Elemental chains in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment are not a separate button press or combo input. They are reactions: two compatible elements interacting in a short window to create a bigger, usually circular, area attack or a sudden damage spike on a single enemy.
Once you understand which elements interact and how to set them up, challenges that ask you to “perform 1 elemental chain” become trivial, and late‑game bosses get much easier to control.
How elemental chains work in Age of Imprisonment
Every elemental chain follows the same basic rule:
- Two compatible elemental effects overlap in space and time, or
- A status‑afflicted enemy (frozen, burned, shocked) is hit by a specific counter‑element.
There is no requirement to hit a special key. If the game detects a valid interaction, the visual effect and extra damage simply happen, and any quest counter that asks for an elemental chain will increment.
You can create these interactions in several ways:
- Zonai devices that emit elements (Flame Emitter, Frost Emitter, Hydrant, Fan, Shock Emitter)
- Character strong attacks that carry an element
- Sync strikes and unique skills that add elements
- Environmental elements like puddles for Water
Wind is the most forgiving partner element: it chains with Fire, Ice, and Lightning and is very easy to control with the Fan Zonai device or wind‑infused attacks.
All elemental chain combinations and their effects
Most chains either expand the radius of the second element or convert it into a persistent vortex. One pair produces a short, high‑damage burst.
| Element 1 | Element 2 | Resulting chain | Practical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Ice | Large circular freeze centered on the Ice attack. | Wide crowd freeze; sets up weak‑point break on groups. |
| Water | Lightning | Large circular shock centered on the Lightning attack. | Big AoE stun; excellent for captains and bosses in water. |
| Wind | Fire | Vortex (tornado) of fire. | Persistent burning tornado that shreds mobs and chips bosses. |
| Wind | Ice | Vortex of ice. | Freezing tornado for battlefield control and guard breaking. |
| Wind | Lightning | Vortex of electricity. | Stunning tornado that repeatedly interrupts enemies. |
| Ice | Lightning | Short‑range lightning burst when both overlap. | High burst damage on a single target when set up at close range. |
These effects are symmetric in practice: it generally does not matter which element you apply first as long as both are present during the interaction. The exception is when the chain depends on a status effect (frozen, burned, shocked), which is covered further below.
Light, as an element, behaves differently. Zelda and Rauru use Light attacks, but Light does not form special reactions with other elements; it functions as strong standalone damage and utility rather than part of chains.
Elemental chains from status conditions
Elemental chains are not limited to overlapping area attacks. Breaking an enemy out of a status with a specific element also counts and deals heavy damage to their weak‑point gauge.
| Current enemy status | Element that chains | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Frozen (Ice) | Lightning, Fire, or a Shield Counter | Status is broken; enemy takes a large damage spike and big weak‑point gauge damage. |
| Burned (Fire) | Ice or Water | Burn is cleared in an explosive reaction; heavy weak‑point gauge damage. |
| Shocked (Lightning) | Water | Shock is discharged through the Water; strong follow‑up damage. |
Any of these interactions count as an elemental chain for quests and challenges that request one. They are also among the fastest ways to strip a boss’s weak‑point gauge and trigger a Weak‑Point Smash.
How to intentionally trigger an elemental chain
Use Zonai devices for consistent chains
Zonai devices are the simplest and most consistent tools for chaining elements because every character can deploy them, and their behavior is predictable. The relevant elemental devices are:
| Element | Zonai device | Typical usage |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | Flame Emitter | Continuous flamethrower cone; ignites enemies and ground. |
| Water | Hydrant | Creates water on the ground; wets enemies and terrain. |
| Ice | Frost Emitter | Freezing cone; inflicts Ice status, can fully freeze enemies. |
| Wind | Fan | Wind stream; the core of all vortex chains. |
| Lightning | Shock Emitter | Electric blasts; inflicts Shock and powers Water + Lightning chains. |
A simple pattern for a chain with devices:
- Deploy an elemental emitter (Flame, Frost, Hydrant, or Shock) and let it start firing.
- Immediately drop a Fan so that its wind passes through the active emitter or the affected area.
