In Genshin Impact Kamisato Ayato is a lot of things. He’s the head of the Kamisato clan, the Yashiro commissioner, and a connoisseur of all things boba. However, without the right Genshin Impact Ayato build, this sword-slashing Hydro character isn’t going to be of much use to you when you’re out there tackling beasties in Teyvat.
Primarily operating as a main DPS, Ayato is one of the Genshin Impact characters in your roster you’ll be spending a lot of time on the field with. With this in mind, he’ll be one of the characters you’ll want to prioritise farming for. Similarly to Ganyu, Ayato could also be utilised as a burst support thanks to the ability to continuously apply Hydro with his large AoE elemental burst.
So what is the best Ayato build? In this guide, we’ll take you through the artifact sets you should be using alongside their ideal main and sub stats, as well as Ayato’s talent priority, best weapons, and strongest compositions to slot him into. If you haven’t already familiarised yourself with his kit and material requirements, you can do so with our Genshin Impact Kamisato Ayato release date guide.
Ayato build overview
Here’s a brief rundown of what you’re going to want for your Ayato build to really pop:
- Artifacts: Echoes of an Offering four-piece set
- Stat priority: Critical Rate and Critical Damage, ATK%, then finally HP%
- Talent priority: Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst, and then Normal Attack
- Weapon: Haran Geppaku Futsu
Keep reading to find out why we recommend each component of this build, as well as get an idea of which comps Ayato should slot into.
Ayato build artifacts
Ayato’s best artifact sets are Echoes of an Offering, Heart of Depth, and Gladiator’s Finale.
Ayato Main DPS | |
Artifact | Effect |
Echoes of an Offering |
Two-piece set: ATK +18% Four-piece set: When a Normal Attack hits opponents, there is a 36% chance that it will trigger Valley Rite, which will increase Normal Attack Damage by 70% of ATK. This effect will be dispelled 0.05s after a Normal Attack deals DMG. If a Normal Attack fails to trigger a Valley Rite, the odds of it triggering the next time will increase by 20%. This trigger can occur every 0.3s |
Heart of Depth |
Two-piece set: Hydro DMG Bonus +15% Four-piece set: After using Elemental Skill, increases Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG by 30% for 15s |
Gladiator’s Finale |
Two-piece set: ATK +18% Four-piece set: If the wielder of this artifact set uses a Sword, Claymore or Polearm, increases their Normal Attack DMG by 35% |
Ayato Burst Support | |
Artifact | Effect |
Heart of Depth Noblesse Oblige |
Two-piece set: Hydro DMG Bonus +15% Two-piece set: Elemental Burst DMG +20% |
Debuting alongside Ayato is the Echoes of an Offering set. While it offers the greatest potential damage output for a main DPS Ayato, because its four-piece effect only has a chance of activating on each hit it can be inconsistent. Both Heart of Depth and Gladiator’s Finale offer four-piece bonuses that aren’t quite as potent, but are guaranteed to come into effect.
Regardless, if you’re feeling lucky and are looking to maximise your DPS, then Echoes of an Offering remains Ayato’s best-in-slot set. Additionally, the chance of its effect activating are boosted with each successive attack that doesn’t proc it, which is perfect for a character that attacks multiple times in quick succession like Ayato.
With that said, there are other factors that you should consider when deciding on which set you wish to use on Ayato. For example, if you already have a good Heart of Depth or Gladiator’s Finale set, and other characters to farm artifacts for, then both sets will be absolutely fine on him.
Additionally, if you’re free-to-play and want to be as resin-efficient as possible then, for example, farming the Peak of Vindagnyr domain for Heart of Depth would be ideal if you’re planning on picking up the Blizzard Strayer set for Cryo characters like Ayaka – who is getting a rerun banner in phase two of Version 2.6 – and Shenhe.
A final consideration should be how you wish to play Ayato. Going for a four-piece set is great for a main DPS Ayato as he’ll be on the field long enough to take advantage of the boosts to his Normal Attack damage.
However, this is useless if you are looking to switch him in and out as a burst support. In this instance, taking two pieces of Heart of Depth for the Hydro damage bonus, alongside two pieces of Noblesse Oblige to bump up his burst damage is the way to go.
Ayato build stat priority
Ayato’s stat priority is Critical Rate and Critical Damage, ATK%, then finally HP%.
