Part-Human, Part Qilin, the esteemed hardworking secretary of the Liyue Qixing is one of many talents, although far too humble and shy to mention them herself. Ganyu is a Cryo Bow user who can output incredible amounts of damage between her special AoE charged shots and her massive field wide Elemental Burst, while always being able to keep herself from harm’s way. To master the skills of this illuminated beast, take a peek at this guide!
How to get Ganyu in Genshin Impact?
At the time of this writing, Ganyu is an event exclusive character. This means that she cannot be rolled by any means until she is announced for a banner rate up. She was last available in Version 1.2.
1. Combat Info
→ Ascensions and Stats
| Ascension Phase | Level | Base HP | Base ATK | Base DEF | Special Stat (CRIT DMG) |
| 0✦ | 1/20 | 763 | 26 | 49 | — |
| 20/20 | 1,978 | 68 | 127 | ||
| 1✦ | 20/40 | 2,632 | 90 | 169 | — |
| 40/40 | 3,939 | 135 | 253 | ||
| 2✦ | 40/50 | 4,403 | 151 | 283 | 9.60% |
| 50/50 | 5,066 | 173 | 326 | ||
| 3✦ | 50/60 | 5,686 | 194 | 366 | 19.20% |
| 60/60 | 6,355 | 217 | 409 | ||
| 4✦ | 60/70 | 6,820 | 233 | 439 | 19.20% |
| 70/70 | 7,495 | 256 | 482 | ||
| 5✦ | 70/80 | 7,960 | 272 | 512 | 28.80% |
| 80/80 | 8,643 | 295 | 556 | ||
| 6✦ | 80/90 | 9,108 | 311 | 586 | 38.40% |
| 90/90 | 9,797 | 335 | 630 |
| Mora | Gems | Character Level Up Materials | Materials | Materials | |
| Ascension Cost (0 → 1) | 20,000 | 1 Shivada Jade Silver | N/A | 3 Qingxin | 3 Whopperflower Nectar |
| Ascension Cost (1 → 2) | 40,000 | 3 Shivada Jade Fragment | 2 Hoarfrost Core | 10 Qingxin | 15 Whopperflower Nectar |
| Ascension Cost (2 → 3) | 60,000 | 6 Shivada Jade Fragment | 4 Hoarfrost Core | 20 Qingxin | 12 Shimmering Nectar |
| Ascension Cost (3 → 4) | 80,000 | 3 Shivada Jade Chunk | 8 Hoarfrost Core | 30 Qingxin | 18 Shimmering Nectar |
| Ascension Cost (4 → 5) | 100,000 | 6 Shivada Jade Chunk | 12 Hoarfrost Core | 45 Qingxin | 12 Energy Nectar |
| Ascension Cost (5 → 6) | 120,000 | 1 Shivada Jade Silver | 20 Hoarfrost Core | 60 Qingxin | 24 Energy Nectar |
→ Talents
Liutian Archery-Normal Attack
Normal Attack
Perform up to 6 consecutive shots with a bow.
Charged Attack
Perform a more precise Aimed Shot with increased DMG.
While aiming, an icy aura will accumulate on the arrowhead before the arrow is fired. Has different effects based on how long the energy has been charged:
- Charge Level 1: Fires off an icy arrow that deals Cryo DMG.
- Charge Level 2: Fires off a Frostflake Arrow that deals Cryo DMG. The Frostflake Arrow blooms after hitting its target, dealing AoE Cryo DMG.
Plunging Attack
Fires off a shower of arrows in mid-air before falling and striking the ground, dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Trail of the Qilin-Elemental Skill
Leaving a single Ice Lotus behind, Ganyu dashes backward, shunning all impurity and dealing AoE Cryo DMG.
Ice Lotus
- Continuously taunts surrounding opponents, attracting them to attack it.
- Endurance scales based on Ganyu's Max HP.
- Blooms profusely when destroyed or once its duration ends, dealing AoE Cryo DMG.
Celestial Shower-Elemental Burst
Coalesces atmospheric frost and snow to summon a Sacred Cryo Pearl that exorcises evil.
During its ability duration, the Sacred Cryo Pearl will continuously rain down shards of ice, striking opponents within an AoE and dealing Cryo DMG.
Undivided Heart-1st Ascension Passive
After firing a Frostflake Arrow, the CRIT Rate of subsequent Frostflake Arrows and their resulting bloom effects is increased by 20% for 5s.
Harmony between Heaven and Earth-4th Ascension Passive
Celestial Shower grants a 20% Cryo DMG Bonus to active members in the AoE.
Preserved for the Hunt-Utility Passive
Refunds 15% of the ores used when crafting Bow-type weapons.
→ Talent Upgrade
| Talent Level | Required Ascension Level | Mora | Common Materials | Talent Level Up Materials | ||
| 1 → 2 | 2* | 12,500 | 6 Whopperflower Nectar | 3 Teachings of Diligence | ||
| 2 → 3 | 3* | 17,500 | 3 Shimmering Nectar | 2 Guide to Diligence | ||
| 3 → 4 | 3* | 25,000 | 4 Shimmering Nectar | 4 Guide to Diligence | ||
| 4 → 5 | 4* | 30,000 | 6 Shimmering Nectar | 6 Guide to Diligence | ||
| 5 → 6 | 4* | 37,500 | 9 Shimmering Nectar | 9 Guide to Diligence | ||
| 6 → 7 | 5* | 120,000 | 4 Energy Nectar | 4 Philosophies of Diligence | 1 Shadow of the Warrior | |
| 7 → 8 | 260,000 | 6 Energy Nectar | 6 Philosophies of Diligence | 1 Shadow of the Warrior | ||
| 8 → 9 | 5* | 450,000 | 9 Energy Nectar | 12 Philosophies of Diligence | 2 Shadow of the Warrior | |
| 9 → 10 | 5* | 700,000 | 12 Energy Nectar | 16 Philosophies of Diligence | 2 Shadow of the Warrior | 1 Crown of Insight |
→ Constellation
2. Availability
→ Paimon's Bargains
N/A
→ Event Wishes
Adrift in the Harbor 2021-01-12 - 2021-02-2021
3. Personality
Ganyu is greatly insecure about her half human, half Qilin heritage, leading to her generally reserved personality. Many people mistake her genuine black and red horns as a type of accessory, a misunderstanding she usually accommodates in order to hide the truth of her heritage. Nevertheless she is an extremely competent secretary who has served the Liyue Qixing for centuries, although recently she finds herself making more mistakes than usual. Her greatest fear is of her motherlike figure Cloud Retainer telling embarrassing stories of her childhood to strangers.
4. Appearance
Ganyu’s striking black and red horns are her most noticeable physical trait, alongside her powder blue hair with two shoulder length locks in front and waist length tail in the back. Her eyes are purple with a golden hue, hinting at her supernatural heritage. She wears a black bodysuit with her shoulders and back exposed, with icy blue detached sleeves and gloves. At her neck is a medium sized golden bell and a brow/red bow at her nape. Her vision can be found on a red knot at her left hip.
5. Character Stories
→ Character Details
Though many in Liyue are fascinated by life in Yujing Terrace, its day-to-day operations and rules are a mystery to them.
They are aware that the Liyue Qixing are the cream of the crop who hold the fate of the city in their hands, but the calculations and data behind the Qixing's every decision are far harder to grasp.
The people understand that the new policies announced each year will change the dynamics of the market, yet none can comprehend how policy is plucked from complex meeting minutes and compiled into something easier on the human eye.
As the secretary of Yuehai Pavilion, Ganyu undertakes many tasks that ordinary folk do not see. The calculations and data behind the Qixing's every decision in Liyue, as well as every ordinance and regulation that is announced, are all the meticulous work of Ganyu.
Each daybreak she stands by the dock, enjoying her breakfast in silence. Even still, by the time the sun has fully risen, she will have returned to Yuehai Pavilion overlooking Yujing Terrace, to continue to fulfill her contract — one that she signed three thousand years ago with Rex Lapis.
→ Character Story 1
Ganyu is not the secretary of any one leader in the Liyue Qixing but is instead the general secretary for the entire organization. Under her gentle exterior, Ganyu is as persevering as stone itself. This was something that Rex Lapis, the leader of the adepti, noticed very early on. Thus when the Liyue Qixing first emerged ages ago, Ganyu was their secretary.
Through the years and the changes in the Qixing's roster, Ganyu has remained by their side as a constant. This has also meant the mountainous piles of paperwork from various departments and bureaus in Liyue have fallen upon Ganyu's shoulders. But though her workload has increased seven, a hundred, or even thousandfold, her sense of responsibility has never wavered. Someone once queried as to the source of her motivation and received an answer that was not quite congruous with the question.
"What I've done... is nothing compared to what Rex Lapis has accomplished."
→ Character Story 2
"I work for the well-being of all living things in Liyue."
Under almost all circumstances, Ganyu is a very trustworthy secretary. It is hard to imagine anyone outperforming her in the face of such an enormous workload, especially given her unique and penetrating insights into all of Liyue's matters.
Nevertheless, her reliability can only be guaranteed under "almost all circumstances." The more important the matter, the more Ganyu strives for perfection, and the more nervous she becomes. Under pressure, her nervousness does result in the occasional error.
One such incident occurred during the Rite of Descension, without doubt the most important annual event in Liyue's calendar.
