Sappho Among the Waves in Genshin Impact: How to Find and Defeat

InGenshin ImpactSappho of the Waves is a local legend of Natlan, who can be fought on the northern slope of Mount Coatepec. The mini-boss does not attack first and calmly plays her compositions in the company of animals – until we interrupt her performance. The player will have to endure three battles and meet special conditions in order to collect an achievement from the Duelist I collection for each.

Read our guide on how to find and defeat the water lute player in Genshin Impact without falling under the cryo status and without letting a single ice bomb burst.

Sappho Among the Waves achievements: how to unlock all and defeat the local legend

All battles with the local legends of the Pyro region are rewarded with a set of three achievements of the same name. The first is always given for a regular victory over a mini-boss, but the following ones have special conditions, but the rewards for opening them will be higher:

• First achievement (+5 source stones): defeat Sappho among the waves;
• Second achievement (+10 source stones): defeat Sappho among the waves without catching the cryo status;
• First achievement (+20 source stones): defeat Sappho Among the Waves without letting a single ice grenade explode.

Achiki in the set appear one by one, even if you have already unlocked but not collected all three. Collect the reward for the first one – the second one appears in its place, and so on.

Where is Sappho Among the Waves

The enemy we are interested in is sitting on the northern slope of Mount Coatepec, not far from the “Fiery Ruins” dungeon. Around it is an improvised arena marked with cobblestones, as well as several local animals. Here you can also find graffiti hinting at the manitou puzzle – we told you about its solution in a separate guide (Item 2-3).

Sappho will not attack first, but challenging her to a duel is quite simple – attack first or scare away any of the animals surrounding the lutenist. In the future, if you leave during the fight, the girl will be waiting already in combat readiness.

Sappho's Combat Techniques Among the Waves

The warrior has rather monotonous rotations of attacks, but they change quite quickly. Sappho is able to combine techniques and choose those that will be more advantageous at the current distance with us. Let's figure out what to expect from the lute player:

• Close combat

In close combat, the girl performs a series of two strikes, swinging a heavy weapon at us.

• A standard slingshot shot

A standard technique for long distances is a series of two consecutive shots of hydro balls. The technique does not have a very large radius, but Sappho can quickly adjust the tilt and height of the sight.

• Area hydro shots

If Sappho draws the slingshot longer than usual, she will fire six water bullets – an effective area attack that is difficult to dodge in close combat.

• Cryo Canister Shot

In addition to hydro attacks, Sappho can throw a bottle of cryo splashes at the enemy, which gradually spins into a freezing field and eventually bursts. The lute player will begin to actively use this technique if you knock down at least 20% of her total HP.

• Falling Strike

If your hero gets frozen by a bomb, Sappho will immediately launch a special attack – she will jump up and then perform a precision strike while falling.

• Surfing

Periodically, the lute player climbs onto her weapon and starts rolling around the field, aiming at our team members. It happens that after such rides, Sappho immediately launches one of the slingshot attacks.

Best squads

Remember: heroes of the cryo, hydro and dendro elements are not suitable for eliminating ice bombs. To get the last two achievements, it is better not to take characters of these three elements into the squad (especially in attacking positions).

Sappho is not the most difficult opponent if your squad has sufficiently pumped heroes. If desired, she can be defeated with any set of teammates, but this approach is only suitable for the first battle. In the future, it is worth giving preference to the following squad options:

F2P team

Of the epic heroes, Lisa and Kachina are suitable for a “free” build – with their help, you can quickly detonate ice canisters. For the same purposes, Xiangling is needed in the squad + the heroine's ult can simplify the battle and increase the damage of elemental reactions. Noelle is needed in the squad mainly for the shield, but its activation can also neutralize the cryo grenade.

Squads “Electro + Pyro”

In squads where there are mostly only pyro and electro characters, there is a common advantage – these elements easily break ice projectiles. If you do not have the heroes listed above, remember one rule: the character should be maneuverable enough, without long ability casts (like, for example, Yan Fei – she has a rather long animation of the seal falling and, in principle, the charged attack). It is also better not to take heroes whose abilities impair the enemy's visibility (such as Kazuha's ult).

Geo-packs

This squad can be the most reliable for defeating Sappho: Navia is a strong DD, in addition, she is endowed with the mechanics of aimed shots – so you can destroy cryo bombs from afar. Tiori will strengthen the main damage dealer and help with evasion of attacks. Albedo also buffs the geo squad and can put a flower from afar that destroys grenades (you can take a geo-gg instead). This whole combination will be reliably protected under the shields of Morax, who can also break an ice projectile with a column.

How to defeat Sappho among the waves

To easily defeat the water lute player Sappho, it is important to consider the following recommendations:

• Be sure to use food buffs. The local legend has a decent HP reserve and high damage + she actively attacks, which will cause a need to restore stamina. Choose food for elemental damage, bonuses to crits, defense and reducing the consumption of the dodge bar. If the effect ends, open your inventory during battle and reactivate everything;

• Try not to get caught in the ice field – when frozen, Sappho will instantly attack your hero with a falling blow. It is safest to destroy the bombs from a distance (especially to get the second achievement);

• Pyro attacks are more effective than others in breaking bottles with an ice composition – try to monitor the accumulation of energy in fire (+electro/geo) heroes to use their skills in time. The cryo bottle explodes approximately 8-10 seconds after hitting the field;

• To complete the conditions of the second achievement, watch the statuses above the characters' HP bar – if you see the cryo element icon, you will have to start over;

• Don't waste stamina on randomly dodging the surf – it's best to dodge when Sappho is very close to the character.

How long does it take for “Sappho Among the Waves” to respawn

After the first victory over the lute player, you will have to loot the remaining achievements for two more real days – after death, the local legend will not appear in her arena until a new day on the server. It turns out that to get all three achievements, you will have to return to Sappho for three non-game days.