The best Genshin Impact Aloy build makes easy prey of your enemies

Trying to track down a decent Genshin Impact Aloy build? It's not every day we get a free five-star character, but the introduction of Horizon Zero Dawn's robot hunter is pretty special, marking the first proper character collaboration to appear in-game. This opens up all sorts of doors, and more in-game crossovers mean more free characters. That’s great news for all the no-spend players in particular. But first thing’s first: Let’s get your Aloy optimized so she can become a mainstay in your rotating lineup.

Aloy isn't a character to be sniffed at. Just like Diluc, this hunter is a straightforward damage-dealer who can stack Coils to infuse her normal attacks with Cryo, and she has a pretty powerful AoE burst. As with other characters capable of elemental infusions, like Childe or Keqing, this makes her easy to build and get value from.

Speaking of hunting big robots: Labyrinth Warriors is done-and-dusted, and that means the Shadow of the Ancients event has begun, letting us battle a self-reviving Ruin Grader. Now might be the perfect time to claim the Cryo archer⁠ (if you haven't already) and have her do what she does best: smash some machines.

The best Genshin Impact Aloy build

Before we start, it's important to remember that you can only claim Aloy until November 24, 2021, and you do this by heading to your in-game mailbox. Once that date has passed, she'll be gone for good. Now, on with the build.

Aloy is yet another strong addition to Genshin's roster of Cryo characters like Eula, Ganyu, Diona, and even humble Kaeya. Her strength lies in her Coils, easy-to-farm normal attack boosts that stack and grant her Cryo-infusion when she reaches four. You can get decent value from Aloy if you focus on artifacts and weapons that further strengthen those normal attacks and her ability to deal Cryo damage.

This build should do both:

• Weapon: Thundering Pulse
• Artifact: (2) Blizzard Strayer, (2) Gladiator's Finale

The five-star bow, Thundering Pulse, is a top-tier pick for most Genshin DPS archers. It boosts attack by 20 percent, but more importantly for Aloy, introduces Thunder Emblems. These are another stackable resource, and you get them by landing a normal attack, using an elemental skill, or having less than full energy.

Each stack has an independent duration, but what matters is that they incrementally boost normal attack damage by 12 percent, 24 percent, and 40 percent. Considering Aloy gets Coils by hitting enemies with the Chillwater Bomblets from her elemental skill, adding Thunder Emblems to the mix contributes an even bigger increase to her normal attack damage.

In terms of artifacts, two-pieces of Blizzard Strayer increase the effectiveness of Aloy's burst and skill with a 15 percent boost in Cryo damage. Two-pieces of Gladiator's Finale top this off with an 18 percent attack boost, rounding out a build that should increase Aloy's damage-dealing effectiveness across the board.

Genshin Impact Aloy F2P build

Only PlayStation-users got their paws on Aloy's special four-star Predator bow—the obvious free-to-play weapon option. Luckily, there are plenty of other easy-to-get four-star bows and artifacts that suit her well:

• Weapon: The Stringless or Rust
• Artifact: (2) Noblesse Oblige (2) Blizzard Strayer

If you still want to focus on strengthening Aloy's normal attacks, then Rust is a good four-star weapon. This bow boosts normal attack damage by 40 percent while decreasing charged attacks by ten. Considering you'll basically never use charged attacks, unless activating an elemental puzzle, or weak point-striking a Ruin Machine, this isn't a great loss. If you'd prefer to focus on Aloy's abilities instead, The Stringless is a better option, boosting elemental skill and burst damage by 24 percent.

If you go with Rust, we recommend the same artifacts as our first build. However, if you don't have Blizzard Strayer or Gladiator's Finale, you can always pad out either with a two-piece of Brave Heart, Resolution of the Sojourner, or Shimenawa's Reminiscence, which all grant an 18 percent attack boost.

For those that choose The Stringless, Noblesse Oblige and Blizzard Strayer are your ideal options. Two-pieces of Noblesse boost burst damage by 20 percent, and as mentioned, Blizzard Strayer increases Cryo damage by 15 percent with two-pieces. If you don't have Noblesse Oblige, then the Gambler could also work, since it offers a 20 percent boost in elemental skill damage. Either that, or two-pieces of Scholar, The Exile, or Emblem of Severed Fate, which all grant a 20 percent energy recharge bonus, so you can use Aloy's burst more often.

With that, there should be at least one build here that you have the weapon and artifacts for. Happy hunting!