Genshin Impact 1.6 patch to buff Electro elemental reactions; confirms developer notes

Elemental reactions have been a big part of the Genshin Impact meta since the game’s release.

With six elements currently playable in the game, and a seventh coming, players have explored the different ways to take advantage of elemental reactions in combat. So far in the game, Electro reactions haven’t been the most preferred, but with the upcoming 1.6 update, that may soon change.

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Electro elemental reactions will be stronger in Genshin Impact 1.6

Superconduct elemental reaction (image via Genshin Impact Wiki)

Developer notes from a recent Genshin Impact Q&A discuss the future of elemental reactions in the next version and beyond.

Specifically, the notes mention buffs to the following reactions: Electro-Charged, Superconduct, Overloaded, Swirl, and Shatter. Characters who are level 60 and above will enjoy increased damage output from triggering these reactions.

sounds like electro buff to me LETS GOO https://t.co/A09dDbAy0V pic.twitter.com/NK7U5npwkW

— jo ✧ (@kaeyalaxy) April 29, 2021

Because these reactions are getting buffs in 1.6, players can expect Anemo and Electro characters to be significantly stronger.

Many players have noticed Electro is a little underwhelming as it currently stands, so it’s a good thing that the 1.6 adjustments will help fix the power balance. All of the Electro reactions are going to be more powerful in the next version, so characters like Fischl and Keqing are likely to grow in popularity. Even Lisa may become more viable as a burst DPS for reactions.

Elemental Mastery to buff Electro reactions in Genshin Impact 1.6

In addition to the buff on these reactions for characters level 60 and above, Elemental Mastery will also play a larger role in buffing reactions.

Officially, there’s no word on how much stronger these reactions will actually be. However, leaks indicate the buffs will be very noticeable.

A leak shows the massive difference between the current Elemental Mastery bonuses and post buff bonuses. For example, at a stage in Genshin Impact 1.5, Elemental Mastery increases the damage dealt by Electro reaction, swirl, and shatter reaction damages using the following scale:

• 100 EM = 44.5% damage increase
• 500 EM = 175.2% damage increase

In 1.6, players can expect approximately the following Elemental Mastery buffs to those same reactions:

• 100 EM = 76.2% damage increase
• 500 EM = 320% damage increase

The bonuses to these reactions are nice even in 1.5, but many players have still preferred the Pyro reactions thus far, even with a lower buff from Elemental Mastery. Hopefully, the 1.6 update will encourage more players to use the Electro reactions as well.

via the same anonymous source of the Maguu Kenki fight and 1.6 islands.Following the Dev Q/A regarding buffs to "major reactions" here are what the EM numbers are looking like in an early iteration of the 1.6 beta. Final numbers are very likely to be tweaked further. pic.twitter.com/4ZFTQvMlg7

— AE Entropy (@AeEntropy) April 29, 2021

As a side note, miHoYo has confirmed that DMG absorption for shields generated by Crystallize reactions will be increased in 1.6, and leaks indicate it will be over a 100% increase.

As always, the leaks may not be completely accurate by the time the update is released. That is to say, Genshin Impact may still change their mind on how much they will buff shields and reactions in patch 1.6.