Guide to Baal (Raiden Shogun) in Genshin Impact 2.1: Builds, Skills, Leveling and Ascension

The 2.0 update for Genshin Impact had barely been released when the first details about the new features of 2.1 began to emerge. As usual, several characters will become available. One of them is Baal (Baal), also known as Raiden Shogun. In this guide, we will gather all the known information about her.

Baal, or Raiden Shogun, the Electro Archon and God of Eternity, rules over Inazuma. Baal believes in achieving divine eternity and, to this end, collects Visions to embed them into the statue of the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed God.

During the Archon quest in the second part of Act 2 in the 2.0 update, you will have to fight Baal. However, this will not hinder further cooperation.

Raiden Shogun will be a five-star character with a spear. If you noticed she wields a sword during the quest — do not worry, it will also be available, but as part of her elemental attack. Raiden Shogun's element is Electro.

According to the latest information, Baal will be available to join your team from September 1, 2021. However, there has not been an official announcement yet.

Normal Attack: Perform up to five consecutive spear strikes.

Charged Attack: Consume a certain amount of stamina to lunge upward.

Plunging Attack: Standard fast falling attack dealing AoE physical damage upon landing.

Elemental Skill: Transcendence — Baleful Light — Baal reveals a shard of her Euthymia, dealing Electro damage to nearby enemies and applying a positive effect, the Eye of Stormy Judgment, to nearby party members; the Eye of Stormy Judgment tracks party members and conducts a coordinated attack along with your active character; this attack deals targeted AoE Electro damage; the eye can attack once every 0.9 seconds.

Elemental Burst: Secret Art — Musou Shinsetsu — Baal unleashes an area Electro attack and uses her sword, Musou Isshin, for a short period of time; the amount of damage dealt by these attacks is determined by the amount of Resolve Baal has at the time of activating the ability.

Musou Isshin: In this state, Raiden Shogun will use her sword in combat, and her normal, charged, and other standard attacks will have an Electro effect that cannot be dispelled; when such attacks hit enemies, Baal restores energy for all nearby party members; the restoration lasts every second, however, the effect can only trigger five times during the skill's duration; when using Musou Isshin, interruption resistance is also increased, and Baal becomes immune to Electro damage.

Shogun Byakugen no Rin: A secondary effect that becomes active when party members use their Elemental Bursts near Baal; it increases Resolve proportionate to the amount of energy consumed by party members; the maximum amount of Resolve is 60.

There are three passive talents in total. Initially, only one of them will be available to you, but others will unlock as you increase your level of ascension.

Wishes Unnumbered: A base ability in which nearby party members receive orbs or particles of elements, Shogun Byakugen no Rin gains two stacks of Resolve; this effect triggers once every three seconds.

Enlightened One: The second phase of ascension; for every 1% of energy recharge above 100% that Baal possesses, she gains a 0.6% greater energy restoration from Musou Isshin and a 0.4% bonus to Electro damage.

All-Preserver: The fourth phase of ascension; spend 50% less Mora when ascending swords and polearm weapons.

Constellations are additional abilities that can significantly change a character's properties. Baal has six:

The first constellation helps to quickly accumulate resolve for enhancing elemental bursts. It's worth acquiring at least for its excellent price-to-quality ratio. The second constellation will increase overall damage and also help to deal with particularly resilient enemies faster. The third constellation is especially useful as it enhances the elemental burst — Baal's most effective skill. The fourth constellation strengthens Raiden immediately after using her ultimate. And the sixth allows for almost instant recharging of elemental bursts for other team members. Considering that Shogun already provides a significant energy boost, the sixth constellation is something to aim for.

The conclusion is simple, if you have Raiden Shogun in your team — focus on developing her constellations.

Ascension is a qualitative improvement of a character after reaching a certain level. Different amounts of materials are required for each level.

Storm Beads — currently, this resource cannot be obtained; it will be necessary to wait for further updates. It is known that the beads drop from the enemy Thunder Manifestation or, according to another version, Electro Oceanid, which is not yet in the game.

Tenkumo Fruits — the same situation as with Storm Beads, the resource is unavailable. It is known that the fruits can be found on Seirai Island, which will appear later.

