Possible Elemental Reactions
If you’re looking for the ultimate guide for Genshin Impact elements and elemental reactions for the combination of the seven elements, you’re right here.
In this guide, we’ll talk about the 7 elements and the elemental reactions between any two of them. We’ll also talk about the element weakness, Elemental Resonance, and the performance of making use of different elements in your team.
Genshin Impact Elements - Seven Types
There are seven Genshin Impact elements in the game, including Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, Electro, Anemo, Geo, and Dendro. Each element has its own status effect for the characters who own their visions, except the Anemo and Geo.
Each element has a natural vision: Pyro (fire), Geo (earth), Dendro (nature), Cryo (ice), Electro (lightning), Anemo (wind), and Hydro (water).
Characters with their own vision will have their own attacks and damages in the game.
For the most part, the 7 elements don’t cause much harm, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth inflicting.
In battle, Genshin Impact elements combine to create powerful elemental reactions which you can use to devastate your foes.
The Genshin Impact elements are important when you plan to build your own team. You need to consider the elements of your teammates. The elemental affinities of your team members also passively combine into Elemental Resonance bonuses, giving you various different buffs if you have multiple characters of the same or different elemental types.
7 Elements List and All Characters With Each Element
Genshin Impact Hydro (Water)
Effective against Pyro enemies
Possible Elemental Reactions
- Vaporize
- Electro-Charged
- Frozen
- Swirl
- Crystallized
Characters with Hydro Element
Genshin Impact Dendro (Nature)
Besides Burning, there are currently no other reactions with Dendro
Possible Elemental Reactions
- Burning
Characters with Dendro Element
- None
Genshin Impact Elemental Reactions
What is Elemental Reaction?
In the game, the only way to trigger Genshin Impact elemental reaction is to make two elements contact each other.
Depending on the specific element, the effect can be performed in four aspects: added burst damage bonus, negative buffs, area of effect damage, or damage over time.
Some monsters such as slimes, already have an innate element, and casting an elemental skill will trigger a reaction right away.
However, there are also monsters with no element and you can forcefully trigger a reaction by casting two different elements in succession.
To give you an overview, here are the types of elements available in the game and the possible elemental reactions you can trigger.
Genshin Impact Elemental Reactions Chart and Table
The Genshin Impact Elemental Reactions
Swirl
Anemo + Cryo, Hydro, Electro, or Pyro
When an Anemo attack hits one of these elements, it will create a Swirl, spreading the element over a larger area and dealing area-of-effect damage.
The Swirl reaction is one of the most flexible elemental reactions in Genshin Impact. A Swirl reaction cannot be utilized unless the elements in the reaction are applied in a specific order: first the catalyst element (Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, or Electro) then Anemo.
However, despite this narrow application, Swirl is one of the best reactions for creating massive chains of elemental reactions, as the catalyst element will be applied to all opponents affected by Anemo.
In this way, in addition to added damage from the catalyst element from the swirl reaction, Genshin Impact players can create additional elemental reactions immediately after the Swirl reaction.
Crystallise
Geo + Cryo, Electro, Hydro, or Pyro
Using a Geo attack on one of these elements will drop a Crystal, which can be picked up to provide a shield that protects against elemental damage of that type.
To be fair, Crystallize is the only defensive elemental reaction in Genshin Impact to date.
Combining Cryo, Hydro, Electro, and Pyro with Geo, the elemental reaction has the effect of creating a shield around members of the player’s team.
This makes it a great support reaction, despite it not causing any additional damage in itself.
Players are recommended to utilize the Crystallize reaction with teams prone to taking a lot of damage or with characters that aren’t built with defense in mind.
Overload
Electro + Pyro
Combining Electro and Pyro damage in any order creates a large AoE explosion of Pyro damage.
Of Genshin Impact’s high damage reactions, Overloaded is a little less common. The Overloaded reaction is triggered when Electro and Pyro combine.
While uncommonly used (because Electro using characters are used less than other elements), the Overloaded reaction can be especially devastating against both crowds and individual opponents.
The reaction causes an area-of-effect Pyro explosion, often sending opponents flying.
Superconduct
Electro + Cryo
Combining Electro and Cryo attacks in any order deals area-of-effect Cryo damage to enemies in the area and also reduces their physical defense by 50%.
Superconduct is an interesting reaction in that it uses a complex set of effects to increase damage output. By combining Cryo and Electro, the elemental reaction will deal area-of-effect Cryo damage to nearby opponents.
