Traveler (Cryo)

Traveler (Cryo)

5★CryoSwordMain DamageSupport

TL;DR

Cryo Traveler has two distinct playstyles. The characters in your party decide which one you get to use. Any Electro character in the team makes the Traveler your on-field damage dealer: Cryo and Electro make Superconduct, which becomes a Stellar-Conduct while the Traveler is in the party. That reaction leaves a Polestar Field on the ground around the enemy. Standing in it is what swaps their abilities over to the on-field version. No Electro in the team and the Traveler is a support character instead. The off-field version is built to work with Anemo teammates, so bring Anemo if you are not running Electro. The Traveler still works without either of them, just not well. Pick how you're playing below to see the matching kit.

Your Skill puts a floating star beside you. Inside the Polestar Field their Electro and your Cryo leave behind, the Skill's star fires an ice crystal every time you land a Normal Attack or Charged Attack. Every crystal that connects gives you one Burst stack, to a maximum of eight. Your own sword swings also turn Cryo while the star is out and hit harder. Stay in the Polestar Field, build to eight stacks, then Burst to spend them all in one big hit.

Your Skill puts a floating star beside you for 12 seconds. With no Electro in the party there is no Polestar Field, so the star fires ice crystals on its own timer at whatever is near your team rather than off your attacks. Every crystal that connects is one Burst stack, to a maximum of eight. Your swings stay physical here, so there is nothing to stay on the field for: put the star out, let an Anemo teammate swirl your Cryo, then come back for a Charged Attack and a Burst.

Rotation

  1. Electro teammate first. A Polestar Field appears on the ground where their Electro meets your Cryo.
  2. Skill (E) to put the star out and turn your Normal Attacks and Charged Attacks Cryo.
  3. Stand in the Polestar Field and Normal Attack. Charged Attack whenever it lights up, which hits a lot harder.
  4. Burst (Q) once you are at eight Burst stacks.
  1. Skill (E) to put the star out. It follows your party for 12 seconds.
  2. Anemo teammate next, swirling your Cryo.
  3. Play your damage dealer. The star fires on its own timer, so the Burst stacks build while somebody else has the field.
  4. Every rotation after that is Skill (E), Charged Attack, Burst (Q) in one quick sequence, then back out to your damage dealer.

Abilities

Skill (E) A stab of Cryo ahead of you and a star appears beside you for about 12 seconds on a 15 second cooldown. Inside the Polestar Field the star fires an ice crystal every time you land a Normal, Charged or Plunging Attack, up to five times a second.
Normal Attacks Turned into Cryo damage while the Skill's star is out. Each swing also gains 80% of your Attack on top, which is most of your damage.
Charged Attack Your teammates' Stellar reactions charge it up, one charge at a time to a maximum of three. At three the next Charged Attack is a much heavier one that also gives you two Burst stacks for free. Once every 15 seconds.
Burst (Q) Costs 60 Energy, back in about 15 seconds. An ice javelin that hits several times over. It eats every stack you have and more stacks mean bigger hits. At the full eight it adds extra hits on top, which is why eight is the number you want.
Their Burst stacks One per ice crystal that connects, up to eight. Swinging inside the Polestar Field is what builds them, so they come in fast. The Burst spends the lot.
Skill (E) A stab of Cryo ahead of you and a star appears beside you for about 12 seconds on a 15 second cooldown. It follows whoever is on the field and fires ice crystals at nearby enemies on its own timer.
Charged Attack Your teammates' Stellar reactions charge it up, one charge at a time to a maximum of three. At three the next Charged Attack is a much heavier one that also gives you two Burst stacks for free. Once every 15 seconds.
Burst (Q) Costs 60 Energy, back in about 15 seconds. An ice javelin that hits several times over. It eats every stack you have and more stacks mean bigger hits. At the full eight it adds extra hits on top, which is why eight is the number you want.
Their Burst stacks One per ice crystal that connects, up to eight. The star's own timer is what builds them here, so they come in slowly whether or not you are on the field.

The one mechanic to understand

The teammate you bring decides what the star does.

The Polestar Field is what changes the star. Left alone it fires on a timer of its own. Inside the field it stops doing that and fires a crystal every time the Traveler lands a Normal, Charged or Plunging Attack, up to about five times a second. Their sword swings turn Cryo at the same time and gain 80% of their Attack. Both of those stop the moment they stop swinging or step outside it.

With no Electro there is no Polestar Field, so the star keeps to its own timer and fires every few seconds at whatever is near your team. A teammate triggering a Stellar Swirl still puts the Traveler in the swirl state for about 8 seconds, which changes the damage type of their Burst to match the reaction. It does not upgrade the star and it does not convert their attacks. None of it asks the Traveler to be on the field, which is why the Burst stacks build while somebody else plays.

What actually matters

  • Attack and only Attack. Their Elemental Mastery comes free as a percentage of their Attack, the Stellar reaction bonus scales off Attack and the chunk added to their swings is a percentage of Attack. There is no slot where Cryo damage bonus beats it.
  • Eight stacks before you Burst. Seven is not eight. The eighth adds extra instances of damage rather than a slightly larger number, so it is worth another second of swinging to get there.
  • Stay in the Polestar Field. The star only fires off your swings here. Wander outside it or swap away and the stacks stop.
  • Attack and only Attack. Their Elemental Mastery comes free as a percentage of their Attack and the Stellar reaction bonus scales off Attack. There is no slot where Cryo damage bonus beats it.
  • Eight stacks before you Burst. Seven is not eight. The eighth adds extra instances of damage rather than a slightly larger number. The stacks stay on them between rotations. The star you put out last time is what pays for this Burst.
  • Somebody has to swirl your Cryo. An Anemo character in the party is not enough on its own. They need to hit something with your Cryo already on it for the Stellar Swirl to happen.

Gear

Weapon Exaiphanes Blade, free from the Snezhnaya Archon Quest and the best sword on every Traveler form. It costs nothing to level or refine: you take it to that region's Statues of the Seven.
Artifacts 4-piece Disenchantment in Deep Shadow, which is the set built for Stellar reaction damage. 4-piece Gilded Dreams while you farm it.
Artifacts 4-piece Heart of the Furnace. Their Burst sets it off even while they are off the field. It raises the whole party's Stellar reaction damage by 50%. 4-piece Noblesse Oblige if a teammate already wears Heart of the Furnace, since two copies do not stack.
Sands Goblet Circlet Substats
ATK ATK Crit Crit / ATK

The Cryo damage goblet is the classic mistake here, because the reaction half of their damage ignores it completely.

Works well with

Electro

Electro is what produces the Polestar Field. A second Cryo character keeps the aura up so the reactions keep landing.

Anemo

Anemo has to be swirling your Cryo rather than just standing there. A second Cryo character keeps the aura up so the reactions keep landing.

Don't bother

  • Piling on Energy Recharge. The Burst is only 60.
  • Counting to three for the heavy Charged Attack. The button tells you when it is ready.
  • Playing them off the field. The star only fires when they swing, so benching them switches it off.
  • Keeping them on the field to swing. Without the Polestar Field their attacks are a plain sword and the star is on its own timer either way.

Want the full deep dive? Read Traveler (Cryo) on KeqingMains.

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