This is because Hydro is a highly contested element. It’s at the center of most top meta teams and elemental reactions – so Ayato really isn’t a bad unit. But 2-3 Hydro units are very often enough for an account. It’s enough to comfortably draft two Spiral Abyss teams that use Hydro. So Ayato does lose pull value if you already have those 2-3 Hydro units. And if you don’t, then he’s worth pulling. Ayato’s mainly an On-field Hydro DPS that uses his skill to deal bursts of Hydro damage. And he also has a deployable burst that lets him function as an off-field Hydro applier and DPS. This lets him have very flexible team compositions, playstyles, and artifact builds – which are some of his best selling points. More about his pros & cons are explained below. Note: This is about meta only. If you like Ayato regardless of his power level, don’t let this stop you from pulling him.
Pros & Cons
Ayato Strengths
Ayato is especially good against multiple enemies thanks to his large AOE. He can easily hit multiple opponents, even if they’re ungrouped. And he also performs well in single-target. Since Ayato already deals high personal damage in single-target, this just increases the more enemies he can hit with his slashes. Ayato has two main playstyles: On-field DPS and Burst DPS. These roles let him fit into a wide variety of teams – or basically any team that needs a Hydro unit. He’s sometimes not the best-in-slot unit there, but he’s definitely viable. Because of this, you can easily build a team around Ayato if you want to play him. To list out a few, his many team compositions include: Soup teams, Taser (electro-charged) teams, Vaporize teams, Hypercarry teams – plus many more with the upcoming Dendro reactions! Ayato has multiple artifact options. Each one excels in different scenarios, but they’re generally really close to each other. Because of this, you can easily equip him with the set that works best on your account. Here’s a list of his best artifact sets: Heart of Depth artifacts are in a very resin-efficient domain shared with Blizzard Strayer. This set is definitely worth farming if you’re also building a freeze Cryo DPS. Gladiator’s Finale artifacts can be obtained from multiple sources like artifact strongboxes, Trounce Domains, and boss drops. It’s likely that players already have good Gladiator pieces – so you can easily equip Ayato with artifacts you already have. Echoes of an Offering artifacts share the same domain as Xiao’s best set (Vermillion Hereafter). You’ll likely get good pieces while farming for Xiao. This is a really good set… when it works. It does have a bug where the player’s ping affects how many extra damage buffs they get from its set effect – so it’s less recommended to use. Basically, Ayato has many very resin-efficient artifact options. Ayato is very easy and often comfortable to play. This is thanks to how his skill slashes work. You don’t need to spam click his normal attacks – instead, simply holding it will continuously proc his slashes. Plus, Ayato slowly shifts himself towards opponents while performing slashes. This means that you don’t have to reposition him if the enemies aren’t that far away – you can just continue casting his slashes. This is especially great for mobile opponents or scenarios where one opponent dies so Ayato needs to change targets.
Ayato Weaknesses
Ayato requires >6s of continuous field time during his skill since switching characters would automatically end his Hydro infusion. This often isn’t a problem for On-field DPS teams since he’s meant to be on-field – but it can be an issue for Off-field DPS teams. Ayato gradually generates energy particles during his skill. So he still needs field time to generate these particles for his burst. Without it, it’s basically unrealistic to recharge his burst without the help of another Hydro unit or Raiden. Ayato very often competes with other Hydro units in his different roles. Because of this, he simply loses value if you already have the other Hydro unit that performs better than Ayato in a certain team or role. Here’s a deeper comparison of him vs other notable Hydro units.
Are Ayato’s Constellations Good?
Ayato has many great constellations that directly buff his damage. But they don’t change any of his current playstyles or kit. Because of this, early constellations (C2 to C3) are generally the best place to stop pulling. They’re already a sizable damage boost from C0. C4-C6 also further buffs his damage, but they’re relatively underwhelming compared to other 5-star constellations. It’s only recommended to pull for them if you’re especially fond of playing Ayato. Otherwise, your Primogems are best spent elsewhere. And if you do intend to pull for more constellations, here’s a closer look at each one to help you out:
C1: Kyouka Fuushi
Increases the damage of his skill slashes by 40% against opponents with 50% HP or less. This is a situationally good constellation, but its condition often makes it unreliable. The damage gain greatly depends on how often Ayato can attack opponents with below 50% HP. If you already have C1, pulling for C2 is worth considering.
C2: World Source
Increases Ayato’s maximum Namisen stacks to 5. And when he has at least 3 Namisen stacks, his max HP is increased by 50%. This is an overall good constellation that increases his damage bonus gained from his max HP. And since it’s very easy to 3+ Namisen stacks, the HP increase has nearly 100% uptime. C2 is a sizable damage gain.
C3: To Admire the Flowers
Increases his elemental skill talent level by 3. This directly buffs his skill’s damage multipliers – aka directly buffing his main source of damage. This is a great constellation with a significant DPS boost. C3 is generally the best place to stop pulling for constellations.
C4: Endless Flows
After casting his burst, all nearby party members gain a 15% increased normal attack speed for 15s. This lets Ayato deal 2-3 more slashes during his skill – which is a good, unconditional damage gain.
C5: Bansui Ichiro
Increases his elemental burst talent level by 3. C5 is the smallest damage increase among all of Ayato’s constellations. His burst simply doesn’t deal a significant portion of his overall DPS. But this constellation is slightly better for an Off-field DPS build.
C6: Boundless Origin
After casting his skill, his next slash creates 2 extra strikes when they hit opponents. Each extra strike deals 450% of Ayato’s ATK as Hydro damage. These 2 extra strikes aren’t affected by Namisen. C6 is Ayato’s biggest damage boost. It lets him deal some frontloaded damage at the start of his skill. This is especially good against opponents with shorter vulnerability windows.
Is 4pc. Echoes of an Offering Good on Ayato?
Echoes of an Offering is situationally Ayato’s best artifact set. It’s a really good set – but only when it works. This is because Echoes currently has a bug where a player’s ping affects how often its passive is procced. It only properly works below 100 ping. Having progressively higher ping decreases the set’s proc chances. As such, it’s only recommended if you have a consistently good ping of around ~100. If not, 4pc. Heart of Depth and 4pc. Gladiator’s Finale sets are just better.
4pc. Heart of Depth vs. 4pc. Gladiator’s Finale for Ayato
These two artifact sets are very similar. Heart of Depth (HoD) is generally better than Gladiator’s Finale, but the gap between them is often compensated by better stats. Since it’s likely for players to already have multiple Gladiator pieces, it’s also more likely for these pieces to have better stats than Heart of Depth. This often bridges the tiny damage gap between Gladiator and HoD. So it’s best to just use whichever set has better stats.
Haran Geppaku Futsu vs. Primordial Jade Cutter on Ayato
Haran Geppaku Futsu and Jade Cutter are Ayato’s two best weapons. They’re often very similar to each other, but one can situationally be better. Here’s a more detailed list of scenarios when one can outperform the other. The gap between them is generally very small. Because of this, just use whichever one you have available. It’s not recommended to pull for one of them if you already have the other.
