Should you pull for Raiden Shogun or Kamisato Ayato in Genshin Impact?

The first half of the Version 3.3 update of Genshin Impact has only just begun, but many players are already looking toward the second half of the update for what comes next. The second half of the Version 3.3 update will arrive on Dec. 27 and bring with it a banner rerun for the five-star Electro Polearm character Raiden Shogun and the five-star Hydro Sword character Kamisato Ayato.

Choosing between two powerful five-star characters is never an easy task, but is almost always a task that players will need to take. Every wish in Genshin costs Primogems, which are a precious and special currency that is difficult to obtain. This means that pulling for characters is costly and the average player won’t be able to wish on both five-stars that are running at the same time.

Related: Genshin Impact tier list: Best and worst characters ranked

Because wishing is so costly, most players will want to have thought through who they hope to wish on in advance so that they may save up a substantive amount of Primogems ahead of time. Before considering choosing between Raiden Shogun and Kamisato Ayato, players should also take the current banners into account and decide if they wish to obtain either the five-star Anemo Catalyst character Wanderer or the five-star Geo Claymore character Arataki Itto.

If neither of the current banner characters appeals to you, then saving for the second half of Version 3.3 is certainly the right move for you. The banner reruns arriving in the second half of this update feature two powerful and drastically different characters for players to consider.

Both Raiden Shogun and Kamisato Ayato are powerful recruits, but they are quite different, which means that players will want to consider all aspects of each character carefully before choosing which one to spend their hard-earned Primogems on.

Is Raiden Shogun worth pulling for in Genshin Impact?

The almighty ruler of Inazuma is Raiden Shogun, who is a five-star Electro Polearm character. While most characters come with quite a few pros and cons, Raiden Shogun might be the only perfect playable character in existence. She is arguably the best playable character in all of Teyvat and the most versatile recruit that miHoYo has released yet.

Raiden Shogun is an unmatched primary damage dealer, a brutal secondary damage dealer, and a superb support character. She can truly do it all, unlike every other Genshin character, and lives up to her Archon status. The only other character who comes somewhat close is also an Archon and is the five-star Dendro character Nahida, although Nahida isn’t quite as good at being a primary damage dealer as Raiden Shogun is.

Although Raiden Shogun can be a phenomenal primary damage dealer capable of better damage output and consistency than most other characters, she does shine ever so slightly less when built only for this role. This drawback, however, is barely worth mentioning because she is ultimately an unstoppable force no matter what.

Raiden Shogun is able to deal both powerful passive and active Electro damage which means she can work her magic even when she is off of the battlefield. She has an immensely high energy recharge rate that allows her to consistently dish out her powerful elemental skills. The Electro Archon is also a strong team player who is able to bolster her team’s elemental burst damage while also working as an impressive battery able to regenerate massive amounts of energy for the entire team.

No other character in all of Genshin is able to function incredibly in all roles possible as Raiden Shogun can. Her immense versatility also makes her a powerful recruit that can fit into just about any team lineup. Players will truly struggle to make a bad team composition with the Raiden Shogun because of how much she carries any team that she is placed on.

With all of this in mind, players should absolutely spend their Primogems on Raiden Shogun if they have any at all. Her unmatched skillset feels too good to be true and players certainly don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to add the almighty Electro Archon to their team.

Is Kamisato Ayato worth pulling for in Genshin Impact?

The head of the Kamisato Clan in Inazuma is Kamisato Ayato. He is a five-star Hydro Sword character that primarily focuses on dishing out damage. He can be built in other roles, but the Hydro character will only shine to his fullest potential when he is built as a primary damage-dealing unit.

While Hydro is sometimes regarded as one the weakest elements or even the singular weakest element of all in Genshin, Kamisato Ayato proves that this simply isn’t true as he deals massive amounts of Hydro damage with ease. His powerful Hydro skillset makes him one of the best damage-dealing units available for players to recruit.

Kamisato Ayato is highly efficient at dealing damage against singular targets and larger groups of them. His elemental burst efficiently supports both his own abilities and those of his teammates as it buffs all normal attacks that take place within its boundaries. He is also one of the best Hydro characters at dishing out a lot of area-of-effect damage for a consistent amount of time.

While Kamisato Ayato is certainly a powerful character, his strong suit is as a primary damage dealer. This means that only players who are hoping to build him for this role should actually spend their precious Primogems on pulling for him because he will require a rather precise build and team composition for his skillset to truly shine.

Kamisato Ayato can be built for other roles, just as any character can, but it is a far better idea to not try and fit him into a role that he is not really made for and instead to save those precious Primogems for someone else if you are not seeking a primary damage dealer. The Hydro character is an impressive recruit, but he is not a very versatile one and should thus only be pulled for by those who understand this and will utilize him in the role that he is made for.

Should you wish for Raiden Shogun or Kamisato Ayato in Genshin?

Choosing between two five-star characters is usually a rather difficult task, but with this lineup, the answer is fairly easy regardless of what kind of character players are seeking for their team. Kamisato Ayato is certainly one of Genshin’s best characters, but when he is put next to Raiden Shogun, it’s simply no competition at all and Raiden Shogun reigns supreme.

The Hydro Sword character is excellent as a primary damage dealer, but Raiden Shogun is equally as good while also being able to play any other role flawlessly. In addition to dominating in any role, Raiden Shogun is also able to easily fill in wherever she is needed on a team while Kamisato Ayato is just built to deal damage.

While Raiden Shogun is better than Kamisato Ayato in every regard, certain factors could potentially sway players to wish for the Hydro character instead of the Electro one. One such factor is that some players may prefer the Hydro element over Electro or Hydro may potentially fit better in their desired team lineup than Electro does.

What weapons players possess could also potentially sway players to wish on one rather than the other. Kamisato Ayato wields a sword while Raiden Shogun wields a polearm. Players could thus choose to wish on whichever one they have a five-star weapon for, but it is generally a better idea to simply wish on the better of the two even if you don’t have a weapon for them, and then work toward attaining a five-star weapon in the future.

While factors such as these may sway players toward wishing on Kamisato Ayato over Raiden Shogun, they are ultimately small factors presented simply to take all sides of the choice into account and the ultimate answer is still that Raiden Shogun is the best choice overall. With every aspect of gameplay taken into account, all players should ultimately pull for Raiden Shogun over Kamisato Ayato.

If you’re simply seeking the best character overall between the two, the answer is very easily Raiden Shogun because she is arguably the best character in all of Genshin due to her unmatched powerful and versatile skillset. This does not, however, mean that Kamisato Ayato is bad and he remains one of Genshin’s best damage-dealing units. Both characters are worth wishing on and players will certainly see a dramatic increase in their overall team performance with either unit within their team lineup.

Both Raiden Shogun and Kamisato Ayato will be available starting on Dec. 27. They will then be around as featured characters on their respective “Reign of Serenity” and “Azure Excursion” banners for around three weeks before Genshin then moves on to the Version 3.4 update, which will feature the arrival of the Dendro characters Alhaitham and Yaoyao.