Aloy is someone not from the world of Teyvat. After finding a portal in an old ruin, she arrived in this world while searching for the Old One’s lost secrets.
Aloy was born an outcast, rejected and feared by her tribe. She was raised in the mountains and learned hunting from a man named Rost. In her search for the truth about her parents, Aloy joined the tribe’s annual hunting contest called the Proving, in which the victor would be free to ask for a reward.
During the ritual, the participating hunters were killed by a mysterious assassin, and it was later revealed that Aloy was the true target due to her resemblance to an enigmatic, ancient woman. Her pursuit of the truth led to her discovering that the true enemy was an artificial intelligence bent with malice called HADES.
After defeating this machine, Aloy ultimately discovered that she was not born of human flesh and blood. She was a clone of the woman from the past. This genetic material granted her the abilities she possesses and is the key to preventing the second coming of the apocalypse.
How to Get Aloy
Aloy is a free character you can receive via their in-game mail once you reach Adventure Rank 20. There is no other way of getting another copy of this character. She is a freebie item in the collaboration between Genshin Impact and Playstation’s Horizon Zero Dawn. This means that alloy will not be available for wishing on any wish Banner.
You can check our guide to learn more about obtaining characters in Genshin Impact.
Team Role and Party Composition
Team DPS
With Aloy’s kit—both combat and passive talents—you can tell she is meant to deal Cryo damage to the opponents. As a DPS character, she focuses on using her elemental skill to enhance her normal attacks. Unlike other DPS characters, you can still switch between Aloy and other characters during combat without losing the effects of her skills.
Burst or Reverse-Melt Elemental Reaction Character
Another role for Aloy is to trigger the Reverse Melt elemental reaction, which is the same as Melt, but Pyro is applied first before Cryo. Aloy will only be called to the field for this role to cast her elemental burst.
Party Composition
Having another Cryo character as support for Aloy is a good option. This will activate the Shattering Ice elemental resonance, which increases the entire party’s Critical Rate by 15% against opponents frozen or affected by Cryo.
Diona and Rosaria can easily take the role of a Cryo support character for Aloy. You can also add a Hydro character to the team for a Freeze team. Xingqiu fits well for this role because Aloy’s normal attacks can trigger his elemental burst talent. Hydro and Cryo will freeze the targets and prevent them from moving and attacking you.
Talents and Play Styles
Combat Talents
Normal Attack: Rapid Fire
With this talent pressing the normal attack button consecutively will let Aloy perform up to 4 succeeding shots with her bow. Holding the same button-down will toggle Aloy’s Aimed Shot stance so she can perform a more precise shot with increased damage.
Staying in Aimed Shot mode for a longer time will charge the attack until biting frost will accumulate on the arrowhead, and a fully charged frost arrow will deal Cryo damage.
This attack will have Aloy fire off a shower of arrows before falling and striking the ground when used mid-air. Upon impact, AOE damage will be dealt with in the landing area.
Elemental Skill: Frozen Wilds
When this skill is used, Aloy will throw a Freeze Bomb that will explode on impact and deal Cryo damage. After the Freeze Bomb explodes, it will split into many Chillwater Bomblets that will explode on contact with opponents or after a short delay.
Hitting an opponent with a Freeze Bomb or a Chillwater Bomblet will decrease that opponent’s ATK, and Aloy will gain a stack of Coil. Each stack of Coil increases Aloy’s Normal Attack damage, and having the maximum four stacks of it will clear all Coil stacks, and Aloy will enter the Rushing Ice state.
When in the Rushing Ice state, Aloy’s normal attacks will be converted to Cryo damage, and its damage will be further increased. However, while Aloy cannot obtain new Coil stacks in this state, the effects of Coil will be cleared 30 seconds after Aloy leaves the field.
Elemental Burst: Prophecies of Dawn
Aloy’s elemental burst talent will have her throw a Power Cell filled with Cryo to the target direction. She will then detonate the Power Cell by shooting it with an arrow. This will trigger an explosion that will deal an AOE Cryo damage.
