Raiden Shogun Build Guide
- Best Weapon: Engulfing Lightning (5★) > Staff of Homa (5★) > The Catch R5 (4★)
- Best Artifact: 4-Piece Emblem of Severed Fate — converts Energy Recharge into burst damage.
- Main Role: On-field burst DPS, team battery, and off-field Electro applicator. Pairs with nearly every team archetype.
- Key Stat: Energy Recharge 200–250%. With Engulfing Lightning, stack up to 270% for maximum buff conversion.
Raiden Shogun, also known as the Electro Archon Ei, is a 5-star Electro polearm character released in Version 2.1. She remains one of the most versatile and powerful units in Genshin Impact as of Version 6.0. Her Elemental Burst, Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu, unleashes devastating AoE Electro damage while restoring Energy to the entire party. Her Elemental Skill provides persistent off-field coordinated Electro attacks, making her a superb choice for reactions like Hyperbloom, Overloaded, and Electro-Charged.
Whether you want a hypercarry main DPS, a national-team driver, or a full EM Hyperbloom trigger, Raiden Shogun can do it all. This guide covers every viable build path with up-to-date weapon rankings, artifact comparisons, and team compositions.
Best Weapons Ranked
Raiden Shogun's weapon choice depends heavily on your build. For the standard burst DPS build, prioritize Energy Recharge and CRIT stats. For Hyperbloom Raiden, raw Elemental Mastery from Dragon's Bane or Moonpiercer becomes the priority. The table below ranks weapons for the standard burst DPS / battery build.
| Weapon | Rarity | Base ATK | Substat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engulfing Lightning | 5★ | 608 | 55.1% ER | Signature weapon. ATK increases by 28% of ER over 100% (max 80% bonus ATK). Gain 30% ER for 12s after using Burst. Best-in-slot by a significant margin. Synergizes perfectly with Emblem of Severed Fate. |
| Staff of Homa | 5★ | 608 | 66.2% CRIT DMG | Huge CRIT DMG stat stick. HP passive is partially wasted but the raw stats and unconditional ATK bonus make it the second-best 5-star option. Great if you already own it from Hu Tao banners. |
| The Catch | 4★ | 510 | 45.9% ER | Best free-to-play weapon. Increases Burst DMG by 32% and Burst CRIT Rate by 12% at R5. Farmable from the Inazuma Fishing Association. R5 Catch outperforms most R1 5-star polearms for Raiden specifically. |
| Wavebreaker's Fin | 4★ | 620 | 13.8% ATK | Very high base ATK for a 4-star (620). Burst DMG scales with the combined maximum Energy of the party — excellent in teams with high-cost Bursts like Raiden National (Xiangling 80, Xingqiu 80, Bennett 60). Highly dependent on refinement rank. |
| Favonius Lance | 4★ | 565 | 30.6% ER | Solid ER weapon that generates clear elemental particles for the whole team on CRIT hits. Great for supporting energy-hungry teammates. Lower personal damage than The Catch but offers more team utility. Excellent transitional weapon. |
Note: For Hyperbloom / full EM Raiden, Dragon's Bane (221 EM) and Moonpiercer (110 EM) are ideal choices. The weapons above are ranked for the standard burst DPS build.
Best Artifacts
Raiden Shogun has three distinct artifact setups depending on the role you want her to play. Emblem of Severed Fate is the undisputed best set for burst DPS Raiden. For Hyperbloom trigger builds, you will want a full Elemental Mastery setup.
