Best Ayato Builds, Weapons, and Teams in Genshin Impact

Kamisato Ayato is a 5-star Hydro Sword DPS in Genshin Impact. Here are the best weapons, artifacts, and teams to maximize Ayato’s damage!

Playstyles

Ayato is an on-field Hydro DPS. Using his Skill causes him to dash backward, leaving a copy of himself on the field. For six seconds after using his Skill, his Normal Attacks are replaced with Shunsuiken slashes that deal Hydro damage in an AoE. 

Ayato’s Burst creates a large circular field that buffs the Normal Attacks of anyone inside. It will also deal damage to random enemies within its AoE, following the same targeting mechanics as Ganyu and Albedo’s Bursts.

In combat, you should set up your teammates’ skills, then swap to Ayato and use his Burst, then Skill, then spam Shunsuiken slashes. You can hold down the Normal Attack button to keep performing Shunsuiken slashes, saving your mouse from some button-mashing abuse. 

If you’re able, try to use Ayato’s Skill and Shunsuiken slashes twice in a rotation in order to maximize his damage. This isn’t always possible, though.

Despite dealing Normal Attack damage, Ayato’s Shunsuiken slashes use his Skill talent scalings. You should level up Ayato’s Skill as much as possible, and you can ignore his Normal Attack talent.

Weapons

Haran Geppaku Futsu
Ayato’s 5-star signature Sword is his best weapon. However, the difference between his Haran and the 5-star options below is quite small. I don’t recommend pulling for this weapon if you already have a Primordial Jade Cutter, Mistsplitter Reforged, or Light of Foliar Incision.

Primordial Jade Cutter
This is Ayato’s second-best weapon, performing almost as well as his signature. Use it if you have it.

Mistsplitter Reforged / Light of Foliar Incision
These two fall a bit behind Haran and Primordial Jade Cutter, but the difference is still somewhat small. They make great weapons for Ayato if you have a spare in your inventory.

The Black Sword
The BP-exclusive Black Sword is Ayato’s best 4-star weapon. Refinements only improve its damage by a small amount, so don’t feel pressured to buy more Battle Passes to refine this weapon.

Amenoma Kageuchi / Kagotsurube Isshin
These are the free-to-play accessible options for Ayato. Amenoma helps immensely with his Energy needs, especially with Refinements. Kagotsurube Isshin was obtained through a past event and is locked at Refinement Rank 1.

Artifacts

4pc Heart of Depth (4HoD) / 4pc Gladiator’s Finale (4GF)
Both of these sets work great for Ayato and can be obtained from artifact strongboxes. Farm whichever set makes more sense for your account, or just use whichever has better substats.

4pc Echoes of an Offering (4Echo)
This artifact set is extremely finicky. Its proc rate is inconsistent and dependent on your ping. If you regularly experience ping around 100ms or greater, its passive may not proc as often as it should. If you have a reliable, fast internet connection, 4Echo performs similarly to the other two sets above.

2pc combos
If you lack a functional 4pc set, you can combine 2pc sets that grant Hydro DMG, Normal Attack DMG, and ATK. You might even consider 2pc Energy Recharge, depending on your Energy needs.

Artifact Stats

Ayato only generates particles from his Shunsuiken slashes, not when he initially casts his Skill. This means that if you don’t use Shunsuiken slashes, or only do one set of Shunsuiken slashes in a rotation, Ayato generates very little Energy. His actual Energy needs vary widely depending on his weapon, team, and rotation. 

I recommend around 150-170% Energy Recharge if he has another Hydro teammate or is able to perform two sets of Shunsuiken slashes in a rotation.

Aside from Energy Recharge, you should focus on CRIT Rate/DMG and ATK.

Teams

Hyperbloom / Burgeon

Ayato can apply Hydro to enable Bloom, creating Dendro Cores. Hitting the Dendro Cores with Electro or Pyro triggers Hyperbloom or Burgeon, respectively. These teams are fairly easy to play and offer reliable damage output. Make sure your Hyperbloom/Burgeon trigger is built with as much Elemental Mastery as you can get.

• Dendro applier: Nahida or Dendro Traveler
• Hyperbloom trigger: Raiden or Kuki Shinobu
• Burgeon trigger: Thoma
• Flex: Zhongli, Baizhu, Yaoyao, Kazuha, Sucrose, Furina, Xingqiu, or Yelan

Vaporize

Ayato’s Hydro application is a bit slower and more RNG-reliant than Childe, Xingqiu, and Yelan’s. When paired with Xiangling in a classic reverse Vaporize team, Xiangling may not Vaporize all of her Pyronado hits. This problem is exacerbated when combined with an Anemo unit, which is typically a mainstay in Vaporize teams. Even without 100% efficiency though, these teams are easy to play and capable of respectable damage.

• Xiangling and Bennett are non-negotiable. You’ll need both.
• Anemo flex: Kazuha or Sucrose
• Other flex: Zhongli, Fischl, or Furina

Reaction Soup

Combine Ayato’s Hydro with Electro, Pyro, and Anemo, and you end up with a potent soup of Electro-Charged, Vaporize, Overload, and Swirl. This is maximum chaos, filling your screen with a rainbow of numbers. I don’t recommend Xiangling here, since you only have one team slot for a Pyro unit. Without Bennett, Xiangling’s Energy requirements can get prohibitively high. Instead, pair Bennett with an Anemo unit and try to infuse their Burst with Bennett’s Pyro. This is easiest with Kazuha or Jean.

• Electro: Fischl or Yae Miko
• Pyro: Bennett
• Anemo: Kazuha, Jean, Sucrose, or Venti