Plenty of players reroll artifacts for a week and barely gain damage, because the real tax is hidden in DEF and RES, two numbers the game never shows you. This guide covers both multipliers, the sources and caps of shred, enemy base resistances, and which shred to pick for your team.
DEF is the hidden tax on every hit: the damage you deal is raw damage multiplied by a DEF multiplier that is built from both characters' levels. At Lv90 against a Lv90 enemy you keep only about 16.7% of your damage, and no amount of DEF on your own character offsets an enemy's DEF. You beat it with DEF shred (hard cap 90%), DEF ignore, or resistance shred - all covered below.
The DEF multiplier is its own box in the damage formula:
DEF Multiplier = (Char Level + 100) ÷ [ (Char Level + 100) + (Enemy Level + 100) × k ], where k = (1 − DEF Reduction) × (1 − DEF Ignored).
Key point: DEF Reduction shrinks k, raising your damage. DEF Ignore is a separate layer that multiplies with DEF Reduction rather than adding to it, so having both is stronger than either alone.
Multiple DEF shred sources add together, but the total is hard-capped at 90%:
| Source | Shred | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa A4 passive | −15% | DEF Reduction |
| Razor C4 | −15% | DEF Reduction |
| Klee C2 | −23% | DEF Reduction |
| Kamisato Ayaka C4 | −30% | DEF Reduction |
| Nahida C2 | −30% | DEF Reduction |
| Certain weapons / sets | Varies | Reduction or Ignore |
Example: Lisa 15% + Klee 23% + Razor 15% = 53%, still well under the cap. Since stacking past 90% is wasted, do not sacrifice better team slots just to pile on more shred.
RES is tracked separately per damage type (Physical, Pyro, Hydro, Electro, Cryo, Anemo, Geo, Dendro):
Total RES = Base RES + Bonus RES − Debuffs
| Range | Multiplier | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RES < 0 | 1 − RES/2 | Negative RES still helps, but only at half value |
| 0 ≤ RES < 75% | 1 − RES | The normal bracket: one point of RES is one point of damage |
| RES ≥ 75% | 1 ÷ (4×RES + 1) | Heavy diminishing returns |
Classic example: a 10% Physical RES enemy hit by Superconduct (−40% Physical RES) lands at −30%, so the multiplier is 1−(−0.30/2) = 1.15. It was 0.90 before, so the real gain is about 27.8%, not the 40% the tooltip suggests.
That is what halved negative RES means: shred always helps, but each extra point past zero is worth less.
| Source | Shred | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viridescent Venerer 4pc | −40% | Swirled element | 10s, the single most important shred in the game |
| Zhongli Jade Shield | −20% | All elements + Physical | Always on, stacks with VV |
| Superconduct | −40% | Physical only | Cryo + Electro, easiest shred to access |
| Anemo supports (Kazuha, Venti, Sucrose) | Via VV, ~40% | Swirled element | Needs an Anemo trigger |
| Geo Resonance | Shred + DMG | Geo | Team-level value |
Real setup (physical team): Superconduct −40% Physical + Zhongli shield −20% universal → a 10% RES enemy drops to −50%, a 1.25x multiplier. That is why physical carries almost always run a Cryo/Electro applier plus Zhongli.
Rule of thumb: the tankier a target feels relative to your sheet damage, the more you are losing to hidden resistance, and the more a single shredder is worth.
| Aspect | DEF Shred | RES Shred |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Universal, all damage | Specific damage type |
| Cap | Hard 90% cap | No cap, but negative RES counts half |
| Stacking | Additive within its type | Additive within its type |
| Interaction | Multiplies with other boxes | Multiplies with other boxes |
| Typical use | High-investment teams, weekly bosses, Abyss 12 | Mono-element, reaction and physical teams |
Practical advice:
Low damage is not always a build problem; often it is a defense and resistance tax. Same-level enemies cut you to ~16.7%, DEF shred caps at 90%, and negative RES only counts at half value. One VV 4pc or Zhongli covers most teams, physical teams add Superconduct, and reaction teams lean on RES shred. Understand these two boxes and the same stats suddenly hit very differently.
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