The Hydro region of Fontaine brought underwater exploration to Genshin Impact’s vast world of Teyvat.
There is a lot to see and do down in the depths of the sea around this region. But if you’re going to be exploring underwater, then you need to know how to fight the foes you come across and how to heal yourself.
How to attack underwater in Genshin
You won’t have access to any of your useful elemental abilities or attacks while you’re underwater. Instead, you must rely on either the basic attack you have as a default or the special attacks you can absorb from Xenochromatic creatures found underwater.
All underwater attacks in Genshin
There are four different types of attacks you can use underwater in Fontaine. These attacks include:
- Basic attack
- Xenochromatic Armored Crab attack
- Xenochromatic Blubberbeast attack
- Xenochromatic Hunter’s Ray attack
- Xenochromatic Jellyfish’s attack
Basic underwater attack in Genshin
Without any enhancements, you’ll just have a simple Hydro lasso basic attack. You can use this to inflict damage, but it’s fairly weak and won’t make taking on foes, even the ones with low health points, easy.
You’ll need to use your basic attack near any of the Xenochromatic creatures to absorb their abilities.
Xenochromatic Armored Crab attack in Genshin
You’ll be surrounded by a heavily armored shield when you absorb the abilities of the Xenochromatic Armored Crab. This shield reduces the effects of incoming attacks and has a very short cooldown of just two seconds, so you will be able to deploy it often.
When you time it just right, you can increase the damage dealt by this shield back against enemies by deflecting their abilities. This is a key component of successfully vanquishing the local legend Iron Viscount and unlocking a special Version 4.0 achievement but is also an immensely useful tool for general underwater combat.
You can tell the Xenochromatic Armored Crab apart from the regular Armored Crab by its bright blue color and glow. It also has a floating logo above its head shaped like a crab surrounded by its shell, which is the mark of the powers you can absorb from it.
Xenochromatic Blubberbeast attack in Genshin
The Xenochromatic Blubberbeast attack will grant you a special pulsing sonar wave. Blubberbeasts are the cute seals you’ll find all around the underwater regions of Fontaine, but the Xenochromatic variant will be glowing blue.
To distinguish the Xenochromatic Blubberbeast from its regular counterpart, look for the small floating logo above its head. This logo will feature three rounded lines and the top one will have two tiny ears poking up out of it. It also resembles the pulsing sonar wave attack it will grant you.
Xenochromatic Hunter’s Ray attack in Genshin
This attack can be obtained from the Hunter’s Ray and consists of sharp Fontemer Water Blades. You can use it as an attack or to cut Fontemer Seagrass. This is quite a useful attack since it can be used up close or far away.
You’ll need to find a glowing blue Hunter’s Ray to absorb this ability. Like the other Xenochromatic creatures, you can find this one all around the underwater areas and it does have a regular counterpart you’ll need to watch out for since the regular version will not grant any abilities.
If you’re unsure whether you’ve found one, look for the upside-down “U” shape with a small circle cut out of it. All Xenochromatic Hunter’s Rays will have this logo floating above their heads, while the regular versions of them will not.
Xenochromatic Jellyfish attack in Genshin
You can activate the Xenochromatic Jellyfish attack by striking one of them to receive special Hat-Shaped Bombs. These bombs can be used in two different ways.
If you just press the corresponding button once, the bomb will be placed down. When you press the button again, it will explode immediately. This allows you to strategically use them from a safe distance away from enemies.
When you hold down the corresponding button, you enter a special aiming mode, and a bomb is thrown forward to wherever you aimed at as soon as you let the button go. You can then press the button again to explode it.
How to heal underwater in Genshin
As you explore the underwater depths of Fontaine, you’ll regularly come across Recovery Orbs that will immediately restore your health points when you pass through them. These Recovery Orbs are groups of vibrant orange fish that consistently swim around each other in a circle.
I’ve found that they respawn quite fast as I hung around one area for just a few minutes and the same Recovery Orb group I consumed was already back before I left. The healing they grant is fairly potent too—one of my characters replenished about 20,000 health points from swimming through one.
Recovery Orbs also restore your Aquatic Stamina, so if you notice you’re low and want to get moving again quickly, you may want to consider looking around for one.
