Genshin Impact’s Sayu is a ninja from the Shuumatsuban who uses her skills to hide and laze around in hopes that catching some extra beauty sleep might help her grow taller. This adorable, claymore-wielding, tanuki-hoodie-wearing champ may like to sleep on the job, but she’s still got some handy tricks up her sleeve. So let’s take a look at the best Sayu build, featuring her skills, weapons, artifacts, and more so that you can use her in your comp as you explore Teyvat.
For those of you who are curious about other characters, make sure you check out our Genshin Impact tier list, or our specific build guides for Genshin Impact’s Shenhe, Genshin Impact’s Keqing, and Genshin Impact’s Albedo. You can also pick up some extra primogems with help from our Genshin Impact codes list and find out who to save for with our Genshin Impact next banner guide.
Let’s jump into everything you need to know about Genshin Impact’s Sayu.
What’s the best Genshin Impact Sayu build?
| Best weapon | Skyward Pride |
| Weapon substitutes | Katsuragikiri Nagamasa |
| Best artifact set | Viridescent Venerer |
| Artifact substitutes | Viridescent Venerer and Noblesse Oblige |
| Main stats |
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| Sub-stats |
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Sayu’s best weapon is Skyward Pride thanks to its energy recharge bonus stat and high base attack. Her best artifact set is undoubtedly Viridescent Venerer, increasing Sayu’s personal swirl damage as well as the whole team’s elemental resistance shred.
Make sure you build her with plenty of attack, elemental mastery, energy recharge, and anemo damage bonus. If you’ve unlocked her support constellations, throw in some healing bonus for good measure.
How should I use Sayu?
Sayu is a unique support unit capable of some substantial healing with the right build, along with great utility and reaction driving through her swirls. Her kit can be a little tricky to get the swing of, especially with the momentum of her skill, and a lot of her utility – especially her healing – is gated behind her constellations.
However, with some time and investment, Sayu is a very interesting and versatile character, capable of slotting into many different team comps, and she’s relatively inexpensive to build. Plus, she’s fun and adorable – just look at her little outfit!
Sayu’s utility revolves around her reaction driving and her healing power, so her elemental skill and elemental burst are much more useful than her normal attacks. Deal elemental damage to various enemies by rolling through them with her held skill, and heal up your team with her burst.
What are the best Sayu weapons?
When it comes to picking a weapon for Sayu, you’ve got a decent pool of options. Skyward Pride is a great five-star choice that can help boost her energy recharge to get the most out of her skills.
In terms of four-star options, the forgeable Katsuragikiri Nagamasa pulls into the lead with the energy recharge provided through both its base stat and skill. Alternatively, the Favonius Greatsword also offers increased particle generation.
| Weapon | Effect | How to obtain |
| Skyward Pride | Bonus stat: energy recharge Skill: Increases all damage by 8%. After hitting an enemy with an elemental burst, normal, or charged attack, create a vacuum blade that deals 80% of attack as damage to enemies along its path. Lasts for 20 seconds or eight vacuum blades |
Gacha |
| Katsuragikiri Nagamasa | Bonus stat: energy recharge Skill: Increases elemental skill damage by 6%. When an elemental skill hits an opponent, Sayu loses three energy but also regenerates three energy every two seconds for the next six seconds. This can only occur once every ten seconds, and can be triggered even when Sayu is not on the field |
Forging |
| Favonius Greatsword | Bonus stat: energy recharge Skill: Crit hits have a 60% chance to generate a small amount of elemental particles, which regenerate six energy for the wielder. Can only occur once every 12 seconds |
Gacha |
What are the best Sayu artifacts?
Viridescent Venerer is, without a doubt, the best set for Sayu, offering both a boost to her anemo damage and a teamwide buff that shreds enemy elemental resistance.
However, if you already have a party member equipped with a full set of VV, you can combine two VV with two Noblesse Oblige to boost both Sayu’s anemo damage and burst damage. Despite the fact that she’s an anemo character, a four-piece set of Deepwood Memories can help Sayu’s support capabilities in a bloom team comp, or with a dendro on-field DPS.
| Artifact set | Effect | How to obtain |
| Viridescent Venerer | Two equipped: anemo damage +15% Four equipped: increases swirl damage by 60%, and decreases opponent’s elemental resistance to the element infused in the swirl by 40% for ten seconds |
Valley of Remembrance in Windwail Highland, near the Dawn Winery, Mondstadt |
| Noblesse Oblige | Two equipped: elemental burst damage +20% Four equipped: increases all party members’ attack by 20% for 12 seconds after using an elemental burst. This effect cannot stack |
Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern domain in Minlin, Liyue, or from the Noblesse Oblige Artifact Strongbox |
| Deepwood Memories | Two equipped: not recommended Four equipped: after elemental skills or bursts hit opponents, the targets’ dendro resistance decreases by 30% for eight seconds. This effect can trigger even when Sayu isn’t on the field (team-wide buff, doesn’t stack if more than one member of you party equips it) |
Spire of Solitary Enlightenment domain in Avidya Forest, Sumeru |
| The Exile | Two equipped: energy recharge +20% Four equipped: using an elemental burst regenerates two energy for all party members (excluding Sayu) every two seconds for six seconds. This effect cannot stack |
Treasure chests, enemy drops, domains |
Artifact stat and sub-stat priorities
Main stats:
- Sands: elemental mastery or attack %
- Goblet: anemo damage bonus or elemental mastery
- Circlet: elemental mastery
Sub-stats:
- Energy recharge
- Elemental mastery
- Attack%
- Crit rate or crit damage
What are the best Sayu team comps?
