Is Astral Vulture Good for Ganyu? Complete 2025 Analysis

Astral Vulture's Crimson Plumage: Stats and Passive

Released November 20, 2025 (Version 5.2), rerun August 19-September 9, 2025 (Version 5.8 Phase 2).

Level 90 Stats:

• 608 Base ATK
• 66.2% CRIT DMG

Passive (R1): Swirl reactions grant 24% ATK for 12s. During this window:

• Charged Attack DMG: +20% (1 different element) / +48% (2 different elements)
• Burst DMG: +10% (1 different element) / +24% (2 different elements)

Refinement Scaling:

• R2: 30% ATK, 25%/60% CA, 12.5%/30% Burst
• R5: 48% ATK, 40%/96% CA, 20%/48% Burst

Ascension Materials (Total):

• 225,000 Mora
• Night-Wind's Mystic: 5 Consideration, 14 Premonition, 14 Augury, 6 Revelation
• 23 Refractive Bud, 27 Bewildering Broadleaf, 41 Illusory Leafcoil
• 15 Sentry's Wooden Whistle, 23 Warrior's Metal Whistle, 27 Saurian-Crowned Warrior's Golden Whistle

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Ganyu Analysis: Playstyle and Weapon Requirements

Damage Profile:

• Frostflake Arrow (Lv1): 128% Cryo hit + 218% AoE bloom (primary damage source)
• Celestial Shower: 70% per Ice Shard, 15s duration, 60 Energy

Stat Priorities:

• 2000-2500 ATK
• 30-40% CRIT Rate (freeze) / 60-70% (melt)
• 200-250% CRIT DMG

Build Types:

Freeze Ganyu: Hydro + Anemo + Cryo teams, Blizzard Strayer 4pc (+40% CRIT Rate vs frozen). Prioritizes CRIT DMG and ATK%.

Melt Ganyu: Pyro application for 2x multipliers, Wanderer's Troupe 4pc (+35% CA DMG). Needs higher CRIT Rate.

Critical Issue: Ganyu applies Cryo—she doesn't trigger Swirl. Passive requires Anemo teammate.

Astral Vulture Performance on Ganyu

Damage Calculation vs Amos' Bow

Test Setup: 2200 ATK, 35% CRIT Rate (freeze), 220% CRIT DMG (with weapon)

Astral Vulture (R1, Swirl active):

• Total ATK: 2200 × 1.24 = 2728
• Bloom damage: 2728 × 2.18 × 3.20 × 1.48 = 25,867
• Avg with CRIT: 45,733

Amos' Bow (R1):

• Total ATK: 2200 × 1.496 = 3291
• Bloom damage: 3291 × 2.18 × 2.70 × 1.52 = 29,457
• Avg with CRIT: 47,156

Result: Amos' Bow leads by ~3%. Astral Vulture's 66.2% CRIT DMG requires higher CRIT Rate investment, while Amos' 49.6% ATK% scales unconditionally.

Rotation Compatibility

Freeze Rotation:

1. Hydro application (Mona/Kokomi)
2. Anemo Swirl (Venti/Kazuha) ← Passive activates here
3. Ganyu Burst
4. Charged Attacks (5-7 shots, 10-12s)

12s buff duration covers entire damage window. Works naturally.

Melt Rotation: Traditional Ganyu-Xiangling-Bennett-Zhongli lacks Anemo—passive never activates. Weapon becomes pure stat stick (608 ATK + 66.2% CRIT DMG), underperforming Amos' Bow.

Spiral Abyss Testing

Freeze teams: Astral Vulture performs within 5-8% of Amos' Bow (R1 vs R1). Excels in clustered enemies where 48% CA bonus hits multiple targets.

Single-target: Amos' Bow's 40% travel distance bonus provides more consistent damage.

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Tighnari Analysis: Spread Mechanics and Weapon Synergy

Damage Profile:

• Wreath Arrow (Lv1): 87.2% Dendro + 4 Clusterbloom (38.6% each) = 241.6% total
• Vijnana-Phala Mine: 149.6% Dendro, 12s CD, 40 Energy

Stat Priorities:

• 1800-2000 ATK
• 60-70% CRIT Rate
• 180-220% CRIT DMG
• 200-300 Elemental Mastery

Spread Reaction Scaling: Spread adds 1446.85 base damage at Lv90, scaling with EM (5:1 ratio). This damage then multiplies by CRIT and Dendro DMG%.

Hunter's Path (Signature):

• 542 Base ATK, 44.1% CRIT Rate
• 12% Elemental DMG
• CA DMG +160% of EM (max 40% bonus)

Synergizes perfectly with Tighnari's EM requirements, providing both offensive stats and reaction scaling.

Team Composition Conflict

Optimal Quicken Teams: Tighnari-Fischl-Yae/Kuki-Nahida

• Prioritize Electro + Dendro for continuous Spread reactions
• No Anemo = Astral Vulture passive never activates

Adding Anemo to trigger Swirl disrupts Quicken frequency and energy generation—net team damage loss despite weapon buff.

Astral Vulture Performance on Tighnari

Damage Calculation vs Hunter's Path

Test Setup: 1900 ATK, 65% CRIT Rate, 200% CRIT DMG (with weapon), 250 EM

Astral Vulture (R1, Swirl active):

• Total ATK: 1900 × 1.24 = 2356
• Wreath + Clusterbloom: 2356 × 2.416 × 3.00 × 1.48 = 25,226
• Spread: (1447 × 1.50) × 3.00 × 1.46 = 9,519
• Total: 34,745 → Avg: 79,930

Hunter's Path (R1):

• Total ATK: 1900
• Wreath + Clusterbloom: 1900 × 2.416 × 2.34 × 1.52 × 1.12 = 19,576
• Spread: (1447 × 1.50) × 2.34 × 1.58 = 8,065
• Total: 27,641 → Avg: 51,719

Critical Issue: Astral Vulture appears superior numerically but requires Swirl. Without Anemo in Quicken teams, passive never triggers—damage drops to ~60,000, while Hunter's Path functions unconditionally.

