No, you aren’t dreaming. Every Genshin Impact player will receive a free 5-Star character, no Primogems or Wish banners required. The free 5-Star, Aloy, is coming over from Horizon Zero Dawn to join the ranks of playable Genshin Impact characters as a Cryo huntress.
All Genshin Impact players on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 will receive Aloy through in-game mail as soon as Version 2.1 launches on September 1. Other platforms will need to wait until October 13.
We’ve created this early Aloy build guide based on official info from miHoYo, as well as some additional info from Honey Hunter World. Let’s see some of the best Artifacts, Weapons, and allies for our new Cryo fighter!
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Aloy Abilities
Before you do anything else, take a look at Aloy’s Elemental Burst. Its multiplier is massive, and both the cooldown and Energy cost are very low. Although her base attack power is low for a 5-Star Genshin Impact character, Aloy has a Cryo Ascension stat and she’s able to buff her own Cryo attacks. In other words, your Aloy is a potential Cryo nuke.
Make sure you hit enough enemies with Aloy’s Elemental Skill to reach the full stack of four Coil, triggering the Rushing Ice effect. After this, her Normal Attacks are converted to Cryo damage (another reason why we’re not focusing on physical damage here).
Thanks to her passive Strong Strike, the longer you remain in the Rushing Ice state, the more powerful your Cryo shots will become. Naturally, triggering Aloy’s Elemental Burst while the Cryo buffs remain active will deal a heavy blow to your enemies.
Rapid Fire (Normal Attack)
- Normal Attack: Aloy fires up to four quick shots with her Bow.
- Charged Attack: Deals increased damage and infuses the arrowhead with Cryo (when fully charged).
- Plunging Attack: Fires a Cryo arrow shower in mid-air before plunging down and dealing AOE damage upon impact.
Frozen Wilds (Elemental Skill)
- Aloy throws a Freeze Bomb in the direction she’s facing, dealing Cryo Damage.
- The Freeze Bomb leaves behind multiple Chillwater Bomblets (mines) that explode upon contact with an enemy or when their timer runs out.
- Enemies hit by a Freeze Bomb or Chillwater Bomblet will suffer from reduced attack power. Whenever this effect is triggered, Aloy receives a Coil stack.
- Coil stacks increase Aloy’s Normal Attack damage. She can gain one Coil stack every 0.1 seconds.
- The Rushing Ice effect is triggered when Aloy gathers the maximum amount of four Coil stacks. This converts all her Normal Attack damage to Cryo damage.
- Aloy can’t receive any new Coil stacks during the Rushing Ice state.
Prophecies of Dawn (Elemental Burst)
- Aloy fires a Cryo Power Cell in the direction she’s facing, then detonates it with an arrow.
- This Elemental Burst deals AOE Cryo damage to all nearby opponents.
Strong Strike (Passive 1) – Ascension 1
- Aloy’s Cryo Damage continuously increases when she’s in the Rushing Ice state.
Combat Override (Passive 2) – Ascension 4
- Whenever Aloy receives a Coil effect, every party member’s attack is increased.
- This includes Aloy herself, who receives double the attack bonus.
Easy Does It (Passive 3) – Unlocked
- Animals dropping Fowl, Raw Meat, or Chilled Meat will not be startled when Aloy is in the party (she doesn’t have to be the active character).
Best Aloy Build
Weapon Options for Aloy
The Predator Bow is pretty much the default weapon for Aloy. You can obtain this 4-Star Genshin Impact weapon during Versions 2.1 to 2.3 through your in-game mail on the PS4 or PS5. Unfortunately, PC and mobile players can only receive it using the cross-save function.
But not to worry if you don’t have a PlayStation. There are plenty of other great Bows for Aloy. Since Aloy is a DPS, a Bow with an attack power secondary stat is usually a good option. You can also focus on Elemental Mastery, but remember that this increases the damage from her Elemental Reactions rather than her damage in general.
The Stringless is arguably the best option for those using Aloy as their Cryo sub-DPS (Elemental Mastery), while anyone using her as a main DPS might prefer the Amos Bow (Normal Attacks). A good 4-Star substitute for the latter is the Rust Bow. Since Aloy can boost and infuse her Normal Attacks with Cryo, she can easily sacrifice some Charged Attack damage.
Predator (4-Star) – This Bow grants an attack bonus as its secondary stat. Furthermore, Aloy’s Normal and Charged Attack damage increases by 10% for six seconds after dealing Cryo damage to opponents (maximum of two stacks). On top of that, Aloy’s attack power is increased by 66 (unique to her character). As mentioned, this Bow is PlayStation exclusive.
The Stringless (4-Star) – Grants increased Elemental Mastery. Also increases Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst damage by 24 to 48%.
Sacrificial Bow (4-Star) – Increases Energy Recharge as its secondary stat. Dealing damage using Aloy’s Elemental Skill grants a 40 to 80% chance to end the Skill’s cooldown (can only occur once every 30 to 16 seconds).
Amos Bow (5-Star) – Grants Aloy a big attack power increase. Also increases Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG by 12 to 24%. After using a Normal or Charged attack, the Amos Bow further increases damage dealt by 8 to 16% for every 0.1 seconds an arrow remains in the air (up to five times).
