Ayaka is a Cryo Sword DPS that relies on a Cryo Elemental Infusion to convert all her Normal and Charged Attacks from Physical DMG into Cryo DMG.
Despite having such an easily accessible Normal Attack infusion, the part of her kit that’s much more utilized is her Elemental Burst, which has the potential to inflict a metric ton of DMG to enemies unlucky enough to be stuck in its path for the entire duration. Because her damage isn’t split between Cryo and Physical, as is the case with most other Cryo characters, Ayaka has the potential to be one of the strongest damage dealers in the entire game.
To realize this potential, however, you’ll need to build her properly and utilize her kit optimally. This is done though:
- Talent prioritization
- Constellation evaluation
- Weapon choices
- Optimal artifacts
- Synergistic teams
In this Ayaka build guide, we’ll covering everything you need to know to optimize her DMG, starting with the talents.
Table of ContentsShow
Ayaka’s Talent Priority
| Talent | Description | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack (Kamisati Art: Kabuki) | Normal Attack: • Perform up to 5 rapid strikes. Charged Attack: • Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to unleash a flurry of sword ki. Plunging Attack: • Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging enemies along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact. | Ayaka gets most of her DMG from her Burst, but Normal and Charged Attacks are a close second. If you’re running her as a main DPS, this Talent takes priority number 2. Sub-DPS Ayaka won’t have the chance to perform many Normal Attacks, in which case this talent takes priority number 3. |
| Elemental Skill (Kamisato Art: Hyouka) | Summons blooming ice to launch nearby opponents, dealing AoE Cryo DMG. | This Elemental Skill is mostly used for its utility – freezing enemies or applying Cryo to them and generating Cryo Elemental particles. In terms of DMG, it’s substantial. You don’t get much mileage in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly adds up. For main DPS Ayaka, you should level this talent up as much as you can, understanding that it’s not a priority. For sub-DPS Ayaka, this talent gets priority number 2. |
| Elemental Burst (Kamisato Art: Soumetsu) | Summons forth a snowstorm with flawless poise, unleashing a Frostflake Seki no To that moves forward continuously. Frostflake Seki no To • A storm of whirling icy winds that slashes repeatedly at every enemy it touches, dealing Cryo DMG • The snowstorm explodes after its duration ends, dealing AoE Cryo DMG. | Even a main DPS Ayaka who takes every opportunity to attack with her weapons will find that most of her overall DMG comes from her Burst. Regardless of whether you’re running Ayaka as a main DPS or a sub-DPS, this talent takes priority number 1. |
| Alternate Sprint (Kamisato Art: Senho) | Ayaka consumes Stamina and cloaks herself in a frozen fog that moves with her. In Senho form, she moves swiftly upon water. When she reappears, the following effects occur: • Ayaka unleashes frigid energy to apply Cryo on nearby opponents. • Coldness condenses around Ayaka’s blade, infusing her attacks with Cryo for a brief period. | Ayaka is only the second character ever to feature an Alternate Sprint mechanic. Mechanically speaking, this is the one and only thing that can turn players away from Ayaka, as Mona’s Alternate Sprint has already proven to be excellent for exploration but clunky for combat. And you will have to use it in combat to get the Cryo infusion. This talent cannot be leveled up. |
Ayaka’s Passive Talents
| Talent Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Fruits of Shinsa | When Ayaka crafts Weapon Ascension Materials, she has a 10% chance to receive double the product. | This is free Resin. You can’t go wrong with free Resin. |
| Amatsumi Kunitsumi Sanctification | After using Kamisato Art: Hyouka, Ayaka’s Normal and Charged Attacks deal 30% increased DMG for 6s. | This is a massive DMG buff. If you cast Hyouka as soon as you leave your Alternate Sprint, the DMG buff will last roughly as long as the Cryo infusion. |
| Kanten Senmyou Blessing | When the Cryo application at the end of Kamisato Art: Senho hits an opponent, Kamisato Ayaka gains the following effects: • Restores 10 Stamina • Gains 18% Cryo DMG Bonus for 10s. | Stamina management is one of the most important aspects of combat. If this only restored the stamina needed to apply the Cryo infusion, it still would’ve been amazing. But on top of that, it gives a sizeable Cryo DMG buff. Overall, it’s just an amazing talent. |
With her passive talents going all-in on DMG, Ayaka is easily one of the best DPS units in the entire game. Ganyu can still outdamage her in a vacuum, but in practice, Ganyu’s squishiness and the time needed to charge her Charged Shots makes her an unreliable source of DMG.
