Background
Kaeya is a 4-star Cryo character from Mondstadt. He wields a sword in battle and first appears within the story to help the Traveler calm down Stormterror.
Kaeya is known as the cavalry knight among the Knights of Favonius. He is loved by the people for both his charming personality and clever wit. Although the people view him in high regard, Kaeya holds many secrets about his past and life. He will use any method to ensure the job gets down, even if it means putting others in stressful situations or exasperating the truth.
Fun Fact: He is Diluc’s adopted brother, but they do not get along.
Kaeya’s past holds many secrets. He was once an agent of Khaenri’ah who was abandoned by his father and adopted by Diluc’s father Crepus. A terrible accident caused a rift within the family, causing Crepus to meet his end, and the two adopted brothers split on their separate paths. It is a secret how Kaeya received his vision, but it was presented to him on the day his adopted father died.
Kaeya Skill Talents
Kaeya’s main usage is his ability to apply Cryo to enemies with his elemental skill and burst. Both his skills do lack in the damage department, but his elemental skill comes with a short cooldown while his burst’s effect can be transferred to other characters.
Kaeya’s normal attack, Ceremonial Bladework, performs up to 5 consecutive attacks on an enemy. The 5th hit will deal the most damage. When compared to other sword users, Kaeya’s normal attack damage scaling is higher than other characters like Keqing and Xingqiu. His charged attack will deal two rapid strikes against the enemy.
Kaeya’s elemental skill, Frostgnaw, unleashes a Cryo blast to deal damage to enemies in front of him. This skill only has a 6-second cooldown, allowing Kaeya to reliably apply Cryo to enemies. It is also capable of hitting multiple enemies, but requires them to be close together. Both of Kaeya’s ascension talents will boost the usability of his elemental skill.
Kaeya’s elemental burst, Glacial Waltz, allows him to summon 3 icicles that will rotate around him four times for 8 seconds. It requires 60 energy to activate and has a 15-second cooldown. The skill damage of Kaeya’s burst is fairly weak, but will hit the enemy multiple times. If timed correctly, Kaeya’s burst can hit an enemy up to 13 times. His burst will also work with other characters, allowing him to switch out to deal damage with another character or trigger reactions
In co-op, Kaeya is best played as a Cryo support unit who is able to apply Cryo to enemies for reactions. With his skill set, Kaeya can constantly freeze the enemy if paired with another Hydro character like Xingqiu.
Kaeya Passive Talents
Kaeya’s passive talents boost the versatility of his elemental skill and allows the entire party to consume less stamina while sprinting.
Kaeya’s passive talent, Hidden Strength, decreases the consumption of sprinting stamina for all characters in the party. This talent is great to sprint longer distances or to avoid enemy attacks without running out of stamina. He shares a similar talent with Razor and the effects do not stack.
Kaeya’s ascension 1 talent, Cold-Blooded Strike, allows Kaeya to regain health when his elemental skill hits an enemy. The health he gains will be equal to 15% of his ATK, so the more ATK Kaeya has, the more he will heal from his elemental skill. This talent does require Kaeya’s elemental skill to hit an enemy before it can activate, but it has no cooldown, allowing Kaeya to gain back health every time he uses his elemental skill.
Kaeya’s ascension 4 talent, Glacial Heart, will drop more elemental particles if enemies are frozen by Kaeya’s elemental skill. The maximum particle is 2 additional ones per use. This talent on paper will allow Kaeya’s burst to recharge faster. However, it comes with a fatal flaw where enemies are required to be frozen before it can activate. This will require Kaeya to have a Hydro character like Xingqiu to properly activate this talent.
Kaeya gets a boost to his Energy Recharge based on his ascension rank.
| Hidden Strength Unlocked Automatically Decreases sprinting Stamina consumption of your characters in the party by 20%. Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects. |
| Cold-Blooded Strike Unlocked at Ascension 1 Every hit with Frostgnaw regenerates HP for Kaeya equal to 15% of his ATK. |
| Glacial Heart Unlocked at Ascension 4 Opponents Frozen by Frostgnaw will drop additional Elemental Particles. Frostgnaw may only produce a maximum of 2 additional Elemental Particles per use. |
Kaeya Constellations
Kaeya’s constellation offers different benefits depending on your build for him. Only is C1 is needed if you plan to use him as a main DPS, but his higher constellation levels will allow him to deal more Cryo DMG. Kaeya is also capable of generating a shield at C4. It will be hard to obtain constellations of Kaeya, so getting him to higher constellations will be completely based on your luck.
