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Cryo in Genshin Impact represents one of the seven elemental types and is crucial for freezing enemies and triggering powerful elemental reactions. Cryo characters excel in crowd control, damage output, and team support. Using Cryo, Players can immobilize enemies with Freeze, boost damage through Melt, and provide versatile offensive and defensive capabilities. This guide explores key Cryo characters like Kaeya, Shenhe, Eula, Ayaka, Wriothesley, and Ganyu, highlighting their unique abilities and roles in maximizing Cryo’s potential in combat.
What Is Cryo in Genshin Impact?
In Genshin Impact, Cryo characters are essential, providing a blend of crowd control, damage, and support. Cryo, one of the game’s seven elemental types, is known for its freezing abilities and powerful elemental reactions. When Cryo is combined with Hydro, it triggers the Freeze effect, while pairing it with Pyro activates the Melt reaction. These reactions are both visually impressive and strategically significant, often shifting the battle in the player’s favor.
6 Best Cryo Characters
Below, we’ve listed and detailed six of the most outstanding Cryo characters in Genshin Impact. Learn their unique abilities and strengths, and how they excel in various combat situations. From crowd control to high damage output, these characters are essential for any Cryo-focused team.
Kaeya
Kaeya, one of the initial characters you receive in Genshin Impact, stands out as a reliable and versatile Cryo character, especially in the early stages of the game. As the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, Kaeya brings both charm and utility to any team composition.
Kaeya
One of Kaeya’s key strengths is his consistent Cryo application, which is crucial for triggering elemental reactions. His Elemental Skill, Frostgnaw, unleashes a blast of cold air that deals Cryo damage to enemies in front of him. This skill has a relatively short cooldown, allowing for frequent use and making it easier to freeze enemies or set up Melt and Superconduct reactions. The Superconduct reaction, triggered by combining Cryo with Electro, reduces the physical resistance of enemies, making Kaeya an excellent choice for teams focusing on physical damage.
Kaeya’s Elemental Burst, Glacial Waltz, further enhances his utility. When activated, Glacial Waltz summons icicles that orbit around him, dealing Cryo damage to nearby enemies over time. This ability not only provides sustained Cryo damage but also helps in maintaining consistent elemental reactions. It is particularly effective in crowd control situations, where multiple enemies can be kept in check simultaneously.
Shenhe
Shenhe, a disciple of the adepti from Liyue, stands out as one of the most potent Cryo support characters in Genshin Impact. Her abilities are designed to enhance the Cryo damage output of her teammates, making her an invaluable addition to Cryo-centric teams. Shenhe’s unique skill set not only increases the damage dealt by her allies but also provides crowd control and debuffs that can turn the tide of battle.
Shenhe
Her Elemental Skill, Spring Spirit Summoning, has two modes: a tap version that grants her teammates the Icy Quill effect, which significantly boosts Cryo damage, and a hold version that provides AoE Cryo damage and further boosts damage output for a longer duration. This versatility allows Shenhe to adapt to various combat scenarios, offering both immediate and sustained support to her team.
In addition to her powerful Elemental Skill, Shenhe’s Elemental Burst, Divine Maiden’s Deliverance, creates a field that deals continuous Cryo damage to enemies and reduces their Cryo and Physical resistance. This ability not only helps in dealing consistent damage but also synergizes exceptionally well with other Cryo characters, making it easier to trigger elemental reactions like Freeze and Superconduct.
Shenhe’s passive talents further augment her support capabilities, with Deific Embrace providing additional attack bonuses to characters in the field of Divine Maiden’s Deliverance and Spirit Communion Seal increasing the duration of the Icy Quill effect. Her ability to amplify Cryo damage while also debuffing enemies makes her an essential character for maximizing the potential of any Cryo-based team composition. Overall she is just the best Cryo support character in Genshin Impact.
Eula
Eula is considered the best Cryo character when it comes to dealing raw damage in one go. Her combat prowess is anchored by her Elemental Skill, Icetide Vortex, and her Elemental Burst, Glacial Illumination. Icetide Vortex allows Eula to perform swift, powerful strikes infused with Cryo, which can be pressed for a quick attack or held for a longer duration to deal more significant damage and decrease the Cryo and physical resistance of enemies hit. The hold version is especially useful for setting up devastating combos, as it ensures enemies remain susceptible to both Cryo and physical attacks.
Eula
Her Elemental Burst, Glacial Illumination, is where Eula truly shines. Upon activation, she swings her claymore with immense force, dealing Cryo damage and creating a Lightfall Sword that follows her for a duration. The Lightfall Sword accumulates energy with each of Eula’s attacks, eventually exploding and dealing massive physical damage to all nearby enemies. This mechanic rewards an aggressive playstyle, encouraging players to maximize their damage output within the Burst’s duration.