Meanwhile, the DMG Ayaka provides is comparably high but much more reliable. Being tied to her Burst, her DMG output isn’t as consistent as Ganyu‘s, but this is nothing that a solid team can’t fix. We’ll go over just which teams work best for Ayaka in a second, but before that, let’s take a look at whether or not her constellations are worth pursuing.
Ayaka’s Constellations
| Constellation Name | Description | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Snowswept Sakura | When Kamisato Ayaka’s Normal or Charged Attacks deal Cryo DMG to opponents, it has a 50% chance of decreasing the CD of Kamisato Art: Hyouka by 0.3s. This effect can occur once every 0.1s. | C1 lets Ayaka generate more particles for herself by casting her Elemental Skill more often. It’s neat if you don’t feel like running a Cryo battery, but remember that your battery also inadvertently gives you CRIT Rate via the Cryo Resonance. Unless you’re gunning for other constellations, this one isn’t worth getting on its own. |
| Blizzard Blade Seki no To | When casting Kamisato Art: Soumetsu, unleash 2 smaller additional Frostflake Seki no To, each dealing 20% of the original storm’s DMG. | C2 makes it easier to hit with Ayaka’s Burst, which already has insane DMG. That said, you still want to prioritize hitting the right target with your main Seki no To. Nevertheless, C2 is a powerful constellation, as increasing the AoE on such an incredible ability is nothing short of amazing. |
| Frostbloom Kamifubuki | Increases the Level of Kamisato Art: Soumetsu by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | It’s nice that C3 increases Ayaka’s Elemental Burst rather than her Elemental Skill, as this is where a large chunk of her DMG potential lies. And C3 is a huge DMG boost. |
| Ebb and Flow | Opponents damaged by Kamisato Art: Soumetsu’s Frostflake Seki no To will have their DEF decreased by 30% for 6s. | DEF debuffs are rare in this game and therefore incredibly valuable. While not as exciting or flashy as Ayaka’s second and final constellation, C4 may well be her most powerful constellation. |
| Blossom Cloud Irutsuki | Increases the Level of Kamisato Art: Hyouka by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | C5 feels like Ayaka’s most underwhelming constellation. It’s extra DMG, sure, but it’s just not worth the price of admission. |
| Dance of Suigetsu | Kamisato Ayaka gains Usurashi Butou every 10s, increasing her Charged Attack DMG by 298%. This buff will be cleared 0.5s after Ayaka’s Charged ATK hits an opponent, after which the timer for this ability will restart. | In Closed Beta Test 2, Ayaka had an assassination ability that could instantly eliminate enemies below a certain HP threshold. This constellation seems to emulate this idea in a more balanced manner. C6 is fun and flavourful but not all really impactful. |
All of Ayaka’s constellations improve her overall DMG. C2, C3, and C4 is arguably the most important ones, all significantly boosting her Burst DMG output.
But Ayaka isn’t lacking in the damage department. So please don’t be tempted by her constellations unless you’re a whale to whom money is of no concern whatsoever.
Even then, C4 seems like a great stopping point, even for those who don’t mind the exorbitant price of 5* constellations.
Just remember that none of these constellations offer more value than a brand new 5* character at C0. This is especially true for newer players who don’t have a solid roster of 5* characters.
Sure, Ayaka ranks in the S-Tier in our Genshin Impact Tier List, but there are many other 5* character keeping her company. Each one of them is infinitely more valuable than any one of Ayaka’s constellations.
