Updated for Version 4.0
Raiden Shogun is a 5-star Electro Polearm character in Genshin Impact who provides off-field Electro application, universal batterying, and a powerful on-field Burst. Learn about Raiden’s best builds, Talent priority, best weapons, best artifacts, and best teams in this in-depth review.
Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress.
The full-length guide is available here.
Table of Contents
New Content
 Baizhu | Provides Dendro application, healing, and shielding in Quicken and Hyperbloom teams. |
 Kirara | Provides shielding and some Dendro application in Quicken and Hyperbloom teams. |
 Lynette | Lynette is an Ousia-aligned Anemo unit who provides a teamwide ATK% buff and can hold 4pc Viridescent Venerer. At C1, she also provides grouping. |
 Ballad of the Fjords | A strong option for Raiden’s Aggravate and on-field Quickbloom teams due to the CRIT Rate and EM it gives. |
Infographic
On-Field DPS
Design: euphorysm
Content: chasing_haze
Hyperbloom Trigger
Design: euphorysm
Content: chasing_haze
On-Field Aggravate DPS
Design: euphorysm
Content: baloopy
Character Overview
Playstyles
Burst DPS
Building a team rotation around Raiden’s Burst allows her to deal large amounts of damage while batterying her teammates.
Hyperbloom Trigger
Emphasizes Raiden’s Skill for its ability to easily trigger Hyperblooms off-field.
Talents
Level and Talent Priority
Burst DPS
Talent Priority
Burst > Skill
Raiden’s attacks during her Burst use a separate set of multipliers that are not based on her Normal Attack Talent. As such, it is not recommended to level her Normal Attacks.
Hyperbloom Trigger
Talent Priority
Chracter Level > Skill
Transformative Reactions such as Hyperbloom scale with EM and character level rather than Talent level. As such, raising Raiden to level 90 should be the highest priority. Leveling Raiden’s Skill will not increase Hyperbloom damage, but can be useful for its Burst DMG buff.
Talent Overview
Normal Attack | Origin
Talent Description
Normal Attack
Performs up to 5 consecutive spear strikes.
Charged Attack
Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to perform an upward slash.
Plunging Attack
Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
It is not recommended to level this Talent, since it does not affect Raiden’s attacks during her Burst and she should not use Normal Attacks outside of her Burst.
Elemental Skill | Transcendence: Baleful Omen
Talent Description
The Raiden Shogun unveils a shard of her Euthymia, dealing Electro DMG to nearby opponents, and granting nearby party members the Eye of Stormy Judgment.
Eye of Stormy Judgment
- When characters with this buff attack and deal DMG to opponents, the Eye will unleash a coordinated attack, dealing AoE Electro DMG at the opponent’s position.
- Characters who gain the Eye of Stormy Judgment will have their Elemental Burst DMG increased based on the Energy Cost of the Elemental Burst during the Eye’s duration.
The Eye can initiate one coordinated attack every 0.9s per party.
Coordinated attacks generated by characters not controlled by you deal 20% of the normal DMG.
Raiden’s Skill provides Electro application with a respectable AoE and 100% uptime, making it a fantastic Hyperbloom trigger. The coordinated attacks can trigger every 0.9s and follow Standard Internal Cooldown (ICD) — every 2.5s or 3 hits. However, ICD will not affect Hyperbloom triggering since ICD is separate per entity (Dendro Core).
Her Skill also provides good Energy particle generation over time. Its Burst DMG buff cannot be snapshot, and Raiden’s Skill itself cannot snapshot other buffs.
It is important to note that Raiden’s Skill triggers on damage, meaning it does not trigger when hitting Elemental Shields. This also means the coordinated attack will hit slightly after the attack that triggers it; see the full Raiden guide for example rotations and setups that take advantage of this mechanic.
Elemental Burst | Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu
Talent Description
Gathering truths unnumbered and wishes uncounted, the Raiden Shogun unleashes the Musou no Hitotachi and deals AoE Electro DMG, using Musou Isshin in combat for a certain duration afterward. The DMG dealt by Musou no Hitotachi and Musou Isshin’s attacks will be increased based on the number of Chakra Desiderata’s Resolve stacks consumed when this skill is used.
