Genshin Impact Layla build

Sleepy elf Genshin Impact's Layla is finally here and she's perfectly dreamy, so let's take a look at her build, artifacts, best weapons, and more.

Genshin Impact Layla's birthday art from 2022, showing a close up of her half-alseep sitting at a desk.

Genshin Impact’s Layla is an elven Sumeru native and student of theoretical astrology. She is a cryo character capable of providing shields for her allies and dealing damage from off the field, all through the magical power of sleepwalking. Layla is a dutiful student who works tirelessly, drawing star charts to help support her thesis. So let’s take a look at the best Genshin Layla build, including top-tier weapons and artifacts, ascension materials, and more.

If you want to keep up with all current and upcoming banners, check out our Genshin Impact banner guide. We’ve also got a list of all the latest Genshin Impact codes so you can save those freemos and grab the characters you want from our Genshin Impact tier list. If you need help building some other characters, head over to our guides for Genshin Impact FreminetGenshin Impact Chongyun, and Genshin Impact Fischl.

Let’s head to the Akademiya and learn all we can about Genshin Impact’s Layla.

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What’s the best Genshin Impact Layla build?

Genshin’s Layla is a cryo sword-wielder and an extremely powerful shield support. Her elemental skill has massive damage absorption potential that scales based on her max HP and her elemental burst adds to its utility.

Layla’s burst has a cheap energy cost as well, so with careful energy recharge distribution in your team, you can achieve near-constant cryo shielding and damage, even when she is off the field. Layla’s cryo damage also makes her a decent sub-DPS, but her support potential is definitely her best asset.

What are the best Genshin Impact Layla weapons?

The best five-star weapons for Layla are Primordial Jade Cutter and Key of Khaj-Nisut, but if you’re looking for four-star alternatives, we’d recommend Favonius Sword, Festering Desire, or Sacrificial Sword.

Weapon Effect How to obtain
Primordial Jade Cutter Bonus stat: crit rate
Skill: Increases Layla’s HP by 20%. Additionally, provides an attack bonus based on 1.2% of her max HP
Weapon event banner
Key of Khaj-Nisut Bonus stat: HP
Skill: Increases HP by 20%. When Layla’s elemental skill hits opponents, she gains the Grand Hymn effect for 20 seconds. This effect increases her elemental mastery by 0.12% of her max HP. This effect can trigger once every 0.3 seconds for a max of three stacks. When this effect gains three stacks, or when the third stack’s duration is refreshed, the elemental mastery of all nearby party members is increased by 0.2% of Layla’s max HP for 20 seconds
Weapon event banner
Favonius Sword Bonus stat: energy recharge
Skill: Crit hits have a 60% chance to generate a small amount of elemental particles, which regenerate six energy for the character. Can only occur once every 12 seconds
Gacha
Festering Desire Bonus stat: energy recharge
Skill: Increases elemental skill damage by 16% and elemental skill crit rate by 6%
The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event
Sacrificial Sword Bonus stat: energy recharge
Skill: After Layla deals damage to an opponent with an elemental skill, the skill has a 40% chance to end its own cooldown. Can only occur once every 30 seconds
Gacha

What are the best Genshin Impact Layla artifacts?

As Layla’s primary role in a team is shielder, the best artifact set for her is the four-piece Tenacity of the Millelith set. If you would rather buff her energy recharge than her shield strength you can pair this set with Emblem of Severed Fate, or use a two-piece Blizzard Strayer set for an extra cryo damage bonus.

Artifact set Effect How to obtain
Tenacity of the Millelith Two equipped: HP +20%
Four equipped: When an elemental skill hits an opponent, the attack of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their shield strength is increased by 30% for three seconds. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5 seconds. This effect can still be triggered even when Layla is not on the field
Ridge Watch domain on Bishui Plain, Liyue
Emblem of Severed Fate Two equipped: energy recharge +20%
Four equipped: increases elemental burst damage by 25% of Layla’s energy recharge. You can obtain a maximum of 75% bonus damage in this way
Momiji-Dyed Court domain on Yashiori Island, Inazuma
Blizzard Strayer Two equipped: cryo damage +15%
Four equipped: increases Layla’s crit rate by 20% when she attacks an enemy affected by cryo. Her crit rate increases by an additional 20% if the enemy is frozen
Peak of Vindagnyr domain on Dragonspine, Mondstadt
Scholar Two equipped: energy recharge +20%
Four equipped: gaining energy gives three energy to all party members equipped with a bow or a catalyst. Can only occur once every three seconds
Treasure chests, enemy drops, domains

Artifact stat recommendations

Main stats:

  • Sands: HP or energy recharge
  • Goblet: HP
  • Circlet: HP

Sub-stats:

  • Energy recharge
  • Attack%
  • Crit rate
  • Crit damage

Genshin Impact's Layla in chibi form sleeping and writing at her desk

What are Genshin Impact Layla’s abilities?

The main skills you’ll be using are Layla’s elemental skill and elemental burst. Her skill creates a powerful shielding curtain that absorbs damage and combining her skill and her burst will launch a barrage of cryo projectiles at the enemy.