As an anemo support unit, Sayu can fit into a huge range of team comps to help increase survivability, energy recharge, and elemental reactions. Try combining her with two electro units for electro resonance and a dendro unit like Collei for an effective aggravate team.
Here’s an example of a strong Sayu team comp:
| First character slot | Second character slot | Third character slot | Fourth character slot |
 Sayu |
 Keqing |
 Fischl |
 Collei |
What are Sayu’s abilities?
Active skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Normal attack: Shuumatsuban Ninja Blade | Normal: Perform up to four strikes Charged: Consume stamina before spinning towards enemies, at the end of the spin, Sayu performs a powerful slash Plunging: Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE damage upon impact |
| Elemental skill: Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash | Press: Sayu performs a cartwheel that deals anemo damage. At the end of the attack, she does a Fuufuu whirlwind kick that causes AoE anemo damage Hold: Sayu performs a longer cartwheel that deals anemo damage. During this time she is resistant to interruption. You can control the direction she rolls while performing this move. If Sayu comes into contact with hydro, pyro, cryo, or electro while in this state, she will deal additional elemental damage of that type |
| Elemental burst: Yoohoo Art: Mujina Flurry | Summon a Muji-Muji Daruma that deals anemo damage to foes and heals nearby party members |
Passive skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Someone More Capable | When you trigger a swirl reaction while active, Sayu heals all characters for 300 HP. She will also heal an additional 1.2 HP for every point of elemental mastery she has. Can be triggered once every two seconds |
| No Work Today! | The Muji-Muji Daruma gains the following effects: – When healing, it will also heal nearby characters for 20% of their HP – Increases the AoE of its attack |
| Yoohoo Art: Silencer’s Secret | When Sayu is in your party, Crystalflies and other certain animals will not be startled when you get near them |
What are Sayu’s constellations?
Here’s every bonus you receive when leveling up Sayu’s constellations by pulling duplicates of her.
| Constellation | Effect |
| C1: Multi-Task no Jutsu | The Muji-Muji Daruma ignores HP limits and can simultaneously attack nearby opponents and heal characters |
| C2: Egress Prep | Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash gains these effects: – Increases the damage of Fuufuu whirlwind kick in press mode by 3.3% – Every 0.5 seconds in the cartwheel will increase the damage of Fuufuu whirlwind kick by 3.3%. The maximum damage increase is 66% |
| C3: Eh, the Bunshin Can Handle It | Increases the level of Yoohoo Art: Mujina Flurry by three to a maximum level of 15 |
| C4: Skiving: New and Improved | Sayu recovers 1.2 energy when she triggers a swirl reaction. This effect occurs once every two seconds |
| C5: Speed Comes First | Increases the level of Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash by three to a maximum level of 15 |
| C6: Sleep O’Clock | The Muji-Muji Daruma now also benefits from Sayu’s elemental mastery. Each point will produce the following effects: – Increases the damage dealt by the Muji-Muji Daruma’s attacks by 0.2% attack. A maximum of 400% attack can be gained – Increases the HP restored by the Muji-Muji Daruma by three. A maximum of 6,000 additional HP can be restored |
What are Sayu’s ascension materials?
Make sure to harvest a lot of crystal marrow from Yashiori Island and Tatarasuna, you’re going to need a lot to fully ascend Sayu.
| Required level | Mora | Materials |
| 20 | 20k | One vayuda turquoise sliver, three whopperflower nectar, three crystal marrow |
| 40 | 40k | Three vayuda turquoise fragment, 15 whopperflower nectar, two marionette core, ten crystal marrow |
| 50 | 60k | Six vayuda turquoise fragment, 12 shimmering nectar, four marionette core, 20 crystal marrow |
| 60 | 80k | Three vayuda turquoise chunk, 18 shimmering nectar, eight marionette core, 30 crystal marrow |
| 70 | 100k | Six vayuda turquoise chunk, 12 energy nectar, 12 marionette core, 45 crystal marrow |
| 80 | 120k | Six vayuda turquoise gemstone, 24 energy nectar, 20 marionette core, 60 crystal marrow |
What are Sayu’s talent materials?
Here are all the talent level-up materials you need to ascend one of Sayu’s talents to level ten. Get ready to fight a lot of whopperflowers!
| Talent level | Mora | Materials |
| Two | 12.5k | Six whopperflower nectar, three teachings of light |
| Three | 17.5k | Three shimmering nectar, two guide to light |
| Four | 25k | Four shimmering nectar, four guide to light |
| Five | 30k | Six shimmering nectar, six guide to light |
| Six | 37.5k | Nine shimmering nectar, nine guide to light |
| Seven | 120k | Four energy nectar, four philosophies of light, one gilded scale |
| Eight | 260k | Six energy nectar, six philosophies of light, one gilded scale |
| Nine | 450k | Nine energy nectar, 12 philosophies of light, two gilded scale |
| Ten | 700k | 12 energy nectar, 16 philosophies of light, two gilded scale, one crown of insight |
That’s everything you need to know about Genshin Impact’s Sayu. If you fancy checking another Hoyoverse adventure, head over to our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail codes guide. We also have build guides just like this one, for Honkai Star Rail’s Topaz, Honkai Star Rail’s Imbibitor Lunae, and Honkai Star Rail’s Huohuo.