Slot | Main stat | Sub stats |
Flower | HP (default) | Crit Rate/Crit Damage > ATK% > HP% |
Feather | ATK (default) | Crit Rate/Crit Damage > ATK% > HP% |
Sands | ATK% | Crit Rate/Crit Damage > HP% > Energy Recharge |
Goblet | Hydro DMG% | Crit Rate/Crit Damage > ATK% > HP% |
Circlet | Crit Rate/Crit DMG | Crit Rate/Crit Damage > ATK% > HP% > Energy Recharge |
As with any DPS character, Ayato should be looking to get plenty of Critical Rate, Critical Damage, and ATK% into his build. Ayato’s elemental skill, Kamisato Art: Kyouka, scales with his maximum HP, so HP% should be the fourth stat prioritised if you intend on playing him as a main DPS.
A good base for balancing your crit stats is to shoot for around 55%-60% Critical Rate, and 150%+ Critical Damage. Of course, the artifact gods may not be kind enough to offer up good rolls, but as long as you are critting consistently, and shoot for a roughly 1:2 Critical Rate/Critical Damage ratio, you’re good to go. Fortunately, Ayato’s main ascension stat is Critical Damage, so you will get a passive boost there as you level him up.
Outside of those main DPS stats, more Energy Recharge is always welcome, especially considering Ayato’s burst has a high energy cost. As such, if you do roll this sub stat on one of your pieces, it isn’t a complete waste, especially if you use him more as a burst support.
Ayato build Talent priority
Ayato’s talent priority is Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst, and then Normal Attack.
There is generally little point to investing in Ayato’s Normal Attacks, as his Elemental Skill has its own separate scaling, similar to Raiden Shogun’s Elemental Burst.
Ayato build weapon
The best weapon for Ayato is Haran Geppaku Futsu. It should come as little surprise that Ayato’s signature weapon is the best one for him, seeing as it synergises perfectly with his elemental skill. However, there are plenty of other swords that will work well with Ayato.
Ayato best weapon | |
Weapon | Effect |
Haran Geppaku Futsu |
Honed Flow Obtain 12% (R1) – 24% (R5) All Elemental DMG Bonus. When other nearby party members Normal Attack hit opponents, the character equipping this weapon will gain one Namisen stack, max two stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. When the character equipping this weapon uses an Elemental Skill, all Namisen will be consumed to gain Ripping Upheaval. Each stack of Namisen consumed will increase Normal Attack DMG by 20% (R1) – 40% (R5) for 8s. |
Ayato alternative weapons | |
Weapon | Effect |
Primordial Jade Cutter |
Protector’s Virtue HP increased by 20 (R1) – 40% (R5). Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 1.2% (R1) – 2.4% (R5) of the wielder’s Max HP. |
Mistsplitter Reforged |
Mistsplitter’s Edge Gain a 12% (R1) – 24% (R5) Elemental DMG Bonus for all elements and receive the might of the Mistsplitter’s Emblem. At stack levels 1/2/3, Mistsplitter’s Emblem provides a 8/16/28% (R1) – 16/32/56% (R5) Elemental DMG Bonus for the character’s Elemental Type. The character will obtain 1 stack of Mistsplitter’s Emblem in each of the following scenarios: Normal Attack deals Elemental DMG (stack lasts 5s), casting Elemental Burst (stack lasts 10s); Energy is less than 100% (stack disappears when Energy is full). Each stack’s duration is calculated independently. |
The Black Sword |
Justice Increases DMG dealt by Normal and Charged Attacks by 20% (R1) – 40% (R5). Additionally, regenerates 60% (R1) – 100% (R5) of ATK as HP when Normal and Charged Attacks score a critical hit. This effect can occur once every 5s. |
Blackcliff Longsword |
Press the Advantage After defeating an opponent, ATK is increased by 12% (R1) – 24% (R5) for 30s. This effect has a maximum of 3 stacks, and the duration of each stack is independent of the others. |
Lion’s Roar |
Bane of Fire and Thunder Increases damage against enemies affected by Pyro or Electro by 20% (R1) – 36% (R5). |
Amenoma Kageuchi |
Iwakura Succession After casting an Elemental Skill, gain one Succession Seed. This effect can be triggered once every 5s. The Succession Seed lasts for 30s. Up to three Succession Seeds may exist simultaneously. After using an Elemental Burst, all Succession Seeds are consumed and after 2s, the character regenerates 6 (R1) – 12 (R5) Energy for each seed consumed. |
The Flute |
Chord Normal or Charged Attacks grant a Harmonic on hits. Gaining 5 Harmonics triggers the power of music and deals 100% (R1) – 200% (R5) ATK DMG to surrounding enemies. Harmonics last up to 30s, and a maximum of 1 can be gained every 0.5s. |
Harbinger of Dawn |
Vigorous When HP is above 90%, increases CRIT Rate by 14% (R1) – 28% (R5). |
Primordial Jade Cutter is a fantastic five-star alternative for a main DPS Ayato, thanks to the HP% and damage bonus based on max HP it offers. Meanwhile, Mistsplitter Reforged offers a solid elemental damage bonus that quickly stacks when Ayato is in his Takimeguri Kanka (elemental skill) state.
