Who is Stronger: Cyno or Raiden Shogun in Genshin Impact? An In-Depth Character Comparison

Hey friend! Terry here, back with another Genshin Impact character guide. You asked me the hot question – who‘s stronger between the brand new polearm DPS Cyno and the Electro Archon herself, Raiden Shogun?

As a hardcore Genshin fan and number cruncher, I live for questions like these! Get ready, because we‘re about to dive deep into the kits, optimal teams, damage potential and future viability of both these electrifying 5-star characters. Grab some popcorn and let‘s analyze this clash of the electro titans!

Introducing our Electro Polearm Fighters

First, let‘s start with a quick rundown of our contestants:

Cyno is the scholarly general of Sumeru‘s Akademiya researchers. With his Anubis-inspired design and Egyptian-themed outfit, everything about Cyno screams elegance. Don‘t let his bookish looks deceive you though – Cyno is an absolute beast when he enters his ‘Pactsworn Pathclearer‘ state in battle!

Raiden Shogun is the totalitarian archon who rules over Inazuma with an iron fist. As a literal god, Raiden has unmatched mastery over Electro and utilizes it to its fullest potential with her signature Musou no Hitotachi technique. Hercool, divine warrior aesthetic perfectly matches her overwhelming strength!

Here‘s a summarized stat card for both at a glance:

Character	Rarity	Weapon	Element	Role	Release
Cyno	5✰	Polearm	Electro	On-field DPS	Version 3.1
Raiden Shogun	5✰	Polearm	Electro	Off-field DPS/Support	Version 2.1

Now let‘s analyze their kits and abilities in-depth to see how they compare.

Cyno‘s All About That Aggravate Life

As an Electro polearm user, Cyno is all about triggering the new Dendro + Electro "Aggravate" reaction added in 3.0. Let‘s break down how his abilities maximize this reactive playstyle:

Elemental Skill: Chasmic Soulfarer

Cyno‘s Elemental Skill drains his own HP to enter his powerful ‘Pactsworn Pathclearer‘ state. In this form, his Normal Attacks are converted to Electro DMG.

This sets him up perfectly to proc Aggravate with just about every hit! The skill also provides minor INTER damage reduction so Cyno can keep attacking without interruption.

Elemental Burst: Judgement of the Nine Spirits

Cyno‘s flashy burst supercharges him with the divine Judgement of the Nine Spirits. It provides:

• Greatly increased ATK SPD and mobility
• ExtendedDuration of his ‘Pactsworn‘ state from his skill
• Major INTER damage resistance so his attacks won‘t be disrupted
• Converts his NAs, CAs and even plunge attacks to Electro DMG

In this state, Cyno dashes around the battlefield at lightning speed while striking with enpowered electric attacks. It allows Cyno to trigger Aggravate with reckless abandon!

The burst lasts a lengthy 18s and has a low 60 energy cost, meaning Cyno can have nearly 100% uptime on this insane form.

Passives: More Aggravate Buffs

Cyno‘s passives provide even more bonuses to his Aggravate playstyle:

• Increases Cyno‘s CRIT Rate based on his Elemental Mastery
• Further boosts DMG from the Aggravate reaction
• Adds resistance against interruption during his Skill and Burst states

Constellations: Synergy with Aggravate Teams

At Constellation 1, Cyno gains a 20% Electro DMG Bonus during his burst. His C4 gives his skill an extra charge.

Higher cons give Cyno more ATK speed, more resistance to interruption, reduced skill CD and even more Electro DMG. They all feed into buffing his sustained Aggravate attacking.

BIS Artifacts: Gilded Dreams and Thundering Fury

Cyno‘s best artifact sets are Gilded Dreams and Thundering Fury. Both provide big boosts to his Cyno‘s Aggravate damage along with ATK% and Electro DMG.

For weapons, his signature Staff of Scarlet Sands is BiS. It has Crit Rate substat and buffs his ATK based on his EM.

Ideal Teammates: Fischl, DMC, Zhongli

Cyno‘s best supports are:

• Fischl – Oz provides electro for Aggravate
• Dendro Traveler – Off-field dendro application
• Zhongli – Strong shield to protect Cyno during burst

So in summary, Cyno‘s entire kit revolves around maximizing damage from the Aggravate reaction! He wants to stay on field in his powered-up state for as long as possible to dish out terrifying Electro Aggravate attacks.

Okay, now that we‘ve broken down Cyno‘s playstyle, let‘s move on to the Raiden Shogun!

Raiden Overloads Her Kit With Burst Damage

While Cyno focuses on sustained Aggravate damage, Raiden‘s kit is optimized for huge nuke damage during her Elemental Burst. Let‘s analyze her abilities:

Elemental Skill: Eye of Stormy Judgment

Raiden‘s skill summons the Eye of Stormy Judgement, which boosts Burst DMG for teammates based on Raiden‘s max Energy capacity.

This lets her provide constant utility and support even when off-field. It also passively produces Electro particles to fuel Raiden‘s own Burst.

Elemental Burst: Secret Art – Musou Shinsetsu

Raiden‘s Burst is the star of the show, unlocking her Musou Isshin form. In this state, Raiden wields the power of Electro fearsomely:

• Her Normal, Charged and Plunge Attacks are infused with Electro DMG
• She gains bonuses to her ATK SPD and Electro DMG
• Each hit of her Normal Attacks decreases enemy DEF
• Initial hit deals massive AoE Electro damage

With her high multipliers and fast attack speed, Raiden unleashes terrifying burst damage during her 7s Musou Isshin mode. It has an Energy cost of 90, but Raiden can easily refund this herself.

