KEY POINTS

  • Barbara is an effective healer even with low investment
  • The Ocean-Hued Clam set allows Barbara to deal damage while healing
  • Barbara can deal a surprising amount of damage when built properly

When it comes to Sub-DPS units, Barbara isn’t exactly the first character to come into mind. Even though she’s primarily built and used as a healer, she can deal a surprising amount of damage on top of doing her regular patch-up duty when equipped with the right weapons and artifacts.

Barbara is admittedly overshadowed by Kokomi, who is a 5-star Hydro healer, but she can still fit into teams that require Hydro application and potent HP restoration. With the many new items added throughout the recent patch versions, Barbara has gained some interesting new builds that players may want to try out.

New Barbara Builds For Version 2.4

Simply put, the usual builds for Kokomi can be quite effective on Barbara as well. This is because both characters use their maximum HP to boost their healing effectiveness. Focusing on HP usually means sacrificing DPS, but this isn’t exactly the case for Barbara, thanks to the Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set.

Barbara's Charged Attacks heal allies if her Elemental Skill is active
Barbara's Charged Attacks heal allies if her Elemental Skill is active Genshin Impact

The 4-piece bonus of this artifact set spawns Sea-Dyed Foam whenever the user heals somebody. Once on the field, the Foam charges up a big burst of damage based on the amount of healing done by its user. The more Barbara heals within the three seconds that the Foam is active, the more damage the Foam’s explosion will do.

Barbara heals allies every time she attacks while her Elemental Skill is active; this healing is four times more effective when she uses Charged Attacks. Paired with her Elemental Burst, which heals all party members at once, she can generate healing for the Sea-Dyed Foam to deal huge bursts of damage. Once the Foam is active, use her ultimate then spam Charged Attacks until the explosion triggers.

Best Weapons And Team Comps

Ideally, Barbara should be paired with a shielder like Zhongli or Albedo. Her Elemental Skill applies the Wet status to any active character, which can result in players getting freeze-locked or repeatedly electro-charged. Elemental shields will help against this.

As for weapons, Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers is still the best for support-focused characters. For those who want to deal more upfront damage while using Barbara’s Charged Attacks, use Eye of the Storm or Everlasting Moonglow.

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