Genshin Impact Version 3.1 is out in full swing and players are busy with all kinds of things including doing the new Archon Quests, exploring the Sumeru Desert map and lastly farming and testing out the brand new characters- Cyno and Candace. Unfortunately for Candace, she didn’t receive the same love as Cyno upon her release and for good reason.
In this article we’ll discuss a basic breakdown of her kit and talents, give a comprehensive guide on how to build her and tell our readers why she isn’t worth the investment yet in Version Update 3.1 of Genshin Impact.
Candace’s Basic Kit and Talents
Candace was leaked to be an HP-scaling Hydro support unit that could buff NAs of other team members. Her Hydro infusion from her elemental burst was one of the highlights of her kit and players thought it would allow for some interesting playstyles and team comps.
Candace’s normal attacks (NAs) have painfully low damage scaling so they are not even worth the glance. Her E skill which was thought to have been similar to Beidou’s is much underwhelming in comparison due to her low damage numbers. Both Beidou’s E and Candace’s E have a Press and Hold function but while Beidou manages to do an AoE attack in both forms, Candace only manages an AoE Hydro attack in her Hold form. In her Press form, her E only gets her to lunge forward dealing Hydro DMG.
Candace will be mainly used for her elemental burst which infuses any sword, polearm or claymore wielding character with Hydro for the duration of her burst. This could allow for some interesting combinations and team comps such as an Electrocharged Burst Razor.
One of her ascension passives decreases the charging duration of her E skill for maximum damage and it procs just when she’s hit by an enemy in that state. Her other ascension passive increases the buff to NAs of her teammates based on every 1000 points of her HP. Her basic passive talent decreases climbing stamina which could be catered for the Desert landscape.
How to Build Candace in Genshin Impact 3.1
Since Candace scales off of HP, her build is really simple and versatile. Other than HP, the only other stat you’ll need for her kit is Energy Recharge (ER) since her burst is her main source of damage. Only after these two stats have been secured can you now focus on getting some EM since we are in Sumeru and we know she’ll be mainly used for reactions.
Artifacts
Candace doesn’t have a dedicated best-in-slot artifact set as her kit’s main function is to give Hydro infusion to her teammates. The artifact stat preferences are as follows:
- ER% or HP% Sands
- HP% Goblet
- HP% Circlet
Her current best-in-slots also happen to be the best sets for any support character:
- Noblesse Oblige
- Emblem of Severed Fate
Both of these above sets seek to buff her burst damage which is the main part of her kit. Buffing her burst would mean your Hydro-infused characters from her burst will now deal more damage.
Incidentally, if you think she’s still lacking in decent HP, then you can comfortably use a 2-pc Tenacity of Millelith and a 2-pc Emblem set to give her a reliable role in your party.
Weapons
Just like her artifact preferences, her main needs are ER% and HP%. Her best weapons thus are as follows:
- Engulfing Lightning
- Skyward Spine
- The Catch
- Prototype Starglitter
- Favonius Lance
- Black Tassel
Her best F2P option from an ER perspective is most definitely The Catch. We don’t really recommend the 5-star weapons since they are much better used on other units instead. The Black Tassel remains her best-in-slot F2P HP weapon even if it’s a 3-star weapon.
Why Candace Isn’t Worth Pulling in Genshin Impact Version 3.1
High expectations aside, Candace’s low scaling has disappointed players immensely and her flawed kit shines brightly in contrast to Genshin’s early game 4-stars who now seem like 5-stars in comparison. As predicted, she will most likely go on to join Genshin’s recent string of weak and disappointing 4-star characters who have niche uses.
That said, on a more positive note, it’s only been the first day of her release and we’re only two patches into Sumeru. There’s a chance for her to shine with a future character who might be able to utilise her kit more. Most players are still trying to figure her out and this trial and error might also eventually lead us to surprisingly synergistic existing characters who go well with her kit.
We all remember how even Kuki Shinobu received a bad response upon her release but once Sumeru dropped in Version 3.0, her viability and status in the meta quickly rose. Even though she still isn’t a meta character, she’s still a very good and viable character in the Dendro meta.
It’s certainly sad that despite her amazing character design, most players will skip her due to her bad kit and they are right to do so. At least we can take comfort in knowing that the Genshin Impact devs know what they are doing and therefore there’s still a very high chance for her to come out as a really good character with future characters or with existing characters as more players try and test her out.