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She follows in the footsteps of her father and became a member of the Church of Favonius. Barbara was once drowning in the shadow of her sister, but she never gave up. Her heart is filled with determination to help people, and she hopes that eventually, she can help her sister too. Here are some mistakes to avoid as the player takes Barbara along that journey.

Updated September 25, 2021 by Nahda Nabiilah:Genshin Impact 2.1 comes with a new Hydro healer, Sangonomiya Kokomi. This 5-star character has a large amount of healing on her elemental skill, similar to Barbara. However, unlike Barbara, Kokomi requires field time to heal on her elemental burst.

This also allows Kokomi to take the Sub-DPS role. Because of this, it’s arguable to say that Kokomi is a replacement for Barbara. Barbara is a pure healer support that won’t work optimally as a damage dealer. Other than thinking Barbara is a budget Kokomi, here are some other mistakes players can make with the idol of Mondstadt.

14 Using Her as a Main or Sub DPS

Any character can be a DPS with the right overpowered artifacts and weapons, but that’s not Barbara’s role. Her skill and her burst are specifically designed to be the party’s healer, offering little or no damage.

Any catalyst user can out damage her, along with most of the available characters. Barbara is best played as a healer and a tank, where her burst can be an emergency button for its i-frame and instant healing. Her healing is amazing both in single-player and in co-op, where she can heal characters to full HP with a press of a button.

13 Upgrading Her Normal Attack Talent “Whisper of Water”

Upgrading characters’ talents are crucial to fulfilling their roles, but players must do so on their most effective and beneficial talents. Some players might upgrade Barbara’s talents randomly, boosting her normal attack in the process.

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Her burst and elemental skill are the keys to doing a perfect job in her team, so players should focus on upgrading those. The higher their level, the better Barbara performs as a healer. Her normal attack, on the other hand, doesn’t add anything to her kit, so it’s better to leave it untouched.

12 Building Energy Recharge

Barbara is a pure healer with her elemental skill and burst. However, similar to other healers like Qiqi and Sangonomiya Kokomi, Barbara also has an energy issue. Like Qiqi, Barbara doesn’t produce elemental particles with her elemental skill. This may lead to players thinking that they need to build Barbara with Energy Recharge.

Even though Barbara has an energy problem, her healing from her skill is more than enough. Her burst is mostly used as a panic button, and it’s unnecessary to focus on it. Instead, it’s better for players to stack up on HP for the Deaconess.

11 Underestimating Her Constellations

Barbara’s constellation is highly common among the player base. While it certainly sucks to get duplicates once players have maxed her constellation, Barbara shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The first constellation helps Barbara with her energy problem, where she regenerates 1 energy every 10 seconds. Barbara’s C2 is a great addition for Hydro DPS, as the Deaconess grants a 15% Hydro damage bonus when her elemental skill is active. However, the most important addition lies in her C6. With it, Barbara can revive a fallen character. This is extremely handy for content that restricts the use of foods, like Spiral Abyss.

10 Not Using Her Against Corrosion

Spiral Abyss is constantly changing with the new versions of the game. Usually, they’re catered to benefit players who pull for the newest characters of the banner. Genshin Impact 2.1 is no different.

In version 2.1, comes a brand new debuff that is meant to make healing relevant. Floor 11 of the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact 2.1 has a corrosion debuff. This debuff continuously drops all characters’ HP, making it essential to have a healer in the team. This debuff bypass shield and can’t be handled by minor healers like Xingqiu. Using dedicated healers like Barbara, Qiqi, or Bennett will be a major help.

9 Using The Wrong Artifact Sets

Emblem of Severed Fate is a new artifact set in Genshin Impact 2.0. The 2-set effect of this artifact grants a +20% Energy Recharge to the user. This set is easily a new favorite for support characters that rely on their elemental burst. However, Barbara isn’t one of them.

For Barbara to heal effectively, it’s better for players to build HP and Healing Bonus. Therefore, players should opt for Maiden Beloved and Tenacity of the Millelith. Furthermore, players should also avoid the Hydro artifact, Heart of Depth, as it’s meant for DPS characters.