| Artifact Set | 2-Pc Bonus | 4-Pc Bonus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem of Severed Fate | Energy Recharge +20% | Burst DMG increased by 25% of Energy Recharge (max 75% bonus) | Best-in-slot for burst DPS Raiden. With 250% ER, you gain the full 75% Burst DMG bonus. This set is tailor-made for Raiden's kit and should be your default choice. Farm from Momiji-Dyed Court (Inazuma). |
| Gilded Dreams | Elemental Mastery +80 | Within 8s of triggering an Elemental Reaction: ATK/DEF buffs based on team elements, or EM +150 if all teammates share the same element as the wearer | Best set for Hyperbloom / EM trigger Raiden. When built with full EM main stats, Raiden's coordinated Electro attacks trigger massive Hyperbloom damage. Stack as much EM as possible (900+). Farm from Spire of Solitary Enlightenment (Sumeru). |
| Flower of Paradise Lost | Elemental Mastery +80 | Bloom, Hyperbloom, and Burgeon DMG increased by 40%. After triggering one of these reactions, gain an additional 25% bonus (stacking up to 4 times) | Competitive alternative to Gilded Dreams for pure Hyperbloom Raiden. Slightly higher Hyperbloom damage ceiling but the domain is less resin-efficient. Only farm if you also need Desert Pavilion Chronicle pieces. Farm from City of Gold (Sumeru). |
Main stats for burst DPS Raiden: ATK% / ER% Sands (choose based on weapon), ATK% / Electro DMG Goblet, CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG Circlet. For Hyperbloom Raiden: triple EM main stats on Sands, Goblet, and Circlet.
Best Team Comps
Raiden Shogun fits into an unusually wide range of teams. Here are her three most popular and effective team archetypes.
1. Raiden National (Rational)
- Raiden Shogun — On-field driver & battery
- Xiangling — Off-field Pyro DPS (The Catch / Staff of the Scarlet Sands)
- Xingqiu — Off-field Hydro enabler (Sacrificial Sword)
- Bennett — ATK buffer & healer (Sapwood Blade / Aquila Favonia)
Why it works: Raiden drives Vaporize reactions between Xiangling and Xingqiu while batterying the entire team. Her Burst fills downtime perfectly while everyone's skills are on cooldown. This team consistently clears Abyss Floor 12 with low investment and remains one of the most popular comps in the game.
2. Hypercarry Raiden
- Raiden Shogun — Hypercarry main DPS (C2+ recommended)
- Kujou Sara — Electro buffer (C6 ideal, Elegy for the End / Sacrificial Bow)
- Kazuha — VV shred + DMG% buffer (Freedom-Sworn / Iron Sting)
- Bennett — ATK buffer & healer
Why it works: Stack every buff on Raiden — Bennett's ATK, Sara's CRIT DMG + ATK, Kazuha's Elemental DMG bonus and Viridescent Venerer shred. Raiden's Burst then hits for massive single-slash damage followed by devastating sword-stance combos. At C2 (DEF ignore), this team can one-rotate most bosses.
3. Hyperbloom Trigger Raiden
- Raiden Shogun — Full EM Hyperbloom trigger (Dragon's Bane / Moonpiercer, 4-Pc Gilded Dreams)
- Nahida — Dendro applicator & EM buffer (A Thousand Floating Dreams / Sacrificial Fragments)
- Yelan — Off-field Hydro (Aqua Simulacra / Favonius Warbow) — or Xingqiu
- Flex — Zhongli (shield + RES shred), Kokomi (healing + more Hydro), or Alhaitham (dual Dendro DPS)
Why it works: Raiden's Elemental Skill triggers coordinated Electro attacks on every hit, automatically targeting Dendro cores to trigger Hyperbloom. Build 900+ EM on Raiden and each Hyperbloom missile deals 30,000–35,000 damage. This is Raiden's lowest-investment build for endgame content — no talent levels required, just stack EM.
Talent Priority
Raiden Shogun's talent priority is straightforward for the standard burst DPS build:
- Elemental Burst — Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu — This is the core of Raiden's kit. Crown it if you have the resources. Every level increases both the initial slash damage and the Musou Isshin stance attacks.
- Elemental Skill — Transcendence: Baleful Omen — Boosts teammates' Burst damage and provides consistent off-field Electro application. Level 9 is a good stopping point.
