Understanding Genshin Impact’s 7 Elements and Its Reactions and Resonances

Even though it is a Gacha game, Genshin Impact has many things going for it: An expansive open world to explore, a rollercoaster of a story to go through, and a unique combat system to master! And even when players finish exploring all the available areas and catch up to the story, it’s that reaction-based combat system that keeps them playing and challenging the Spiral Abyss.

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Elemental Reactions in Genshin Impact

There are currently seven elements in Genshin Impact: Pyro, Cryo, Hydro, Anemo, Electro, Dendro, and Geo. These elements react with each other to produce interesting instances of damage, where the damage scales off the Elemental Mastery stat. Let’s break down every elemental reaction each element is capable of triggering.

Forward Vaporize (Pyro-Triggered)

The (Forward) Vaporize reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Hydro, is inflicted by Pyro, dealing 1.5 times the damage on top of Elemental Mastery scaling. Forward Vaporize teams typically consist of Yelan/Xingqui as Hydro Applicators and Yoimiya/Hu Tao/Diluc as Pyro DPS for triggering said reaction.

Reverse Vaporize (Hydro-Triggered)

The (Reverse) Vaporize reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Pyro, is inflicted by Hydro, dealing 2 times the damage on top of Elemental Mastery scaling. Reverse Vaporize is more limited than its Forward counterpart in terms of Pyro Applicators available. Currently, Xiangling is the best Pyro Applicator in the game, and when paired with Hydro DPS characters like Childe/Kamisato Ayato, it does wonders.

Overload (Pyro-Triggered or Electro-Triggered)

The Overload reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Electro, is inflicted with Pryo or vice versa, causing an explosion. However, Overload on its own is not that good of a reaction as it knocks enemies away, making them harder to re-group, and only applies some elements at the end, neutralising everything. As such, Overload is usually treated more as a side dish in Overvape compositions.

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Forward Melt (Cryo-Triggered)

The (Forward) Melt reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Pyro, is inflicted by Cryo, dealing 1.5 times the damage on top of Elemental Mastery scaling. Similar to Reverse Vaporize teams, Forward Melt teams typically only consist of Xiangling as the sole Pyro Applicator, paired with a Cryo DPS, usually Ganyu, but a high-constellation Rosaria is a decent option as well.

Reverse Melt (Pyro-Triggered)

The (Reverse) Melt reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Cryo, is inflicted by Pyro, dealing 2 times the damage on top of Elemental Mastery scaling. Reverse Melt teams typically consist of Kaeya/Rosaria/Diona as Cryo Applicators and Lyney/Diluc as Pyro DPS for triggering said reaction.

Electro-Charged (Hydro-Triggered or Electro-Triggered)

The Electro-Charged reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Hydro, is inflicted with Electro or vice versa, causing damage over time. The interesting part about Electro-Charged is that enemies affected by it have the Hydro and Electro aura on them simultaneously, allowing for another element to be overlaid on top for an additional reaction. A Taser team with Sucrose/Heizou/Wanderer as a driver is a really good example of this.

Freeze (Hydro-Triggered or Cryo-Triggered)

The Freeze reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Hydro, is inflicted with Cryo or vice versa, inflicting the frozen effect temporarily. Freeze, by itself, does not deal damage, but the fact that you can perpetually keep enemies frozen while barraging them with raw damage is satisfying. This can make for some cheesy Spiral Abyss clears where the chambers are filled with non-boss enemies that can be frozen.

Superconduct (Electro-Triggered or Cryo-Triggered)

The Supderconduct reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Electro, is inflicted with Cryo or vice versa, shredding Physical resistance in an AoE by 40% for 12 seconds. This means that Cryo-Physical (Eula) or Electro-Physical DPS characters (Razor) can make the most out of Superconduct, but we have very few options in that regard. Superconduct is a good reaction, but unless we see more Physical DPS characters alongside Physical damage-enhancing supports, it’s not viable right now. 

Burning (Pyro-Triggered or Dendro-Triggered)

The Burning reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Dendro, is inflicted with Pryo or vice versa, causing damage over time. Burning, however, does not achieve high damage numbers on its own. In fact, there is no reason to run a Burning team solely when you could add in a Hydro applicator and do massive Burgeon damage.

Bloom (Hydro-Triggered or Dendro-Triggered)

The Bloom reaction occurs when a target, already affected by Hydro, is inflicted with Dendro or vice versa, causing Dendro cores to spawn. If these Dendro cores are left untouched, they explode to cause AoE Dendro damage. This damage can be further enhanced by a very specific character, Nilou, whose kit is built around enhancing Bloom damage. 

Hyperbloom (Electro-Triggered)

The Hyperbloom reaction occurs when a Dendro core comes into contact with Electro, causing the Dendro core to hone in on nearby enemies and deal Hyperbloom damage. A full EM Kuki Shinobu is the best for triggering Hyperbloom as her Sanctifying Ring gives consistent off-field Electro application alongside healing. With that said, it’s no surprise to see that Alhiatham Hyperbloom (Alhaitham, Yelan/Xingqui, Kuki Shinobu, Dendro Traveler/Nahida) is one of the best teams in the game right now.

Burgeon (Pyro-Triggered)

The Burgeon reaction occurs when a Dendro core comes into contact with Pyro, causing the Dendro core to explode immediately, causing AoE Dendro damage. Burgeon has enabled off-meta Pyro DPS characters like Diluc and Yanfei to take the spotlight once more. Simply build them for Elemental Mastery, and you should be good! Don’t forget to run a healer (Preferably Sangonomiya Kokomi because healing plus hydro application) since Burgeon is a double-edged sword.

