Throughout Teyvat, 6 Elements rule the roost: Pyro, Cyro, Electro, Hydro, and Anemo, and Geo representing Fire, Ice, Electric, Water, Wind, and Earth respectively. A seventh, Dendro, represents Nature, but is only found in obstacles like shields and structures made of wood, currently.
The first four can be considered primary elements, reacting with each other in various ways. Anemo and Geo, meanwhile, react with the previous four elements, making them take on a supporting role.
There are two kinds of elemental reactions: Transformative and Amplifying.
Transformative reactions include Overloaded, Shattered, Electro-Charged, Swirl, and Superconduct. These reactions relies heavily on the level of the character and their Elemental Mastery. Damage from these reactions cannot crit.
Meanwhile, Vaporize and Melt are Amplifying reactions. These reactions replace the damage of the attack that triggered it, and depending on the reaction will multiply it by 1.5% or 2.0%. Unlike transformative reactions, damage from these reactions can crit and character level doesn't matter that much. Elemental Mastery is still an essential to boost up damage.
In battle, it’s essential to know how the elements can work both in your favor and against you. It starts by applying an Affliction, then combining it with another element to cause a reaction. For example:
Using a Hydro-based attack or stepping in water will inflict “Wet” on the target. A Cryo attack would then cause the Freeze chain reaction, rendering them immobile for a time. In this one case, using a Geo attack on a Frozen target would react and cause Shatter, dealing considerable damage and ending the chain.
Some targets, however, could be immune to this exact reaction - a Slime naturally encased in Cryo would resist the initial Hydro attack, stopping Wet from ever applying. Instead, a Pyro attack could be used to inflict “Melt”, eventually removing their ice armor, or a Geo attack could be used to inflict Shatter similar to the end of the original reaction.
