Elemental reactions just got more complicated in Genshin Impact with its newest element, Dendro. The “grass-type” element buffed Electro and Hydro characters with its new reactions, which especially matter because of how Electro was lagging behind before then. Now, the Genshin Impact community has realized Nahida’s Dendro application is so good that it’s shifting the meta further.
Nahida, a.k.a. the Dendro Archon, arrived in Genshin Impact 3.2 just a week or so ago. Since then, Genshin Impact minmaxers realized that her consistent Dendro application enabled a new way to use the ice element, Cryo. These characters typically play a role in Melt, Superconduct, and Shatter teams. Now, the characters can also apparently “Reverse Melt” easier than ever before. Here’s the breakdown of how grass somehow buffs ice in the world of Teyvat.
You might have already heard of “Melt,” which is Cryo plus Pyro, in which enemies get frozen and then melted. However, that elemental reaction works in one direction: Cryo and then Pyro. Players typically would use a character that easily applies Cryo like Kaeya or Rosaria and then unleash a firestorm of Pyro damage with somebody like Xiangling. Melt reactions double the elemental DMG you would get from the attacks themselves.
Like the name might imply, Reverse Melt is the opposite. Cryo characters cause the reaction after Pyro is already applied. It’s 1.5 times the elemental damage instead of double like with regular Melt, but it's still significant enough of a multiplier that it’s effective for Spiral Abyss runs.
As explained by Braxophone, Reverse Melt comps used to rely mainly on Xiangling and Kazuha (who can Swirl two elements with his abilities) to consistently apply Pyro. The new strategy with Dendro uses Nahida to create a Burning reaction, which effectively works the same way as Xiangling and Kazuha’s skills, before blasting enemies with Cryo attacks.
First, Nahida uses her fast-charging Elemental Skill to apply Dendro. Then, a Pyro character like Bennett causes a burning reaction that easily spreads. Characters like Ganyu and Rosaria, who can easily apply Cryo with their skills without overdoing it, then activate the Reverse Melt. Cryo replaces Dendro when it reacts with Burning, leaving it as a Pyro plus Cryo reaction. In the end, the damage from the reactions together adds up to more damage than the characters can get on their own.
We briefly mentioned Cryo’s role in “fridge” comps with Barbara, who makes a great budget pick for Bloom teams. This Burning plus Reverse Melt strategy takes advantage of the same effect to keep Pyro on the enemy long enough for Cryo characters to trigger Reverse Melt.
Ganyu is the best pick because of how easily she can apply Cryo with her charged shot. She can also easily apply Cryo with her skill and burst, but then there’s the danger of overapplying Cryo and quickly removing the Pyro status from Burning. Braxophone mentions this is why Ayaka isn’t an ideal pick for a Nahida team, even though she effectively applies Cryo. Rosaria also works as an effective replacement for AoE Cryo damage (or Cryo damage that covers a widespread area).
Nahida is the key player in these team comps because of how effectively she can apply Dendro and boost EM. You can try Dendro Traveler and Collei together for a similar effect, but the timing won’t line up the same and it will mean sacrificing a slot on your team to have two Dendro characters. After all, you need at least two slots for a Cryo and Pyro character already.
In Braxophone’s example, he puts Rosaria on a team with Nahida, Kazuha, and Bennett. Nahida and Kazuha boost EM and Bennett buffs damage and heals. Kazuha also adds crowd control to the group. It’s a growing team comp that players have also started sharing in subreddits.
These setups aren’t exactly doable for free-to-play players because they have two 5-stars on the teams. However, the point remains that Nahida has opened the doors to more Reverse Melt comps. Just try replacing a few characters here and there — you might find something more meta than you realized.