In terms of team composition, Eula is a powerhouse as the main DPS. Her ability to deal with both Cryo and significant physical damage makes her versatile in a variety of team setups. Pairing her with characters who can provide off-field elemental support, such as Fischl or Xingqiu, can enhance her damage output through reactions like Superconduct, which further reduces enemies’ physical resistance.
Ayaka
Ayaka, the elegant princess of the Kamisato Clan in Inazuma, is a highly sought-after Cryo character. Her combat capabilities are anchored by her Elemental Skill, Kamisato Art: Hyouka, and her Elemental Burst, Kamisato Art: Soumetsu. Hyouka allows Ayaka to unleash a bloom of ice around her, dealing substantial Cryo damage to all enemies in its area of effect. This skill is excellent for quickly dealing with groups of enemies and setting up elemental reactions such as Frozen or Superconduct. For freeze teams, Ayaka is the best Cryo character in Genshin Impact.
Ayaka
Her Elemental Burst, Soumetsu, is a spectacle of precision and destruction. Ayaka summons a storm of whirling ice that moves forward, slicing through enemies and dealing continuous Cryo damage. Upon reaching its end, the storm explodes, dealing a final burst of Cryo damage to all nearby enemies. This ability is not only visually stunning but also incredibly effective at controlling the battlefield and dealing with large groups of enemies or high-health targets.
In team compositions, Ayaka excels as the main DPS due to her high Cryo damage output and versatility. Pairing her with Hydro characters like Mona or Xingqiu can trigger Freeze reactions, immobilizing enemies and allowing Ayaka to deliver critical strikes. Characters that can provide consistent off-field elemental application, like Fischl with Electro or Xiangling with Pyro, can also help trigger Superconduct or Melt reactions, further boosting Ayaka’s damage.
Wriothesley
Wriothesley, the enigmatic Duke of the Fortress of Meropide, is a unique and powerful Cryo character. His combat style is distinguished by his fusion of Cryo power and physical strength. His Elemental Skill, Arctic Gauntlet, envelops his fists in ice, enhancing his physical attacks with Cryo damage. This skill allows Wriothesley to unleash a flurry of frost-imbued punches, dealing significant damage to enemies while also setting up Cryo-based elemental reactions. This ability is excellent for both single-target and AoE (Area of Effect) scenarios, providing versatility in various combat situations.
Wriothesley
In his Elemental Burst, Frostbreaker’s Fist, he channels his Cryo energy into a devastating punch that deals massive Cryo damage in a large area. This burst attack not only delivers a powerful blow to enemies but also creates an icy shockwave that extends the damage further. The burst is ideal for dealing with large groups of enemies or taking down high-health targets with a single, impactful strike. He is often considered the best cryo DPS.
Ganyu
Ganyu, the half-human, half-Adeptus emissary of the Liyue Qixing, is revered as one of the best and most versatile Cryo DPS characters. Her combat prowess is centered around her mastery of the bow and her unique Charged Attack mechanics. Her Normal Attack: Liutian Archery allows her to perform a series of swift shots, but it’s her Charged Attack that sets her apart. When fully charged, Ganyu’s attack releases a Frostflake Arrow that deals significant Cryo damage. Upon hitting its target, the Frostflake Arrow blooms, dealing AoE Cryo damage to surrounding enemies. This dual-layered attack mechanism makes Ganyu exceptionally effective at both single-target and AoE damage, allowing her to clear waves of enemies with ease.
Her Elemental Skill, Trail of the Qilin, provides both offensive and defensive utility. Ganyu dashes backward, leaving an Ice Lotus behind that taunts enemies and deals AoE Cryo damage when it expires or is destroyed. This skill is not only useful for repositioning and creating distance between Ganyu and her enemies but also for controlling the battlefield and setting up elemental reactions.
Ganyu’s Elemental Burst, Celestial Shower, is a powerful area-of-effect ability that summons a persistent Cryo storm. During its duration, icicles continuously rain down upon enemies within the storm’s radius, dealing massive Cryo damage over time. This burst is incredibly effective for maintaining sustained damage on large groups of enemies or bosses, making it a cornerstone of Ganyu’s DPS capabilities.
To sum it all up, the Cryo characters in Genshin Impact offer vital crowd control, high damage potential, and strategic advantages through their freezing and reaction abilities. Their unique interactions with Hydro and Pyro elements make them essential for both managing enemies and maximizing damage in combat. The above-listed characters are easily the best of the best, and you can’t go wrong with choosing either of them as your Support/DPS mains to carry you through the game’s hardest content.