Best Weapons For Ayaka
| Weapon Rarity | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Mistsplitter Reforged 5* | Ayaka is all about dealing Elemental DMG, and no sword even comes close to boosting Elemental DMG as much as Mistsplitter Reforged. This is unequivocally her BiS weapon. While great one many characters thanks to its high base ATK and CRIT DMG substat, only Ayaka can make the best use of its passive. |
| Skyward Blade 5* | Skyward Blade is seen as a meme weapon by most of the community, but Ayaka can make excellent use of its kit. She needs the copious amounts of Energy Recharge it provides, and as a main DPS, she can make decent use of the passive. That being said, even many of the 4* weapons featured on this list will give you more overall DMG than Skyward Blade. |
| Jade Cutter 5* | Jade Cutter is just a generically great sword. Everyone wants CRIT Rate and everyone can make use of extra ATK based on Max HP. That being said, Jade Cutter offers so much CRIT Rate that it’s easy to go above 100% if you’re also using her BiS artifact set. So, while Jade Cutter is an amazing weapon, keep in mind that some of its stats can be wasted on Ayaka, depending on how favorable CRIT Rate substats were to you while leveling artifacts. |
| Black Sword 4* | Black Sword features CRIT Rate and a DMG buff to Normal and Charged Attacks. Main DPS Ayaka can make great use of both of these stats. Again, be wary of having too much CRIT Rate though, as that will significantly reduce the value of this weapon. |
| Amenoma Kageuchi 4* | The new Inazuma craftable sword was simply made for Ayaka. Its base ATK might be low, but the ATK% substat scaling is massive. And she can make full use of the passive to regain a hefty chunk of her Energy whenever she casts her 80 Energy Burst. At r1 it’s not all that amazing, but if you’ve got billets to spare and refine this weapon a couple of times, you’ll find it to be her BiS 4* option. |
| Blackcliff Longsword 4* | As a F2P player, your other reliable option is the Starglitter exclusive Blackcliff Longsword. Sure, its passive can’t be counted on when facing solo Bosses, but the CRIT DMG substat is incredible, especially on a Cryo DPS who can naturally get a high CRIT Rate without relying on weapons or artifact stats. |
Best Artifacts For Ayaka – 4-Piece Blizzard Strayer
When running Ayaka as a main DPS, you should focus on obtaining artifacts with the following main stats:
- ATK% on the Sands
- Cryo DMG on the Goblet
- CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate on the Logos
In terms of substats, you’re looking for:
- CRIT DMG
- CRIT Rate
- ATK%
- Energy Recharge.
As far as artifact set bonuses go, Ayaka shines the most with a 4-Piece Blizzard Strayer set bonus. This will give her extra Cryo DMG in addition to increasing her CRIT Rate by a significant amount.
Against Frozen enemies and with the Cryo Resonance enabled, Ayaka will have 60% CRIT Rate without receiving any additional CRIT Rate from her weapon and artifacts! This is why we’ve mentioned having more than 100% CRIT Rate is a real concern for Ayaka when using certain weapons.
The best way to ensure Ayaka’s Burst sticks to enemies is by Freezing them, so this set bonus already plays into her strengths. Normally, we’d say that substats and more important than set bonuses, but the 4-piece Blizzard Strayer set bonus is so good that this sentiment does not apply here.
So long as you’ve got the right main stats, it’s worth giving her this 4-piece set bonus even with lousy artifact substats.
However, if you don’t have a 4-piece Blizzard Strayer set for her, consider running a combination of 2-Piece Blizzard Strayer and 2-Piece Gladiator’s Finale or any other set bonus that gives +18% ATK. This set combination will yield more DMG against certain enemies that cannot be afflicted with Cryo.
Teambuilding Tips For Ayaka
Although Ayaka is powerful enough on her own that she can work well in any team, some Elements simply synergize better with her than others.
The Elements that work best with her are:
- Hydro: The best way to make sure Ayaka’s Burst hits the enemy is by Freezing them. So long as she has a source of Hydro, Ayaka can effortlessly keep enemies permafrozen.
- Anemo: The best way to buff Ayaka’s raw DMG output is by using an Anemo character with the 4-piece Viridescent Venerer set bonus to reduce the Cryo Resistance of enemies by 40%.
- Pyro: If you like playing around with Elemental Reactions, you can’t go wrong with Pyro characters to facilitate powerful Melt Reactions.
- Cryo: Surprisingly enough, one of the best Elements for supporting Ayaka is Cryo. Just having another Cryo character in the team will unlock the Cryo Resonance, increasing everyone’s CRIT Rate against enemies affected by Cryo by 15%.