In addition, enemies in the area of effect will also have a physical resistance debuff. This effect lasts for 12 seconds for an effect of 40%, which is a perfect amount of time for physical DPS characters like Eula.
Electro-Charged
Electro + Hydro
When these two elements combine, Electro damage is dealt twice to the target, before bouncing between all wet characters in an AoE.
Few elemental reactions target crowds of enemies in Genshin Impact as the Electro-Charged reaction does. Created with a simple combination of Electro and Hydro, Electro-Charged works better when there are more enemies present.
Unlike other elemental reactions, the Electro-Charged reaction can allow for a third element to be applied. In this way, a second elemental reaction can be used to further increase damage output.
Melt
Pyro + Cryo
If a Cryo attack is cast on Pyro, the Melt effect deals an additional 1.5x Cryo damage – conversely, if a Pyro attack is cast on Cryo, Melt does 2x Pyro damage.
Unlike Overloaded, the Melt reaction is among Genshin Impact’s most used reactions. The reaction is triggered by combining Pyro and Cryo attacks, making the reaction very accessible given how many characters belong to these elements.
Melt reactions work like the Vaporize reaction by applying a damage multiplier based on the triggering reaction. Cryo applies a 1.5 multiplier while Pyro applies a 2 multiplier, so using a Pyro character for the second attack will optimize damage output.
Vaporise
Pyro + Hydro
If a Pyro attack is cast on Hydro, Vaporise deals 1.5x Pyro damage. If Hydro is cast on Pyro, Vaporise does 2x Hydro damage.
One of the most basic reactions in Genshin Impact, Vaporize reactions are created when Pyro meets Hydro (or vice versa.) Among Hydro reactions, this reaction is an especially heavy-hitting elemental reaction.
Vaporize reactions are a special reaction in Genshin Impact because they increase the damage of the triggering attack (the second attack to hit the opponent). That said, players need to be aware that the triggering attack will have a different damage multiplier; Pyro has a 1.5 multiplier while Hydro has a 2 multiplier.
Frozen
Cryo + Hydro
Freezes the target. If the frozen target is hit by a Claymore, a Sword Plunge Attack, or Geo DMG (excluding Catalyst user’s Plunge), it will cause Shattered. Shattering a frozen target will deal with additional Physical DMG.
The Frozen reaction in Genshin Impact isn’t a DPS elemental reaction by itself, rather it’s a handicap used to make fighting opponents easier. In other words, the elemental reaction formed between Hydro and Cryo does not deal any additional damage.
However, in place of damage, the Frozen reaction does exactly what it sounds like; it freezes opponents in place for a brief moment, making it impossible for them to attack. This reaction is perfect for bow and catalyst users that are prone to interruptions, and for claymore users, which will have increased damage against frozen opponents.
Burning
Dendro + Pyro
Deals Pyro DMG over time. Grass is considered a Dendro object and will spread the burn effect around the area.
Currently, Burning is the only known elemental reaction in Genshin Impact that players cannot access on their own.
Burning occurs when Pyro meets Dendro, so it won’t be easily usable until a Dendro character is released; until then, players can only use the Dendro effects of Dendro Samachurl to cause the effect.
That said, Burning has the most potential as a DPS reaction. The elemental reaction deals Pyro damage over an amount of time in a similar manner to the Electro-Charged reaction.
Genshin Impact is now available for mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.
Transformative Reactions
Overloaded, Electro-Charged, Superconduct, and Swirl predicted base damage comparison. The difference in the comparison may be visually misleading: Swirl and Superconduct have significant effects, and Electro-Charged procs twice.
- Transformative Reactions include Overloaded, Shattered, Electro-Charged, Superconduct, and Swirl.
These reactions have a base damage determined by the level of the character triggering the reaction. - This base damage is then multiplied by a percentage determined by the Elemental Mastery of the character. The percentage can be seen in-game in the Details section of the Attributes page.
- The damage from these reactions cannot crit and is only based on level, meaning ATK, Crit Rate and Crit Damage have no impact. However, the damage is affected by the target’s elemental resistance.
- Since Superconduct has the lowest base damage, the other reactions can be expressed in multiplicative term of Superconduct base damage. For Superconduct, Swirl, Electro-Charged, Shattered and Overloaded, these values are approximately 1: 1.2: 2.4: 3: 4 respectively. So it can be said, for example, that Overloaded base damage is approximately 4× Superconduct base damage (all other factors being equal).