C1: Excellent Blood increases the Crit Rate of Kaeya’s normal attack talent against enemies affected by Cryo. It will only increase his Crit Rate if Kaeya uses his normal attack talent and is useless in a build that only has his skill and burst leveled up. However, it works well with the Cryo team resonance and the Blizzard Strayer set to ensure Kaeya’s normal attack will have a high chance to land a critical hit.
C2: Never-Ending Performance will increase the duration of his elemental burst every time an enemy is defeated. There is a mistranslation in the game, but the constellation will still take effect even if the enemy was not defeated by his elemental burst. This skill is great to extend the duration of his 8-second burst to 23 seconds if all conditions are met. This constellation is limited to the enemies that are currently surrounding your party and you must defeat them within the duration of his burst to extend the time.
C4: Frozen Kiss creates a shield when Kaeya’s HP falls below 20%. This shield will absorb damage that will equal to 30% of Kaeya’s Max HP and will last for 20 seconds if it is not destroyed. This shield is great to protect Kaeya from any further damage that may kill him. However, it will only occur every 60 seconds, so it should not be heavily relied on. Building up his HP to maximum the damage absorbed from his shield is not recommended as it will interfere with his damage output.
At C6: Glacial Whirlwind, Kaeya will create one additional icicle with his elemental burst bringing it to a maximum of 4 icicles. It will also allow him to generate a portion of his energy back when his burst is cast. The extra icicle allows his burst to deal more passive damage as it rotates around your active character. When paired with his C2 effect, Kaeya’s burst will have both its damage and duration increased.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| C1: Excellent Blood | The CRIT Rate of Kaeya’s Normal Attack and Charge Attacks against opponents affected by the Cryo is increased by 15%. |
| C2: Never-Ending Performance | Every time Glacial Waltz defeats an opponent, its duration is increased by 2.5s, up to a maximum of 15s. |
| C3: Dance of Frost | Increases the Level of Frostgnaw by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| 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 | Increases the level of Glacial Waltz by 3. Max upgrade level is 15. |
| C6: Glacial Whirlwind | Glacial Waltz will generate 1 additional icicle, and will regenerate 15 Energy when cast. |
Recommended Builds
Main DPS Build
This build for Kaeya focuses on his physical damage while ensuring he has a high critical chance. As a main DPS, you will want to build up his normal attack talent. His elemental skill and burst will be used to trigger the Superconduct reaction to decrease the enemy’s resistance to physical attacks.
For his teammates, you will want an Electro character like Fischl or Beidou who can deal passive Electro damage to trigger Superconduct with Kaeya. Having a Hydro character like Xingqiu will ensure enemies get frozen to activate Kaeya’s ascension 4 talent. Lastly, Qiqi will be used to heal the team and activate the Cryo team resonance to grant Kaeya an additional Crit Rate bonus when attacking enemies affected by Cryo.
Kaeya’s recommended weapon for this build is the 5-star Aquila Favonia or the 4-star Prototype Rancour since they both have a Physical ATK Bonus. Any 5-star will work for Kaeya as a main DPS, but the Aquila Favonia will further increase his ATK and can heal him with its passive effect. The Prototype Rancour is a craftable weapon and will increase Kaeya’s ATK and DEF when he hits an enemy with a charged or normal attack. Both of these weapons work great to boost the damage of his normal attack talent.
You can also give Kaeya the Black Sword from the battle pass. This 4-star weapon will boost his Crit Rate and increase the damage of his normal attack. In addition, the Black Sword can heal back a portion of his health as well. It is important to note that having too much Crit Rate is not recommended as you will start to lose out on damage if you focus all your attention on Crit Rate instead of Crit DMG as well. Similarly, the Blackcliff Longsword can be bought from the Starglitter Exchange and increase his Crit DMG. Although this weapon can be bought, it is expensive to refine and its passive skill is useless in a boss fight as it requires Kaeya to defeat an enemy before it can trigger. Another viable option is the 4-star weapon known as The Flute. This weapon increases the user’s ATK and will deal additional damage when 5 Harmonic are gathered.
For Kaeya’s artifact set, you should use the 4-piece Gladiator’s Finale set to increase his ATK and normal attack damage. You can also use a 2-piece Gladiator’s Finale and Bloodstained Chivalry to boost Kaeya’s Physical DMG and ATK instead.
In the early game, use a mix of the Brave Heart and Berserker set to increase Kaeya’s ATK and Crit Rate.
