Understanding the Seven Elements in Genshin Impact
In Genshin Impact, there are seven elements with seven gods, called Archons, holding dominion over them. These elements are Anemo, Geo, Electro, Dendro, Hydro, Pyro, and Cryo. Each element has unique characteristics that give it its own gameplay flavour, create different reactions with other elements, or even strengthen your team when resonating with itself.
- Anemo harnesses the power of the wind, ruled over by Mondstadt’s Archon Barbatos, known as Venti. Anemo is an element that drives various elemental reactions, making it the element of some of the best characters in Genshin Impact.
- Geo is the element that holds dominion over earth, ruled by Morax of Liyue, known as Rex Lapis or Zhongli. Out of all the elements, Geo is the most inert and self-reliant, creating strong shields with characters that typically have or sub-DPS roles.
Each element has a unique interaction with each other; therefore, players should build their teams around characters whose elemental alignments synergize well with one another. For example, the Swirl reaction is triggered whenever Anemo reacts with Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro, spreading damage based on the Anemo character’s level and Elemental Mastery.
The seven Elements of Teyvat are at the core of both gameplay and lore of Genshin Impact. They act as special Status Effects and Damage types that can be applied in specific orders to trigger Elemental Reactions. The seven elements cover seven of the eight damage types, with the last one being Physical. Each element corresponds to an Archon and their own nation that worships said Archon.
Furthermore, the seven elemental Authorities were powers wielded by the Seven Sovereigns, the most powerful dragons of the old world before the Heavenly Principles’s arrival. The Heavenly Principles stole portions of those powers, which were later used to establish the Archon’s Authorities. Visions, which are wielded by people in Teyvat, are also derived from these Authorities.
Dendro was the only element that had no playable characters up until Version 3.0, which added Tighnari and Collei, as well as the Dendro-aligned Traveler. Notably, the Traveler is the only character in the game whose element can be changed as a playable character.
In essence, there exist seven different elements in the world of Genshin Impact. Each one is ruled over by an Archon who can also grant humans the ability to manipulate the elements.
Elemental Reactions: How They Work in Genshin Impact
Elemental reactions are an integral mechanic of Genshin Impact that sets this game apart from all other Action RPGs. Every character in the game utilizes one of the seven elements: Dendro, Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, Geo, Anemo, and Electro.
When composing a team, characters of different elements can combine their abilities in order to drastically improve your team’s overall damage. A reaction occurs when one element is applied to an enemy already affected by a different element. For example, applying Dendro to an enemy affected by Hydro will lead to a Bloom reaction. The character acting as the Trigger ‘owns’ the reaction.
Most of the time, the order of the elements applied does NOT change the reaction. However, deciding which elemental application will be the Aura and which will be the Trigger usually significantly affects the damage of that reaction.
The Three Types of Reactions can be broken down into three types: Amplifying, Transformative, and Catalyze.
- Amplifying Reactions: These are the easiest to understand as they add a multiplier to the overall damage while also factoring in the Elemental Mastery of one of the characters involved.
- Transformative Reactions: These do something completely different, like immobilizing your enemies through Freeze when combining Hydro and Cryo.
- Catalyze: Combining different elements in combat is the key to success in Genshin Impact.
Furthermore, Electro is regarded as one of the most powerful elements in Genshin Impact, alongside Pyro, though the latter can be more desirable. This is primarily due to the combination of electricity and ice being overwhelming for enemies to handle.
Melt allows for a multiplier of damage amplification onto the attack triggering the reaction, heavily boosting the attack. Applying Cryo onto Pyro is colloquially referred to as a Reverse Melt, with a smaller base multiplier of 1.5x as opposed to the 2x multiplier of Pyro onto Cryo.
Notably, Melt has a better damage bonus for Pyro than Vaporize.
The Role of Archons: Elemental Gods and Their Influence
The role of Archons in Genshin Impact is deeply intertwined with their elemental powers and governance. Each Archon is associated with an element and an ideal, shaping their territories’ environment and determining their mode of governance.
They possess a magic focus called a Gnosis, allowing them to resonate directly with Celestia. Furthermore, each Archon is bound to a Divine Throne, composed of a portion of the Authority of one of the Seven Sovereigns, granting them authority over the corresponding element.
- An Archon’s source of power is attributed to three origins:
- Presiding over their respective region,
- The faith of their people,
- A fragment of the elemental Authority stolen by the Heavenly Principles from the Seven Sovereign.
Unlike humans, who rely on resonance with a Vision to use elements, the Archons were already d with their elements before ascending to godhood. For instance, Barbatos was originally a wind spirit, referred to as the ‘God of Geo’ in historical records, while Ei (and by proxy, Makoto) represents an ‘incarnation of lightning.’
Moreover, the power of the Gnoses is not exclusive to their respective Archons. For example, Nahida utilized the power of the Electro Gnosis to heal Irminsul.
It is noteworthy that a significant amount of power is necessary to destroy a Divine Throne. Its destruction leads to the death of the Archon bound to it, appearing to be the sole method to return the Authority within to the Sovereign.
Each Archon has indeed shaped the landscape and climate of their territories. This ability seems inherent to any god, but since the end of the Archon War, only seven Archons have existed simultaneously.
Furthermore, Archons are categorized as elite elementals found in the Elemental Chaos, where they serve primordials or other elementals. Built in vaguely humanoid shapes, they are among the most formidable soldiers of the planes.
Unlike humans, Archons possess innate elemental abilities and do not rely on the Gnoses to wield these elements. This fact is demonstrated by how Venti, Zhongli, Ei, and Nahida utilize their elemental abilities in battle during their respective Story Quests, even after parting with their Gnoses.
