The five-star Cryo Bow character Ganyu is one of Genshin Impact’s most powerful and reliable damage-dealing forces. As long as players equip her with the best weapon possible, Ganyu will be a nearly unstoppable force capable of exacting brutal damage across the battlefield.
Teyvat has an ever-growing roster of playable characters, which makes choosing the best ones a tough task since there are so many options. Those who were released earlier on in the game tend to be ignored in favor of newer recruits. But despite being released in January 2021, Ganyu’s immensely powerful skillset has stood the test of time and demonstrates why players should consider all characters when building their ideal team.
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Ganyu is a special damage-dealing character who is able to deal both up-close and ranged damage. Bow characters usually are better at dishing out damage from afar, which is why most of them tend to not be the best at damage dealing. But Ganyu strikes with ease no matter how close or far her target may be.
To maximize the capabilities of the Cryo character, players will need to equip her with a powerful bow that matches her brutal damage-dealing skillset.
What’s the best weapon for Ganyu in Genshin Impact?
Since Ganyu is a damage-dealing-focused character, players should seek weapons with statistics that will increase her efficiency within this role. Overall, the most important statistics for her weapon are:
- Attack
- Critical rate
- Critical damage
Usually, critical rate and critical damage are the most important aspects of building a damage dealer, but Ganyu scales off of her attack, which makes it the top priority.
Best five-star bows for Ganyu in Genshin Impact
Equipping Ganyu with a five-star weapon to match her five-star skillset is the best way to ensure she excels on the battlefield. While many playable characters only have a few solid weapons to choose from, Ganyu has a wide range of viable options, which makes her a much easier character to build than most other Teyvat recruits.
Polar Star
Although this is technically the signature weapon of the five-star Hydro Bow character Tartaglia (Childe), Polar Star is a superb choice for Ganyu too. The “Daylight’s Augury” effect raises elemental skill and elemental burst damage by 12 percent.
When the wielder of this bow successfully strikes an enemy with a normal attack, charged attack, elemental skill, or an elemental burst, one stack of Ashen Nightstar is then gained. This stack is active for 12 seconds and a different buff is given depending on how many stacks are present.
- If one stack of Ashen Nightstar is active, attack is raised by 10 percent.
- If two stacks of Ashen Nightstar are active, attack is raised by 20 percent.
- If three stacks of Ashen Nightstar are active, attack is raised by 30 percent.
- If four stacks of Ashen Nightstar are active, attack is raised by 48 percent.
All stacks created through normal attacks, charged attacks, elemental skills, and elemental bursts are calculated and added independently of the rest. The Polar Star bow also has buildable critical rate, which is an excellent statistic to raise for Ganyu’s damage-dealing skillset.
Aqua Simulacra
The Aqua Simulacra bow is the signature weapon of the five-star Hydro Bow character Yelan yet is another top-tier choice for Ganyu. “The Cleansing Form” ability of this weapon increases the equipping character’s health points by 16 percent.
Additionally, when there are enemies nearby, the damage dealt by the wielder of this weapon is raised by 20 percent. This effect can be activated regardless of whether the equipping character is active on the battlefield.
Aqua Simulacra has critical damage as its secondary statistic so players will be able to raise it as they build this weapon over time.
Amos’ Bow
While most five-star characters have a well-known five-star weapon specifically designed to complement their abilities, Ganyu’s signature weapon has been a source of much debate. None of the bows present in Teyvat truly line up story-wise and skillset-wise with her abilities, but Amos’ Bow is generally considered to be the only potential candidate for her featured weapon.
Amos’ Bow is certainly a strong option for Ganyu, but the previously mentioned signature five-star weapons for other bow characters function as generally better choices for Ganyu. The “Strong-Willed” ability increases normal attack and charged attack damage by 12 percent.
