Best Build for Kaeya in Genshin Impact
sword character in Genshin Impact. This guide covers the best builds, weapons and artifacts for Kaeya.Pros & Cons
- Decent DPS and Sub-DPS Potential
- Mobile Elemental Burst
- Excellent Cryo battery
- Flexible Roles
- Powerful Constellations
- Very short burst uptime
- Constellations are hard to obtain
- Limited F2P Weapons
Skills
Normal Attack
Perform up to 5 rapid strikes.
Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to unleash 2 rapid sword strikes.
Plunging Attack
Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Unleashes a frigid blast, dealing Cryo DMG to opponents in front of Kaeya.
Coalescing the frost in the air, Kaeya summons 3 icicles that revolve around him.
These icicles will follow the character around and deal Cryo DMG to opponents in their path for the ability's duration.
Passives
Decreases sprinting Stamina consumption for your own party members by 20%.
Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects.
Every hit with Frostgnaw regenerates HP for Kaeya equal to 15% of his ATK.
Opponents Frozen by Frostgnaw will drop additional Elemental Particles.
Frostgnaw may only produce a maximum of 2 additional Elemental Particles per use.
Constellations
The CRIT Rate of Kaeya's Normal and Charge Attacks against opponents affected by Cryo is increased by 15%.
Every time Glacial Waltz defeats an opponent during its duration, its duration is increased by 2.5s, up to a maximum of 15s.
Increases the Level of Frostgnaw by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Triggers automatically when Kaeya's HP falls below 20%:
Creates a shield that absorbs damage equal to 30% of Kaeya's Max HP. Lasts for 20s.
This shield absorbs Cryo DMG with 250% efficiency.
Can only occur once every 60s.
Increases the Level of Glacial Waltz by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
Glacial Waltz will generate 1 additional icicle, and will regenerate 15 Energy when cast.
Ascension
| Rank | Level | Cost 
|
Materials | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 20,000 | ||||
| 2 | 40 | 40,000 |
 10 |
|||
| 3 | 50 | 60,000 |
20 |
|||
| 4 | 60 | 80,000 |
30 |
|||
| 5 | 70 | 100,000 |
45 |
|||
| 6 | 80 | 120,000 |
60 |
|||
Teams
For a detailed breakdown of the best Kaeya teams go to the Kaeya team guide page.
Builds
Cryo DPS Build
Kaeya excels as a freeze DPS, assuming he is supported by Chongyun and Xingqiu. With the right setup, he can passively gain massive Crit Rate.
Normal Attack = Burst > Skill
Although Kaeya's burst has a very short uptime, it deals decent damage which improves at higher constellations. Normal attacks are also prioritized, since he will most likely need to do normal attacks to apply Cryo and Hydro.
Main stats: ATK/Cryo DMG/Crit DMG
Substats: Crit DMG/ER/ATK
Ideally he should be getting at 55%-70% Crit Rate before factoring in artifact stats: 40% from 4PC Blizzard, 15% from Cryo Resonance, and 15% from C1. This allows him to fully stack ATK% and Crit DMG instead.
WeaponsMistsplitter Reforged is Kaeya's best weapon due to the high Base ATK, valuable Crit DMG, and powerful passive. Kaeya can easily reach full stacks of the passive due to his playstyle.
Gain a 12~24% Elemental DMG Bonus for every element and receive the might of Mistsplitter's Emblem. At stack levels 1/2/3, Mistsplitter's Emblem provides a 8/16/28~16/32/56% 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.It is difficult for Kaeya to maximize Summit Shaper's passive since the team comp usually involves Kaeya/Chongyun/Hydro. Having a dedicated shield support can hurt the team's overall damage since it locks out supports like Bennett, Shenhe, and 4PC VV users.
The Blackcliff Longsword performs very well due to its Crit DMG and ATK buff from its passive. Although the passive is powerful especially with refinements and stacks, it can be inconsistent since stacks cannot be obtained when fighting a single tanky enemy.
The Black Sword is the most usable Crit Rate weapon, since it has a decent Base ATK and not too much Crit Rate. Assuming C1 and zero Crit Rate artifact substats, this weapon brings the total Crit Rate to only a little over 100%. Kaeya's normal/charged attacks also benefit from the passive which improves further with more refinements.
PJC is less valuable than other 5★ weapons due to its relatively low Base ATK and redundant Crit Rate. Assuming C1 and zero Crit Rate artifact substats, this weapon provides too much Crit Rate which ends up hurting Kaeya's stat efficiency.
Haran gives free Elemental DMG bonus and a bunch of Crit Rate you might not need. It has good Base ATK so it's still a viable option: if you have it, use it.
Although Aquila Favonia's Physical DMG stat is usually wasted, it has the highest possible Base ATK and emergency healing from its passive.
ATK is increased by 20~40%.