Ganyu was three minutes late for the Rite and had to squeeze through the crowd in full view of all. Later on, with a face as red as a tomato, she stammered her way through an unconvincing explanation, all the while apologizing profusely to Rex Lapis in her heart. Her colleagues guessed that there must be some reason for the mistake. Those who did not know her well saw that Rex Lapis did not mind, and thus paid the incident no attention. Those closer to her worried in private, and asked if she needed a workload adjustment or a short vacation, but Ganyu refused.
"I spent two hours making sure that I wasn't wearing anything too similar to last year's Rite..."
Needless to say, Ganyu was not about to admit to this being the real reason for her tardiness!
→ Character Story 3
How long is a thousand years?
Long enough for the Glaze Lilies that once teemed throughout Dihua Marsh to be wiped out by floodwaters, and long enough for the thriving settlement that sprung up upon Guili Plains to come to ruin in war.
How short is a thousand years? To Ganyu, it felt shorter than the blink of an eye. Throughout a passage of time unimaginable to mortals, Ganyu has been working on all manner of things at Yujing Terrace.
She recorded the raising and demolishing of every building, and witnessed the rise to prosperity of every industry. Ganyu's sense of objectivity towards the passage of time comes from the endless reams of data she must trawl through, and from the ever-increasing number of colors she finds that she needs to categorize it all.
All this time, her mindset has never changed — she constantly wavers between her human and adeptus halves.
On one hand, Ganyu the qilin finds it difficult to comprehend mortal squabbles. But on the other hand, her human blood reminds her to always hold out hope that she might someday be able to fit in.
→ Character Story 4
Outside the confines of her work, Ganyu very quickly shows how different she is from most other people.
She has a habit of taking afternoon naps and has a shockingly accurate internal clock. When lunch hour arrives, no matter where she is, she will simply curl up into a ball and fall asleep on the spot. Even the raucous dancing of hilichurls will fail to wake her.
These habits were at first just a running joke within the Liyue Qixing.
But once, after accompanying the then-Tianxuan to lunch outside the city, a well-fed Ganyu simply crawled into the nearest roadside haystack. She ended up being transported all the way to Dihua Marsh, awakening only after bumping her head during the unloading. Unable to find Ganyu anywhere over the subsequent three hours, and knowing that she would not depart unannounced, the Tianxuan almost filed a missing person report.
After receiving a stern admonishment to "only take afternoon naps where it's safe," Ganyu retorted: "Well... isn't everywhere in Liyue safe?"
Perhaps, with the mixture of human and illuminated beast blood flowing through her veins, Ganyu's understanding of the world's affairs is a little different to that of most humans.
→ Character Story 5
Ganyu's qilin heritage is little-known in Liyue Harbor. Whenever she is asked by someone walking along Feiyun Slope as to the obvious protrusions in her hair, she says that they are ornamental heirlooms.
"If I told them the truth, they would distance themselves from me..."
Despite never having been on particularly close terms with Liyue's citizens in the first place, Ganyu would still not consider distancing to be a good thing. Her more important reason for hiding the truth is to prevent curious onlookers from touching her qilin horns.
After all, a qilin's horns are a sensitive part of their body, both physically and mentally speaking.
Another secret that Ganyu is anxious to keep hidden is the fact that she is watching her physique.
The qilin are strict vegetarians, but Liyue is a veritable powerhouse of gastronomical delights, one in which even vegetarians struggle to control their appetites.
Ganyu, who has grown accustomed to city life, is thus very vigilant in matters concerning her weight and physique.
Whenever she finds herself being drawn towards some delicious dish, she will attempt to reassert her self-control. For Ganyu, the difficulty of such a challenge is second only to finding a Flaming Flower atop Dragonspine.
But she is not one to give up half-way through the ascent. During the Archon War, she once choked a giant monster to death with ease after getting lodged in its throat when it tried to eat her, said monster having fatally underestimated quite how wide her waistline was.
For Ganyu, avoiding any similarly embarrassing episodes in the future is an absolute must.
→ The Flora of Yujing Terrace
Handwritten notes detail the morphological features and behaviors of the plants in Yujing Terrace, with each beautiful stroke penned by Ganyu's own hand.
The notes are succinct, comprehensive, and well-categorized, and even offer some insights that one would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere on the market. These include pointers on caring for Glaze Lilies and methods for grafting Silk Flowers. In readability and scientific accessibility, they come close to the standard of official publications.
Or rather, this is the experience if one starts reading from the front. Skip near to the end, however, and one may well be left dumbfounded.
The final few pages are a shocking rash of black ink and frantically scribbled-out text. Reading patiently and painstakingly between the lines, one might discover that these notes were, at one time, various methods for vegetable cultivation.
"But if I learn to grow vegetables, I'll be even less able to control my appetite."
