Kaeya Alberich, the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, is an accomplished swordsman and a strategic thinker in the organization. He is an adopted member of the Ragnvindr Family and is popular among the elderly in Mondstadt, earning him the title of “top candidate for grandson-in-law.”
The mischievous, amiable, and wine-loving knight has a way with words and can smoothly talk anyone to telling him everything that he wants to know.
Kaeya got his Cryo Vision the night his adopted father, Master Crepus, lost his life when the Delusion he used to save Diluc backfired. Watching the man who raised him die pushed him to come clean to his brother about his past and the mission he was supposed to fulfill.
He originally came from Khaenri’ah, and at a young age, Kaeya was abandoned by his birth father in the unfamiliar land so that he could become a spy in Mondstadt, serving their homeland’s interests. Kaeya always contemplated which side he would fight for should Khaenri’ah and Mondstadt go to war.
Knowing the truth made his brother Diluc angry, and as they drew their blades against each other, Kaeya was overcome by the sensation of great elemental power surging through him. As fire clashed with ice, a sudden swirl of wind stunned them – Kaeya’s Vision appeared.
How to Get Kaeya
Keaya is one of the four starting characters that you can get as you progress through the main story at the game’s early levels. This means that you can get him for free. He will appear in the Knights of Favonius sub-quest of Act I: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind Archon quest – the main storyline for Mondstadt. In one of the missions – Crash Course – you will enter a temple domain and will be able to play a trial version of this character.
After completing the said mission, Kaeya will become one of the characters you own. However, these starting characters were never added as featured 4-stars in any Character Wish banner, making it difficult to unlock their constellations for most players.
The easiest guaranteed way to unlock Kaeya’s constellation is to save up on Masterless Starglitters and exchange 34 for 1 character item: Kaeya from Paimon’s Bargains shop. However, this shop will only have two characters available each month, and they are randomly selected.
Talents and Play Style
Combat Talents
Normal Attack: Ceremonial Bladework
When pressing the normal attack button consecutively, Kaeya performs up to 5 rapid slashes to deal physical damage to the opponents. Holding down the button makes Kaeya make a charged attack composed of 2 quick sword strikes.
This attack can also be used mid-air while Kaeya is gliding or jumping to make him perform a plunging attack that damages opponents along the path and strike the ground below.
Elemental Skill: Frostgnaw
Kaeya’s elemental skill causes him to unleash a frigid blast that hits opponents in front of him. This attack deals Cryo damage, and thanks to its 6-second cooldown, this skill is easy to spam.
With this skill’s short cooldown and the effect of the passive talent Cold-Blooded Strike, Kaeya has longer survivability as a DPS character, whether the team has a healer or not.
Elemental Burst: Glacial Waltz
Using his elemental burst talent makes Kaeya gather the frost in the air and summon 3 icicles that revolve around him.
The icicles follow the active character around and deal Cryo damage to opponents that it hits or touches.
Passive Talents
Cold-Blooded Strike
When reaching his 1st ascension phase at level 20, Kaeya unlocks the passive talent Cold-Blooded Strike. This talent allows him to regenerate his HP when his elemental skill Frostgnaw hits an opponent. The amount of HP regenerated is equal to 15% of Kaeya’s ATK.
Glacial Heart
At level 60, Kaeya can be ascended to his 4th ascension phase, unlocking Glacial Heart. This passive talent will have other Elemental Particles dropped from opponents frozen by his elemental skill Frostgnaw.
Kaeya’s elemental burst energy requirement is quite high, and unlocking this talent will surely make up for that. But to utilize the effect of Glacial Heart, Kaeya needs to be paired with a Hydro character.
Hidden Strength
Kaeya’s utility passive talent is handy when exploring. Hidden Strength decreases the sprinting Stamina consumption of the entire party by 20%. However, this effect cannot be stacked with other Passive Talents that provide the same effects.
Constellation: Pavo Ocellus
Constellation Level 1: Excellent Blood
Kaeya’s 1st constellation level increases the Critical Rate of his normal and charged attacks against opponents affected by Cryo. The Critical Rate bonus given this way is 15%.
