The Dendro Archon lives up to her name. As of Genshin Impact 3.2, Nahida, aka Lesser Lord Kusanali, has already earned a reputation as a “broken” unit that outdoes all other Dendro options in the game. Her utility as a Dendro-enabling support makes her a versatile option for any Dendro-based comp like Quicken and Bloom teams, especially with the Elemental Mastery buffs she offers. Nahida’s place in the Genshin Impact meta is still solidifying. However, early impressions already seem to have a good handle on how to use her.
Here are some tips on how to build Nahida into a Dendro support hero.
Nahida loves Elemental Mastery. Elemental Mastery strengthens any character that constantly causes elemental reactions like she does. However, Nahida especially needs it because her two ascension passives also boost allies’ EM, Bonus DMG, and Crit Rate depending on her Elemental Mastery:
- Compassion Illuminated (1st Ascension Passive) - When unleashing Illusory Heart, the Shrine of Maya will gain the following effects: The Elemental Mastery of the active character within the field will be increased by 25 percent of the Elemental Mastery of the party member with the highest Elemental Mastery. You can gain a maximum of 250 Elemental Mastery in this manner.
- Talent Awakening Elucidated (4th Ascension Passive) - Each point of Nahida's Elemental Mastery beyond 200 will grant 0.1 percent Bonus DMG and 0.03 percent CRIT Rate to Tri-Karma Purification from All Schemes to Know. A maximum of 80 percent Bonus DMG and 24 percent CRIT Rate can be granted to Tri-Karma Purification in this manner.
Naturally, Nahida’s best weapons and artifacts reflect this need for EM.
Best weapons for Nahida
Like most 5-stars, Nahida has her own 5-star weapon tailored to her kit. A Thousand Floating Dreams boosts her Elemental Mastery and her party members’ EM with it. Skyward Atlas, Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds, and Kagura’s Verity also work because they increase offensive stats and have broadly applicable abilities that also happen to work for Nahida.
- A Thousand Floating Dreams (EM) - 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.
- Skyward Atlas (ATK%) - Increases Elemental DMG Bonus by 12%. Normal Attack hits have a 50% chance to earn the favor of the clouds. which actively seek out nearby opponents to attack for 15s, dealing 160% ATK DMG. Can only occur once every 30s.
- 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.
- 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.
4-star weapons
Nahida doesn’t need a 5-star weapon to challenge the meta. The craftable Mappa Mare is one of her best free-to-play weapons because of the EM and Elemental DMG buffs it gives. Sacrificial Fragments also raises EM, but you’re not guaranteed to get it from a banner and its ability is arguably less useful because of all the Dendro particles Nahida generates with her own talents.
It’s also hard to go wrong with the Widsith and Solar Pearl, which raise Crit DMG and Crit Rate respectively. These typically work better with DPS characters who need higher offensive power but also work with Nahida. Still, she arguably gets more utility from the F2P Mappa Mare because of the EM.
- Mappa Mare (EM) - Triggering an Elemental reaction grants an 8 percent Elemental DMG Bonus for 10 seconds. Max 2 stacks.
- Sacrificial Fragments (EM) - After dealing damage to an opponent with an Elemental Skill, the skill has a 40 percent chance to end its own CD. Can only occur once every 30s.
- 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 percent. Aria: Increases all Elemental DMG by 48 percent. Interlude: Elemental Mastery is increased by 240.
- Solar Pearl (Crit Rate) - Normal Attack hits increase Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 20 percent for six seconds. Likewise, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst hits increase Normal Attack DMG by 20 percent for 6 seconds.
Best artifacts for Nahida
Nahida’s Elemental Burst, Illusory Heart, consistently applies Dendro to enemies within its field. The Deepwood Memories artifact set complements this effect with the 15 percent Dendro DMG Bonus plus the 30 percent Dendro RES debuff whenever anyone hits an opponent with an Elemental Skill or Burst. Nahida doesn’t even need to be on the field to trigger the debuff.
Gilded Dreams isn’t a bad option for Nahida but doesn’t offer as much team utility as Deepwood Memories because only part of the 4-piece bonus applies to the equipping character. Gilded Dreams works for those who want to buff Nahida’s personal damage with additional ATK or EM. You can also equip two Gilded Dreams and two Deepwood Memories artifacts to get the two-piece bonuses from both if the substats are way better than the four-piece set for either.
Deepwood Memories
- 2-piece: Dendro DMG Bonus +15%
- 4-piece: 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.
Gilded Dreams
- 2-piece: Elemental Mastery +80
- 4-piece: 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.
Best artifact substats for Nahida
Elemental Mastery is the premier stat for Nahida. Crit DMG, Crit Rate, ATK%, and Energy Recharge are also reasonable substats. It’s best to prioritize EM as the main stat on an artifact and try to get as many of the secondary stats listed for the substats.
Best Nahida team comps
Nahida fits with many Dendro-based teams including Bloom, Quicken, and Burgeon comps. One of the most popular strategies suggests teaming her with two Hydro characters to extend the duration of her Burst as long as possible. Yelan and Xingqiu are optimum choices for this comp because of the personal Hydro DMG they also offer besides enabling Bloom.
Quicken and Aggravate also work. Nahida can regularly trigger Quicken reactions with her Burst, then it’s up to the Electro driver character like Keqing, Cyno, or Yae Miko to Aggravate the enemy. Cyno in particular had an issue with Dendro Traveler and Collei’s Dendro application matching the timing for his skills. Nahida removes that problem completely with her consistency.
