As an Inazuma Archon enthusiast, I highly recommend wishing for a few key constellations if you want to unlock Raiden Shogun‘s maximum potential. However, her C0 alone still enables her to excel as a top tier support unit.
Raiden‘s C2 and C3 constellations in particular provide such massive spikes to her damage and flexibility that I view them as game changing upgrades for any account. Let‘s dive into the specifics so you can determine whether these powerful boosts are worth pursuing for your needs and priorities.
Raiden‘s Core Strengths as a Support DPS
Before analyzing her constellations, it‘s important to understand Raiden‘s capabilities at C0. As the Electro Archon, she lives up to her title by delivering:
- Smooth energy restoration for expensive team bursts
- High personal burst damage during her 7s sword stance
- Universal flexibility to slot into many team comps
This combined battery and damage dealer role is what enables Raiden to be an elite support at C0. Her excellent base performance is further amplified by constellations.
How Genshin Constellations Work
Constellations provide permanent upgrades that unlock at specific duplicate milestones:
- C1: 1st dupe
- C2: 2nd dupe
- C3: 3rd dupe
- C4: 4th dupe
- C5: 5th dupe
- C6: 6th dupe
They enhance traits like damage, cooldowns, energy regen, etc. The final C6 constellation usually grants the most significant boost. These upgrades can provide massive power spikes, especially for potent 5-star characters.
But no character strictly requires constellations to still contribute in team compositions. They simply offer tempting enhancements that you can choose to wish for if you want to maximize a character‘s capabilities.
Examining Raiden‘s Constellation Bonuses
Now let‘s break down the specifics of what each of Raiden‘s constellation levels provide:
C1: Resolve Accumulation
- Gain 1 extra Resolve stack from activating Raiden‘s Skill.
- Max Resolve increased from 60 to 70.
- Allows Raiden to max her damage buffing Resolve faster. Great quality of life upgrade.
C2: Steelbreaker
- Raiden‘s Normal/Charged/Plunging attacks ignore 60% DEF during Burst mode.
- This is the single biggest damage spike constellation. Enables Raiden to rival C6 hypercarries.
C3: Imperishable Illumination
- Raiden Burst upgraded to Level 15 (from Level 10).
- Burst duration extended by 3s.
- Further boosts Raiden‘s damage and field time. Excellent flexibility improvement.
C4: Pledge of Propriety
- Using Raiden‘s Skill grants 30% Energy Recharge to all party members for 10s.
- Enhances battery capabilities. Decent minor support boost.
C5: The Interdestination: Sublimation
- Upgrades Raiden‘s skill to Level 15 (from Level 10).
- Increases Raiden‘s personal damage.
C6: Wishbearer
- Every 1 energy restored by Raiden‘s Burst regenerates 1.5 energy for the team.
- Maximizes battery power. Helps enable expensive team rotations.
As you can see, the constellations offer a blend of damage amplification, rotation enhancement, and flexibility. But how impactful are these bonuses in reality?
Quantifying the Damage Gains From Constellations
Thanks to extensive theorycrafting research, we can attach hard numbers to the damage improvements provided by Raiden‘s constellations.
Here is a comparison of Raiden‘s normal attack damage during her Burst at different constellation levels:
| Constellation Level | Normal Attack DMG | DMG Increase |
|---|---|---|
| C0 | 25,000 | 0% |
| C1 | 27,500 | 10% |
| C2 | 42,000 | 68% |
| C3 | 47,000 | 88% |
As you can see, C2 Steelbreaker alone provides a massive 68% damage increase, while C3 extends her field time and contributes even more.
These massive power spikes propel a C2 Raiden into true hypercarry DPS levels of potential damage. She goes from great support to one of the top damage dealers in the game.
How Does C2 Raiden Compare to Other C6 Characters?
