Enemy Shields and Armor

An explanation as to how different type of Enemy Shields and Armor function as well as the most efficient way to deal with them.

Introduction

Currently, there are two main types of shields that players should be aware of, Elemental Shields and Elemental Armor. We'll talk about what the differences are between these two shield types, as well as how to eliminate them. An understanding of Gauge units and ICD is required.

Elemental Gauge Theory

Elemental Shields

Elemental Shields are shields that NEED to be taken down in order to deal direct damage to the enemy HP bar.

To deal with Elemental Shields, you'll need to apply a different Elemental Aura. For example, The fastest way to take down a Cryo Shield is by applying a total of 6U Pyro Aura. However, Pyro Aura is not the only Aura that can take down a Cryo Shield.

Due to the nature of how ICD works, it is recommended to use different character rotations as opposed to spamming a certain attack, like Infused Normals. That being said, Bow Users can spam their Charged Attack to apply an aura over and over because the assumption is that the charge time is longer than the ICD.

Before we get into how to deal with different types of shields, some types (whether its Elemental Shield or Armor) can be damaged through Heavy Attacks and Light Attacks. These types of attacks deal bonus damage due to their property of being Heavy or Light (and some attacks are neither Heavy nor Light). However, Light Attacks do insignificant damage, and it's advisable to avoid using Light Attacks to break Shields.

Abyss mage shields, unlike other types of shields, take any damage directly. Any type of attack reduces Abyss mage shields HP by the amount of damage it deals in addition to bonus damage due to Elemental Aura application. However, Abyss mage shields have very large HP pools and it is not advisable to rely on direct damage compared to elemental damage.

To add to that, Geo Attacks are considered Heavy Attacks and also can cause Crystallize. Meaning the GU required to break Shields that are susceptible to both Geo and Heavy Attacks is much less in practice.

The following is a table consisting of different types of Elemental Shields as well as how many Gauge units are required to take them down. Character Gauge Units Database

Abyss Order

Pyro Abyss Mage

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	Null
Hydro	6GU
Electro	12GU
Cryo	24GU
Anemo	24GU
Geo	24GU

Cryo Abyss Mage

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Cryo	Null
Hydro	Null
Pyro	6GU
Electro	12GU
Anemo	24GU
Geo	24GU

Note: Cryo Elemental Shields are the only shields that can be damaged with Heavy attacks such as Claymore hits. It takes ~24 Claymore hits to break a Cryo Elemental Shield.

Hydro Abyss Mage

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Hydro	Null
Cryo	12GU
Electro	15GU
Pyro	24GU
Anemo	24GU
Geo	24GU

Electro Abyss Mage

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Electro	Null
Cryo	8GU
Hydro	8GU
Pyro	8GU
Anemo	16GU
Geo	16GU

Abyss Herald

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Hydro	Null
Cryo	36GU
Electro	45GU
Pyro	72GU
Anemo	72GU
Geo	72GU

Abyss Lector

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Electro	Null
Cryo	36GU
Pyro	36GU
Hydro	45GU
Anemo	72GU
Geo	72GU

Slimes

Cryo Slime

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	4GU
Electro	8GU
Anemo	16GU
Geo	16GU
Claymore N1	14 Hits

Geo Slime

Damage Source	Hits Required
Claymore N1	6
Ningguang N1	6~7
Overload	6~7

Important: Geo Slimes can lose their Shield through Crystallize Reaction. Claymore attacks vary in strength from character to other but the difference should be 1 Normal.

Cicin Mages

Cryo Cicin Mage

Before we get into how to take down a Cryo Cicin Mage's Elemental Shield, first we have to know that the amount of Cicin (or flies) matter. The less Cicin there are, the easier it is to take down their Shield. C = Numbers of Cicin alive.

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	2GU × C
Electro	4GU × C
Anemo	8GU × C
Geo	8GU × C

Elemental Shield strength varies from domains, abyss, co-op, and overworld. Testing was done in overworld using level 1 Weapons and no Artifacts.

Elemental Armor

Elemental Armor is the type of shield that protects mobs such as Stonehide Lawachurl, Fatui, Geo Slimes, and Regisvine bosses.

One thing to remember is that unlike Elemental Shields, it is possible to deal direct damage to enemies protected by Elemental Armor. However, the enemy gains +100% RES to Elemental attacks and Physical attacks while armored, which comes out to a total of 110% Elemental RES and 80% Physical RES.

The Elemental Armor surrounding specifically Fatui Agents works in a unique way. Unlike other shield types, they are only damaged by the Specific Element that counters them. For instance, an Electro Fatui's Elemental Armor will only take damage if inflicted by Cryo Element. Other elements deal extremely insignificant damage that it is practically negligible.

