Oh, but their competition doesn’t stop there. They are also likely to share the same weapon (in most players’ accounts) which is the sword and also the same character ascension materials. They’re also both 5-star characters and are thus expensive to obtain (even for free players). So when it comes to picking the better hypercarry among the two, one needs a more thorough breakdown of the siblings’ advantages over each other.

Damage: Ayaka

Apparently, some of the math whizzes in the Genshin Impact community put Ayaka on the same level as Ganyu when it comes to dealing damage. That’s how good she is, and her main setup doesn’t even involve Melt teams. It’s usually just a perma-Freeze team for Ayaka.

A lot of collated info from tier lists also place Ayaka above or slightly above Ayato when it comes to damage dealt. It’s all thanks to Ayaka’s single-target-focused attacks. Her Elemental Burst and her Charged Attacks combined with a reliable Crit Rate due to her being a Cryo character mean her damage is always amazing. And compared to Ayato, Ayaka has less downtime in her damage.

Constellations: Ayato

Looking at Ayaka’s Constellations, some of them certainly could have catered to her strength (Charged Attacks) better. The first Constellation, for example, can be a bit disappointing. Other Constellations focus on her Burst and only the sixth one enhances her Charged Attacks.

Meanwhile, most of Ayato’s Constellations make his main mode of damage-dealing all the more energetic and enjoyable. But at the same time, some of Ayato’s Constellations also bolster his defense and increase his overall damage at the same time. All in all, it seems Ayato’s Constellations are worth more than Ayaka.

Talents: Ayaka

Turns out being the younger of the two siblings gave Ayaka an advantage. Her in-game talents are more generous and more creative compared to Ayato. Ayaka’s main advantage when it comes to talents is that her dodge/evade or sprint is a Cryo version of Mona’s, making her one of the best characters for exploration.

This also means she can inflict Cryo without attacking or expending Energy (only stamina). At the same time, Ayaka’s Charged Attack is the most unique one in Genshin Impact. It’s a special Iaidō slash in lightning-quick repetitions that will surely warm the hearts of any samurai fan.

BIS Weapon: Ayaka

Most 5-star characters in Genshin Impact get a banner release alongside a 5-star weapon that’s supposedly their best-in-slot item. For Ayato, it’s the Haran Geppaku while Ayaka gets the Mistsplitter Reforged. The issue with Ayato’s BIS weapon is that it’s too tailor-made for him (based on the weapon’s ability). Other characters won’t be able to maximize it compared to other 5-star swords, or at least compared to Ayaka’s BIS weapon.

Now Mistsplitter Reforged? It’s a lot less niche compared to Haran Geppaku. So, wishing for Ayaka’s BIS weapon is not just a good move for her, but also generally for all sword users in a player’s account. It’s a universal weapon— more so compared to the Haran Geppaku.

Artifacts: Ayato

Where Ayaka gets limited, however, is in her choice of artifacts. While her weapon is great, it also seems she’s stuck with just one artifact set for her hypercarry role. That would be the Blizzard Strayer set, using any other set is a considerable damage loss for Ayaka. That’s not the case with Ayato.

Right off the bat, Ayato has access to three artifact sets that give him comparable damage numbers. Those would be Gladiator’s Finale, Echoes of an Offering, and Heart of Depth. Thundering Fury is also viable for Ayato for Electro-Charged teams. And with that many viable artifact sets for him, Ayato can mix and match depending on the sub-stats, giving him better options and accessibility.

Flexibility: Ayato

Versatility is a given seeing as how Ayato also gets full benefits from several artifact sets. Also, due to his element, Hydro, Ayato can fit in with Freeze teams, even Electro-Charged teams, and Vaporize teams (though probably suboptimal for this one). When the need arises for Ayato to step back from the hypercarry role and play support, he can seamlessly slide into it.

With Ayaka, it’s not that easy as her playstyle is too rigid, and she doesn’t allow much time for other characters to take over. However, this aspect of comparison doesn’t hold much merit since the competition is about who’s the better hypercarry among the two. Ayato winning here doesn’t mean much.

Party Synergy: Ayato

While Ayaka can also play support and has a multitude of party members that support her abilities, Ayato’s flexibility means he has better chemistry with other Genshin Impact characters. As previously mentioned, Ayato can play the role of support mostly thanks to his Elemental Burst.

Moreover, he has more characters who pair well with him while most of Ayaka’s party synergy comes from being able to take advantage of Cryo resonance or enabling Freeze. Heavyweight supports like Raiden Shogun are excellent for Ayato while that one isn’t really that desired for Ayaka’s teams.

Current Meta Spot: Ayaka

With that said, numbers don’t lie, and despite Ayato being a relatively fresh character right now and having a Spiral Abyss cycle that gives him advantage, Ayaka is still the most widely used hypercarry. These numbers came from an unofficial tally of Spiral Abyss character usage.

Ayaka is thus in the same league as Kazuha and Kokomi in the current Spiral Abyss meta. In the previous Spiral Abyss cycles, Ayaka has also seen widespread use. Still, it’s best not to expect Ayaka to stay up on her frozen throne, especially in subsequent updates and further testing for Ayato. This status quo could very well change in the near future as more damage interactions are discovered.

Genshin Impact was released on September 28, 2020, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Android, and iOS.

More: Genshin Impact: Things You Only Know If You Read The Manga