How to build Amber as a sub-DPS/support character in Genshin Impact
As one of the game’s starter characters, it’s likely that Amber will play a variety of roles within your party as you advance through the early stages of the game — and, if your focus is on free-to-play, she might end up sticking around even longer than that. The most common and logical role for Amber to fall into seems to be sub-DPS with a secondary specialisation in ranged Pyro support, so that’s what we’ll be focussing on in this build.
Best weapon: Skyward Harp
Alternative: Prototype Crescent Amber is an archer, and the best bow to make the most of her skills is undoubtedly the Skyward Harp. Hits with this bow offer increased critical damage, as well as a high chance of inflicting AoE damage with every hit, which goes a long way to making up for Amber’s comparative weaknesses in other areas of combat. Furthermore, Amber is one of just three bow-users in the game (along with Fischl and Tartaglia) who can proc the Skyward Harp’s passive effects with the use of her Elemental Skill as well as with her normal attacks, which strongly points towards this weapon being designed at least partially with her in mind. However, the Skyward Harp is a 5-star weapon, meaning that it’s not always a realistic or desirable choice for fans focusing on putting together a free-to-play party, or those building Amber as a support character. For a more attainable 4-star alternative, there are arguments to be made for either the Sacrificial Bow or Favonius Warbow thanks to their elemental cooldown reductions, but I prefer the Prototype Crescent. After landing a charged attack hit on an enemy’s weak point with this weapon, Amber will enjoy 10% increased movement speed and a 36% boost to ATK power for 10 seconds. If (like me) you often find yourself switching to Amber as a utility fighter for large enemies like the Ruin Guard who are best tackled by a ranged character capable of ducking and weaving, this weapon is an ideal choice.
Best artifacts: Wanderer’s Troupe
Alternative: Crimson Witch of Flames As a general rule, any Artifacts that boost Amber’s elemental abilities can’t be equipped quickly enough. But for the most useful possible effects, going all-in on the Wanderer’s Troupe set is your best bet. Equipping two pieces will boost her Elemental Mastery by a whopping 80, while equipping four will further add a sizeable (35%) Charged Attack DMG to her bow attacks. There aren’t many sets that provide this kind of balanced increase to both weapon and elemental attacks at once, and this one’s very relevant to Amber, so it’s worth tracking down all the pieces. If you’re struggling to pick up a complete Wanderer’s Troupe set, though, you can substitute in a few pieces from Crimson Witch of Flames to make up the shortfall. Amber’s kit doesn’t call for any particularly spectacular artifacts, so defaulting to the standard Pyro-boosting set is as good a choice as any. Two pieces from this set give a 15% bonus to all Pyro damage Amber deals, while four pieces massively increase all damage from her Elemental Skill and any Elemental Reactions she applies in combination with other characters. Keep Amber’s build in balance by prioritising the following stats and substats on her artifact set:
Circlet of Logos: CRITs Sands of Eon: ATK Goblet of Eonothem: Pyro DMG Bonus Substats: CRITs and ATK
Talent priority: Sharpshooter (Normal Attack)
Secondary: Fiery Rain (Elemental Burst) Amber’s ranged weapon attacks are more useful than her purely elemental offensives, so make the most of her bowmanship by focusing on her Sharpshooter and Fiery Rain skills. The latter actually gives you the chance to enjoy the best of both worlds, and there’s something very satisfying about sending a volley of flaming arrows at your enemies from a (relatively) safe distance, so don’t miss out on this potential aspect of Amber’s build. Here’s a quick run-down of all of Amber’s talents:
Normal Attack: Sharpshooter Normal Attack - Perform up to 5 consecutive shots with a bow. Charged Attack - Perform a more precise Aimed Shot with increased DMG. While aiming, flames will accumulate on the arrowhead. A fully charged flaming arrow will deal Pyro DMG. Plunging Attack - Fires off a shower of arrows in mid-air before falling an striking the ground, dealing AoE DMG upon impact. Elemental Skill: Explosive Puppet - Summons Amber’s companion Baron Bunny who continuously taunts the enemy to draw their fire and explodes when destroyed or when its timer expires to deal AoE Pyro DMG. Hold to adjust the throwing direction of Baron Bunny; the longer the button is held, the further the throw. Elemental Burst: Fiery Rain - Fires off a shower of arrows, dealing continuous AoE Pyro DMG. 1st Ascension Passive: Every Arrow Finds Its Target - Increases the CRIT Rate of Fiery Rain by 10% and widens its AoE by 30%. 4th Ascension Passive: Precise Shot - Aimed Shot hits on weak spots increase ATK by 15% for 10s. Utility Passive: Gliding Champion - Decreases gliding Stamina consumption for Amber’s party members by 20%. (Not stackable with Passive Talents that provide the exact same effects.)
