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| Infographic by sunmilk |
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| Concept art from Hytale |
Assume the Genshin Impact stuff will be part of a third-party mod.
Mods are among my favorite things that exist in video games, especially open-world games. The ability to mod a game empowers a community to breathe new life into an already great game. Many popular mods add many hours of gameplay, further extending the lifetime of a game.
Many fantasy video games have some form of elemental magic in their mechanics, but Genshin Impact is unique in that, thanks to the elemental reaction mechanic, elements blend together in more than just Pokémon-esque type matchups. The player can spread elements to other enemies with Anemo, reduce DEF by combining Cryo and Electro, and even blow up foes with Electro and Pyro! All of these mechanics work even on element-less foes!
Little is known about the importance of magical elements in Hytale's combat, though we know, like in Genshin Impact, elements are important to Hytale's lore. Every zone in Orbis represents an element, with zone 3 officially confirmed to represent water. Gaia represents 5 elements as well as nature and light (which aren't officially confirmed yet to be magical elements, though I like to think they are).
While unconfirmed, it's generally agreed upon that zone 1 represents Earth since it's the greenest zone and has the lushest plant life. The Kweebecs are encountered here.
Zone 2 represents Wind because sandstorms occur here.
Zone 4 represents Fire because volcanoes. 'Nuff said.
Zone 5 represents Lightning because of the lightning bolts protruding from the obscuring black clouds.
Zone 6 represents Void (probably darkness) because of the dark purple clouds.
For the purpose of this post, I will split Earth into Dendro and Geo, and Water into Cryo and Hydro in order to fill all of Genshin Impact's seven elements. Zone 3 officially represents "water in all its forms". On the other hand, you can't really have plants (Dendro) without soil (Geo) to grow them, can you?
Zone 1: Dendro and Geo
While zone 1 has been confirmed to be among the easiest zones, modding it to add Genshin Impact mechanics makes it rather underwhelming.
As of Genshin Impact Version 1.1, Dendro only reacts with Pyro, inflicting Pyro damage over time. The Kweebecs are Hytale's equivalent of Pikachu popularity-wise, so giving them Dendro right out of the box would be an injustice...especially since there's a YouTube channel called Kweebec Corner which is openly and proudly racist against Trorks.
Geo, on the other hand, is a defensive element. While it's friendly for new players who want to Attack! Attack! Attack! since shields produced by Geo can potentially allow them to No-Sell incoming attacks, that's boring and slow. Why block attacks when you can simply kill the enemy in a few seconds?
So let's spice up these underwhelming elements, shall we?
In my D&D campaign, YoSquid chose Dendro to be one of the elements I use. I knew Dendro was trash so I made a Kweebec-themed spear to make up for it. It entangles foes with vines upon hitting 'cause I wanted to stay consistent with the Kweebecs' friendly personality by capturing foes rather than killing them. In a co-op playthrough or while dual-wielding, players can use this spear to set up for a Burning elemental reaction.
There are speculations for Dendro elemental reactions such as this Reddit thread by Laferidge in the official Genshin Impact subreddit. The first one I thought of before reading the thread was Metaspark's Dendro + Hydro reaction, Overgrowth: in the case of my Kweebec spear, it would grow and strengthen the vines, dealing additional Dendro damage and keeping the foe restrained for longer.
As for Geo, I want to give it to the Trorks...for no lore-friendly reason other than balancing them with the Kweebecs. Trorks are physically imposing, after all, compared to the diminutive Kweebecs. (Trork settlements are mainly made of wood.)
Low-level Trorks would lack any sort of Geo-related equipment or skill, though high-level ones will. They specialize in destroying armored foes, forcing the player to be more reliant on speed.
Problem for the Trorks is, not only do I specialize in speed, but I'm also good at shattering armor with my fists.