Passive Talents
Combat Override
With this talent active, receiving any stack of Coil from her elemental skill will increase Aloy’s ATK by 16%. Her nearby party members will also have their ATK increased by 8%. Both ATK bonuses will last for 10 seconds.
This passive talent enhances the buff capabilities of Aloy’s elemental skill and will make her a bit of a hybrid of DPS and support. However, the effect of this passive talent alone is not enough to make Aloy a support character that provides a damage boost to the team.
Strong Strike
This passive talent will increase Aloy’s Cryo damage by 3.5% when she is in the Rushing Ice state, and a maximum of 35% Cryo bonus damage can be gained this way.
To trigger the effects of this passive talent, Aloy needs to receive the maximum stack of Coil, which is 4. This will put her into the Rushing Ice state, thus fulfilling the requirement to trigger Strong Strike.
Utility: Easy Does It
This utility passive is already active at character level one, and thanks to it, if Aloy is at the party, animals that produce Fowl, Raw Meat, or Chilled Meat will not startle when approached. Easy Does is a very useful talent when you go farming or hunting for products used for cooking.
Play Styles
Aloy’s playstyle should focus on making a lot of normal attacks based on the nature of her elemental skill, Frozen Wilds, and the effects of her passive talents. This, however, should be done after making sure alloy gains the maximum stack of Coil so that she enters the Rushing Ice state.
Again, the Rushing Ice state will increase her ATK and normal attack damage and convert her normal attacks to deal with Cryo elemental damage. The effects of her passive talents further enhance this boost to her normal attacks.
For the burst type, the playstyle involves switching from one character to Aloy and then having her cast her elemental burst before switching back to your team’s DPS. When aiming for a Reverse Melt elemental reaction damage with Aloy as the one to trigger the reaction, you need to make sure Pyro has been applied to the target before switching to Aloy to cast her elemental burst.
Constellation: Nora Fortis
As a special character, you can only obtain it as a gift once. Aloy’s constellation does not have levels effects that you can unlock. She will remain a C0 (Zero Constellation) character, at least as of the writing of this article.
How to Build Aloy
Whether you want Aloy to be a DPS character of a burst type, increasing her Cryo damage is the way. For a DPS type Aloy, the talents to prioritize are her elemental skill and normal attack because these two complement each other and will increase Aloy’s damage output. Her elemental burst can work as a filler skill and can be leveled up later when you have enough resources.
For the burst type Aloy, you can almost ignore her normal attack and elemental skill talents and only level up her elemental burst. This is because, for this type, the playstyle involves little to no normal attacks.
The best items to equip Aloy will still depend on the role and type you aim for her to be. The next part of this guide will discuss the best weapons and artifact sets for Aloy.
Weapon: Bow
For both DPS and burst type Aloy, the weapon to equip her is one that will greatly increase her damage output. 5-star bows will always have a higher base ATK than 4-star ones. These weapons can help boost Aloy’s damage output and increase the ATK bonus she can provide her teammates due to their high Base ATK.
Skyward Harp and Polar Star
These two have Critical Rate as their secondary stat, making it easy to reach the decent amount needed for this stat, making it easy for Aloy to provide a more consistent damage output.
The Skyward Harp has a passive effect that increases Critical Damage. It will also give Aloy’s normal attacks a chance to inflict a small AOE attack that deals 125% Physical Damage.
Polar Star’s passive effects damage Aloy’s elemental skill and elemental burst. With this weapon equipped, if Aloy’s normal attack, a charged attack, elemental skill, and elemental burst hits an opponent, she will gain a stack of Ashen Nightstar. A maximum of 4 stacks can be obtained, increasing Aloy’s ATK.
With Aloy’s playstyle, the passive effects of both weapons are easy to trigger.
Thundering Pulse
Thundering Pulse gives a bonus of Critical Damage through its secondary stat. Its passive effect increases the user’s ATK and grants them a stack of Thunder Emblems. Each stack of Thunder Emblem will increase the weapon user’s normal attack, which Aloy can benefit greatly.
Thunder Emblem can be obtained when Aloy’s normal attacks deal damage, when she casts her elemental skill, and when her Energy is less than 100%.
