Genshin Impact’s Ayaka is a five-star cryo sword wielder, heralded as one of the best DPS characters in the game. So let’s take a look at this graceful girl and how to best harness her power in our best Ayaka build guide, featuring her best artifacts, weapons, team comps, and more.
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Here’s everything in our best Genshin Impact Ayaka build:
What is the best Ayaka build?
| Best weapon | Mistsplitter Reforged |
| Weapon substitutes | Amenoma Kageuchi |
| Best artifact set | Blizzard Strayer |
| Artifact substitutes | Gladiator’s Finale |
| Main stats |
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| Sub stats |
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Heralded as one of the best DPS characters in Genshin Impact, Ayaka is a powerful cryo sword wielder capable of taking down just about any enemy that gets in her path.
Ayaka’s best weapon is the five-star sword Mistsplitter Reforged, and we recommend equipping her with a full set of Blizzard Strayer artifacts to boost her already high damage. When choosing her artifacts, you should focus on meeting her energy recharge requirements (generally about 140%), then boosting her attack%, cryo damage, and crit.
When leveling up Ayaka’s talents, you should focus on her elemental burst first, as it provides most of her damage. After that, you should level up her normal attack, then her elemental skill.
How to use Ayaka
The most important part of mastering Ayaka relies on learning how to line up her elemental burst properly, as it’s her main damage dealer. For the optimal outcome, you also need to grips with how to manage energy across your entire team so that you can get Ayaka’s burst up as quickly as possible, while still allowing her allies enough energy to buff her and set up elemental reactions beforehand.
Above all, you need to ensure that you buff her before she uses her burst, then position yourself to make sure that her burst can hit as many enemies as possible before. If you struggle with this, pairing her up with an anemo character that has grouping capabilities like Sucrose, Venti, or Kazuha is super handy.
Ayaka also imbues her sword with cryo when she sprints. When she emerges from her alternate sprint, she also deals cryo damage in a small AoE. Therefore, you should try to sprint in between normal attacks to get the maximum amount of cryo application.
Thanks to Ayaka’s alternate sprint and front-loaded kit, she’s pretty flexible, and it’s quite easy to set up her skill and burst. Her front-loaded damage also makes her a great option in quickswap teams, as you can whip her out and nuke the enemies with a massive, icy blast, then switch to someone else to make the most of the tasty elemental reactions she sets up.
What are the best weapons for Ayaka?
The best weapon for Ayaka is her signature sword, Mistsplitter Reforged, as it’s tailored to her kit and she can make full use of its passive.
But, if you don’t have the wishes to splash on a limited five-star banner, don’t fret – surprisingly, the craftable weapon Amenoma Kageuchi is an amazing option too, especially at R5, as it cuts down her energy recharge requirements by roughly 40%.
For a more in-depth look at how each of the different swords size up, check out the weapon choices section of the KeqingMains Ayaka guide.
| Weapon | Effect | How to obtain |
| Mistsplitter Reforged | Base stat: crit damage Skill: the wielder gains a 12% elemental damage bonus for all elements and received the might of the Mistsplitter’s Emblem. At stack levels 1/2/3, Mistsplitter’s Emblem provides a 8/16/28% elemental damage bonus for the wielder’s elemental type. The character obtains one stack of Mistplitter’s Emblem under the following conditions:
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Gacha |
| Amenoma Kageuchi | Base stat: attack Skill: after the wielder uses an elemental skill, they gain one Succession Seed. This effect can trigger once every five seconds, and each seed lasts for 30 seconds. Up to three Succession Seeds may exist simultaneously. After the wielder uses their elemental burst, they consume all Succession Seeds. Then, after two seconds, the wielder regenerates six energy for each seed they consumed |
Gacha |
What are the best artifacts for Ayaka?
Without a doubt, Blizzard Strayer is Ayaka’s best artifact set in most situations. It increases not only her cryo damage, but her crit rate when attacking frozen or cryo-affected characters, essentially boosting and complimenting the cryo resonance bonus. Even if she’s not on a freeze team, the benefits of this set are pretty hard to beat for our sweet gal.
