The best Genshin Impact Traveler (Dendro) build
Learn how to put together the best possible Dendro Traveler build in Genshin Impact
Want to learn how to create the best build for the Dendro Traveler in Genshin Impact? The Dendro element was added to Genshin Impact in Version 3.0, and you can align the Traveler with Dendro once you begin exploring Sumeru. In theory you can do almost straight away: unlike with Inzama and the Electro element, there are functionally no story requirements for you to reach Sumeru and obtain the Dendro element.
Thanks to the comparative rarity of Dendro units in the game right now, it might be the Traveler's most desirable element at the time of writing. It's also arguably their best, and they make for a strong sub-DPS/support character when wielding it. So read on for our recommendations for building the Traveler (Dendro) with their best party composition, weapons and artifacts, talent priority, and a full list of their required levelling materials.
Pages in this guide:
- Genshin Impact Traveler: General build advice
- The best Anemo Traveler build in Genshin Impact
- The best Geo Traveler build in Genshin Impact
- The best Electro Traveler build in Genshin Impact
- The best Dendro Traveler build in Genshin Impact
How to build the Dendro Traveler for sub-DPS/elemental support in Genshin Impact
Best weapon: Freedom-Sworn
4-star alternative: Favonius Sword
As with all the Traveler's other elements, you can't go wrong equipping them with the 4-star Favonius Sword: it has a high chance of recharging energy after landing a CRIT, and its utility across all Traveler builds is undeniably helpful if you're switching elements a lot.
But, if you want something a little more tailored to the Dendro Traveler's needs and have some 5-star weapons in your archive, consider the Freedom-Sworn sword instead. Not only does it passively buff the Traveler's elemental mastery when equipped and increase all DMG by 10%, it buffs the entire party for +20% ATK and +16% normal DMG (lasting 12 seconds) whenever the Dendro Traveler triggers an elemental reaction.
Best artifact: 2x Gilded Dreams, 2x Deepwood Memories
The Dendro Traveler benefits from showing off the two new artifact sets that joined the game in Version 3.0. You can go all in on either set, but for a mixed sub-DPS/elemental support build, I favour picking two from each. The Gilded Dreams set grants +80 Elemental Mastery as its two-piece set bonus, while the 2-piece Deepwood Memories offers the standard +15% elemental DMG artifact bonus for the Dendro element.
If you haven't collected enough of either set yet, another great choice for the Dendro Traveler is the Emblem of Severed Fate set, for +20% to Energy Recharge at two pieces, and at four pieces it increases elemental burst DMG by 25% of the Dendro Traveler's energy recharge (which can grant a bonus of up to 75%!).
The following stats and substats are what you should aim for on the Dendro Traveler's artifacts:
- Circlet of Logos: CRITs
- Sands of Eon: Elemental Recharge or Elemental Mastery
- Goblet of Eonothem: Dendro DMG Bonus
- Substats: Elemental Recharge or Elemental Mastery, CRITs
Talent priority: Surgent Manifestation (Elemental Burst)
Secondary: Razorgrass Blade (Elemental Skill)
As ever, the Traveler's normal attacks should come in third to their elemental talents. For the Dendro Traveler, the Surgent Manifestation Elemental Burst is extremely desirable and should be your top priority, but the Razorgrass Blade is a good back-up and shouldn't be neglected altogether.
Uniquely amongst all Genshin Impact characters, the Traveler does not possess a passive utility talent. Here is a full list of the Traveler's Dendro talents:
- Foreign Fieldcleaver (Normal Attack):
- Normal Attack: The Traveler performs up to 5 rapid strikes.
- Charged Attack: The Traveler consumes a certain amount of Stamina to unleash two rapid sword strikes.
- Plunging Attack: The Traveler plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
- Razorgrass Blade (Elemental Skill): With a flourish of their blade, the Traveler unleashes a spray of razor-sharp leaves that go before them and deals Dendro DMG.
- Surgent Manifestation (Elemental Burst): Calling upon the might of the flora all around them, the Traveler creates a Lea Lotus Lamp. This Lamp will deal continuous Dendro DMG to opponents within its AoE. The Lea Lotus Lamp will undergo the following Lotuslight Transfigurations after it comes into contact with Hydro/Electro/Pyro (the Lea Lotus Lamp can only undergo one Lotuslight Transfiguration in its duration; only one Lamp created by the Traveler can exist at any one time):
- Hydro: The Lamp's AoE and the AoE of its attacks are increased.
- Electro: The Lamp's ATK SPD is increased.
- Pyro: The Lamp will explode after a short delay and then disappear, dealing AoE Dendro DMG.
- Verdant Overgrowth (1st Ascension Passive): Lea Lotus Lamp will obtain one level of Overflowing Lotuslight every second it is on the field, increasing the Elemental Mastery of active character(s) within its AoE by 6. Overflowing Lotuslight has a maximum of 10 stacks.
- Verdant Luxury (4th Ascension Passive): Every point of Elemental Mastery the Traveler possesses increases the DMG dealt by Razorgrass Blade by 0.15% and the DMG dealt by Surgent Manifestation by 0.1%.
