Genshin Impact Ayato build strengthens his powerful Shunsuiken attacks

He does what he can for his family, that’s for sure. Kamisato Ayato, the head of the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commissioner, took charge of his clan at a young age with the finesse of a grown politician. He handles the governance side of the clan while his sister, Ayaka, manages the clan’s internal and external affairs.

Both Kamisato siblings make formidable allies in many team comps. In Ayato’s case, he’s known for his fast-hitting Shunsuiken normal attacks and a kit that complements the Echoes of an Offering artifact set. He and Childe are two of the best Hydro DPSes in the game that serve different purposes depending on the team.

If you are wishing for Ayaka's brother, this Genshin Impact Ayato build guide should help give you some ideas for equipping the head of the Kamisato Clan. We've got a top-tier build, and a free-to-play one if you're less fond of hurling your wishes into the weapon banner.

The best Genshin Impact Ayato build

First and foremost, Ayato is a damage-dealer with a focus on normal attacks. He has a special variant known as Shunsuiken that he activates with his elemental skill. These AoE Hydro slashes hit faster than regular normal attacks, and gain increased damage with the Namisen stacks that Ayato gains every time one of the slashes lands. He can stack up to four of these, and each buffs the damage of those Shunsuiken Slashes, based upon his max HP.

Once you unlock his passive skill, Kamisato Art: Mine Wo Matoishi Kiyotaki, he'll gain two Namisen stacks as soon as he activates it, and max stacks when the water illusion it creates explodes. In this sense, a good Ayato build gives him lots of HP to maximize the effect of the Namisen, but also prioritizes critical rate and critical damage, to make the most of the fast-hitting Shunsuiken strikes:

• Weapon: Haran Geppaku Futsu or Primordial Jade Cutter
• Artifact: (4) Echoes of an Offering — ATK +18 percent. When Normal Attacks hit opponents, there is a 36 percent chance that it will trigger Valley Rite, which will increase Normal Attack DMG by 70 percent of ATK. This effect will be dispelled 0.05 seconds after a Normal Attack deals DMG. If a Normal Attack fails to trigger Valley Rite, the odds of it triggering the next time will increase by 2 percent. This trigger can occur once every 0.2 seconds.

Ayato's five-star sword, Haran Geppaku Futsu, is available alongside him on the Epitome Invocation banner, and its ability perfectly suits his playstyle. First off, it boosts critical rate as a substat, which is rather useful with his fast attacks. It also boosts elemental damage by 12 percent and adds a stackable called Wavespikes. You get one of these every time another character uses an elemental skill, up to a maximum of two, then when Ayato uses his elemental skill, each of these stacks is converted into a 20 percent normal attack buff for eight seconds.

Considering you're likely to use a couple of elemental skills in the form of shields or a turret, these Wavespikes are very easy to get and grant Ayato a massive bonus to his Shunsuiken normal attacks. However, if you already have the five-star Primordial Jade Cutter, this is another excellent choice for Ayato. The sword boosts HP, critical rate, and grants an attack bonus based on 1.2 percent of the wielder's max HP. Since you'll be building HP anyway to take advantage of the Namisen effect, this weapon synergizes super well.

In terms of artifacts, you can tell the new Echoes of an Offering set was made with Ayato in mind. Two pieces increase attack by 18 percent, while four pieces add a new effect called Valley Rite. When you hit an opponent with a normal attack, there is a 36 percent chance that this triggers, boosting normal attack damage by 70 percent of attack for that hit. If it fails to trigger, the odds of it occurring with the next attack are increased by 20 percent.

Considering how fast Ayato is going to be hitting enemies with his Shunsuiken normal attacks, Valley Rite should trigger pretty often. When you also take into account Wavespikes from the sword, Namisen stacks, and crits, he should be a force to reckon with.

Genshin Impact Ayato F2P build

If you don't feel like throwing wishes into the weapon banner void, then you're in luck. There is an excellent three-star weapon and craftable four-star weapon for Ayato:

• Weapon: Harbinger of Dawn or Amenoma Kageuchi
• Artifact: (4) Echoes of an Offering

The Harbinger of Dawn boosts critical damage as a substat, and increases critical rate by 14 percent when HP is above 90 percent. Provided you've got a decent healer or shielder, this should easily be achievable, and will grant Ayato a healthy boost to his crit potential. If you already happen to have one, as with Ayaka, the four-star Black Sword is a good pick for Ayato too. It boosts critical rate, buffs normal and charged attacks by 20 percent, and critical hits regenerate 60 percent of attack as health once every five seconds.

Meanwhile, Amenoma Kageuchi has become a popular F2P pick because of how it can raise Ayato’s attack by a whopping 55.1 percent and make him look good while doing it. It’s a craftable weapon that better suits a sub DPS Ayato because the sword’s passive ability recharges his energy and makes it easier to repeatedly cast his Elemental Burst. Still, if you don’t want to pay for a Black Sword and don’t have any other suitable weapons, it’s a respectable alternative to Harbinger of Dawn.

For artifacts, you'll also want the Echoes of an Offering set that you can get from the domain in The Chasm. If you don't feel like farming artifacts, Gladiator's Finale, Heart of Depth, or a mixture of the two would work well for a Hydro damage and attack boost. As above, in terms of stats you'll want to prioritize HP to strengthen the Namisen effect, as well as critical rate, critical damage, and attack. You'll also want to build some energy recharge, but considering Ayato regenerates two energy every second up to 40 when off the field, it's not as vital. It mainly depends on how often you want to use his burst. A Hydro damage bonus artifact wouldn't be bad either.

And that's our Genshin Impact Ayato build guide. Good luck with grabbing him!