Skirk is a brand-new 5-star Cryo character set to debut in the Genshin Impact 5.7 update. She’s a highly anticipated character, first revealed during Fontaine’s Archon Quest series. Her abyssal design and unique appearance are hard to forget—but if you’re new or haven’t finished the Fontaine Archon Quests, Skirk might still be a surprise to you.
Either way, the question remains: Is Skirk worth your Primogems? The answer isn’t simple, but if you’re looking for a quick verdict, here it is—if you like Skirk and don’t care about optimizing her team, pull for her. However, if you’re a meta-focused player who prefers strong, synergistic lineups, only get Skirk if you already have Escoffier or plan to get her later. Without Escoffier, Skirk’s damage potential drops significantly.
Now that the quick answer is out of the way, let’s dive deeper into Skirk’s limitations and why you should think carefully before wishing for her in Genshin Impact 5.7.
Things You Should Know About Skirk in Genshin Impact Before Pulling Her
Skirk works best in Freeze teams
HoYoverse seems to have rekindled interest in the Freeze reaction and is now pushing it through characters like Escoffier and Skirk. While it’s great to see underused reactions being supported, I would have preferred if HoYoverse had expanded support for other reactions too—like they did with Chevreuse (for Overload) or Navia (for Crystallize). Instead, Skirk and Escoffier are heavily restricted to Freeze-only teams.
To fully utilize Skirk’s kit, your team must include only Cryo and Hydro characters, with at least one of each. She needs to trigger Freeze reactions to create Void Rifts, which grant her Serpent’s Subtlety points—essential for her Elemental Burst. Moreover, one of her passive talents grants significant damage boosts only if all teammates are Hydro or Cryo. Because of this, Skirk is one of the most team-restrictive characters released in Genshin so far.
Skirk needs premium supports
While premium supports (5-star characters or C6 4-stars) can elevate many units, Skirk absolutely requires them. Without them, she performs on par with outdated DPS units from Versions 2.x or 3.x. Her optimal team includes Escoffier and Furina, leaving only one flexible slot.
Yelan is another strong premium option, offering DMG boosts and synergy with Skirk’s Normal Attack-focused playstyle. Shenhe can work too, though Skirk can’t fully benefit from her buffs. Alternatively, Mualani (from Natlan) can use the Scroll artifact set to provide a 40% Cryo DMG boost. Unfortunately, all these supports are 5-stars. While there are 4-star Hydro and Cryo characters, none synergize well enough to unlock Skirk’s full potential.
Skirk suffers from a lack of viable teammates
As mentioned earlier, Skirk’s best supports—Escoffier and Furina—can boost the performance of almost any Cryo DPS. Without them, Skirk teams fall apart quickly.
The limited pool of usable characters makes building a strong team for her especially challenging. Including Dahlia, there are only four 4-star Hydro characters in the game. Likewise, few 4-star Cryo units fit well into her restricted Freeze-only team comp. So you’re left relying on 5-star units, which not everyone has access to. Hopefully, this will improve as we enter Nod-Krai and eventually Snezhnaya.
Conclusion: Should You Get Skirk in Genshin Impact?
With the right team and build, Skirk can be one of the strongest modern DPS characters in Genshin Impact. But the catch is: you need top-tier teammates—especially Escoffier, Furina, and Yelan—to unlock her full potential. And with Escoffier just released in Version 5.6, it’s unrealistic for most players to afford both her and Skirk unless they’ve saved a huge amount of Primogems or are willing to spend money.
If you don’t have Furina or especially Escoffier, temper your expectations. Without her ideal team, Skirk won’t hit high damage numbers like Mavuika and other top-tier DPS units.