Element
HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF [elemental pairs]!?
WITH AN [Valuable item], YOU CAN DEFEND AGAINST [Puppet/Cat], OR [Thunder/Light], [Dark/Star]...
JUST WATCH OUT FOR THE [$#&*] THAT USE [Death/Scythe]!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!
Elements (JP: 属性) are a hidden property in Deltarune's encounters, which are sometimes assigned to bullets and armor.[1] Elements affect how much damage a party member takes from certain types of bullets from Chapter 2 onwards.
In some contexts, elements are grouped into pairs, referred to by Spamton as "elemental pairs" – for instance, the "Puppet" and "Cat" elements are usually grouped together as the "Puppet/Cat" elemental pair.[2]
These elements do not directly correspond to the elements referenced on each Recruit page, as elemental damage is set on a per-bullet level and the information in the Recruit menu are simply strings of text.[3]
As of Chapter 4, there are eight element IDs (0-3 and 5-8) referenced explicitly in the game's code, though some are not assigned to any bullets.
The following are elements that are used in-game.
| Element ID | Element name | Japanese | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ??? | ??? | Default (used by the vast majority of bullets).[4] Ignored when calculating elemental resistances.[5] |
| 1 | Elec/Holy | 電／聖 | Used by Zapper's laser bullets.[6] |
| 3 | ???/??? | ？／？ | Used by raindrop bullets during Rouxls Kaard's laser pointer attack with Lanino and Elnina, and an unused rain-themed attack.[7] The element's names are unknown. |
| 5 | Dark/Star | 闇／星 | Used by star-shaped bullets of Tenna, most bullets of Lanino and Elnina, and the Knight.[8] |
| 6 | Puppet/Cat | ？／猫 | Used by some bullets of Tasque, Tasque Manager, and Spamton NEO, and by Shadowguy's yarn ball attack in the Chapter 3 Rouxls Kaard fight.[9] |
Element 1 is referred to as Elec/Holy by the unused SkyMantle's flavor text. Elements 5 and 6 were referred to as Dark/Star and Puppet/Cat in a Spamton Q&A that took place during the Spamton Sweepstakes.[2]
In addition to those used elements, Element IDs 2 and 8 are referenced by the also-unused Resistance ID 9's effect,[10] and Element ID 7 is referenced by the unused MouseToken armor's elemental resistance.[11]
Some attacks are not assigned an element, but instead manually check if a specific element-reducing item is worn, then reduce damage independently of the item's values.
- The attacks from the Titan and Titan Spawn check if the target is holding the Shadow Mantle and if so reduce their damage by 50%.
- The star-shaped bullets from the Hammer of Justice's Pinball Shell attack checks if Susie is holding the Shadow Mantle and if so reduce their damage by 85%.
Some armors have resistance to particular elements. Element ID 0 bullets, the default, are exempt from elemental resistance.[5]
After calculating the damage reduction from DF, and before calculating the reduction from Defending, elemental resistance is factored in. If the party member taking damage has armor that protects against the bullet's element, it reduces the damage taken by a factor depending on the armor. However, this cannot reduce the damage below 25% of its original value.[12]
All elemental resistances defend against bullets with the same Element ID as their Resistance ID; for example, Resistance ID 1 armor defends against Element ID 1 (Elec/Holy) bullets.[1] In addition to this, Resistance IDs 9 and 10 (both unused) would each also defend against additional elements: Resistance ID 9 armor also protects against bullets of Element IDs 2 and 8 in addition to Element ID 9 (all of which are otherwise unused), while Resistance ID 10 protects against bullets of all Element IDs other than 0 (and would give double the reduction against Element ID 10, though this may simply be a logic error).[12]
Resistance IDs and stats are sourced from Deltarune's armor info script, setting armorelementtemp and armorelementamounttemp.[13]
| Resistance ID | Resisted elements | Armor | Damage reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elec/Holy | SkyMantle | 50% |
| 5 | Dark/Star | Shadow Mantle | 66% |
| 6 | Puppet/Cat | Mannequin | 35% |
| FrayedBowtie | 15% | ||
| Dealmaker | 40% | ||
| 7 | ??? (Element ID 7) | Mouse Token | 50% |
Currently, the only weapons with elemental properties are the BlackShard and the unobtainable TwistedSwd, which inflict more damage to Dark-type enemies. As of Chapter 4, the only enemies this affects are the Titan Spawn and the Titan. Internally, there is currently no weapon/enemy element system implemented – the 
SlayDark effect directly checks if Kris is attacking one of those specific enemies and if so multiplies the damage by specific amounts.[14]
A number of elements are mentioned by various sources despite not having any gameplay implementation.