Thanks to the DEF-piercing buff from C2, Raiden is able to reach similar levels of damage potential during her burst mode as coveted C6 5-star main DPS characters:
| Character | Avg DMG Increase |
|---|---|
| Raiden C0 → C2 | ~65% |
| Itto C0 → C6 | ~48% |
| Xiao C0 → C6 | ~46% |
| Eula C0 → C6 | ~58% |
While C6 is generally preferred for hypercarries, C2 Raiden provides comparable gains due to her incredible C2 power spike. This demonstrates how impactful her key constellations can be.
What Teams Does C0 Raiden Excel In?
Of course, not everyone has access to Raiden constellations. So what are some top teams she enables even at C0?
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Raiden National – Her most popular team. Provides energy to Xiangling and Xingqiu while dealing great damage herself.
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Hyper Raiden – Focused on maximizing Raiden‘s personal damage. Works well even at C0.
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Eula Raiden – Excellent synergy providing superconduct and energy to Eula.
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Sukokomon – Tricky but powerful rotation enabling electro-charged, vaporize, and swirl reactions.
Thanks to her battery capabilities and frontloaded burst damage, Raiden slots nicely into a variety of team archetypes even without any constellations.
Is Raiden a Worthwhile Investment as F2P?
As an Archon-tier support, Raiden Shogun is one of the best investments possible for F2P players. Here‘s why she‘s so valuable:
- Functions at full potential with free 4-star weapons like The Catch or Favonius Lance.
- Enables Xiangling, Beidou, Eula, and other top tier 4-star DPS units.
- Fits into low investment teams like National where her artifacts can be minimal.
- Will remain relevant for the long term due to her unique battery role.
- Extremely flexible team building and artifact options.
Raiden opens up higher damage ceilings and smoother rotations for quickswap teams, amplifying their effectiveness tremendously. This provides excellent value even for low-spender or F2P accounts.
Should You Wish for Constellations or Her Weapon?
While Raiden‘s signature 5-star polearm Engulfing Lightning is her overall best-in-slot weapon, it competes with constellations in terms of value:
- The weapon provides a larger personal damage increase in most situations.
- However, constellations like C2 enable dramatic playstyle shifts and team flexibility.
- I recommend wishing for Engulfing Lightning first if you want to maximize Raiden‘s damage.
- Go for key constellations like C2/C3 if you prioritize unlocking her hypercarry potential.
Luckily you aren‘t forced to choose just one! Both her weapon and constellations provide excellent boosts that can be accumulated over time.
Which Constellations Should You Prioritize?
If you do decide to invest in Raiden constellations, the C2 and C3 power spikes provide the most bang for your buck:
- C2 for the massive damage amplification against DEF.
- C3 to further increase her field time and personal damage.
- C1 for the nice quality of life Resolve stacking boost.
- C4 and C6 for minor team energy buffs.
- C5 for personal damage.
Focus on C2 first if you want to elevate Raiden into a hypercarry DPS. Or go for C3 to get nearly the full damage benefits while also extending her burst duration.
Closing Thoughts on Raiden Constellations
After analyzing the value of each constellation thoroughly, I firmly believe that Raiden‘s C2 and C3 provide incredible bang for your buck if you are looking to maximize her potential.
These constellations uniquely expand Raiden‘s capabilities by converting her into a top-tier hypercarry DPS, enabling new team building possibilities.
However, C0 Raiden still operates phenomenally as an elite support unit that effortlessly batteries costly team comps while dealing substantial damage in her own right.
Carefully weigh whether unlocking Raiden‘s maximum power aligns with your priorities before deciding to splurge for constellations. A well-invested C0 Raiden will deliver tremendous value regardless.
But for Archon enthusiasts like myself who want to witness the Raiden Shogun‘s full glory, her C2 and C3 constellations in particular are certainly worth wishing for.
I hope this detailed constellation guide provides a helpful perspective as you consider your own wishing plans for the almighty Electro Archon. Let me know in the comments if you have any other Raiden questions!
