The best Genshin Impact Lyney build, weapons, and F2P options
Steal the show with an easy Lyney build
The best Genshin Impact Lyney build is easy to put together if you're in Fontaine and have a few specific bows, and he's one of the best Pyro characters you can use.
Not only does he perform well with his own moves and a big emphasis on charged attacks. He's also a strong choice for leading a mono-Pyro party thanks to his unique skills.
Just make sure to focus on bumping his attack and Pyro damage up, and you'll be good to go.
Genshin Impact Lyney
Despite Lyney’s extra flourishes and unique skill features, he’s a pretty straightforward character. Most of his damage comes from charged attacks and Pyro, so those should be your primary focus in any build. There are several bows and Artifacts you can get that complement his skills and aren’t his signature weapon, so putting together a strong build should be comparatively hassle free.
Genshin Impact Lyney – Best weapon
Lyney’s best weapon is, unsurprisingly, his signature bow, The First Great Magic. This one raises the user’s charged attack damage by 16 percent and provides some extra buffs depending on your party setup. Party members with the same element as the user generate Gimmick stacks, and those of a different element generate Theatrics stacks.
Gimmick stacks increase attack by 16 to 48 percent, and Theatrics stacks buff movement speed by four to 10 percent. Gimmick is the clear winner here, so between that and Lyney’s final talent, you’ll want a Pyro team if you go for this bow.
Skyward Harp is a good 5-star replacement if you’re using our recommended Artifact set. Skyward Harp raises the user’s critical damage by at least 20 percent and deals extra damage under certain conditions.
There’s also Amos’ Bow, another 5-star and one that increases normal and charged attack damage.
The new battle pass 4-star bow Scion of the Blazing Sun is an excellent – and guaranteed – option that’s almost made for Lyney. The user’s charged attacks generate a Sunfire Arrow every 10 seconds. These deal damage equal to 60 percent of the user’s attack and apply the Heatsearer effect, which means the afflicted enemies take more charged attack damage from the user.
Sacrificial Bow is a strong choice as well. It won’t boost Lyney’s attack, but it does give him a high chance of resetting his skill cooldown – handy for keeping his Prop stacks up.
Genshin Impact Lyney – Best Artifacts
The ideal set for Lyney is the new Fontaine Artifact set Marechaussee Hunter.
- Two-piece effect: Raises charged attack damage by 15 percent
- Four-piece effect: When the user’s HP increases or decreases, their critical hit rate increases by 12 percent
If you’re not in Fontaine yet and need some Artifacts for Lyney, you could opt for the Vermillion Hereafter set.
- Two-piece effect: Raises attack by 18 percent
- Four-piece effect: After the character uses their elemental burst, they gain the Nascent Light effect. This raises their attack by eight percent and, when they lose HP, they gain another Nascent Light stack that raises attack by 10 percent. This effect stacks four times
Lyney’s HP will frequently decrease when you use his skill, so while you’ll need to time your strongest attacks around your burst, the end results can be quite effective.
The best substats for either set are attack, Pyro damage, critical rate, critical damage.
Genshin Impact Lyney – Best F2P build
Lyney’s F2P build isn’t too different from his paid build. The focal points are the same, so you’ll just be using a different bow.
Lyney F2P weapon
Hamayumi, the craftable Inazuma bow, works well with Lyney. Its substat raises the user’s attack, and the passive skill boosts charged attack damage by a further 12 percent. If the user’s energy is full, the effect doubles.
Prototype Crescent, a bow you can craft from materials in Mondstadt, is a decent second choice. If you target the enemy’s weak point with your charged attack, you get a hefty 36 percent attack buff.
Lyney F2P Artifacts
Marechaussee Hunter is still the best choice for Lyney’s F2P build, though if you’re using Hamayumi, you might want to try for an energy regeneration substat.
Genshin Impact Lyney abilities overview
Lyney is your usual 5-star DPS, which is to say he takes center stage and has no support or setup abilities that other party members can use. He’s also surprisingly self-sufficient and can even heal himself, though you’ll need to work out a balance between his charged attacks and skill timing to get the most from his abilities.
Lyney’s charged attack has two levels. The first just deals extra Pyro damage as usual, but the second does quite a bit more. It dishes out even more Pyro damage and creates a Grin-Malkin Hat, and, if Lyney’s HP is above 60 percent, it consumes some of his HP and generates a Prop stack. Grin-Malkin Hats distract foes and, when their HP runs out, deal Pyro damage to one nearby foe.
Lyney only gets the Prop stack if his HP is above 60 percent. He can heal himself, but having a healer who heals off-field is a very good idea for Lyney.
Lyney’s second talent makes his charged attacks even more important. If he consumes HP when firing an arrow, the Grin-Malkin Hat will replenish three energy for him and increase his attack by 80 percent.
Prop stacks occasionally summon bursts of Pyro damage, but their real use is in powering up Lyney’s skill. His skill summons a burst of fireworks in front of him, and while it has some pretty high damage scaling on its own, it does extra damage if you have active Prop stacks when you unleash it. It also heals Lyney, so you end up in a routine of sapping his health with charged attacks and healing with his skill.
The cooldown is 15 seconds, so unless you’re using the Sacrificial Bow, you’ll have to balance your attacks to make sure your HP doesn’t drop so low that you can’t get Prop stacks.
Lyney’s burst has three elements to it. He summons a Grin-Malkin Cat and rides around in it, and this first instance deals moderate Pyro damage when you contact enemies. At the end of the skill – which lasts for three seconds – the cat generates a big Pyro explosion and summons a Grin-Malkin Hat.
Lyney’s third talent is designed for Pyro teams. Enemies afflicted with Pyro take 60 percent more damage from Lyney, and each additional Pyro party member grants 20 percent more damage to Lyney. The talent can increase his damage by up to 100 percent.
Should I pull for Lyney?
There’s no shortage of Pyro characters in Genshin Impact, though Lyney is up there as one of the best. He heals himself more efficiently than Hu Tao, has better utility outside his skill than Yoimiya, and is faster than Diluc and Hu Tao. If you’re early in the game still, though, you’re probably fine to wait. You’ve got a long way to go before you can get his ascension materials, so it’s best to save your Primogems unless you’re in the Sumeru storyline already.
Make sure to claim your free Lynette when you log in, Lyney's 4-star Anemo sister. If you're short on Primogems for upcoming banners, check out our up-to-date Genshin Impact promo codes list to see what freebies are on offer.