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Kaeya is a free 4-star Cryo character you get at the very start of Genshin Impact.And, yes, he’s a good unit – just less used.
His versatility lets him slot into every team that needs a Cryo unit. He can act as a battery, enabler, and DPS all at once.
He works everywhere, but he’s often not the best.
In all of his roles, he has strong competition. Because of this, there’s not much reason to build him if you have the better options available.
Note: This is based on meta only. If you like Kaeya regardless of his power level, don’t let this stop you from playing him.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Weaknesses
Very versatile. He fits into many teams.
Self-sufficient. He can effectively heal and battery himself.
Much harder to get constellations.
Has a lot of competition.
Kaeya Strengths
1. Versatile
Kaeya’s particle generation
Kaeya has a very versatile kit that lets him fill many roles.
He can easily fit into teams that need a Cryo unit – like Eula teams, freeze teams, and reverse melt teams. This is his greatest strength.
He has strong and frequent Cryo application. This can be used to maintain freeze uptime or enable superconduct reactions.
At baseline, his skill generates 2-3 energy particles with a 6s cooldown. He can effectively be a Cryo battery for DPS units like Ayaka, Eula, and Ganyu.And when hitting frozen opponents with his skill, this further increases by 1-2 particles per cast. In this scenario, he effectively becomes the strongest Cryo battery in-game.
Aside from his support abilities, he deals good personal damage – extra damage is always a plus.
2. Self-sufficient
Kaeya healing with his skill
Kaeya doesn’t need any other characters to function.
His particle generation is more than enough to charge his own burst – and even his teammates’.
Plus, his skill can trigger micro-healing upon hitting an opponent. This increases his survivability. It’s especially good when you’re not running any healers.
Kaeya Weaknesses
1. Standard Character Constellations
Kaeya gacha pull
Kaeya is a standard character, so he’s not featured in any of the limited gacha banners.
This means that you’ll only get his constellations from pulling in the standard banner or buying from the Starglitter Exchange shop.
Actively spending Primogems on the standard banner is simply never recommended.
And Kaeya only appears in the Starglitter Exchange shop once every 6 months. Plus, only one copy can be bought per rotation.
Because of this, it’s much harder to get his constellations.
2. Tough Competition
Rosaria, Ganyu, Ayaka, and Diona
Kaeya can fulfill multiple roles, but he has a lot of competition in each one.
The most notable ones are Rosaria, Ganyu, Ayaka, and Diona. Here’s a summarized comparison of them vs Kaeya.
Character
Them vs Kaeya
Rosaria
Rosaria outdamages Kaeya with higher constellations. Since she’s a character available in every banner, you’ll likely have more Rosaria constellations.
As a support, her CRIT rate buff and C6 Physical resistance shred also pull her ahead. For a more detailed comparison, check out our guide: Kaeya vs Rosaria (Who’s Better?)
Ganyu
Ganyu strictly deals more damage – both as an on-field and off-field DPS. Her Cryo-infused charged attacks also let her apply more on-field Cryo.
Ayaka
Like Ganyu, Ayaka strictly outdamages Kaeya as a DPS. She also has the best on-field Cryo application – miles ahead of Kaeya’s.
Diona
She can fill most of Kaeya’s roles apart from dealing damage.
Instead, she provides a lot of defensive options – like shields, healing, cleanse, and damage reduction.
Are Kaeya’s Constellations Worth Buying?
Kaeya’s constellation screen
Although Kaeya’s constellations are very rare, you’ll naturally get them from the standard banner.
Or you can just buy them from the Starglitter Exchange shop when available. But not all constellations are worth buying – especially if you don’t play Kaeya.
His best constellations are C2, C5, and C6. All of these are direct damage boosts.
If buying his constellations unlocks any of these, then they’re definitely worth it. Plus getting cons effectively brings you closer to C6 – his strongest constellation.
And if you’re thinking about buying his other constellations, here’s a closer look at each one:
C1: Excellent Blood
Kaeya’s normal and charged attacks gain 15% CRIT rate when attacking opponents affected by Cryo.
This is only useful for an on-field DPS Kaeya in freeze or mono-Cryo teams.
Otherwise, it’s pretty irrelevant. As an off-field DPS, you won’t be using his normal and charged attacks anyway.
C2: Never-Ending Performance
Kaeya’s burst is extended upon defeating opponents within its duration. Each kill grants a 2.5s extension, up to a maximum of 15s.
This is a situationally great constellation.
Against multiple weaker enemies, C2 can greatly extend his burst – thus dealing more damage. But against fewer enemies, he will rarely receive its effect.
And against single bosses, he will never gain the extension.
C3: Dance of Frost
Increases his elemental skill talent by 3.
Most of Kaeya’s damage comes from his burst, not skill. So, although C3 is a damage boost, it’s simply not significant.
C4: Frozen Kiss
When Kaeya falls below 20% HP, he gains a shield. This can occur once every 60s.
This is great for additional survivability, but it will rarely be activated. 20% HP is simply too low, taking damage will likely kill Kaeya before the shield activates.
Plus, teammates can’t benefit from this shield – so it’s irrelevant for an off-field DPS build.
C5: Frostbiting Embrace
Increases his elemental burst talent by 3.
This directly buffs Kaeya’s main source of damage. It’s a good damage gain, there’s not much to say.
C6: Glacial Whirlwind
Kaeya’s burst generates an extra icicle and regenerates 15 energy upon cast.
This is his best and strongest constellation.
The extra icicle provides additional raw damage, which is an unconditional damage gain. Plus, it provides extra Cryo application.
C6 also further reduces his energy requirements. Although energy is rarely a problem, it’s still a nice buff.
Maeri is an avid gacha player currently in the clutches of Genshin Impact. She mainly focuses on character analyses, underlying game mechanics, and occasionally reading game code. She also yearns for the day that Dainsleif is finally playable.
