Yeah, but the thing is, we have a tad too many. I don't know what's the appropriate number for secondary but so far from the other cast's sheet, I'm seeing just one.
Ok, so. Elemental build theory.
Before I set out here, I must acknowledge that we know less than we would like.
@yrsillar hasn't really explicitly laid out "rules" for us to follow, and most of what we know is inferred from random observations and statements from characters, as well as - importantly - the effects of the mechanics.
Elemental coherence was considered particularly important last year because of the mechanical system - specifically gearing. Even more specifically, the god stat that was qi reduction. Above all else this was the reason we considered a wide element spread to be problematic. With the system change this year, gear and qi reduction appears to be far less powerful, hence it does not provide the same crushing motivation that it did before.
The main reasons now would be a) cultivation speed (in terms of stacking multipliers etc.) and b) thematic/stylistic coherence. We may also raise the question of whether or not a more focused build would have provided fewer but stronger breakthrough bonuses - but in the absence of
@yrsillar telling us anything specific there we can only speculate.
The thing about builds, however, is that they really aren't as simple as "just count the number of elements you have". Take, for instance, a pure "ice" build. This could run Darkness/Water/Wind - which looks like a tri-element core. However, with ice being Darkness/Water or Water/Wind, what this build could actually be could be a whole lot of either Darkness/Water or Water/Wind arts. In other words, you could run it entirely off ++Water bonuses, just like a mono-water build. By controlling the *combinations* of elements you use you can provide thematic coherency and effectively reduce the number of elements you're "running" while having a large number of elements. A similar example would be a yin Fire-Wind-Water Ice/Ash build, which could be run purely off ++Wind stacking.
On a similar note, Meizhen's build is something that Arkeus and I have argued about on occasion. I argue that Meizhen's apparent tri-element base (Water/Darkness/Wood) is probably effectively a duel-element build with Wood only being used in combination with either Darkness or Water for poison arts, and that she has no pure Wood arts (though yes, this is all speculative).
At the far end of the scale, we can see the Argent Way which runs all eight imperial elements by putting them in specific combinations to produce an overarching "Argent" element that can then be focused on (and is also apparently actually about storms
).
tldr; Elements are complicated, and it's how the combinations of them are managed that is in many ways more important.
).