- The reaction damage will be an additional instance of damage on top of the damage from the skill, making it difficult to discern due to the overlapping damage displayed values.
Amplifying Reactions
- Amplifying Reactions include Vaporize and Melt.
- Unlike transformative reactions, Melt and Vaporize replace the damage of the attack(s) that triggered them.
- These reactions multiply damage of existing attacks by either 1.5× or 2× depending on which element triggers the reaction.
- Damage from these reactions can be critical and considers the target’s elemental resistance.
- The damage is multiplied again by a percentage determined by the Elemental Mastery of the character. The percentage can be seen in-game in the Details section of the Attributes page.
- The bonus % to Vaporize and Melt is roughly half of that to Overloaded, Superconduct, Electro-Charged, Shattered, and Swirl; though, the damage being multiplied can be much greater than the base damage of the other reactions.
- 1.5× reactions will tend to preserve the initial element for multiple hits, while 2× reactions will tend to immediately remove the initial element.
Genshin Impact Elemental Resonance
There are currently five Elemental Resonances available:
Fervent Flames
Pyro + Pyro
Affected by Cryo for 40% less time and increases attack by 25%.
Soothing Water
Hydro + Hydro
Affected by Pyro for 40% less time. Increases incoming healing by 30%.
Impetuous Winds
Anemo + Anemo
Decreases Stamina consumption by 15%. Increases movement speed by 10% and shortens skill cooldown by 5%.
High Voltage
Electro + Electro
Affected by Hydro for 40% less time. Superconduct, Overloaded, and Electro-Charged have a 100% chance to generate an Electro Elemental Particle (with a five-second cooldown).
Enduring Rock
Geo + Geo
Increases resistance to interruption. When protected by a shield, increases attack damage by 15%.
Protective Canopy
Any four unique elements
All elemental resistances and physical resistance increased by 15%.
Do Elemental Reactions and Resonances Affect Team Building In Genshin Impact?
Try to build your team for the best attack performance, you should know how Elemental Reactions would put your team at an advantage. If you’re relying on a singular DPS, you should try to bolster what they can do with Elemental Resonance.
There’s no single best team for every situation, but a basic knowledge of how elements work in the game should be in your back pocket any time you enter the fray in Genshin Impact.
What Is Elemental Mastery In Genshin Impact?
The character who performs the second attack will cause the Elemental Reaction. The damage will be determined by the triggering character’s Elemental Mastery stat.
For example, if you use the Elemental Burst of Venti to combine his Swirl effect with a lingering element, the reactions will scale off Venti’s Elemental Mastery.
The higher your Elemental Mastery, the more damage Venti’s Swirl will deal.
Monster’s Elemental Shields, Armors and Element Weaknesses
Elemental Shields
Monsters with no innate element still can cast an elemental shield around them. Like the effect of the Crystallized reaction, these shields will block all incoming damage until the shield breaks.
Players can break the elemental shield by attacking with the character’s elemental skills. Characters that use Catalyst as their weapon can also break shields by using only their normal attack.
The elemental reaction also works with shields.
Keep in mind though that while you can break the shield by using just about any kind of elemental skill, the shield has elements it is strong and weak against.
Element Weaknesse
The shield works like elemental immunity and will take very little damage if you use the same type of element. However, if you try to break the shield using an element it is weak against, you can break it much faster than using any other elements.
Therefore when dealing with elemental shields, you should forget about elemental reactions and just focus on bursting the element they are weak against.
Here are all the known shields monsters cast in the game and their weaknesses.
Elemental Shield Type
- Pyro (Fire)
- Hydro (Water)
- Cryo (Ice)
- Electro
- Geo
Elemental Weakness
- Hydro (Water)
- Cryo (Ice)
- Pyro (Fire)
- Cryo (Ice)
- Geo
Elemental Armors
You will also encounter some monsters that can cast elemental armour buffs. Unlike elemental shields, armors only reduce some damage from your attack including physical attacks.
And while elemental reactions also work on armors, physical attacks can also break elemental armors. But it is not as effective as using elemental attacks. It will take you a really long time if you attempt to break the armour only using physical attacks.
You can tell if the monster has an elemental armour if you see another bar under their HP bar. The colour of that bar represents the type of elemental armour it has. It’s the same colour as the in-game icons I’ve listed above so it is easy to tell which is which.
Anyway, you can easily break this armour by using the same element weakness chart above.
