[ Guide ] The mechanisms of Theater Mechanicus in Genshin Impact

The resident Arknights connoisseur is here to flex totally unrelated tower defense knowledge in this apparent guide to Genshin Impact‘s latest seasonal addition in the Theater Mechanicus! Here’s a rundown of the whole she-bang.

UNLOCKING THEATER MECHANICUS

You’ll first have to complete Xiao’s Character Quest, Alatus Chapter: Act 1 – Butterfly’s Dream.

Next, you’ll need to complete the chain of quests starting from Verr Goldet in Lantern Rite: Part 1 – The Origin of the Lanterns.

You’ll then finally be free to do the rest of the Lantern Rite quests, and most importantly, unlock the Theater Mechanicus. You’ll be given a short trial stage to get used to the whole building thing. The trial is free, and you’ll have access to the currently available stages until the end of the Lantern Rite as long as you have a Xiao Lantern.

THE MECHANICI IN BRIEF

HYDRO: Circular AOE attack

• Lv. 3: Larger AOE
• Lv. 5: Creates bubbles

PYRO: Lobs a projectile attack

• Lv. 3: Larger AOE on impact
• Lv. 5: Pyro fields

CYRO: Fires a single bullet

• Lv. 3: Slows enemy movement speed
• Lv. 5: Bullets deal AOE damage

ELECTRO: Zaps enemies in its range

• Lv. 3: Attacks 3 targets at a time
• Lv. 5: Periodic lightning strike

RECOVERY: Provides bonus Veneficus Points for enemies killed in its range

• Lv. 3: Larger AOE
• Lv. 5: Larger bonus Points

ANEMO: Fires in a straight line depending on rotation (interact with it until you see the opening)

• Lv. 3: More knockback
• Lv. 5: Pulls in enemies

AMBUSH MINE: A one-time use mine that explodes and deals Pyro damage to enemy units. Placing them in a middle slot will oftentimes NOT be triggered

• Lv. 3: Decreases Points required to build
• Lv. 5: Triggers additional explosion

LONGBOW: Physical damage from range. Shots WILL hit obstacles, requires clear line of sight.

• Lv. 3: More effective against Geo
• Lv. 5: Shattering bolts gain homing ability

MYSTICUS: Buffs damage of other Mechanici. Cannot stack

• Lv. 2: Increases AOE
• Lv. 3: Can now stack with others of its type

PORTAL: Just for mobility purposes. It’s pretty unnecessary.

WHAT TO UPGRADE FIRST?

I would definitely argue for the following order to start:

• Electro
• Hydro
• Pyro
• Cyro

For now, the jury’s still out on how useful the Recovery Mechanicus is, which will probably come into play for the later stages. The Anemo Mechanicus doesn’t push larger enemies, so I’ll also judge that for later. As for the order:

• Electro + Hydro for Electro-Charged reactions for the early waves, as they’ll slow down and continuously deal damage as they move
• Add on the Pyro Mechanici for Overload or Vaporize to deal massive damage in an AOE. Overload also pushes back smaller enemies
• Cyro for last to pick off stragglers and trigger any other elemental reaction

WHO TO BRING?

Crowd-control where you can on your Elemental Skill. You won’t be dealing any damage, but it does help when you can stop enemies however briefly to let your Mechanici attack.

Otherwise, you can bring Catalyst users who can apply and cause elemental reactions without the use of a skill, or characters with low cooldown Elemental Skills.

Sucrose, Jean and Venti are all helpful with their crowd control Elemental Skills. Jean especially may find herself a very important job when it comes to this mode:

EXAMPLE LAYOUTS

Here are some guide layouts I used in my time for my Theater Mechanicus shenanigans. You can of course find your own strategies, especially once you’ve upgraded your Mechanici! Maps are assigned at random (e.g. me constantly getting the Adepti map on Difficulty 3) so don’t feel too bad about getting any leaks. Build your Mechanici close to their spawn so that they actually have a shot (hah) at attacking the monsters.

THE WIND FROM THE REEDS TOPPLES WELL-FED TREES

1. Starting off with the Hydro Mechanici in the middle slot, and one Electro on either side
2. Place the next Electro Mechanici
3. Place the Pyro Mechanici where possible
4. Complete with Cyro in case of any leaks

The stage mechanism is not used for this stage.

STOP TO REST YOUR WEARY HEAD, PAINT THE BRIDGE WHERE ADEPTI TREAD

1. Start with the Electro and Hydro Mechanici
2. Add the Pyro Mechanici
3. Gradually build outwards with alternating elements

The stage mechanism is not used for this stage.

IN PAIRS, THE SWALLOWS COME HOME TO ROOST

This layout can be tricky in single player as you might not be able to sprint fast enough to get to either lane, which is where the crowd control comes in handy. I’d recommend the usual set up of Hydro + Electro and Cyro where possible, while getting Pyro reactions for the sweet DPS.

THREE STARS TUSSLE FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

This starting formation should serve you well, until the third portal opens up at Wave 3. It should spew out elemental slime, so you’ll have to adjust your Mechanici accordingly, or use the Ambush Mines to destroy the larger slimes’ armour.

BEAUTY WITHERS HITHER WHILE TRUTH DITHERS HITHER

I started out with the usual Hydro + Cyro + Electro formation, then planted two Longbow because…

The second portal will open from this direction. You can probably also concentrate all firepower near the exit portals instead.

RHYTHMIC ECHOES IN THE PAVILLION

This map may look scary at first, but it’s actually one of the easiest. There are two exit portals and three spawners, and all of them can be easily spawn-camped. Place the usual Hydro + Electro/Cyro combination and then build up as you go. Hopefully the tower AI won’t screw you over a perfect clear. For this map, I will highly recommend getting the +1 Mechanici Mystic Art if it appears.

EMPTY HALLS BEHIND LOCKED DOORS

There’s only one exit, with enemies streaming in from four directions. You can set up the Hydro + Cyro + Electro combo in the forward slots, then mines at the back to cover for early leaks.

The Special Challenge difficulty is a 10-wave slog so I wouldn’t recommend running that besides for, well, a challenge.

MYSTIC ARTS: YAY OR NAY?

It’s a matter of luck if you can get the Mystic Arts you want, so this Theater Mechanicus guide will not be giving a strict recommendation of the ones to choose. The Fearless ones are for bonus Veneficus Sigils which you can pick if you are confident enough, but now that I’ve played more of the mode, it’s hardly necessary. I do especially like the +1 Mechanici Limit, which is universally handy.

You can only hold a set maximum of Veneficus Sigils anyway, so you don’t need to keep picking Fearless Mystic Arts for the bonuses.

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With that, hopefully this little Theater Mechanicus guide will help you in your tower defense endeavours. Good luck, have fun!