Sayu is a tiny claymore weapon user with a dream of growing taller, and considering her main hobby is taking naps, Sayu dreams a lot. Sayu is one of the few anemo units in Genshin Impact and the only anemo claymore user to date.
Skilled in the ways of Ninjutsu, Sayu is a Genshin Impact character that provides some sound healing and great swirl damage, making her a perfect fit for any Genshin Impact team. In this Sayu Genshin Impact guide, I will take you through what you need to get the best Sayu to build possible and hopefully answer any questions you may have along the way.
In the adorably wise words of Sayu: “Awaaaay we go!”
Sayu Character Details
“A pint-sized ninja attached to the Shuumatsuban, who always seems sleep-deprived.”
- Title:Â Sayu
- Nationality:Â Inazuma
- Rarity: 4-star
- Weapon type:Â Claymore
- Vision:Â Anemo
- Birthday:Â 19 October
Sayu is a ninja whose only desire in life is to grow taller. To grow, she decides to sleep as much as she can and resents anyone who dares give her head pats. Part of the secret Yashiro commission organization: The Shuumatsuban Sayu has mastered the arts of Ninjutsu but prefers to employ her skill to help her become more adept at slacking off so she can get more sleep to grow up tall and strong.
Perhaps the cutest little claymore user, Sayu is high up there with my favorite Genshin Impact characters. From her adorable design to her endearing laziness and versatility in combat, Sayu is a fantastic choice for any team.
Sayu Character Availability
Sayu was first introduced to Genshin Impact alongside Yoimiya in the 2.0 update. She has since been available on Hu Tao’s and Ayaka’s first re-run banners and is featured permanently on the standard banner Waderlust Invocation.
Being available all the time makes Sayu an excellent choice for any team in need of a healer, as it will be much easier to get constellations on her to take Sayu from good to great.
When Sayu appears on character event banners, her appearance rate increases significantly, with a 50% chance of seeing her or one of the other features four-stars when you see a purple wish flash before you.Â
I would recommend pulling for Sayu if only to add to your collection of characters. Being the only anemo claymore character as of now, Sayu will add some versatility to your roster.Â
Materials needed for Sayu
You should know if you want this sleepy little ninja to join your party. If yes, you will likely want to level her up to her full potential (perhaps she’ll even grow a little taller). Below, I’ve included a list of all the materials you will need to get Sayu’s character level up to 90 and what you’ll need to get her talents to level ten and reach new heights! Pun 100% intended.
As I say in all of my character guides, fully leveling a character and their talents is by no means necessary to have them be playable. My Sayu has been sitting at level 80 with level eight talents for ages, and I can’t count how many times she’s saved my skin in boss battles and the Spiral Abyss if you don’t have or don’t want to spend the resources fully leveling Sayu, then don’t!
She can perform very well at level 80, and some people like to save their crowns for characters they really love, so there’s no harm in putting off leveling someone until a later date if that’s what you want.
The materials needed to get Sayu to level 90:
- Mora – 2,092,530
- Crystal Marrow – 168
- Hero’s Wit – 421
- Vayuda Turquoise Sliver – 1
- Vayuda Turquoise Fragment – 9
- Vayuda Turquoise Chunk – 9
- Vayuda Turquoise Gemstone – 6
- Old Handguard – 18
-  Shimmering Nectar – 30
- Energy Nectar – 36
- Marionette Core – 46
The materials needed to get Sayu’s talents to level 10:
- Mora – 4,957,500
- Crown of Insight – 3
- Teachings of Light – 9
- Guide of Light– 63
- Philosophies of Light– 114
- Whopperflower Nectar – 18
- Shimmering Nectar – 66
- Shimmering Nectar – 93
- Gilded Scale -18
Sayu Playstyle
Sayu is a support unit for your team, but she does have some sub-DPS and even main DPS capabilities if you play your cards right.
