Boss encounters are a staple for high-level play within the world of Genshin Impact, especially when playing Genshin Impact in co-op. Taking these enemies on can be incredibly difficult, even with a full team of players, and will require a fair amount of coordination and planning before even stepping into the arena. And the most important thing that players can do before beginning a boss encounter with their friends is to decide what Elements they need to bring with them.
Updated June 18, 2021 by Mina Smith: Genshin Impact continues to go through a wide array of updates, changes, and balances. The open-world RPG has gripped the gaming world and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Developers are busy adding more characters, locations, content, and bosses. Because of this, the following guide concerning elements and boss weaknesses has been updated for better clarity. This should help new and even veteran players to increase their DPS and survivability against some of the most challenging enemies in Genshin Impact.
Players that are familiar with Genshin Impact know that Elements play a huge role within the game's combat, and as such should be the first thing they should consider before hopping into a major boss fight. By combining different Elemental types together, Elemental Reactions occur causing major damage to the target. For example, using a Electro ability on an enemy affected by Hydro will cause them to become Electro-Charged, dealing constant Electro damage over time.
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While it might be difficult for Genshin Impact beginners to determine what exactly each Reaction does, it's worth pointing out that any Reaction that players can provoke will be helpful in the heat of combat. The easiest way to remember what types of Reactions that will occur is to think about how these Elements would work in real life. Fire will melt ice, water will conduct electricity, and water will vaporize fire.
There is one more item in boss battles: the role of Anemo and Geo characters. While these characters are neutral to all of the Elements, their abilities are by far the most versatile. Anmo characters (like the starting character and Venti) provide the Swirl Reaction, attaching themselves to the first Element they come in contact with and spreading it around the battlefield in order to provide more opportunities for devastating Reactions.
Geo characters (like Noelle and Ningguang) can create the Crystalize Reaction, taking the first Element it touches and creating an Elemental Shield for themselves and allies, allowing them to take less damage from the corresponding Element. So having a pocket Anemo or Geo character in a party could come in clutch in these encounters. Now with all of this being said, here are the current weeklies and field bosses, what Element they champion, and what the best counters for them are.
Dvalin, the massive Stormterror dragon that players seen with Venti at the beginning of the game, is one of the weekly bosses that resets every Monday at 4AM server. This mighty dragon is not an easy boss to defeat, mostly because it is an Anemo enemy without a real elemental weakness. This means that any combination of characters can be used, but it also means that no characters have a strict advantage. There is some strategy in the fight, however; here are some suggestions for party makeup.
- Element - Anemo
- Weakness - None
- Pyro, Hydro, or Electro DPS characters with high burst damage can help bring down Dvalin's shield
- Players should bring a support character for healing
- Ranged damage is the best against the Stormterror
Lupus Boreas is an icy wolf that is one of the four winds of Mondstadt. This icy boss is also called Andrius Dominator of Wolves or the Wolf of the North. The wolf is located in Wolvendom, Windwail Highland, Mondstadt, and will need one of several Elements to even deal damage to it.
- Element - Cryo
- Weakness - Pyro, Electro, and Geo
- Pyro, Electro, and Geo characters will needed to deal any damage to Lupus
- Cryo and Anemo characters cannot damage this boss, but may be brought for support
Unlike most of the other weekly bosses found in Genshin Impact, Childe does not have a wipe mechanic for players that take too long to kill him. This means that players have the opportunity to slowly break down his defenses while building their own. This unique situation means players can bring along more support units than usual to help protect their team from attacks.
- Element - Hydro and Electro
- Weakness - Pyro and Cryo
- Bring a character that can generate shields, like Genshin Impact's Noelle or Diona
- Pyro and Cryo DPS for elemental counter
- Ranged healer
Azhdaha is a weekly boss located in Nantianmen, Minlin, Liyue. He is an interesting and difficult character to fight, mostly because it constantly rotates with Element it is infused with as the fight continues. Players will want to have a diverse lineup in order to counter whatever this critter throws at them.
- Element - Hydro, Pyro, Cryo or Electro, or a combination of two of those elements
- Weakness - None
- Xiao is the best character to bring along, as she can deal damage no matter what phase Azhdaha is in.
- Diluc, Hu Tao, Klee, and Ganyu all are matched for a close second
- Ranged attacker
- Healer
Now onto the best builds for the field bosses of Genshin Impact. Field bosses are slow-to-respawn creatures that appear in fixed places on Teyvat's map. These first few will be Elemental Hypostatis bosses, which can also come in "Pure" Hypostatis form, making them an event boss. The first is Geo Hypostasis, an earth-powered boss that can be found in Guyun Stone Forest in Liyue.
- Element - Geo
- Weakness - Geo
- Any Geo character or character with a Claymore is recommended
Much like its Geo cousin, the Anemo Hypostatis is a field boss that also be in its Pure form, making it an Event boss. Either way, wind is a difficult element to counter. This boss is located near the ancient windy city of Mondstadt.
- Element - Anemo
- Weakness - None
- Any fast-moving character is good for this fight
- Players should learn the attacks, figuring out how to dodge each, then defeating this enemy is pretty easy.
This electro boss is also found in Mondstadt, and it is also a fairly easy fight once players learn the cube's attacks.
- Element - Electro
- Weakness - Pyro
- Bring a Geo character to break pillars
- Learn attacks and dodges to avoid damage
The final of the four cube bosses is Cryo Hypostatis. This icy cube is decorated with pale blue snowflakes, making it look rather harmless, but its Cryo attacks can leave players out in the cold. Not only does this boss accelerate the speed of Sheer Cold damage the party, but it can also heal itself. Getting rid of this cube as quickly as possible with fire is the best way to defeat it.
- Element - Cryo
- Weakness - Pyro
- This cube is completely immune to Cryo damage, but it can be melted by Pyro characters
- Superconduct is not a good reaction to aim for in the fight
- Players should level up the Frostbearing Tree and make a Genshin Impact Warming Bottle if they can before the fight
The Cryo Regisvines also has an Event form like the Hypostatis' called the Resurgent Cryo Regisvines. But in it's basic state, this chilling enemy is a field boss. Located in Falcon Coast, Mondstadt, this icy, flower-like being is like a giant Whopperflower made of cold.
- Element - Cryo
- Weakness - Pyro
- Using ranged Pyro DPS characters to aim for the jewel in its chest is the best way to fight
The Pyro Regisvines is basically the exact same as its Cryo counterpart, only fiery instead of icy. Players will want to also aim for the jewel center of this fire flower to take it down.
- Element - Pyro
- Weakness - Hydro and Cryo
- Pyro characters can help very little in this fight
- Players should focus on the Reactions Hydro and Cryo can bring to the party.
Oceanid is also known as Rhodeia of Loch, the Voice of the Water. She is located in Bishui Plain, Liyue. Unlike many of the other fights, this field boss uses Mimics to do her fighting, and players have to battle and damage to Mimics to damage her as well.
- Element - Hydro
- Weakness - Cryo, Pyro, Electro
- Players will want at least one ranged DPS for damaging flying Mimic
- Elemental Reactions, like Electro-charges and Frozen will be super important for this fight.
This boss can spawn in one of four different elements. Each element has its own counters, but players should be ready for any of them when encountering the Primo, located in Liyue.
- Element - Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro
- Weakness - Depends on Elements
- Players will want a shield character
- Players can peek into its lair as they come to it and see which color the creature's scales are. This will let them know what element the Primo will be.
Genshin Impact is available now on mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.
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