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With her aptly named character teaser ‘Nahida: Happy Birthday‘ released on her actual birthday, Nahida easily became one of the most beloved characters of Genshin Impact since her introduction at the start of Sumeru Archon Quests. The young and sheltered Nahida is the Archon of the long awaited Dendro element, the last of the seven elements of Teyvat to be made playable.
Known to her people as Lesser Lord Kusanali, Nahida cares deeply for her people. Even while residing in the secluded Sanctuary of Surasthana, under the watchful eye of the Akademiya, she imparts wisdom and guidance to her people through their dreams. She’s shown to be wise beyond her years, even if her analogies can be quite strange at times. Nahida might not be a martially powerful Archon like Zhongli or the Raiden Shogun, but her intellect and strategies are not to be underestimated.
Utilize the budding power of Dendro worthy of an archon with the help of this Nahida Genshin Impact guide.
The Best Artifacts for Nahida
Since Dendro was only added into the game with the release of Sumeru, Travelers had to venture to its new domains to obtain artifacts that would enhance its budding powers. Farming for Nahida’s artifacts is made easier due to the fact that her two best options both come from the Spire of Solitary Enlightenment.
Deepwood Memories
- 2 Piece Bonus – Dendro DMG Bonus +15%
- 4 Piece Bonus – After Elemental Skills or Bursts hit opponents, the targets’ Dendro RES will be decreased by 30% for 8s. This effect can be triggered even if the equipping character is not on the field.
The Deepwood Memories set essentially functions like the Viridescent Venerer set but tailored for Dendro. As usual, the two-piece set provides a bonus to Elemental Damage of its corresponding element, and when you equip the full set, it reduces the Dendro resistance of enemies, rendering them more susceptible to Dendro-based elemental reactions. This is incredibly effective on Nahida since her Elemental Skill can hit multiple targets at once to apply the resistance shred while also enabling elemental reactions with her Dendro application.
Gilded Dreams
- 2 Piece Bonus – Increases Elemental Mastery by 80.
- 4 Piece Bonus – Within 8s of triggering an Elemental Reaction, the character equipping this will obtain buffs based on the Elemental Type of the other party members. ATK is increased by 14% for each party member whose Elemental Type is the same as the equipping character, and Elemental Mastery is increased by 50 for every party member with a different Elemental Type. Each of the aforementioned buffs will count up to 3 characters. This effect can be triggered once every 8s. The character who equips this can still trigger its effects when not on the field.
With how powerful Dendro reactions can be, players are incentivized to use teams that rely heavily on elemental reactions and thereby making Elemental Mastery a more important stat to consider. Gilded Dreams takes advantage of this team building aspect by granting bonuses based on the party’s elemental setup whenever they trigger an elemental reaction. It gives the wearer an ATK buff for each party member with the same element as them and Elemental Mastery for each ally with a different elemental type. These buffs even persist when they’re not on the field and makes it a viable pick for an off-field support.
Artifact Stats to Prioritize
Artifact sets can only take you so far. When it comes to optimizing Nahida’s artifact stats, consider the following priority:
- Elemental Mastery
- CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
- Dendro DMG
- Energy Recharge
- ATK%
Elemental Mastery is Nahida’s most important stat, to the extent that it’s feasible to have it as the main stat on all her artifacts. This is because elemental reaction damage scales directly with Elemental Mastery, and Nahida’s passive ability converts any excess Elemental Mastery beyond 200 into CRIT Rate and Bonus DMG for her Tri-Karma Purification. It’s also because of this passive that using a CRIT circlet is an option for her in order to achieve your desirable CRIT ratio. As an alternative to Elemental Mastery, players can settle for using Dendro DMG Bonus for her goblet.
Ideally, Nahida should aim for similar stats in her substats. While stats like Energy Recharge and ATK% can be beneficial, they are not as crucial to her damage output since Nahida doesn’t rely on her Elemental Burst and her damage mostly comes from her reactions.
Best Weapons for Nahida
Like other limited 5-Stars before her, Nahida comes with her own complementary weapon banner but that doesn’t mean she can’t use other premium catalysts to great effect. Here’s a short list of our recommendations and briefly explaining why they’re good.