You want to use Sayu’s elemental skill alongside another element to deal swirl damage to enemies and replenish some health. You also want to save Sayu’s elemental burst for when your team is looking a little worse for wear to make the most of it, as it will heal your entire team when activated and then continue to heal your active team member or damage enemies.
Aside from that, Sayu is very much a slash and hack job, using your elemental skill and burst where needed. The only difference comes when you press or tap your elemental skill. If you want to roll around at the speed of sound, holding your elemental skill will be great for applying swirl and building elemental energy, but for a quick heavy hit, just tapping your skill is the way to go.
Sayu Talents
Normal Attack: Shuumatsuban Ninja Blade
This allows Sayu to perform up to four consecutive strikes. If you hold down your attack button, she will use her stamina until it is empty in a continuous spinning attack, ending in one final powerful strike.
If you press your attack button when falling, you can plunge to the ground, dealing AOE ATK damage on impact.
Elemental Skill: Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash
Sonic the Hedgehog…I mean, Sayu will curl up into a ball and roll around at the speed of sound. Sonic references aside, Sayu’s elemental skill will deal anemo damage when she hits enemies and will kick AoE anemo damage when the duration is up.
You can hold your elemental skill button to continuously roll for 10 seconds, lowering your chances of being interrupted, or tap your elemental skill button to move forward a short distance before using your Fuufuu Whirlwind Kick.
On top of this, if Sayu comes into contact with Hydro, Cryo, Pyro, or Electro elements in her Windwheel state, she will deal elemental DMG of that type. You can only be infused with one element at a time.
Elemental Burst: Mujina Flurry
Sayu’s elemental burst will summon a Muji-Muji Daruma to help Sayu on the battlefield. It will deal anemo damage to nearby opponents and heal all nearby party members. The amount of HP that Sayu can heal scales off of her ATK stat, so if you want to build a healer Sayu, ATK stats are a must on her artifacts.
In intervals, the Daruma will heal the HP of a character if it is below 70%. If your on-field character HP is 70% or over, the Daruma will deal anemo DMG to nearby enemies. If there are no enemies around, it will continue to heal your active character to full health.
This is kind of like Bennetts’s elemental burst in that it can both heal and deal damage, but in Sayu’s case, her elemental burst is doing damage directly, not providing a buff for you to do damage.
Passive Talent: Someone More Capable
When Sayu triggers a swirl reaction while on the field, all of your party members will be healed 300 HP every two seconds, she will also heal an additional 1.2 HP for every point of elemental mastery she has, so you’ll want to increase her elemental mastery as much as possible to get as much as you can out of this passive.
This talent unlocks at ascension rank one and is beneficial for your Sayu.
Passive Talent: No Work Today!
Sayu’s elemental burst will now heal other characters for 20% of the amount of HP of a character she is healing directly. While a little confusing, this means that Sayu can now continuously heal characters in your party even when they are not on the field.
The area of attack is also increased, meaning the Muji-Muji Daruma can now deal damage to enemies further away.
This talent unlocks at ascension rank four and is really useful for any team.
Passive Talent: Yoohoo art: Silencer’s Secret
When Sayu is in your party, Crystalflies and certain other animals will no longer spook when you get close to them. Finally, you don’t have to sprint around like a headless chicken trying to catch those pesky Crystalflies so that you can condense some resin!
The only downside is that if the creature is in a group, the others will begin to flee after you pick one up. Though the initial approach is more straightforward, you still have to be fast to catch them all!
Sayu Constellations
Constellations are a fantastic way to buff your characters beyond leveling their character levels and talents. To get a constellation on a character, you need to own them already. Every time you collect another copy of that character from a wish or an event, you will gain one constellation to apply and some Stardust Starglitter to exchange in the shop.
Getting constellations on four-star characters is relatively easy. They are more common than five-star characters and can be obtained on both the event with banner and the Wanderlust Invocation banners. The only exception to this is Kayla, Amber, and Lisa, who only appear on the Wanderlust Invocation banners and in Paimon’s Bargains, making their constellations a little more elusive.
