Guides · Mechanics
The Genshin Impact damage formula, explained
Every damage instance in Genshin Impact follows one multiplicative chain: Total ATK × Skill Multiplier × (1 + DMG Bonus) × CRIT × Reaction, then scaled by enemy DEF and elemental RES. This guide walks through each multiplier with the exact coefficients the damage calculator uses.
“When characters or enemies attack their targets, they deal damage (abbreviated as DMG) based on their own and their target’s attributes. … There are eight damage types: seven Elemental and one Physical.”
— Genshin Impact Wiki, “Damage” (community-maintained reference of the official combat system)
How Genshin damage is actually calculated
Every hit — normal, skill, burst — is a single product of six factors. This is the exact engine the calculator above runs, following the official damage formula as documented by the KeqingMains theorycrafting library. Understand each factor and you can see why a number is what it is — and which single upgrade moves it most.
(Scaling stat × Talent %) × (1 + DMG Bonus) × CRIT × Reaction × DEF × RES
Every damage multiplier, and what it's worth
A typical end-game hit is the product of these six damage multipliers. Scan the "typical value" column to see which multiplier is actually holding a build back — the smallest one is usually the best place to invest.
| Multiplier | Formula | Typical value | Raising it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Scaling stat × Talent% | — | Level, talents, weapon base ATK |
| DMG Bonus | 1 + total DMG% | ×1.5 | Goblet, set bonuses, buffers |
| CRIT (expected) | 1 + CR × CD | ×2.0 | Artifact sub-stats (keep 1:2) |
| Reaction (amplifying) | 1.5–2.0 × (1 + EM bonus) | ×1.5–3.2 | EM, Viridescent, team setup |
| DEF | (Lv+100) ÷ … | ×0.50 | DEF shred / ignore (rare) |
| RES | three-zone formula | ×0.90 | Viridescent Venerer, Zhongli |
Every factor, in detail
1. Base damage — the stat that scales
A talent does not always scale off ATK. The base is Scaling stat × Talent %, where the scaling stat is ATK, DEF, Max HP or EM depending on the character — Hu Tao, Yelan and Neuvillette scale off HP; Itto, Noelle and Albedo off DEF. This is why "just stack ATK" is wrong for roughly half the roster.
Total ATK = (Character base + Weapon base) × (1 + ATK%) + Flat ATK
The two base values are the "white" numbers you see on the character and weapon. ATK% only multiplies those — never the flat ATK from the feather or Bennett. That is why Bennett's buff scales off base ATK, and why low-base-ATK carries (Hu Tao: 106) get almost nothing from an ATK% sands.
2. Talent multiplier — your talent level
Every talent level is a guaranteed ~6–7% increase on that skill, with no RNG and no resin lottery. Going from talent 8 to 10 is often worth more than weeks of artifact farming. The calculator uses the real talent-10 multipliers for each character's normal, charged, skill and burst.
3. DMG Bonus — the additive multiplier
Goblet, weapon passives, set bonuses and supports (Kazuha, Furina, Yelan) all add into one single multiplier: (1 + total DMG Bonus). Because they stack additively, the more you already have, the less each new source is worth — this is exactly why an ATK% goblet can beat an elemental goblet once a character's DMG Bonus is past ~150%.
4. CRIT — the 1:2 balance
A crit multiplies the hit by (1 + CRIT DMG). Averaged over many hits, expected damage uses the multiplier (1 + CRIT Rate × CRIT DMG). Because a CRIT Rate roll is worth exactly half a CRIT DMG roll, the optimal balance is 1:2: 70%/140% (×1.98) beats 50%/200% (×2.00 on paper but ×1.86 expected). Aim for 60%+ CRIT Rate on a carry before stacking more CRIT DMG.
5. Reaction — three families
Amplifying (Vaporize ×1.5/×2.0, Melt ×2.0/×1.5, depending on which element triggers) multiply the whole hit and scale with EM through 1 + 2.78 × EM ÷ (EM + 1400). They keep CRIT, ATK and level.
Transformative (Overload, Electro-Charged, Superconduct, Swirl, Bloom, Hyperbloom, Burgeon, Burning) are separate instances that ignore ATK and CRIT — they scale only with character level and EM: ReactionMult × LevelMult × (1 + 16 × EM ÷ (EM + 2000)). That is why a Hyperbloom trigger wants pure EM, never a CRIT circlet.
Additive (Aggravate 1.15, Spread 1.25) is added as flat damage to the base before DMG Bonus and CRIT, so it benefits from both — Electro + Dendro teams build EM alongside CRIT.
6. DEF multiplier — why level matters
(Lv + 100) ÷ ((Lv + 100) + (Enemy Lv + 100) × (1 − DEF reduction) × (1 − DEF ignore))
Against a same-level enemy this is exactly 0.5 — you deal half your pre-defense damage. A level-80 carry against a level-90 enemy loses a few percent, which is why levelling a reaction carry to 90 matters more than it looks. DEF shred and ignore (Lisa, Raiden C2) are among the rarest, strongest buffs.
