The best builds for Ayaka in Genshin Impact

Looking for a decent Ayaka build? Now that her older brother, Ayato, has had his time in the sun, Ayaka is returning for a rerun as part of the second half of Genshin Impact 2.6. Since Inazuma arrived, we've seen a whole host of strong characters, but Ayaka is still among the best⁠—a powerful Cryo damage-dealer with a unique playstyle.

If you enjoy jumping around the battlefield as Keqing, you'll probably find Ayaka fun, too, as she sprints past enemies, applying Cryo infusion to her sword. This easy application of Cryo is what makes her one of the best freeze combo characters in the game, and the Frostflake Seki no To whirlwind that her burst creates is both strong and easy to combo with other characters.

In this Genshin Impact Ayaka build guide, I'll go through her best setup, how you can get her in-game, what materials you'll need to level her and ascend her talents, and even a free-to-play build for if you don't want to wish for five-star weapons.

Builds

The best Genshin Impact Ayaka build

Ayaka is one of the best elemental damage-dealers in Genshin, mainly due to the fact she can apply a Cryo infusion to her sword every time she sprints or evades. Her passives boost Cryo damage as well as normal and charged attacks, and her burst and skill are both powerful damage-dealing abilities.

In this sense, you'll want to focus on strengthening her Cryo damage, crit damage, and crit rate, as well as her normal and charged attacks. 

Cryo DPS

• Weapon: Mistsplitter Reforged

The five-star Mistsplitter Reforged is Ayaka's sword from Genshin Impact 2.0, and it's returning to the Epitome Invocation weapon banner alongside her rerun. It boosts crit damage as a a substat and provides a 12% elemental damage bonus. The weapon also adds a stackable called Mistsplitter Emblems. 

You get one of these when a normal attacks deal elemental damage, when you cast a burst, or when energy is less than 100%. Each stack incrementally boosts elemental damage by 8/16/28% up to the maximum of three stacks. As you'd expect, these elemental damage buffs are perfect for Ayaka, since she's almost always attacking with elemental damage due to her Cryo sprint infusion.

A great four-star alternative for Ayaka is the Black Sword, which boosts crit rate, and increases normal and charged attack damage by 20 percent. It also regenerates 60 percent of attack as HP when normal and charged attacks score a critical hit, which is a nice little bonus.

• Artifact: (4) Blizzard Strayer

The Blizzard Strayer artifact set is a bit of a no-brainer for Ayaka. Two-pieces buff Cryo damage by 15%, while four-pieces increase crit rate when you attack an opponent affected by Cryo, which with Ayaka's infusion, is almost constant. If you attack a frozen opponent, crit rate is increased by an additional 20%. This makes Ayaka especially powerful in a freeze party.

For stats, you'll want a Cryo damage bonus artifact if you can get one, then crit damage, crit rate, attack, and energy recharge to make sure you can use Ayaka's expensive burst. If you're using Ayaka in a freeze combo with Blizzard Strayer, and are also using the Black Sword, your crit rate won't need building as much, so you can put those excess stats into crit damage instead.

F2P build

• Weapon: Cool Steel, Harbinger of Dawn, Anenoma Kageuchi

There are plenty of lower rarity weapon choices for Ayaka that are still decent. Cool Steel is a three-star sword that buffs attack, and increases damage against opponents affected by Hydro or Cryo by 12%. Considering Ayaka's foes are almost always affected by Cryo, this offers some value. Harbinger of Dawn is a good pick if you have a decent shielder, since when HP is above 90%, crit rate is increased by 14%. It also boosts crit damage as a substat.

If you want to focus more on using Ayaka's burst, then the forgeable four-star Anenoma Kageuchi sword might be a good pick. You get the diagram for this by finishing the Farmer's Treasure quest in Inazuma, and it's a great sword for energy recharge. When you cast an elemental skill, you gain a Succession Seed, and you can gather up to three of these. When you use your burst, these seeds regenerate 6 energy each. Since this is a forgeable weapon, it's easy to refine it to increase the energy regen, allowing you to use Ayaka's burst far more often.

• Artifact: Blizzard Strayer or Noblesse Oblige

Four pieces of Blizzard Strayer is still very good for a normal and charged attack-focused Ayaka, but if you are using the Anenoma Kageuchi and building her burst, it might be worth adding two-pieces of Noblesse Oblige for its 20% burst damage buff. The stat layout is the same as in the build above, but if you are focusing on her burst, make sure you build plenty of energy recharge so Ayaka can it often.

How to unlock

How to get Ayaka in Genshin Impact

Ayaka is getting a rerun alongside her brother in the second half of Genshin Impact 2.6. This rerun banner arrives on April 19 and also features four-star characters Sayu, Razor, and Rosaria. This banner will last around three weeks, until the end of the current version, so if you want her in your party be sure to wish while you can.

Abilities

Ayaka's abilities

Here are Ayaka's abilities, passives, and Constellations:

Ascension materials

Ayaka Ascension materials

Character

As with other Cryo characters, Ayaka needs Shivade Jade from Cryo Regisvines and Cryo Hypostasis. She also requires Perpetual Hearts, which come from the new Perpetual Mechanical Array boss. On top of this, you'll need two world materials: 

• Sakura Blooms
• Old Handguards

Both of these materials can be found in Inazuma. Sakura Blooms are dotted all over Narukami Island, but especially around the shrine—this Sakura Bloom locations guide has the exact positions. Old Handguards and their upgraded versions are dropped by Nobushi, and basically any of the swordsmen enemies you fight on Inazuma.

Talent

Here are Ayaka's talent ascension materials:

• Teachings of Elegance
• Old Handguards
• Bloodjade Branch
• Crown of Insight

Teachings of Elegance-series items come from the Violet Court on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, while Old Handguards, as mentioned, are dropped by the Nobushi all over Inazuma.

The Bloodjade Branch is a bit harder to get—you'll have to face level 70+ Azhdaha in the trounce domain. Finally, the Crown of Insight is rewarded through seasonal events, upgrading the Sacred Sakura of Inazuma, the Frostbearing Tree of Dragonspine, or the Lumenstone Adjuvant gadget in The Chasm.

Genshin Impact guide: Beginner tips
Genshin Impact characters: Full tier list
Genshin Impact code: Redeem for free rewards
Genshin Impact banner: Every character