- Normal Attack — Origin — Only affects physical polearm hits outside of Burst mode (Musou Isshin attacks scale from the Burst talent, not Normal Attack). Leave at level 1–6 unless you have spare resources.
Stats to Aim For
The benchmarks below are for a well-invested burst DPS Raiden with Emblem of Severed Fate. Adjust based on your weapon and artifact quality.
- Energy Recharge: 200–250% (standard). With Engulfing Lightning: push to 270% to cap the weapon's ATK conversion. Never drop below 200% — you need your Burst ready on cooldown.
- CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG: Aim for a 1:2 ratio. Minimum 60% CR / 120% CD. Well-invested: 70%+ CR / 140%+ CD. The Catch R5 gives +12% CR on Burst hits, so you can run slightly lower CR on your artifacts.
- ATK%: Aim for 1,800–2,200 ATK. Raiden converts ER into Electro DMG Bonus (via her A4 passive), so an ATK% Goblet can outperform Electro DMG if you are running high ER and receiving ATK buffs from Bennett or Sara.
- Electro DMG Bonus: Her A4 passive grants 0.4% Electro DMG per 1% ER above 100%. At 250% ER, that is a free 60% Electro DMG Bonus — one of the reasons ER is such a premium stat on her.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is The Catch good for Raiden Shogun?
Absolutely. The Catch R5 is widely considered Raiden's best free-to-play weapon and outperforms many R1 5-star polearms for her specifically. At R5 it provides +32% Burst DMG and +12% Burst CRIT Rate, both of which apply to her entire Musou Shinsetsu sequence. The ER substat (45.9%) also feeds directly into her A4 passive and Emblem of Severed Fate. It is farmable through the Inazuma Fishing Association, so you can get R5 with time and patience without spending any Primogems.
Q: Should I pull for Engulfing Lightning?
A: Engulfing Lightning is Raiden's signature weapon and her undisputed best-in-slot. It provides 55.1% ER as a substat and an ATK buff that scales with ER beyond 100%. At 270% ER, you cap the passive for an enormous ATK bonus. If Raiden is your main DPS and you want to maximize her damage ceiling, Engulfing Lightning is worth pulling. However, R5 The Catch is about 80–85% as strong, so Engulfing is a luxury upgrade — prioritize C2 Raiden first if you want the biggest power spike.
Q: What constellation is worth stopping at?
A: C2 is Raiden's most impactful constellation — her Burst ignores 60% of enemy DEF, which is roughly a 40–45% damage increase. C3 adds +3 levels to her Burst talent for another ~18% damage increase. C2 is the most primo-efficient stopping point for most players. C3 is the ceiling for pure damage gains. C4–C6 are supportive constellations and are not necessary for Raiden to perform at the highest level. If you are a budget player, C0 Raiden is already excellent.
Q: ATK% Goblet or Electro DMG Goblet — which is better?
A: It depends on your team and weapon. Raiden's A4 passive already grants substantial Electro DMG Bonus from her ER stat, and she typically receives large ATK buffs from Bennett and/or Kujou Sara. If you run Engulfing Lightning (which also provides a large ATK buff), Electro DMG Goblet usually pulls ahead. If you use The Catch or Favonius Lance, ATK% Goblet often performs slightly better. The difference is typically small (2–5%), so use whichever Goblet has better substats. For Hyperbloom Raiden, always use an EM Goblet.
Q: Is EM Raiden / Hyperbloom Raiden actually viable?
A: Yes — and it is one of the most resource-efficient builds in the entire game. Full EM Raiden requires zero talent investment, no CRIT substats, and uses craftable or gacha 4-star weapons. You simply stack as much Elemental Mastery as possible (900+) and let her coordinated Electro attacks trigger Hyperbloom on Dendro cores. Each Hyperbloom missile deals 30,000–35,000 damage with a full EM build. This build clears Abyss Floor 12 comfortably and is an excellent way to use Raiden if you do not have her signature weapon or high constellations. It also frees up The Catch for Xiangling.