7. RES multiplier — shred beats stats
Resistance = enemy RES − shred: below 0 → 1 − RES/2, 0–75% → 1 − RES, 75%+ → 1 ÷ (1 + 4 × RES). Most enemies sit at 10%, so the baseline multiplier is 0.9. The Viridescent Venerer 4-piece shreds 40% RES, flipping a 10%-RES enemy to −30% — a ~28% damage increase from a single support, more than almost any artifact upgrade.
Why it matters: multiplying, not adding
Because all six factors multiply, raising your weakest factor is worth far more than pushing an already-high one higher. If your CRIT multiplier is 1.3 while DMG Bonus is already 1.8, one more CRIT roll beats another DMG bonus every time. The calculator re-runs the whole chain on every change, so you can test an upgrade and read the difference straight off the number — the weapon ranking above does exactly that, re-simulating each weapon and showing the percentage gain.
Elemental reactions explained
Reactions fall into three families that scale completely differently — pick the one your team actually triggers.
Amplifying reactions: Vaporize & Melt
These multiply your entire hit, including all your ATK, CRIT and DMG Bonus — which is why Vaporize and Melt carries are the game’s highest single-hit damage dealers. The multiplier depends on which element triggers:
| Reaction | Trigger order | Multiplier | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaporize |  on | 2.0× | Reverse Vaporize |
| Vaporize | on | 1.5× | Forward Vaporize |
| Melt | on | 2.0× | Forward Melt |
| Melt | on | 1.5× | Reverse Melt |
How Elemental Mastery scales it
Elemental Mastery scales the multiplier further by 2.78 × EM ÷ (EM + 1400). At 100 EM that’s about +18.5% on top of the base multiplier, at 200 EM about +35%, but by 400 EM the returns have flattened to about +62% — the first 100 EM is worth nearly as much as the next 300. That is why reaction carries aim for roughly 100-200 EM and spend the rest of their budget on CRIT.
Transformative reactions: Overload, Bloom & more
These deal a separate, fixed hit that ignores ATK, talent multiplier and CRIT entirely. Their damage depends only on the triggering character’s level, their Elemental Mastery, and the enemy’s RES. The formula is:
Transformative Damage = Level Multiplier × Reaction Coefficient × (1 + EM bonus) × RES multiplier
| Reaction | Coefficient | Elements | Typical build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overload | 2.75 | + | Full EM |
| Superconduct | 1.5 | + | Support only |
| Electro-Charged | 2.0 | + | Full EM |
| Swirl | 0.6 |  + absorbed element | Full EM |
| Shatter | 3.0 | Heavy hit on a Frozen target | Physical carry |
| Burning | 0.25 |  + | Support |
| Bloom | 2.0 | + | Full EM |
| Hyperbloom | 3.0 | core+ | Full EM |
| Burgeon | 3.0 | core+ | Full EM |
Level & EM scaling numbers
The level multiplier at character level 90 is 1446.85 (at 80 it is 1077.44 — a ~34% jump from 80 to 90). EM scales by 16 × EM ÷ (EM + 2000). Because these reactions ignore CRIT, a Hyperbloom trigger wants only EM and level — a 900 EM level-90 Hyperbloom deals roughly 23,000 per seed against a 10%-RES enemy, which is why Hyperbloom teams are the cheapest high-damage option in the game.
Hyperbloom damage formula (worked example)
Hyperbloom triggers when an Electro hit strikes a Dendro core created by Hydro + Dendro. It is a fixed reaction instance — it ignores ATK, talent multiplier and CRIT:
Hyperbloom Damage = 3.0 × LevelMult × (1 + 16 × EM ÷ (EM + 2000)) × RES multiplier
| Term | Value (Lv 90, 900 EM, 10% RES) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction coefficient | 3.0 | Hyperbloom |
| Level multiplier | 1446.85 | Character level 90 |
| EM bonus | +496.6% | 16 × 900 ÷ (900 + 2000) |
| EM multiplier | ×5.966 | 1 + EM bonus |
| RES multiplier | ×0.90 | 1 − 0.10 |
| Per-seed damage | ≈ 23,300 | 3.0 × 1446.85 × 5.966 × 0.90 |
Two consequences follow from the formula. First, level is a real upgrade: going from 80 to 90 lifts the level multiplier by ~34%, so the trigger character (Kuki Shinobu, Raiden, etc.) should be levelled to 90. Second, no amount of ATK or CRIT changes the number — EM is the only offensive stat, so the trigger runs an EM weapon and an EM / EM / EM artifact line.
Quicken reactions: Aggravate & Spread
Quicken adds a flat damage bonus that still benefits from CRIT and DMG Bonus — so Aggravate/Spread carries build a normal CRIT set.
Why the two Dendro families build differently
This is the single most common build mistake with Dendro teams: applying Bloom’s full-EM logic to a Quicken carry. Practical rule: Quicken carries build CRIT + EM sands; Bloom-family triggers build pure EM. Identify which reaction your team actually triggers before farming artifacts.
Put the formula to work
Model any build against the exact multipliers above in the free calculator — no signup, and set every value yourself to use your real artifacts.