One of the reasons that the hit game Genshin Impact became so popular was its ability to make complex, yet simple to learn, mechanics. From a simple team composition system with a lot of components to lots of rare items, there's plenty for players to learn. However, of these interesting mechanics, one has proven infinitely important for combat matters: elemental reactions.

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There are seven elements in the Genshin Impact universe: Pyro, Cryo, Electro, Dendro, Geo, Anemo, and Hydro. Each of these elements has its own unique statuses and effects, however, where it gets fascinating are the elemental reactions created when two or more are combined.

Updated on July 24th, 2023, by Nahda Nabiilah: For around two years, Genshin Impact players were left to wonder what kind of reactions will they get when Dendro is finally released. Before then, they can only settle with the Burning reaction that triggers when Pyro meets Dendro. Fortunately, when Sumeru, the land of Dendro was released, so did the element. To celebrate, a free Collei is given to ensure players have easy access to the plant-element, along with the Traveler that can change their attribute by touching the corresponding Statue of the Seven. Additionally, a new Dendro character called Tighnari is also added to the Standard Banner, which is quite curious considering there's still no Geo unit there.

Table Of Elemental Reactions

Dendro Sub-Reactions

Vaporize

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 multiply 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.

However, despite Pyro having a lower multiplier, triggering Vaporize by hitting Hydro-affected enemies with Pyro takes less Hydro aura from the enemy as opposed to hitting Pyro-affected enemies with Hydro, which commonly consumes all Pyro aura.

Overloaded

Of Genshin Impact's high damage reactions, Overloaded is a little less common. The Overloaded reaction is triggered when Electro and Pyro combine.

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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 light opponents flying. Due to its crowd-control nature, players need to be careful when using this reaction; it'll be a waste of time if they end up having to chase enemies around as they're thrown to the other side of the battlefield.

Melt

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. Although, of course, Cryo commonly doesn't consume all Pyro aura, so characters like Ganyu can easily deal double Melt using her Charged Attack (one from her normal hit, and another from her Frostflake Bloom).

Electro-Charged

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. This is because both Hydro and Electro aura must persist together for the reaction to occur. The Electro-Charged will stop occurring once the aura is fully drained. In this way, a third elemental reaction can be used to further increase damage output. For instance, playing Electro-Charged + Superconduct can easily be done since the three Elements can exist together.

Frozen

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.

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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. However, note that some heavy hits like those done by claymore users or Geo element will trigger Shattered, which removes the Frozen debuff and deal Physical damage, scaling with the Elemental Mastery of the character that triggers the Shatter.

Superconduct

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.

However, the damage is negligible as the primary use for this reaction is to reduce the Physical resistance of enemies in the AoE. This effect lasts for 12 seconds for an effect of 40%, which is a perfect amount of time for Physical DPS characters like Eula.

Swirl

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 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 element will be applied to all opponents affected by Anemo. In this way, Genshin Impact players can create additional elemental reactions immediately after the Swirl reaction.

Crystallize

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.

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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.

Dendro-Related Reactions

Dendro has some of the most interesting reactions in Genshin Impact, mainly for the fact that it often has two-stages of the reaction. Here's a brief overview for each of them:

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1. Burning occurs when Pyro meets Dendro. The elemental reaction deals Pyro damage over an amount of time.
2. Bloom triggers when Dendro comes in contact with Hydro, which creates a Dendro Core that explodes after a few seconds. There's a limit on how many of these Cores can exist at once, and if players make more than the limit, then the previous ones will explode as well.
3. Hyperbloom requires Electro to touch Dendro Cores. The Cores will then turn into a homing bullet that flies to a target.
4. Burgeon explodes Dendro Cores with Pyro. Instead of homing, this damage will be dealt in a fixed AoE.
5. Quicken is a debuff that occurs when Electro meets Dendro. There's no damage from this, but it will enable Aggravate and Spread.
6. Aggravate happens when a Quickened enemy is hit by Electro. This gives a flat damage bonus to the original hit.
7. Spread triggers when a Quickened enemy is attacked with Dendro. Similar to Aggravate, Spread also grants a flat damage bonus. The base damage is slightly higher than Aggravate, though.

Genshin Impact is now available for mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.

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