Genshin Impact
How Do Elemental Reactions Work in Genshin Impact?
What happens when two elements meet on a target in Genshin Impact: bonus damage, crowd control, shields and the newer Lunar Reactions.
What are Elemental Reactions in Genshin Impact?
An Elemental Reaction happens when you hit a target that is already affected by one element with a different element. Genshin Impact has seven elements, and most pairs react: Pyro and Hydro cause Vaporize, Electro and Cryo cause Superconduct, Anemo spreads other elements with Swirl. Reactions are the core of combat, and building teams around them is how you deal the most damage.
Aura and trigger
The first element applied stays on the target as an aura. The next, different element is the trigger that starts the reaction. For some reactions the order doesn’t matter; for others, such as Vaporize and Melt, which element triggers changes how strong the reaction is.
Main reactions
| Reaction | Elements | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Vaporize | Pyro + Hydro | Multiplies the damage of the triggering hit. |
| Melt | Pyro + Cryo | Multiplies the damage of the triggering hit. |
| Overloaded | Pyro + Electro | Explosion that deals area Pyro damage. |
| Superconduct | Electro + Cryo | Area Cryo damage and lower Physical resistance. |
| Electro-Charged | Electro + Hydro | Repeated Electro damage over time. |
| Frozen | Cryo + Hydro | Immobilises the target. |
| Swirl | Anemo + Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo | Spreads the swirled element to nearby enemies. |
| Crystallize | Geo + Pyro, Hydro, Electro or Cryo | Creates a shard that gives a shield. |
| Burning | Dendro + Pyro | Continuous Pyro damage. |
| Bloom | Dendro + Hydro | Creates Dendro Cores, which can lead to Hyperbloom or Burgeon. |
| Quicken | Dendro + Electro | Quickened state that enables Spread and Aggravate. |
Reaction types
- Amplifying (Vaporize, Melt): multiply the damage of the hit that triggers them.
- Transformative (Overloaded, Superconduct, Electro-Charged, Swirl, Burning, Bloom and others): deal their own damage based on the triggering character’s level and Elemental Mastery.
- Additive (Spread, Aggravate): add flat bonus damage to Dendro or Electro hits on a Quickened target.
- Non-damage (Frozen, Crystallize, Quicken): give control, shields or a state that enables other reactions.
Lunar Reactions
Introduced in Version 5.8 and expanded in Nod-Krai, Lunar Reactions (Lunar-Charged, Lunar-Bloom and Lunar-Crystallize) replace Electro-Charged, Bloom and Crystallize when certain characters are in your party. Unlike most reactions, Lunar Reaction damage can land critical hits.
Example
Your Hydro character applies Hydro to a group of enemies. You switch to a Pyro character whose big attack triggers Vaporize, multiplying its damage. In the Spiral Abyss, building your two teams around reactions like this is often what earns the full stars.
Elemental Mastery and artifacts
Elemental Mastery increases reaction damage, and many artifact sets boost specific reactions. If you are stuck on the Abyss’s upper floors, our Abyssal Moon Spire service can clear them for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which element reacts with everything?
None reacts with all of them. Pyro, Hydro, Electro and Cryo react with most elements, while Geo and Anemo only react with those four.
What is the difference between Vaporize and Melt?
Vaporize combines Pyro and Hydro, Melt combines Pyro and Cryo. Both multiply the damage of the hit that triggers them.