Constellation Level 2: Never-Ending Performance
Unlocking this constellation level will enhance Kaeya’s elemental burst by allowing its duration to be increased by 2.5 seconds every time the Glacial Waltz defeats an opponent during its course.
This effect can be easily utilized in situations with many smaller and weaker enemies.
Constellation Level 3: Dance of Frost
Dance of Frost increases Kaeya’s elemental skill talent and upgrades it to have a maximum level of 15 instead of the original 10.
Constellation Level 4: Frozen Kiss
With Kaeya’s constellation level 4 unlocked, he automatically has a shield around him whenever his HP falls below 20%. This shield can absorb damage equal to 30% of Kaeya’s HP, is 250% more efficient in absorbing Cryo damage, and lasts for 20 seconds.
However, this effect can only occur once every 60 seconds.
Constellation Level 5: Frostbiting Embrace
When the 5th level of Pavo Ocellus is unlocked, the Frostbiting Embrace effect activates. This increases Kaeya’s elemental burst talent by 3 and upgrades its maximum level from 10 to 15.
Constellation Level 6: Glacial Whirlwind
With Kaeya’s 6th and final constellation level unlocked, his elemental burst Glacial Waltz generates 1 additional icicle and15 energy when the talent is used.
This provides more hits for the elemental burst and allows it to be ready with the lower energy needed.
Team Role and Party Composition
DPS Character: Cryo or Physical
Kaeya is mainly a DPS character who is supposed to be on the field most of the time to deal damage to the opponents. His normal attack combo is quick, and his elemental skill is easy to spam and has an effect that is more than just dishing out damage to the target.
When paired with other Cryo characters like Chongyun, Rosaria, Diona, and Shenhe, the Shattering Ice elemental resonance will be activated, increasing the entire party’s Critical Rate by 15% against opponents Frozen or affected by Cryo.
Like all other Physical type characters, Kaeya built this way needs to have a playstyle that focuses on normal and charged attacks. This type should also avoid element infusion to his weapon, so pairing him up with Chongyun is a big no.
However, a physical type DPS Kaeya can still be teamed up with other support Cryo characters like Diona and Rosaria. You can also have 1 Hydro character like Barbara and Xingqiu and 1 Electro character like Fischl. Applying Cryo to opponents affected by Electro triggers the Superconduct elemental reaction, which reduces the Physical damage resistance of that target.
Support Type
Kaeya can also be a support character for both a Cryo-Related Elemental Reaction Team and s Physical Team. That is by applying Cryo to opponents and dealing damage while not on the field. To get the Shattering Ice elemental resonance, you can pair him with other DPS Cryo characters like Ayaka and Eula. For a Melt elemental reaction team, he can be a support for Diluc, Klee, Xiangling, or Yanfei.
As a support for a Physical Team, Kaeya’s Cryo attacks apply Cryo to the target, and when Fischl or Razor applies Electro over the first element, Superconduct is triggered. This enhances the damage dealt by both Fischl and Razor, especially if they are the team’s DPS characters.
If Eula is your main DPS character, you can have Kaeya as his energy battery and an alternate character to apply Cryo to the enemy. Then, you can have one electro support to trigger the Superconduct elemental reaction.
How to Build Kaeya
Kaeya’s role leans toward a damage dealer, but he can still be a support character with the nature of his kits or talents.
If you are planning to make Kaeya the damage dealer of your team, you have a choice of having him deal more Cryo damage or Physical attacks. Of course, different types of DPS will also have different playstyles.
For a Cryo DPS Kaeya, the playstyle should involve spamming his elemental skill and elemental burst talents. You will need to equip him with items that give Cryo Damage Bonuses.
The Cryo type is the ideal one due to the nature of his elemental skill and elemental burst talents. If at least 2 constellation levels are unlocked, Cryo type is a must to utilize and maximize the effects of his constellation.
A Physical DPS Kaeya will need a lot of Physical Damage bonus; therefore you need to choose equipment with this stat. You can get this from artifact sets and weapons.
Weapon: Sword
5-Star Swords
Mistsplitter Reforged
This weapon was released alongside the Inazuma content of the game. It has Critical Damage as its secondary stat and a passive effect that grants a 12% elemental damage at refinement level 1.
