Background
Layla is a 4-star character from the region of Sumeru. She wields a sword in battle. Layla is currently enrolled in the Rtawahist Darshan, focusing on Theoretical Astrology.
Due to her studies, Layla is adept at drawing star maps and has high expectations placed on her by her teachers. She is constantly sleep-derived and has often blacked out when working on her assignments for the academy. However, as soon as she wakes, she mysteriously finds the assignments completed. This is the result of her sleepwalking and completing her assignment while she is asleep. Her studies and sleepwalking have also left Layla with weak physical help as she feels she can not slack off on her studies.
Layla Skill Talents
Layla’s main use is her ability to create a shield and summon Night Stars to deal damage to enemies. Her normal attack will not be necessary as a support character.
Layla’s normal attack, Sword of the Radiant Path, deals 3 rapid swords with her sword, with the third strike dealing the most damage. Her charged attack deals 2 rapid strikes on the enemies in exchange for stamina. As a support and shield character, she will rarely need to use her normal attack.
Her elemental skill, Nights of Formal Focus, summons a shield called the Curtain of Slumber and deals an initial burst of Cryo DMG to nearby enemies. The Curtain of Slumber’s shield strength scales off Layla’s Max HP and absorbs Cryo DMG more effectively. Layla will also apply Cryo on herself briefly when the shield is summoned. The shield has a duration of 12 seconds and will work even if Layla switches out to another character. While Curtain of Slumber is active, 1 Night Star will be created every 1.5 seconds and attach itself to the shield. 2 Night Stars will be created if the active character uses an elemental skill. This can be triggered every .3 seconds. 4 Night Stars can exist at a time. Once all 4 Night Stars are summoned, they will transform into Shooting Stars and fly out to nearby enemies to deal Cryo DMG. The Night Stars will only last until the duration Curtain of Slumber ends, but any Shooting Stars that fire off will still deal damage if they are sent before the shield duration ends. The Shooting Star’s damage snapshots to Layla’s current stats when they are first fired off. Her elemental skill has a cooldown of 12 seconds, the same as the duration of her shield, allowing her to easily summon it again if the shield didn’t break before the duration is up. Layla’s elemental skill allows her to protect her team while also dealing periodic bursts of Cryo DMG to the enemy. It works even if Layla is off the field.
Layla’s elemental burst, Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker, creates a Celestial Dreamsphere that fires off Starlight Slugs that will deal Cryo DMG to enemies in its range. When the Starlight Slug hits an enemy, it will generate 1 Night Star every .5 seconds if a nearby character has the Curtains of Slumber from Layla’s elemental skill. Her burst has a cooldown of 12 seconds and burst will last for 12 seconds as well. It costs 40 energy to activate. The damage from her Starlight Slungs scale off Layla’s Max HP. Layla’s burst has a wide range that is useful for applying Cryo to enemies, while also generating Night Stars for her elemental skill damage.
In co-op, Layla’s main use will be to apply Cryo to enemies. At C1, she is able to generate a shield for her nearby allies when she unleashes her elemental skill.
Layla Passive Talents
Layla’s ascension talents raise the damage of her elemental skill, while also boosting her shield strength, Her passive has a chance to obtain double the amount of character talent books when she is used to craft them.
Layla’s passive talent, Shadowy Dream-Signs, gives you a chance to obtain double the product when she is used to craft character talent materials. She shares the same talent effect as Eula.
Her first ascension talent, Like Nascent Light, provides Layla’s elemental skill effect Curtain of Slumber with the Deep Sleep effect while it is up. When her skill gains a Night Star, the character’s shield strength is increased. This effect will stack up to 4 times and will be active until the effects of her Curtain of Slumber are gone. This talent boosts the shield strength of Layla’s shield allowing it to absorb more damage.
Layla’s ascension 4 talent, Sweet Slumber Undisturbed, boosts the damage of Layla’s elemental skill damage when it fires off its shooting stars. This talent scales off Layla’s Max HP, boosting its overall damage based on Layla’s Max HP.
