Drawing heavily from Nintendo's Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact offers players a large number of in-game bosses to track down and defeat. While a few strong ones are only available for combat once a week, other bosses like Geovishap Hatchlings will respawn across Teyvat daily.
Genshin Impact players on the hunt for Ascension materials have probably started to familiarize themselves with the myriad of Teyvat bosses and domains that provide these items. One such boss is the adorable Geovishap Hatchling. These Geo-aligned residents of Liyue possess unique defensive capabilities that make them a distinctly formidable foe.
Geovishap Hatchlings are burrowing porcupine-lizard, and Geo monsters, that will not only ground-pound but also dig towards opposing players. They have access to a powerful Geo shield that protects them from incoming damage, and up until now most players' strategies for countering this Elemental boss involved waiting for the lizard to drop some "Geo shards."
Every time a Geovishap Hatchling tunnels into the ground, it leaves behind two shards of Geo element. When picked up, these shards grant the player a handy Geo shield that can help defeat the Hatchling. Aside from protecting the player from danger, the shield will cause an attacking Geovishap Hatchling to fall onto its back, leaving it susceptible to damage. Needless to say, this method takes time, timing, and luck, especially for those who didn't already Wish for a Geo character like Noelle, who can produce shields herself.
However, Reddit user wfumbra has shared an effective counter-Hatchling technique for players to take advantage of. It seems that although Geovishap Hatchlings can stand in or near water with no issues, being underwater literally kills them. Of course, this may actually be a new bug in Genshin Impact, but for now players should feel free to rely on it as a strategy.
To exploit Hatchlings' weakness, players should draw an attacking Geovishap Hatchling to the water by jumping in. While swimming, the player will continue to draw attacks from the Hatchling until it decides to burrow. Once the Hatchling tunnels towards the player, they will instantly die and produce loot on the water's surface. This method is only possible if players are fighting a Geovishap Hatchling near water, but many of the locations favored by Geovishap Hatchlings are at least somewhat close to a body of water, so if need be players should be able to employ this technique in those encounters.
The spiny Geo lizards drop valuable Artifacts, like those from the Berserker and The Exile sets, but also give players the chance to collect unique Weapon Ascension materials. Powerful, affordable weapons like the Mappa Mare and Prototype Animus, for example, can't Ascend without the bone shards dropped by Geovishap Hatchlings.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, and PS4.