- The interacting elements turn into the corresponding vortex or wide‑area reaction.
The “element + Fan” method is widely used because it is quick and battery‑efficient. Fire + Fan, Ice + Fan, and Lightning + Fan all generate powerful tornado‑style chains that persist long enough to chew through crowds and keep bosses staggered.
Use elemental characters and sync strikes
Several characters carry elemental damage directly in their strong attacks and skills, which means they can chain elements without relying solely on devices.
| Element | Representative characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | Agraston, Calamo | Fire in strong attacks and some unique skills. |
| Water | Qia, Calamo | Water‑aligned attacks; strong in Water + Lightning setups. |
| Ice | Calamo | Can freeze enemies and set up status chains or Ice + Lightning. |
| Wind | Raphica, Calamo | Wind combos pair naturally with Fire/Ice/Lightning attacks. |
| Lightning | Ardi, Calamo | Lightning skills exploit Water and Ice setups. |
| Light | Zelda, Rauru | Strong Light attacks but no known special chains with other elements. |
With these characters, you can chain in three main ways:
- Raw combo chaining: perform a Fire‑infused strong attack into a Wind‑infused finisher, or similar pairings, while both elements are on screen.
- Sync strikes: trigger a sync strike that adds one element immediately after using another element through a partner or device.
- Devices plus attacks: drop a Flame Emitter, then use a Wind strong attack through the flame stream to form a Fire vortex.
The Mysterious Construct has an extra twist: assigning Zonai devices to its attacks lets it throw elemental monster parts (like Ice‑Breath Lizalfos Horns) that carry elements as projectiles, which can then be combined with other attacks or devices for chains.
Use environment and status for quick quest chains
If you only need to “perform 1 elemental chain” for a quest objective, the fastest setups use status interactions rather than large‑scale vortexes.
- Freeze a strong enemy with Ice (Frost Emitter or Ice attack), then immediately hit them with Lightning or Fire. The status breaks with a burst and counts as a chain.
- Burn an enemy with Fire, then follow up with Ice or Water to trigger a reaction.
- Shock an enemy in standing water using a Shock Emitter or Lightning attack. If the enemy is already shocked, adding Water discharges the shock for a chain.
Environmental water is especially useful. Hydrant devices leave puddles on the ground, and natural puddles on some maps behave the same way. Casting Lightning on any enemy standing in water effectively simulates the Water + Lightning chain and can be done repeatedly without repositioning devices.
Recommended “easy mode” elemental chains
Several combinations are noticeably easier to set up and are ideal if you are still learning the system or tackling time‑limited objectives.
| Chain | How to set it up | Why it’s easy |
|---|---|---|
| Fire + Wind vortex | Place a Flame Emitter, then drop a Fan facing it; or use a Fire attack into a Wind attack in the same area. | Both devices are common, the reaction is visually obvious, and it covers a large area. |
| Ice + Wind vortex | Use a Frost Emitter plus Fan, or Ice strong attack plus Wind attack overlapping. | Freezes and clusters enemies, making follow‑ups very safe. |
| Lightning + Wind vortex | Shock Emitter plus Fan, or Lightning then Wind attacks at the same spot. | Repeated stuns keep captains and bosses locked down. |
| Water + Lightning wide shock | Hydrant puddle or natural water, then hit enemies in it with Lightning or a Shock Emitter. | Minimal aiming; as long as enemies are in the puddle, the chain fires reliably. |
| Frozen → Lightning status break | Freeze a boss with Ice, then immediately use a Lightning attack or Shock Emitter. | Single‑target but extremely high weak‑point gauge damage; also satisfies quest objectives. |
Many players lean heavily on Wind + any element because once a Fan is on the field, you can drop different emitters into its path and repeatedly refresh a tornado without precise timing.
Elemental chains in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment are less about hidden mechanics and more about layering simple tools: a puddle and a lightning bolt, a flamethrower and a gust of wind, a frozen moblin and a well‑timed shock. Once those interactions become muscle memory, objectives that mention chains stop being a puzzle and turn into opportunities to delete enemies faster than any basic combo ever could.
