Ultimate Guide to Raiden Shogun: Mastering Genshin Impact's Electro Archon on a Budget

Ultimate Guide to Raiden Shogun: The Electro Archon of Genshin Impact

Bringing you the lowdown on the Electro Archon herself, Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact, this guide aims to equip you with the best budget-friendly build suggestions. Whether you're just starting out or looking to optimize your squad, we've got you covered.

In this guide: A/Normal Attack = Basic Attack, Z = Charged Attack, E = Elemental Skill, Q/Burst = Elemental Burst, Constellation X = the Xth level of Constellation abilities, XX Crown = Crown of Insight from XX.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Versatile in both offense and support, compatible with numerous team compositions, and delivers a satisfying gameplay experience. Pulling Raiden Shogun is a game-changer through early, mid, and late game phases.
• Cons: Free-to-play main DPS players will need to invest time to master her.

Talent Overview

Normal Attack isn't the main source of damage output, so it's not a priority for upgrades. It's fine for world exploration, but other talents should take precedence.

Raiden Shogun's Charged Attack has two forms: before and after activating her Q. Post-Q, her Charged Attack unleashes a crescent moon slash, transforming into a Iai slash with a space-tearing effect.

Her Elemental Skill deals AoE Electro damage to nearby enemies. Casting it grants an "Eye of Stormy Judgment" above all team members for 25 seconds, executing coordinated Electro attacks against enemies (every 0.9 seconds), based on the skill level and the character's Elemental Burst energy, boosting Elemental Burst damage of the character under its effect.

Raiden Shogun's Q is her primary damage dealer, slicing through enemies with an Electro AoE attack based on the "Oathsworn Eye" stacks. This ushers in a 7-second Elemental Burst mode, where she battles using "Resolve of the Dreaming Heart," converting Normal and Charged Attacks into uninfusable Electro damage, scaling with "Oathsworn Eye" stacks. This mode enhances her interruption resistance and immunity to Electro-Charged damage. Attacks in this state regenerate energy for the team (up to five times).

Raiden Shogun's first passive talent (unlocked at ascension 2) accelerates the accumulation of "Oathsworn Eye" stacks, adding a bit more edge, despite its three-second trigger limit.

Her second passive talent (unlocked at ascension 4) enhances Electro damage and energy regeneration from the "Resolve of the Dreaming Heart" state for every percentage point above 100% Energy Recharge. For instance, at level 10 Burst, with 300% Energy Recharge, this equates to 27.5 energy points per hit, filling a third of the Burst gauge (90 points) and boosting Electro damage by 80%, almost equivalent to two Electro damage bonus goblets. Therefore, pushing her Energy Recharge to 300% (without a signature weapon) is highly recommended.

Weapon Recommendations for Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact

Top Pick: Engulfing Lightning. As the Raiden Shogun's signature weapon in Genshin Impact, it boasts impressive base ATK and a whopping 55.1% Energy Recharge, syncing perfectly with her talents and skills. The weapon's effect grants an ATK bonus of 28% over 100% Energy Recharge (at Refinement 1), maxing out at 80%. Crunching the numbers (80/28*100 = 285.7), you'd need an Energy Recharge over 385.7% (285.7+100) to max out, but hitting that is rare, so feel free to stack that Energy Recharge. However, keep in mind that these bonuses apply to ATK, which might get diluted. Aim for 270% Energy Recharge for the sweet spot (due to diminishing returns with Artifacts).

Staff of Homa. A secondary choice for any polearm DPS in Genshin Impact, including Raiden Shogun. If you're wielding this, you'll need to boost your Energy Recharge to at least 250%, and thanks to its weapon effect, dropping HP can significantly boost your damage output.

Kitain Cross Spear. Among polearms that increase CRIT Rate, its value isn't the highest, even lower than some 3-star options. But its enticing effect can boost Raiden Shogun's damage significantly if you've got enough Energy Recharge and CRIT DMG, making up for the lower CRIT Rate.

For those with Energy Recharge under 250% without Engulfing Lightning, consider the Skyward Spine or a fully refined Catch. A Refinement 1 Skyward Spine slightly outperforms a Refinement 5 Catch, but the difference isn't huge. Go with Skyward Spine if you have it; otherwise, The Catch is your best bet.

Gearing Up Raiden Shogun: Weapon Choices Explored

If your Energy Recharge is over 250% and your CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG are solid, you might experiment with the "Wavebreaker's Fin." A fully refined Wavebreaker's Fin is comparable to a fully refined Catch in strength. However, as Wavebreaker's Fin can only be obtained through wishes and its sub-stat is ATK, it's not the most cost-effective option for the average Raiden Shogun build, so it's not highly recommended. Curious players can give it a shot to see the results. Newbies should grab The Catch from fishing ASAP - don't be shy, hit those fishing spots!

Favonius Lance also works. With a max ATK of 565 and an Energy Recharge of 30.6%, its passive generates energy particles to help with Energy Recharge. However, at Refinement 1, there's only a 60% chance to obtain an energy particle every 12 seconds. Also, since Favonius Lance is gacha-only, a Refinement 5 version would significantly improve performance.

Before securing The Catch or another suitable weapon, you might use the Prototype Starglitter. At level 90, it offers the same ATK and Energy Recharge as The Catch but falls short in terms of weapon effect. Since Raiden Shogun's Elemental Burst turns normal and charged attacks into Elemental Burst damage, the weapon's passive doesn't benefit her post-Burst. It's a last resort choice, and ideally, you wouldn't focus on crafting or refining it.

In Conclusion: The Catch is king! Free is always best when it comes to gearing up Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact.

Artifact Recommendations for Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact

First off, the top pick is the "Emblem of Severed Fate" set, which boosts energy recharge and increases burst damage according to your energy recharge rate. This set complements Raiden Shogun's inherent talents perfectly. Equipping two pieces of the Emblem set boosts her energy recharge, while the full four-piece set amps up her Elemental Burst damage (aka Electro DMG), maxing out when energy recharge hits 300% (that's 75/25x100 for the math fans). So, if you're rocking a four-piece Emblem set plus her signature weapon, hitting a 270% energy recharge rate pre-burst is plenty. Anything beyond that, and you're just enjoying the weapon and talent buffs without the full set bonus.

If you're looking for something a bit less intense, the "Noblesse Oblige" set increases Elemental Burst damage by 20%, a solid choice but not as potent as the full Emblem set-up. Consider it a stepping stone.

Optimal Artifacts for Early and Mid-Game Players

"Shimenawa's Reminiscence" or "Gladiator's Finale" sets, offering a neat 18% ATK boost, can serve as balanced alternatives. Though not as impactful as the Emblem set, they're decent placeholders while you farm for the optimal pieces. And hey, not just for Raiden Shogun - characters like Xiangling and Sara can benefit from these too. If dungeon crawling isn't your jam, hit up the crafting bench to mix and match.

For the newbies not yet deep into artifact farming, "The Exile" set offers a 20% energy recharge rate, equivalent to two pieces of the Emblem set, and "Berserker" boosts crit rate by 12%. This combo can help you smoothly sail through the early game without needing high-level upgrades. It's all about those set bonuses.

"Thundering Fury" and "Dreams of the Depths" are for those looking to maximize Raiden Shogun in superconduct teams, offering solid damage in combat. Raiden's superconduct teams often lean towards fun or niche strats, especially in open-world exploration paired with characters like Nasida for that "long-range sniper" vibe.

Constellation Guide for Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact

First Constellation: Boosts the efficiency of stacking "Eye of the Stormy Judgment" layers, especially when another Electro character is in the team. When unleashing her Elemental Burst, Raiden Shogun can stack up to 100% (20% + 80%) of Resolve layers based on the burst's energy cost, even for non-Electro characters, allowing for a 40% (20% + 20%) stack. This slight boost increases her damage output in cycles. Not a must-have, but if you're planning to get her second constellation in future reruns, grabbing the first constellation now makes her smoother to use. If Primogems are tight and you're not aiming for her second constellation next time, it might be skippable.

Second Constellation: Ignores 60% of an enemy's defense, which is a massive boost for Raiden Shogun since her main damage comes from her Elemental Burst and follow-up attacks. This permanent defense-penetrating effect is a game-changer, making it a core constellation for maximizing her potential. Highly recommended.

Third Constellation: Directly increases the level of her Elemental Burst, her main damage-dealing ability, raising the overall damage by 15-20% compared to the second constellation. This boosts her damage significantly, taking it to the next level.

Fourth Constellation: After her Elemental Burst ends, it increases the attack of all characters except herself. Compared to the buff provided by Bennett's Elemental Burst, this constellation's benefit is costly and not recommended.

Raiden Shogun Constellation Guide

Fifth Constellation: Enhances the level of her Elemental Skill. Realistically, this skill reaches its damage-boosting peak at level 10 for her Elemental Burst, and further levels only provide minor improvements. Not recommended.

Sixth Constellation: Reduces the Elemental Burst cooldown for all characters except Raiden Shogun upon hitting enemies with her Elemental Burst damage, with a maximum reduction of five seconds. This doesn't offer great value, so it's not recommended.

For most players, a no-constellation Raiden Shogun is sufficient, while a two-constellation Raiden Shogun is ideal. If possible, consider going for the third constellation.

• Raiden Shogun with 0 constellations and a level 1 signature weapon vs. 2 constellations with a level 5 Catch? Outside of Electro-based teams or when she's the main DPS: 2 constellations without the signature weapon is better than 0 constellations with a level 1 signature weapon. In Electro-focused teams, because of the multi-core output, if you can afford it, give The Catch to Xiangling to solve the "who gets the spear" dilemma. As a crucial part of the team's output, Xiangling's damage greatly increases, boosting the team's overall performance.