From its release date a year ago until today, miHoYo has promised players 7 different elements. However, as of 2.1, there are no playable Dendro characters in the game. In this article, we are going to answer the question of why are there no playable Genshin Impact Dendro characters and list out the few confirmed Dendro characters in Genshin Impact.

Table of Contents

Baizhu
The first appearance of Baizhu, a character of Dendro element, in the story.

1. Dendro Element Genshin Impact

Dendro, the power over plants and vegetables, is one of the seven elements in Genshin Impact. So far, there is only one "burning" reaction available for Dendro. It deals Pyro DMG over time. The grass is considered a Dendro object and will spread the burn effect around the area.

The Dendro status can be applied by the green field from Dendro Samachurls or poison clouds from Large Dendro Slimes. Unlike other elements, taking Dendro damage will not apply a Dendro status. The Dendro status effect itself does not have any other effect.

Enemies with Dendro power

So far, the only Dendro powers we can observe in game are from enemies. Dendro Samachurls, dendro slimes, wood shield hillichurls and wood shield mittachurls. Out of the 4, only the Dendro Samachurls have an effective Dendro attack. It can summon a barrier of thorns that debuff characters with a harmful dendro effect that ignites when contact with Pyro.

Dendro Samachurls
Dendro Samachurls' power in action.

Mittachurls and hillichurls use large wooden shields, which are considered dendro. The big dendro slimes drop seeds and summoning smaller slimes, which is no different than the usual slimes of other elements.

2. Genshin Impact Dendro Characters Release Date

In the past, it is expected that we would need at least 3.0 update for a Dendro character to be released. However, with Sumeru being the next nation we'll visit after our journey through Inazuma, it is possible that a new Dendro character will be added to Genshin Impact by late 2021 or early 2022.

Why are there no Dendro characters in Genshin Impact?

Plant manipulation is not a weak power at all - there are many Dendro users in pop culture, from anime to comics books. Overall, maybe miHoYo just doesn't khow how to make Dendro works. How to combine Dendro and Cryo element to create a reaction? Dendo and Anemo? Outside of the obvious combination with Pyro, there aren't many feasible combo that you can do with his particular element.

Genshin Impact Elemental Reactions
It is actually pretty hard to make a "tree growing power" interact with other elements convincingly.

It would be possible for miHoYo to just use the Anemo treatment and make Dendro boost other elements, but that would be really uninspiring. Therefore, until there's an effective and creative way to combine plant powers with the rest of the elements in the game, it is likely that Dendro will be left out of the game altogether.

3. Confirmed Genshin Impact Dendro Characters

So far, amongst the characters featured in Genshin Impact, we have two confirmed characters who use the Dendro Element: Baizhu and Yaoyao. Only the former has shown up in the game, however. The latter are just passing mentions from other characters and Genshin Impact Dendro character leak on the Internet.

Baizhu

Baizhu first appears during Archon Quests Chapter 1, Act 2, "Guizhong". He is the owner of Bubu Pharmacy, a renowned pharmacy in Liyue. Similar to Fischl, Baizhu has a talking pet snake named Changsheng, who often hangs out on his shoulders.

Baizhu
Baizhu is a dendro user who uses a Catalyst.

Many come to him for his unique, yet effective treatments. While Baizhu did not display any specific powers, his eyes with vertical pupils suggest his connection to snakes, poisons and the Dendro Element.

Yaoyao

Despite being one of the first characters revealed in Genshin Impact, Yaoyao has not made any appearance in-game yet. Lore-wise, she was Xiangling's junior disciple under the same master chef, but has since become an assistant for Ganyu.

Yaoyao
Yaoyao has appeared in official artworks.

Who is the Dendro Archon?

The Dendro visions are given by the Dendro Archon Kusanali, whose appearance has not been revealed. Currently, we only have a few accounts mentioning her from the following characters:

  • According to Ganyu, the Dendro Archon is a woman.
  • Zhongli says that she is the youngest of all the archons at about 500 years old.
  • According to Dainsleif, she is the God of Knowledge and ruler of Sumeru, whose lands are filled with rainforests and deserts.

After the Dendro Archon takeover, the government's policy changed into accumulating knowledge instead of spreading them, which created a disaster. Lore wise, this might be related to the lack of Dendro vision in the game, as the archon would be keeping all of it to herself instead of distributing to others.

Genshin Impact Sumeru Region Leaks
Based on the leaks, Sumeru is mostly desert, with rainforests created by the power of the Dendro archon.

Above is all information we got so far about upcoming Dendro characters in Genshin Impact. Hopefully with the arrival of Sumeru nation, we would see the first playable Dendro character by the end of this year.

Interested in more of our posts related to Genshin Impact? Please check out this article to find out more about Genshin Impact Rifthound Location: New Enemy Attack Patterns & Battle Tips