The best Genshin Impact Kamisato Ayato build

Want to learn how to create the best build for Kamisato Ayato in Genshin Impact? Kamisato Ayato joined Genshin Impact's playable roster in Version 2.6, as the long-awaited head of Inazuma's Kamisato clan and older brother to popular character Ayaka. As a Hydro sword wielder he's basically a 5-star version of Xingqiu, who himself has the distinction of being one of the game's best 4-star characters, suitable to take on a variety of roles. Ayato is similarly versatile, capable of carrying off a DPS or support role with equal aplomb.

On this page, we'll go over our best build for Ayato that can be adapted for either DPS or elemental support, since these are his two strongest roles in a party.

Best Genshin Impact Kamisato Ayato build for DPS or Hydro support

Best weapon: Haran Geppaku Futsu

Alternative: The Black Sword

Ayato's strongest base talent is his Elemental Skill, but equip him with the right sword and he becomes a dab hand in normal melee combat as well. As is often the case with new characters, his ideal weapon is the Haran Geppaku Futsu, a new 5-star sword which debuted along with Ayato himself in Version 2.6. This sword could have been (and, realistically, probably was) designed with Ayato's kit in mind: while he has it equipped, any character in the party using their Elemental Skill will stack Wavespike on Ayato for up to two stacks. Then, when Ayato uses his skill, Wavespike will be consumed to grant Rippling Upheaval, the effects of which will increase his normal attack DMG on a sliding scale for the next 8 seconds. Furthermore, Ayato will gain an across-the-board Elemental Damage bonus of at least 12% while he has this sword equipped.

Desirable though the Haran Geppaku Futsu is, it's an admittedly tall order to equip a brand-new 5-star character with a brand-new 5-star weapon. While it's nowhere near as flashy, The Black Sword makes for a far more obtainable 4-star alternative. With it equipped, Ayato's normal and charged attacks will deal at least 20% more damage; and upon scoring a critical hit, he'll regenerate his health to the tune of at least 60% of his attack stat. Not a bad deal by any means.

Best artifacts: Heart of Depth

Set bonuses:

• 2 pieces: Hydro DMG +15%
• 4 pieces: After using Elemental Skill, Normal and Charged ATK DMG +30% for 15 seconds

There's a clear winner for Ayato's best artifact set, since Heart of Depth feeds into his talents beautifully for increased damage that will basically remain in effect for as long as he's on the field. If you can't get hold of four pieces of the set straight away, however, the next best alternative is to stick on as many as you have alongside two pieces from any set that boosts normal attack (e.g. Gladiator's Finale or Echoes of an Offering, both of which add 18% ATK as their two-piece set bonuses).

Unsurprisingly, you'll want to prioritise many of the same areas when choosing which stats and substats you want to see on Ayato's artifacts:

• Circlet of Logos: CRITs
• Sands of Eon: ATK
• Goblet of Eonothem: Hydro DMG Bonus
• Substats: CRITs and ATK

Talent priority: Kamisato Art - Kyouka (Elemental Skill)

Secondary: Kamisato Art - Korobi (Normal Attack)

It's really worth developing all of Ayato's talents, as there isn't a dud in the bunch. However, I've recommended this priority based on the fact that this build focuses on his Elemental Burst a little bit less; although, if you're leaning fully into his capacities as a Hydro support character, you can definitely put his Burst ahead of his Normal attack without sacrificing any of his strength. That being said, Ayato is one character I'd be quite happy to take the time and effort to triple crown.

Here's a full list of Ayato's talents and what they do:

• Kamisato Art: Marobashi (Normal Attack)
• Normal Attack: Ayato performs up to five rapid strikes with his sword.
• Charged Attack: Ayato consumes stamina to dash forward and perform and iai with his sword.
• Plunging Attack: Ayato plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
• Kamisato Art: Kyouka (Elemental Skill): Ayato shifts positions and enters the Takimeguri Kanka state. In this state, Ayato uses his Shunsuiken to engage in blindingly fast attacks, causing DMG from his Normal Attacks to be converted into AoE Hydro DMG; this cannot be overridden. Takimeguri Kanka also has the following properties while it is active: after a Shunsuiken attack hits an opponent, it will grant Ayato the Namisen effect, increasing the DMG dealt by Shunsuiken based on Ayato's current Max HP (for up to four stacks); his resistance to interruption is increased; and he is unable to use Charged or Plunging Attacks. Takimeguri Kanka will be cleared when Ayato leaves the field. Deploying his skill again while in the Takimeguri Kanka state will reset and replace the pre-existing state. Finally, after shifting into the Takimeguri Kanka state, Ayato will leave a watery illusion at his original location. After it is formed, the watery illusion will explode if opponents are nearby or after its duration ends, dealing AoE Hydro DMG.
• Kamisato Art: Suiyuu (Elemental Burst): "Unveils a garden of purity that silences the cacophony within." While this space exists, Bloomwater Blades will constantly rain down and attack opponents within its AoE, dealing Hydro DMG and increasing the Normal Attack DMG of characters within.
• Kamisato Art: Mine Wo Matoishi Kiyotaki (1st Ascension Passive): Ayato's Elemental Skill gains the following properties: After it is used, Ayato will gain two Namisen stacks; amd when the water illusion explodes, Ayato will gain a Namisen effect equal to the maximum number of stacks possible.
• Kamisato Art: Michiyuku Hagetsu (4th Ascension Passive): If Ayato is not on the field and his Energy is less than 40, he will regenerate two Energy for himself every second.
• Kamisato Art: Daily Cooking (Utility Passive): When Ayato cooks a dish perfectly, he has an 18% chance to receive an additional "Suspicious" dish of the same type.

