Nahida, or Lesser Lord Kusanali is the Dendro Archon of the Sumeru region in Genshin Impact.
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? She is known as the Lord of Wisdom, and her tale is quite ragic.
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Genshin Impact - Nahida Release Date
Nahida's was released the first half of Version 3.2, beginning November 2 2022.
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.
Who is Nahida in Genshin Impact?
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+ 2Lesser 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.
After all the teasing, we finally meet Nahida once we get to Sumeru. Nahida rose to power after the death of the previous Archon, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. She is only 500 years old, which is very young for an Archon. She spent most of this time shunned by the Sumeru Akedimiya and trapped in a cage.
However, most characters acknowledge the wisdom and intellect she possesses. Nahida is one of the characters closest to the truth of the world after her conversation with Dottore. She has access to Irminsul and can access the knowledge that flows through it. Nahida is described as a gentle god, who despite her power, chooses to care for others.
Nahida weapon tier list - What weapon does Nahida use?
Nahida uses a Catalyst weapon, and she has her signature weapon, 'A Thousand Floating Dreams'. The catalyst is shaped like a genie's lamp, with green accents. The weapon provides buffs to elemental mastery. However, there are many excellent F2P options for Nahida's weapon of choice as well.
| 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 |
Nahida Best Artifacts
Nahida can play several different roles, but she truly excels at her role as a Dendro Sub-DPS and Support. We'll cover the best artifacts and stats for all three roles. Note that a Thousand Floating Dreams remains her best weapon for each build, but we'll recommend alternatives for each playstyle.
Nahida DPS artifacts
- Best Artifacts Set: Deepwood Memories
- Priority Stats: Elemental Mastery, Dendro DMG, Crit Ratios
- Priority Sub-stats: EM, Crit Ratio, Energy Recharge
- Best weapons: Solar Pearl, Mappa Mare, Widsith
You're going to want at least 110% energy recharge to get consistent damage and Elemental Burst rotations with this DPS build. Pair her with characters like Fischl and Xingqiu who can reliably apply their elements while off-field.
Nahida Sub-DPS and Support artifacts
- Best Artifacts Set: Deepwood Memories
- Priority Stats: Elemental Mastery
- Priority Sub-stats: Elemental Mastery
- Best weapons: Mappa Mare, Magic Guide, Fruit of Fulfillment
The Sub-DPS and Support playstyle focuses on providing consistent off field damage with her Elemental Skill, and maximising the buffs she can grant with her weapon skill and Elemental Burst.
Nahida Best Team Comps
Here are some sample teams for Nahida and their specific purpose.
Nahida Aggravate/Quicken
Nahida Burgeon Team
- Kamisato Ayato(DPS)
- Nahida(Sub-DPS)
- Thoma/Xiangling(Sub-DPS)
- Baizhu/Kazuha(Support)
Nahida DPS Hyperbloom
Nahida Hyperbloom
What are Nahida's skills?
As a Catalyst user, Nahida's main 5 auto attack combo applies Dendro to enemies.
Her elemental skill marks enemies with the Dendro element, which deals Dendro damage every 2.5 seconds.
Her burst is a huge AoE Dendro cage - the biggest in the game so far - that gives her different buffs based on her party's elements.
- Pyro - Increases the DMG of Tri-Karma Purification
- Hydro - Increase the duration of Illusory Heart
- Electro - Decrease the interval between each Tri-Karma Purification
click to enlarge + 2What 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.
That's all you need to know about the best builds and playstyles for Nahida in Genshin Impact. If you're looking for other powerful Dendro characters, check out Alhaitham and Tighnari.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Genshin Impact and Guides page.