Unlock Your Characters’ True Power: A Deep Dive into Genshin Impact Talents
Are you exploring Teyvat, hoping to strengthen your Genshin Impact team? You likely equipped flashy swords and shiny artifacts. But are you maximizing their potential? Let’s discuss something vital: Talents.
Talents act as the secret sauce for your characters’ abilities. They are not minor tweaks; they are essential upgrades that significantly influence combat performance. This means boosting damage, improving survivability, and adjusting how often you unleash flashy Elemental Bursts. Ignoring talents? It’s like having a sports car without an engine. Let’s address this!
What Exactly Do Talents Do? Spoiler: It’s a Big Deal.
Simply put, talents are what define your characters. They directly affect:
- Damage Output: Want to deal more damage? Invest in talents. Level up talent linked to your character’s primary damage source.
- Ability Frequency: Some talents reduce cooldowns or boost energy recovery, allowing more frequent skill and burst usage. More skills = more fun (and damage).
- Survivability: Want to last longer? Some talents boost defense, healing, or offer shields. A dead DPS is zero damage.
Talents form the foundation of character progression. They let you customize and enhance your team’s performance. Don’t overlook them!
Talent Level: Reaching for the Stars (or Level 14, at Least)
Let’s dive into talent levels. Notice those little numbers by your character’s skills? That’s their talent level, which you want to max out.
The peak achievable talent level is 14 for Normal Attacks, Elemental Skills, and Elemental Bursts. Rumors of a Level 15 exist. Game files suggest a max potential level of 15, but for now, the practical limit is 14. Think of level 15 like a legendary artifact you hope for but may not acquire. Level 14 is where you focus your efforts.
Talents vs. Artifacts: The Eternal Question of Prioritization
Ah, the classic debate: Should you focus on talents or grind for better artifacts? It’s like picking between different desserts. Both options are solid, but where should you start?
It’s a balancing act. For many characters, especially damage dealers, leveling talents is essential. Talent upgrades guarantee linear progression. Level them up, and your skills become undeniably stronger. Artifacts involve more luck. You can farm domains for weeks and end with useless stats.
Don’t ditch artifacts entirely. A well-crafted artifact set can synergize with your character’s talents—elevating their effectiveness. Talents create a solid base, while artifacts provide the shine.
General Rule of Thumb: For primary damage dealers, level key talents to at least level 8 first. Then, focus on artifact optimization. For support characters, talent priorities depend on the role. Some support roles need talent investment (like Bennett’s Burst), while others perform well with less.
Crowning Talents: The Ultimate Show of Dedication (and Resource Drain)
Crowning talents sounds fancy, right? It is a sign of commitment to a character. However, it’s resource-intensive. You’ll need a rare item called a Crown of Insight, obtainable from time-limited events and the Sacred Sakura’s Favor/Tree of Dreams. Choose wisely; these crowns are precious.
Which talents deserve a crown? Generally, crown talents that offer the most substantial damage boosts or utility. Here are prime candidates:
- Bennett’s Elemental Burst: Fantastic Voyage. Almost everyone agrees this should be crowned. It provides massive ATK buffs and healing. Crowning it noticeably enhances effectiveness.
- Xingqiu’s Elemental Burst: Guhua Sword – Raincutter. A hydro application machine, crowning strengthens its damage and hydro application, making team reactions more powerful.
- Kazuha’s Elemental Skill or Burst. Kazuha excels in crowd control and damage. Depending on your style, crown either his Skill or Burst to maximize effectiveness.
- Ganyu’s Elemental Burst: Celestial Shower. For Cryo DPS Ganyu, this Burst consistently applies Cryo and deals damage. Crowning it reinforces her as a top-tier DPS.
- Xiangling’s talent (Pyronado from Elemental Burst). Often overlooked, Xiangling’s Pyronado provides huge off-field Pyro damage. If she’s your main Pyro damage dealer, crowning this is wise.
- Xiao’s Whirlwind Thrust (from Elemental Burst). If you use Xiao frequently, crowning his Plunging Attack talent is critical for maximizing his potential.
Crowning is luxurious, not necessary. Leveling talents to 8 or 9 already provides substantial benefits. Crowning is for those who want ultimate performance. Be prudent with your Crowns of Insight!
Talent Leveling Materials: The Grind is Real
You know talents matter (great!). Now, how do you level them up? You’ll need Talent Level-Up Materials, which come in three tiers: Teachings, Guides, and Philosophies, reflecting increasing rarity and level needs. You farm these from Domains of Mastery open on specific days.
Each character needs specific talent books based on element and region. For instance, Liyue characters might require “Teachings of Gold,” “Guide to Gold,” and “Philosophies of Gold.”
Examples:
Zhongli: To fully upgrade one skill (like Dominus Lapidis), you’ll need:
- x1 Crown of Insight (for level 10)
- x3 Teachings of Gold
- x21 Guide to Gold
- x38 Philosophies of Gold
- Other common items like Slime Condensate.
Keqing: To max out all three skills (Normal Attack, Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst) is demanding:
- x3 Crown of Insight
- x9 Teachings of Prosperity
- x63 Guide to Prosperity
- x114 Philosophies of Prosperity
- Plus common items like Whopperflower Nectar and boss materials like Ring of Boreas.
Clearly, leveling talents, especially to high levels, requires significant farming. Manage your resin wisely! Notably, here are characters using “Gold” talent books:
Characters Using “Gold” Talent Books:
- Baizhu
- Beidou
- Traveler (Geo, Electro, Dendro, Hydro)
- Xianyun
- Xingqiu
- Xinyan
- Yanfei
- Zhongli
Increasing Talent Level: Materials and Constellations
You raise talent levels primarily using Talent Level-Up Materials mentioned earlier. Also need common enemy drops and Mora. Ascending characters lets you reach a max talent level of 10 at final Ascension stage (before constellations).
You can also boost talent levels through Constellations. Certain constellations raise the level of a talent by +3 when unlocked. Many characters’ constellations enhance either their Elemental Skill or Burst. It’s a significant boost, providing three “free” talent levels and reinforcing the growth from constellations.
Venti’s Talents: An Anemo Archon Exception
Lastly, let’s discuss Venti. The Anemo Archon is noted for crowd control and wine preferences. If you’re building Venti for Elemental Mastery and triggering Elemental Reactions (Swirl), it’s essential to note you don’t need to invest heavily in his talents.
Swirl damage primarily scales with character level and Elemental Mastery, not talent levels. If your focus is EM and support, save your talent books for others. However, if aiming for a Sub-DPS Venti with an ATK build, prioritize leveling his Elemental Burst. His Burst can still deal solid damage, and talent levels enhance its multipliers.
In conclusion, talents play a significant role in character progression in Genshin Impact. Knowing how they work, which talents to prioritize, and how to level them up is crucial for optimizing your team and overcoming Teyvat’s challenges. Go forth, level those talents, and unleash the full power of your characters!
