Save your Lunar-reaction characters for Act six and a strong healer for Act 10. That roster planning does more for your Imaginarium Theater 7.2 run than throwing your strongest damage dealer at every fight. The November 2026 cycle in Genshin Impact allows Hydro, Electro, and Geo, with a few Special Guest exceptions. This guide focuses on the major boss counters and both Lunar Arcana Challenges, so you can decide where each character belongs before the difficult fights arrive.
Which characters should you reserve for each fight?
November's main elements are Hydro, Electro, and Geo. The Special Guest Stars are Qiqi, Odette, Vesna, and Jahoda, giving you additional options outside those restrictions. Imaginarium Theater resets on the first day of each month, so these recommendations apply to the November 2026 rotation in version 7.2.
Your six free trial characters in the Opening Cast are Yelan, Aino, Flins, Fischl, Zhongli, and Kachina. Flins and Aino are particularly valuable because they provide a Lunar-Charged option for the shield mechanic in Act six.
Choose your Opening Cast
Plan around mechanics before choosing damage dealers
The important question is where your roster supplies a required counter. Act eight needs someone who can break the cooking pot. Act 10 needs healing that can restore characters to full HP. Spending those characters elsewhere can leave a much harder problem later.
| Encounter | Enemy level | Counter to reserve |
|---|---|---|
| Act three: Jadeplume Terrorshroom | 90 | Electro damage, preferably a single-target carry with off-field support |
| Act six: Lord of the Hidden Depths: Whisperer of Nightmares | 92 | Lunar reactions, or enough area damage to defeat all Fishers |
| Act eight: Battle-Hardened Samachurl | 95 | Geo attacks or Claymore strikes for the cooking pot |
| Act 10: Radiant Moonfly | 100 | A strong healer and a strong damage dealer |
| Arcana Challenge I | 100 | Sustained damage with a strong shield or consistent healing |
| Arcana Challenge II | 100 | At least two healers to power the allied Protection Spirit |
If you have Linnea, try to preserve her for Act 10 and the second Arcana Challenge. Both encounters give her healing a clear job, rather than using it simply to make an earlier fight more comfortable.
Which Brilliant Blessings should you choose?
Match your Brilliant Blessings to the reactions your available team can actually trigger. The Crystallize blessings require you to collect the relevant Elemental Shards, while the Electro-Charged blessing activates through reactions.
| Blessing | Activation requirement | Effect | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electro-Crystal | Collect a shard created by Electro Crystallize | 70% Electro DMG and 70% Geo DMG bonuses | 9 seconds |
| Electro-Charged | Trigger Electro-Charged or Lunar-Charged | 250% Electro-Charged reaction DMG and 70% Lunar-Charged reaction DMG bonuses | 3 seconds |
| Hydro-Crystal | Collect a shard created by Hydro Crystallize | 70% Hydro DMG, 70% Geo DMG, and 75% Lunar-Crystallize DMG bonuses | 9 seconds |
For a Flins and Aino team, the Electro-Charged blessing directly rewards Lunar-Charged reactions. A Lunar-Crystallize team benefits from Hydro-Crystal instead. With either Crystallize blessing, remember that creating a shard and collecting it are separate steps.
How do you break the shield in Act six?
Lord of the Hidden Depths: Whisperer of Nightmares is the fight to plan around first. It deploys a Deepdark Shield and summons four Fishers connected to that shield. Lunar reactions are the most direct counter.
Use Lunar reactions or defeat every Fisher
You have two ways through the opening mechanic:
- Trigger Lunar reactions to break the Deepdark Shield.
- Group the Fishers and defeat all four with area damage.
Breaking the shield temporarily paralyzes the boss. That is your opening to commit damage, rather than spending the fight struggling against its protection.
The trial Flins and Aino provide a budget Lunar-Charged foundation, but Flins benefits heavily from Ineffa. If she is part of your planned team, prepare her with the Ineffa build guide before assigning that lineup to this boss.
A Zibai team is another strong option. Pair Zibai with Aino or Columbina, then consider Gorou and Illuga as supports. This also gives you a team that can return for the Geo-sensitive mechanic in Act eight.
How do you destroy the cooking pot in Act eight?
Battle-Hardened Samachurl, also encountered as the Local Legend Churldric, summons a cooking pot in the center of the arena. The pot counts as a Geo construct. Your immediate job is to destroy it with Geo attacks or Claymore strikes.
