, and the best team comp for Candace in Genshin Impact.
More often than not, newly released 4-star characters change the landscape of the meta more frequently than 5-star characters. Whether that is due to their inherent accessibility, or Hoyoverse wanting this game to be as friendly to F2P players as possible, there’s one thing for sure: Candace can be a game-changer. Candace is the newest 4-star character arriving in version 3.1, and the first one in TWO YEARS who can bestow infusion to others, the same way Chongyun and Bennett can. In that way, even as a 4-star, Candace is already unique and secures her position in many team compositions in the game.
Candace Guide: Overview and Abilities
Candace is a 4-star polearm-wielding Hydro character who possesses high durability and can provide Hydro infusion and moderate Hydro application with her Elemental Burst. When built correctly, she can enhance the elemental damage of her allies’ normal attacks (her infusion cannot override the built-in infusion of others like Cyno), or even provide infusion for those who can synergize with her well, like Xingqiu, making her a powerful support, especially when paired to the correct partner and team composition.
Elemental Skill – Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum
Candace’s fighting style is capable of warding off an entire tide of foes.
Tap – Rushes forward with her shield, dealing Hydro DMG.
Hold – Raises 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.
Candace’s Elemental Skill is not too impressive, to be honest, and its main purpose is to generate Hydro energy for the team. However, her natural tankiness and this ability’s shield can be a matter of life or death in certain situations, especially when other characters in her team are not meant to take fatal damage.
Elemental Burst – Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide
Raising her weapon on 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.
Prayer of the Crimson Crown
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 character(s) under this effect will obtain a Hydro Infusion.
Hydro infusion can be a bit of a meme since Hydro usually exists as an aura for Vaporise to trigger, or to simply proc a bunch of Electro and Dendro reactions. However, things have changed now, since there is potential for certain characters when given the ability to coat their arms with water. Xingqiu can augment his already powerful Rain Swords with infused attacks, and even Bennett can slap hard Vaporizes from now on (hope you didn’t activate his 6th Constellation!)
Passive Talents
Aegis of Crossed Arrows
If Candace is hit by an attack in the Hold duration of Sacred Rite: Heron’s Sanctum, that skill will finish charging instantly.
Celestial Dome of Sand
Characters affected by the Prayer of the Crimson Crown caused by Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide 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.
The combination of these two passive talents allows Candace to support her teammates very well.
Breakpoint Constellation: Constellation 1
Returning Heiress of the Scarlet Sands
The duration of Prayer of the Crimson Crown effect triggered by Sacred Rite: Wagtail’s Tide is increased by 3s.
If you’re planning to commit to infusion comps with Candace, obtaining her first constellation is a necessity. It turns her middling 9-second infusion (against its 15-second CD), into an amazing 12 seconds of slappin’ wet action. Must get.
Candace Guide: Best Weapons for Candace
Favonius Lance – CRIT Hits have a 60% chance to generate a small amount of Elemental Particles, which will regenerate 6 Energy for the character. Can only occur once every 12 seconds.
It’s quite a shame that we still don’t have a “Sacrificial” weapon for polearms, which Candace would love to have. However, Favonius Lance is our next best option, thanks to its ER% substat, and the passive that grants extra particles to boost the team’s Energy sustain.
Black Tassel – Increases DMG against slimes by 40%.
We don’t care about the slime damage here, but rather the weapon’s substat, which can provide up to 47% bonus HP. For a pure support Candace, even HP is not much of a priority, but this weapon is incredibly accessible for the early game and lets her be a massive tank when times are dire.
Best Artifact Sets for Candace
2-Piece: Elemental Burst DMG +20%
4-Piece: Using an Elemental Burst increases all party members' ATK by 20% for 12s. This effect cannot stack.
In order to boost Candace’s support capabilities even further, Noblesse Oblige’s 12-second ATK boost perfectly lines up with the duration of her Hydro infusion so she can bring down an opponent's health down a notch before switching out to your main DPS.
2-Piece: Energy Recharge +20%
4-Piece: Using an Elemental Burst regenerates 2 Energy for all party members (excluding the wearer) every 2s for 6s. This effect cannot stack.
If you’re not really using Candace to grant infusion, or your team is still short on Energy most of the time, then this artifact set is a great band-aid solution for any energy problems you may encounter. However, if you're not using Candace for her infusion, then you might want to reconsider your team composition entirely.
Best Team Compositions for Candace
Pure Hydro Powerhouse Ayato – Recommended Formation: Candace, Ayato, Yun Jin, Kazuha/Zhongli
With the combination of Candace’s Burst passive and second talent, Ayato’s enhanced normal attacks get stronger by around 40%, which is calculated after resistance shred and Yun Jin’s bonuses. Her addition also allows activation of the new Hydro Resonance (+25% HP), which is a boon for Ayato, Candace, and Zhongli.
Xingqiu Carry – Recommended Formation: Candace, Xingqiu, Bennett (C1-C5), Kazuha
If you want to try something quite fun and potentially powerful, this is the time to whip out your best swords and suit them all up on Xingqiu. His powerful Rain Swords have always been a support tool for providing off-field Hydro application, but now that we have Hydro Infusion from Candace, no one can stop Xingqiu from being the DPS of our dreams.
Summary
Candace is another one among the list of Hydro characters that Hoyoverse is trying to sell, but her support abilities are unique enough to bring many eyes to her. Being one of the few characters that can do infusion while also being the first one in a long while, Candace definitely has a place in many teams that could use her niche abilities. However, it would be nice to see something new happen to Hydro, since they have been mostly just reaction supports or buffers to characters with stronger damage values. It might not be for Candace, but we hope so for the next Hydro characters to come out in Genshin Impact.
Candace debuts in Genshin Impact version 3.1, which will be coming out on September 28, 2022, as part of both Venti's re-run banner and Cyno‘s banner. These banners will be up until October 14, 2022.
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