Genshin Impact Guide: Raiden Shogun Echo for Free-to-Play Players ~ HaploGamingChef

Starting the Challenge: What's New This Time?

Hey everyone, Calamity here! Today, we’re diving into what might be the most challenging Echo yet—Raiden Shogun’s Envisaged Echo. This time around, things are a bit different. You're not just running Raiden solo; the challenge locks you into a specific team featuring Raiden Shogun, Kujou Sara, Thoma, and Sayu. You won’t be able to bring your own units into the fight, so strategy matters more than ever.

What Makes This Fight Tougher Than Usual?

To start, none of the characters are equipped with Favonius weapons, which makes energy regeneration trickier. Plus, Raiden starts the fight with zero energy. You’ll need to build up her burst from scratch, which adds an extra layer of difficulty for F2P players trying to manage rotations carefully.

Special Rules in This Echo

There are two unique mechanics in this Echo challenge that you need to watch closely:

Thundering Surge: At intervals, a screen prompt will let you know when this activates. While it’s active, Raiden gets a massive +150% crit damage boost. That’s great, but remember—you’re not getting any extra crit rate. So if your crit rate is weak, consider adjusting artifacts before going in.
Electro Particle Generation: When you hit an enemy with an elemental attack, four Electro particles are created. This only happens every 25 seconds, but it’s essential for helping Raiden get her burst up faster.

Raiden Shogun’s Setup for This Guide

We’re working with C0 Raiden and using a 4-star weapon: The Catch. It’s a solid F2P weapon and gives a decent amount of Energy Recharge, along with increased Burst Damage and Crit Rate. Perfectly viable for this challenge.

Quick Word on the Team You’re Given

The fixed characters in this challenge are:

Raiden Shogun
Kujou Sara
Thoma
Sayu

All are at C0 and have preset builds, which you can’t adjust. That means you’ll need to understand each one’s role and how to rotate them effectively. Let’s go over each.

Understanding Kujou Sara’s Role

Sara’s skill causes her to dash backward and leave a buff marker. When you use a charged attack, it activates and grants an attack boost to the next character you switch to—ideally Raiden.

Her burst gives a similar buff instantly, so when it’s available, you don’t need to do the dash + charge combo. Just hit her burst and switch.

What Thoma Brings to the Fight

Thoma’s shield from his elemental skill adds protection, but more importantly, his burst applies pyro damage over time. When paired with Raiden, this allows Overloaded reactions, which is key because:

Overloaded reduces the enemy’s Electro and Pyro resistance by 40% (with Sara in the party), making Raiden’s damage significantly stronger.

Sayu’s Surprising Value

Sayu plays a dual role: healer and battery. Her burst heals the team and builds up Resolve for Raiden, increasing her burst strength.

Always use the hold version of her skill—it does much more damage than a tap and may even help generate more particles. Plus, her damage helps chip away at the boss during off-rotation windows.

Opening Rotation Strategy

Getting Raiden’s burst online fast is your first objective. Start with:

Raiden’s skill to set the tone.
Switch to Sara and do her skill + charged attack. If you land the hit, you’ll generate particles.
Swap back to Raiden to absorb particles.
Move to Thoma and use his skill. Repeat the same Raiden swap to absorb energy.
Finally, use Sayu’s hold skill, hit the boss, then swap to Raiden again.

This sequence should leave Raiden very close to having her burst ready.

Timing Raiden’s Burst with the Surge

You want to unleash Raiden’s burst right when Thundering Surge activates. Wait for the on-screen prompt and then trigger her ultimate. This combo guarantees massive damage thanks to the crit damage bonus, especially since Raiden’s burst scales off energy used by the team.

Subsequent Rotations Simplified

Once the initial rotation is done, you move into a loop:

Sayu: Hold skill → Burst
Thoma: Skill → Burst
Sara: Burst (or skill + charge)
Raiden: Skill → Burst

Try to always stack Sara’s buff right before Raiden uses her burst, and keep an eye on the Surge window for maximum effect.

Boss Fight Overview: The Perpetual Mechanical Array

This is the boss you're up against. The tricky part? It’s loaded with RNG mechanics that can waste precious time.

If the boss flies, you lose uptime.
If it enters its split phase, you need to defeat one of its adds (minions) before continuing.

What’s the “Best” Add in Split Phase?

You want to hope for the Dorito-shaped bot. It’s the easiest to kill and can be stunned immediately or during its dash. Avoiding the crab, jellyfish, or burrower bots will make a big difference in your clear time.

Dealing with RNG

Not much you can do about RNG, but use poor RNG runs to perfect your rotation. The better your rhythm, the more likely you’ll clear the challenge on that one lucky run where the boss doesn’t fly constantly or summon a tanky add.

Raiden’s Burst Combos: Do It Right

Don’t just spam basic attacks when using Raiden’s burst form. A good pattern is:

3–4 normal attacks
Followed by a charged attack

Charged attacks in burst mode hit really hard but also burn stamina. Use them wisely and conserve stamina to dodge boss attacks when needed.

Weapon Choices for Raiden (F2P-Friendly)

Raiden is running The Catch at Refinement 5 for this guide. If you don’t like fishing, here are some other options:

Skyward Spine (5★): Offers solid stats and faster ER.
Deathmatch (Battle Pass): Great for Crit Rate focus.
Favonius Lance: Fantastic energy battery if your artifacts lack ER.
Event weapons: Like the Moonpiercer or others that grant ER or bonus damage after skill use.

