Getting the right weapon for your Genshin Impact Aino build might be a bit tricky if you’re a newer player, but the rest of her build is, thankfully, rather more straightforward. Aino’s a support character, and even if you think you don’t need another Hydro support – think again. She’s a free Nod-Krai character, which means having her around with a limited Nod-Krai character increases your Moonsignt. She’s perfect for Flins and Lauma.
Below, we break down the best Genshin Impact Aino builds, including Aino’s weapons and Artifacts, along with some team options for Aino.
Genshin Impact Aino build
Best weapons for Aino
Aino’s best weapon as of Song of the Welkin Moon’s first phase is an event-exclusive one, Flame-Forged Insight, which you could only get by completing the limited-time Sunspray Summer event. Its secondary stat raises elemental mastery, and its passive skill restores energy and raises elemental mastery by 60 when a Lunar reaction takes place. The problem is that Genshin’s event weapons rarely (read: practically never) come back around again, so if you missed the summer event, you’ll have to pick something else.
Your next best choice is an energy recharge weapon, the free, 4-star Mastery Key that you can forge in Nod-Krai. It increases energy recharge by 61 percent and, when the equipping character causes an elemental reaction, they get a 60-point elemental mastery buff. If your team’s Moonsign is Ascendant Gleam, that buff doubles.
You can also use Sacrificial Greatsword, which raises energy recharge and makes it more likely for the equipping character to generate energy particles.
On the elemental mastery front, the best alternative is Makhaira Aquamarine, which boosts elemental mastery by 165. The passive skill increases party attack by a percentage of the user’s elemental mastery, though it is, admittedly, a small amount. Rainslasher raises elemental mastery by the same amount, but its passive skill isn’t a strong fit for Aino. It increases damage dealt to enemies afflicted with Electro or Hydro – but only by the equipping character.
Best Artifacts for Aino
Aino has a few Artifact options depending on who else is in her team. The most convenient set is Silken Moon’s Serenade.
- Two-piece effect: Increases energy recharge by 20 percent
- Four-piece effect: When dealing elemental damage, gain the Gleaming Moon: Devotion effect for eight seconds. Gleaming Moon increases all party members’ elemental mastery by 60/120 when the party’s Moonsign is Nascent Gleam (one Nod-Krai character on the team)/Ascendant Gleam (more than one Nod-Krai character). The equipping character can trigger this effect while off-field. All party members’ Lunar reaction damage increases by 10 percent for each different Gleaming Moon effect that party members have. Effects from Gleaming Moon cannot stack.
Since the effects don’t stack, you’ll want to avoid using this set if someone else on Aino’s team (such as Lauma) is already using it.
A good alternative is Noblesse Oblige, which lets the wearer’s burst deal 20 percent more damage and raises the party’s attack by 20 percent for a time after the wearer uses their burst. That’s helpful for teams where Aino is a support for a straightforward DPS like Flins, though you’ll need to rely on your weapon or Artifact stats to bump up Aino’s energy recharge. You could also mix two pieces of Flower of Paradise Lost and Gilded Dreams to get an extra 160 elemental mastery.
What stats does Aino need?
Aino won’t be on-field for longer than it takes to use her skill and burst, so you don’t have to bother with attack, crit rate, or crit damage. She primarily needs Hydro damage, energy recharge to use her burst more frequently, and elemental mastery to boost her burst damage thanks to her third passive. If your rotation includes Aino triggering elemental reactions, you’ll get even more use out of that high elemental mastery stat, too.
Ideally, you want:
- More than 150 percent energy recharge
- 500 elemental mastery at the minimum, preferably 600 or higher if possible
Here’s what that looks like for your Artifacts:
- Sands: Elemental mastery if you’re using an energy recharge weapon, energy recharge if not
- Goblet: Elemental mastery or Hydro damage
- Circlet: Elemental mastery
Best team compositions for Aino
Aino is a capable Hydro support who can slot into any team that needs it for elemental reactions, though as a free Nod-Krai character, her best teams at the moment feature Flins or Lauma. She’s an easy, free way to raise your Moonsight without having to get more than one 5-star, limited character.
This team is mainly a Flins support team, with the double Electro helping him pop his burst more often and the Anemo support designed for reducing elemental resistances and bolstering elemental mastery. If Aino’s not cutting it with her Hydro application, though, swap Kuki Shinobu for a second Hydro character, such as Barbara, Mona, Kokomi – pretty much any Hydro character who doesn’t require a lot of field time.
Alternatively, you can use Aino in Lunar-Bloom teams if you have Lauma.
- Lauma
- Aino
- Second Hydro (ideally Nilou)
- Second Dendro or a free slot
And if you don’t have Lauma, Aino is still good to use in standard bloom teams.
If you’re saving up Primogems and materials for future Genshin Impact banners, check out our up-do-date list of Genshin Impact codes for some free Primogems.