Best Build Theories for Layla in Genshin Impact: Weapons, Artifacts & Team Comps

Layla is proving to be a darling character since her debut in the Fungi Games, but her kit is reminiscent of another character in Genshin Impact, Thoma. Whether this makes her easier to play for your team comp or more difficult given her delayed attacks’ tricky nature, we’re going to investigate what items she will need to prove to be a valuable addition to your team.

Related: Genshin Impact Photo Event Day 1 – Outside the Canvas, Inside the Lens: Greenery Chapter

Skill & Burst Optimal Use for Layla in Genshin Impact

Like Thoma, Layla’s Skill is a shield based on her Max HP for damage absorption and protects the active team member that is out on the field. Unlike Thoma’s, however, you can either choose one of two options. Option number one would include sitting there with a fully optimized shield-built Layla and tanking all sorts of damage while this girl peacefully sleeps inside a Starry Night bubble. Option number two is perhaps the intended way of using her; by summoning her shield and using your other character’s skills to do damage to enemies while remaining completely protected by her shield.

It works in a very interesting manner when using other characters since using as many skills as you can regenerates stars that will gather in formations of four and then attack nearby enemies. So if deployed correctly, you could get two to three instances of shooting off the stars from Layla’s shield rather than the one time that is used when she is idly asleep with the shield up.

Layla’s Burst is pretty self-explanatory, and works similarly to Ganyu’s in that it will do Cryo damage to enemies within its radius. Not only that, but if you have Layla’s shield deployed, it will also generate stars for your shield. So using your other character’s skill while Layla’s Skill and Burst are both active can help you apply and inflict a lot of Cryo damage.

What Sword to Pair With Layla?

Perhaps the only different aspect of Layla’s build from Thoma’s is that energy recharge is not an overtly primary concern. You aren’t really going to be spamming her skill when her shield lasts for a long time based on her HP alone. Leaving her on the field may have you finding that it takes a long time for it to rebuild but if you’re switching through characters while her shield is in play, then her Burst never takes too long to build up, and by the time her shield breaks, her skill is usually ready to use again.

Related: Why Layla Should Have Been Our First Cryo Catalyst in Genshin Impact

So while the trial version of her in the Test Run has her with a Favonious Sword, it’s almost unnecessary in her build. Weapons that you are wanting to be looking into are those that are based on Attack or Crit, so that whenever she does land a hit, it’ll do a lot of damage. Because while her damage does do more based on HP, the only sword that has HP as the main stat is the five-star signature weapon of Nilou, the Key of Khaj-Nisut. Not only does it have 66.2 percent HP on its highest tier at level 90, but it also adds an additional 20 percent on top of that by being equipped. 

But naturally, that weapon isn’t so readily available to everyone. Unless you wrench it away from Nilou’s hands. She probably would hand it over, actually, she’s very polite. But one of the next best in-slot weapons that is free-to-play for Layla is the Flute since it’s based on Attack and its passive won’t go entirely unused if you do manage to get a couple of hits in. Another one would be the katana from Inazuma, Amenoma Kageuchi since it helps restore elemental energy. But a tried and true weapon that has worked for five stars in the past has and always will be Harbinger of Dawn. At a measly three-star, this sword is based on Crit Damage while adding in more Crit Rate based on if the player’s HP is above 90 percent. And as a shield with a lot of HP, Layla is going to constantly deal damage. Harbinger of Dawn has worked excellently in the past as weapons for DPS Albedo and Keqing, and just might be a viable weapon for Layla as well that’ll make great use of her damage when most swords would require her to be on the field to do more damage based on their passives. 

Then naturally, any five-star weapon that deals in Attack or Crit Damage is going to be good, perhaps the best of the bunch being The Key of Khaj-Nisut or Primordial Jade Cutter.

Artifact Sets and Stats 

Because a majority of Layla’s damage is going to be done with Cryo, her natural best set is going to be Blizzard Strayer. Combined with Harbinger of Dawn, it’ll allow you to focus more on crit damage, attack, and hp percentage for her sub-stats when rolling for these artifacts. The four-piece set will increase your crit rate by 20 percent, allowing some more crit damage if you had to choose an artifact between the two different crit percentages. 

Another good artifact set would be the Tenacity of the Millelith since it’ll increase your HP by 20 percent with two pieces and will buff the Attack and Shield strength of your team with four pieces. Another good set would be Noblesse Oblige since at two pieces, it increases the damage dealt in the Elemental Burst by 20 percent, and at four pieces, it’ll increase the party members’ Attack by 20 percent by using the Elemental Burst for 12 seconds. 

For the stats of the Sands, Goblet, and Crown, you’re going to want to focus the main stat on HP Percentage, because not only will this increase the durability of your shield for Layla, but it’ll increase the damage done by her stars thanks to one of her passives, Sweet Slumber Undisturbed, which increases the damage by 1.5 percent of Layla’s Max HP.

Team Compositions and Her Role in the Team

Depending on your artifact set for Layla, her use in your team is going to vary, but her best option is going to be using her to freeze enemies. With Blizzard Strayer equipped, pairing her with a Hydro character will enable her to freeze plenty of enemies after applying Hydro to them. Like Thoma, she makes for a good applicator, allowing you to set up your team skills and bursts while her shield is protecting you. 

Related: Genshin Impact 3.2: Patch Notes, Maintenance Schedule, and More

It can also be a great way to keep enemies frozen for long enough to set up plenty of blooms and hyperblooms for your team comp. If you don’t want to use Anemo to gather teams, Layla provides enough Cryo for her to freeze enemies, that way they can’t get away before you set up more Dendro Cores or they run away from the ones that exist on the field already.

Because her attacks are delayed, she can work as Reverse Melt, a combination of the Cryo and Pyro elements. However, the reverse would include applying Pyro to enemies first before allowing for Layla’s targeted stars to attack with Cryo and add Melt damage on top of her attack.