Electro is set to get indirectly buffed again now that Dendro is on the horizon. According to leaks, Dendro and Electro reactions have a ton of potential to make electro relevant as a DPS-element again. Version 3.0 was announced to release on the 24th of August, 2022. It will open up the new region of Sumeru which neighbors the land of Liyue and it will finally release the Dendro element for our players.
The Current State of Electro
Electro has been known to be a reactive DPS element and yet its damage numbers never caught up to the likes of Pyro or Cryo. While Inazuma did make electro relevant for a while it didn’t change much. The land itself seemed to require the use of the electro element but that was mainly it. Characters like Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko were released to uplift electro mains and they did succeed but only to an extent.
Raiden is still one of the most broken units in the game. Yae Miko’s best companion on-game and in teams is also Raiden so they synergize perfectly to dish out tons of consistent electro damage together. Apart from these Fischl still remains one of the best electro supports. Beidou’s full counter is never forgotten and it’s a shame Beidou’s burst doesn’t work with Raiden. Razor is still considered one of the best 4-star DPS units but he still specializes in Physical DMG.
Why Electro is Set to Get Stronger
Electro will get an indirect buff through the Dendro reaction Quicken. Electro and Dendro trigger Quicken which isn’t necessarily a reaction but more of a state like Burning or Freezing. It lasts on the enemies for a while and its duration is only reduced by other Dendro reactions like Burning or Bloom. Burning drastically reduces its duration while Bloom is said to reduce it considerably.
Triple reactions on Quicken would be Aggravate and Spread which are set to damage opponents based on their applicator’s elemental mastery. This damage buff is added to their kit before DMG% and Crit bonuses are calculated so we are looking at an overall damage increase. Here Dendro plays the same role for Electro as Yun Jin plays for physical damage or Shenhe plays for Cryo element.
Characters Who Will Best Benefit from These Reactions
Characters like Beidou and Raiden Shogun are expected to use all their EM points though changing their build to be EM-focused is not recommended. Characters like Fischl and Yae Miko are expected to double their damage when it comes to Dendro with the new Gilded Dreams set and the Thundersoother set.
Kuki Shinobu will too double her damage but her HP build is still recommended though you can change her artifact main stats can have EM. An EM-focused Kuki will do more damage while an HP-focused Kuki will give more healing. Her E skill and burst both also have an AoE effect so she will improve her viability as support in Sumeru.
Keqing is the only unit that will still benefit from both Thundering Fury and Thundersoother sets. In Sumeru, her Thundering Fury build is expected to do more damage. With this build, her best F2P weapon option becomes the Iron Sting while her 5-star options- Mistsplitter Reforged and Primordial Jade Cutter still remains her best in the slot.
The Gilded Dreams and Thundersoother sets are expected to be meta-defining in the next patch- at least when it comes to the electro element. If you have good Thundersoother pieces with good attack-based stats and EM, then this would be the time to raise them. After entering Sumeru, players are expected to grind on the new domain for the two new sets which will also be greatly beneficial.