Triggers on taking DMG: the soul of the Falcon of the West awakens, holding the banner of the resistance aloft, regenerating HP equal to 100~160% of ATK and dealing 200~320% of ATK as DMG to surrounding opponents. This effect can only occur once every 15s.Skyward Blade is slightly weaker than Aquila Favonia, but having ER as a second stat helps Kaeya's burst uptime.
CRIT Rate increased by 4~8%.
Gains Skypiercing Might upon using Elemental Burst: Increases Movement SPD by 10%, increases ATK SPD by 10%, and Normal and Charged hits deal additional DMG equal to 20~40% of ATK. Skypiercing Might lasts for 12s.The Flute has decent ATK stats and Kaeya can effectively utilize the passive.
A solid pick if Refinement 5, might need extra ATK sources to compensate its low base ATK.
Although Cool Steel may be a F2P option with a good passive, it has the lowest ATK stats and quickly becomes obsolete.
ArtifactsThis set provides massive Crit Rate to Kaeya, allowing him to focus on ATK and Crit DMG. If Kaeya does not use this set, then the Overcrit Weapons become viable.
These 2PC set combinations are weaker in terms of damage and can cause tradeoffs, but are easier to farm.
Blizzard: Major buff to entire kit (assuming Chongyun's skill is active)
Gladiator/Shimenawa: Minor buff to entire kit
Noblesse: Major buff to burst
4PC Gladiator's Finale will focus on buffing Kaeya's normal attacks. His skill and burst only receive a small 18% ATK buff from the 2PC effect, which can hurt his overall damage. This set is also difficult to farm since it has no artifact domain.
This set is not recommended since it requires a shield and is inefficient to farm. If Kaeya can somehow maintain a consistent shield, this set synergizes extremely well with Summit Shaper. Despite this, it is only marginally stronger than 4PC Gladiator since his skill and burst do not receive buffs.
Burst Support Build
This build focuses on using Kaeya's burst for damage and Cryo application. His burst is used for setting up Freeze/Melt for melee characters. Kaeya is somewhat ineffective at triggering Reverse Melt because of his ICD. Due to the very short burst uptime, it is important that Kaeya recharges his burst during cooldown to be able to recast it ASAP. At C2, increasing his burst damage is worth the trouble since defeating enemies will extend the duration of his burst.
Burst > Skill
His burst will deal most of the damage and should be prioritized. His skill should also be leveled since Kaeya can cast it frequently when generating energy.
Main stats: ATK or ER/Cryo DMG/Crit
Substats: Crit/ER/ATK/EM
Even though Kaeya has built-in ER, he will need ER sands especially if his weapon does not provide it. Crit and ATK are usually the important stats to stack. EM should only be important if Kaeya's burst can consistently Reverse Melt and if his weapon has no EM.
WeaponsThese weapons are the best for increasing Kaeya's burst damage due to their superior Base ATKs and offense-based substats and passives, but make him more dependent on ER substats for burst uptime.
Gain a 12~24% Elemental DMG Bonus for every element and receive the might of Mistsplitter's Emblem. At stack levels 1/2/3, Mistsplitter's Emblem provides a 8/16/28~16/32/56% 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.These weapons are slightly weaker due to their lower Base ATKs and inferior passives, but greatly improve burst uptime and reduce his dependence on ER substats.
CRIT Rate increased by 4~8%.
Gains Skypiercing Might upon using Elemental Burst: Increases Movement SPD by 10%, increases ATK SPD by 10%, and Normal and Charged hits deal additional DMG equal to 20~40% of ATK. Skypiercing Might lasts for 12s.
These weapons are only viable if Kaeya is in a team that allows his burst to consistently trigger Reverse Melt. With high refinements, these weapons can outperform most other weapons.
A part of the "Millennial Movement" that wanders amidst the winds.
Increases DMG by 10~20%.
When the character wielding this weapon triggers Elemental Reactions, they gain a Sigil of Rebellion. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s and can be triggered even if said character is not on the field.
When you possess 2 Sigils of Rebellion, all of them will be consumed and all nearby party members will obtain "Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance" for 12s.
"Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance" increases Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG by 16~32% and increases ATK by 20~40%. Once this effect is triggered, you will not gain Sigils of Rebellion for 20s.
Of the many effects of the "Millennial Movement," buffs of the same type will not stack.
Favonius and Sacrificial Swords have lower Base ATKs, but their passives make Kaeya perform much better as a battery.
ArtifactsThis set is the best option for Kaeya since it improves both his burst damage and uptime.
These 2PC set combinations are weaker in terms of damage but are much easier to farm.
This provides a decent buff to Kaeya's burst while buffing the rest of your team. Only recommended if no one else can use this set.
Kaeya can trigger the 4PC effect often with his skill and burst. Generally not recommended due to the weaker scaling of 4★ artifacts, but this set can perform decently in a Reverse Melt team.