Rust (4-Star) – Grants attack power as a secondary stat. Furthermore, Normal Attack damage is increased by 40%, but Charged Attacks are decreased by 10%.
Best Aloy Artifacts
As mentioned before, Aloy is an Elemental Burst damage dealer with a Cryo Vision. Therefore, we need Cryo damage bonuses, Attack, and Critical Rate/Critical Damage as her Artifact stats. A combination of 2-piece Blizzard Strayer and 2-piece Noblesse Oblige would be the best choice for those who wish to focus on Aloy’s Elemental Burst damage.
However, if your Aloy is more of a general Cryo DPS, you might prefer the full Blizzard Strayer set. This will allow you to focus on Critical Damage as her Artifact stats as well. Alternatively, you might want to go for a 4-piece Noblesse Oblige set, which gives Aloy more of a support role.
If you don’t have either of these sets yet, you can still have a strong Aloy build by simply going for high Attack. A 2-piece Gladiator’s Finale or the Martial Artist set is perfect for that. The latter may be a good option for early-game Genshin Impact players looking for a 5-Star main DPS.
Blizzard Strayer – (2) Gives Aloy a 15% Cryo Damage bonus. (4) Whenever a character attacks an opponent affected by Cryo, they receive a 20% increased Critical Rate. Critical Rate is increased by another 20% if the opponent is also frozen.
Noblesse Oblige – (2) Grants a 20% Elemental Burst damage increase. (4) All allies receive a 20% attack bonus after Aloy uses her Elemental Burst, lasting for 12 seconds.
Gladiator’s Finale – (2) 18% Attack Power increase.
Martial Artist – (2) Increases Normal and Charged Attack Damage by 15%. (4) Increases Normal and Charged Attack damage by 25% for a duration of eight seconds after using an Elemental Skill.
Best Team for Aloy
If you want your Aloy to shine, it’ll be wise to buff her Attacks as much as you can. You might want to team her up with Bennett (reverse Melt) or Xingqiu (Freeze) for that purpose. If you’re not using the latter but you do want to freeze your opponents, you can team your Aloy up with a Hydro DPS like Mona.
Those planning on using those Chillwater Bomblets a lot, will want to put Kazuha or Jean on your team to gather and throw them. It can be a nuisance to stir enemies towards those mines without one of these Anemo characters.
Although not essential, choosing a second Cryo for your Aloy team will increase Electro resistance by 40% and Critical Rate against enemies affected by Cryo by 15% (again, allowing you to opt for Critical Damage as an Artifact stat). Fervent Flames (two Pyro’s) could be a great second Elemental Resonance for Aloy, as it increases her attack power by 25% and gives you a strong Melt team.
- Top Tier Team
- Main DPS: Aloy
- Sub DPS: Mona (Hydro, Freezing), Kazuha (Anemo, Control Mines)
- Sub DPS/Support: Jean (Healing, Control Mines)
- Support: Diona (Shield and Elemental Resonance), Xingqiu (Hydro, Freeze, Attack Buff), Bennett
- Budget Team
- Main DPS: Aloy
- Sub DPS: Lisa (Electro), Kaeya (Elemental Resonance)
- Support: Barbara (Healing & Freezing), Noelle (Shield, Healing)
Talent Materials
- Talent Level-Up Material: Teachings/Guide/Philosophies of Freedom
- Common Ascension Material: Spectral Husk/Spectral Heart/ Spectral Nucleus
- Weekly Material: Molten Moment
Constellation
Unfortunately, it looks like Aloy’s Constellation won’t be available for a while. You will receive one free Aloy character through in-game mail, but there’s currently no option to get Constellation upgrades.
An official message by Genshin Impact developer miHoYo states that “Aloy’s Stella Fortuna is currently not available. The time has not yet come for Aloy’s corner of the night sky to light up”. This suggests that Aloy’s Constellation upgrades could become available at some point in the future though, as they specifically say that the time has “not yet” come.
Aloy Ascension Information
Ascending Aloy will require some material gathering around the Inazuma islands. Some of her Ascension materials are released in Genshin Impact 2.1, so you’ll need to gain access to the new region to obtain them. Here’s a full list of Aloy’s Ascension materials:
- 1st Ascension (Max Level 20) – 1 Shivada Jade Sliver, 3 Crystal Marrow, 3 Spectral Husk
- 2nd Ascension (Max Level 40) – 3 Shivada Jade Fragments, 2 Crystalline Bloom, 10 Crystal Marrow, 15 Spectral Husk
- 3rd Ascension (Max Level 50) – 6 Shivada Jade Fragments, 4 Crystalline Bloom, 20 Crystal Marrow, 12 Spectral Heart
- 4th Ascension (Max Level 60) – 3 Shivada Jade Chunks, 8 Crystalline Bloom, 30 Crystal Marrow, 18 Spectral Heart
- 5th Ascension (Max Level 70) – 6 Shivada Jade Chunks, 12 Crystalline Bloom, 45 Crystal Marrow, 12 Spectral Nucleus
- 6th Ascension (Max Level 80) – 6 Shivada Jade Gemstones, 20 Crystalline Bloom, 60 Crystal Marrow, 24 Spectral Nucleus
Have you decided on your Aloy build yet? Share your best build ideas in the comments!
