Genshin Impact: How to fight and heal underwater in Fontaine

Combat is a very different experience underwater.

Yelan preparing to attack while swimming underwater.
Screenshot via Dot Esports

The Hydro region of Fontaine brought underwater exploration to Genshin Impact’s vast world of Teyvat.

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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.

Nahida using rhe Hydro lasso basic attack.
The basic attack doesn’t scale off on anything, so it will always be quite weak. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Nahida using the Xenochromatic  Armored Crab ability against an enemy.
Your enemies won’t stand a chance after you absorb these abilities. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

A Xenochromatic Armored Crab next to a regular Armored Crab.
One of these crabs is not like the other. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Nahida using the Xenochromatic Blubberbeast ability against a crab.
The sonar waves are excellent for attacking from afar. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

A Xenochromatic Blubberbeast swimming underwater.
Don’t worry, you won’t be hurting these adorable creatures by absorbing their attacks. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Nahida using the Xenochromatic Hunter's Ray ability on an octopus.
You can deal around 20,000 damage with each attack as opposed to the measly 2,000 your basic attack does. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

A Xenochromatic Hunter's Ray swimming underwater.
There are Hunter’s Ray’s all around the underwater areas of Fontaine. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

A Xenochromatic Jellyfish swimming underwater.
Look for a glowing jellyfish to gain this ability. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Kokomi firing a jellyfish bomb underwater.
These bombs are pretty powerful. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Nahida swimming underwater near a Recovery Orb group of orange fish.
The bright orange fish are usually easy to spot among the deep blue color of the ocean. Screenshot via Dot Esports

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.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.