For his main states, I would suggest going for:
- Sands: ATK%
- Goblet: Physical DMG% Bonus
- Circlet: Crit DMG or Crit Rate
For his sub-stats, look for artifacts with Crit DMG, Crit Rate, ATK%, and ATK. Energy recharge is only important for his burst. He also comes with a built-in increase in Energy Recharge, so that boost isn’t needed for Kaeya, especially if another Cryo character is on the team.
Cryo Support Build
This build for Kaeya focuses on his Cryo DMG and the freeze reaction. You will want to max out his elemental burst and skill. Kaeya’s normal attack is optional if you plan to use him as a sub-DPS instead of just as a support.
For his teammates, Xingqiu is a great Hydro support character that pairs well with Kaeya to freeze the enemy. Chongyun will activate the Cryo team resonance with Kaeya to boost the Crit Rate against enemies affected by Cryo. He can also convert melee attacks into Cryo DMG, so Kaeya will be able to deal Cryo DMG with his normal attack. Lastly, Tartaglia will serve as the main DPS for this build because he can deal Hydro DMG with his melee stance. He can be switched out with another character of your choice.
Kaeya’s recommended weapon should be the 5-star Skyward Blade or the 4-star Sacrificial Sword. Both of these weapons will boost his Energy Recharge so he can use his burst more often. The Skyward Blade will also boost his Crit Rate by a small percent and increase his damage of his normal and charged attack. The Sacrificial Sword has a chance of ending the cooldown of his elemental skill after damaging an enemy with it. The Sacrificial Sword works better as a Cryo support build while the Skyward Blade is best used on a sub-DPS Kaeya build.
With this build, Kaeya will not need Crit Rate in his artifact set or weapon. If the enemy is frozen, Kaeya will gain 55% Crit Rate from the Cryo team resonance and his Blizzard Strayer set. Weapons like the 5-star Primordial Jade Cutter and The Black Sword will give him too much Crit Rate, and you should focus your attention on his Crit DMG instead.
The 4-star Festering Desire is another great option for Kaeya. This weapon will boost his Energy Recharge and was free to obtain weapon in the game. iIs passive skill increases the damage and critical chance of his elemental skill. If you plan to use Kaeya’s normal attack, the Favonius Sword will help him recharge energy for the entire team if he lands a critical hit.
Keaya’s artifact should be the 4-piece Blizzard Strayer, which will increase his Cryo DMG and boost his chance of landing a critical hit against enemies affected by Cryo or frozen. This artifact set pairs well with the Cryo team resonance to further boost the Crit Rate of enemies affected by Cryo.
The main stats for his artifacts should be:
- Sands: ATK%
- Goblet: Cryo DMG% Bonus
- Circlet: Crit DMG or Crit Rate
You do not need Crit rate at all on his artifact set. Focus on Crit DMG, ATK%, and elemental mastery. Energy recharge isn’t needed if his weapon already boosts it.
Recommended Party Members
Fischl will deal passive Electro DMG with her elemental skill and trigger the Superconduct reaction with Kaeya.
Qiqi is a great healer that can also activate the Cryo team bonus along with Kaeya.
Xingqiu and Kaeya make a great pair as they can constantly freeze the enemy.
Tartaglia is a powerful Hydro character that can freeze the enemy with his melee stance while Kaeya’s burst is active.
Chongyun and Kaeya will activate the Cryo team resonance for the team. His elemental skill can also convert Kaeya’s normal attack into Cryo DMG.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Quick cooldown on his elemental skill and burst | Skill lacks damage when compared to other characters |
| Can reliably apply Cryo to enemies | Elemental Skill only affects a small area in front of Kaeya |
| Elemental Burst works with another characters | Hard to obtain constellations |
Recommended Domains: Cecilia Garden, Midsummer Courtyard, Valley Of Remembrance, Stormterror, Taishan Mountain, Hidden Palace Of Zhou Formula, Childe
Conclusion
On his own, Kaeya is unable to do much as a majority of his main use comes from his elemental skill and burst that will deal Cryo DMG to the enemies. He is best paired with a Hydro character to freeze the enemy and activate his ascension talent that will provide him more energy for his burst. Kaeya also lacks in damage in both his elemental burst and skill and is best used to simply apply Cryo to enemies. However, with the Blizzard Strayer set, Kaeya is able to reliably deal critical hits, boosting his damage output.
What do you think of Kaeya? Is there anything I missed? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach out through our Twitter or my Discord handle Seyfrid#2589.
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The Informal Gamer 