If this sword is equipped in situations where Kaeya’s normal attacks deal elemental damage, when he uses his elemental burst, or when his elemental energy is less than 100%, he receives a stack of Mistsplitter’s Emblem. One stack of Mistsplitter’s Emblem grants 8% elemental damage at refinement level 1, 2 stacks give a 16% bonus, and 3 stacks grant a 28% elemental damage bonus.
Kaeya can easily get a stack of the Mistsplitter’s Emblem with all 3 scenarios, making him one of the best characters to use this weapon.
Primordial Jade Cutter
This jade sword is one of the most versatile weapons in Genshin Impact and will work perfectly for Kaeya. The Critical Rate secondary stat will help you reach the ideal Crit Rate level to focus on building as much Critical Damage as you can from artifacts.
Haran Geppaku Futsu
One of the time-limited weapon banner items is the Haran Geppaku Futsu. It has a lower Critical Rate secondary stat than that of the Primordial Jade Cutter, but its Base ATK at level 90 is 608, which is much higher.
Aside from the 12% elemental damage bonus that this weapon’s passive effect grants, it further boosts Kaeya’s normal attack damage whenever a character in his party uses an elemental skill.
Aquila Favonia
This 5-star weapon is probably the best weapon for a Physical Type Kaeya. This sword has the highest base ATK of 674 with an additional 20% ATK bonus from its passive effect. Another effect is that if Kaeya takes damage, he gets healed with an HP amount that is equivalent to 100% of his ATK.
This weapon’s secondary stat is the Physical Damage bonus, which greatly boosts the damage of Kaeya’s normal and charged attacks.
4-Star Swords
The Black Sword
The Black Sword is a Battle Pass weapon, which means you need to spend real money to get it. If you are willing to do so, then you can get one of the best 4-star swords in this game. Its secondary stat is Critical Rate which is quite a challenge to build for a character, and it grants a damage increase to the user’s normal and charged attacks.
Blackcliff Longsword
This weapon is one that you can get by exchanging Masterless Starglitters from Paimon’s Bargains.
The Blackcliff Longsword has Critical Damage as its secondary stat and a passive that increases the wielder’s ATK whenever an opponent is defeated. It shines in situations where many smaller or weaker enemies are present on the field.
Amenoma Kageuchi
Aesthetically speaking, this sword fits well with Kaeya’s pirate-inspired look. The secondary stat of this weapon is ATK% which can help increase the amount of HP that Kaeya heals after hitting opponents with his elemental skill.
The passive effect of the Amenoma Kageuchi can help Kaeya regenerate energy much faster, and with the short cool downtime of his elemental skill, the maximum effect of this sword can be utilized.
The Flute
For any DPS character, The Flute is a decent sword they can equip. Its stats and passive effect help dish out decent damage on any opponents.
Artifacts for Kaeya
For Cryo and Support Builds
Blizzard Strayer
This artifact set is, by default, the best choice for a Cryo DPS character like Kaeya. Its 2-piece set gives a 15% Cryo damage bonus, and the 4-piece set increases 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 goes up by an additional 20%.
Noblesse Oblige
A good 4-set option for a support type Kaeya is the Noblesse Oblige. The 2-piece set of this artifact increases the damage of Kaeya’s elemental burst, while the 4-piece set effect gives the entire party an additional ATK of 20%.
For Physical Build
Pale Flame
This artifact will give a 25% Physical Damage bonus when 2 pieces are equipped. With 4 pieces, aside from the 25% Physical damage bonus, when an elemental skill hits an opponent, the character’s ATK is increased by 9% for 7 seconds. This effect can be stacked up to 2 times, and when 2 stacks are reached, the 2-piece set effect increases by 100%, giving a total of 50% Physical damage bonus.
Bloodstained Chivalry
The 2-piece set of the Bloodstained Chivalry artifact also gives a 25% Physical Damage bonus to the character. When paired with another 2-piece set of the Pale Flame artifact gives Kaeya a total of 50% Physical Damage bonus without the need to meet any condition or trigger an effect.
