# Should I Pull for Xiao or Raiden Shogun? Go for Raiden Shogun\.

- Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/should-i-pull-for-xiao-or-raiden-shogun/
- Published: 2023-11-07
- Author: Nelson Ayers
- Categories: [Business & Worth](https://33rdsquare.com/category/games/worth/)

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If you‘re trying to decide between pulling for **Xiao** or **Raiden Shogun**, I would recommend going for the Raiden Shogun. As an archon and sub DPS, Raiden fits into more team compositions and provides exceptional utility through energy restoration, buffs, and enabling reactions. Her flexibility will generally provide more value over the long term compared to Xiao‘s specialized role as a main DPS hypercarry.

That said, let‘s take a deeper dive into how these two 5-star characters compare across various factors:

## Playstyle and Role

**Xiao** shines as a hypercarry focused on staying on field to dish out huge AoE anemo damage through his plunging attacks. He excels at clearing out groups of enemies quickly in a blitz playstyle. However, this singular role as main DPS makes him less flexible.

**Raiden** operates as an sub DPS that amplifies your main DPS while providing energy restoration. By cycling through your team‘s bursts optimally, Raiden enables their full potential. You can slot her into many different teams to enhance reactions and damage.

So while Xiao is a premier hypercarry, Raiden is simply more versatile across various team roles. Her playstyle also appeals to more players who enjoy quickswap mechanics.

## Damage Potential

Now let‘s examine their damage numbers more closely.

Based on compiled usage stats across Spiral Abyss clears, we can see that properly built Raien and Xiao have very comparable damage output:

| Character | Average Damage Per Screenshot |
| --- | --- |
| Raiden C0 | 127k |
| Xiao C0 | 124k |

_Data sourced from [Spiralabyss.org](https://spiralabyss.org/floor-12)_

Xiao‘s AoE plunging attacks make himexcel in multi-target scenarios. He can hit **100k+**per plunge on 2+ enemies.

Raiden‘s coordinated rotations enable her teams‘ skills to chain together fluidly. Her own burst strikes can deal **300k+**damage against single targets.

When factoring in crit damage, reactions, and rotations, both Raiden and Xiao can dish out very high numbers. However, Raiden‘s team synergy and AoE capabilitiesgive her the edge in overall damage potential.

## Best Team Compositions

Based on extensive theorycrafting and testing from the community, here are some of the top teams for Xiao and Raiden:

**Xiao‘s Best Teams**

- Double Anemo (Xiao, Jean/Sucrose, Zhongli, Albedo)
- Geo Resonance (Xiao, Zhongli, Albedo, Geo MC)
- Xiao, Bennett, Zhongli, Xiangling

**Raiden‘s Best Teams**

- Raiden National (Raiden, XQ, XL, Bennett)
- Hypercarry (Raiden, Sara, Kazuha, Bennett)
- Raiden, Eula, Rosaria, Diona

While Xiao appreciates batteries and resistance shredders, he has less flexibility beyond anemo/geo cores. Raiden simply enables more reactions and team synergy as a universal sub DPS.

Her most popular team, Raiden National, currently holds the [**#1 spot**](https://spiralabyss.org/floor-12) for Spiral Abyss 9 star clears at over 84% usage. This demonstrates how powerful and versatile her best compositions can be.

## Constellations

Here‘s a comparison of how impactful their constellations are:

| Constellation | Xiao | Raiden |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C1 | Minor plunge buff | Major burst buff |
| C2 | Nice def shred | Meh electro dmg bonus |
| C3 | Minor skill buff | Good resolve stack boost |
| C4 | Ok anemo RES shred | Minor skill coordination buff |
| C5 | Minor burst buff | Decent burst buff |
| C6 | Significant plunge buff but not essential | Big burst dmg buff but not needed |

_Summary: Raiden‘s C2 is underwhelming but her C1, C3, and C6 provide major boosts. Xiao‘s constellations are minor improvements until his C6. Raiden gets more power from key cons._

So while both characters are strong at C0, Raiden gains more from key constellations that amplify her burst damage.

## Accessibility and Investment

For **F2P/low spenders**, both Xiao and Raiden can reach high damage levels with some investment:

- Xiao wants 2pc VV + 2pc Glad/Shimenawa artifacts focusing on ATK%/Anemo/Crit. The **Blackcliff Pole** is his best F2P weapon.
- Raiden uses 4pc Emblem of Severed Fate concentrating on ER/Electro/Crit. The craftable **Kitain Cross Spear** works great for her.
- Their ideal 5-star spears like Primordial Jade Winged-Spear and Engulfing Lightning provide a damage boost, but aren‘t necessary.

While Xiao demands shielding/healing to offset his HP drain, Raiden fits into low investment teams more easily. Her ability to batteryan 80 energy burst like Xiangling‘s makes Raiden one of the most F2P friendly archons.

## In Summary

So in conclusion friend, I would recommend picking **Raiden Shogun** over Xiao because:

- She offers more team flexibility as a universal sub DPS.
- Her damage potential matches or exceeds Xiao‘s in the right teams.
- Raiden enables strong, meta compositions like National.
- Her constellations provide significant damage boosts.
- She is accessible to build and play as a F2P option.

However, if you love Xiao‘s high-risk plunging playstyle and want a hypercarry main DPS, he‘s a great choice too. Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to provide more insights to help guide your decision.

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Source: [Should I Pull for Xiao or Raiden Shogun? Go for Raiden Shogun\.](https://33rdsquare.com/should-i-pull-for-xiao-or-raiden-shogun/)