Alternatively, you can mix two pieces of Blizzard Strayer with two pieces of an attack set, like Gladiator’s Finale or Noblesse Oblige, which does boost her overall attack by about 20%. However, it’s pretty tough to find pieces with sub-stats that outdo the benefit of a full set of Blizzard Strayer, whereas you find that additional 20% attack through sub-stats pretty easily.
For more info on the different artifact sets and how they work, be sure to check out our Genshin Impact artifacts guide.
| Artifact set | Effect | How to obtain |
| Blizzard Strayer | Two equipped: +15% cryo damage bonus Four equipped: increases the equipping character’s crit rate by 20% when they attack an enemy affected by cryo. Their crit rate increases by an additional 20% if the enemy is frozen |
Peak of Vindagnyr domain, Dragonspine |
| Gladiator’s Finale | Two equipped: increases attack by 18% Four equipped: increases normal attack by 35% if the wielder uses a sword, claymore, or polearm |
Artifact strongboxes, world rewards, etc. |
Artifact stat recommendations
If you’re looking for a truly accurate portrayal of what stats and sub-stats you should focus on, you should use the Genshin Optimizer tool. However, as a general rule, here are our recommendations.
Main stats
- Sands: attack%
- Goblet: cryo damage
- Circlet: crit damage or attack%
Sub-stats
- Energy recharge (aim for roughly 140% for team flexibility, 110% if you’re using Anemona Kaguechi)
- Crit damage
- Attack%
- Crit rate
What are the best Ayaka team comps?
Ayaka’s quick, fluid playstyle and high cryo application means that she can be a massive damage dealer in a wide variety of team comps. However, she excels best in freeze teams, where her talents can truly shine.
Freeze teams should generally see Ayaka teamed up with another cryo unit to take advantage of the cryo resonance buff. Of course, she also needs a hydro character to trigger those freeze reactions – preferably one that can apply hydro from off-field while Ayaka’s dishing out the on-field damage.
Ayaka freeze teams are also greatly complimented by an anemo character like Sucrose, Venti, or Kazuha. These breezy buds offer some great elemental resistance shred through their swirls, and can group enemies together to make it easier for Ayaka to hit them with her burst.
Alternatively, you can go for a ‘mono-cryo’ team comp, which offers great cryo particle generation and often sees a boost in single-target damage. Despite the name, Ayaka mono-cryo actually pairs up Ayaka with two other cryo units and one anemo enabler. Generally, Ayaka mono-cryo teams rely on you having Shenhe to boost Ayaka’s damage, but she’s not an absolute necessity.
So, here are some examples of strong Ayaka team comps. Feel free to experiment and try different line-ups based on your personal playstyle and preferences. Click on the character icons in the table below to open their individual build guides in a new tab.
| First character slot | Second character slot | Third character slot | Fourth character slot |
 Ayaka |
 Ayato |
 Kazuha |
 Qiqi |
| Ayaka |
 Shenhe |
Kazuha |
 Kokomi |
| Ayaka |
 Rosaria |
 Sucrose |
Kokomi |
| Ayaka |
 Mona |
 Venti |
 Diona |
| Ayaka |
Shenhe |
Kazuha |
Diona |
| Ayaka |
Shenhe |
Rosaria |
 Jean |
What are Ayaka’s skills?
Here are all of Ayaka’s active and passive skills.
Active skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Normal attack: Kamisato Art: Kabuki | Normal: perform up to five strikes Charged: consume stamina to unleash a stream of sword ki Plunge: plunge from mid-air to strike the ground, dealing AoE damage on impact |
| Elemental skill: Kamisato Art: Hyouka | Ayaka summons blooming ice, then launches nearby enemies and deals AoE cryo damage |
| Alternate sprint: Kamisato Art: Senho | Ayaka hides within a stream of sleet that moves as she does. In this form, Ayaka moves at high speed on water. When she reappears, she deals cryo damage in a small AoE, and her normal attack damage temporarily converts to cryo damage |
| Elemental burst: Kamisato Art: Soumetsu | Ayaka gathers frost with her fan and sword to create a snowstorm that advances forward and deals cryo damage over time to all enemies in its path. When it stops moving, the snowstorm bursts, dealing AoE cryo damage |
Passive skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Fruits of Shinsa | Ayaka has a 10% chance to receive double the product when crafting weapon ascension materials |
| Kanten Senmyou Blessing | The cryo application at the end of Kamisato Art: Senho restores ten stamina and gives Ayaka an 18% cryo damage bonus for ten seconds |
| Amatsumi Kunitsumi Sanctification | After Ayaka uses Kamisato Art: Hyouka, her normal and charged attacks deal 30% more damage for six seconds |
What are Ayaka’s constellations?
