Aloy is the protagonist of the open-world PlayStation exclusive game Horizon Zero Dawn. With Genshin Impact’s collaboration with Horizon Series, Alloy was brought as a free playable character to explore the world of Teyvat.
This 5-star was available first for the PlayStation players during the 2.1 update but was later gifted to PC and mobile players after the Version 2.2 update. Aloy’s BiS (best in slot) weapon, Predator bow, is still exclusive for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 accounts.
The passive effect of this bow will only activate when you are playing on a PlayStation console. This means even if you logged in your PC or mobile account in a PlayStation to get the bow, you still would not get its full potential.
Of all the available 4-star bows in the game, you probably wonder which one is the best for Aloy. In this guide, we will understand Aloy’s talents and roles and which bow best fits them.
DPS Role
Aloy’s talents are designed for her to focus on regular attacks and Cryo damage. Her elemental skill leaves six bombs called Chillwater Bomblets which explode when in contact with enemies. This will create Coils that stack up to provide bonus damage to Aloy’s normal attacks and convert it to Cryo damage.
Take note: Normal Attacks and Cryo Damage.
Among the available 4-star weapons, Hamayumi and Rust are the top choices. Rust has a higher base ATK but lower ATK% bonus, but one wins over the other depending on the refinement ranks of the ones you have.
At refinement rank 1, Rust increases normal attack damage by 40%, while Hamayumi’s normal attack damage bonus is only 16%. However, Hamayumi’s bonus effect is doubled when Aloy’s energy reaches 100%. At this level, Rust wins over Hamayumi.
Actual In-Game Test and Comparison
Using an ascended 80/90 level Hamayumi at refinement rank 3, my Aloy’s ATK is at 1775.
Against level 79 Hilichurls, the damage numbers I got for her Cryo converted normal attacks ranged from 416 to 1393. With 100% energy, the numbers are increased to 467 to 1498.
Using a non-ascended level 80 Rust at refinement rank 2, my Aloy’s maximum ATK is 1755, which is slightly lower than when she is using Hamayumi.
However, the actual numbers I got from the same level of Hilichurls ranged from 496 to 1647. This means the high normal attack damage bonus from Rust is much helpful for Alloy. It also makes sense because of the way her talents make her do more normal attacks. The test was done with a level 2 normal attack talent at level 70 Aloy.
The next best weapon choice for a DPS Aloy would be the Prototype Crescent.
This bow can be crafted, and the stats are both ATK. Its passive effect increases movement speed and ATK 10 seconds, but this can only be triggered after hitting an enemy’s weak points.
Overall Suggestions for DPS Aloy
Rust wins over Hamayumi unless you can refine your Hamayumi to 2 ranks higher than your Rust. In that case, the latter is your best bow. If you do not have both, especially when you are still in the game’s early stages and are yet to unlock Inazuma, then go for Prototype Crescent.
The other weapon you can craft is Compound Bow, and its passive effect is tempting because it gives a stackable ATK and attack speed bonus.
However, the secondary stat of this bow is a Physical DMG bonus, which will be useless once Aloy’s attacks are converted to Cryo.
Reverse Melt Role
This type of build will make use of the Melt elemental reaction when Pyro is combined with Cryo. It is called “reverse” because instead of Pyro applied to Cryo to trigger the reaction, it will be the Cryo element that will do the triggering. If triggered by Pyro, Melt deals 2x damage, but the reverse will only do 1.5x damage.
The weapons suited for this role are The Stringless and Windblume Ode. These bows are equal in base ATK and their second stats, which are both elemental Mastery bonuses.
The Stringless consistently increases the damage dealt by the elemental skill and elemental burst, while the Windblume Ode increases the ATK for 6 seconds only after using an elemental skill.
For this type, you should also consider the party composition as you will need a Pyro character in the team to apply the first element to trigger Melt. Xiangling, Yanfei, and Klee are good partners for a Reverse Melt Aloy since they can easily apply Pyro to enemies.
Also, keep in mind Elemental Reaction’s damage scales off the character’s Elemental Mastery. So a 2-piece set of Wanderer’s Troupe is a must for this role, which you can combine with a 2-piece set of Noblesse Oblige, Gladiator’s Finale, or Shimenawa’s Reminiscence.