Navia, Arataki Itto, and Noelle are particularly useful here because they combine Geo damage with a Claymore. Zhongli and Kachina are also available through the Opening Cast. Even an underleveled Noelle can contribute to breaking the pot.
Hydro attacks slow the cooking process, but breaking the pot is the objective. Once it shatters, the Samachurl takes heavy damage and enters a weakened state with reduced Elemental RES. Switch your attention back to the boss and use that opening.
How do you remove Radiant Moonfly's Crit Rate debuff?
Radiant Moonfly in Act 10 uses Radiant Cocoon, which reduces your characters' Crit Rate by 100%. Restore an affected character to full HP to remove the debuff. A healer who merely keeps everyone alive may leave your damage badly compromised.
Reserve enough healing to reach full HP
Healing options for this rotation include:
- Xilonen and Linnea.
- Vodyanitsa and Sangonomiya Kokomi.
- Iansan and Kuki Shinobu.
- Barbara, especially when her Burst is available for Radiant Cocoon.
Act 10 does not demand a particular Elemental reaction. Bring your strongest remaining damage dealer alongside the healing needed to clear Radiant Cocoon. Radiant Moonfly has high Dendro and Pyro RES, but neither element is part of this rotation's main eligible pool.
Imaginarium Theater rewards vary by difficulty and include Primogems, talent level-up materials, Transient Resin, Sanctifying Elixirs, and Mora. To plan your rewards beyond this rotation, use the best ways to get Primogems guide.
Where should you use your standard Electro team?
Act three's Jadeplume Terrorshroom is a good assignment for Electro characters you do not need in your Lunar lineup. Electro attacks fill the Activation meter beneath its HP bar. Once that meter fills, the boss launches a frenzy of attacks before becoming exhausted and vulnerable.
Build Activation, then punish exhaustion
Use an Electro main DPS such as Varesa, Clorinde, Sethos, or Cyno, supported by an off-field Electro option where appropriate. Fischl, Yae Miko, Kuki Shinobu, and Ineffa can contribute to building Activation, though Ineffa is worth reserving if your Act six team needs her.
Keep the full sequence in mind: filling the meter does not immediately hand you a stationary target. Deal with the frenzy first, then concentrate damage during the exhaustion window. A single-target Electro carry is well suited to this fight, letting you preserve your Lunar specialists for the more demanding shield encounter.
How do you clear both Lunar Arcana Challenges?
Lunar difficulty adds two Arcana Challenges with different priorities. The first tests sustained damage and survival against Consecrated Beasts. The second turns healing into a major source of damage against a Wayob Manifestation.
Arcana Challenge I: protect your damage rotation
The first challenge features level 100 Consecrated Scorpions, Fanged Beasts, Horned Crocodiles, and Red Vultures, appearing one at a time. Defeat 10 Consecrated Beasts before the countdown ends for the maximum reward. Each defeat also shortens the timer, so efficient rotations matter.
Periodic Geo explosions damage your active character and become more threatening as the fight continues. Zhongli or Noelle can provide shielding, while consistent healing is another way to keep your team functioning.
- Watch the next spawn so you can resume attacking promptly.
- Make sure Elemental Skills connect to generate energy particles.
- Keep your shield or healing available while maintaining your damage setup.
A strong carry still needs protection here. Losing time to survival problems makes the 10-enemy target harder, even if your team has enough damage on paper.
Arcana Challenge II: power the Protection Spirit with healing
The second challenge pits you against the level 100 Battle-Hardened Biting-Cold Wayob Manifestation. An allied Protection Spirit appears to help. Once it connects to you, healing powers its attacks against the enemy Wayob.
Incoming healing counts even when it becomes overhealing. Keep healing after your characters reach full HP, because greater healing increases the allied spirit's damage. This is the opposite of a fight where another damage dealer automatically deserves the final team slot.
Bring at least two healers for this challenge. Linnea is especially worth preserving if you also need her for Radiant Moonfly, while your other available healers can help maintain healing once the Protection Spirit connects.
Before starting, check that Act six has a shield-breaking plan, Act eight has a pot breaker, Act 10 has full-HP healing, and your Arcana teams have enough protection and healing. For more character preparation and activity walkthroughs, browse the Genshin Impact guide collection.
