Elemental Reactions are an integral part of combat and team building in Genshin Impact. When putting a team together, you need to consider what Reaction that you want to trigger. But not all reactions are equal in strength. The strength of a reaction depends on both the damage potential of the reaction itself and the strength of the characters who can trigger that reaction. So read on to see the best Elemental Reactions in Genshin Impact!
10. Bloom (Hydro + Dendro)
Hydro plus Dendro generates Dendro Cores. If these Cores aren’t detonated by Electro or Pyro to trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon, after a short time they will detonate and deal Bloom damage. Here are the key facts about Bloom damage:
- Bloom teams in general are weaker than Hyperbloom or Burgeon teams. However, Nilou upgrades Dendro Cores into Bountiful Cores. These Cores detonate more quickly and deal increased damage. Especially in AoE content, Nilou Bloom teams are extremely strong. Without Nilou, however, you’re often better off slotting in an Electro or Pyro character for Hyperbloom or Burgeon.
- If you really want to run a Bloom team without Nilou, Kaveh can be used to detonate Dendro Cores more quickly.
9. Electro-Charged (Hydro + Electro)
When Hydro and Electro meet, you get Electro-Charged. Electro-Charged will deal damage to enemies and apply a damage over time debuff to them. If you want to build an Electro-Charged team, this is what you need to consider:
- Electro-Charged is a transformative reaction, so the damage is based on your character’s level Elemental Mastery, and the enemy’s Elemental resistance (in this case Electro resistance). This means that your character’s attack and the enemy defense don’t impact the damage calculation.
- Electro-Charged has decent AoE potential, because when Electro-Charged is triggered it will also deal damage to nearby enemies currently affected by Hydro.
- There are plenty of very strong characters available for Electro-Charged teams. Strong Hydro options include Neuvillette, Furina, Xingqui, and Yelan. Electro characters include Raiden Shogun, Fischl, Yae Miko, and Beidou. Even though Electro-Charged doesn’t have a particularly high multiplier, these teams can still be pretty strong thanks to the raw damage potential of the best Hydro and Electro characters.
8. Burning (Dendro + Pyro)
Dendro and Pyro combine to trigger Burning. When an enemy is Burning, they take Pyro damage over time. Burning can be used in these ways:
- One of the most popular ways to utilize Burning is in a Melt team. Off-field Pyro characters are limited, so triggering a Burning reaction with Nahida’s Skill instead to keep a Pyro aura on enemies for your Cryo character to Melt is a great alternative.
- Keep in mind that Burning can also deal damage to your own characters.
- Emilie is a Dendro off-field DPS that deals a lot of damage when Burning is triggered, and Kinich can also utilize burning to deal high damage. Nahida is also a great off-field Dendro option for Burning, particularly in Melt teams alongside the likes of Ganyu or Wriothesley. Bennett, Xiangling, and Dehya are some Pyro characters who can work well in Burning teams.
7. Melt (Cryo + Pyro)
Melt is a strong reaction that triggers with Pyro and Cryo. It ranks lower than Vaporize, however, because there are fewer Cryo characters who can keep up with Pyro, especially when it comes to off-field options. Keep in mind these facts about Melt:
- Melt has strong multipliers, so in the right teams the potential for damage output is high.
- As previously mentioned, Burning can be utilized in Melt teams alongside an on-field Cryo character like Ganyu or Wriothesley.
- On-field Pyro DPS characters like Hu Tao or Arlecchino can be slotted into Melt teams. Off-field Cryo options are more limited, but the likes of Diona or Kaeya can work.
6. Freeze (Cryo + Hydro)
When Cryo and Hydro meet, Freeze is triggered and enemies are frozen in place. In the right teams, Freeze is an insanely strong reaction that can keep enemies locked from moving. Here’s what you need to know:
- Some enemies, notably bosses, have Freeze immunity. This is the reaction’s primary weakness and why it doesn’t rank higher.
- If you’re using the Blizzard Strayer artifact set on your Cryo character, enemies being frozen will give you a nice crit rate bonus.
- Ayaka is the premier on-field Cryo character for Freeze teams, but Ganyu or Wriothesley can also work. Shenhe is the best support character for amplifying your Cryo damage. Lastly, you’ll need Hydro from the likes of Kokomi, Xingqui, Yelan, or Furina.
5. Burgeon (Dendro + Hydro + Pyro)
When Hydro meets Dendro, it produces Dendro Cores. When Pyro is applied, the cores immediately detonate and deal AoE Dendro damage. Here’s what you need to know about Burgeon:
- Burgeon has the potential to deal very high AoE damage. You’ll need to keep in mind that when Burgeon is triggered, the Cores will damage your on-field character as well. Without a strong healer, it can be easy for your own team to take too much self-inflicted Burgeon damage. As long as you plan accordingly, Burgeon teams can make very short work of AoE combat.