Layla gets an HP% bonus based on her ascension rank.
| Shadowy Dream-Signs Unlocked Automatically When Layla crafts Character Talent Materials, she has a 10% chance to receive double the product. |
| Like Nascent Light Unlocked at Ascension 1 While the Curtain of Slumber is active, the Deep Sleep effect will activate each time the Curtain gains 1 Night Star: The Shield Strength of a character under the effect of the Curtain of Slumber increases by 6%. This effect can have a maximum of 4 stacks and persists until the Curtain of Slumber disappears. |
| Sweet Slumber Undisturbed Unlocked at Ascension 4 The DMG dealt by the Shooting Stars fired by Nights of Formal Focus is increased by 1.5% of Layla’s Max HP. |
Layla Constellations
Layla’s C1 and C4 boost her support potential on a team by increasing her shield’s absorption strength and providing her teammates with a normal attack damage buff when her Shooting Star is triggered. Her constellations mostly impact the power and usability of her Shooting Stars from her elemental skill.
At C1: Fortress of Fantasy, Layla’s shield from her elemental skill gets extra damage absorption while also creating a shield for nearby characters not protected by Curtain of Slumber when she uses her elemental skill. This shield will only have 35% of her skill’s strength and have a duration of 12 seconds. Although not as strong as her original shield, this constellation allows Layla to create a shield for her teammates in co-op, protecting them from any damage.
C2: Light’s Remit restores energy for Layla when her Shooting Stars hit an enemy. Each of the 4 Shooting Stars can restore energy to Layla with no cooldown. This constellation will help Layla gather more energy for her burst. However, her burst already has a low energy requirement so the extra energy isn’t always needed.
C4: Starry Illumination provides nearby teammates with the Dawn Star effect when the Shooting Stars of her elemental skill fire off. This Dawn Star effect grants the character increased normal and charged attack damage that scales off Layla’s Max HP. It will last up to 3 seconds and will be removed once the character deals normal or charged attack damage with the buff applied. This constellation provides Layla with more support utility, allowing her to buff her teammates’ normal attack damage. Combined with her C1, this will allow her to play more of a support role in co-op as well.
C6: Radiant Soulfire increases the damage of Layla’s Shooting Stars and Starlight Slugs, boosting the damage of both her elemental skill and burst. The intervals to produce the Night Stars from her elemental burst are also shortened by 20%, allowing more Night Stars to be produced while her shield is active.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| C1: Fortress of Fantasy | The Shield Absorption of the Curtain of Slumber generated by Nights of Formal Focus is increased by 20%. Additionally, when unleashing Nights of Formal Focus, she will generate a shield for any nearby party members who are not being protected by a Curtain of Slumber. This shield will have 35% of the absorption of a Curtain of Slumber, will last for 12s, and will absorb Cryo DMG with 250% effectiveness. |
| C2: Light’s Remit | When Shooting Stars from Nights of Formal Focus strike opponents, they will each restore 1 Energy to Layla. Each Shooting Star can restore Energy to her in this manner once. |
| C3: Secrets of the Night | Increases the Level of Nights of Formal Focus by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C4: Starry Illumination | When Nights of Formal Focus starts to fire off Shooting Stars, it will grant all nearby party members the Dawn Star effect, causing their Normal and Charged Attack DMG to increase based on 5% of Layla’s Max HP. Dawn Star can last up to 3s and will be removed 0.05s after dealing Normal or Charged Attack DMG. |
| C5: Stream of Consciousness | Increase the Level of Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C6: Radiant Soulfire | Shooting Stars from Nights of Formal Focus deal 40% increased DMG, and Starlight Slugs from Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker deal 40% increased DMG. Additionally, the interval between the creation of Night Stars via Nights of Formal Focus is decreased by 20%. |
Recommended Builds
Shield Support
Layla’s elemental skill summons a shield that can protect the active character from damage. Once all 4 Night Stars are collected, her shield is also able to deal Cryo DMG to enemies as the Night Stars transform into Shooting Stars and home toward nearby enemies. As a shield support, Layla will need to build up her Max HP as the shield scales off her Max HP. Layla’s normal attack will not be needed as she will throw up her shield and then switch to another character. You will need to mostly focus on leveling up her elemental skill and burst.
For her teammates, having two Hydro characters will increase the Max HP of the team due to the Hydro team resonance. Both Yelan and Xingqiu will deal passive Hydro DMG and activate the Hydro team buff. One of them can be switched to Barbara or Kokomi if your team needs a healer. Ayata will be the main DPS and works well in a Freeze team with both Yelan and Xingqiu.