Here’s everything you need to know about Ayaka’s constellations.
| Constellation | Effect |
| C1: Snowswept Sakura | When Ayaka’s normal or charged attacks deal cryo damage, there’s a 50% chance of decreasing the cooldown of Kamisato Art: Hyouka by 0.3 seconds. This can only occur once every 0.1 seconds |
| C2: Blizzard Blade Seki no To | Casting Kamisato Art: Soumetsu unleashes two smaller snowstorms, each dealing 20% of the original storm’s damage |
| C3: Frostbloom Kamifubuki | Increases the level of Kamisato Art: Soumetsu by three |
| C4: Ebb and Flow | Opponents damaged by Kamisato Art: Soumetsu’s, snowstorm will have their defence decreased by 30% for six seconds |
| C5: Blossom Cloud Irutsuki | Increases the level of Kamisato Art: Hyouka by three |
| C6: Dance of Suigetsu | Ayaka gains Usurahi Butou every ten seconds, this increases her charged attack damage by 298%. The buff is cleared 0.5 seconds after the charged attack hits=, after which the timer will reset |
What are Ayaka’s ascension materials?
In order to get Ayaka all the way up to level 90, you need to gather certain materials to ascend her at specific points. Here are all of Ayaka’s ascension materials.
You can collect the sakura blooms by using an electro character to hit the clouds of pink petals around Inazuma. The handguards come from the Inazuman nobushi and kairagi enemies, and you can get the perpetual heart materials from the Perpetual Mechanical Array world boss.
| Required level | Mora | Materials |
| 20 | 20,000 | One shivada jade sliver, three sakura bloom, three old handguard |
| 40 | 40,000 | Three shivada jade fragment, ten sakura bloom, two perpetual heart, 12 kageuchi handguard |
| 50 | 60,000 | Six shivada jade fragment, 20 sakura bloom, four perpetual heart, 12 kageuchi handguard |
| 60 | 80,000 | Three shivada jade chunk, 30 sakura bloom, eight perpetual heart, 18 kageuchi handguard |
| 70 | 100,000 | Six shivada jade chunk, 45 sakura bloom, 12 perpetual heart, 12 famed handguard |
| 80 | 120,000 | Six shivada jade gemstone, 60 sakura bloom, 20 perpetual heart, 24 famed handguard |
What are Ayaka’s talent materials?
As with any other character, you can level Genshin Ayaka’s normal attack, elemental skill, and elemental burst up to level ten. You need the following materials to level each of her talents.
Once again, the handguards come from the Inazuman nobushi and kairagi enemies. You can earn the elegance talent books from the Violet Court domain on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and the bloodjade branch materials are drops from the Azhdaha weekly boss battle.
| Talent level | Mora | Materials |
| Two | 12.5k | Six old handguard, three teachings of elegance |
| Three | 17.5k | Three kageuchi handguard, two guide to elegance |
| Four | 25.k | Four kageuchi handguard, four guide to elegance |
| Five | 30k | Six kageuchi handguard, six guide to elegance |
| Six | 37.5k | Nine kageuchi handguard, nine guide to elegance |
| Seven | 120k | Four famed handguard, four philosophies of elegance, one bloodjade branch |
| Eight | 260k | Six famed handguard, six philosophies of elegance, one bloodjade branch |
| Nine | 450k | Nine famed handguard, 12 philosophies of elegance, two bloodjade branch |
| Ten | 700k | 12 famed handguard, 16 philosophies of elegance, two bloodjade branch, one crown of insight |
Talent priorities
When leveling up Ayaka’s talents, we recommend prioritizing the following:
- Elemental burst > normal attack > elemental skill
Okay, now you can slip your feet out of those sandals and let your socks dry, as we’ve finished our dance through our Genshin Impact Ayaka build guide. For adventures beyond Teyvat, hop aboard the Astral Express with our Honkai Star Rail tier list, Honkai Star Rail banners, Honkai Star Rail codes, and Honkai Star Rail events guides.