After a normal attack or charged attack shot is fired with Amos’ Bow, the damage is further increased by eight percent for every 0.1 seconds the arrow is in the air for up five stacks. These effects can be powerful, but they do also require players to think carefully about how they use this weapon in battle to experience the maximum benefits.
This bow also comes with attack as its secondary statistic that players can build over time.
Hunter’s Path
The Hunter’s Path bow features the “At the End of the Beast-Paths” ability that grants a 12 percent damage bonus for all elements. It also applies the Tireless Hunt effect after striking an opponent with a charged attack.
The Tireless Hunt effect raises charged attack damage by 160 percent of elemental mastery. This effect lasts for 12 seconds or until 12 charged attacks have occurred, whichever of the two happens first.
Travelers can only gain an instance of Tireless Hunt every 12 seconds. This weapon has buildable critical rate that will help build Ganyu’s damage-dealing abilities.
Skyward Harp
Based on my experience with the Skyward weapon set, they are some of the most versatile and useful weapons in all of Teyvat since they work well on most characters. The Skyward Harp features the “Echoing Ballad” ability that raises critical damage by 20 percent.
With this weapon equipped, strikes have a 60 percent chance of initiating a small AoE attack that deals 125 percent physical attack damage. This ability can occur once every four seconds.
The Skyward Harp has critical rate as the statistic players will build with the weapon, which pairs extremely well with the critical damage bonus this weapon also supplies.
Elegy for the End
This weapon is more suited to characters functioning in a support capacity, but Elegy for the End is still a decent option for Ganyu when players don’t possess any of the better options. “The Parting Refrain” effect raises elemental mastery by 60.
When the wielder of this weapon strikes an enemy with their elemental skill or elemental burst, they then gain one Sigil of Remembrance. This effect may be activated once every 0.2 seconds regardless of whether the equipping recruit is active on the battlefield.
Once four Sigils of Remembrance have been accumulated, all four will be consumed to activate the “Millennial Movement: Farewell Song” effect for 12 seconds. This effect then raises elemental mastery by 100 and increases attack by 20 percent.
After the “Millennial Movement: Farewell Song” effect has been activated, no new Sigils of Remembrance can be gained for 20 seconds. The Elegy for the End bow has energy recharge as its secondary statistic, which is not the overall best option for Ganyu and is why this bow is the least desirable of the five-star options. But the powerful benefits it possesses do still make it a viable option.
Best four-star bows for Ganyu in Genshin Impact
If the gacha system isn’t on your side and you’re struggling to unlock a five-star weapon for Ganyu, there are some decent four-star choices. These won’t grant the best results possible, but Ganyu’s skillset is solid enough to still function powerfully with them.
Prototype Crescent
One of the best four-star options for Ganyu is also easy for any player to obtain since it can only be unlocked through forging. The Prototype Crescent bow has the “Unreturning” ability that causes charged attacks that successfully strike weak points to then increase movement speed by 10 percent and raise attack by 36 percent for 10 seconds.
This weapon also has attack as its secondary static, which is one of the best aspects to build on Ganyu.
Hamayumi
The “Full Draw” ability of this weapon raises normal attack damage by 16 percent and charged attack damage by 12 percent. When the wielder of this weapon reaches 100 percent energy, the effects are raised by 100 percent.
Hamayumi has buildable attack, so Ganyu will become an even more effective force as players work on this bow over time. This weapon is also forgeable, so players are guaranteed to receive it as long as they gather the materials for it.
The Stringless
This bow is a decent option for players looking to build Ganyu’s general elemental abilities and her effectiveness within elemental reactions. The “Arrowless Song” ability raises elemental skill and elemental burst damage by 24 percent.
The Stringless also packs elemental mastery players can build over time, which is a powerful static for players who are using Ganyu on a team based around elemental reactions. Whether this bow is right for Ganyu entirely depends on the type of team players choose to craft for her.
Dot Esports gathered this information by playing Genshin Impact Version 3.6 “A Parade of Providence” on PC.
