Key Terms
Ei - Refers to the primary character being analyzed here. May also be referred to as “Raiden Shogun” where appropriate.
Shogun - Describes the artificial duplicate of Ei. Is technically a separate entity, but one that explicitly follows Ei’s protocols and serves as a routine vessel for Ei to control. May also be referred to as “Raiden Shogun” where appropriate.
Vision - A special artifact bestowed upon certain people in Genshin Impact by a higher power. These grant the bearer access to special elemental powers.
Allogene - Refers to anyone in Genshin Impact with an artifact called a Vision.
Sources
Because Genshin Impact is a live-service game, many events are outright impossible to revisit, whether they be limited time affairs or story-related arcs. For the sake of saving everyone time, I’ll be citing many sources that log verifiable in-game data and link to videos recording game events. The Genshin Impact Wiki is particularly useful and reliable for the former, making it a safe resource to use. As for videos, credits of course go to the respective channels for immortalizing crucial information.
Addressing Honkai Impact
While it is widely theorized that Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact are connected in some way, it is currently unconfirmed, and no substantial evidence exists that can prove these to be anything more than theories. In fact, the official crossover between the two series depicts Genshin Impact as a videogame in the Honkai Impact world. While this may not technically be a complete deconfirmation of connectivity, for the sake of this blog, Honkai Impact will not be mentioned past this point.
The movesets for Keqing and Fischl are sick though.
Also, there’s a decent amount of GIFs in this blog, just a fair warning lol
Background
Age: 2,500+ years
Birthday: June 26th
Height: 5’5” / 166cm
True name: Beelzebul
Titles: Raiden Shogun, Her Eternal Excellency, God of Eternity
Dislikes: Obstacles to Eternity, Inactivity, Cooking
In the world of Teyvat, there exist seven regions ruled by gods known as Archons, who themselves are bestowed power from the heavenly citadel, Celestia. In the island nation of Inazuma, past the crackle of lightning and the roar of thunder, you may find the Almighty Raiden Shogun herself, the Electro Archon known as Ei. But before she sat among The Seven Archons that watch over Teyvat, Ei was the “kagemusha” (body double) of the prior Electro Archon, her sister Makoto.
While Makoto excelled at politics and leadership, Ei found herself suited to the art of war, and acted as Inazuma’s unshakeable military commander. This talent for battlefield dominance served the sisters well in the ancient Archon War, which is how Makoto came to claim such a title in the first place.
Under Makoto’s reign, life in Inazuma prospered, and Ei found herself living her best life. Sure, she occasionally had to kill a surviving god or two in order to assert dominance, but the friends she found herself surrounded by made it all worth it… and then the Cataclysm occurred. As the name might suggest, this was a devastating disaster that affected the entire world, Inazuma included. While Ei’s friends would all be lost to various tragedies, the death of Makoto in particular shook Ei to her core.
Naturally, the role of Electro Archon would fall to Ei. Still traumatized by the untimely demise of her sister, Ei contemplated the life she possessed; she came to understand the ‘erosion’ that all immortals eventually suffer from - essentially, mental deterioration - and this would determine Ei’s entire focus moving forward. Not only would she herself pursue a method to true, unwavering immortality - an Eternity - she’d also seek to subject her country of Inazuma to the same principles, in hopes of establishing a never-ending prosperity for her people. In doing so, she rejected Celestia, the mysterious heavenly principles by which she used to abide by.
In pursuit of her mission, Ei learned how to create synthetic bodies and brought forth the Shogun puppet. This ‘copy’ of herself could act autonomously and lead the nation while Ei herself transported her consciousness into a pocket dimension known as the Plane of Euthymia. All this, for the sole purpose of meditating and contemplating “Eternity”. This process demanded Ei give up her Gnosis, a symbol of her status as the Electro Archon, as well as her own physical body entirely; but no cost could be too high to prevent another cataclysmic tragedy, in the eyes of the Raiden Shogun.