Quicken/Spread/Aggravate (Electro-Triggered or Dendro-Triggered)

When an enemy affected by Dendro is inflicted by Electro or vice-versa, a Quicken aura is applied to the enemy. While the aura itself does not damage and decays over time, additional instances of Electro or Dendro damage have a flat damage bonus called Aggravate (1.15x) or Spread (1.25x), respectively. Since instances of damage matter more, rapid DPS characters like Tighnari (Dendro) and Keqing (Electro) are able to pull off massive damage numbers this way.

Swirl (Anemo-Triggered)

Swirl is a multi-faceted reaction that is triggered when an enemy affected by Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, or Electro is inflicted by Anemo, causing the said element to be re-applied in a larger range while dealing damage that scales off Elemental Mastery. This, coupled with the Viridescent Venerer artifact set, shreds the elemental resistance of the swirled element as well. So, ultimately, what we have are broken units like Kazuha, Sucrose, and low-investment Venti, who can swirl, crowd-control, and shred elemental resistances all at the same time.

Crystalize (Geo-Triggered)

Crystalize is also a multi-faceted reaction that is triggered when an enemy affected by Pyro, Hydro, Cryo, or Electro is inflicted by Geo, creating elemental shields whose durability scales off Elemental Mastery. While that does sound nice at first glance, Crystalize is actually the worst reaction in the game, as there are much better sources of shielding out there, with Layla, Thoma, Diona, Kirara, Baizhu, and Zhongli in the mix. What’s ironic is that Zhongli, even though a Geo character, has one of the best shields in the game, except that it comes from his Elemental Skill, not Crystalize.

Elemental Resonances in Genshin Impact

While Genshin Impact incentivises careful team-building in order to make the most out of the best reactions available, it also rewards pairing up characters of the same elements. This mechanic is called Elemental Resonance, where your party gains a buff based on the kinds of elements it is composed of.

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Fervent Flames (Pyro Resonance)

If your party has at least two Pyro characters, everyone will be affected by Cryo for 40% less time and have their ATK increased by 25%.

Soothing Water (Hydro Resonance)

If your party has at least two Hydro characters, everyone will be affected by Pyro for 40% less time and have their Max HP increased by 25%.

High Voltage (Electro Resonance)

If your party has at least two Electro characters, everyone will be affected by Hydro for 40% less time. Moreover, every Electro-triggered reaction (Superconduct, Overloaded, Electro-Charged, Quicken, Aggravate, or Hyperbloom) will always generate an Electro particle (Cooldown 5s).

Shattering Ice (Cryo Resonance)

If your party has at least two Cryo characters, everyone will be affected by Electro for 40% less time. Moreover, attacks that hit enemies who are either frozen or applied by Cryo will have a 15% bonus chance of dealing critical damage.

Impetuous Winds (Anemo Resonance)

If your party has at least two Anemo characters, everyone will have their stamina consumption decreased by 15%, movement speed increased by 10%, and Skill cooldown decreased by 5%.

Enduring Rock (Geo Resonance)

If your party has at least two Geo characters, the durability of any shield will increase by 15%. Moreover, every party member, while protected by a shield, will do 15% more damage, whereas their attacks will shred Geo resistance by 20% for 15 seconds.

Sprawling Greenery (Dendro Resonance)

If your party has at least two Dendro characters, everyone will gain 50 points of Elemental Mastery. Moreover, triggered weak Dendro-based reactions (Burning, Quicken, and Bloom) will increase everyone’s Elemental Mastery by 30 points for 6 seconds, while strong Dendro-based reactions (Aggravate, Spread, Hyperbloom, and Burgeon) will increase everyone’s Elemental Mastery by 20 points for 6 seconds. These two effects can stack.

Protective Canopy (No Resonance)

If your party has no resonance, meaning all the elements are unique, then everyone will have their Elemental resistances, including Physical, increase by 15%

Conclusion

In conclusion, Genshin Impact has a very complex combat system that makes team-building all the more fun. The fact that you have to keep track of elemental reactions and resonances when assembling any viable team makes for limitless permutations with which you can clear the Spiral Abyss. So, make sure to farm Primogems and expand your roster of characters to unlock more team compositions!

Frequently Asked Questions

Whose Elemental Mastery Is Taken Into Account?

When triggering a reaction, the Elemental Mastery of the character triggering the reaction is taken into account during damage calculation. This applies to both on-field reactions (Such as Diluc vaporising with his Elemental Burst, Dawn) and off-field reactions (Such as Kuki Shinobu triggering Hyperbloom with her Sanctifying Ring). 

What Is an Overvape Composition?

As we established, Electro-Charged allows both the Hydro and Electro aura to co-exist on the same enemy. This means that if you were to overlay that with Pyro, it would trigger both Overload and Forward Vaporize, which is the main idea behind Overvape compositions. A very good example of an Overvape team is Raiden National, with Xingqui and Xiangling providing off-field Hydro and Pyro applications, respectively, and Raiden Shogun providing both on-field and off-field Electro applications. 

What Are Good Freeze Teams?

Currently, there are two freeze teams that are highly used in the Spiral Abyss. The first is Ayaka freeze, with Ayaka built as a Cryo DPS, Shenhe/Rosaria/Diona as a Cryo Sub-DPS (Alongside Cryo Resonance), Mona/Sangonomiya Kokomi/Barabara as an off-field Hydro applicator (Alongside Healing) and Kazuha/Sucrose/Venti as an Anemo crowd-controller (With Viridescent Venerer). The second, although a lot less versatile, is Wanderer freeze with Wanderer as an Anemo DPS, Faruzan as an Anemo crowd controller (Alongside significantly buffing Wanderer’s damage), Yelan/Xingqui for off-field aggressive Hydro application, and Layla for Cryo application (Alongside Shielding).