Genshin Impact Imaginarium Theater January 2026: Enemies, buffs, and best characters

Imaginarium Theater's (IT) January 2026 season was recently released in the Genshin Impact Luna III version. This season features new bosses, enemies, buffs, and Opening Characters. After completing all stages in the Imaginarium Theater, you can obtain valuable rewards such as Primogems, Sanctifying Elixir, Mora, and Hero's Wit, among other items.

On that note, this article provides a guide to complete the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater cycle in the Genshin Impact Luna III update, including the enemy line-up, stage buffs, and best characters for the boss stages.

---

Genshin Impact Imaginarium Theater January 2026 guide

Enemy line-up

Boss line-up for the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater season (Image via HoYoverse)

To obtain all rewards in the Imaginarium Theater game mode, you must complete it on the highest difficulty, the Lunar Mode. In this difficulty, you must have at least 28 characters that are Level 70 or above. Furthermore, in this IT season, you can only use characters from the Pyro, Hydro, and Electro elements.

Here are all the boss chambers in the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater season in Genshin Impact:

• Act 3: Perpetual Mechanical Array (Level 90)
• Act 6: Emperor of Fire and Iron (Level 92)
• Act 8: Knuckle Duckle (Level 95)
• Act 10: Maguu Kenki (Level 100)

If you select the Lunar Mode, you have to complete two additional stages. Here is the enemy line-up for these stages in the January 2026 IT cycle:

• Arcana Challenge I: Shadowy Husk: Standard Bearer, Line Breaker, Defender (Level 100)
• Arcana Challenge II: Super-Heavy Landrover: Mechanized Fortress (Level 100)

Also read: Genshin Impact teases new characters for the upcoming Luna updates

---

Strategies and tips for challenging the Climactic Showdown bosses

Act 3: Perpetual Mechanical Array

Act 3 boss stage (Image via HoYoverse)

The Perpetual Mechanical Array does not have any Elemental requirements, and you only need a single-target main DPS to defeat it. You can use any Overloaded, Vaporize, or Electro-Charged/Lunar-Charged teams to beat this boss. You can deal damage to it normally, since it doesn't have any special shields at the start of the battle.

When its HP falls below 50%, it goes on a defensive stance and summons four Ruin Sentinels. Among these four, you can only deal damage to one Ruin Sentinel that has a special mark below it, and after defeating this enemy, the boss will be stunned, and you can deal damage to it. The Perpetual Mechanical Array doesn't have any weak points, and most Pyro, Electro, or Hydro DPS characters can clear this level.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna IV events and rewards

---

Act 6: Emperor of Fire and Iron

Act 6 boss stage (Image via HoYoverse)

At the start of the fight, this boss generates a Pyro shield on its horns. You must use Hydro characters to deplete the shield quickly. Characters like Neuvillette, Yelan, Furina, Xingqiu, and Aino to deplete the boss' shield quickly. Electro characters like Fischl, Yae Miko, and Ororon can also help to clear the Pyro shield.

The boss has high Elemental RES when it has its shield, and you can deal high damage to it after you break the shield. After its HP goes below 50%, it generates its Pyro shield again, and you must break it to defeat the boss and complete this level.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna IV livestream summary: Release date, banners, redeem codes, and everything new

---

Act 8: Knuckle Duckle

Act 8 boss (Image via HoYoverse)

At the start of the fight, Knuckle Duckle enters the Duckstruction Mode and generates a special shield and summons five Stamping Devices. To deal with this shield, you must hit the Stamping Devices with Electro-Charged or Lunar-Charged Reaction DMG.

The Stamping Devices have a gauge meter that fills when you deal Electro/Lunar-Charged DMG. Once the meter fills, these devices will attack the boss and break its shield. The boss will also be stunned for a short period after its shield is depleted.

To clear this boss easily, it is advised to use Electro-Charged/Lunar-Charged team compositions. You can use Electro and Hydro characters like Flins, Ineffa, Furina, Aino, Ororon, Fischl, and Yae Miko in this stage.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna IV banners revealed

---

Act 10: Maguu Kenki

Act 10 boss (Image via HoYoverse)

As there are no special Elemental requirements or shields for Maguu Kenki, you can use any strong DPS to defeat it. However, keep in mind that the boss blocks long-ranged attacks from a Bow, so it is advised to use a close-ranged single-target DPS unit in this stage. Strong DPS characters such as Arlecchino, Mavuika, Flins, Varesa, can clear this boss stage easily.

Also read: All new characters in Genshin Impact Luna IV

---

Strategies and tips for clearing the Arcana Challenges

Arcana Challenge I

Arcana Challenge I enemy line-up (Image via HoYoverse)

For the first Arcana Challenge, you must defeat 17 Level 100 Shadowy Husk enemies. This stage has a special debuff that continuously reduces the team's HP. So, it is recommended to use some healers during this challenge. Furthermore, the enemies spawn in groups of three, so it is advised to use an AoE DPS unit such as Neuvillette or any Lunar-Charged/Electro-Charged teams.