- DPS: Xingqiu
- Sub-DPS/Support: Dendro Traveler
- Support: Thoma
- Healer/Support: Kuki Shinobu
- Symbiotic Creeper (C1): After Razorgrass Blade hits an opponent, it will regenerate 3.5 Energy for the Traveler.
- Green Resilience (C2): Lea Lotus Lamp's duration is increased by 3 seconds.
- Whirling Weeds (C3): Increases the level of Razorgrass Blade by 3 (up to the maximum upgrade level of 15).
- Treacle Grass (C4): After the Lea Lotus Lamp triggers a Lotuslight Transfiguration, it will obtain 5 stacks of the Overflowing Lotuslight effect from the Verdant Overgrowth passive talent. (You must have unlocked this talent first.)
- Viridian Transience (C5): Increases the level of Surgent Manifestation by 3 (up to the maximum upgrade level of 15).
- Withering Aggregation (C6): The Dendro DMG bonus of the character under the effect of Overflowing Lotuslight as created by the Lea Lotus Lamp is increased by 12%. If the Lamp has experienced a Lotuslight Transfiguration previously, the character will also gain 12% DMG bonus for the corresponding element.
Party composition
5-star alternative: Tartaglia replacing Xingqiu as DPS
As the first Dendro character you're guaranteed to play as in Genshin Impact, the Dendro Traveler can be used to showcase some of the best new elemental reactions that the newly playable element has brought with it. For a party that can repeatedly trigger both Bloom and Quicken in quick succession, pair the Dendro Traveler with a Hydro DPS like Xingqiu or Tartaglia to set off those Bloom seeds.
Place an Electro character in a support or sub-DPS role to trigger Aggravate — I've recommended Shinobu here because she's also a very effective healer for the team.
Finally, while the Burning Dendro reaction isn't quite as spectacular as those added in Version 3.0, it can still be pretty devastating; that's why I recommend a Pyro support character such as Thoma in the final spot.
How to level up the Dendro Traveler in Genshin Impact
Talents
To fully level up any one of the Dendro Traveler's talents, you'll need to collect the following materials. Note that you'll need to do all this three times if you want to triple crown the Dendro Traveler's active talents; and, furthermore, that talent levelling does not carry over between the Traveler's various elemental forms.
| Talent Level (+ required Ascension Level) | Materials |
|---|---|
| 2 (2) | 6 Fungal Spores, 3 Teachings of Admonition, and 12,500 Mora |
| 3 (3) | 3 Luminescent Pollen, 2 Guides of Ingenuity, and 17,500 Mora |
| 4 (3) | 4 Luminescent Pollen, 4 Guides of Pravis, and 25,000 Mora |
| 5 (4) | 6 Luminescent Pollen, 6 Guides of Admonition, and 30,000 Mora |
| 6 (4) | 9 Luminescent Pollen, 9 Guides of Ingenuity, and 37,500 Mora |
| 7 (5) | 4 Crystalline Cyst Dust, 4 Philosophies of Pravis, 1 Mudra of the Malefic General, and 120,000 Mora |
| 8 (5) | 6 Crystalline Cyst Dust, 6 Philosophies of Admonition, 1 Mudra of the Malefic General, and 260,000 Mora |
| 9 (6) | 9 Crystalline Cyst Dust, 12 Philosophies of Ingenuity, 2 Mudras of the Malefic General, and 450,000 Mora |
| 10 (6) | 12 Crystalline Cyst Dust, 16 Philosophies of Pravis, 2 Mudras of the Malefic General, 1 Crown of Insight, and 700,000 Mora |
| Total | 6 Fungal Spores, 22 Luminescent Pollen, 31 Crystalline Cyst Dust, 3 Teachings of Admonition, 6 Guides of Admonition, 11 Guides of Ingenuity, 4 Guides of Pravis, 6 Philosophies of Admonition, 12 Philosophies of Ingenuity, 20 Philosophies of Pravis, 6 Mudras of the Malefic General, 1 Crown of Insight, and 1,652,500 Mora |
Constellations
Because there are no duplicate copies of the Traveler available to wish for in the gacha or purchase from Paimon's store, you need to use a unique method to obtain their Constellations. For the Dendro Traveler, this means collecting and consuming a level-up material called Memory of Flourishing Green.
Currently there are only three Memories of Flourishing Green in the game, although we can reasonably guess that another three will be added soon, in order that there are enough to reach the Dendro Traveler's sixth and final constellation. The current ones are obtained in the following ways: one is granted upon completing Chapter III, Act II of the main Archon Quests; and two more are obtained when upgrading Statues of the Seven in Sumeru to levels 3 and 5.
Here's a list of all the Traveler's Dendro constellations and what they do:
Now that you know all about how to build the Dendro Traveler in Genshin Impact, you might be curious about how they compare to some of the other Dendro characters in the game. Dendro is pretty underpopulated right now, but check out our Tighnari and Collei build guides to see who else uses this brand-new playable element.