Genshin Impact Version 3.0 is finally out and we have our first impressions of the new Dendro element. Genshin Impact has always aimed for the seven-element gameplay system except Dendro was largely absent for the first 3 primary regions of the game. We finally have the missing piece which is Dendro and it’s interesting, to say the least.
Why Dendro will Change the Meta
Dendro reactions scale off of EM and character level. Additionally, Dendro feels like a versatile DMG-buffing reaction element similar to Anemo. Dendro best reacts with Hydro and Electro. The new Dendro artifacts released in the new domain are also handmade for Dendro characters. Finally, even though Dendro doesn’t react with Cryo, Anemo or Geo, it does synergise well with Anemo due to the ability of Swirls being able to spread the other elements to surrounding enemies.
Dendro’s reactions with Pyro are awkward because they are one-hit explosives and Burning doesn’t do reliable damage without heavy EM investment. Additionally, Burning also reduces the elemental effects of other elements on the enemies affected by it. This is inconvenient as usually, you’ll want to chain your reactions and continually damage mobs of enemies. A single Burgeon reaction reduces the efficacy of all the other elements in the Dendro dynamic and it usually isn’t enough to take out a mob of enemies.
As for Hydro and Electro- they are a blast to use. Hydro causes bloom which can cause Hyperbloom or Spread. Electro causes Quicken which increases the efficacy and damage of the next Electro or Dendro hit which may cause either Aggravate or Spread- though it doesn’t matter as both deal additional Dendro damage. Dendro might finally bring Electro into the dps-meta. As for Hydro, it increases the versatility of Hydro even more than it already was.
Quicken and Bloom comps are also easy-to-use as you don;t have to worry much about rotations and just cause the elements to react. It’s advisable to have an average of 150-200 EM on all your characters in such teams but other than that you can just about use any rotation as all characters will cause reactions.
We’re looking at a lot of Quicken, Bloom and Hyperbloom teams in the future unless Sumeru has better Pyro units to offer that can properly use the Burgeon reaction. With more Dendro characters in the future, we’re looking at a meta where Dendro holds the same viability as Anemo as per a player’s needs. While Anemo is known for its crowd control, Dendro will be known for its reactions.