Genshin Impact – Ousia and Pneuma systems explained

Looking for a Genshin Impact Ousia and Pneuma systems explainer? Genshin Impact has introduced new system into the game called Pneumousia, which includes Pneuma and Ousia energy, and the Arkhe mechanic. Ousia and Pneuma are new mechanics that effectively act as an extra attack outside of the core element wheel in Genshin, meaning they trigger no Reactions.

At the moment, only characters in Fontaine have a specific alignment to either Ousia or to Pneuma. If you use the Hydro Traveler in Fontaine, you’ll notice the Traveler is aligned to Pneuma. While the new four-star character Lynette is the only Ousia character in the game so far.

With so much to do in Genshin Impact’s Fontaine update, you should make sure you look at our Genshin Impact Lyney best build and Genshin Impact Lynette best build guides to get the most out of these two new characters.

What is Pneuma and Ousia in Genshin Impact

Think of these two systems are a sort of alignment for characters and enemies. You might have noticed as you explore Fontaine that some of the clockwork enemies have glowing parts on them, either bright yellow – which indicates Ousia – or a sort of deep dark blueish colour – which indicates Pneuma.

The idea behind this new system in Genshin Impact is to hit an enemy you see with the opposite alignment. When you do this to an enemy, you’ll temporarily stun them and leave them wide open for a beating.

Pneuma and Ousia aren’t just reserved for enemies. You might also notice during your travels through Fontaine that there are pedestals and objects that have a specific Pneumousia alignment. The idea is the same as in combat as while exploring; to interact with them you will need to hit the object with the opposite alignment in order to activate it. Usually, this will lead you to treasure chests, which means free Primogems.

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What about underwater?

Another feature to note about Pneuma and Ousia is that when you are swimming underwater in Fontaine, if you character has either of these alignments, they will enhance the underwater attack with it as long as they are the one on-field. Due to this, you should, consider a team that has one Pneuma and one Ousia to get the most out of exploring.

Characters with Pneuma Arkhe in Genshin Impact

Since Fontaine has only recently been released, there are two characters who have Pneuma alignment. We’ll put all the characters in the table below and update it as more characters are released. When it comes to characters, so far the Pneuma and Ousia are tied to character attacks.

Character	Arkhe	Information
Hydro Traveler	Pneuma	When you use Hydro Traveler’s Elemental Skill, a bolt of Pneuma will shoot out and hit the enemy. This blast of Pneuma can only occur every nine seconds.
Lyney	Pneuma	When you charge a level 2 shot with Lyney, a Pneuma-infused prop arrow will fire out. This can only occur every six seconds.

Characters with Ousia Arkhe in Genshin Impact

At the time of publishing this guide, there is only one character in Genshin Impact who uses Ousia energy in their attacks and that is Lynette. We’ll update this table with new information when characters and their kits are released.

Character	Arkhe	Information
Lynette	Ousia	When you use Lynette’s Elemental skill, she will let out a lance of Ousia energy called Surging Blade. This effect can only occur every ten seconds.

As more characters are released in Fontaine, we can expect to see more characters with these alignments. If you want to know more about Fontaine, check out our Genshin Impact 4.1 banner speculation and how to play multiplayer in Genshin Impact if you want to explore Teyvat with friends.