The Shadowy Husk enemies do not have any Elemental requirements, so you can use one of your strong teams along with a healer to clear this stage quickly.

Also read: Genshin Impact Heroic Clash: Saurian Brawl event guide

---

Arcana Challenge II

Arcana Challenge II boss chamber (Image via HoYoverse)

In the second Arcana Challenge, you must defeat the Super-Heavy Landrover: Mechanized Fortress boss. At the start of the fight, this enemy gains a Fury gauge that fills up when you deal Pyro DMG to it. After the meter is filled, the boss gains a Cryo shield and will become immune to all DMG. You must break this shield before the boss finishes charging up its special skill, as it deals tremendous DMG.

To defeat this boss, it is recommended to use Pyro characters such as Durin, Mavuika, Arlecchino, or Xiangling. You can also Electro characters to trigger the Overloaded Reaction, which will also fill up the enemy's bar.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna IV release date and countdown

---

Combat buffs

Brilliant Blessings in the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater season (Image via HoYoverse)

The January 2026 Imaginarium Theater cycle features the Electro, Pyro, and Hydro Elements. The combat buffs in this season are excellent for buffing the damage of the Vaporize, Overloaded, Electro-Charged, and Lunar-Charged team compositions.

Here are all the Brilliant Blessings that you can utilize in the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater season:

• Vaporize Blessing: After the Vaporize reaction is triggered on an enemy, their Pyro and Hydro RES is reduced by 25% for six seconds. You can use this blessing to buff the Pyro and Hydro DMG of the whole team.
• Electro-Charged Blessing: After a party member triggers the Electro/Lunar-Charged reaction on an enemy, an Electrosurge effect is created for three seconds. This effect increases the Electro-Charged DMG of party members by 250%, and the Lunar-Charged DMG is increased by 70%. Electro and Hydro characters can utilize this buff to deal more damage to enemies.
• Overloaded Blessing: After you trigger an Overloaded Reaction, an Embrittled effect is applied to enemies that decreases their Pyro and Electro RES by 5.5% for 12 seconds. The Embrittled effect can have a maximum of four stacks, and the Pyro and Electro characters can utilize this effect to deal more damage to enemies.

Also read: Genshin Impact Memories of the Moon web event guide

---

Recommended characters

Best characters to use in the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater cycle (Image via HoYoverse)

As mentioned, you can only use Pyro, Hydro, and Electro characters in the January 2026 Imaginarium Theater cycle. Here are some of the best characters that you can use in the latest IT season in Genshin Impact:

• Durin (5-star Pyro Sub-DPS)
• Arlecchino (5-star Pyro DPS)
• Hu Tao (5-star Pyro DPS)
• Klee (5-star Pyro DPS)
• Dehya (5-star Pyro Sub-DPS)
• Chevreuse (4-star Pyro Support)
• Gaming (4-star Pyro DPS)
• Bennett (4-star Pyro Support/Healer)
• Xiangling (4-star Pyro Sub-DPS)
• Flins (5-star Electro DPS)
• Varesa (5-star Electro DPS)
• Ineffa (5-star Electro Sub-DPS)
• Ororon (4-star Electro Sub-DPS)
• Yae Miko (5-star Electro Sub-DPS)
• Kuki Shinobu (4-star Electro Healer)
• Fischl (4-star Electro Sub-DPS)
• Beidou (4-star Electro Sub-DPS)
• Razor (4-star Electro DPS)
• Neuvillette (5-star Hydro DPS)
• Mualani (5-star Hydro DPS)
• Furina (5-star Hydro Sub-DPS)
• Yelan (5-star Hydro Sub-DPS)
• Sangonomiya Kokomi (5-star Hydro Healer)
• Xingiu (4-star Hydro Sub-DPS)
• Barbara (4-star Hydro Healer)
• Mona (5-star Hydro Support)
• Aino (4-star Hydro Support)

However, keep in mind that getting characters in this mode is heavily dependent on RNG, and you might not get the units you want at the right time. For the early stages, try to upgrade the Brilliant Buffs so that some of the Opening Characters can clear them. You can use some of your weaker characters in the early stages and save the strong ones for the more challenging bosses.

To clear the stages quickly, try to build a team with at least one DPS, a support unit, and a Sub-DPS unit. You can also get special effects from the Mystery Caches, so keep an eye out for them while playing the Imaginarium Theater game mode in Genshin Impact.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna IV livestream codes

Are you stuck on today's Wordle? Our Wordle Solver will help you find the answer.

Edited by Eswar Keshav