Genshin Impact has undergone numerous changes since the last time the Almighty Raiden Shogun herself blessed us with her presence. But what does this mean for her build? Is there potential for alternatives now with the inclusion of Dendro? Let’s find out how to build your Raiden Shogun.
The Almighty Skill and Burst of the Raiden Shogun
Out of all the Archons, Raiden’s Skills are perhaps one of the most satisfying to use in the midst of battle. Zhongli and Venti may be incredibly useful for bypassing puzzles or cheeking your way through exploration, but in domains, I’ll be the first to admit as a veteran Zhongli-haver, I still accidentally vault onto a pillar without meaning to mid-fight. Raiden’s skill, however, gives players an extra edge in their blows by dealing a slash of Electro damage every time they hit an enemy. You’ll usually want to use Raiden’s skill right at the start of the battle, even before setting up heals or a shield. Not only will your other party member’s attacks deal the Electro damage if they hit an enemy, but they’ll gain the Eye of Judgement. The Eye of Judgement hangs over the character’s back, boosting their Elemental Burst damage based on the amount of Energy Recharge Raiden has.
Related: All Materials Required for Ascending the Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact
One of the most popular Bursts in Genshin is the Musou Shinsetsu, Raiden’s ultimate attack that she uses to cut down her enemies and beloved characters that will never be playable. Stop hoping for it; they aren’t coming back. Another reason to use your character’s Bursts is that each time that you do, not only will their damage be increased, but doing so before resulting in Raiden’s will increase the amount of damage she does. Speaking of, Raiden’s burst is indeed reminiscent of her dangerous move to cut down enemies, but it also entails switching weapons. Raiden trades out her polearm for her tachi instead, slashing down enemies with a sword weapon instead and restoring Elemental Energy for her party. By using her Burst last, and depending on your build of her, Raiden can restore your whole party’s Bursts by attacking enemies during her Musou Shinsetsu.
What Weapon Suits Raiden Shogun Best?
As a DPS, Raiden has an abundance of weapons that could suit her, even if they don’t have a main stat of Attack, Crit Rate, or Crit Damage. Because her damage is also correlated to her Energy Recharge thanks to her passive, Enlightened One, these types of weapons are also suiting for her. But naturally, her best-in-slot weapon will be the Signature Weapon that releases alongside her in the Weapon banner, Engulfing Lightning. Funny enough, this five-star weapon actually has the main stat of Energy Recharge but with its passive, can increase the character’s Attack by 28 percent of however much is gathered above the base stat of 100. A maximum of 80 percent Attack can be gained this way and after the Elemental Burst is used, the weapon will increase Energy Recharge by 30 percent for a short duration. With Raiden’s Passive, this can increase the damage done by her tachi once she has done her initial attack of slashing through the air.
And while many of the five-star weapons will be good for Raiden, it’s perhaps a good practice to keep in mind that Energy Recharge is what she is best known for and able to scale off of. Another good weapon that would be good for her is Skyward Spine since it also runs on Energy Recharge and boosts Crit Rate. But the next best weapon for Raiden after Engulfing Lightning just might not be Skyward Spine, but actually, a weapon that you can obtain for free just by playing the game.
“The Catch” is a free-to-play weapon and is considered to be one of the best weapons in the polearm inventory just below some of its five start compatriots, while even rivaling some of them. Although it isn’t craftable at the Alchemy table, this is probably a benefit since it doesn’t require a billet to be used, nor does it need any more of its weapon to be refined. “The Catch” is a weapon that is obtained through fishing and trading with an associate of the Inazuma Fishing Association. As are its refinement materials, making it a pretty powerful weapon just for Raiden Shogun. With a main stat of Energy Recharge, this weapon’s passive increases the Elemental Burst damage by 32 percent as well as the Crit Rate by 12 percent.
Sure enough, the two best weapons for Raiden are her signature as one would expect, and a one-off weapon that offers full refinement, all for free except for a few hours of fishing. Other weapons that deal in Energy Recharge are good for her as well, you could even try for weapons that deal in Attack like Wavebreaker’s Fin which has a good passive that will still help Raiden deal serious damage. But between these two, Raiden proves herself to be the most versatile among paid-for and free-to-play players.
Related: How to Get the Catch in Genshin Impact
Artifact Sets–Set, There is Only One
Out of all the sets that have now accumulated to this day, Emblem of the Severed Fates is going to be the best set for the Raiden Shogun. Specifically, because it was tailored to her kit to make it so overpowered in the first place. It works well for a few other characters that have spawned today, but this artifact set was made for the Raiden. At two pieces, it already increases her Energy Recharge by 20 percent. And at four pieces, it targets her Elemental Burst by increasing the damage it does by 25 percent of her total Energy Recharge. It maxes out at 75 percent of damage being attainable this way, but that’s a huge benefit to Raiden’s overall kit.
And although this kid does limit the damage it will wield to her, her Passive Enlightened One will still add to the damage her Burst does, as well as her Electro damage based on her Energy Recharge. You normally want to aim for a certain threshold of Energy Recharge with a good well-rounded number being 240-260 to settle in.
And with the arrival of Dendro, could there be artifacts that are also potentially good? Between Flowers of Paradise Lost and Gilded Dreams being the only new viable sets that would actually apply to Raiden, these aren’t entirely the best but that’s because of Raiden’s role in team composition. Like Dori, she’s set out to restore Energy and Elemental Particles for her team but because as an archon, naturally, she gets to deal heaps of damage if built right. Characters like Yae Miko and Lisa benefit more from these types of sets because their attacks are likely to be used in combination with another element, opting to trigger Elemental Mastery and do increased damage for the reactions they gain. Then these effects that follow with the four-piece set will do a lot more bang for their buck rather than opting to use Raiden in a more limited and linear fashion. Raiden’s attacks do better overlaid with another character’s attack, this doesn’t always result in an Elemental Reaction, however. So despite there being new sets out, Emblem of Severed Fates continue to be the best and primary set you should aim for when hunting for Raiden Shogun Artifacts.
The Stats You Will Be Seeking
As a DPS, the sub-stats you’ll want to keep on her build as going to be pretty standard: Attack, Crit Rate, and Crit Damage. But due to her particular nature of getting boosted damaged from Energy Recharge, you could easily interchange any one of these for the sub-stat of Energy Recharge. The next three artifacts of Sands, Goblet, and Crown are going to be quite interesting, depending on what weapon you have on Raiden. If you have opted for a Crit or Attack weapon, then you’re going to want to aim for an Energy Recharge Sands. And vice versa, if you have an Energy Recharge weapon, then you’re going to aim for Attack as the main stat for Sands. Depending on the sub-stats that you have, if you do not have enough to equal at around 240-260, then your Goblet could also be interchangeable with Energy Recharge or Electro Bonus Damage.
- Attack – Energy Recharge
- Energy Recharge – Electro Bonus Damage
If your numbers are settled based on your weapon and sub-stats, you can follow the basic DPS form where your Sands is Attack, Goblet is Electro Bonus Damage and the Crown is based on which Crit crown you need more of. With the Raiden Shogun, you will almost always go for Crit Damage no matter which way you’ve built her up with the other artifacts. She attacks numerous times between her Skill and her Burst, so one of them is bound to hit and you can always offset a drastic difference between Rate and Damage by aiming for Crit Rate in your sub-stats of other artifacts.
Related: Genshin Impact: The Catch Weapon Ascension Materials, Recommended Characters and More
Talent Priority and Which to Crown
It will always be up to your own volition to choose what to level and what Talent Branch to Crown, but for those who need to narrow in on what is most important to focus on in the beginning, here are the steps you’re going to take. It is most important to get Raiden’s Burst leveled first and foremost. This is going to be where the bulk of her damage comes from, and although during her transition, she will attack with a sword-like weapon, it doesn’t count as her Normal Attack. Attacking with her tachi is actually considered to be Elemental Burst damage and is converted to Electro Damage, indicating that this is not to be counted as her Normal Attack damage that she does with her polearm.
The next important Talent Branch that you’re going to want to work on is her Elemental Skill, which increases the damage done whenever it strikes an enemy. Raiden’s Burst and Skill are going to be the most important to level and Crown if you deem using your valuable resources, with the Burst being the only Talent Branch you would really need to Crown since it’s the most important in her kit.
Excited about her return? Good luck on her banner for the remaining duration, and don’t be afraid to try out for her weapon.
