Ayaka build guide

Ayaka functions as a DPS character that does most of her damage from her Burst (Q). This come with the cost of 80 energy on her hence why she’ll most likely need a cryo battery. Her special dash gives her a cryo damage buff and infusion onto her normal attacks so always make sure you’re periodically dashing during combat. The most crucial combo when using her Burst (Q) is by starting with;

Dash -> Elemental Burst (Q) -> Elemental Skill (E) -> Dash -> Normal/Charge Attack

You want to ensure that her E is after using her Q as you won’t regenerate energy if you use beforehand like other characters. Due to the uptime of her cryo application and the fact that her Q sticks on frozen enemy, Ayaka best function in a Permafreeze team.

Permafreeze Ayaka

A permafreeze comp is rather straightforward in terms of build regardless of which cryo DPS you’re building. 4 piece Blizzard Strayer so that you can concentrate all your stats onto CritDamage. As long as your enemies are frozen, you would get an extra 40% CritRate from the set and another additional 15% CritRate from having another cryo character in your team. Since both second and third slot is filled with a cryo battery and hydro applicator, that leaves the last slot for a VV shred character. This helps in grouping the enemies and also boosting Ayaka’s cryo damage.

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Every hydro, cryo and anemo character above can be interchangeable to fit the freeze comp. Ayaka’s biggest weakness is the high energy requirement for her Burst (Q) hence Rosaria and Kaeya should use a Favonius weapon while Diona would use the Sacrificial bow.

Regarding Weapon Choices:

Aquila Favonia: While Aquila has Physical Damage% as a main stat, which is basically useless on Ayaka, it is still a good statstick as it has a high base ATK and ATK% buff from the passive.
Primordial Jade Cutter: With Blizzard Strayer (4) and Cryo Resonance, this weapon overcrits, so avoid getting Crit Rate substats.
Skyward Blade, Blackcliff Longsword, The Black Sword, Amenoma Kageuchi: These 4 weapons will give a similar output, so it’s not worth getting or building another when you already have one. Depends on how much Energy Recharge you’re running, how much stacks your Blackcliff has, how much time you’re gonna spend doing Normal Attacks, and how much you value the passive on Amenoma since it gives you leeway in building Energy Recharge, one can be better than the other. If you’re running Skyward Blade or Amenoma Kageuchi (especially with higher refines), avoid getting Energy Recharge substats as their stats / passives assist in elemental burst generation significantly.
The Flute: Offers slightly more damage potential than Amenoma Kageuchi, with the tradeoff being losing Kageuchi’s energy generation. Decide for yourself which is better for your team and rotations.

Regarding CritDamage over CritRate:

Crit Rate loses value here assuming you’re running Blizzard Strayer (4), if you’re not using that artifact set, then it has the same priority as Crit DMG.