8 Using Her Skill While Cryo Enemies Are Around

Barbara’s skill applies the Wet status to her and any character she switches to. Cryo enemies can cause characters with this status to become Frozen, rendering them immobile and vulnerable to the attacks that follow.

It is best to avoid using this skill until the player has dealt with any Cryo enemies. In a critical situation where Barbara’s burst is unavailable, players can keep her on the field to tank incoming damage while healing her whole party.

7 Giving Her a 5-Star Catalyst

Barbara’s healing scales with her HP, and she doesn’t need much else when it comes to stat boosts. Any weapon equipped to her should have HP as a secondary stat. Energy Recharge is a decent alternative, but HP remains the highest priority.

5-star catalysts will be a waste for Barbara if she’s built as a healer. Her damage will still be abysmal and her healing will be reduced as well. This lowers her supportive potential and is thus not recommended. Of course, it’s a viable choice if players choose to build her as a DPS.

6 Not Leveling Her Enough

It is common for players to keep their support at a lower level. However, for some characters, leveling is crucial. For example, Albedo can’t function properly without the proper level because he needs the base defense. The same applies to Barbara. She needs HP for her healing abilities, and her level is the only source of base HP.

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Additionally, due to how damage calculation works in Genshin Impact, Barbara will take more damage at a lower level. Not leveling her will also restrict her talent, reducing her healing capabilities.

5 Not Using Her to Break Pyro Shields

When going against Fatui Skirmishers or Abyss Mages, players need to break their shields before they can deal proper damage. Pyroslinger Bracers and Pyro Abyss Mages require Hydro attacks to break their shields quickly. The same can be said for the Pyro Regisvines.

Some players tend to use Barbara as a healer and bring another Hydro character for that job, but this is unnecessary. Elemental shields break based on the number of hits and their element, and not based on the character’s attack. Despite low damage, Barbara is more than enough.

4 Choosing Other Healers When Using a Hydro DPS

Barbara is amazing at her job, and players can obtain her for free. This accessibility makes her one of the most used healers.

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Some players tend to bring different elements into a team, so they wouldn’t pair a Hydro DPS with Barbara. The truth is, though, Barbara isn’t at all a bad choice. Having two Hydro characters increases incoming healing by 30%. Additionally, if players have a C2 Barbara, her Melody Loop will increase the active character’s Hydro damage by 15%.

3 Not Using Her Skill to Apply Wet Status

Barbara’s Melody Loop doesn’t only apply the “Wet” status on her and the active character. She can also use it to apply the element on enemies. To do this, players will have to stand close enough to the enemies for her loop to hit them.

This feature is actually more useful than it may seem. For example, it can be used to easily deal Electro-Charged with Electro characters, or cause Freeze with Cryo characters. This skill also damages nearby enemies upon cast, if only a tiny amount.

2 Not Using Her Skill to Reduce Stamina Consumption

Barbara’s skill doesn’t only offer healing for the active character, but her first passive, “Glorious Season” also reduces the stamina consumption by 12%. This stamina reduction comes in handy frequently. Players can reduce the stamina of their dash when they dodge, and when using charged attack.

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It’s even useful outside battle. Barbara can reduce stamina consumption while sprinting, gliding, swimming, and even climbing, allowing your party to travel faster and more safely at the same time.

1 Not Using Thrilling Tales or Prototype Amber

Barbara is a catalyst user. Among the catalysts, there’s a 3-star weapon that’s capable of making any catalyst character the ultimate support, Thrilling Tales of Dragons Slayer. This weapon can easily be obtained through gacha, and at refinement rank 5, it can boost the attack of players’ DPS by 48%.

Not only an amazing buff, but Thrilling Tales also has HP as its secondary stat. This makes it a perfect match for Barbara’s healing. Prototype Amber also provides HP as a secondary stat and regenerates a total of 12 energy and 12% HP to all party members after Barbara uses her burst.

Genshin Impact releases on September 28 for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5, with a Switch version in development.

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