Vajrada Amethyst — one of the materials needed for the ascension of Electro characters. As with other precious stones, varieties of Vajrada Amethyst include sliver, fragment, chunk, and the gemstone itself. The material can be obtained in several ways:

Handguards (all types) — a standard material for ascension, which can be obtained from Nobushi enemies. By collecting several Old Handguards, you can craft a Kageuchi Handguard. To obtain the Famed Handguard, you need to collect several Kageuchi Handguards accordingly.

Unknown material — has not yet appeared in the game world. It resembles a fire flower.

Teachings of Light — a reward for completing the Violet Court dungeon in Inazuma. When you collect several teachings, you will have the opportunity to craft a more rare Guide to Light. In turn, by collecting several guides, you can obtain a Philosophy of Light.

Crown of Insight — one of the rarest but necessary materials for talent leveling. Absolutely every character at the last skill levels will need a crown. It is not easy to obtain. Most often, the Crown of Insight appears in the rewards shop of various events. Another way is to level up the Frostbearing Tree or the Sacred Sakura — this can earn several crowns.

Raiden Shogun is an Archon and a five-star character. This means her abilities are very strong. According to preliminary information, Baal will be a support character, but she will also be able to deal significant damage. Therefore, when choosing artifacts and weapons, it is worth focusing on one of these two directions.

The best weapon for Baal will be the Engulfing Lightning spear. At full upgrade, it is capable of dealing damage equal to 608 units, as well as restoring energy by 55.1%. Attack power increases by 28% of all energy restoration above 100%. The maximum attack power bonus is 80%. Upon activation of an elemental burst, energy restoration increases by 30% for 12 seconds.

A good alternative would be the Skyward Spine — a spear that also restores energy and has an effect of increasing the critical hit chance from 8% to 16%, as well as increasing the speed of normal attacks by 12%. Upon hitting with a normal or charged attack, there's a 50% chance to activate a vacuum blade that deals 40% to 100% damage in a small radius (can occur once every 2 seconds).

Another option is the Prototype: Starglitter — a spear that restores energy and has an effect of increasing the damage of normal and charged attacks by 8% for 12 seconds upon using an elemental skill (can stack up to 2 times).

Artifacts you will need:

Emblem of Severed Fate — an artifact set focused on increasing energy recharge and enhancing elemental burst; bonuses:

Gladiator's Finale — an artifact set that suits Baal as an attacking character; bonuses:

Thundering Fury — an artifact set for a support character; bonuses:

Noblesse Oblige — an artifact set significantly increasing the attack power of the team; bonuses:

A combined set from Exile and Scholar sets (two pieces from each) — a good starter set aimed at increasing energy recharge speed; suitable until you acquire rarer artifacts; bonuses:

The advantages and disadvantages of Baal are directly related to her abilities and the Electro element.

The main advantages include:

Cons:

When using the Electro Archon, you will need to play by actively using the elemental bursts of the rest of your team members, meaning you'll constantly be switching between characters. At the start of the battle, attack enemies with normal strikes, use the elemental skill to apply Electro status to enemies and enhance the ultimate attacks of your teammates.

Then switch to a secondary attacking character, for example, Xiangling, Rosaria, or Xingqiu, to use their elemental burst for gaining resolve and applying elemental status to enemies. Wait for energy accumulation and use Baal's elemental burst to create powerful elemental reactions, such as Overload, Superconduct, or Electro-Charged. Additionally, you will start regenerating energy for your allies, allowing you to quickly use their ultimate attacks again.

With each new cycle of elemental bursts, you will gain more resolve, and therefore, deal more damage. For this playstyle, it's better to unlock the first and sixth constellations.

You can also use Baal as a secondary attacking character to enhance the main one, fueling him with energy and creating elemental reactions. In this case, the fourth constellation is required.

In simple terms, the action sequence for Raiden is as follows: use the elemental skill, then sequentially use the elemental bursts of other team members, return to Baal and use her elemental burst, all the while attacking enemies with normal or charged attacks during the ult to regenerate energy for the other heroes. After the elemental burst, reactivate Baal's elemental skill, by this time the elemental bursts of the other heroes have already recharged.

Ideal team compositions with Baal: