Aloy Genshin Impact Guide for Artifacts, Weapons, and Skills

Around Version Update 2.1 and 2.2 of Genshin Impact, HoYoverse surprised players when they gave each active player at the time a free, limited 5-star character. Aloy, the protagonist of Guerilla Games’ hit game Horizon Zero Dawn, is introduced to the world of Teyvat as one of its playable characters. This was a promotion for the Horizon Game series being able to be cross-played between PlayStation and PC.

Aloy, nicknamed “Savior from Another World,” was the genetic clone of the roboticist and engineer in her home world who was given the purpose to stop the rogue AI that plans to annihilate all life by reviving war machines that wiped humanity once before. Now in Teyvat, she wields a bow along with a gleaming Cryo vision in hand. With her newly found elemental powers, she embarks on a whole new journey for survival, exploration, and to uncover the mysteries of her new world.

Whether you’re a Horizon Zero Dawn enthusiast or a Genshin Impact veteran, this will be your guide to harnessing Aloy’s prowess in the mystical world of Teyvat. Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery, strategy, and victory as we uncover the secrets behind Aloy’s power in Genshin Impact.

Best Artifact Set for Aloy

Even coming from a different world, Aloy can still make use of her smarts to make the artifacts of Teyvat suit her needs. Here are some of the best artifact sets to gear her up with.

Blizzard Strayer

The Blizzard Strayer artifact set grants the following effects:

• 2-Piece Set: Cryo DMG Bonus +15%
• 4-Piece Set: When a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, their CRIT Rate is increased by 20%. If the opponent is Frozen, the CRIT Rate is increased by an additional 20%

Any Cryo character that wants to deal critical attacks will mostly default to using the Blizzard Strayer set. Not only does it give the wearer Cryo DMG Bonus, but it also gives an additional bonus of 20-40% CRIT Rate, depending on your team composition. This lets players forgo the golden rule of CRIT being a 1:2 ratio and lets them stack CRIT DMG to their heart’s content so long as they still reach a 40% CRIT Rate.

Echoes of an Offering

The Echoes of an Offering artifact set grants the following effects:

• 2-Piece Set: ATK +18%
• 4-Piece Set: When Normal Attacks hit opponents, there is a 36% chance that it will trigger Valley Rite, which will increase Normal Attack DMG by 70% of ATK. This effect will be dispelled 0.05s 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 20%. This trigger can occur once every 0.2s.

Aloy’s DPS playstyle focuses on Normal Attacks, so the artifact set of Echoes of an Offering jumps up as one of her best choices. It offers bonus damage to her Normal Attacks up to 70% of ATK but does depend slightly on chance, which becomes likelier the more attacks you do. This effect, however, is affected by your ping, as ping determines the total amount of attacks you can do.

Artifact Stats to Prioritize

To maximize Aloy’s capabilities in this world, her stat should be prioritized in this order:

1. Cryo DMG Bonus (Goblet)
2. CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG (Circlet or substats)
3. ATK% (Sands or substats) 
4. Energy Recharge/Elemental Mastery (substats)

Cryo DMG Bonus is a must for her goblet artifact. When acquiring CRIT Rate, getting at least 40% will allow for a significant and consistent increase in damage output, especially if Aloy’s using the full set of Blizzard Strayer, which gives her access to additional CRIT Rate. As long as you hit a 40% CRIT Rate, prioritize obtaining as much CRIT DMG as you can from her artifacts and substats.

Aloy’s base damage is on the lower end of the spectrum for a 5-star character, so getting an ATK% sands is crucial to improve her damage. Reaching at least 1800 ATK will be optimal. For substats, focus on getting more ATK% for more damage and Energy Recharge for her Burst uptime. Elemental Mastery can prove useful if you use her for Melt reactions.

Best Weapons for Aloy

Aloy counts as a 5-star character, but she did not come with a weapon that matches her rarity upon release. That doesn’t stop this resourceful hunter from utilizing the best weapons Genshin Impact has to offer when it comes to bows.

• Thundering Pulse (CRIT DMG) – Increases ATK by 20% and grants the might of the Thunder Emblem. At stack levels 1/2/3, the Thunder Emblem increases Normal Attack DMG by 12/24/40%. The character will obtain 1 stack of Thunder Emblem in each of the following scenarios: Normal Attack deals DMG (stack lasts 5s), casting Elemental Skill (stack lasts 10s); Energy is less than 100% (stack disappears when Energy is full). Each stack’s duration is calculated independently.

In terms of gameplay, Aloy’s DPS playstyle is comparable to Yoimiya’s playstyle, another 5-Star bow character, albeit in the opposite element, as both characters rely on their element-infused Normal Attacks to dish out their damage. This makes Yoimiya’s complementary weapon, Thundering Pulse, one of Aloy’s best high-end options. It complements the Normal Attack heavy gameplay while also giving her a great amount of CRIT DMG.

• Skyward Harp (CRIT Rate) – Increases CRIT DMG by 20%. Hits have a 60% chance to inflict a small AoE attack, dealing 125% Physical ATK DMG. It can only occur once every 4s.

The Skyward Harp is simple but effective in terms of its weapon effects. It’s usually regarded as a great stat stick for bow users due to its high base ATK, a CRIT Rate secondary stat, and additional CRIT DMG in its passive. Aside from offering a good balance of all crucial stats, it’s easier to obtain because of its availability in the Standard Wish banner.