Zone 2: Anemo
How utterly coincidental. Wind represents freedom for both the native Ferans of Orbis zone 2 and the people of Mondstadt in Teyvat. Maybe I should do a zone 2 playthrough with a Venti cosplay avatar.
On the surface, there's not much to do with Anemo without another element, especially because we don't know how magically inclined the Ferans' rivals, the Scaraks, are.
I suppose we can simply ignite a small flame or throw a water bucket during combat.
Sandstorms can be extra dangerous with Genshin Impact mechanics. If some fool walks around incinerating or zapping things all over the place, it can spread Pyro or Electro, respectively. This may require the player to protect their zone 2 house with non-flammable insulating blocks like...cobblestone. As for player equipment, better ditch the metal armor.
The Ferans become an extra dangerous enemy in co-op because I speculate they can use Anemo magic. This forces players to separate from one another while fighting, allowing melee-oriented Ferans to surround them one-by-one.
Maybe Scaraks are weak to Anemo because Anemo represents freedom from slavery. Also, Scaraks are insectoid and the Bug type is weak to the Flying type (which covers bird- and wind-related attacks like Drill Peck and Hurricane).
Zone 3: Cryo and Hydro
Oh boy. Along with zones 1 and 2, zone 3 is supposed to be beginner-friendly (though maybe not as much as zone 1), but add in Genshin Impact mechanics and this zone's difficulty suddenly goes through the roof. It just so happens that Cryo + Hydro = Frozen. Worse, these two elements are a single element in Orbis, so a mage who is stated to specialize in Hydro can also use Cryo effectively.
However, I argue that enemies native to this zone become helpless when Electro is involved. Electro + Hydro can inflict Electro-Charged which can stun foes that are otherwise immune to being frozen. Cryo + Electro can inflict Superconduct, making tanky foes easier for physical attackers to kill. Both reactions can damage multiple foes simultaneously, making it easier to stop gang wars involving large numbers of mooks (assuming your forces don't get frozen in the first place).
The native Outlanders, I imagine, are resistant to Cryo but not immune to it since they're still human. (The Colossus Outlander's humanity, to me, is questionable due to his mutated hand and...well, his abnormally large size. Also, it wouldn't make sense anyway to be able to freeze what I assume to be a boss.) I couldn't think of a properly creative fantasy way to represent how to freeze them, but imagine hitting them with a bucket of liquid nitrogen and water from a firetruck's cannon. (In comparison, merely touching water with your feet in Genshin Impact is enough for any Cryo attack to freeze your whole body.)
Zone 4: Pyro
This has a ton of room for speculation. We don't know if Hytale will require protective equipment to explore the more volcanic areas of zone 4 (like Breath of the Wild's Death Mountain), for example.
Assuming maximum Minecraft-esque restrictions, most elements are less useful or even completely useless in zone 4's volcanic areas.
Anemo can inflict Swirl and spread Pyro, but only Anemo damage will be dealt because most enemies are immune to Pyro.
Cryo and Hydro are useless since they instantly evaporate.
Dendro is near-useless since the Burning reaction inflicts...well, Pyro damage.
Electro has some use. Overloaded can knock enemies back and heavily damage Geo armor, but the reaction itself deals Pyro damage, not Electro damage. On a budget, an Electro-oriented archer or mage can send Pyro foes falling off a cliff...assuming they're not fliers.
Geo is, interestingly, the most useful element in zone 4's volcanic areas. Pyro immunity and Nether-like evaporation don't reduce its usefulness, on top of generating shields that protect excellently against Pyro damage. (Noelle or Zhongli cosplay, anyone?)
I'll be generous and say the Scorched Ruins in the March 26, 2020 progress update and the Ghost Forest in the July 30, 2020 progress update don't have the same restrictions. (I assume they're in zone 4 because they're related to fire.) There will still be Pyro foes, though.
I imagine an adventurer who mainly builds with flammable materials would secure a perimeter within these zone 4 "border biomes" using Hydro to inflict Vaporize. When hitting a Pyro foe with Hydro, the Vaporize reaction causes the attack to deal 2x damage.