For All Builds
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 Kaeya has 15 or more energy when he casts his Claw and Thunder, he loses 15 energy. But, at the same time, his normal, charged, and plunging attacks get a damage bonus of 50% for 10 seconds.
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 hits opponents, there is a 36% chance that it triggers the Valley Rite buff. This buff increases the normal attack damage by 70% of the character’s ATK.
With Kaeya’s playstyle of alternating between casting his elemental skill and throwing a lot of normal attacks, utilizing the effect of the 4-piece set of Echoes of an Offering artifact is not a problem.
Artifact Combinations
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 Kaeya.
The Gladiator’s Finale, Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, Echoes of an Offering, and Vermillion Hereafter all give an 18% ATK bonus with its 2-piece sets, which can be paired with the 2-piece set of the Blizzard Strayer. Noblesse Oblige is also a decent choice, especially if your playstyle involves using Kaeya’s elemental burst whenever it is available.
These five artifact sets can also be combined with each other, and you will still get decent stats and damage output for your Kaeya.
Artifact Main Stats
For a DPS Kaeya, you should equip him with a Goblet of Eonothem with either Cryo or Physical Damage Bonus as its main stat, depending on the DPS type you are aiming for. A Circlet of Logos with a primary stat that is either Critical Rate or Critical Damage should then be the second priority.
For a support type, you can have a Goblet of Eonothem with either Cryo Damage Bonus or ATK as its main stat and a Sands of Eon with Energy Recharge as its main stat.
Ascension Materials for Kaeya
Ascending a character to the next ascension phase allows them to unlock special stats, and talents and remove the current level cap. Every time you ascend a character, you will need several items to be used as their ascension materials and listed below are the ones that you need to increase Kaeya’s level.
Of course, with every upgrade from equipment to character level, Mora is needed by default. For Kaeya to be upgraded to the maximum level, you will need 420,000 Mora.
Shivada Jade Slivers, Fragments, Chunks, and Gemstones
These are mineral crystals that can be obtained from boss enemies that manipulate 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 commissions rewards, as well by crafting them using the ones with lower rarity level. You will need a total of 1 Shivada Jade Slivers, 9 Shivada Jade Fragments, 9 Shivada Jade Chunks, and 6 Shivada Jade Gemstones.
Hoarfrost Core
This material is the exposed core of a Cryo Regisvine and can only be obtained by defeating one. You will need a total of 46 Hoarfrost Core to max Kaeya’s level.
Calla Lily
This flower is a local specialty of Mondstadt, and it grows near water sources. Their petals have a chunky texture, yet sweet and a little bitter when cooked. You will need a total of 168 Calla Lilies for Kaeya.
Treasure Hoarder, Silver Raven, and Golden Raven Insignias
These things are signets, and insignias are badges used by members of the Treasure Hoarders to identify themselves. You can collect them by defeating Treasure Hoarders and by crafting.
You will need 18 Treasure Hoarder Insignias, 30 Silver Raven Insignias, and 36 Golden Raven Insignias.
Talent Level-Up Materials for Kaeya
Building a character includes increasing the level of their combat talents, and each level requires certain items as materials for the leveling up process. For Kaeya, you will need 1,652,500 Mora to max out all his combat talents.
You will also need 6 Treasure Hoarder Insignias, 22 Silver Raven Insignias, and 31 Golden Raven Insignias.
Six Spirit Lockets of Boreas are also needed to increase Kaeya’s combat talents from 6 to 10.
This locket holds a small portion of the power drawn from the soul of the Great Wolf King of the North. You can obtain some of these when you complete the challenge and defeat Andrius, the Dominator of Wolves in Wolvendom.
The talent books you will need for him to master his combat capabilities are the ones of the “Ballad” series, which you can obtain from the Forsaken Rift Domain of Mastery: Realm of Slumber.
The books include the Teachings of Ballad, Guide to Ballad, and the Philosophies of Ballad. The last two can be crafted using the crafting bench in the town.
The number of Ballad books needed are 3 Teachings of Ballad, 21 Guide to Ballad, and 38 Philosophies of Ballad.
Leveling a combat talent up from level 9 to 10 will call for Crown of Insight, which is a special item that can only be obtained as a reward from the game’s events.