Musou Isshin
While in this state, the Raiden Shogun will wield her tachi in battle, while her Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks will be infused with Electro DMG, which cannot be overridden. When such attacks hit opponents, she will regenerate Energy for all nearby party members. Energy can be restored this way once every 1s, and this effect can be triggered 5 times throughout this skill’s duration.
While in this state, the Raiden Shogun’s resistance to interruption is increased, and she is immune to Electro-Charged reaction DMG.
While Musou Isshin is active, the Raiden Shogun’s Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG will be considered Elemental Burst DMG.
The effects of Musou Isshin will be cleared when the Raiden Shogun leaves the field.
Chakra Desiderata
When nearby party members (excluding the Raiden Shogun herself) use their Elemental Bursts, the Raiden Shogun will build up Resolve stacks based on the Energy Cost of these Elemental Bursts.
The maximum number of Resolve stacks is 60.
The Resolve gained by Chakra Desiderata will be cleared 300s after the Raiden Shogun leaves the field.
The bulk of Raiden’s personal damage. Its powerful initial slash is followed by an Electro Conversion on her Normal/Charged/Plunging Attacks for 7s, although this duration can be extended with hitlag. The multipliers for these converted attacks are based on Raiden’s Burst Talent level only. See the Combos section for recommended combos.
The converted attacks are considered Elemental Burst DMG despite requiring Normal/Charged Attack input. This makes Raiden unable to take advantage of Normal/Charged Attack buffs or units who require Normal/Charged Attack hits, such as Beidou and Electro Traveler. However, she very much synergizes with Burst DMG buffs and units such as Xingqiu and Yelan (who only require Normal Attack animations).
During her Burst, Raiden cannot be interrupted and refunds Flat Energy to the whole team with her converted attacks. Her Burst does not snapshot and does not count towards her own Resolve stacks.
Due to the Energy refund and the nature of the Resolve stacks, it is best to use Raiden’s Burst after all other teammates’ Bursts have been used. See the full Raiden guide for example rotations.
Ascension 1 Passive | Wishes Unnumbered
Talent Description
When nearby party members gain Elemental Orbs or Particles, Chakra Desiderata gains 2 Resolve stacks.
This effect can occur once every 3s.
Essentially free damage, this is a straightforward Passive that lets Raiden gain a few more Resolve stacks (usually 4–8 more stacks).
Ascension 4 Passive | Enlightened One
Talent Description
Each 1% above 100% Energy Recharge that the Raiden Shogun possesses grants her:
- 0.6% greater Energy restoration from Musou Isshin
- 0.4% Electro DMG Bonus.
This Passive complements Raiden’s already high ER requirements. However, ER is only on par with ATK% for Raiden’s personal damage when using Engulfing Lightning. Thus, it is not recommended to aim for more ER than is necessary to Burst off-cooldown (see ER Requirements).
Constellations
Note that comments on Raiden’s Constellations are centered around her Burst DPS playstyle. Raiden’s Constellations generally do not affect her Hyperbloom damage nor playstyle.
Constellation 1 | Ominous Inscription
Chakra Desiderata will gather Resolve even faster. When Electro characters use their Elemental Bursts, the Resolve gained is increased by 80%. When characters of other Elemental Types use their Elemental Bursts, the Resolve gained is increased by 20%.
Allows Raiden to gain more Resolve stacks and therefore deal more damage. It is quite common to reach maximum Resolve stacks with a second Electro character or with three teammates who have 80 Energy Cost Bursts.
Constellation 2 | Steelbreaker
While using Musou no Hitotachi and in the Musou Isshin state applied by Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu, the Raiden Shogun’s attacks ignore 60% of opponents’ DEF.
While not the same as DEF Shred, ignoring DEF is nevertheless extremely potent. This Constellation is a massive ~43% increase to her personal damage.
