Do I Regret Pulling Raiden Shogun? A Candid Look at Her 2025 Viability ExploreGenshin

In a brutally honest review, Red Warrior reflects on whether investing in Raiden Shogun, one of Genshin Impact’s most iconic characters, still makes sense in the current meta. Despite being C3 R1, Raiden is no longer keeping up with newer Fontaine or Natlan-era DPS units. The short answer? Yes, he regrets it—and here’s why.

Raiden’s Damage Just Doesn’t Hit Like It Used To

Once feared for her burst nukes, Raiden’s power has simply been outpaced. A C3 Raiden now lags behind even C1 Fontaine characters in total output.

Old meta: 500k slashes and 70k normals were devastating.
Current meta: Fontaine characters routinely hit 1.5–2 million per rotation with less investment.

Raiden’s once-satisfying burst feels mid-tier at best. And even with high investment, she struggles to keep up with modern hypercarries like Mavika, Skirk, or even Seatlali.

“C3 Raiden is now outdamaged by almost any Natlan character,” Red Warrior remarks.

Her Kit Is Powerful—But Building Her Is a Nightmare

Raiden’s biggest issue in 2025? She’s insanely hard to build:

Requires Energy Recharge, ATK%, Crit Rate, Crit DMG—all at once
Balancing stats is nearly impossible without compromising
Newer artifact sets like Marechaussee and Golden Troupe offer easier stat balance and higher crit rates, but Raiden has no artifact set tailored to her unique kit

Even with a solid 73% Crit Rate and her signature weapon equipped, her damage still feels underwhelming.

“She can be strong on paper, but in practice, she’s frustrating and inflexible.”

Raiden Teams: Overload or Bust?

At this point, Raiden’s team comps are doing more work than she is. Overload teams with Furina + Yelan or Taser teams with Yelan and Kujou Sara still function—but none of them feel optimal.

Overload: Decent damage, but not competitive with newer reaction teams.
Taser: Requires too many expensive supports to justify the setup.
Raiden National: Feels outdated unless heavily optimized.

She’s also not versatile as an off-field unit. Compared to supports like Chiiori, Chevreuse, or Shenhe, Raiden is locked into being on-field for her damage and utility.

Artifact and Set Frustrations

Raiden doesn’t benefit from crit-boosting sets like many modern units do. Unless you lock her into Marechaussee Hunter (with heavy team restrictions), she’ll always be behind.

New characters enjoy passive crit rate/damage from sets or kits.
Raiden has to fight for every stat manually, stretching artifact RNG to the limit.

“She has no easy builds and no good shortcuts,” Red Warrior notes. “She’s the most frustrating character to build in the game.”

“She Just Doesn’t Have a Place on My Account Anymore”

Even as a longtime Raiden main, Red Warrior now finds no role for her in his account. Not because she’s unplayable—but because she’s outclassed in every category:

Stronger DPS exist (Skirk, Veressa, Arlecchino)
Easier-to-build supports outperform her (Shilonin, Chevreuse)
Teams that once needed her now function better without her

He concludes that she is no longer meta-relevant, even at C3.

“She’s not bad, but she’s just not useful anymore—not in a meaningful way.”

Final Verdict: Raiden Has Been Power-Creeped

While Raiden Shogun remains one of the most beloved characters in Genshin’s history, her era has passed. The current game environment, shaped by powerful Fontaine/Natlan kits, crit-boosting artifact sets, and more flexible supports, has left Raiden behind.

She can still clear content and be viable in niche teams, but as a meta DPS, she no longer competes—especially not at the cost of 3 constellations and a signature weapon.