Passives: Energy Recharge and Electro Damage

True to her Archon nature, Raiden‘s passives boost her damage based on her Energy Recharge:

• Converts Energy Recharge above 100% into Electro DMG Bonus
• Increases Burst DMG by 0.4% for every 1% Energy Recharge

Her A4 talent also increases the whole team‘s Burst DMG based on her own ER. This incentivizes stacking as much ER on Raiden as possible!

Constellations: Infinite Power Ceiling

At C2, Raiden‘s Burst attacks ignore 60% of her opponents‘ DEF. This gives her essentially unlimited damage potential as she stacks more ATK and DMG bonuses.

Higher cons give Raiden increased Energy restoration, Electro RES shred, more Burst DMG scaling, and Bushido Restoration where using Burst restores HP.

BIS Artifacts: Emblem of Severed Fate

Emblem of Severed Fate is Raiden‘s tailor-made artifact set. It provides 20% ER and buffs Burst DMG by up to 75% based on ER.

Her signature Engulfing Lightning is her best weapon. It grants ATK% and a huge 55.1% Energy Recharge at R1!

Top Teammates: Xingqiu, Bennett, Sara

Some of Raiden‘s best teammates are:

• Xingqiu for Electro-charged comp
• Xiangling for Overvape with pyro
• Bennett provides attack buffing
• Sara increases Raiden‘s Electro damage

In summary, Raiden‘s kit focuses on quick swap bursts to nuke enemies and recharge team energy. She primarily enables her teammates then causes devastation during her own 7s Burst rotation.

Now that we‘ve fully explored both character‘s kits and playstyles, let‘s directly compare their damage potential!

Cyno vs Raiden Burst Damage Comparison

Alright, time for the numbers! Let‘s quantify Cyno and Raiden‘s damage under realistic conditions:

Cyno‘s Aggravate Combos:

• 7500 per Normal Attack hit
• 15000 for final hit of his combo
• 22,500 damage on Charged Attack

Raiden‘s Musou Isshin Burst:

• 22000 per Normal Attack in sequence
• 250,000+ on Initial Burst hit
• 100,000 on each hit of Musou Isshin state

Based on these values, here is a comparison of their total damage over the duration of their Elemental Bursts:

Character	Burst Duration	Average DPS	Total Damage Per Rotation
Cyno	18 sec	25,000	450,000
Raiden C0	7 sec	162,000	1,130,000

As we can see, Cyno has significantly higher sustained DPS with his fast Aggravate attacks over 18s. However, Raiden‘s immense frontloaded nuke damage allows her to exceed Cyno‘s total damage in just 7 seconds.

The difference becomes even more apparent if we factor in Raiden‘s Constellations. At C2, Raiden‘s Bursts will easily surpass 2 million damage per rotation!

So in conclusion, Cyno wins for consistent on-field DPS, but Raiden‘s burst damage reaches astronomical heights, especially at high investment.

Now let‘s move on to evaluating their teams!

Comparing Their Optimal Team Compositions

No 5-star DPS can reach their full potential alone. Let‘s see how Cyno and Raiden perform in their best team compositions.

Cyno‘s Ideal Aggravate Team

Cyno‘s best team buffs his Aggravate damage during his extended field time:

• Fischl – continuous Electro application
• Dendro Traveler – Off-field Dendro for Aggravate
• Zhongli – Strong shield to protect Cyno
• Sucrose – VV Shred, EM buffs to increase Aggravate damage

This team provides Cyno with all the elements and buffs he needs to dish out scary sustained Aggravate DPS. The rotation is simple – apply off-field Electro/Dendro, buff Cyno, then go to town with his skill and burst!

Some alternative characters like Dori for energy and healing or Beidou for damage reduction also work well. Flexible 4-star options make Cyno friendly for low spenders and F2P!

Raiden‘s Best Team

Raiden‘s top meta composition is Raiden National Team:

• Xingqiu -frequent Electrocharged enabling
• Xiangling – Pyro DPS for Overvape
• Bennett – ATK buffs and healing
• Raiden – heavy Burst damage

This team has extremely high damage ceilings, but also requires heavy investment into all characters‘ builds. It has complex rotations to juggle.

Some other options include:

• Hypercarry – Raiden + Sara + Kazuha + Bennett
• Overvape – Raiden + Xingqiu + Thoma + Anemo unit

Raiden really wants dedicated supports like C6 Sara, Kazuha, and high cons on Xiangling and Bennett to maximize her potential. Her best teams are costlier to build for low spenders.

Verdict: Who to Pull Based on your Account Needs

So should you pull for our boy Cyno or the Electro Archon? Here is my verdict based on your account needs:

Pull for Cyno if:

• You lack a strong Aggravate DPS
• Want an on-field Hypercarry unit
• Have limited teambuilding options as low spender/F2P
• Love his aesthetics and playstyle!

Pull for Raiden Shogun if:

• You already have her best supports built
• Plan to get multiple constellations for Raiden
• Enjoy Quickswap burst dependent playstyle
• Need universal battery for expensive bursts
• Waifu Archon supremacy!

In Summary:

For lighter spenders and F2P players, Cyno will likely provide more value as he isn‘t as team dependent.

But for whales willing to invest heavily, a C2+ Raiden is arguably the strongest DPS in the game. Her potential is almost limitless.

Both are extremely powerful 5-star DPS characters that are incredibly fun to play. Choose based on your account needs and playstyle preferences.

Personally I‘m rolling for Cyno to round out my Aggravate team, but I don‘t think you can go wrong with either of these Epic Electro characters!

Let me know who you prefer in the comments, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I could talk Genshin theorycrafting all day.

Thanks for reading this far – hope you found my in-depth analysis helpful. This is Terry signing off. Till next time, may all your artifacts roll Crit Damage!