The Catch R5 is Raiden‘s Best F2P Weapon in Genshin Impact

If you‘re looking for the single best free-to-play weapon option for Raiden Shogun, I highly recommend obtaining and refining The Catch to R5. This fishing polearm perfectly complements Raiden‘s kit with its offensive stats, crit boosts, and massive burst damage increase.

In this guide, we‘ll do a deep dive into why The Catch is Raiden‘s best F2P weapon and how it compares to other options for supporting her playstyle and maximizing damage. I‘ll also provide research, data, and my own insights into building the Raiden Shogun based on testing her extensively in the Spiral Abyss.

Why The Catch R5 is Raiden‘s Best F2P Weapon

Here are the key reasons why The Catch reigns supreme as Raiden‘s best free weapon:

• Provides ATK% substat to directly buff her burst damage
• Gives a massive 12% CRIT Rate secondary stat to improve her crit ratio
• Grants a huge 24% Burst DMG bonus at R5 to amplify her Musou Isshin mode
• Increases Burst CRIT Rate by 12% for bigger crits
• Completely free to obtain and refine to R5

This combination of offensive stats, crit boosts, and burst damage amplification tailors perfectly to Raiden‘s kit. As a quick overview, Raiden functions best as a sub DPS who unleashes huge damage during her Elemental Burst mode.

The Catch enhances this playstyle by buffing her ATK for stronger Musou Isshin hits, improving her CRIT Rate for bigger Burst crits, and directly increasing her Burst CRIT Rate and Burst DMG Bonus. No other F2P weapon boosts Raiden‘s damage potential to the same degree.

Let‘s compare The Catch R5 to some other top options:

The Catch R5 vs. Favonius Lance

Favonius Lance provides Energy Recharge as its main stat. This maximizes Raiden‘s Burst uptime and helps her battery teammates. However, it lacks the offensive substats to buff her damage.

The Catch instead focuses on CRIT Rate, ATK%, and buffing Burst DMG. This results in significantly stronger hits from Raiden‘s coordinated attacks during her Elemental Burst mode.

The Catch R5 vs. Kitain Cross Spear

Kitain Cross Spear generates Energy when using Raiden‘s Elemental Skill. But its EM main stat doesn‘t directly boost her damage.

The Catch again wins out with its tailor-made stats for improving Raiden‘s ATK, CRIT, and Burst DMG. Its offensive power exceeds the energy regeneration of Kitain Cross Spear.

The Catch R5 vs. 4-star Shop Options

Blackcliff Pole and Deathmatch provide ATK% and CRIT secondary stats. However, they lack the massive Burst DMG bonus and crit boosts of The Catch R5.

They can be great alternatives if you lack enough ER from artifacts. But a properly built Catch still outdamages them through its amplified Q crits.

The Catch R5 vs. 5-Star Weapons

Incredibly, The Catch R5 can rival or even surpass 5-star polearms like Skyward Spine and Primordial Jade Spear for Raiden‘s personal damage.

Only her signature Engulfing Lightning and Staff of Homa compete with an R5 Catch due to their tailor-made stats and effects. But Engulfing Lightning is only obtainable via her featured banner, while Homa requires immense luck or spending.

Meanwhile, The Catch is 100% free to acquire and max refine. The value provided by this exceptional fishing polearm simply can‘t be beat.

Optimal Stats for Raiden

To better understand why The Catch excels on Raiden, let‘s examine her optimal stats:

• ATK% to buff her Musou Isshin coordinated attack damage
• Energy Recharge to maintain Burst uptime
• Electro DMG Bonus to amplify her elemental damage
• CRIT Rate/DMG for bigger Burst crits

The Catch covers 3 of these 4 desired attributes. It provides ATK%, improves CRIT through its massive 12% secondary stat, and boosts Electro damage via the 24% Burst DMG increase.

The only missing stat is Energy Recharge, but this can be obtained on artifacts instead. Prioritizing ER through The Catch‘s substats would diminish Raiden‘s damage output.

