Another of the recently leaked Genshin Impact characters hailing from the upcoming region is Nahida, or Lesser Lord Kusanali - the Dendro Archon of Sumeru.
We first hear of Kusanali in Chapter I, when Zhongli mentions her, and then are told to seek her out by Yae Miko when the Traveler gets to Sumeru. But who is Kusanali? This guide will run through what we know about the character so far, and what we can assume about her.
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Genshin Impact - Nahida Release Date
Nahida's official release comes with the first half of Version 3.2, beginning November 2. She has her own banner, and is a 5-Star.
Nahida's in-game introduction happened when Mihoyo added a sneaky Sumeru trailer to the Version 2.8 Special Program, with a voiceover that is supposed to be Kusanali herself. This implies we will be introduced to her sooner rather than later.
We hear the same voice during the Summertime Odyssey event while attempting to contact Venti on the Dodoco communication device. Communication fails, and a young, female voice answers telling the Traveler to explore on their own and not to worry.
The same voice comes to Traveler without a body, seemingly straight to their mind, when the quest is over. There's a brief Dendro element sigil that appears in the air, too, confirming who the disembodied voice is: Nahida.
What is Nahida's Elemental Vision?
Nahida, as Archon of the element, will hold a Dendro Vision. She is among four confirmed Dendro characters, including Collei, Alhaitham, and Tighnari.
Who is Nahida in Genshin Impact?
click to enlargeLesser Lord Kusanali, known by her real name Nahida, is the Dendro Archon of the Sumeru region. As Archon, she is also the God of Wisdom, and is worshipped by those in Sumeru; hence the focus on scholars and education within the lore and story we've seen already. The 'Lesser Lord' title is given to her as a term of endearment.
She is one of The Seven and rose to the title after the previous Dendro Archon passed away in the Cataclysm event some 500 years ago. Despite this age, she is the youngest of the Seven. Her birthday is celebrated among her people as the Sabzeruz Festival.
She appeared briefly in the Sumeru Preview Teaser 3, sitting in a tree, and then appeared in the 3.0, and 3.1 storylines. Her main focus will be in the 3.2 Archon quest, along with her release.
What do we know about Nahida's kit?
She will fill a sub-DPS role, thanks to her skills and constellation upgrades. She has an incredibly large and powerful AoE range and can provide bonus damage for Dendro reactions. Like other catalysts, her main attack has no cooldown so can be used for a constant barrage.
Nahida weapon tier list - What weapon does Nahida use?
Nahida uses a Catalyst weapon, and a new 5-Star catalyst will be added with her. Named 'A Thousand Floating Dreams', the catalyst is shaped like a genie's lamp, with green accents. The weapon will provide buffs to elemental mastery. This may be hard to get, so these will be excellent choices too:
| Weapon | Rarity | Stats | Skill | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Thousand Floating Dreams | 5-Star | Elemental Mastery 265 | Party members other than the equipping character will provide the equipping character with buffs based on whether their Elemental Type is the same as the latter or not. If their Elemental Types are the same, increase Elemental Mastery by 32. If not, increase the equipping character’s DMG Bonus from their Elemental Type by 10%. The aforementioned effects can have 3 stacks. Additionally, all nearby party members other than the equipping character will have their Elemental Mastery increased by 40. Multiple such effects from multiple such weapons can stack. | Wishes - current weapon banner |
| Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds | 5-Star | CRIT Rate 7.2% | Increases Movement SPD by 10%. When in battle, gain an 8% Elemental DMG Bonus every 4s. Max 4 stacks. Lasts until the character falls or leaves combat. | Wishes |
| Skyward Atlas | 5-Star | ATK 7.2% | Increases Elemental DMG Bonus by 12%. Normal attack hits have a 50% chance to earn the favor of the clouds, which actively seeks out nearby enemies to attack for 15s. Dealing 160% ATK DMG. Can only occur once every 30s. | Wishes |
| The Widsith | 4-Star | CRIT DMG 12.0% | When a character takes the field, they will gain a random theme song for 10s. This can only occur once every 30s. Recitative: ATK is increased by 60%. Aria: Increases all Elemental DMG by 48%. Interlude: Elemental Mastery is increased by 240. | Wishes |
What are Kusanali's skills?
Each Genshin Impact character has two skills and a passive ability. One of the skills takes longer to charge, and is a stronger attack.
Her elemental skill marks enemies with the Dendro element, which deals Dendro damage every 2.5 seconds. Her burst is a huge AoE Dendro attack - the biggest in the game so far - that is perfect for setting off reactions with either Electro, Hydro, or Pyro teammates.
click to enlargeWhat are Nahida's Constellations?
Nahida's constellations provide some serious scaling to her damage as a Dendro catalyst, and can buff party members too:
- Seed of Stored Knowledge
- When the Shrine of Maya is unleashed and the Elemental Types of the party members are being tabulated, the count will add one to the number of Pyro, Electro, and Hydro characters respectively.
- Root of All Fullness
- Opponents that are marked by Seeds of Skandha applied by Nahida herself will be affected by Burning, Bloom, Hyperbloom and Burgeon scoring critical hits, with crit rate and crit damage fixed at 20% and 100% respectively. Additionally, within eight seconds of being affected by Quicken, Aggravate, or Spread, enemies' defence is decreased by 30%.
- Shoot of Conscious Attainment
- Increases the level of Nahida's Elemental Skill, All Schemes to Know, by three, with a maximum upgrade level of 15.
- Stem of Manifest Inference
- When nearby opponents are affected by All Schemes to Know's Seeds of Skandha, Nahida's Elemental Mastery will be increased depending on how many enemies are affected by the seeds. One will raise Elemental Mastery by 100, two by 120, three by 140, and four or over by 160.
- Leaves of Enlightening Speech
- Increases the level of Illusory Heart by three, with a maximum upgrade level of 15.
- Fruit of Reason's Culmination
- When Nahida hits an opponent affected by All Schemes to Know's Seeds of Skandha with normal or charged attacks after activating Illusory Heart, she will use Tri-Karma Purification - Karmic Oblivion on this enemy and all connected enemies, dealing Dendro damage based on 200% of Nahida's Attack and 400% of her Elemental Mastery. This damage is considered Elemental Skill damage, and can be triggered once every 0.2 seconds. The effect can last up to ten seconds, but will be removed after Nahida has used six instances of Tri-Karma Purification - Karmic Oblivion.
What are Nahida's ascension materials, and talent materials?
It turned out that the Genshin Impact leak about Nahida's materials proved to be true. Here is what she'll need to be ascended:
| Material | How to obtain |
|---|---|
| Quelled Creeper | New drops from Dendro Hypostasis |
| Kalpalata Lotus | Found in streams and ponds in the Sumeru forest areas |
| Fungal Spores, Luminescent Pollen, Crystalline Cyst Dust | Drops from fungi enemies in grassy areas |
| Nagadus Emerald Sliver, Fragment, Chunk, and Gemstone | Drops from the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, Dendro Hypostasis, and can be gained as daily commission rewards. |
Nahida will require the Ingenuity family of talent materials to level up her skills, and the new Puppet Strings drop from the Balladeer's boss fight.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Genshin Impact and Guides page.