The best elemental reactions in Genshin Impact

Water, earth, fire, air and even ice and electricity because this is not Avatar: The Last Airbender but Genshin Impact. In any case, just one item in Genshin Impact is not enough. The game's combat system has been set up in such a way that no one element can do everything for you. It goes without saying that a variety of items are better, especially for anyone tired of their seemingly low DPS output.

These combos or reactions, as the game calls them, occur when two or more elements combine with each other. Knowing what each element does can be important for anyone trying to defeat more difficult enemies alone or otherwise. Using elemental reactions can also make the difference between fast runs and grueling endurance fights.

Updated October 15, 2024 by Sanyam Jain: With the number of reactions that exist in Genshin Impact, it is evident that some of them are significantly more powerful than others. Thankfully, Hoyoverse has tried to bring some of the less popular reactions back into the meta with some specific character kits.

11 Superconductor

When electrum meets cryo

Electricity meeting ice might not be the best thing in real life, but it's a pretty important reaction in Genshin Impact since it's the only reaction that affects physical DMG. Creates an explosion that greatly reduces the physical RES of all enemies.

This is why you will see various characters who can be good at being a physical DPS belonging to these two elements as Eula, Keqing, RazorAND Kaeya. Unfortunately, it may not be as fun to use this combination as the others in the game.

10 Burning

When Dendro meets Pyro

Burning has been in a rather unfortunate situation since the release of Genshin Impact as it isn't that great to use due to the fairly lower damage, but it's also one of the more frustrating reactions to deal with in the open world as your characters can constantly come burned if Pyro and Dendro are involved.

Thankfully, this reaction is now in the meta with the release of characters like Emily AND Kinichwho use it directly to enhance their abilities. The former directly increases his damage on a burning enemy while the latter can gain extra Nightsoul points from him, making this reaction feasible specifically for these characters.

9 Overload

When Pyro meets electronics

Area attacks are valuable as they minimize the time it takes to grind and deal with multiple enemies. In this regard, Electro and Pyro are indispensable and are powerful bombs. The combination of both can produce high-powered explosives that deal area damage and knock enemies back.

Overload is basically a big pyrotechnic attack that also deals a lot of damage. The characters that use these elements happen to be certified DPS beasts like Razor, Keqing, Diluc, Klee, and even Xiangling. You can also significantly increase the value of this reaction, if you have it Chevreuse in your party

8 Flowering

When Dendro meets hydro

Bloom is the only reaction in the game that spawns a separate entity that deals damage on the field. Each time this reaction activates, a Dendro Core is generated which explodes after a few seconds to deal DMG to Dendro in a small AoE. Unfortunately, this reaction isn't the best in itself.

However, HoYoverse released a character specifically to make this reaction work in the form of Nile. If you have it, Bloom might be one of your best reactions as it can generate special Bountiful Cores that explode instantly and deal much more damage.

7 Electrocharged

When hydro meets electronics

For pure continuous DPS that is more viable than just Pyro alone, combining good old electricity with water just like you learned in elementary school, is an interesting reaction. Allows players to deal graduated Electric DMG to any enemy caught in the rain. The status and ongoing damage will then quickly spread to other enemies and hurl them.

That's the beauty of this reaction: it's cheap and easily available just because of weather effects. It makes electronic-only solo setups viable, especially with common four-star favorites like Razor or Beidou. It also allows these characters to synergize well with cheap healers like Barbara.

6 Hyperflowering

When electronics meets Dendro Core

The Hyperbloom reaction is essentially an extension of the Bloom reaction mentioned above, but it deserves a place of its own due to the high value it provides. If you manage to apply Electro to one of the Dendro Cores generated by Bloom, it converts them into a particle that chooses a random enemy and deals massive damage to them.

This makes the Bloom reaction viable without Nilou, but keep in mind that Hyperbloom cannot function with the Bountiful Cores generated by her. This reaction is great for fighting both smaller groups of enemies and single target bosses. The best part is that you don't have to suffer any damage in the process.

5 Frozen

When cryotherapy meets hydro

Aside from pure physical attacks charged by some weapons, there aren't many ways to stun enemies in Genshin Impact and take them out of combat for several precious seconds. Therefore, the Frozen reaction is invaluable and is probably one of the most used. The effect is pretty self-explanatory, enemies stop in their tracks no matter what they're doing.

Just like Electro-Charged, it is also common due to how often it rains in the game. It also makes cryogenic-only parties viable. Frozen works as both a defensive and offensive combo as it leaves enemies exposed to several seconds of pounding. The best part is that it's easy to chain and activate for longer periods.

4 Loose

When Pyro meets Cryo

Melting is easily one of the strongest reactions in the game, and if done correctly, can easily take the place of any of the other reactions mentioned above on this list. The reaction is triggered when Pyro is applied to Cryo or vice versa, but does nothing on its own. It simply increases the DMG of the attack that triggers this reaction.

This increase in DMG is nothing to ignore as it essentially doubles the DMG if Pyro is the element triggering the reaction. Unfortunately, there aren't many Cryo applicators out in the game, making this reaction a bit difficult to use.

3 Vortex

When Anemo meets Cryo, Pyro, Hydro or Electro

One of the statistical reasons why Kaedehara Kazuha he's such a powerful character that he has a massive area-of-effect Anemo attack, which, when paired with any element except Geo or Dendro, produces a cavalcade of elemental attacks that also deal area-of-effect damage.

The main character has this too, but to a lesser extent. In any case, combining wind with ice, fire, electricity or water results in a rainbow explosion that no enemy can resist because usually everyone is only resistant to one type of damage.

2 Speed ​​up

When electronics meets Dendro

Released alongside Dendro in the version 1.4 update, this reaction quickly climbed the meta ladder in Genshin Impact. Instead of being a direct reaction, Quicken involves a chain of reactions that can easily eliminate any enemy in front of you if you use it correctly.

When Electro and Dendro meet, the Quicken reaction is triggered. After this reaction, the next Electric or Dendro attack on the enemy activates Aggravation and Spread respectively. These reactions, just like Vaporize and Melt, greatly increase the damage of this attack. Dendro Resonance makes this reaction even better by providing a little extra Elemental Mastery.

1 Vaporize

When Pyro meets Hydro

Finally, the Vaporize reaction easily takes the crown as the best reaction in the game with the ability to make even healers deal over 50,000 DMG. This reaction activates when Pyro and Hydro are applied to the same enemy and increases the damage of the attack by triggering this reaction massively.

It is essentially the same as Melt, but the reason it is so much higher is the availability of phenomenal off-field Hydro applicators like Xingqiu, YelanAND Furina. These characters combined with a monster like Hu Tao and Hydro Resonance can easily make you win the entire game.