This doesn’t mean that Geo and Electro characters don’t pair well with Ayaka. For example, Zhongli is an amazing Support in Ayaka teams for players who have trouble dodging with her Alternate Sprint. But he’s great because he’s Zhongli, rather than because he’s Geo.
Best Team Composition For Ayaka
Free-to-Play Freeze Ayaka
- Ayaka
- Xingqiu
- Sucrose
- Diona
Ayaka is the team’s main DPS, using the entirety of her kit to both deal DMG and apply Cryo to enemies.
Xingqiu is used to Freeze enemies that Ayaka applies Cryo to. On top of that, his Elemental Burst isn’t used only for utility. It deals a fair amount of Hydro DMG as well. Barbara and Mona can work as replacements, but they’re nowhere near as effective as Xingqiu is at applying Cryo off-field. So if you don’t have Xingqiu, maybe it’s best to try running the other F2P team we’ve prepared.
Sucrose is used to cluster enemies together, as well as to reduce their Cryo Resistance by a huge amount. As a Catalyst user, you can also give her the Thrilling Tales of the Dragonslayer weapon to hugely buff Ayaka’s ATK. If you don’t have Sucrose, any Anemo character will do. If you don’t have Diona and are therefore missing a healer, we highly recommend Sayu and Jean.
Diona is her to round out the team with her shielding and healing utility. Furthermore, she can also generate a ton of Cryo Energy, which Ayaka needs to maintain good uptime on her 80 Energy Burst. Last but not least, as the second Cryo character, she ensures access to the Cryo Resonance. Cryo Resonance is so good in this team that it’s worth running any Cryo character to get. So, if you don’t have Diona, consider using Rosaria, Kaeya, Chongyun, or even Qiqi.
Free-to-Play Melt Ayaka
- Ayaka
- Rosaria
- Bennett
- Xiangling
Ayaka is the main DPS of the team, cycling through her abilities and performing Cryo-infused Normal and Charged Attacks to create as many Melt Reactions as possible.
Rosaria is the team’s off-field Cryo DPS. Cryo Resonance isn’t as great in this team, but it still adds a lot of value. You can use any Cryo character instead, but we prefer Rosaria for her off-field DMG and the ability to give the team even more CRIT Rate.
Bennett is the best ATK buffer in the entire game. While he doesn’t do much DMG on his own, he well make sure that the rest of the team excels at what they do.
Xiangling is the team’s off-field Pyro DPS. She’ll provide the Pyro DMG needed to maintain a steady stream of Melt Reactions coming.
Whales Ayaka Team
- Ayaka
- Ganyu
- Mona
- Venti
The Ganyu/Venti/Mona tri-core is arguably the strongest team in the game, and Ayaka can slot into it quite nicely. If you feel like keeping Ayaka on the field longer, just run Ganyu as a Burst support. The only downside here is that Ayaka is the only non-essential part of this line-up. Regardless, if you’re looking to optimize your Ayaka experience, it doesn’t get any better than this.
Mona applies Hydro to enemies and increases the DMG they take. If you feel that this team is missing a healer, you can either replace Mona with Kokomi or replace Ganyu with Diona.
Ganyu keeps enemies frozen with her Burst. In this line-up, she’s the better on-field attacker than Ayaka.
Venti keeps the enemies in place with his Burst, setting up Ayaka’s Burst for maximum impact. Slap on a 4-piece Viridescent Venerer set bonus, and he’ll also massively increase the amount of Cryo DMG enemies take.
Is Ayaka Worth It?
In terms of her damage dealing capabilities, Ayaka is definitely worth it. She’s held her place in the S-Tier in our Tier List ever since her release.
However, Alternate Sprint is a mechanic that can make or break a character. It’s not an inherently bad feature, but it is different, and some players will bench her just because they don’t want to deal with it.
Therefore, we urge you to try her out first. So long as her banner is running, you will be able to use Ayaka’s Test Run. Do this multiple times, and instead of focusing on doing DMG, try using the Alternate Sprint as much as possible to see how you feel about it, especially for dodging.
If you find that this mechanic works for you, you’ll love using Ayaka. If not, don’t worry – if there’s one thing this game doesn’t lack it’s a wealth of amazing 5* characters.
