As Raiden Shogun — a.k.a Baal, or Beelzebul, or Ei — blitzed her way to the top rankings of Genshin Impact tier lists, some players might find it difficult to keep up with all the possibilities she brings to parties. Her general purpose is supposedly for support, but that didn't stop players from turning her into a fully-fledged DPS.
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Needless to say, she's one of the most conflicting and also controversial characters. Regardless, players will likely be thankful for obtaining her no matter the method of acquisition. Raiden Shogun is capable of quite a lot, which is expected for an Archon character. In order to make distinctions clear regarding her party roles, here are two of her most optimal builds, and everything players need to know in order to implement them.
Sub-DPS Support
Baal doesn't have Zhongli or Venti's utility, which means her focus as a support would be to either act as an energy generator for the whole team, or to be a backup-DPS augmenting the main DPS carry's attacks. For a lot of Genshin Impact pundits, this is the most desirable and most affordable way to build Raiden Shogun.
The way to go about with this build is to give her lots of Energy Recharge. As support or sub-DPS, this stat should be the priority, even if it exceeds more than 200 percent. All that excess energy will merely trickle down to other units and keep Raiden Shogun's other teammates' Elemental Bursts topped up.
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Additionally, her Elemental Skill is also useful for this build. It provides a more consistent and more available Electro application compared to previous staples like Fischl. Buffing up her Elemental Burst also doesn't seem as important here, since players aren't relying on Baal for big damage in this kind of role and build. That means artifact set choices can be flexible.
Artifacts Needed
As stated above, artifact choices aren't too strict for Raiden Shogun in a support role. Still, these choices ought to make her more efficient at both providing energy, or being a backup-DPS in the event that the other main DPS carry's abilities are undergoing cooldown.
- Noblesse Oblige – This one turns Raiden Shogun into a buffer for the party, and also gives her a little something for her Elemental Burst.
- Emblem of Severed Fate – The two-piece bonus is substantial for Raiden Shogun, since it gives Energy Recharge. The four-piece bonus gives her a boost to her Elemental Burst.
- Thundering Fury – Players might want to skip the four-piece bonus for this one as it's a bit lackluster. The two-piece bonus, however, works well to buff her Elemental Skill and any Electro damage that Raiden Shogun does.
Players can mix any pieces of those sets, as long as they're getting at least two-piece bonuses. However, they'll want to prioritize the following artifact stats for Raiden Shogun:
Desired stat/artifact slot:
- Flower of Life: Defaults as HP; sub-stats, as much as possible should be Energy recharge/CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Plume of Death: Defaults as ATK; sub-stats, as much as possible should be Energy recharge/CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Sands of Eon: Main stat should be Energy Recharge; sub-stats, as much as possible should be CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Goblet of Eonothem: Main stat can either be ATK% or Electro DMG%; sub-stats, as much as possible should be Energy recharge/CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Circlet of Logos: Main stat can either be CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG; sub-stats, as much as possible should be Energy recharge/ATK % in that order of priority.
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Weapon
Raiden Shogun's weapon doesn't really matter much as long as she gets even more Energy Recharge. These choices are thus the best for her:
- Engulfing Lightning (5-star)
- Skyward Spine (5-star)
- The Catch (4-star)
- Favonius Lance (4-star)
Team Compositions
Raiden Shogun shines best in teams that deal a lot of physical, Pyro (Overload), or Hydro (Electro-Charged). Thus, she'll fit well as a support to these three teams:
- Eula, Xingqiu, Diona — The idea here is to keep a consistent stream of Superconduct for Eula, and Baal's Elemental Skill comes in handy for that. Eula also deals Cryo damage, making it easy for her to apply Superconduct to enemies. Xingqiu is there for some emergency crowd control, while Diona is for Cryo resonance among other things. If Eula's Burst is on cooldown, use Raiden Shogun's Burst.
- Yoimiya, Xingqiu, Anemo character — For this one, the main damage sources come from Yoimiya being able to deal both Overloaded & Vaporize. It's also thanks to Raiden Shogun's Elemental Skill. Picking Overloaded is useful for groups of enemies, while Vaporize is great for single targets.
- Childe or Xingqiu, Xiangling, Bennett — Finally, this one's the Electro-Charged team. Simply activate Raiden Shogun's Elemental skill, then switch to Childe's melee mode to zap enemies. Xiangling acts as a vaporize alternative for when enemies get tougher, and Bennett provides healing and Pyro resonance.
Electro DPS Carry
The general consensus is that Raiden Shogun is best played as a support, but it's such a shame to bench out a well-designed (and somewhat expensive) character. Thankfully, Baal is also viable as the team's DPS carry. It does require some nuanced deviations from her general sub-DPS build.
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This setup needs to emphasize buffing up Raiden Shogun's burst as much as possible, since that's where most of her damage comes from. Tests have then shown that only one artifact set trumps others when it comes to such a build.
Artifacts Needed
- Emblem of Severed Fate — There's no contest here; players will need four pieces all the way. One might think that the Nobless Oblige can contribute more to the burst, but if Raiden Shogun has at least 200 percent Energy Recharge, then this artifact set is the best-in-slot. It can surpass the damage bonuses given by any other artifact set.
Desired stat/artifact slot:
- Flower of Life: Defaults as HP; sub-stats, as much as possible should be CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/Energy recharge/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Plume of Death: Defaults as ATK; sub-stats, as much as possible should be CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/Energy recharge/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Sands of Eon: Main stat should be ATK%; sub-stats, as much as possible should be CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/Energy Recharge in that order of priority.
- Goblet of Eonothem: Main stat can either be Electro DMG%; sub-stats, as much as possible should be CRIT DMG/CRIT Rate/Energy recharge/ATK % in that order of priority.
- Circlet of Logos: Main stat can either be CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG; sub-stats, as much as possible should be Energy recharge/ATK % in that order of priority.
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Weapon
Weapons choices can be more flexible here compared to a support build. Anything that gives Energy Recharge or increased ATK% is welcome. Thus, these weapons are recommended for a DPS Raiden Shogun:
- Engulfing Lightning (5-star) — The Energy Recharge secondary stat is offset by the weapon passive, which converts that Energy Recharge into a damage bonus.
- Staff of Homa (5-star) — For this one, a more specialized artifact choice might be in order, where HP sub-stats are given priority. It's not sorely needed though, since the weapon's passive ability can also add more HP and convert it to a damage bonus.
- Primordial Jade Winged Spear — Lots of CRIT Rate and ATK bonus makes this a good weapon to turn a support character into a main DPS.
- The Catch (4-star) — This weapon offers a budget alternative for Engulfing Lightning.
Team Composition
Kujou Sara is deemed as the best support for a DPS Raiden Shogun, so make sure to include her in any Raiden team. Fill out the rest of the teams like so:
- Kujou Sara, Xingqiu, Zhongli — In order to maximize Raiden Shogun's Burst, players will need to activate every other character's Burst abilities here. After that, they're free to use Raiden Shogun's Elemental Skill and then her Burst. It's simple and effective.
- Kujou Sara, Bennett, Kazuha or Sucrose — The execution is the same here, with one minor tweak. Make sure to use Raiden's Elemental Skill before activating every other character's Elemental Burst (for that Electro-Swirl) and then activate Raiden's Burst. One might find that the Electro damage yield is more satisfying when Raiden's Burst is aimed correctly.