Active skills:

Skill Effect
Normal attack: Sword of the Radiant Path Normal: Perform up to three rapid strikes
Charged:  Consume a set amount of stamina to unleash two rapid sword strikes
Plunging: Plunge from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE damage on impact
Elemental skill: Nights of Formal Focus Put forth a shield called the Curtain of Slumber, dealing AoE cryo damage. The Curtain of Slumber’s damage absorption is based on Layla’s max HP and absorbs cryo damage with 250% efficacy. After deploying the shield, Layla is briefly affected by cryo.
Night Stars and Shooting Stars – while the Curtain of Slumber is active, it creates one Night Star that attaches to it every 1.5 seconds. When a character protected by the shield uses an elemental skill, they create two Night Stars. You can create Night Stars once every 0.3 seconds in this way, and can accumulate a maximum of four Night Stars at any time. Once the Curtain of Slumber accumulates four Night Stars and there are opponents nearby, the Night Stars transform into homing Shooting Stars that fire off in sequence, dealing cryo damage to any opponents hit. If the Curtain of Slumber’s duration ends or it’s destroyed, the Night Stars disappear. If they are already firing off as Shooting Stars, these Shooting Stars last until the wave of shots end. You can’t create new Shooting Stars until the previous wave of Shooting Stars has completed
Elemental burst: Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker Unleash a Celestial Dreamsphere that constantly fires Starlight Slugs at opponents within its AoE, dealing cryo damage. When a Starlight Slug hits, it generates one Night Star for nearby Curtains of Slumber. Each Curtain of Slumber can gain one Night Star this way every 0.5 seconds

Passive skills:

Skill Description
Shadowy Dream-Signs When Layla crafts character talent materials, she has a 10% chance to receive double the product
Like Nascent Light While the Curtain of Slumber is active, the Deep Sleep effect activates each time the Curtain gains one Night Star, increasing the shield strength of the character under the effect of the Curtain of Slumber by 6%. This effect can have a maximum of four stacks and persists until the Curtain of Slumber disappears
Sweet Slumber Undisturbed The damage dealt by the Shooting Stars fired by Nights of Formal Focus increases by 1.5% of Layla’s max HP

What are Genshin Impact Layla’s constellations?

If you pull a duplicate of Layla on her banner, you can unlock one of her constellations. Here are all six of her constellations.

Layla Constellation Description
C1: Fortress of Fantasy The shield absorption of the Curtain of Slumber generated by Nights of Formal Focus increases by 20%. Additionally, when unleashing Nights of Formal Focus, Layla generates a shield for any nearby party members who are not being protected by a Curtain of Slumber. This shield has 35% of the absorption of a Curtain of Slumber, lasts for 12 seconds, and absorbs cryo damage with 250% efficacy
C2: Light’s Remit When Shooting Stars from Nights of Formal Focus strike opponents, they each restore one energy to Layla. Each Shooting Star can restore energy to her in this manner once
C3: Secrets of the Night Increases the level of Night of Formal Focus by three. Max upgrade level is 15
C4: Starry Illumination When Nights of Formal Focus starts to fire off Shooting Stars, it grants all nearby party members the Dawn Star effect, causing their normal and charged attack damage to increase based on 5% of Layla’s max HP. Dawn Star can last up to three seconds and is removed 0.05 seconds after you deal normal or charged attack damage
C5: Stream of Consciousness Increases the level of Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker by three. Max upgrade level is 15
C6: Radiant Soulfire Shooting Stars from Nights of Formal Focus deal 40% increased damage, and Starlight Slugs from Dream of the Star-Stream Shaker deal 40% increased damage. Additionally, the interval between the creation of Night Stars via Nights of Formal Focus decreases by 20%

What are Genshin Impact Layla’s ascension materials?

These are all the resources you need to ascend Layla’s level. Perpetual calibers are dropped by Aeonblight Drakes in Sumeru.

Required level Mora Materials
20 20k One shivada jade sliver, three nilotpala lotus, three divining scrolls
40 40k Three shivada jade fragments, two perpetual caliber, ten nilotpala lotus, 15 divining scrolls
50 60k Six shivada jade fragments, four perpetual caliber, 20 nilotpala lotus, 12 sealed scrolls
60 80k Three shivada jade chunks, eight perpetual caliber, 30 nilotpala lotus, 18 sealed scrolls
70 100k Six shivada jade chunks, 12 perpetual caliber, 45 nilotpala lotus, 12 sealed scrolls
80 120k Six shivada jade gemstones, 20 perpetual caliber, 60 nilotpala lotus, 24 sealed scrolls

A chibi image of Genshin Impact Layla in her office in the Akademiya.

What are Genshin Impact Layla’s talent materials?

These are the materials and mora required to get each talent up to level ten. Prepare to face the Joururi Workshop whenever you can for those mirrors of mushin!

Talent level Mora Material
Two 12.5k Three teachings of ingenuity, three divining scroll
Three 17.5k Two guide to ingenuity, three sealed scroll
Four 25k Four guide to ingenuity, four sealed scroll
Five 30k Six guide to ingenuity, six sealed scroll
Six 37.5k Nine guide to ingenuity, nine sealed scroll
Seven 120k Three philosophies of ingenuity, four forbidden curse scrolls, one mirror of mushin
Eight 260k Six philosophies of ingenuity, six forbidden curse scrolls, one mirror of mushin
Nine 450k 12 philosophies of ingenuity, nine forbidden curse scrolls, two mirror of mushin
Ten 700k 16 philosophies of ingenuity, 12 forbidden curse scrolls, two mirror of mushin, one crown of insight

What are the best Genshin Impact Layla team comps?

As a reliable shielder and decent cryo sub-DPS, Layla can fit into a whole range of team compositions to suit your personal playstyles. We would recommend pairing her with a strong cryo DPS unit like Ganyu or Ayaka to activate the increased crit rate from cryo resonance, plus one hydro and one anemo unit for a freeze-based build.

First character slot Second character slot Third character slot Fourth character slot
Layla Ganyu Mona Venti

That’s everything we’ve got on Genshin Impact’s Layla. While you’re here, head over to our Honkai Star Rail codes guide and our Honkai Star Rail tier list to explore another vast Hoyoverse world. We’ve got build guides for Honkai Star Rail’s Silver WolfHonkai Star Rail’s Luocha, and Honkai Star Rail’s Natasha to give you a taste of life on the Astral Express.