Notice how, in the 2nd paragraph, I only talked about the volcanic areas. I didn't talk about...the underground forests. They're filled to the brim with Dendro.
I'm not entirely sure what enemies we would face in the underground forests, though I assume the dinosaurs there are, in Pokémon terms, Normal-type.
Ah, screw it. Nothing a little fire can't handle, right? *lights match*
I know there's speculation going on about a sentient faction called the "Slothians" living in zone 4's underground forests, but I'm too lazy to think about the Slothians. I just feel Ax-Crazy right now.
Zone 5: Electro
Electro is generally a poor defensive element. Although it's immune to the Electro damage dealt by the Electro-Charged reaction, it suffers greatly from Overloaded and Superconduct.
Speaking of those two elemental reactions, they may play a bigger part in mining in zone 5 compared to the other zones.
I imagine much of zone 5's terrain will have more electricity flowing through it, so for destroying lots of blocks, just throw some Pyro bombs just like Klee. For quickly mining a few blocks like with an Efficiency V pickaxe in Minecraft, use a Cryo attack first to make the blocks easier to break.
Water may be extra hazardous in this zone since it's always electrified. If you don't have insulating equipment and you fall into the water, you're as good as dead.
Using a boat is required since wood is a poor conductor of electricity.
I just noticed: Many of my ideas seem to be designed to punish players who wear heavy armor since heavy armor in games is usually made of metal. There should be a config option to disable these "punishments".
Zone 6: Void
There's no "darkness" element in Genshin Impact...so, let's theorycraft my own elemental reactions!
Void Elemental Reactions
Cryo: Zombify. If a living unit dies while under this effect, it turns into a zombie under the caster's control. This is based on the ideas that cold temperatures can preserve food (hence why refrigerators exist) and undead in many fantasy settings are related to the cold, such as in Warcraft. (Players are immune to this reaction's zombie conversion effect but still take damage from this reaction itself.)
Dendro: Haunt. Dendro creations get corrupted, attacking any creature that isn't a fiend (i.e. demons) or undead on sight. This is based on haunted trees.
Electro: Glitch. Steals HP from the target, similar to how computer malware steals data from other computers.
Hydro: Infect. Poisons the target, dealing damage over time. Water is considered the "universal solvent", so if you pour poison into pure water, the water gets poisoned. Poison is commonly used by evil and roguish characters.
Pyro: Hellfire. Reduces the target's attack damage. I had trouble thinking of this one since I wanted to replicate the tormenting feeling of hell as described in the Bible while differentiating it from Superconduct which reduces DEF. I suppose the idea is, once someone goes to hell, there's no coming out of it, so resisting (i.e. fighting back) is hopeless.
Anemo and Geo inflict Swirl and Crystallize, respectively, as usual.
Void Creatures
Void creatures are immune to Void elemental reactions but are affected by other elemental reactions.
Unlike Orbis native creatures which typically only appear in a single zone, void creatures can be anywhere in Orbis (albeit most prevalent in zone 6). Although humans don't inherently have any element, spellcasters should watch out, especially if the void creatures can also control Anemo. Some Elemental Skills in Genshin Impact apply elements to the user, making them vulnerable to elemental reactions.
Void creatures can be exploited by Anemo-wielding players who can't use Void magic. Is there an annoyingly powerful non-Void Pyro enemy near the Void creature? Spread the Void to reduce that Pyro enemy's damage.
Void Terrain
Like in zone 5, water is deadly; this time, it's thanks to water absorbing evil energy.
If Hytale has a thirst mechanic, better bring water from another zone before going here.
This time, using Dendro equipment like wooden swords is dangerous since they may turn against their wielders. (Metal equipment is safe! Yay!)
Not like it matters since you'll probably have metal equipment at this point...unless you're a Leeroy Jenkins.
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