Sayu’s constellations really unlock her true power. Luckily, I would say that one of her best constellations is the first one she receives, making a powerful Sayu relatively easy for anyone to get!
- C1Â – Multi-task no Jutsu: The Muji-MujiDaruma created by Yoohoo Art: Mujina Flurry will ignore HP limits and simultaneously attack nearby opponents and heal characters.
- C2Â – Egress Prep: Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash will increase the damage of the Fuufuu Whirlwind Kick by 3.3% every 0.5 seconds up to 66%. The DMG of Fuufuu Whirlwind kick in press mode is increased by 3.3%.
- C3Â – Increases the level of Yoohoo Art: Mujina Flurry by three up to a maximum level of 15.
- C4Â – Skiving: New and Improved: Sayu recovers 1.2 Energy when she triggers a Swirl reaction once every two seconds.
- C5Â – Speed Comes First: Increases the level of Yoohoo Art: Fuuin Dash by three up to a maximum level of 15.
- C6Â – Sleep O’Clock: The Muji-Muji Daruma created by Sayu’s elemental burst will now benefit from her elemental mastery. Each point of elemental mastery will increase the ATK damage of the Muji-Muji Daruma by 0.2% up to a maximum of 400% and will increase the HP of the Muji-Muji Daruma by three up to a maximum of 6000 HP.
Sayu has some really powerful constellations available to her if you can collect them. At a minimum, I would suggest you try and get her C1, as this will allow her elemental burst to heal and do damage simultaneously, which is insanely helpful for any combat situation.
On the opposite end, Sayu’s C6 is also hugely beneficial to her, as now the only stat you need to pump your resources into is your elemental mastery, which most people tend to do for an anemo character.
As any character C6 can be a little harder to get depending on how lucky you are, I would suggest that, at minimum, you aim for Sayu’s C1, as this is the most dramatic change for her playstyle and can make her a top pick for any situation.
Sayu Artifact Sets
Suppose you’re looking to play a support Sayu (my Sayu-style of choice). You want to prioritize as much elemental mastery and energy recharge as possible. You’ll be looking for Energy recharge or Elemental mastery on your timer, and on your goblet, you want Elemental mastery. Depending on how much healing support you need, you’ll want either Elemental mastery or Healing Bonus for your circlet.
As for substats on your artifacts, any ATK stat will be great as that is what Sayu’s healing stacks off of, and any extra elemental mastery or energy recharge will help you out immensely.
If a damage-dealing build is more your style, the standard DPS rules apply. Crit, Crit, and more Crit is what you want. Any crit substats on your artifact sets will be amazing, and energy recharge or ATK damage.
As far as main stats go, an ATK% timer will be great as it means Sayu’s elemental burst will still be effective at healing. An anemo damage goblet will be perfect for any anemo DPS, and a Crit rate or Crit damage circlet will ensure you get the big damage numbers.
Viridescent Venerer
You can run a few different artifact sets on Sayu, and the best stats will change depending on how you decide to play her. If you want an all-around great set for Sayu, Viridescent Venerer will be your go-to.
As with most anemo characters, any elemental mastery will work well, making the Viridescent Venerer artifact set one of the best to run on Sayu, but other options are available.
A two-piece Viridescent Venerer set will increase your anemo damage bonus by 15%. A four-piece set will increase your swirl damage by 60% and decrease your opponent’s elemental resistance by 40% for 10 seconds against the element that is in the swirl.
Noblesse Oblige
Noblesse Oblige is a good set for any support, and as Sayu’s support capabilities come from her elemental burst and her ATK stat, this is a great choice.
A two-piece set will increase your elemental burst damage by 20%, and a four-piece set increases all of your party members’ ATK by 20% for 12 seconds after using an elemental burst.
Sayu weapons
Being a four-star character, Sayu doesn’t have a signature weapon like most five-stars do, but that being said, any five-star claymore you have will work very well with Sayu. Don’t let this convince you that a five-star weapon is necessary to play Sayu, although it will help you reach those big numbers on the screen that everyone craves
. This list of weapons is by no means exhaustive, but I have tried to provide multiple options that aren’t just five-star weapons because, come on… that would be too easy.
