Strengths and Weaknesses
- Low Cooldown and on Elemental Skill.
- Good off-field Cryo Application.
- Stamina Passive is great for exploration.
- Elemental Burst needs to be used while fighting in melee range.
- Much better Cryo Characters to use for freeze.
Kaeya Freeze Support Build
Kaeya has a decent set of abilities that are quite simple to use, and are particularly helpful with Freeze and Reverse Melt teams. With relatively low Energy Recharge requirements and a short cooldown on his Elemental Skill, Kaeya is a solid Cryo Sub-Dps for a free 4-star character.
BiS Weapon | Mistsplitter Reforged — Freeze Teams Light of Foliar Incision — Reverse Melt Teams |
Alternate Weapons |
|
Best Artifacts |
|
Main Stats |
|
Substat Priority |
|
Talent Priority |
|
Kaeya's weapon selection is a challenge as he has no signature weapon, and the majority of the passive weapon skills don't necessarily benefit him. With that in mind, his weapon selection was made based upon the weapon's stats and attack power, essentially using them as stat sticks. While arguments could be made for which weapon passive skills are more useful than others, overall Kaeya's weapon choice isn't weighted as heavily as some other characters, leaving several options open to the player.
As for artifacts, Kaeya is quite straight forward with the Blizzard Strayer set being his best choice, followed closely by Emblem of Severed Fate. He also functions quite well with 2 pieces combinations focusing on his ATK and increasing his Elemental Burst damage. Overall, Kaeya is quite easy to setup, even with 2-piece sets to start while you farm for your 4-piece set. As for Kaeya's Energy Recharge requirements, target between 150% to 175% Energy Recharge for a reliable rotation. Push upwards to 200% if you desire, however, going passed 200% is redundant and not necessary.
Combos and How to Play Kaeya
Kaeya playstyle is straight forward with his primary focus on freezing enemies and dealing Cryo damage on the battlefield. His abilities are decent with moderate energy costs, however, they do suffer in range when compared to some of the other Cryo characters and their abilities. His Elemental Skill, Frostgnaw in particular is a very short-ranged cone attack and without proper aim can easily miss targets. His Elemental Burst, Glacial Waltz, is focused around the character with icicles spinning around them. This burst ability is Kaeya's best Cryo application and is usually supported by his skill as a secondary attack while the Elemental Burst is still active. We recommend rotating around enemies in a counter-clockwise direction to maximize the icicles opportunity to hit enemies. Kaeya is typically swapped to the active character once both his skills are available with both abilities used together rather than separated.
Kaeya is typically used as a Freeze trigger for his team, due to his solid application of Cryo DMG on enemies. However, be aware that he must be close to enemies, within melee range for them to be effected. This is a challenge at times and with certain enemies can put Kaeya into a dangerous situation. This is why timing his abilities and rotating around an enemy is key to his success, doing your best to avoid attacks.
Kaeya's Best Team Comps
Kaeya functions best with two primary teams — Freeze and Reverse Melt. These two focused teams use his abilities for Cryo application and Cryo damage to the maximize their elemental reactions and produce the best results.
Freeze Team
Cryo DPS | Cryo DPS | Hydro Support | Buffer |
---|---|---|---|
Kaeya | Sangonomiya Kokomi |
A very straight forward team focused on a constant character swap. Kaeya provides this team Cryo application and damage in combination with your other chosen Cryo character. Kokomi provides fantastic Hydro application and we can consistently buff our team with Kazuha or Sucrose.
Reverse Melt Team
Cryo DPS | Cryo DPS | Buffer | Pyro Application |
---|---|---|---|
Kaeya |
Lots of options with this team. The double Cryo characters allows you consistently be able to apply Cryo back on to the enemies after you use your Pyro abilities, which for Xiangling can have multiple interactions as you swap back and forth between your Cryo units. Lastly, we have Kazuha or Sucrose there to buff the team's damage output and help group enemies together.
Kaeya's Ascensions, Talents, and Constellations
Kaeya Ascension Passives and Materials
Unlock | Ascension Passive | Explanation |
---|---|---|
With Character | Hidden Strength | Decreases sprinting Stamina consumption for your own party members by 20%. Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects. |
1st Ascension | Cold-Blooded Strike | Every hit with Frostgnaw regenerates HP for Kaeya equal to 15% of his ATK. |
4th Ascension | Glacial Heart | Opponents Frozen by Frostgnaw will drop additional Elemental Particles. Frostgnaw may only produce a maximum of 2 additional Elemental Particles per use. |
Kaeya requires a range of materials to ascend to the 6th ascension. Starting from the second ascension he gains additional Energy Recharge as he levels, giving a total of 26.8% Energy Recharge at the final ascension. The total cost to upgrade all ascensions is:
Source | Quantity |
---|---|
Mora | 420,000 Mora |
Boss Material | 46x Hoarfrost Core |
Ascension Material | |
Local Specialty | 168x Calla Lily |
Enhancement Material |
|
Kaeya's Talents
Listed below is each talent and a brief explanation of how they work.
Type | Talent Name | Brief Explanation |
---|---|---|
Normal | Normal Attack: Ceremonial Bladework | Standard Normal Attack performs 5 rapid strikes. Charged Attack unleashes 2 rapid sword strikes. Plunging Attacks strike the ground below, dealing AoE DMG upon impact. |
Elemental Skill | Frostgnaw |
Unleashes a cone attack of Cryo damage in front of Kaeya. |
Elemental Burst | Glacial Waltz | Summons 3 icicles that spin around your character, dealing Cryo Damage to any enemies that come into contact them. This lasts for the duration of the ability. |
To upgrade a single talent to level 10, it costs:
Source | Quantity |
---|---|
Mora | 1,625,500 Mora |
Special Material | 1x Crown of Insight |
Boss Material | 6x Spirit Locket of Boreas |
Domain Material |
|
Enhancement Material |
|
Kaeya's Constellations
Kaeya's gameplay only improves with each constellation, however, none of them are required for using Kaeya to his fullest.
# | Name | Explanation |
---|---|---|
C1 | Excellent Blood | The CRIT Rate of Kaeya's Normal and Charge Attacks against opponents affected by Cryo is increased by 15%. |
C2 | Never-Ending Performance | When Glacial Waltz is in effect, for each opponent defeated, its base duration is increased by 2.5s, up to a maximum of 15s. |
C3 | Dance of Frost |
|
C4 | Frozen Kiss |
Triggers automatically when Kaeya's HP falls below 20%: Creates a shield that absorbs damage equal to 30% of Kaeya's Max HP. Lasts for 20s. This shield absorbs Cryo DMG with 250% efficiency. Can only occur once every 60s. |
C5 | Frostbiting Embrace |
|
C6 | Glacial Whirlwind | Glacial Waltz will generate 1 additional icicle, and will regenerate 15 Energy when cast. |
Changelog
- 16 Apr. 2024: Guide added.