Passive Effectiveness

48% CA bonus amplifies initial Dendro hit but doesn't directly scale Spread damage. Hunter's Path's EM-to-CA conversion increases both initial hit and Spread indirectly, plus 12% Elemental DMG applies to all damage including Spread.

Spiral Abyss Testing

Quicken teams (no Swirl): Astral Vulture performs 12-15% below Hunter's Path.

With Swirl (Nahida → Kazuha swap): Gap narrows to 5-8%, but team energy/Dendro resonance loss reduces overall team damage ~10%.

Direct Comparison: Ganyu vs Tighnari

Ganyu Compatibility (Better):

• Freeze teams naturally include Anemo
• 70-80% damage from Charged Attacks maximizes 48% CA bonus
• CRIT DMG aligns with Blizzard Strayer builds
• Performs within 5-8% of Amos' Bow

Tighnari Compatibility (Worse):

• Quicken teams avoid Anemo
• Damage splits between CA/Burst/Spread
• No EM scaling
• 12-15% behind Hunter's Path without Swirl

Verdict: Ganyu benefits ~10-12% more effectively than Tighnari.

Alternative Weapons

Best 5-Star Options

For Ganyu:

1. Amos' Bow (608 ATK, 49.6% ATK%, unconditional bonuses) - Best-in-slot
2. Aqua Simulacra (542 ATK, 88.2% CRIT DMG, 20% DMG bonus) - Within 2-5%
3. Polar Star (608 ATK, 33.1% CRIT Rate, stacking buffs) - 5-10% behind
4. Astral Vulture - Competitive in freeze, weak in melt

For Tighnari:

1. Hunter's Path (542 ATK, 44.1% CRIT Rate, EM scaling) - Best-in-slot
2. Aqua Simulacra - 8-10% behind
3. Polar Star - 10-12% behind
4. Astral Vulture - Requires team adjustments

Top 4-Star Budget Options

Prototype Crescent (craftable): 510 ATK, 41.3% ATK%, 36% ATK after headshots. Performs 75-80% of Astral Vulture for Ganyu at zero primogems.

Hamayumi (craftable): 454 ATK, 55.1% ATK%, 16-32% CA DMG. 70-75% effectiveness for Ganyu.

Stringless (gacha): 510 ATK, 165 EM, 24% Skill/Burst DMG. 65-70% effectiveness for Tighnari with EM scaling.

Expert Recommendations

Who Should Pull?

Recommended:

• Chasca mains who also use Ganyu freeze
• Players lacking Amos' Bow, maining Ganyu freeze with Anemo supports
• Excess primogems after character priorities

Not Recommended:

• Tighnari mains (get Hunter's Path instead)
• Ganyu melt without Anemo
• F2P/low-spenders prioritizing characters
• Already own Amos' Bow or Hunter's Path

Character Priority

1. Chasca - Signature weapon
2. Ganyu (freeze) - 5-8% behind best-in-slot
3. Lyney - Potentially strong
4. Ganyu (melt) - Suboptimal without Anemo
5. Tighnari - 12-15% behind Hunter's Path

Primogem Efficiency

Tier 1 (Highest):

• Craft Prototype Crescent (0 gems, 70-80% performance)

Tier 2:

• Pull Hunter's Path for Tighnari (28,800 gems avg, 100%)
• Pull Amos' Bow for Ganyu (28,800 gems, 100%)

Tier 3:

• Pull Astral Vulture for Ganyu freeze (28,800 gems, 92-95%)
• Pull for Chasca + Ganyu dual use

Tier 4 (Lowest):

• Pull for Tighnari (28,800 gems, 85-88%)
• Refine beyond R1

Most players gain more account value from character constellations than marginal weapon upgrades.

FAQ

Is Astral Vulture worth pulling for Ganyu freeze?

If you lack Amos' Bow and main Ganyu freeze with Anemo supports, it performs within 5-8% of best-in-slot. However, Prototype Crescent provides 75-80% performance at zero cost. Only pull if you also need it for Chasca or have excess primogems.

Does Tighnari benefit from this weapon?

He benefits when passive activates, but optimal Quicken teams lack Anemo for Swirl triggers. Adding Anemo reduces team synergy. Performs 12-15% below Hunter's Path in realistic scenarios. Functions as adequate stat stick but doesn't optimize his kit.

Best weapon for Ganyu freeze?

Amos' Bow (best-in-slot), Astral Vulture (5-8% behind when passive active), Aqua Simulacra (strong stat stick). Budget: Prototype Crescent (75-80% of 5-star performance).

Should I refine Astral Vulture?

R5 provides 12-18% damage increase but costs 57,600-115,200 primogems (2-4 additional pities). Lower account value than character constellations for most players.

Can other bow characters use it?

Lyney potentially benefits as charged shot DPS. Fischl, Yelan gain minimal value (CA bonus doesn't apply to off-field damage). Best on charged shot specialists (Chasca, Ganyu, Tighnari, Lyney) in teams with Anemo supports.

Where to farm ascension materials?

Night-Wind's Mystic: Hidden Ruins of Sanhaj domain (Wed/Sat/Sun). Refractive Bud/Broadleaf/Leafcoil: Spinocrocodiles in Natlan. Whistles: Fatui Operatives in Natlan. Total: 225,000 Mora, 2-3 days resin farming.