Her hands balling into fists, it was with much difficulty that Ganyu erased the results of her research. Later, whilst watering the plants on an empty stomach, Ganyu found herself plunging her head into a thicket of Silk Flowers, fantasizing that they were Sweet Flowers in an effort to comfort herself. Many more fantasy Sweet Flowers followed shortly afterward during her afternoon nap...
→ Vision
Qilin are paragons of benevolence among the adepti, drinking only springwater and eating only whole grain.
Flies they will not hurt, and a bruised reed they will not break. They do not travel in groups and no trap will hold them. They are leisurely yet composed, active but reserved — a gentle and elegant race.
Yet when a wicked beast from the sea arose and threatened the land beneath their feet, they did not stand idle or choose peace when there was none.
Three thousand years ago, Ganyu answered the call of Morax the God of Geo, aiding him in the Archon Wars.
And when the war was over, she chose to stay in Liyue and help the humans build a new polity there.
The first Liyue Qixing would need support, and she took this task up as a matter of course, becoming their secretary.
The moment she made that decision, a Vision appeared at her hip, granting her power to resonate with the world to a degree beyond her natural abilities.
Whether she would grow strong enough to no longer need it, or whether she would use it as a last resort in Liyue's defense...
Regardless, she chose to serve as the bridge between adepti and humans. Her Vision, then, was proof and witness of her new duty.
6. Namecard
HOW TO OBTAIN: Reach Friendship Level 10 with Ganyu
Description: Do no harm to plant nor insect.
7. Constellation
“Sinae Unicornis” meaning “Chinese Unicorn (Qilin)” in Latin
8. Quests and Events
→ Archon Quests
- Chapter I
- Act II: Farewell, the Archaic Lord
- Zhongli's Treat
- Act III: A New Star Approaches
- Solitary Fragrance
- Turning Point
- The Fond Farewell
- Act IV: We Will Be Reunited
- Involuntary Sacrifice
→ Story Quests
- Sinae Unicornis Chapter (Ganyu's personal questline)
- Act I: Sea of Clouds, Sea of People
- All parts
→ Events
- Moonlight Merriment
- One for the Foodies, Two for the Show
- Three to Get Ready, and Here We Go (cinematic)
9. Character Interactions
Ganyu mentions the following characters in his/her voiceover lines
-Zhongli (Morax)
-Ningguang
-Keqing
-Xingqiu
-Xiangling
-Beidou
-Yaoyao
-Xiao
-Yanfei
-Shenhe
Ganyu is mentioned by the following characters in their voiceover lines
-Beidou
-Keqing
-Ningguang
-Xiangling
-Xiao
-Yanfei
-Zhongli
10. Trivia
-Despite her lithe frame and vegetarian diet, Ganyu has quite the appetite according to Xiangling and Chef Mao.
- Even in game, the correct date for Ganyu’s contract with Rex Lapis is disputed and/or contradictory.
-One of Ganyu’s idle animations is her trying to avoid sleeping while standing, an example of her workaholic personality or suggesting potential narcolepsy.
11. Explainer Video
12. FAQs
What role is best for Ganyu?
Ganyu is flexible enough that she can excel at both being the central carry of a team composition with the massive damager her fully charged arrows can unleash, or being more focused on her supportive capabilities with her high frequency of Cryo application on her Elemental Burst as well as her Cryo damage buff whilst in its radius.
What artifacts work well with Ganyu?
There’s three clear directions to take Ganyu in terms of her gear. If you’re going for a freeze-based composition, you’d want to use 4PC Blizzard Strayer (15% Cryo damage, 20% Crit rate vs Cryo affected opponents, additional 20% vs frozen opponents) which, in tandem with Cryo resonance and her passive skills, grants so much baseline crit rate you can “cheat” your stats harder towards other beneficial damage stats like %ATK and Crit DMG to reach a consistent, yet towering amount of damage/CC.
In a more standard reactions based team, consider using 4PC Wanderer’s Troupe (Elemental Mastery Increased by 80, Charged Attack DMG increased by 35% for Catalyst/Bow users). If you’re going a more supportive route, 4PC Noblesse Oblige (20% Elemental Burst Damage and 20% ATK for the entire party) is the optimal choice.
What weapons are best for Ganyu?
Her best option as an on field damage dealer is far and away the Amos Bow, amplifying her already great damage to staggering heights. It is a 5 Star bow that is difficult to come across however. For more easily attainable choices, the Prototype Crescent is a craftable bow that can easily be refined, as well as the Blackcliff Warbow from the star glitter shop.
13. Final Thoughts
Ganyu is an incredibly powerful DPS character, able to to easily clear the field with her incredibly powerful AoE charged shots that circumvent typical bow user weaknesses and her enormous fieldwide Elemental Burst that can further enhance both her own and her allies' damage. She is also flexible as she can gear her playstyle to emphasize what direction you want to take her. All options are on the table when in control of this graceful half-illuminated beast.