| Element / Pair | Japanese | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder/Light | ？／？ | Spamton Q&A that took place during the Spamton Sweepstakes[2] |
| Death/Scythe | ？／？ | |
| Rude | 暴 | Susie's Rude Buster, Rude Sword (the latter unused) |
| Red | 赤 | Kris and Susie's RedBuster |
| Ice | 氷 | Noelle's IceShock, Ralsei talking about Noelle,[15] recruit info for Head Hathy and Elnina |
| Jewel | 宝 | Recruit info for Rudinn and Rudinn Ranger |
| Heart | 心 | Recruit info for Hathy and Head Hathy |
| Order | 秩 | Recruit info for Ponman, Ambyu-Lance, Tasque Manager, and Zapper |
| Rabbit | 兎 | Recruit info for Rabbick |
| Dust | 埃 | Recruit info for Rabbick and Ribbick |
| Fight | 戦 | Recruit info for Bloxer and Werewerewire |
| Mouse | 鼠 | Recruit info for Jigsawry, Maus, and Mauswheel |
| Puzz | 紙 | Recruit info for Jigsawry |
| Blade | 刃 | Recruit info for Rudinn Ranger and Winglade |
| Chaos | カオスだよ | Unused recruit info for Jevil |
| カオスだね | ||
| 混 | Recruit info for Shadowguy and Pippins | |
| Virus | 病 | Recruit info for Poppup and Virovirokun |
| Color | 色 | Recruit info for Swatchling |
| Music | 音 | Recruit info for Shadowguy, Organikk, and Wicabel |
| Copy | 写 | Recruit info for Shuttah |
| Frog | 蛙 | Recruit info for Ribbick |
| Water | 水 | Recruit info for Watercooler, Elnina, Mizzle, and Miss Mizzle |
| Luck | 運 | Recruit info for Pippins |
| Fire | 火 | Recruit info for Lanino |
| 炎 | Recruit info for Guei | |
| Wind | 風 | Recruit info for Lanino |
| Spirit | 霊 | Recruit info for Guei |
| Steel | 鋼 | Recruit info for Balthizard, Organikk, and Wicabel |
| Smell | 香 | Recruit info for Balthizard |
| Magic | 魔 | Recruit info for Bibliox |
- 1 2 Why Does Deltarune Have An Element System?! on YouTube
- 1 2 3
YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT [Cats]!? WHAT AM I, YOUR [favorite search engine]!? FINE, I'LL GIVE YOU SOME [Free tool tips and funny animations!] HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF [elemental pairs]!? WITH AN [Valuable item], YOU CAN DEFEND AGAINST [Puppet/Cat], OR [Thunder/Light], [Dark/Star]... JUST WATCH OUT FOR THE [$#&*] THAT USE [Death/Scythe]!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!
— @Fangamer on Twitter, September 18, 2022. - ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_recruit_info script, Chapter 2
- ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_bullet_init script, line 9, Chapter 4
- 1 2 gml_globalscript_scr_element_damage_reduction script, line 6, Chapter 4
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_bullet_zapper_laser_Create_0 script, line 2, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_rainwater_Create_0 script, line 3, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_snowflake_ult_bullet_Other_15 script, line 1, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_basicbullet_sneo_Create_0 script, line 2, Chapter 2
- ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_element_damage_reduction script, line 16, Chapter 2
- ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_armorinfo script, line 160, Chapter 2
- 1 2 gml_GlobalScript_scr_element_damage_reduction script, Chapter 2
- ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_armorinfo script, Chapter 4
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_heroparent_Step_0 script, lines 300–315, Chapter 4
- ↑
Even though she doesn't understand it,
— Ralsei, about Noelle, Chapter 2
It seems she's already strong at this world's magic.
I believe she can control the "Ice" element.
... Kris, if you ask her nicely,
Maybe she'll make you a popsicle! Haha!