Just like how Sumeru introduced the Dendro element and Dendro playable characters in Genshin Impact 3.0, in 4.0 Fontaine players get more new mechanics introduced to the game which are unique to Fontaine and Fontain characters and enemies. Underwater elements aside, there’s a unique Arkhe energy system in Fontaine that is said to power a lot of the mechanisms and technology in the nation.
Arkhe can be of two types: Pneuma or Ousia. A lot of Fontaine’s mechanisms and technology use either of these two energies to sustain themselves even though they are unstable. As players, our job is to stabilise these mechanisms and puzzles using their opposite elements to bring them to a neutral Arkhe state. Characters and enemies in Fontaine also use one type of Arkhe in their elemental attacks and movesets.
Why You Should Build The Hydro Traveler and Lynette
Pneuma and Ousia are opposites of a spectrum and to deal with a certain Arkhe type, one must use their opposite to neutralise them. That’s where the Hydro Traveler and Lynette come in with Lynette using the Ousia Arkhe-type and the Traveler using the Pneuma Arkhe-type in his Hydro form.
Combat aside, you’ll need these characters in the overworld to counter many puzzles and mechanisms. If you don’t have hyper-invested characters or P2W damage, it’ll be difficult for you to clear the Fontaine abyss cycles without using Fontaine’s characters and their Arkhe-types.
It’s unfortunate that the Hydro Traveler is a mess of a unit as his only viable role will be in Fontaine and it’ll be a forced one. While Lynette is still a decent 4-star unit, she isn’t as good as her other Anemo peers like Heizou or Sucrose who do her job better than her. In terms of ranking, she’s of the same value as Sayu since they both can dish out decent Anemo and Swirl damage and both of them have a mobility feature which comes in handy in overworld exploration.
If you aren’t a fan of the Abyss or don’t usually take part in it then you can just skip building these characters for now until better alternatives arrive in upcoming updates. While that means holding off on a large part of your overworld and underwater exploration or using lower-levelled characters just for the puzzles, it’ll still be a massive save of your valuable resources.