If you have her signature weapon, use it. There's no reason to handicap yourself.

Recommended Artifact Set

Emblem of Severed Fate is the go-to. It boosts ER and burst damage, making it tailor-made for Raiden’s playstyle.

Stat priorities:

Sands: Energy Recharge (or ATK% if your ER is already high).
Goblet: Electro DMG bonus.
Circlet: Crit Rate if your crit ratio is bad; Crit DMG if your rate is solid.

You’ll want about 250% Energy Recharge minimum for Raiden, especially since she starts with no energy in this challenge.

Choosing Between ER and ATK Sands

If your weapon and sub-stats give you enough energy recharge (250%+), you can test using ATK% Sands instead of Energy Recharge. This might help in boosting raw damage during the burst, especially if you're timing it with the Thundering Surge buff. But overall, Energy Recharge Sands are still the safer, more consistent choice.

Electro Goblet vs ATK Goblet

In most cases, go with an Electro Damage Bonus Goblet. It synergizes directly with Raiden’s burst. However, if you're using a weapon or external buffs that already push your Electro DMG to high levels, you can consider switching to an ATK% Goblet for better scaling. Test both if you’re unsure.

Balancing Your Crit Stats

Since Thundering Surge gives +150% Crit Damage, you may want to focus on Crit Rate more than Crit DMG. Using a Crit Rate Circlet ensures you make use of that temporary bonus. But if you already have great rate rolls and a solid balance, a Crit Damage Circlet with decent Crit Rate sub-stats will work just fine.

Sample Artifact Sub-Stats

Here’s what to prioritize:

Crit Rate / Crit Damage
Energy Recharge
ATK%

Don't underestimate how much raw ATK can impact burst damage, especially if you’re using weapons or supports that boost ER already. A good balance of offensive and utility stats is key.

Thoughts on Artifact Quality

The given trial set may not be top-tier, but don’t stress. Focus more on getting your timing and execution right rather than perfect stats. If you're grinding for better pieces, the Emblem domain is a solid long-term investment for Raiden and other burst-reliant characters.

Reshaping Artifacts

Use Genshin's Artifact Strongbox or the newer artifact reshaping tools if you're stuck with bad rolls. The game recently handed out some upgrade materials (like feathers for artifact crafting), and this is one of the best places to use them.

What If You Have Raiden’s Constellations?

Everything gets easier—especially at C2, which significantly boosts her burst damage. While this guide assumes a C0 free-to-play setup, if you do have extra constellations, feel free to go wild. They make a noticeable difference, particularly in burst uptime and raw numbers.

Talent Levels to Aim For

Burst: Highest priority. Level it as high as you can.
Skill: Also important, especially for building Resolve stacks.
Normal Attack: Not used during her burst, so this can stay low unless you’re using her in a non-burst-focused comp.

For this challenge, having Raiden’s burst at Level 10 or higher is a huge help in maximizing your damage window.

Practice Makes Perfect

This challenge isn’t just about gear—it’s about muscle memory. Learn the rotation. Drill it. Practice syncing your burst with the Surge timing. Even with bad RNG, each run gets you closer to that perfect attempt.

When RNG Fights You

Sometimes, the boss flies too often. Sometimes, it summons annoying adds. Don't rage quit. Just treat those runs as practice rounds. That way, when you do get a lucky roll on mechanics, you’ll be ready to clear it efficiently.

Key Gameplay Reminders

Don’t spam normal attacks during burst. Use charge attacks smartly.
Save stamina for dodging boss mechanics.
Avoid activating Raiden’s burst too early—wait for the Surge prompt.
Keep track of your cooldowns. Don’t rush the rotation.

Final Thoughts

This challenge is tough, especially for free-to-play users. But if you understand your characters, time your rotations, and make the most of your buffs, it’s absolutely doable. Like many Genshin challenges, this one is more about execution than sheer damage output.

Need Help? Ask the Community

If you're still having trouble, reach out in comments, forums, or Discord groups. There's a massive Genshin community always ready to help. Also, feel free to drop your own tips and builds—you might help another player out.

Wrapping It All Up

Raiden Shogun’s Envisaged Echo challenge might be one of the hardest Echoes to date—especially with a locked F2P team and limited energy regeneration. But once you understand each character’s role, lock in your rotation, and time your burst with Thundering Surge, the fight becomes much more manageable.

It’s all about consistency. Practice your setup, adapt to the RNG mechanics, and refine your timing. Even if your gear isn’t top-tier, a well-executed rotation can carry you through. Free-to-play players can beat this Echo—it just takes some patience, a bit of trial and error, and solid fundamentals.

Good luck out there, and may your boss RNG be kind!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can I change the team in Raiden’s Echo challenge?
A: No, the team is fixed. You must use the provided trial characters: Raiden Shogun, Kujou Sara, Thoma, and Sayu.

Q: What’s the best time to use Raiden’s burst?
A: Activate her burst right when the "Thundering Surge" prompt appears. This boosts her crit damage by 150%.

Q: What Energy Recharge should Raiden aim for?
A: Around 250% or more is ideal for this challenge to ensure fast burst uptime.

Q: What artifact set should I use on Raiden?
A: Emblem of Severed Fate is the best-in-slot set for burst-focused Raiden builds.

Q: I keep losing because of the boss flying. Any tips?
A: RNG affects the fight. Use “bad RNG” runs as practice. Perfect your rotation for when things line up well.

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