For Layla’s recommended weapon, the 5-star Key of Khaj-Nisut grants her increased Max HP and EM. When her elemental skill hits an enemy, Layla will gain a stack of Grand Hymn that will boost the EM of nearby characters. The 5-star Freedom-Sworn is also good for Layla, raising her EM and granting nearby teammates increased normal attack when she gains 2 stacks of Sigils of Rebellion when she triggers a reaction.
For 4-star weapons, the Favonius Sword is able to provide additional energy for the team when Layla lands a critical hit. Its ER passive isn’t that great on Layla as she already has a low-energy burst. For the early game, the 3-star Harbinger Of Dawn provides Layla with more DMG as it increases Crit Rate and Crit DMG. It doesn’t help her shield strength, but is a good F2P option for its easy refinement. Another option is the 4-star Sacrificial Sword. This weapon has a chance to reset Layla’s cooldown for her elemental skill when it is used to damage an enemy.
Layla’s recommended artifact set is the Tenacity Of The Millelith. This set increases her Max HP and buffs the ATK and shield strength of nearby characters when Layla’s elemental skill hits an enemy. This artifact set is great for Layla as it supports her team while raising her Max HP. Another good option is the Noblesse Oblige. The 4-piece boosts the team’s attack when Layla uses her burst. In the early game, use The Exile for extra energy for herself and the team.
Artifact sets for Layla:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP%
- Circlet: HP%
As a support, Layla will just need HP% to empower her shield. Crit Rate will also be good if you are using the Favonious Sword. Also, look for EM, Crit DMG, and ER.
Sub DPS Layla
This build for Layla focuses more on her damage rather then her shield support. When all 4 Night Stars are collected, they are transformed into Shooting Stars that will home in towards enemies and deal Cryo DMG. For a sub-DPS build you will want to build up both her elemental skill and burst. Like the first build, her normal attack is optional. As her elemental skill damage scales off her Max HP, you will need to build both her Max HP and crit stats.
Due to her amazing Cryo application with her Shooting Stars, Layla works in a SuperConduct team that will spread the physical resistance of enemies. Eula will be the main DPS and utilizes physical damage in her builds. Shinobu will be the healer of the team. Both her and Fischl will deal passive Electro DMG.
Layla’s recommended 5-star weapon is the Primordial Jade Cutter. This weapon boosts both Crit Rate and Max HP. Its skill provides an ATK buff based on Layla’s Max HP. You can also use both the Key of Khaj-Nisut and Freedom-Sworn as discussed in the first build.
For 4-star weapons, the Sacrificial Sword is a viable option as it has a chance to reset the cooldown of her elemental skill when it is used to damage enemies. The event weapon Festering Desire is also feasible, boosting energy recharge, elemental skill damage, and elemental skill critical rate. The 3-star Harbinger of Dawn is good for its increased critical damage. Its health requirement will not matter as Layla will be switched out for another character for a majority of her fights.
For Layla’s recommended artifact set, you will want to use a mix of the Tenacity of the Millelith and Blizzard Strayer set for increased Max HP and Cryo DMG. You can also use a 4-piece Blizzard Strayer if you are using a freeze team for the increased critical rate.
Artifact sets for Layla:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: Cryo DMG%
- Circlet: Crit Rate or Crit DMG
As a sub-DPS, Layla will just need a mix of HP and critical stats. Look for HP%, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG in her sub-stats. EM is also good for increased elemental reaction power.
Recommended Party Members
Yelan will deal passive Hydro DMG to enemies.
Ayata can deal Cryo DMG to enemies and will serve as the Main DPS for the team.
Xingqiu will deal passive Hydro damage to the enemy and can also heal the active character.
Eula is a physical DPS that will rely on SuperConduct to deal increased damage to the enemy.
Shinobu will heal the team and apply Electro to enemies.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Low Cost Burst | Low energy regeneration with skill |
| Shield scales off her Max HP | Requires constellations for additional support skills |
| Good Cryo application | Low DMG output without investment |
Conclusion
Layla is a Cryo shield character with good Cryo application and a shield that scales off her Max HP. Her skill and burst damage also scale off her Max HP, so she is an easy-to-build character that only needs HP investments in her artifact sets. A lot of her support skills are locked behind constellations, and at C0 she is only useful for her shield and Cryo application. Her main use will be to put up her shield and gather Night Stars that will transform into Shooting Stars to deal Cryo DMG to enemies when 4 are collected.
What do you think of Layla? 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.
Other useful links:
*Images of gameplay owned by miHoYo
The Informal Gamer 