The 2.0 update for Genshin Impact is right around the corner and will bring players to the new region of Inazuma. Alongside a number of new quests, enemies, and locations to explore, miHoYo has also revealed playable characters that will appear on event banners. The first banner of Inazuma will feature Kamisato Ayaka, one of the most anticipated characters in Genshin Impact since her initial leak from closed beta tests.
Ayaka will naturally play a big role in introducing the region of Inazuma to Genshin Impact players, but she also brings a unique playstyle thanks to her kit. Her abilities center around consistent application of the Cryo element, and her sprinting ability will also infuse her attacks with Cryo. Ayaka is a fast-paced DPS character that relies on her elemental skill and sprint to create continuous reactions.
Who Is Ayaka?
Although Ayaka is only officially releasing now, she has been teased since the closed beta tests of Genshin Impact. As a result, a lot of information has already been revealed about her in conjunction with the official release. Ayaka will play a big role in introducing Genshin Impact players to Inazuma, as she's essentially the face of the region based on the trailers and previews. She wields a sword together with her Cryo vision.
Ayaka is part of the Kamisato clan in Inazuma, who are implied to be royalty with a long history of martial arts techniques and swordsmanship. She oversees the Kamisato clan's internal and external affairs and is described as a kind-hearted girl who treats everyone with courtesy. A perfectionist dedicated to the people of Inazuma, she's admired for going out of her way to personally assist those in need. As Ayaka is from a completely different region, there isn't much information about her from the current Genshin Impact characters, and much of her storyline will likely remain a mystery until her release.
Ayaka's Attack Patterns, Elemental Skill, and Elemental Burst
Ayaka's standard and charged attack patterns are similar to most Genshin Impact sword users. Her standard attack pattern consists of five rapid strikes while her charged attacks will use stamina to unleash a flurry of sword ki. However, her sprint introduces a mechanic that's different from other Genshin Impact characters. The sprint is similar to Mona's in that it places Ayaka underground and allows her to move swiftly on land and water, but it's different in that it actually gives Ayaka a few buffs. When Ayaka emerges after sprinting, she applies Cryo to nearby opponents and infuses her sword with Cryo for five seconds.
Ayaka's elemental skill is called "Kamisato Art: Hyouka" and it summons a small circle of blooming ice that launches enemies into the air. It's on a relatively short 10 second cooldown and does quite a bit of damage so it'll likely be the bulk of Ayaka's rotation. Ayaka's elemental burst is called "Kamisato Art: Soumetsu," and it summons forth a snowstorm that unleashes whirling icy winds that move continuously forward. Any enemy that comes into contact with the winds will be slashed repeatedly and take Cryo damage. At the end of the burst, the snowstorm will explode dealing AOE Cryo damage.
Ayaka's Passives and Constellations
Ayaka has two main passives in Genshin Impact: "Amatsumi Kunitsumi Sanctification" and "Kanten Senmyou Blessing." The "Amatsumi Kunitsumi Sanctification" passive boosts the damage of Ayaka's normal and charged attacks by 30 percent for six seconds after she uses her elemental skill. The "Kanten Senmyou Blessing" passive gives a bonus 18 percent Cryo damage bonus for 10 seconds when Ayaka applies Cryo to an enemy at the end of her sprint. It also restores 10 stamina, which will act as a nice refund during the sprinting part of Ayaka's rotation.
As Ayaka is a 5-star Genshin Impact character, constellations will be quite difficult to unlock without spending money. Thankfully, they appear to be nice bonuses instead of necessities. Ayaka has three notable constellations: her first, second, and sixth ones. The first constellation is called "Snowswept Sakura" and it has a 50 percent chance to decrease the cooldown of her elemental skill by 0.3 seconds whenever Ayaka deals Cryo damage through her regular attacks. The second constellation is called "Blizzard Blade Seki no To" and it unleashes two additional whirlwinds during her elemental burst which deal 20 percent of the original storm's damage. The sixth constellation is called "Dance of Suigetsu" which gives Ayaka a buff every 10 seconds that increases her charged attack damage by 298 percent. Upon using a charged attack, the buff will clear and the timer will reset once again.
Ayaka's Playstyle and Team Compositions
Ayaka's unique kit revolves around consistent Cryo application to enemies through her elemental skill, elemental burst, and sprinting mechanic. Her rotation is different from other Genshin Impact characters in that she will need to weave in sprinting in order to infuse her regular attacks with Cryo. This means that she will benefit greatly from being in a team composition revolving around Freeze reactions and will make great use of a Cryo battery support.
Ayaka's best team composition will be made up of Hydro supports that revolve around Freeze reactions. Her consistent Cryo application means that enemies can easily be frozen permanently and this means she will have more options in her supports unlike previous freeze compositions that would rely on Chongyun's Cryo infusion. Genshin Impact supports like Mona or Xinqiu excel at Hydro application so Ayaka can easily freeze enemies and deal tons of damage together with a four-piece Blizzard Strayer artifact set. Since Ayaka's elemental burst has a high energy cost, she will also need a Cryo battery support to help her recharge the particles. Cryo characters like Diona and Rosaria can help Ayaka maintain her energy consumption and will bring important buffs or shields as well.
Unfortunately, it seems that Ayaka's potential in a Melt composition is a little more limited due to internal cooldowns. Supports like Xiangling will do a lot of damage when combined with Ayaka but it will require more planning and will likely have a lower damage ceiling than Freeze compositions. Nonetheless, Ayaka's strength is her constant Cryo application and this opens up a lot of possibilities for different Genshin Impact team compositions. As always, if players are unsure if they will enjoy her playstyle or mechanics, Ayaka will be available on a trial run when the Inazuma update is released.
Genshin Impact is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.