Overview
Water is one of the four active attack elements in the Elemancer system and the second element Cheng begins with. It specializes in crowd control, ranged attacks, and environmental manipulation through freezing. Water's versatility makes it one of the most tactically rich elements.
Abilities
Ability | Description |
|---|---|
Water Blasts | ranged jets of water that push enemies back and soak them, making them vulnerable to follow-up elemental effects |
Water Whirlwind | creates a whirlwind that groups enemies together, setting up follow-up attacks from other elements. Demonstrated in the gameplay trailer |
Freezing | soaked enemies and water surfaces can be frozen, immobilizing foes and creating solid platforms for traversal |
Water Pulling | water can be pulled from environmental structures like water towers, rivers, and barrels for combat use |
Ice Platforms | frozen water surfaces become walkable, enabling environmental puzzle-solving and creative traversal |
Water Tower Demonstration
The gameplay trailer's most memorable Water sequence showed Cheng toppling a water tower. The water poured downhill, flooding the street below. Cheng then froze the soaked enemies solid, demonstrating the element's crowd-control chain: create water, spread it, then freeze. This sequence also showed that water interacts with terrain slope, flowing naturally downhill.
Elemental Interactions
Water + Fire produces steam clouds for visual cover
Water + Earth creates mud that slows ground movement. A water tornado combined with earth creates a "rock storm"
Water + Metal water conducts electricity through metal, enabling area-of-effect damage on soaked enemies or wet surfaces
Water counters Fire extinguishes flames and cancels burning effects
Environmental Influence
Water attacks are significantly stronger near rivers and other natural water sources within Zhou. The city's position at the confluence of two rivers means that many combat encounters along the waterfront provide natural advantages for Water-focused play. Conversely, Water is weakened in dry, enclosed spaces like underground tunnels and caves.
Design History
The original design for Water included volumetric drowning mechanics, where enemies could actually be submerged and drowned in rising water. These mechanics were scaled back during development for performance optimization. The current implementation focuses on soaking, freezing, and environmental water manipulation instead.
Combat Role
Water fills a control and setup role in combat. Soaking enemies with water blasts creates openings for devastating follow-ups: frozen targets take increased damage from Earth projectiles, and water-soaked groups become vulnerable to Metal's electrical conductivity. The water whirlwind ability groups scattered enemies together, making area attacks from other elements far more effective. Skilled players use Water to manipulate the battlefield before switching to damaging elements for the finish.