Party composition
DPS: Kaeya Sub-DPS: Amber Sub-DPS: Xingqiu Healer/Support: Bennett
5-star alternative: Mona replacing Xingqiu as sub-DPS Amber makes a solid sub-DPS for her fellow starter character Kaeya, thanks to their respective elements of Pyro and Cryo reacting together for the powerful Melt damage-dealing reaction. Ideally, Amber should be the one to attack second and trigger Melt, since having the Pyro character activate it delivers a stronger version of the effect; while Kaeya, as a sword-wielder and overall the stronger fighter of the two (unless attacking from range), should be your active character to deliver the follow-up attacks while Melt is active. Adding a second sub-DPS with the Hydro element to the team opens up the door for another pair of devastating offensive reactions: Freeze (Hydro + Cryo) and Vaporize (Hydro + Pyro). Freeze completely immobilises enemies for the duration of the effect, while Vaporize works more or less the same as Melt (although with this reaction, the effect is stronger if Amber lets her Hydro partner deliver the second attack). Xingqiu is one of the best sub-DPS characters in the game and quite easy to obtain from early on thanks to his 4-star rarity, making him an ideal choice for this role; though if you’re lucky enough to pull Mona, it’s worth considering using her instead for this set-up, since her Elemental Burst skill features an expansive Hydro AoE that particularly complements Amber’s ranged Pyro abilities. Finally, Bennett is the ideal healer/support character for a fellow Pyro user, since his mere presence on a team with Amber will grant the entire party an additional 25% DMG with the Fervent Flames resonance (as well as reducing the duration of Cryo debuffs applied to the team by 40%). He heals the team when using his Elemental Burst and is also a solid choice for dealing additional Pyro damage, potentially making this a team with four DPS characters working in rotation.
How to level up Amber in Genshin Impact
Ascension Materials
To fully ascend Amber you’ll need the following materials: Fortunately, almost all of these materials can be acquired by either foraging around Mondstadt (Amber’s favourite place) or clearing out Hilichurl camps (Amber’s favourite activity), so as long as you’re happy to keep at it you should be able to steadily work on her ascensions as you play as her.
Talents
To fully level up (or “crown”) any one of Amber’s three talents, you’ll need the following materials: You can choose to fully level up two or even all three of Amber’s talents (known as “triple crowning”), but just be aware that this entails collecting the aforementioned levelling materials three times over, which is why Genshin Impact players usually reserve that honour only for their very favourite mains. But hey, if that’s what Amber is to you, then go for it! Like her Ascension Materials and in common with the game’s other starter characters, Amber’s talent levelling materials are mercifully quite easy to get hold of, and you’ll almost certainly end up farming them as you progress through the game without too much extra difficulty. Just be sure to regularly tackle the Confront Stormterror trounce domain to get a hold of a supply of Dvalin’s Sighs, and keep an eye on the events and offerings that can net you a Crown of Insight as part of their rewards.
Constellations
It’s fair to say that Amber benefits from a little extra help when it comes to increasing her strength as a party member. However, thanks to her status as a starter character meaning that she’s never featured in the gacha, her Constellations are actually surprisingly hard to collect. Therefore, your Wishes might be better spent trying to get hold of a different Pyro character; but if you do decide to press on with Amber, here’s a full list of her Constellations:
One Arrow to Rule Them All (Lvl 1): Fires 2 arrows per Aimed Shot. The second arrow deals 20% of the first arrow’s DMG. Bunny Triggered (Lvl 2): Hitting Baron Bunny’s foot with a fully-charged Aimed Shot manually detonates it. Explosion via manual detonation deals 200% additional DMG. It Burns! (Lvl 3): Increases the Level of Fiery Rain by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. It’s Not Just Any Doll… (Lvl 4): Decreases Explosive Puppet’s CD by 20%. Adds 1 additional charge. It’s Baron Bunny! (Lvl 5): Increases the Level of Explosive Puppet by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. Wildfire (Lvl 6): Fiery Rain increases all party members’ Movement SPD by 15% and ATK by 15% for 10s.
How to get Amber in Genshin Impact
Amber — the last Outrider of the Knights of Favonius — joins the Traveler’s party while you’re playing through Genshin Impact’s prologue questline. She’s kind of impossible to miss, as simply following Paimon’s directions will cause you to bump into her shortly before you reach Mondstadt. Progression through the prologue requires you to have Amber in your party, so don’t worry about missing out on unlocking her, since the game won’t allow you to get very far without her. You technically need to complete the Prologue Act 1 quest Wind-Riding Knight to get her on-side permanently, but in practice she’ll be with you full-time from when you first meet. It’s also possible to re-roll Amber when wishing on the standard Wanderlust Invocation banner or to purchase her from Paimon’s Bargains, where she’s featured about once every six months (usually on the April and October line-ups). However, Amber never appears on any featured wishes from the Character or Weapon Event wish series, and therefore never has an increased drop rate in the gacha, making her one of the rarest re-roll characters in the game. Now you know everything there is to know about making Amber the best she can be, why not check out our Genshin Impact character tier list and see how she measures up? (Spoilers: she ranked dead last. Sorry, Amber.) Still, if Amber’s ignited your interest in Pyro Bow users, you might be interested in new hero Yoimiya, who basically does everything Amber does but better (but who you also have to pay money for). Have a look at our best Yoimiya build page for more details. Alternatively, if you’re interested in exploring the possibilites of other free and early game characters, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to the best Traveler build, and given the same treatment to Amber’s fellow starter recruits Kaeya and Lisa.