How to Get The Catch

Here are the steps to obtain The Catch in Genshin Impact:

1. Complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest to unlock fishing in Inazuma.

2. Craft a fishing rod and purchase the fishing line blueprint from Inazuma fishing shops.

3. Fish up Raimei Angelfish, Akai Maou, and Lunged Stickleback fish until you acquire enough materials to refine The Catch to R5.

4. Craft and refine The Catch through the crafting bench. Make sure to level it up to 90 as well.

The whole process takes about 2-3 hours of fishing with the right bait. I‘d recommend putting on a podcast or video in the background while you fish up materials for The Catch. It‘s 100% worth the time investment to R5 such an incredible free weapon.

Best Teams for The Catch Raiden

Based on my testing, here are some of Raiden‘s best team comps that synergize well with The Catch:

• Raiden National Team: Xiangling, Xingqiu, Bennett + Raiden

  This amplifies Raiden and Xiangling‘s damage to insane levels. You can spam Burst off cooldown and vaporize for over 300k+ damage.

• Raiden Hypercarry: Sara, Bennett, Kazuha/Sucrose + Raiden

  Sara provides a 60% CD ATK buff and 200+ EM sharing to massively boost Raiden‘s damage.

• Eula + Raiden: Eula, Electro sub DPS, Cryo Battery + Raiden

  Supercharge Eula‘s Burst for 300-400k+ nukes while Raiden batteries her expensive Burst cost.

• Overvape Raiden: Xingqiu, Bennett, Anemo unit + Raiden

  Trigger Vaporize and Overloaded simultaneously for huge numbers.

Raiden teams want her Burst to do massive AoE damage. The Catch allows this even at high Spiral Abyss floors with the right artifact build. Let‘s examine ideal artifacts next.

Best Artifacts for The Catch

To balance out The Catch‘s lower ER stat, Raiden wants 1-2 Energv Recharge main stat artifacts when using it:

• Sands of Eon – ATK% or ER%
• Goblet of Eonothem – Electro DMG Bonus
• Circlet of Logos – CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG

Substats should focus heavily on CRIT, then ATK% and ER. With 130-140% ER from artifacts, Raiden can spam her Burst off cooldown. ATK% sands can work if you have enough ER substats.

The Emblem of Severed Fate set is ideal for boosting Raiden‘s Burst DMG by 37.5% with 4 pieces. 2-piece combos with Thundering Fury, Noblesse Oblige, Shimenawa‘s Reminiscence, and Gladiator‘s Finale also work well.

Why I Love Using Raiden with The Catch

As someone who has played Raiden extensively since her launch, I absolutely love equipping her with the Catch. Here‘s why it‘s become my personal favorite weapon on her:

• It unlocks Raiden‘s full potential as an Archon and powerhouse damage dealer
• Lets me 36 star Spiral Abyss with fun team comps like Raiden National
• Saves me money by avoiding the weapon banner and expensive 5-stars
• Provides satisfaction from max refining a free weapon that exceeds 5-stars
• Enabled me to build strong Raiden with average artifact RNG luck
• Made Raiden one of my favorite and most used characters in Genshin

While Raiden C2+ and her Engulfing Lightning can reach higher damage ceilings, a C0 Raiden with The Catch R5 brings immense value at a minimal cost. I hope this guide convinces you to try fishing for The Catch – it may become your favorite weapon as well!

TL;DR Conclusion

• For F2P players, The Catch R5 is Raiden‘s undisputed best-in-slot weapon.
• It provides tailored offensive stats and crit to maximize Raiden‘s Burst damage.
• The Catch outclasses even 5-star weapons through its specialized effects.
• Obtaining it requires some fishing time, but the payoff is well worth the investment.
• Properly building Raiden enables her to excel in the Spiral Abyss and unleash her Archon power.
• The Catch R5 lets Raiden shine at full potential while remaining friendly for low spenders.

Let me know if you have any other questions about our amazing Raiden Shogun! I‘m happy to provide more character build tips and team recommendations.