Genshin Impact Ganyu Guide: Kit, Best Weapons, And Artifacts

Welcome back friends to another week of Genshin Impact Guides. This week we will be talking about a character that has not had a rerun in Genshin for some time. A character that is considered to be one of the strongest characters in the game not only for her high damage output, but also for her ease of use. This week we will be learning about the 5-Star cocogoat character, Ganyu.

Let's start with Ganyu’s normal attack. Ganyu's normal attack skill is imperative, but players aren't going to want to shoot her arrows as they do Yoimiya. Instead, her power comes from her charged attack. While aiming, an icy aura will accumulate on the arrowhead before the arrow is fired. Each charge has different effects based on how long the energy has been charged. Charge One offers an icy arrow that deals Cryo DMG. Charge Two fires off a Frostflake Arrow that deals Cryo DMG and then blooms after hitting its target, dealing AoE Cryo DMG. In addition, Ganyu’s talent, Undivided Heart, will increase the CRIT Rate of subsequent Frostflake Arrows by 20% for 5s.

We are going to skip Ganyu’s skill (Trail of the Qillin) for a moment and talk about her Burst, Celestial Shower. Ganyu is able to summon an Ice Soul Gem from frost and snow that exorcizes evil. During the abilities duration, the Ice Soul Gem will continuously rain down shards of ice, striking enemies within an AoE and dealing Cryo DMG. Her Burst acts as an enabler for reaction-based teams like freeze or melt.

Lastly, Ganyu’s skill Trail of the Qillin is a taunt that moves her backward away from enemies. Ganyu leaves behind an Ice Lotus that allows Ganyu to dash backward, while simultaneously dealing Cryo DMG. The Ice Lotus flower will continuously taunt surrounding enemies as long as it is active. This will give Ganyu a chance to reposition herself, or to start charging up her normal attack. The Ice Lotus’ endurance scales off of Ganyu’s max HP, and when destroyed or its duration ends, will deal AoE Cryo DMG.

If players want to have Ganyu on the field as much as possible, prioritize Ganyu’s Normal attack followed by her burst, and lastly her skill. However, if players want to have Ganyu off the field, mainly utilizing her burst, level up her burst, followed by her skill, and then her normal attack.

Best Weapons

• Best 5-Star: Amos’ Bow

The Amos’ Bow is where aesthetics meet strength. If players are lucky enough to snag this 5-Star weapon it will greatly benefit Ganyu. This bow increases Normal and Charged Attack DMG by 12%, and after a Normal or Charged Attack is fired, DMG dealt increases by a further 8% every 0.1s the arrow is in the air for up to 5 times.

• Best 4-Star: Prototype Crescent/ Hamayumi

Both bows will require players to craft these weapons and Hamayumi’s recipe is locked until players reach Inazuma. The Prototype Crescent will increase ATK by 36% for 10s, but only when Charged Attacks hit on weak points. The Hamayumi, on the other hand, will increase Charged Attack DMG by 12% regardless of where they hit the enemy. Also, when the equipping character’s Energy reaches 100% the effect also increases by 100%

• Best 3-Star: Messenger

Messenger is a great weapon early on for Ganyu, as charged attack hits on weak points deal an additional 100% ATK DMG as CRIT DMG. The only issue with this weapon is that players will need to be targeting the enemy's weak points in order to fully benefit from this weapon.

Digging Into Artifacts

Players should go for a Cryo DMG Goblet or ATK% as a placeholder until a perfect Cryo DMG Goblet comes around. For Ganyu’s circlet, players should go for either Crit Rate or Crit DMG. Then, for Sands, either ATK% or EM will suffice. The EM will benefit a melt team, whereas ATK% offers more versatility if players want to have her in multiple different teams. Substats to look for are Crit, ATK%, EM, and ER.

• Martial Artist/ The Exile :

These artifacts are for our under AR45 players who have not begun farming for artifacts yet. Martial Artist will increase charged ATK DMG, which is perfect for players who want to have Ganyu on-field as much as possible. For players who want Ganyu to be off-field, the Exile’s set would be a good choice as it will increase Ganyu’s ER by 20%. For early-level artifacts, players don't need to focus too much on a 4-Piece set but should prioritize sub-stats to build their character.

• Wanderer’s Troupe:

Just as we recommended for Tighnari, Wanderer’s Troupe is great for Ganyu as the 4-Piece set will give EM and will buff Changed Attack DMG. This is also a great set for Ganyu as the extra EM will benefit her melt reactions.

• Blizzard Strayer:

If players are trying to utilize a permafreeze team, then Blizzard Strayer is the best as when a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, their CRIT Rate is increased by 20%. Then, if the opponent is Frozen, CRIT rate is increased by an additional 20%.

• Emblem of Severed Fate/ Noblesse Oblige:

Now, for a support Ganyu build, players can’t go wrong with a 4-Piece Emblem of Severed Fate or Noblesse Oblige. Both sets have similar stats and really depends if you want the Elemental Burst damage to extend to all party members (Noblesse) or have a maximum of 75% bonus DMG given through increased Elemental burst DMG.

Overall, Ganyu is a strong character with an easy kit to learn and understand. She is great as a main DPS or as off-field support. While Ganyu at the time of writing is no longer a new character, she is still one of the strongest main DPS Cryo characters in Genshin Impact. If you have not already, please feel free to check out our other Genshin Guides, like last week where we covered the new Dendro 5-Star Tighnari.

As always, keep enjoying Sumeru and we will see you next week for another Genshin Guide.