And so, Ei remained in the Plane of Euthymia for centuries, deaf to the cries of her nation, until one day, a certain blond-haired Traveler appeared. This outsider proved to be an anomaly to her ideals, and forced Ei to reconsider her actions as the leader of Inazuma. Her absence had, ironically, led Inazuma down a tumultuous, uncertain path, and the Shogun’s concrete, unchanging parameters proved incapable of replacing Ei’s own direct leadership. Inazuma, in its stagnant state, was left vulnerable to the malicious whims of home-grown and overseas threats. But in order to undo years upon years of the Shogun’s established ideals, Ei had to do battle with… herself, in a power struggle that spanned centuries. She faced herself, and ultimately prevailed. Ei’s will to change overcame the determination of her past self, allowing a new chapter to unfurl upon Inazuma. With the proper Electro Archon now resuming control of the nation, and the Puppet, fittingly, taking the role of her kagemusha, Inazuma has once again begun to heal, and restore its once mighty glow.
But what of Ei’s lost Gnosis, and the vengeful hands it now finds itself in? Will severing ties from Celestia and the Heavenly Principles be Inazuma’s salvation, or consign it to damnation? And what is the truth behind the Cataclysm that took Makoto’s life? No matter what the future holds, one thing is certain; Ei will strike down any who pose a threat to the prosperity of Inazuma, with no exceptions.
Experience & Skill
Long before either of the Electro Archons earned that title, Ei and her sister participated in the devastating Archon War. This world-spanning conflict saw the deaths of many warring gods, humans, and monsters battling for dominion of their respective lands. Ei and Makoto ultimately prevailed, indicating that they likely participated in many battles against similar foes. Even after the war, Ei served as a military commander in Makoto’s place, implying she has experience in many different battlefields. She would later defeat… herself, in a 1-on-1, no-holds barred duel. In her 2,000+ years of life, Ei has undoubtedly fought many battles and is presumably a skilled commander on the battlefield.
Additionally, Ei has confirmed that all of Inazuma’s sword and polearm martial arts can be traced back to her; interestingly, Ei’s school of art is likely a reference to the real-life 京八流, or the Kyohachiryu school. Much like Ei’s, this is a legend that suggests itself to be the progenitor of all swordplay. As such, it’s fitting that Ei is considered to be “unsurpassed with the blade”
Equipment & Arsenal
Musou no Isshin
Ei’s signature weapon. Created using the divine might of the former Electro Archon, Ei wields her late sister’s blade with precision and ferocity. The blade is stored within the Raiden Shogun’s chest, and can be summoned from within at any given time.
Inside the sword itself resides Ei’s consciousness and her Plane of Euthymia, as well as Makoto’s residual will. After reconciling with the fragments of Makoto’s being, Ei unlocked the full power of the Musou no Isshin.
And, fitting of a Thunder God, her preferred weapon can telekinetically fly back to her palm on-command, ensuring she is never without the blade.
Engulfing Lightning
While her signature weapon is the sword, Ei can masterfully wield a polearm as well. The Engulfing Lightning is Ei’s go-to weapon for most basic enemies.
In combat, this naginata increases the power of Ei’s attacks significantly and allows her to generate more energy to supply her techniques with.
Polearms
In addition to her preferred Engulfing Lightning, Ei can equip a large variety of polearms, granting her access to many different effects and boons.
Primordial Jade Winged-Spear - Increases Ei’s attack in combat and offers a high critical rate increase
Skyward Spine - Increases Ei’s energy recharge, crit rate, and can create small AoE vacuum blades.
Vortex Vanquisher - Looks cool on Zhongli
Staff of Homa - Drastically increases how strong Ei’s critical hits are, increases her maximum HP, and grants an attack bonus proportionate to how low her HP is
Calamity Queller - Big damage boost go brrr
Blackcliff Pole - Increases Crit Damage and gets stronger the more enemies are continuously defeated
Crescent Pike - Increases Physical Damage and offers an attack buff
Deathmatch - Increases Crit Rate and offers a substantial attack buff if against a single foe
Dragon’s Bane - Increases damage that Ei accumulates from elemental reactions, particularly those affected by pyro or hydro
Dragonspine Spear - Can drop icicles in combat dealing AoE damage. Deals more than 2x bonus damage if the opponent is affected by the Cryo element beforehand.
Favonius Lance - Greatly increases how much energy the user generates in combat.
Prototype Starglitter - Increases the amount of energy generated in combat and boosts attack damage.
Royal Spear - Increases the critical hit rate of the user in combat.
Lithic Spear - When paired with characters that originate from Liyue, increases attack power and critical hit ratio.
Kitain Cross Spear - Increases the damage caused by elemental reactions, elemental damage, and boosts the amount of energy generated in combat.
