In Genshin Impact’s newest livestream for Song of the Welkin Moon: Interlude, HoYoverse revealed big news about reworking and defining game play for characters! A new faction has been added to team compositions: the Hexerei. A combination of Hexerei characters in the party can reveal new gameplay abilities because it triggers the Hexerei: Secret Rite effect. 

There are a multitude of characters who are affected by this development. 

The newest five-star character releasing in this new update, Durin, is included in this faction. Durin will have enhanced effects to his Elemental Burst in both his Purity and Abyssal form. His Elemental Burst already can reduce the Pyro Resistance of enemies or increase his damage to Melt and Vaporize reactions, so this further upgrade is a great boon. 

Venti, the Anemo Archon, also belongs to this faction as well. If Venti’s Elemental Burst is active and a Swirl reaction is triggered, the character’s and the Burst’s damage will both increase for a period of time. In addition, Venti’s Normal Attacks while his Elemental Burst is active will become Anemo attacks. During this phase, when his Normal Attacks hit enemies, it will extend the duration of his Elemental Burst. 

Klee is another five-star character who benefits from this update. With Hexerei: Secret Rite active, her Elemental Burst will ensure that Klee’s Normal Attack sequence won’t reset. So, when she performs the third Normal Attack in the sequence, it will also trigger the effect of her Charged Attack which deals additional Pyro damage. This has long been an issue with her kit since her Normal Attack and Charged Attacks had been separate and took so long to get through the battle animation. However, this update has made her far more viable as a unit and made her gameplay a lot smoother. 

Albedo benefits from the Hexerei: Secret Rite effect as well. His Elemental Skill produces an Isotoma Flower on the ground that will periodically deal Geo Damage to enemies as Transient Blossoms in its circle of influence when the active character does a Normal Attack. In a Hexerei team, Albedo’s skill will generate a Silver Isotoma, and this flower cannot be broken by an enemy’s attack. Furthermore, the Transient Blossom damage dealt by Silver Isotomas deals greater damage than the normal one. The Silver Isotoma will also increase the damage dealt by Hexerei characters according to Albedo’s Defense which is typically already pretty high since his other skills are built on his Defense. 

In the preview of Albedo’s Elemental Skill being buffed, it also revealed that Silver Isotomas may have a shorter duration period compared to the normal Isotoma. However, when characters deal a Normal Attack on the enemy, periodically, it will spawn another Silver Isotoma. It’s possible the duration of this skill could be endless or simply just have no Recharge time at all to release another Elemental Skill on the field. 

Fischl, one of the best off-field characters in the game, also received this buff. While Oz is on the field, when Overload reactions are triggered, the active character will have their Attack increased. If the reaction triggered is Electro-charged or Lunar-charged, both Fischl and the active character will have their Elemental Mastery increased. It’s a great way to have Fischl as an off-field character dealing a lot of damage and supporting the team. 

The last character revealed whose abilities with the buff were showcased was Razor. Razor is a four-star Electro character whose Elemental Burst received an improvement. During his Elemental Burst, if the Electro Sigils he collects overflows past the amount he can hold, he will deal an Area of Effect Electro damage and regain Energy for his Elemental Burst. 

There are two characters who were showcased as aligning with the Hexerei whose buffs were not showcased. 

Firstly was Sucrose. Sucrose is already a great Anemo supporter who increases Elemental Mastery and triggers Swirl frequently. It’s possible that the Hexerei Effect will increase the effects she offers more when Swirl is triggered or may even increase the duration of her Elemental Burst which is the main Swirl trigger in her kit. 

Mona also will align with the Hexerei. Although she was briefly shown, it wasn’t made apparent what her new abilities would be. Mona is great for increasing the damage of other characters for a short duration of time. Perhaps, it will increase the amount of time that enemies are affected by her Elemental Burst which marks characters to be able to deal more damage. It’s also possible that she may receive an increase similar to Fischl where specific reactions will increase the amount of damage done or the buff received. 

The Hexerei: Secret Rite is a great update that makes it possible for other older characters to receive similar effects. Many gameplay elements that felt clunky in older characters or simply didn’t mesh well in their kits in actual overworld combat have been fixed with the Hexerei faction being made. It’s possible that as the game develops, more factions will emerge that will have similar effects to make characters more viable for team compositions. 

What are your thoughts about the Hexerei: Secret Rite effect? Are you excited for the new Genshin Impact update? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or in our Boss Rush Discord!

Featured Image Source: HoYoverse

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