Visual Guide to Genshin Impact Elements: Symbols and Characteristics
Genshin Impact has a total of 7 Elements in the game, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. The Elements are:
- Pyro (Fire)
- Cryo (Ice)
- Electro (Lightning)
- Hydro (Water)
- Anemo (Wind)
- Geo (Earth)
- Dendro (Nature)
Each Element corresponds to a specific Nation and Archon. Moreover, they possess unique characteristics and interactions.
Elemental Reactions occur when different Elements combine. These combinations can lead to unique effects and can either increase or reduce damage based on the order of reactions. Here are some important reaction effects:
- Melt:
- Cryo + Pyro: Cryo attack deals 2x more damage.
- Pyro + Cryo: Pyro attack deals 1.5x more damage.
- Vaporize:
- Pyro + Hydro: Pyro attack deals 2x more damage.
- Hydro + Pyro: Hydro attack deals 1.5x more damage.
- Electro-Charged: Deals Electro damage over time and spreads to nearby enemies.
- Overloaded: Deals AoE Pyro damage that knockbacks enemies.
- Frozen: Freezes enemies.
- Superconduct: Reduces enemy’s physical defense.
- Swirl:
- Anemo + Pyro/Cryo/Electro: Spreads the first element around the target then deals the element and Anemo damage.
- Crystalize:
- Anemo + Pyro/Cryo/Electro: Drops a shard that creates a shield with bonus resistance to the element when picked up.
- Burning:
- Dendro + Pyro: Sets the target on fire, dealing damage over time.
- Bloom: Creates a Dendro Core. Any order.
When cast on enemies, certain elements can cause specific status effects:
- Cryo: Reduces opponents’ movement speed.
- Dendro: Has no effect on its own but can set up for multiple elemental reactions.
- Electro: Spreads through water affecting Wet enemies.
- Hydro: Makes characters Wet, opening up for elemental reactions.
- Pyro: Burns individuals causing damage over time.
Additionally, Elemental resonance is a ive effect that occurs when certain combinations of elemental characters fill your party. For instance:
- ‘Enduring Rock’ from 2 Geo characters increases interruption resistance and boosts damage by 15% when shielded.
- ‘Fervent Flames’ from 2 Pyro characters increases ATK by 25% and shortens Cryo effects duration.
Understanding these Elements and their interactions is key to exploiting their strengths in combat and achieving victory. Characters and enemies receive various status effects based on elemental interactions, enhancing the overall combat experience in Genshin Impact.
Exploring Elemental Strengths and Weaknesses in Genshin Impact
Elemental Reactions Overview
Elemental Reaction is a basic combat mechanic in Genshin Impact. It occurs when two Elements are applied together, triggering a combination of effects. For example, a Cryo-affected enemy will cause Melt when hit by a Pyro attack. If the same Element is applied, the status will simply prolong. Some reactions are more effective based on which Element is applied first. For instance, Vaporize is 2x as effective if Hydro is the triggerer to an enemy with a Pyro status. Otherwise, a Pyro attack on a Hydro-afflicted enemy will only be 1.5x effective.
Types of Elemental Reactions
- Swirl – Deals AoE damage based on the reacted Element, then spreads that element to nearby enemies.
- Crystallize – Creates a crystal shard that provides a shield effective against the element that created the reaction.
- Vaporize – An instance of damage dealt will be multiplied based on the reacting Element.
- Melt – An instance of damage dealt will also be multiplied based on the reacting Element.
- Electro-Charged – Target takes Electro damage over time.
- Frozen – Target is temporarily frozen in place, stopping all enemy actions except Bosses.
- Shatter – When a Frozen enemy is hit by Geo or heavy attacks, the enemy will Shatter, dealing Physical damage and removing the Frozen status.
Elemental Interactions Details
Frozen occurs when Hydro and Cryo come into . When Frozen activates, the target cannot move. Moreover, Frozen can be triggered against enemies in water or rain. Frozen enemies can be shattered by Claymores, Plunging Attacks, and Geo Attacks. Increasing the Elemental Mastery of the character triggering the shatter will deal more damage.
Additionally, Electro-Charged occurs when Hydro or Electro interact, which deals Electro damage over time. This reaction can affect nearby targets with Hydro status; however, they will not receive the Electro-Charged status. Increasing the Elemental Mastery of the character triggering Electro-Charged will grow the damage over time caused by the reaction.
Elements and Gameplay
In Genshin Impact, there are seven Elements which serve as key gameplay foundations. These Elements are: Pyro, Hydro, Anemo, Electro, Cryo, Geo, and Dendro. They are incorporated into a wide range of puzzles around Teyvat as well as the Lore, with each Archon residing over a specific Element. Different Elements react in various ways, creating a range of Elemental Reactions, which provide different gameplay mechanics such as increased damage, shielding, and more.
The damage of these reactions primarily scales based on your character’s Elemental Mastery and level. Furthermore, the order of reactions is crucial; for example, Pyro on Hydro deals less damage than Hydro on Pyro.
Elemental Resonances
Elemental Resonances are buffs provided to your party based on the number of characters belonging to specific Elements. For example, having 2 Pyro characters grants a 25% ATK increase. These resonances can be vital factors to consider during team building.
Conclusion
Elemental Reactions represent the centerpiece of Genshin Impact’s combat system. Understanding and mastering these interactions can drastically improve one’s proficiency in battle. Various factors must be considered when triggering Elemental Reactions, such as aura, trigger, and decay.