We created a separate guide for the best 4-star bows that you can equip Aloy with. You can check it out by clicking this link.
Artifacts for Aloy
Blizzard Strayer
This artifact set is, by default, the best choice for a Cryo DPS character like Aloy. Its 2-piece set gives a 15% Cryo damage bonus, and the 4-piece set will increase the character’s Critical Rate against opponents that are either affected by Cryo or Frozen.
Against opponents affected by Cryo, the Critical Rate bonus is 20%, and if the opponent is frozen, the bonus will be increased by an additional 20%.
Aloy’s elemental burst, elemental skill, and even the Chillwater Bomblets can easily apply Cryo to the enemies, making it easy to utilize the effect of the 4-piece set of this artifact.
Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
The 2-piece set of this artifact also gives an 18% ATK bonus to the character. With the 4-piece set equipped, if Aloy has 15 or more energy when she casts her elemental skill, she will lose 15 energy. But, at the same time, her normal, charged, and plunging attacks will have a damage bonus of 50% for 10 seconds.
With Aloy’s kit and play style, using her elemental skill to gain energy and then doing her normal and charged attack combos should be the best way to utilize this artifact’s 4-piece set effect.
Echoes of an Offering
The 2-piece set of this artifact, like the two above, gives an 18% ATK bonus. If a 4-piece set is equipped, when normal character attacks hit opponents, there is a 36% chance that it will trigger the Valley Rite buff. This buff will increase the normal attack damage by 70% of the character’s ATK.
With Aloy’s play style that focuses on many normal attack combos, triggering the Valley Rite buff will not be a problem.
2-Piece Artifact Sets Combined
Since farming for artifacts will take you time and a lot of Resin, getting the perfect set is never easy. However, you can always check the ones you already have and see what works for Aloy.
The Gladiator’s Finale, Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, Echoes of an Offering, and Vermillion Hereafter give an 18% ATK bonus with its 2-piece sets, which can be paired with the 2-piece set of the Blizzard Strayer.
The 2-piece set Noblesse Oblige is also a decent choice, especially if your Aloy is a burst type because this set increases the damage of the user’s elemental burst.
Artifact Main Stats
Since Aloy is a DPS character, you should equip her with a Goblet of Eonothem with Cryo Damage Bonus as its main stat and a Circlet of Logos with a main stat that is either Critical Rate or Critical Damage.
Character Ascension
Aloy can be ascended to 6 phases to reach the maximum character level, 90. Passive talents and special ascension stats will also be unlocked when a character is ascended to certain phases.
Ascension Materials for Aloy
Mora: 420,000
Crystalline Bloom: 46
This item is an exceedingly pure ice crystal created in the frigid blooming of a Cryo Hypostasis. They will continue to grow according to their own cold, rigid laws until a flower of winter shall bloom and freeze everything one day.
Crystal Marrow: 168
A Crystal Marrow is a crystal that contains a sliver of Tatarigami power. It is commonly used as a material added during a smelting process to increase the strength and toughness of metals greatly. This material is a local specialty of Inazuma and is commonly found in the islands of Kannazuka and Yashiori.
Shivada Jades
These mineral crystals can be obtained from boss enemies manipulating the Cryo element. Boss enemies such as Cryo Regisvines, Cryo Hypostasis, Primo Geovishap, La Signora, Andrius the Dominator of Wolves, and even Azhdaha.
You can also get these from quest and commission rewards and by crafting them using the ones with lower rarity levels. You will need 1 Shivada Jade Slivers, 9 Shivada Jade Fragments, 9 Shivada Jade Chunks, and 6 Shivada Jade Gemstones.
Spectral Core
The Heart and the Nucleus can be crafted via the crafting bench in the city. These are energy cores of the Specters that contain elemental energy, which allows the said life forms to float and move around. You can collect some of these by defeating Specters of all elemental types. The amount needed for each is as follows: Spectral Husk: 18; Spectral Heart: 30; Spectral Nucleus: 36.
Ascension Phases
Ascension Phase 1
This first ascension will be done after the character reaches level 20, and they cannot proceed to the next level without ascending to the next phase. The character level cap will be increased to 40, and Aloy’s first passive talent, Combat Override, will be unlocked.