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- A Thousand Floating Dreams (Elemental Mastery) – Party members other than the equipping character will provide the equipping character with buffs based on whether their Elemental Type is the same as the latter or not. If their Elemental Types are the same, increase Elemental Mastery by 32. If not, increase the equipping character’s DMG Bonus from their Elemental Type by 10. Each of the aforementioned effects can have up to 3 stacks. Additionally, all nearby party members other than the equipping character will have their Elemental Mastery increased by 40. Multiple such effects from multiple such weapons can stack.
A Thousand Floating Dreams was released alongside Nahida and stands out as her optimal weapon choice. The weapon’s secondary stat provides a substantial boost to her Elemental Mastery, significantly amplifying her effectiveness as a Dendro applicator. Additionally, its weapon effect enhances her abilities by either increasing her Elemental Mastery or granting a Dendro Damage Bonus based on the elements of her fellow party members. Notably, this weapon not only augments Nahida’s performance but extends its benefits to her teammates as well.
- Kagura’s Verity (CRIT DMG) – Gains the Kagura Dance effect when using an Elemental Skill, causing the Elemental Skill DMG of the character wielding this weapon to increase by 12% for 16s. Max 3 stacks. This character will gain 12% All Elemental DMG Bonus when they possess 3 stacks.
Kagura’s Verity’s high base ATK and weapon effect affecting her Elemental Skill DMG, this is a very powerful weapon for Nahida. Even if she can’t fully take advantage of the Kagura Dance ability, it’s still a solid stat stick if you have one lying around. It has CRIT DMG as its secondary stat that she can use to deliver bigger critical strikes.
- Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds (CRIT Rate) – Increases Movement SPD by 10%. When in battle, gain an 8% Elemental DMG Bonus every 4s. Max 4 stacks. Lasts until the character falls or leaves combat.
The Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds is a 5-star catalyst obtainable from the Standard Wish banner. It bestows its wielder an extra boost in Movement Speed, which can allow for better positioning during combat. In contrast to Kagura’s Verity, which offers conditional Elemental Damage Bonus, Nahida can enjoy up to a maximum of 32% Elemental Damage Bonus as long as she remains active on the battlefield.
Budget Alternatives
4-Star weapons might not give as many stats as their more limited counterparts but what they lack in stats, they make up for availability. Chances are, you’ve already got a copy of one of these weapons in your inventory so time to put them to good use.
- The Widsith (CRIT DMG) – When a character takes the field, they will gain a random theme song for 10s. This can only occur once every 30s. Recitative: ATK is increased by 60. Aria: Increases all Elemental DMG by 48. Interlude: Elemental Mastery is increased by 240.
When considering budget-friendly options, this 4-star catalyst emerges as a top choice for Nahida. The enhancements it offers in terms of Elemental Damage or Elemental Mastery prove highly beneficial for Nahida’s performance. While the Attack (ATK) buff may not be as potent as the former two, it still holds value. Overall, the unpredictability of the buffs is mitigated by providing advantageous stat boosts overall.
- Wandering Evenstar (Elemental Mastery) – The following effect will trigger every 10s: The equipping character will gain 24% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK for 12s, with nearby party members gaining 30% of this buff for the same duration. Multiple instances of this weapon can allow this buff to stack. This effect will still trigger even if the character is not on the field.
The Wandering Evenstar is the craftable catalyst from the Sumeru weapon series. Every 10 seconds, its user gains an ATK bonus based on a percentage of their Elemental Mastery while also giving nearby party members a slightly enhanced version of this buff. This weapon effect can also stack with itself and will still trigger even if the character wielding it is not on the field.
- Sacrificial Jade (CRIT Rate) – When not on the field for more than 5s, Max HP will be increased by 32% and Elemental Mastery will be increased by 40. These effects will be canceled after the wielder has been on the field for 10s.
