How do I deal with the slowing water effect in Floor 9 of Genshin Impact?

The slowing water effect in Floor 9 of the Spiral Abyss is a debuff that significantly increases the cooldown of your characters' elemental skills and bursts. This can severely hinder your ability to deal damage, heal, or apply elemental reactions, making it a challenging mechanic to overcome. To effectively deal with this effect, you need to understand the mechanics, plan your team composition, and optimize your rotations.

First, let's break down the mechanics of the slowing water effect. This debuff is applied by Hydro-based enemies or environmental effects in Floor 9. When active, it increases the cooldown of your elemental skills and bursts by a substantial amount, often doubling or tripling the time it takes for these abilities to become available again. This means you will have fewer opportunities to use your most powerful attacks or healing abilities, making it crucial to manage your cooldowns carefully.

To counter the slowing water effect, one of the most effective strategies is to use characters who can cleanse or remove debuffs. Anemo characters like Jean or Sayu can use their elemental skills or bursts to swirl and remove the Hydro debuff. Additionally, characters with self-cleanse abilities, such as Bennett with his burst, can help mitigate the effect. Another approach is to use characters who rely less on their elemental skills and bursts, focusing instead on normal and charged attacks. Characters like Razor, Eula, or Yoimiya can deal significant damage without relying heavily on their cooldowns.

When building your team, consider including a healer who can sustain your team through prolonged fights. Bennett is an excellent choice because his burst not only heals but also provides an attack boost. Diona is another good option, as her shield and healing abilities can help your team survive while you wait for cooldowns to reset. For DPS, prioritize characters who can deal consistent damage without relying on their elemental skills or bursts. Physical damage dealers like Eula or Razor are particularly effective in this scenario.

Artifact and weapon choices are also crucial. For DPS characters, focus on artifacts that enhance their normal and charged attacks, such as Gladiator's Finale or Pale Flame. For support characters, prioritize artifacts that boost energy recharge and healing, such as Noblesse Oblige or Maiden Beloved. Weapons that provide energy recharge or attack bonuses can help mitigate the impact of longer cooldowns. For example, Favonius weapons can generate energy particles, helping your team maintain burst uptime despite the debuff.

In terms of combat mechanics, it's essential to manage your energy and cooldowns efficiently. Use your elemental skills and bursts as soon as they are available, but be mindful of the slowing water effect. Try to stagger your abilities so that you always have at least one character ready to deal damage or heal. Additionally, focus on elemental reactions that can deal damage without relying on cooldowns. Overloaded, Superconduct, and Swirl reactions can be particularly effective in this context.

Common mistakes to avoid include over-reliance on elemental skills and bursts, neglecting to cleanse the debuff, and failing to manage energy efficiently. Make sure to have a balanced team that can handle the debuff and sustain itself through prolonged fights. Avoid using characters who are heavily dependent on their cooldowns, as they will be severely handicapped by the slowing water effect.

Advanced techniques include using Anemo characters to group enemies and apply Swirl reactions, which can help clear the Hydro debuff and deal AoE damage. Additionally, timing your bursts to coincide with the removal of the debuff can maximize your damage output. For example, using Bennett's burst to cleanse the debuff and then immediately switching to your DPS character to unleash their burst can be highly effective.

In summary, dealing with the slowing water effect in Floor 9 of the Spiral Abyss requires careful planning and execution. Focus on characters who can cleanse the debuff or deal consistent damage without relying on cooldowns. Optimize your artifacts and weapons to enhance your team's strengths and mitigate the debuff's impact. Manage your energy and cooldowns efficiently, and avoid common mistakes that can hinder your progress. With the right strategy and team composition, you can overcome the slowing water effect and successfully clear Floor 9.