For four-star options, Blackcliff Longsword is great if you already have plenty of Crit Rate in your build, and the ATK% increase from its passive is always welcome. If you have dipped into the battle pass recently, then you may have picked up The Black Sword, which offers a flat 20% boost to Ayato’s attack damage, while healing him each time he crits. This is great for certain comps where Ayato is played with shielding characters rather than healers, but must still battle against anti-shield enemies like Riftwolves.
Another situationally-solid four-star weapon is Lion’s Roar, which gives a 20% damage boost against enemies affected by Electro or Pyro. Naturally, if you’re not planning on running Ayato with characters like Fischl, Raiden, or Bennett, then this won’t be the weapon for you.
The final four-star option is The Flute, which can offer a big burst of damage when its Harmonic passive is stacked. Fortunately, Ayato’s Normal Attacks are super quick in his Takimeguri Kanka state, allowing him to build up stacks in no time. With that said, YouTube creator ‘IWinToLose Gaming’ did the math, and it looks like The Flute comes out as the worst option on our list – so only use it if it’s the only decent weapon you have.
For purely free-to-play players who never wish, you have two options: Amenoma Kageuchi – the diagram for which is obtained by completing The Farmer’s Treasure world quest – or the Harbinger of Dawn – which you’ll naturally obtain from either Kaeya’s Story Quest or Nanako in Inazuma.
Amenoma Kageuchi gives Ayato even more Attack with its secondary stat, and the passive seeds regenerates a respectable amount of energy after he uses his burst when fully-refined. Meanwhile, the Harbinger of Dawn offers that all-important Crit DMG as its secondary stat, while giving Ayato a Crit Rate boost when his HP is above 90%.
Genshin Impact Ayato build – team comps
There are a number of Kamisato Ayato comps that will perform well with the boba boy involved.
Character #1 | Character #2 | Character #3 | Character #4 |
Ayato | Xiangling | Jean | Bennett |
Ayato | Hu Tao | Yun Jin | Zhongli |
Ayato | Xiangling | Raiden Shogun | Bennett |
Ayato | Fischl | Beidou | Sucrose |
Ayato | Ganyu | Kazuha | Kokomi |
The first comp is an Ayato variant of the ‘Sunfire’ comp, which traditionally utilises the overlapping of Bennett and either Jean or Kazuha’s bursts to constantly swirl Pyro. Here we have Xiangling’s burst also add to the Pyro pool, with Ayato constantly vaporising with his elemental skill.
Next up is another vaporise setup which utilises Yun Jin’s burst and Geo resonance with Zhongli to boost damage. Another strong Pyro DPS that can consistently proc vaporise like Yoimiya can also be used instead of Hu Tao.
The third team of choice is an alternative version of the popular National Team, using Ayato as the Hydro applicator instead of Xingqiu. We’ve popped Raiden into the fill slot, but if energy isn’t an issue then an Anemo support like Kazuha, Sucrose, or Venti that can shred resistances with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set will also fit in nicely.
If you love a good taser comp, then the fourth setup features Ayato alongside Fischl, Beidou, and Sucrose.
Finally, perhaps the most exciting team for Ayato sees him lining up next to Ganyu for massive AoE freezing action. Kazuha can help keep mobs within the AoE field while shredding resistances with Viridescent Venerer, while Kokomi serves both as the team’s healer and as a secondary Hydro applicator for all that perma-freeze goodness.
And with that, our Genshin Impact Ayato build rundown is complete. We will be sure to keep this guide updated should new optimisations be found, as well as new comps arise that are simply too good not to use.