The introduction of Fontaine marked some new changes in Genshin Impact’s Battle Pass system, bringing new weapons to the existing lineup with fresh new effects. In particular, the Sacrificial Jade catalyst increases the wielder’s Max HP and Elemental Mastery whenever they’re not on the field. This encourages a quickswap playstyle that comes naturally to Nahida due to her Elemental Skill’s ability to constantly apply Dendro even when she’s off-field.
Skill Priorities for Nahida
A wise player would know that RPGs like Genshin Impact are partly a resource management game. You’ll have to spend a lot of resources to strengthen your characters and one way to do so is by leveling their Talents. Therefore, it’s crucial to establish a skill priority to optimize your investment by initially focusing on her most resource-efficient abilities.
- All Schemes to Know (Elemental Skill) – Nahida’s skill uses the karmic bonds of Dendro to mark up to 8 opponents with the Seed of Skandha, dealing AoE Dendro DMG in the process. This skill will enter Aiming Mode when held, which will allow you to select a limited number of opponents within a limited area and increase Nahida’s resistance to interruption during its duration. Opponents marked by the Seed of Skandha will be linked to one another up till a certain distance. Triggering Elemental Reactions on opponents affected by the Seeds of Skandha or whenever they take DMG from Dendro Cores (including Burgeon and Hyperbloom DMG) will unleash the Tri-Karma Purification effect on all connected opponents, dealing Dendro DMG based on her ATK and Elemental Mastery. It has an internal cooldown that limits Tri-Karma Purification procs within a short period of time.
- Akara (Normal Attack) – Nahida can perform a series of up to 4 attacks that deal Dendro damage to enemies. If you use her Charged Attack, it will consume some of her Stamina before unleashing a powerful area-of-effect Dendro attack in front of her after a brief casting period.
- Illusory Heart (Elemental Burst) – Her Elemental Burst manifests the Court of Dreams and expands the Shrine of Maya. When the Shrine of Maya field is activated, it triggers distinct effects depending on the Elemental Types within the party. If there are at least 2 party members with these Elemental Types when the field is deployed, these effects are enhanced. These bonuses apply to party members within the Shrine of Maya even if Nahida herself is not currently active on the battlefield.
- Pyro: The DMG dealt by Tri-Karma Purification from “All Schemes to Know” is increased.
- Electro: The interval between each Tri-Karma Purification from “All Schemes to Know” is decreased.
- Hydro: The Shrine of Maya’s duration is increased.
Players should max out Nahida’s skill first as it’s her primary source of damage. Its unique chain-like property, damaging all linked enemies if one of them is damaged by an elemental reaction even if she’s off-field and simultaneously reapplies Dendro. Her only damaging move besides her skill is her Normal Attack and is quite good with the Spread reaction. Nahida’s Burst is a non-damaging move that essentially buffs her Elemental Skill’s effects based on your team’s elemental composition.Leveling her Normal Attacks over her Burst first allows for better on-field damage while leveling her Burst further boosts her Skill’s potential damage output.
Nahida Team Comp
The archons of Genshin Impact often highlight the best characteristics of their respective elements. Nahida is often one of the better, if not the very best, choice if you want a Dendro character on your team. The God of Wisdom can share her knowledge and power with the following characters:
- Alhaitham (Dendro DPS. Nahida can help cut down his energy costs)
- Cyno (An Electro DPS that requires a lot of floor time and off-field support)
- Nilou (Her and Nahida make for the perfect Bloom combination)
- Keqing (Electro DPS driver for Aggravate teams)
- Yae Miko (Electro DPS with off-field support for Hyperbloom and Aggravate)
- Kokomi (Hydro healer that can also create Bloom reactions)
- Thoma (Pyro shielder and trigger for Burgeon reactions)
- Kaveh (Bloom Dendro Cores detonator)
On her own, Nahida’s individual damage might not be up to par compared to other dedicated Dendro DPS units like Alhaitham or Tighnari. However, her true strength lies in her exceptional ability to enhance the overall performance of the entire team. With her ability to simplify using Dendro reactions and making them easy to use, we honestly can’t picture her being dethroned as the premier Dendro character of Genshin Impact any time soon.