- You’ll need to make sure that you have enough Hydro application to keep up with the Dendro and Pyro. Not enough, and you’ll end up triggering the weaker Burning reaction instead. Characters like Xingqui, Kokomi, and Yelan are solid Hydro options, but keep in mind that depending on the rest of your team you may need to slot in 2 Hydro characters.
- Alhaitham and Nahida are two of the strongest characters in the game, and using either of them as your Dendro option will lead to very high damage output. Kinich is also a particularly strong character in Burgeon teams, as his kit is tailored for teams that trigger Burning and Burgeon. Yaoyao and especially Baizhu are great options for off-field Dendro who can also heal your team.
- Off-field Pyro options are limited to Thoma and Xiangling. Thoma is a particularly good Burgeon trigger if he stacks Elemental Mastery! The Burgeon damage will scale on the level and EM of your Pyro character.
4. Quicken (Dendro + Electro)
When Dendro and Electro are applied to enemies, they become Quickened. Attacking a Quickened enemy with Electro triggers Aggravate, and attacking with Dendro triggers Spread. Keep the following in mind when building a Quicken team:
- Aggravate and Spread are both reactions that scale very well with high Elemental Mastery. The base multiplier for Spread is very slightly higher than the base multiplier for Aggravate, but the difference is negligible.
- Tighnari and Alhaitham are two of the best on-field Dendro characters for Spread teams and can be run alongside off-field Electro like Fischl or Yae Miko.
- Keqing, Cyno, and Clorinde are great on-field Electro characters for Aggravate. Nahida is the best off-field Dendro source to pair them with, but Dendro Traveller, Baizhu, or Yaoyao can work as well.
3. Vaporize (Pyro + Hydro)
Vaporize is a very strong reaction that occurs when Pyro meets Hydro. It’s one of the strongest reactions in the game in large part due to the very strong roster of Pyro and Hydro characters to choose from. Keep these points in mind when building a Vaporize team:
- Vaporize teams usually consist of an on-field Pyro DPS like Hu Tao or Arlecchino and off-field Hydro applicators like Xingqui or Yelan. Sometimes 2 Hydro characters are run in the same team to ensure that every Pyro attack Vaporizes.
- If you’re looking for an on-field Hydro option for Vaporize, Childe is particularly good when run alongside Xiangling.
2. Hyperbloom (Dendro + Hydro + Electro)
When Electro comes into contact with Dendro Cores, they immediately detonate and trigger Hyperbloom. Hyperbloom is a very strong reaction, and building a strong Hyperbloom team is pretty easy to do. These are the important facts to keep in mind for Hyperbloom teams:
- Hyperbloom can deal a lot of damage, particularly in single target fights. Hyperbloom can damage your active character, but because its AoE isn’t as big as Burgeon you likely won’t take as much damage as you would running a Burgeon team.
- Hyperbloom damage will scale on the level and Elemental Mastery of your Electro character. Kuki Shinobu is a great option for an off-field Hyperbloom trigger thanks to her Skill. Cyno makes for a great on-field option with solid raw damage in addition to the Hyperbloom triggers.
- Nahida is, as usual, the prime off-field Dendro character. An on-fielder like Alhaitham can be slotted in as well.
- There are a lot of great Hydro characters! Xingqui, Yelan, and Furina are all amazing choices for Hyperbloom teams.
1. Swirl (Anemo + Hydro, Pyro, Electro, or Cryo)
Swirl is triggered when Anemo meets any Swirlable element: Hydro, Pyro, Electo, or Cryo. It’s a very flexible reaction that often works in tandem with other reactions that depend on elements that can be Swirled. Here’s what you need to know:
- Swirl damage scales on the level and EM of the Anemo character. Stacking EM is very important for maximizing Swirl damage.
- Swirl can be used to spread an element in AoE. If one enemy in a group is affected by a Swirlable element, then Swirl can be used to apply that element to the other enemies nearby.
- Most notably, Swirl is used to activate the extremely strong Viridescent Venerer artifact set. If your Anemo character is holding this set, then when they Swirl an element the opponent is inflicted with 40% decreased resistance to that element for 10 seconds. This is a huge buff for any team that relies on Hydro, Pyro, Electro, or Cryo damage.
- Kazuha is the premier Swirl support thanks to his strong grouping and damage buffs for the rest of your team. Venti is a very strong option as well, providing strong grouping and energy support. Lastly, Sucrose is also a very solid option - her grouping is weaker than Kazuha and Venti, but the EM buff is great in teams that can make use of it.