• Polar Star (CRIT Rate) – Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG increased by 12%. After a Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill, or Elemental Burst hits an opponent, 1 stack of Ashen Nightstar will be gained for 12s. When 1/2/3/4 stacks of Ashen Nightstar are present, ATK is increased by 10/20/30/48%. The stack of Ashen Nightstar created by the Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill, or Elemental Burst will be counted independently of the others.

Aloy will want to spam as much of her kit as she can when she takes the floor, so using Polar Star will offer a huge boost to her damage output, as her playstyle could easily stack up the weapon’s passive. Polar Star also comes with a massive CRIT Rate secondary stat that will always be welcome for Main DPS and Sub-DPS characters.

Budget Alternatives

Aloy might not have access to her arsenal of weapons from her home world of Horizon Zero Dawn, but that doesn’t mean she can’t improvise with any of these budget alternatives.

• Predator (ATK%) – Dealing Cryo DMG to opponents increases this character’s Normal and Charged Attack DMG by 10% for 6s. This effect can have a maximum of 2 stacks. Additionally, when Aloy equips Predator, ATK is increased by 66.

This is Aloy’s canon weapon, but it was only obtainable for Genshin Impact players who opened their accounts via PlayStation Network. This weapon increases Aloy’s Normal Attacks and empowers Cryo DMG, which she both wants. It also comes with an Aloy-specific passive that grants her additional ATK. Of course, the Predator also gives Aloy that touch of Horizon Zero Dawn aesthetic for the perfect drip.

• Rust (ATK%) – Increases Normal Attack DMG by 40% but decreases Charged Attack DMG by 10%.

If you don’t have a Playstation to claim the Predator, Rust will be the next best choice. It gives an amazing increase in Normal Attack damage output when consistently applying Cryo for perma-freezing an enemy. The demerit to her Charged Attack doesn’t really matter, as she’ll mostly be unleashing a hail of arrows rather than a well-aimed shot.

• King’s Squire (ATK%) – Obtain the Teachings of the Forest effect when unleashing Elemental Skills and Bursts, increasing Elemental Mastery by 60 for 12s. This effect will be removed when switching characters. When the Teachings of the Forest effect ends or is removed, it will deal 100% of ATK as DMG to 1 nearby opponent. The Teachings of the Forest effect can be triggered once every 20s.

Apart from her DPS playstyle, Aloy can also function as a Sub-DPS in a Melt team composition due to her Cryo application. King’s Squire is a viable weapon for her to equip in order to raise her elemental reactions’ damage. It grants Aloy an increase in her ATK stat, which is great in general, but it also gives her some Elemental Mastery that comes in handy for reaction-based damage.

Aloy’s Talent Priorities

In her home world at Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy proved to be crafty both in her hunting and fighting capabilities. While she’s relegated to being solely a bow user in Genshin Impact, it does not stop her from confronting enemies in face-to-face combat and unleashing her inner hunter skills. Thus, prioritize her skills as follows:

1. Rapid Fire (Normal Attack) – Aloy performs up to 4 consecutive shots with a bow, dealing Physical Damage. If held, it will do a Cryo-infused Charged Attack, or a plunging attack when pressed during a fall or jump. You should max this first, as one of her kits requires her to keep firing off her Cryo-infused Normal Attack.

2. Frozen Wilds (Elemental Skill) – Aloy throws a freeze bomb that explodes into smaller bomblets that explode in contact, dealing Cryo damage. If enemies are hit by the bomblets, Aloy will acquire ‘Coil’ stacks that Normal Attack damage bonus and can stack up to 4 times. When it reaches 4 stacks, all stacks will be cleared, and Aloy will gain Cryo infusion and a greater Normal Attack damage bonus. With Aloy’s passive talents, this skill will also give her Cryo DMG Bonus and a party-wide ATK buff.

3. Prophecies of Dawn (Elemental Burst) – Aloy will throw a Power Cell that she will detonate with her bow, dealing a quick burst of Cryo damage.

When playing her as an on-field Normal Attacking DPS, getting full Coil Stacks for Cryo Infusion can be tricky as stacks only happen once every 0.1s. Something to keep in mind is that simultaneously exploding all the bomblets at once will not instantly trigger Aloy’s infusion. Use this to your advantage as you can set up the field with other supports first. Wait for her indicator to tell you that she’s reached full stacks of her coil before switching back and letting her icy arrows fly.

Aloy Team Comp

Currently, Aloy’s the only ranged character that can consistently apply Cryo via Normal Attacks. This allows players to utilize her in both Perma-Freeze teams and Melt teams. Whether you are using her as a Cryo DPS or a sub-DPS support for buffing and elemental application, these are the characters that Aloy would appreciate having as an ally:

• Kokomi (Healer and Hydro Applier for perma-freeze)
• Xinqiu (Budget Hydro applier and sub-DPS)
• Yelan (Damage amplifier, Hydro applier and sub-DPS)
• Layla (Cryo Shielder and battery)
• Shenhe (Cryo DMG amplifier and support)
• Thoma (Pyro shielder and applier for melt reactions) 
• Bennett (Pyro applier, buffer, and healer)
• Lynette (Her burst prioritizes absorption of Cryo, making her an extra Cryo applier)
• Kazuha (CC, synergizes with Aloy’s skill, and damage amplification)

One of the great things about Aloy is that her freezing utility can be very useful even if her build is still incomplete. With the right strategy, information, and preparation, Aloy’s all set to brave a whole new world. And honestly, if Aloy can survive in the harsh apocalyptic world of Horizon Zero Dawn, exploring the world of Teyvat with her on the team should be a walk in the park.