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Geo is one of the seven elements in Genshin Impact that interact with each other to produce powerful effects that help your teams take down enemies. The elemental system in Genshin Impact is the only substantial source of damage in the game, making interactions between the elements a cornerstone of the Traveler experience. However, Geo differs from the other elements because it has few offensive interactions with other elements.
Now is that a good thing or a bad thing? Genshin players have varying opinions on Geo, but before you write off the element, here’s the low down on what Geo is, how it works, and how to get the most out of it with your Geo Genshin Impact characters.
What is Geo in Genshin Impact?
As you may have already guessed, Geo is Genshin Impact‘s Earth element. As you can guess from the name, Geo deals Geo damage or, as fans like to call it, Yellow Physical. This is because Geo is inert and doesn’t interact with other elements in ways that produce extra damage or provide buffs to other stats. The element is meant to be defensive, which is why Geo’s only “reaction” is Crystalize, an effect that creates a crystal that characters can pick up to protect themselves with a (flimsy) shield.
Because of this, Geo currently lags behind other elements in terms of utility. It also doesn’t have a lot of options for team comps since other characters would much rather have a teammate from an element with which they can produce powerful reactions. The only real exception to this is the Geo Archon, Zhongli, himself. Zhongli creates the game’s best shield and has an effect that is unique to his kit called Petrify. Petrify effectively freezes enemies in place for a short duration of time. Because of this, Zhongli can be invaluable during the early game.
How does Geo work in Genshin Impact?
Genshin Impact Geo Elemental Reactions
Geo’s only elemental reaction is Crystalize. When an attack infused with Geo interacts with any of the other elements, it creates an Elemental Shard of that element. These Elemental Shards can be picked up to put a shield on your character. The shield it makes will provide damage resistance against that element.
It’s not a very strong reaction, considering that there are other characters that have strong shields built into their kits. Another big problem with Crystalize is that it scales on Elemental Mastery, a stat that isn’t favored in a lot of Geo characters’ kits. Zhongli and Yun Jin benefit from the HP stat, while Noelle, Itto, Gorou, and Albedo get their damage from DEF. Ningguang, one of the earlier characters, straight up just requires ATK and Crit Rate with Crit Damage.
Genshin Impact Geo Elemental Resonance Effect
If you have two characters in your team that are Geo, you can get the Geo elemental resonance effect. Geo’s elemental resonance is called “Enduring Rock,” and it has the effect of increasing shield strength by 15%. While your character is protected by a shield, they will deal 15% more damage to enemies. Those enemies will also have lower Geo damage resistance by 20% for 15 seconds.
Artifacts for Geo in Genshin Impact
Archaic Petra
Archaic Petra is an artifact set that can be found at the Domain of Guyun located in Guyun Stone Forest off the coast of Liyue Harbor. Archaic Petra provides a Geo DMG bonus and buffs elemental damage based on the element you generate an Elemental Shard with.
- 2-Piece Bonus: Geo DMG Bonus +15%
- 4-Piece Bonus: Upon obtaining an Elemental Shard created through a Crystallize Reaction, all party members gain 35% DMG Bonus for that particular element for 10s. Only one form of Elemental DMG Bonus can be gained in this manner at any one time.
Husk of Opulent Dreams
Husk of Opulent Dreams is a DEF buffing artifact set that can be found at the Slumbering Court domain in Inazuma’s Seirai Island. Aside from increasing DEF, the set also incentivizes use on a character that stays on the field.
- 2-Piece Bonus: DEF +30%
- 4-Piece Bonus: A character equipped with this Artifact set will obtain the Curiosity effect in the following conditions: When on the field, the character gains 1 stack after hitting an opponent with a Geo attack, triggering a maximum of once every 0.3s. When off the field, the character gains 1 stack every 3s. Curiosity can stack up to 4 times, each providing 6% DEF and a 6% Geo DMG Bonus. When 6 seconds pass without gaining a Curiosity stack, 1 stack is lost.
Tenacity of the Millelith
Tenacity of the Millelith is an HP buffing artifact set that can be found at the Ridge Watch domain on the border of Dragonspine and Liyue. The set increases shield strength based on whether an elemental skill is activated by the carrying character hits an enemy.
- 2-Piece Bonus: HP +20%
- 4-Piece Bonus: When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, the ATK of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their Shield Strength is increased by 30% for 3s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. This effect can still be triggered even when the character who is using this artifact set is not on the field.
Geo Characters in Genshin Impact
5-Star Geo Characters
- Zhongli: The Geo Archon himself. Zhongli’s main selling point is his powerful shield that scales on his total HP. It is currently the strongest shield in the game and provides resistance to interruption from enemy attacks. To some degree, Zhongli’s shield renders a lot of the damage in the game as negligible.
- Albedo: Albedo is the chief alchemist of the Knights of Favonius. His kit scales on both DEF and ATK, but the existence of the Husk of Opulent Dreams set, and the event sword Cinnabar Spindle make DEF the easy choice between the two. Albedo deals damage off-field with his skill.
- Arataki Itto: Arataki Itto is the leader of the Arataki Gang. As a fearsome oni, his kit is designed to provide damage while he’s on the field. Itto scales on DEF.
4-Star Geo Characters
- Ningguang: Ningguang is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing. She is a traditional DPS character in the sense that she does the most damage by stacking ATK, Crit, and her elemental damage bonus. As a catalyst with a low burst cost, she can take a support role as a carrier for the “Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers” weapon buff or a healer with the Prototype Amber weapon.
- Noelle: Noelle is the maid of the Knights of Favonius. She can fill both a healer and DPS role just through the features of her kit. At C6, Noelle can sustain herself and her team with ease. Her skill creates a shield, with her main drawback being her high burst cost.
- Gorou: Gorou is the general of Watsumi Island’s army, but he doesn’t play the starring role in teams. Gorou buffs DEF for his team and increases the level of his buffs based on how many characters in the team are Geo.