“The Catch” - Increases energy generated from elemental skills, and boosts elemental burst damage + critical hit ratio.
Wavebreaker’s Fin - Can boost the user’s elemental burst damage by a maximum of 80%.
Black Tassel - Increases total HP and deals extra damage toward slimes.
Halberd - Increases normal attack damage by 320%.
White Tassel - Increases critical hit rate and normal attack damage.
Artifacts
In Genshin Impact, every character can equip a set of items called Artifacts that are essentially stat boosters that come with additional boons if specific combinations of sets are made. By using at least 2 artifacts of the same type, a Set Bonus is granted. A character can benefit from a total of two Set Bonuses.
Alternatively, one may opt for a 4-piece artifact set. This locks you into committing to a single Artifact set, but the reward is typically much more significant than combining separate 2-piece bonuses.
Ei has individually been shown to use two sets of Artifacts, but like any Genshin Impact character, she can technically equip any set in the game, making them all fair game.
Artifact Sets
2-pc: Increases total HP stat by 1,000
4-pc: Opening a treasure chest regenerates 30% of HP over time
2-pc: Increases Def stat total by 100
4-pc: Gaining money increases total HP by 300
2-pc: Increases healing effects by 20%
4-pc: Using an Elemental Burst restores an additional 20% of total HP
2-pc: Increases Atk by +18%
4-pc: Increases the Crit rate of Charged Attacks by 30%
2-pc: Increases the user’s resistance to all Elemental attacks by +20%
4-pc: Upon being hit by a certain Elemental type, increases Elemental resistance to that same type by 30%
2-pc: Increases Crit rate by +12%
4-pc: Increases Crit rate by a further 24% if HP falls under 70%
2-pc: Increases bonus damage from Elemental Reactions (such as Electro meeting Pyro, resulting in the Overloaded reaction)
4-pc: Triggering an Elemental Reaction further increases bonus damage (see above)
2-pc: Increases the amount of energy generated by the user by 20%
4-pc: The use of an Elemental Burst further increases energy generation
2-pc: Grants Def +30%
4-pc: Increases Ei’s resistance to Electro by 30% (not that this would actually do anything but uhh)
2-pc: Grants Atk +18%
4-pc: Increases damage by 30% to weakened opponents
2-pc: Increases damage from attacks by 15%
4-pc: Using an Elemental Skill adds a further 25% bonus damage to attacks
2-pc: Increases damage from Elemental Skills by +20%
4-pc: Removes cooldown on Elemental Skills after defeating an opponent
2-pc: Increases the amount of energy generated in combat by +20%
4-pc: Kinda useless if you aren’t an archer or catalyst user sooo
Reduces the effects of Electro on the user for 40% less time
Reduces the effects of Hydro on the user for 40% less time
Reduces the effects of Pyro on the user for 40% less time
Reduces the effects of Cryo on the user for 40% less time
2-pc: Increases Atk by +18%
4-pc: Grants a bonus to damage by 35% if user wields a sword, polearm or claymore
2-pc: Increases the amount of bonus damage from Elemental reactions
4-pc: kinda useless if you aren’t an archer or catalyst user sooooooooo
2-pc: Increases the power of Elemental Bursts by 20%
4-pc: After using an Elemental Burst, increases Attack by 20%
2-pc: Physical Dmg bonus +25
4-pc: Defeating an opponent increases the power of Charged Attacks by 50%, and nullifies any stamina loss from those attacks
2-pc: Increases the amount of health restored from healing by 15%
4-pc: Adds a bonus 20% to healing after using Elemental Skills or Bursts
2-pc: Increases Anemo damage by 15%
4-pc: Kinda useless if you aren’t an Anemo character sooooooo
2-pc: Increases Geo damage by 15%
4-pc: When receiving elemental shards, increases elemental damage by 35%, corresponding to the type of shard obtained
2-pc: Increases Shield strength by 35%
4-pc: Grants a 40% damage bonus to attacks when protected by an active Shield
2-pc: Boosts resistance to Electro by 40%
4-pc: Bonus 35% damage done to those affected by Electro
2-pc: Increases Electro damage by 15%
4-pc: Increases bonus damage from Electro-related elemental reactions (Overloaded w/ Pyro, Electro-Charged w/ Hydro, and Superconduct w/ Cryo) by 40%. Activating this effect shortens the cooldown of Elemental Skills
2-pc: Boosts resistance to Pyro by 40%
4-pc: Bonus 35% damage done to those affected by Pyro
2-pc: Increases Pyro damage by 15%
4-pc: Increases bonus damage from the elemental reaction Overloaded (Pyro + Electro)
2-pc: Increases Cryo damage by 15%
4-pc: kinda useless if you aren’t a Cryo character sooooo
2-pc: Increases Hydro damage by 15%
4-pc: Landing an Elemental Skill increases damage done by attacks by 30%
2-pc: Increases total HP by 20%
4-pc: When landing an Elemental Skill on an opponent, increases Atk by 20% and Shield strength by 30%
2-pc: Physical Dmg Bonus +25%
4-pc: Increases attack by a maximum of 100% when landing hits with Elemental Skills
2-pc: Atk +18%
4-pc: Trades accumulated elemental energy for a 50% increase to attack power.