Constellation 3 | Shinkage Bygones
Increases the Level of Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A simple +3 Talent levels to Raiden’s Burst, but a significant increase to her personal damage.
Constellation 4 | Pledge of Propriety
When the Musou Isshin state applied by Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu expires, all nearby party members (excluding the Raiden Shogun) gain 30% bonus ATK for 10s.
Raiden should practically never use her Burst at the beginning of the rotation, so this Constellation will not affect the first rotation. If content requires multiple rotations, C4 provides a useful ATK% buff to her teammates.
Constellation 5 | Shogun’s Descent
Increases the Level of Transcendence: Baleful Omen by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
+3 Talent levels to Raiden’s Skill, not very significant.
Constellation 6 | Wishbearer
While in the Musou Isshin state applied by Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu, attacks by the Raiden Shogun that are considered part of her Elemental Burst will decrease all nearby party members’ (but not including the Raiden Shogun herself) Elemental Burst CD by 1s when they hit opponents.
This effect can trigger once every 1s, and can trigger a total of 5 times during the state’s duration.
A unique Constellation that can reduce teammates’ Burst cooldowns. Currently, this has minimal effect on most of her teams, if any.
Combos
The optimal combos for Raiden’s Burst are listed below.
N# = Corresponding number of consecutive Normal Attacks
C = Charged Attack
D = Dash
#x[combo1] + [combo2] = repeating combo1 # number of times, then doing combo2
| Burst Combo | Usage |
| 2xN4C + N2C | The recommended combo for beginners due to its forgiving timings. If players feel as though they cannot finish N2C before Raiden’s Burst ends, N1C is a viable replacement. |
| 4xN4D | Although Dash canceling the N4 requires some practice, this combo has one of the highest damage ceilings in this list and can be performed consistently without Attack SPD buffs. It has high Electro application and is quite good at triggering Xingqiu and Yelan’s Bursts. |
| 3xN3C + N1C | One of the highest damage ceilings in this list, but has tight timings without Attack SPD buffs. This is the most recommended combo if utilizing Attack SPD buffs. |
| N1C spam | Most recommended if using Venti, since Raiden’s Charged Attack will reliably hit enemies within Venti’s Burst. Requires Stamina management. |
Burst DPS
Artifacts
ER Requirements
| Situation | ER Requirement |
| Solo Electro | 200-220% |
| Double Electro | 180-220% |
Since Raiden’s particle generation is RNG-dependent, it is recommended to build slightly higher ER than necessary. With Engulfing Lightning, building more ER also benefits Raiden’s personal damage.
The value of Electro Resonance highly depends on the second Electro unit. Use the Energy Recharge Calculator to determine exact requirements for your team and rotation.
Artifact Stats
 Sands |  Goblet |  Circlet |
| ATK%, Energy Recharge* or Elemental Mastery** | Electro DMG Bonus or ATK% | CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG |
Substats:
ER (until requirements) > CRIT Rate/DMG > ATK% (= ER*) ≥ EM**
While an ATK% Sands is generally best for Raiden’s personal damage, an ER Sands may be necessary to reach her ER requirements. With Engulfing Lightning, an ER Sands tends to pull ahead.
Teams that provide plenty of ATK buffs prefer an Electro DMG Bonus Goblet whereas teams that provide plenty of DMG% buffs in addition to Raiden’s built-in DMG% buffs (e.g., her Skill, her A4) prefer an ATK% Goblet. In most cases, an Electro DMG Bonus Goblet is preferred.
Use the Genshin Optimizer to determine the best Artifacts for your specific team.
*It’s not recommended to purposely build ER beyond Raiden’s ER requirements without Engulfing Lightning, which makes ER substats become about as valuable as ATK%.
**EM is only a useful stat in Quicken or Quickbloom teams. Only if Raiden is triggering a substantial amount of Hyperblooms should EM become a higher priority than CRIT or ATK%.
Artifact Sets
| Artifact Set | Notes |
 4pc Emblem of Severed Fate (4EoSF) | Undisputed best-in-slot set. Gives everything Raiden wants — ER and an ER to Burst DMG% conversion. |
 4pc Tenacity of the Millelith (4TotM) | Raiden has great uptime on the 4pc set bonus. However, sacrificing Raiden’s personal damage for the teamwide ATK% buff is often not worth it. |
 2pc mixed sets of ER / ATK% / Electro DMG% / Burst DMG% | Anything other than the above is suboptimal and should only be used as a temporary transition set. The damage difference between 4EoSF and everything else is quite large. |
Weapons
| Weapon | Notes |
 Engulfing Lightning | Raiden’s Best-in-Slot and signature weapon. Converts ER to ATK%, making ATK% less valuable and incentivizing players to build ER past Raiden’s usual ER requirements. CRIT stats are still needed. |
 “The Catch” | A completely free and extremely good weapon available through fishing. Provides Raiden with plentiful amounts of ER and CRIT stats to her Burst. Refinement Rank 5 is worth the pain of fishing. |
 Other 5* Weapons | Includes Staff of Homa, Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, Skyward Spine, and Calamity Queller. Generally all good options, although Raiden may not make the best use of their passives. See the full Raiden guide for more information. |
 Staff of the Scarlet Sands / Ballad of the Fjords | The EM-based passives are particularly useful in Aggravate and Quickbloom teams. Outside of that, they also provide CRIT Rate. |
 Wavebreaker’s Fin / Lithic Spear | Wavebreaker’s Fin and Lithic Spear are both solid options, especially at high refinements. Lithic Spear wants the team to have multiple Liyue characters. |
 Deathmatch | Provides CRIT Rate and ATK%, although it is generally not worth using over the more accessible alternatives. |
 Favonius Lance | Significantly limits Raiden’s personal damage. Even in Energy-hungry teams, Favonius Lance is rarely an upgrade over the other options. Not recommended. |
Off-field Hyperbloom Trigger
Artifacts
Artifact Stats
Sands | Goblet | Circlet |
| Elemental Mastery | Elemental Mastery | Elemental Mastery |
Substats:
EM
It is best to maximize Raiden’s EM, since that is the only stat that affects Transformative Reaction (i.e., Hyperbloom) damage. Stats such as CRIT, ATK%, and ER are much lower priority if playing Raiden solely as an off-field Hyperbloom trigger.
Artifact Sets
| Artifact Set | Notes |
 4pc Gilded Dreams (4GD) | Increases Raiden’s EM with both the 2-piece and 4-piece set effects. Gilded Dreams also runs in the same domain as Deepwood Memories (see below), making it very Resin-efficient. |
 4pc Flower of Paradise Lost (4FoPL) | While this set technically yields the highest Hyperbloom damage, it runs in the same domain as the Desert Pavilion Chronicle set, making it generally Resin-inefficient and not recommended to farm. |
 2pc EM + 2pc EM | Completely viable, but will perform worse than 4GD or 4FoPL. It can work as a temporary transition set. |
 4pc Deepwood Memories (4DW) | A vital set for Hyperbloom teams due to the 4-piece set effect reducing Dendro Resistance. In the rare cases where no other teammates are able to hold 4DW, it is viable on Raiden. |
Weapons
| Weapon | Notes |
 Dragon’s Bane | Out of the available polearms with EM secondary stats, Dragon’s Bane provides the most and is quite accessible through all banners. Refinements are not necessary. |
 Moonpiercer | A solid F2P choice with its EM secondary stat and the ATK% buff it can give to a single teammate. |
 Kitain Cross Spear | Another viable F2P option. Provides the same amount of EM as Moonpiercer but has a passive that regenerates Energy for Raiden. Can be helpful if using Raiden’s Burst, although this is generally not the focus of her Hyperbloom teams. |
Ballad of the Fjords | At R5, Ballad of the Fjords technically provides more EM than Dragon’s Bane. However, it is not recommended to buy the Battle Pass for this reason since +19 EM is a relatively insignificant gain. |
Favonius Lance | While Favonius Lance suffers from its lack of EM, its Energy-generating passive can be helpful. Raiden may need to build some CRIT Rate. |
Quickbloom
Because Quickbloom Raiden triggers both Aggravate and Hyperbloom, her build will lie somewhere between standard Burst DPS and Hyperbloom trigger. How far her build should lean towards one or the other, however, is highly variable.
In general, if Raiden triggers more Aggravates than Hyperblooms, she should lean more towards the standard Burst DPS build — prioritizing ATK%, DMG%, and CRIT. Conversely, if Raiden triggers more Hyperblooms than Aggravates, she should lean more towards the Hyperbloom trigger build — prioritizing EM.
If still using Raiden’s Burst in a Quickbloom team, see the ER requirements for the Burst DPS build.
Teams
Teambuilding
- Like all characters, Raiden appreciates any form of survivability (e.g., healing, shielding).
- Since Raiden gains infinite Interruption Resistance during her Burst, shielding is not as necessary for Raiden as it is for other characters.
- Raiden’s attacks during her Burst are considered Normal Attack animation but Elemental Burst damage.
- This limits her synergy with characters such as Beidou and Electro Traveler, who require Elemental Burst hits.
- Raiden can slot into many teams as a general battery, although there are times when she can be replaced with a better battery for a specific Element (e.g., Diona, Fischl, Bennett, etc.).
- See the full Raiden guide for details on rotation management.
Notable Teammates
Electro 
| Character | Description |
  Yae Miko, Fischl | Yae Miko benefits from Raiden’s Energy refund and is able to contribute significant personal damage. Fischl also provides strong off-field damage, although with less AoE coverage than Yae Miko. In Aggravate teams, Fischl’s value skyrockets due to her A4 Passive. Fischl should use her Burst every rotation to maximize Raiden’s Resolve stacks. |
 Kujou Sara | Kujou Sara and Raiden synergize extremely well. Kujou Sara provides powerful buffs and is also able to hold Elegy for the End. At C6, Kujou Sara is one of Raiden’s best teammates. |
 Lisa | Lisa’s DEF Shred and ability to hold TTDS make her competitive with the other buffers while being cheaper to build. At higher investment, Lisa provides personal damage as well. |
 Kuki Shinobu | Kuki Shinobu condenses healing and 4TotM buffing into one role and is particularly noteworthy in Aggravate teams. Her Burst enables very reliable Electro VV setups. |
 Beidou | Beidou and Burst DPS Raiden do not work well together due to Raiden’s Burst not being able to trigger Beidou’s. However, in Hyperbloom teams where Raiden does not use her Burst, Beidou is able to benefit from Raiden’s DMG buff and particle generation. Beidou’s Burst also does not steal Hyperblooms. |
Anemo 
| Character | Description |
 Kazuha | Kazuha’s DMG buff, grouping, and ability to hold 4pc Viridescent Venerer (4VV) to shred Enemy RES make him one of Raiden’s best teammates. |
 Venti | When content is Venti-able (i.e., multiple light enemies), Venti’s unparalleled grouping, personal damage, Energy refund, and ability to hold 4VV all make him very valuable. It is recommended for Raiden to use the [N1C spam] combo in order to best hit enemies within Venti’s Burst. |
  Sucrose, Heizou | Both are viable 4VV and TTDS holders, with some bonus grouping. Their EM buffs are only valuable for Aggravate teams. Heizou tends to have better personal damage but worse grouping and a smaller EM buff. |
 Lynette | Lynette provides 4VV and a teamwide ATK% buff. At C1, she gains some grouping as well. |
  Jean, Sayu | Jean and Sayu condense healing, 4VV, and damage into one slot. Jean offers the unique pairing with Bennett, known as “Sunfire,” as well as an Attack SPD buff at C2. |
 Xiao | While Raiden extends rotations and her Burst DMG buff does not benefit Xiao, her batterying capabilities and personal damage make Xiaoden competitive with some of Xiao’s other teams. See the full Xiao guide for more. |
Hydro 
| Character | Description |
  Xingqiu, Yelan | Xingqiu and Yelan’s significant personal damage and off-field Hydro application make them great teammates, although slightly limited to single-target situations. Raiden is also able to decrease both of their ER needs. |
 Mona | Mona provides buffs through her Burst’s strong albeit brief Omen and Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (TTDS). |
  Kokomi, Barbara | Kokomi can hold TTDS and 4pc Tenacity of the Millelith (4TotM) to buff Raiden while providing valuable healing and Hydro application. Barbara is a strict downgrade from Kokomi, but can still be used. |
Pyro 
| Character | Description |
 Bennett | One of Raiden’s best teammates. Being tied to a circle is a small price to pay for Bennett’s valuable healing and massive Flat ATK buff. |
 Xiangling | Xiangling’s significant off-field damage justifies her placement in Raiden teams. It is recommended to run Xiangling with Bennett since, even with Raiden, Xiangling faces Energy issues. |
Dendro 
| Character | Description |
  Nahida, Dendro Traveler, Collei | Sources of off-field Dendro application. Nahida tends to have better personal damage and uptime, as well as a valuable buff for Raiden in Aggravate teams. |
  Yaoyao, Baizhu | Condenses healing and Dendro application in one slot. Baizhu also provides small shielding, although this may be redundant with the infinite poise Raiden gains during her Burst. Baizhu’s A4 buff is very appreciated in Raiden’s Aggravate and on-field Quickbloom teams. |
Kirara | In Raiden’s Burst DPS teams, the value of Kirara’s shield is diminished since Raiden gains infinite poise during her Burst, and Kirara does not provide heals like Baizhu. At C6, Kirara provides a valuable Elemental DMG% buff. If using Kirara in Quickbloom or Hyperbloom, a second Dendro unit is highly recommended for more consistent Dendro application. |
 Alhaitham | A solid on-field Dendro DPS for off-field Raiden’s Hyperbloom and Quickbloom teams. |
Cryo 
| Character | Description |
 Eula | Raiden’s Skill provides a Burst DMG buff and off-field Electro application to shred Physical RES through Superconduct. Using Raiden’s Burst extends rotations, but its Energy refund is highly valuable for Eula. |
Geo 
The current roster of Geo characters is not particularly noteworthy when it comes to their synergy with Raiden.
Example Teams
This is not a comprehensive list of teams. The inclusion or exclusion of any given team does not necessarily reflect its power level.
General Burst DPS
A general team formula consisting of Raiden, a healer or other defensive unit, and any synergizing off-field DPS units. Preferably, teammates would have Bursts with high Energy Costs and would want to use their Bursts every rotation.
Hyper-Raiden
A specific version of the General Burst DPS archetype. Hyper-Raiden teams tend to focus on Raiden’s personal damage and generally consist of Raiden, an Anemo unit to hold 4VV, a healer, and a buffer. Kazuha, Bennett, and C6 Sara or TTDS Lisa are generally best for their respective roles.
Raiden — Kazuha — Bennett — Sara
Aggravate DPS
Raiden as an Aggravate DPS unit can be surprisingly competitive with her traditional Burst DPS teams. A Dendro unit and a second Electro unit help keep Quicken uptime; an Anemo unit is recommended to hold 4VV and shred enemy Electro RES. If playing Raiden as an Aggravate DPS, it is still recommended to prioritize ATK% over EM.
Hyperbloom & Quickbloom
Hyperbloom teams mainly take advantage of Raiden’s Skill along with fast Hydro application. Using Raiden’s Burst is not necessary and it is highly recommended to maximize EM above all else.
Slower Hydro application results in some Quicken uptime — hence the name Quickbloom — allowing some Aggravates and Spreads to occur. Quickbloom builds will highly depend on the team and reactions being triggered. See the Quickbloom builds section for more.
Dual-Carry Teams
Other Hypercarry characters tend to be Energy-hungry. Pairing them with Raiden helps alleviate these Energy issues, and while she extends rotations, her personal damage can make up for it.
Credits
chasing_haze, jamberry, cuzimori, casdela, nikatosaurus, Leah, grankrathalos, idkanonymized, nociii, irokei, alehannita