Party composition

• DPS: Rosaria
• DPS/support: Kamisato Ayato
• Sub-DPS: Thoma
• Healer: Barbara

5-star alternative: Kamisato Ayaka replacing Rosaria as DPS

Whether you're choosing to have him focus on DPS or support, it's frankly a waste of Ayato's Hydro element not to pair him with a Cryo character somewhere on his team, since by working together they can Freeze enemies (one of the most powerful elemental reactions in the game). There is, of course, something deeply satisfying about pairing him up with his little sister Ayaka, a Cryo character who's quite her brother's equal and can join him in a narratively appropriate joint-DPS capacity, or as DPS to Ayato's Hydro support. However, as Ayaka is also a 5-star character, your odds of pulling them both aren't great; and what's more, 4-star Cryo characters are relatively rare and can be hard to build. Of the limited pool of candidates, Rosaria is the best 4-star Cryo character for pure DPS, so she's my recommended replacement if you don't have access to any of Genshin's seeming army of excellent 5-star Cryo characters.

I swear I'm not being swept up in theming here: it's just that the Genshin devs are getting pretty good at making Inazuma characters who fit well into a party with their canonical mates. That's my excuse, anyway, for recommending Thoma as Ayato's sub-DPS. In-story, Thoma is the Kamisato clan's top retainer and close pal of Ayaka; but crucially, when partied up with Ayato, the pair can trigger the Vaporize elemental reaction, which debuffs affected enemies and forces them to take extra damage. Furthermore, Thoma can trigger the similarly devastating Melt reaction with the Cryo DPS. He is also, genuinely, one of the best 4-star Pyro characters in the mix, not to mention the only 4-star Pyro sub-DPS specialist; and it's always a good idea to have a Pyro character in your team for utility, particularly if Hydro and/or Cryo are represented too.

Finally, since this team composition is heavily focused on aggression, I recommend rounding it out with a strong defence in the form of Barbara as your healer. Barbara is an extremely easy-to-obtain free-to-play character and one of the best healers in the game. What's more, pairing her with fellow Hydro character Ayato will trigger the Soothing Waters elemental resonance, which passively increases incoming healing by 30% (and, as an added bonus, reduces the time all party members are affected by Pyro debuffs by 40%).

How to level up Ayato in Genshin Impact

Ascension Materials

To fully ascend Kamisato Ayato, you'll need the following materials:

To gather all of these materials you'll need to put your game face on and get ready to do a lot of fighting, because most of them are dropped by various enemies: Dews of Repudiation from Hydro Hypostases at Lvl 30+; Handguards from various Nobushi type enemies (including Kairagi) native to Inazuma; and Varunada Lazurite pieces from both normal and weekly bosses (or via Alchemy, if you want a break). Fortunately, when you want to just chill out and harvest some sakura blooms, you can go to Narukami Island and do just that without having to draw your sword. Probably.

Talents

Crowning a single talent of Ayato's will take the following materials:

I've already said above that I'd recommend crowning all three of Ayato's talents if you can, which means collecting all of this three times over. I can only apologise. Still, you can gather the Handguards from the same Nobushi type enemies as for Ayato's Ascension Materials, which at least allows you to collect for both types of levelling at once. Ayato's books can be picked up at the Violet Court domain (Tuesday/Friday/Sunday only), while Mudras of the Malefic General are awarded for defeating Raiden Shogun in her boss form as part of the Guardian of Eternity trounce domain at Lvl 70+. Finally, Crowns of Insight can be obtained through limited-time events or by making offerings to the Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura.

Constellations

Because Ayato is a time-limited 5-star character, the likelihood of most players ever seeing his Constellations is extremely low. However, they are there and theoretically obtainable, even if I could never in good conscience advise you to spend the money you'd need to get all of them. Luckily, characters in Ayato's position tend to have Constellations that are nice to have but far from an essential component to their build. Here's the full list, just for fun:

• Kyouka Fuushi (Lvl 1): Shunsuiken DMG is increased by 40% against opponents with 50% HP or less.
• World Source (Lvl 2): Namisen's maximum stack count is increased to five. When Kamisato Ayato has at least three Namisen stacks, his Max HP is increased by 50%.
• To Admire The Flowers (Lvl 3): Increases the level of Ayato's Elemental Skill by three (maximum upgrade level is 15).
• Endless Flow (Lvl 4): After Ayato uses his Elemental Burst, all nearby party members will have 15% increased Normal Attack SPD for 15 seconds.
• Bansui Ichiro (Lvl 5): Increases the level of Ayato's Elemental Burst by three (maximum upgrade level is 15).
• Boundless Origin (Lvl 6): After using his Elemental Skill, Ayato's next Shunsuiken attack will create two extra Shunsuiken strikes when they hit opponents, each one dealing 450% of Ayato's ATK as DMG. Both these Shunsuiken attacks will not be affected by Namisen.

How to get Kamisato Ayato in Genshin Impact

Ayato is a limited character who's only available to wish for when his Character Event Wish banner, Azure Excursion, gets a run in the gacha. Ayato made his Genshin Impact debut between March 30th and April 19th, 2022, and now that it's ended he's once again unavailable until his banner gets a rerun. This usually occurs for 5-star event characters between one and three times a year.

If you’re looking to save up for Ayato's rerun, check out our guide on getting characters to learn the best ways to prep, or our codes list to get some free Primogems!

Believe it or not, Ayato is the 48th playable character added in just 18 months since Genshin Impact launched! That's a lot of units to choose from when deciding who to wish for. Luckily, we've got you covered with our page on how to get more characters in Genshin Impact, as well as our Genshin Impact best characters tier list.