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Elemental Reactions in Genshin

Elemental Reactions in Genshin

Genshin Impact’s combat system is built on an intricate interplay of elemental reactions that bring battles to life. These reactions are triggered when two or more elements interact, either applied by characters’ abilities or environmental effects. Certain reactions, such as Melt and Vaporize, feature asymmetric damage multipliers depending on which element triggers the reaction. This adds a layer of depth to Genshin Impact’s combat system.

Genshin Impact features seven elements:

  • Pyro (Fire)
  • Hydro (Water)
  • Cryo (Ice)
  • Electro (Electric)
  • Anemo (Wind)
  • Geo (Earth)
  • Dendro (Nature)

Each element interacts differently depending on the combination, leading to unique effects. Some are damage-focused, while others control enemy movement or provide utility.

Damage-Oriented Reactions

  1. Overloaded
    • Elements: Pyro + Electro
    • Effect: Deals AoE Pyro damage.
    • Best Against: Groups of enemies, especially those with physical shields.
    • Tips: Use Overloaded to break shields or stagger enemies, but be cautious of its knockback, which can scatter foes.
  2. Vaporize
    • Elements: Pyro + Hydro
    • Effect: Multiplies damage (1.5x or 2x depending on the order of elements).
    • Best Against: Single-target foes or bosses.
    • Tips: Use Hydro first followed by Pyro for the higher damage multiplier (2x).
  3. Melt
    • Elements: Pyro + Cryo
    • Effect: Multiplies damage (1.5x or 2x depending on the order of elements).
    • Best Against: High-HP enemies.
    • Tips: Apply Cryo first and follow up with Pyro for optimal damage.
  4. Superconduct
    • Elements: Cryo + Electro
    • Effect: Reduces enemy physical resistance and deals AoE Cryo damage.
    • Best Against: Physically built teams or shielded enemies.
    • Tips: Pair with physical DPS characters like Eula or Razor to take full advantage of the resistance shred.

Utility Reactions

  1. Swirl
    • Elements: Anemo + Any (Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, Electro)
    • Effect: Spreads the secondary element and deals AoE damage.
    • Best Against: Groups of enemies with elemental statuses.
    • Tips: Use characters like Kazuha or Sucrose to group enemies while spreading the desired element for efficient damage output.
  2. Crystallize
    • Elements: Geo + Any (Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, Electro)
    • Effect: Generates an elemental shield based on the absorbed element.
    • Best Against: Situations requiring defense or protection.
    • Tips: Pair with Geo characters like Zhongli for stronger shields or Noelle for hybrid utility.

Dendro Reactions

  1. Burning
    • Elements: Dendro + Pyro
    • Effect: Deals continuous Pyro damage in an area.
    • Tips: Effective against stationary enemies but risky in tight spaces due to lingering fire effects.
  2. Bloom
    • Elements: Dendro + Hydro
    • Effect: Creates Dendro Cores that explode after a short duration, dealing AoE Dendro damage.
    • Tips: Pair with an Electro character for Hyperbloom or Pyro for Burgeon to amplify the reaction.
  3. Burgeon
    • Elements: Pyro + Dendro Core (Dendro + Hydro)
    • Effect: Triggers AoE Pyro damage at the Dendro Core’s location.
    • Tips: Use fast AoE Pyro characters like Thoma or Bennett to trigger Burgeon quickly.
  4. Hyperbloom
    • Elements: Electro + Dendro Core (Dendro + Hydro)
    • Effect: Triggers AoE Electro damage at the Dendro Core’s location.
    • Tips: Characters like Fischl, Beidou, Raiden Shogun, or Lisa are great for consistent Electro application.
  5. Quicken (and its variations)
    • Elements: Dendro + Electro
    • Effect: Creates a buffed state where additional Electro or Dendro triggers Aggravate (Electro bonus damage) or Spread (Dendro bonus damage).
    • Tips: Build high Elemental Mastery on the reaction-triggering character for maximum damage.

Elemental Reactions Where Order Matters

  1. Melt
    • Cryo applied first, then Pyro: 2x Damage
    • Pyro applied first, then Cryo: 1.5x Damage
    • Example: If you use Ganyu’s Frostflake Arrow (Cryo) first and then follow with Hu Tao’s Charged Attack (Pyro), you’ll get a 2x damage multiplier, making it the optimal sequence for maximum damage.
  2. Vaporize
    • Hydro applied first, then Pyro: 2x Damage
    • Pyro applied first, then Hydro: 1.5x Damage
    • Example: Pairing Xingqiu’s Rain Swords (Hydro) with Hu Tao’s Charged Attack (Pyro) ensures the Hydro is applied first, allowing Hu Tao to trigger a 2x multiplier on Vaporize.
  3. Overloaded, Superconduct, Swirl, and Others
    • These reactions don’t have asymmetric multipliers — they deal a flat amount of damage regardless of the order. However, timing and positioning still matter, as these reactions often cause knockback or AoE effects that can disrupt enemy positioning.
  4. Dendro Reactions: Bloom, Hyperbloom, and Burgeon
    • While Dendro-related reactions like Bloom are generally independent of application order, the triggering element (Pyro for Burgeon or Electro for Hyperbloom) decides the secondary reaction’s effect.
    • Example: Apply Dendro with Nahida, then Hydro with Kokomi to create Bloom (Dendro Cores). Then use an Electro character like Fischl to trigger Hyperbloom, or a Pyro character like Thoma for Burgeon.
  5. Order in Quicken Variants (Spread/Aggravate)
    • For Quicken, the element that triggers the follow-up reaction (Electro for Aggravate or Dendro for Spread) determines the bonus damage type.
    • Building Elemental Mastery on the triggering character boosts the damage.

The image below is concise overview of all the reactions explained earlier in a simple and easy to understand tabular format (obtained from the genshin wiki).

image

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