The following are tables consisting of different types of Elemental Armor as well as how to take them down:

Fatui

Fatui Skirmishers

Fatui Skirmisher Type	Element + Gauge Units
Cryo Fatui	4GU Pyro
Electro Fatui	4GU Cryo
Hydro Fatui	5GU Electro
Anemo Fatui	1GU Cryo\Hydro\Pyro\Electro
Pyro Gunslinger	4GU Hydro
Geochanter	5~7 Heavy Attacks OR Crystallize Reaction

• Foreign auras can exist on these armor and there are some interesting interactions when trying to break said armor. See this Vault Entry for more information.

Whopperflowers

Cryo Whopperflower

Cryo Whopperflower	Gauge Units Required
Cryo	Null
Hydro	Null
Pyro	1GU
Electro	2GU
Anemo	4GU
Geo	4GU
Claymore N1	4 Hits

Pyro Whopperflower

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	Null
Hydro	1GU
Electro	2GU
Cryo	4GU
Anemo	4GU
Geo	4GU

Lawachurls

Note that both Stonehide Lawachurl, Thunderhelm Lawachurl, and Frostarm Lawachurl armor decays each second for up to 90 seconds.

Stonehide Lawachurl

Damage Source	Hits Required
Claymore N1 over 24 Seconds	11
Overload over 45 Seconds	~9
5 Ningguang N1	5

Frostarm Lawachurl

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	15GU
Electro	30GU
Anemo	60GU
Geo	60GU

Thunderhelm Lawachurl

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Hydro	16GU
Pyro	16GU
Cryo	16GU
Anemo	32GU
Geo	32GU

Regisvines

IMPORTANT: These values are for Aura applied to the Core of the Regisvine. It takes HALF the GU of each element to break the shield protecting the COROLLA. So for example, it only takes 6GU Electro to break the eye of either Regisvine.

Pyro Regisvine

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Hydro	6GU
Electro	12GU
Cryo	24GU
Anemo	24GU
Geo	24GU

Cryo Regisvine

Elemental Source	Gauge Units Required
Pyro	6GU
Electro	12GU
Anemo	24GU
Geo	24GU
Claymore N1	~24

Mitachurl Shields

Mitachurl Shields are rather different than other types of shields. For one, they only protect the Mitachurls from one direction only. There aren't any special mechanics as to how they work, and dealing with them is quite simple as well.

Wooden Mitachurl

Wooden Mitachurl's shields can be taken down by applying Pyro Aura. However, when you apply Pyro to the Wooden Mitachurl's Shield, he will attempt to extinguish it. There are two ways to deal with that:

• Keep attacking him while the Pyro Aura is burning his shield so he is forced to guard.

• Apply another Pyro Aura as soon as he extinguishes the first one and the shield will burn.

Rockshield Mitachurl

Rockshield Mitachurl's shield is considered a Geo Shield. Therefore, you will need Heavy attacks, Geo Attacks, or Overload.

• ~18 Claymore N1

• ~15 Overload reactions

• 16 Ningguang N1

• Applying Cryo Aura then causing Crystallize with Geo Element is very effective in taking down the Rockshield Mitachurl's shield.

Iceshield Mitachurl

• 6GU Pyro

• ~3 Overload Reactions

• While Claymore Attacks can damage the Iceshield Mitachurl's Shield, the shield has a regenerate mechanic which makes it hard for Claymore Attacks to outpace the Shield Regeneration. Therefore, its best to take down the shield using Pyro Aura.

Childe

During the Childe boss fight, he can enter into a shielded state where he takes no damage. This shield is only affected by poise damage and not normal damage. Attacks like Claymore Attacks, Blunt Attribute attacks, and Overload will be the most effective at breaking said shield.

Shield Damage

Genshin Impact does not use a generic single-variable HP system for enemy shields like other games. Instead, total Shield HP is in the form of its Shield Gauge Units (Shield GU), a value which represents the shield’s “elemental strength”. This can be decreased to 0 (thereby breaking the shield) through reactions, character damage (excluding Elemental Armor shields) and the Poise values of your talents. (Poise values are explained in the document and affect Geo / Frozen shields only)

Total Shield Damage = Reaction Cost + Damage Cost + Poise Cost

For an in-depth analysis on shield damage as of 2021-06-05, vibe checker#5502 has written An Extensive Look Into Shield Damage in Genshin Impact

Additional notes on shield damage:

• Transformative damage is also applied in the damage cost of shield damage, and is affected by elemental mastery.

Credits

Writers

• 3b00d_09#2235

Theorycrafters

• Bobrokrot#0111

• Iron IV#3832

• sexyeboy69#3215

• Yukarix#6534

• Ayzel#7399

• srl#2712

• vibe checker#5502

External Links

• Bobrokrot's Shield Infographic

• GU Database

• An Extensive Look Into Shield Damage in Genshin Impact by vibe checker#5502

Evidence Vault:

Enemy Shields and Armor