Oh, Ayaka is a fun character. She's a bit of a glass cannon, but if the enemies are wet, she can freeze them just by sprinting next to them. I took her, Barbara, Kaeya and Noelle, all level 40, against a level 50 pyro regisvine boss, and had no problem beating it. Alternating Ayaka's and Kaeya's cryo attacks works wonders on that boss.
So I ascended my electro and pyro characters, along with the Traveler, and now I have to figure out how to beat the anemo and geo bosses. But now that I've got a few characters leveled up past 40 a bit, I've got better chances.
Abyss mages, huh? Fatui skirmishers for me. Electrohammers and hydrogunners etc.