I run the limited weapon Luxurious Sea-Lord on my Sayu, mostly because I think it’s hilarious to see her slap enemies around a giant fish. It’s perhaps not the best weapon you can run on your Sayu, but sometimes comedy has to trump practicality.
Wolf’s Gravestone
It had to be done. Arguably one of the best claymores in Genshin Impact, Wolf’s Gravestone gives a bonus to your ATK% stat as its bonus effect, which when Sayu’s healing is centered around her ATK stat, any extra is welcome.
On top of this, Wolf’s Gravestone increases your ATK% by a further 20% and will increase all party members’ ATK by 40% after hitting an enemy with less than 30% HP.
This weapon is an excellent, if expensive, choice for your Sayu.
Favonius Greatsword
The Favonius Greatsword provides a bonus to your Energy Recharge and has a 60% chance to generate elemental particles when you land a critical hit. These energy particles will regenerate six energy and can only occur once every 12 seconds.
This is another excellent choice for Sayu as it helps you get her elemental burst back faster, which is where her biggest power lies.
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa
Katsuragikiri Nagamasa is a fantastic free-to-play option for your Sayu, as you can craft it at the blacksmith. This weapon increases your elemental recharge and will increase your elemental skill damage by 6%.
When your elemental skill hits an opponent, you will lose three energy but gain three more back every two seconds for six seconds. This can help keep your elemental burst ready when you need it most.
Sayu Team Compositions
Sayu will fit into almost every team you put her in. Being an anemo unit, she will be able to trigger swirl reactions with every other element apart from Geo, and as a support unit, her healing will be a good match for any team in need of a healer.Â
Below I’ve listed some ideas to get you started with your dream Sayu team.
With Ayaka as the main DPS, Shenhe as a support and damage buff, and Ayato as a sub-DPS and hydro applicator for a freeze build can make a very strong team, especially if you add Sayu to the mix.
If you can pull off Sayu’s and Ayato’s elemental bursts simultaneously, you will have a huge area applying hydro and swirl damage and healing for your cryo units to have a field day. You could replace Ayato with Xingqiu for a more free to play friendly build.
You could also run Sayu as a main DPS in a team centered around elemental reactions. This would make any characters capable of off-field elemental application like Xiangling, Fishcl, or Xingqui great options to support your Sayu.
I would also recommend bringing a shielder like Zhongli or Noelle to ensure your Sayu can stay on the field as long as she needs to. A team with Sayu as the main DPS, Fischl and Xingqiu as sub DPS for elemental applications, and Zhongli as a shielder would be an excellent team for a main DPS Sayu.
FAQs
Question: Is Sayu good for overworld exploration?
Answer: Being a child model character, I would say no overall, but Sayu is pretty good for covering ground quickly when you use her elemental skill. If you manage to infuse yourself with cryo whilst using your elemental skill, you can also make ice bridges to cross small bodies of water. Whilst you won’t make it from Liyue to Inazuma any time soon with Sayu’s ice bridge, it’s still a fun option to have. Who needs Kaeya when you have Sayu?
Question: How old is Sayu?
Answer: We don’t know for sure how old Sayu is, but we can assume that she is much younger than the rest of the Genshin Impact crew. Being a child model implies that she is quite young, and we know that all she wants to do is grow taller, so we can assume that Sayu is still a child.Â
Question: Is Sayu a viable DPS?
Answer: With the right build and team to support her, Sayu probably has a pretty good chance of dealing decent damage. However, there are many other characters who are better suited to the main DPS than Sayu, who will take much less investment to build.
Final Thoughts
Sayu is a fantastic addition to any team in Genshin Impact. Her versatility and easy to collect materials make her accessible as soon as you get to Inazuma and her healing and damage dealing are sure to help in any situation.
I hope now that I may have convinced you to put Sayu on your team, if you can bear to wake her up, that is.
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