Materials: Mora – 20,000; Shivada Jade Sliver – 1; Crystal Marrow – 3; Spectral Husk – 3
Unlocked Talent: Combat Override (1st Passive Talent)
Ascension Phase 2
Ascension Phase 2 can be reached at character level 40 and will increase the character level cap to 50. After this ascension, the character’s talents can now be upgraded or leveled up. Aloy will also unlock a special ascension stat on this phase, the Cryo Damage Bonus of 7.2%.
Materials: Mora – 40,000; Shivada Jade Fragments – 3; Crystal Marrow – 10; Spectral Husk – 15; Crystalline Bloom – 2;
Unlocked Special Stat: 7.2% Cryo Damage Bonus
Unlocked Feature: Allows leveling combat talents from 1 to 2
Ascension Phase 3
After reaching level 50, Aloy can ascend to phase 3, which will increase her character level cap to 60. Aloy’s combat talents can then be increased to level 4. The 3rd ascension phase will also double the Cryo Damage Bonus special stat from 7.2% to 14.4%.
Materials: Mora – 60,000; Shivada Jade Fragments – 6; Crystal Marrow – 20; Spectral Heart – 12; Crystalline Bloom – 4;
Unlocked Stat: Cryo Damage Bonus increased from 7.2% to 14.4%
Unlocked Feature: Allows leveling combat talents from 2 to 4
Ascension Phase 4
At level 60, you can ascend Aloy to ascension phase 4 and upgrade her character level cap to 70. After ascending, you will unlock her second Passive Talent called Strong Strike, and all her Combat Talents can then be leveled up to 6.
Materials: Mora – 80,000; Shivada Jade Chunks – 3; Crystal Marrow – 30; Spectral Heart – 18; Crystalline Bloom – 8;
Unlocked Feature: Allows leveling combat talents from 4 to 6
Ascension Phase 5
The 5th ascension phase can be reached when Aloy is at 70, and ascending will increase her character level cap to 80. Her special ascension stat, Cryo Damage Bonus, will be increased to 21.6% at this phase. Aloy’s combat talents will also have an upgrade to their level cap from 6 to 8.
Materials: Mora – 100,000; Shivada Jade Chunks – 6; Crystal Marrow – 45; Spectral Nucleus – 12; Crystalline Bloom – 12;
Unlocked Stat: Cryo Damage Bonus increased from 14.4% to 21.6%
Unlocked Feature: Allows leveling combat talents from 6 to 8
Ascension Phase 6
Aloy’s final ascension phase is at level 80, and it will increase her character level cap to 90. Her special ascension stat, the Cryo Damage Bonus, will be increased to 28.8%, and her Combat Talents can now be upgraded to the maximum level of 10.
Materials: Mora – 120,000; Shivada Jade Gemstones – 6; Crystal Marrow – 60; Spectral Nucleus – 24; Crystalline Bloom – 20;
Unlocked Stat: Cryo Damage Bonus increased from 21.6% to 28.8%Unlocked Feature: Allows leveling combat talents from 8 to 10
Talent Level-Up Materials for Aloy
Building a character includes increasing the level of their combat talents, and each level will require certain items as materials for the leveling up process.
Aside from Mora and Spectral Cores, Aloy will need a few Molten Moments to level up her combat talents.
A Molten Moment is a deformed fragment that contains the great might of Signora after she unleashes her original power. You can get some of these by defeating her in the Duel to the Fiery Death at Tenshukaku.
The talent books you will need to level up Sucrose’s combat talents are the ones of the “Freedom” series you can get when completing the Forsaken Rift Domain: Frosted Altar challenge.
These books include the Teachings of Freedom, Guide to Freedom, and the Philosophies of Freedom. The last two can be crafted using the crafting bench in the town.
The Ballad books needed are 3 Teachings of Freedom, 21 Guide to Freedom, and 38 Philosophies of Freedom.
Leveling a combat talent up from level 9 to 10 will need a Crown of Insight, a special item that can only be obtained as a reward from the game’s events.
