Affinity explained: Strong Hits, Weak Hits and failed debuffs

Affinity looks like a simple colour-coded rock-paper-scissors, but it quietly decides whether your debuffs land at all. Here is how it works and what to do about it.

The basics

Every champion is Magic, Force, Spirit or Void. The first three sit in a triangle of strengths and weaknesses. Magic is strong against Spirit, and Spirit is strong against Force. Void sits outside the triangle and is neutral against everything, whether it is attacking or being attacked. Same-Affinity fights are also neutral.

The marker above an enemy tells you the matchup before you act: green is an advantage, yellow is neutral and red is a disadvantage.

What a strong matchup gives you

Attacking an Affinity you are strong against gives an additional 15% C.RATE and a 30% chance of a Strong Hit, which deals 30% additional damage. The catch is that Strong Hits only happen on attacks that do not become Critical Hits. A damage dealer built with 100% C.RATE gains nothing from them. If something like Decrease C.RATE drags that figure down, Strong Hits can fill the gap.

What a weak matchup costs you

This is the part that hurts. Attacking an Affinity you are weak against reduces your damage by 20% and gives a 35% chance of a Weak Hit. A Weak Hit deals a further 30% less damage and stops debuffs and other negative effects tied to that attack from being placed, however much ACC you have. Decrease DEF, Decrease Turn Meter, HP Burn and Provoke are all at risk, unless the champion's kit says otherwise.

Beyond the early-mid game, the disadvantage is generally the bigger concern than the advantage.

It works against you too

Enemies get the same benefits. The Demon Lord Clan Boss has a base 15% C.RATE, so if it has the advantage over one of your champions, the extra chance of Critical and Strong Hits can mean far more damage than you planned for. Once the boss drops below 50% HP its Affinity can change, so the matchups shift mid-fight.

What to do

• Check the marker before your key debuffer attacks, particularly if the debuff holds your team together.
• Consider skills that place debuffs without an attack. They cannot Weak Hit, though they deal no damage and will not trigger hit-based artifact set effects such as Cursed or Stun.
• Keep champions of several Affinities available. Demon Lord, Hydra and Chimera can all change the matchups you face.
• Use Void champions where consistency matters, as they are neutral in every fight.
• If a farming team fails now and then, look at whether a damage dealer or debuffer is sitting at a disadvantage in some waves or at the boss.
• In PvP, think about the Affinity of priority targets before deciding who attacks them.

The short version: do not chase a green marker for a champion on 100% C.RATE, but do avoid red ones for anyone whose debuffs your team relies on.