Prodigy element matchups: strengths and weaknesses

Every pet and spell in Prodigy has one of five elements, fire, water, plant, storm or ice, and the element decides how much damage a spell deals. A spell of the element an enemy is weak against deals extra damage, while a spell of the element the enemy is strong against deals less. Learning the five matchups is the single most useful thing in the game, because it turns battles that take ten rounds into battles that take three.

The five elements

There are five elements in Prodigy, and every pet has exactly one of them. Fire pets burn plant pets and fear water. Water pets douse fire pets and fear storm. Plant pets soak up water pets and fear fire. Storm pets shock water pets and fear ice. Ice pets freeze storm pets and fear fire. That circle, fire beats plant, plant beats water, water beats fire, storm beats water, and ice beats storm, is the whole system. Learn it once and it never changes.

Your wizard’s spells follow the same elements, so the same chart applies whether you are casting with your wizard or fighting with a pet. To learn how spells work in detail, read Prodigy spells and elements.

The element matchup chart

Read the table like this: if you are fighting a plant pet, use a fire spell or a fire pet. If you are fighting a fire pet, use a water spell or a water pet. If you are fighting a water pet, use a plant or storm spell, because water is weak against both. Storm is the only element that is weak against ice, and ice is the only element that is weak against fire, so keep an ice pet for storm enemies and a fire pet for ice enemies.

Using matchups in battle

Before a battle starts, look at the enemy’s element, which the game shows you, and pick the pet and spells that are strong against it. During the battle, keep using the strong element, even if the spell looks weaker on paper, because the extra damage from a good matchup beats a bigger spell of the wrong element. When the enemy switches pets mid battle, switch yours too, so you are always attacking with the right element.

Against a boss, matchups matter even more, because a boss battle lasts many rounds and the extra damage adds up every round. A boss fight won with the right element can take half as many rounds as the same fight with the wrong one, which also means you take half as much damage. For boss preparation, see the Prodigy zone bosses guide.

Building a balanced team

A balanced team has one pet of each element, fire, water, plant, storm and ice. That way, whatever element the enemy uses, you have an answer. A team of five fire pets will crush plant enemies and then lose badly the first time it meets a water boss, while a team with all five elements never has that problem. Level up one pet of each element, evolve them as they grow, and you will be ready for every zone. To find pets of each element, see the Prodigy pets list: all pets and where to find them, and to learn how pets are caught, read Prodigy pets: how to catch and evolve.

Common element mistakes

The most common mistake is using your favourite pet in every battle, even when its element is wrong. A level 20 fire pet still loses to a water enemy that a level 10 plant pet would beat easily. The second mistake is forgetting that defence matters too: your pet takes extra damage from the element it is weak against, so a fire pet standing against a water enemy is in danger even before it attacks. The third mistake is building a team of one element because those pets were easiest to catch. Catching one pet of each element early, even common ones, fixes all three mistakes at once.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Prodigy spells and elements
• Prodigy pets: how to catch and evolve
• Prodigy pets list: all pets and where to find them

This site is an independent guide. It is not the official Prodigy site, and it is not affiliated with Prodigy Education.