2-pc: Increases the amount of energy generated in combat by 20%
4-pc: Increases the power of Elemental Bursts by 25% of the Energy Recharge stat, for a maximum of 75% bonus damage.
2-pc: Grants Def +30%
4-pc: kinda useless if you aren’t a Geo character soooo
2-pc: Increases the amount a character heals by 15%.
4-pc: Creates a bubble that accumulates power proportionate to the amount of health that the user restores. After 3 seconds, the bubble explodes, dealing damage based on 90% of the accumulated healing power.
2-pc: Atk +18%
4-pc: Increases Atk by 8% after using an Elemental Burst. When HP decreases, Atk increases by 10% for a maximum of 4 times.
2-pc: Atk +18%
4-pc: Offers a 36% chance to increase normal attack damage by 70% of attack. If the 36% chance fails, this rate will increase by an additional 20% until it activates.
2-pc: Increases Dendro damage by +15%
4-pc: Decreases the opponent’s resistance to Dendro after using Elemental Skills or Busts
2-pc: Increases bonus damage from Elemental Reactions by 80
4-pc: Increases Atk and Elemental bonus damage depending on the team composition (lol)
Ascension Passives
Essentially just passive boons that Ei has access to at all times.
Wishes Unnumbered - Increases the amount of Resolves stacks Ei can accumulate relative to the amount of energy she absorbs
Enlightened One - Grants Ei a bonus to the amount of energy she can restore from using her Musou Isshin, and gives her a small Electro damage boost
Constellations
Similarly, Constellations represent additional boons that the Raiden Shogun gains access to at her maximum potential.
Ominous Inscription - Increases the rate in which Ei can build Resolve stacks. When using her Musou Shinsetsu, Ei gains even more Resolve Stacks.
Steelbreaker - When using her Musou Shinsetsu, Ei’s attacks will ignore 60% of her opponents’ defenses.
Shinkage Bygones - Increases the power of Ei’s Musou Shinsetsu.
Pledge of Propriety - After using her Musou Shinsetsu, Ei will gain a 30% attack bonus for 10 seconds.
Shogun’s Descent - Increases the power of Ei’s Baleful Omen.
Wishbearer - Allows Ei to speed up the process in which her allies charge their special attacks.
Gnosis (Formerly)
Every Archon in Teyvat receives a Gnosis upon their ascension to godhood, allowing them to ‘resonate with Celestia’. It’s not clear what exactly that means, nor is it entirely clear what a Gnosis does with regards to an Archon’s power, if anything at all. There is some dialogue to suggest that those who have lost their Gnosis are weaker than before, though there is room for elaboration. As far as Ei is concerned, she hasn’t had possession of her Gnosis for centuries, so we also have no clue what she’s capable of with it. Still, it’s important to recognize and acknowledge her relation to it, even if it doesn’t amount to anything practical at this time.
Forms
The Shogun
Don’t let appearances fool you; the Shogun and Ei aren’t quiiite the same exact person. It’s more accurate to say that the Shogun is a puppet body with specific coding dictating its every action. It exists in the real world while Ei’s consciousness meditates in the Plane of Euthymia, and the two can even co-exist within that Plane under certain circumstances.
However, the Puppet is exactly that: a puppet. Ei can ‘inhabit’ or ‘possess’ it at will, speaking and acting through the Shogun if need be. