20 Things You Didn’t Know about Genshin Impact’s Anemo
Anemo is one of the seven elements in Genshin Impact. It is the game’s version of a wind element. Something that interested individuals should be able to become very familiar with because Anemo is the first element that the Traveler will pick up.
1. Anemo Is a Greek Name
Genshin Impact’s elements have Greek names. Chances are good that interested individuals can recognize most of them because they see so much use in English. To name some examples, Geo, Cryo, Pyro, Hydro, and Electro should have very obvious meanings. Anemo and Dendro are a bit more obscure because they see a bit less use. Still, it should come as no surprise to learn that one means “wind” while the other means “tree.”
2. Has a Decent Elemental Resonance
Having two characters of the same element on a team provides it with a bonus called an elemental resonance. Anemo’s elemental resonance is called Impetuous Winds, which is decent but no more than decent. The 10 percent increase in movement speed is quite nice because open-world games tend to have a lot of ground to cover. Meanwhile, the 15 percent reduction in stamina consumption as well as the 10 percent reduction in skill cooldown are useful but too small to be very useful. Still, Impetuous Winds does convey the idea of Anemo as a force that facilitates things.
3. Causes Swirl
Speaking of which, Anemo’s elemental reaction is called Swirl. Once again, it is an excellent example of how the element facilitates. After all, Swirl deals additional elemental damage of the element that it is reacting with, which can be either Cryo, Pyro, Hydro, or Electro. Then, it will spread that element to surrounding enemies.
4. Its Elemental Reaction Can Be Very Useful
There are some situations in which Swirl can be very useful because it can cause secondary elemental reactions. Thanks to that, a group of mixed-element enemies can take a horrific amount of damage within a very short period of time, particularly when there has been proper preparation to ensure it.
5. Its Elemental Reaction Can Be Very Useless
Of course, there are also some situations in which Swirl can be very useless. There are some enemies that either no or next-to-no damage from their own element. As a result, Swirl won’t be doing much when facing them unless the player has remembered to bring a character that can do the setup for secondary elemental reactions.
6. Can Sometimes Absorb Elements
Each element seems to be capable of a wide range of effects. Still, each element has certain effects that are more associated with it than with its counterparts. To name an example, there are some Anemo abilities that can absorb another element. After which, they will do damage of that element. On their own, these Anemo abilities may or may not be a good thing. Sometimes, they absorb an element that is good against the enemies being affected. Other times, not so much. Still, these Anemo abilities are convenient in that doing damage of the absorbed element makes it possible to set up more elemental reactions.
7. Can Sometimes Suck In Enemies
Another example would be Anemo’s crowd-control capabilities. To be exact, it is very common for Anemo abilities to be capable of sucking in enemies to some extent. Some of them are very powerful in this regard, meaning that they can suck in enemies over a wide area of effects. Others are more limited but nonetheless useful. As always, crowd control makes it easier to take out an entire group of enemies by dividing it up into more manageable chunks. On top of that, these Anemo abilities can suck enemies into a smaller area, thus making it that much easier for elemental reactions to hit every single one of them.
8. Its Archon Is Barbatos
The seven elements are ruled by seven Archons. The Anemo Archon is Barbatos, who was still a humble wind spirit when Decarabian and Andrius were full-fledged gods. He participated in the human rebellion that toppled Decarabian. After which, he more-or-less became the Anemo Archon by default. This is because Andrius decided that he didn’t have the love for humanity needed to serve in said position, which is why he decided to let his physical body die while remaining active as a much-diminished spirit. With both contenders out of the way, Barbatos became the first Anemo Archon.
9. Its Archon Is Supposed to Be On the Weaker End of Things
Apparently, Barbatos is supposed to be on the weaker end of things for an Archon. This is because he is very hands-off, which is something that has meant both good things and bad things for his people. On the one hand, they are free to make their own mistakes; on the other hand, they are free to make their own mistakes. Barbatos is willing to help out against both internal threats and external threats. However, there is no guarantee that he will do so at any given time, meaning that his people are forced to be self-reliant to a considerable extent.
10. Its Archon Has Been the Same Throughout
Having said that, Barbatos is still unusual in that he is one of the two Archons who have been around since the start of the system. Meanwhile, the other five Archons have been replaced at least once. It is important to note that this isn’t because Barbatos is risk-averse. After all, he did intervene when Durin attacked five hundred years ago, which was impressive because Durin was big enough for his corpse to cover a good portion of a mountain. As such, it is common for people to think that there is more to Barbatos than meets the eye.
11. One of Its Characters Is Jean Gunnhildr
One of the most notable Anemo characters is Jean Gunnhildr. Story-wise, she is the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, meaning that she is the one responsible for keeping everything running while the bulk of their forces are out on a military expedition. Unsurprisingly, Jean is a very responsible individual, though it is clear that she is being overburdened by her current responsibilities. Presumably, this isn’t helped by how the Knights of Favonius are dealing with serious issues at home even though they are currently short-handed.
12. Jean’s Anemo Abilities Are Very Versatile
Mechanics-wise, Jean is one of those characters who can do a bit of everything without being particularly excellent at anything. As a result, she is useful for plugging holes in a team’s capabilities. Jean’s Anemo abilities reflect this. Her elemental skill can suck up smaller enemies before launching them, which is particularly nasty when close to the water. Meanwhile, her elemental burst is good for healing allies while doing damage to enemies over a considerable area of effect.
13. One of Its Characters Is Sucrose
Another Anemo character would be Sucrose, who is working with the Knights of Favonius as well. However, she is someone working in the background rather than overseeing others. This is because Sucrose is the assistant to Albedo, who serves as a captain as well as the chief alchemist of the organization. Unsurprisingly, she has a very strong sense of curiosity, which is why she is interested in looking into a wide range of things. Still, Sucrose’s main focus would be the modification of life-forms, which is necessary for her to create the paradise that she and her friends dreamed of when they were children.
14. Sucrose’s Anemo Abilities Are Very Useful For Swirling
In-game, Sucrose’s Anemo abilities are all about setting up Swirl. Her elemental skill sucks in enemies within an area-of-effect. Similarly, her elemental burst is a similar move that repeats, has more power, and can absorb a different element to start doing damage of that element. Combined, Sucrose makes it very easy to gather an entire group of enemies while hitting them with elemental reactions. She even comes with a boost to elemental mastery to make that more powerful than otherwise possible.
15. One of Its Characters Is Xiao
So far, Liyue has seen the release of a single Anemo character named Xiao. He is an illuminated beast who participated in the furious fighting that resulted in the ascension of the seven Archons. Initially, Xiao was enslaved by an unnamed god who forced him to act as a brutal enforcer of the god’s will. This lasted until the unnamed god was killed by the eventual Geo Archon Morax. Out of gratitude, Xiao went on to become one of the yakshas responsible for suppressing the issues caused by the lingering grudges of fallen gods. Something keeps him at a distance from humans.
16. Xiao’s Anemo Abilities Make Him Very Mobile
Curiously, Xiao’s Anemo abilities make him very mobile. First, his elemental skill enables him to lunge forward. What makes it unusual is that he can use it even while he is mid-air. Moreover, it comes with multiple charges for multiple uses in short succession. Second, Xiao’s elemental burst enables him to jump high, so much so that he can do plunge attack after plunge attack. The same ability increases his damage as well as his area of effect while converting his damage into Anemo elemental damage, meaning that this can be much more powerful than it sounds. In exchange, Xiao loses health the entire time.
17. One of Its Characters Is Kaedehara Kazuha
Kaedehara Kazuha was the first Anemo character introduced in Inazuma. He is a ronin, though he was once a member of a noble clan. One can’t help but wonder whether Kazuha’s name was meant to hint at this. For context, Inazuma takes a great deal of inspiration from the Edo shogunate. During that period of Japanese history, commoners did use family names for themselves. However, those family names weren’t acknowledged by the Edo shogunate because family names were supposed to be a privilege reserved for the warrior class.
18. Kazuha’s Anemo Abilities Are Also Good For Crowd Control
Kazuha’s Anemo abilities are also good for crowd control. Specifically, his elemental skill can be used to suck in surrounding enemies while he jumps up. After which, Kazuha can execute an extra-powerful plunge attack that will suck in surrounding enemies as well. This is very versatile because this can do damage, perform crowd control, and even be used for exploration purposes. In comparison, Kazuha’s elemental burst is nowhere near as interesting because it does multiple instances of elemental damage within an area of effect, which can do different elemental damage by absorbing a different element.
19. One of Its Characters Is Sayu
The second Anemo character introduced in Inazuma is Sayu. She is a ninja working for the Yashiro Commission, which is a fact that raised a lot of eyebrows when it was revealed. This is because said organization is responsible for cultural events, so that raises the question of why it has what amounts to its own intelligence service. Sayu isn’t the most ninja-looking ninja ever created, though to be fair, ninja-looking ninja would have been very poorly suited for their roles in espionage, reconnaissance, and the like.
20. Sayu’s Anemo Abilities Are Good For Exploration
Amusingly, Sayu’s Anemo abilities are good for exploration. This is because her elemental skill lets her roll around with remarkable speed. Sayu can do damage in said state. However, the elemental skill is much more useful for moving around at very high speeds. As for Sayu’s elemental burst, it is versatile in that it does damage while also providing a bit of healing. After the initial effects, it will hang around for a while, choosing to either do more damage or provide more healing based on whether there is a nearby character that has taken significant amounts of damage or not.
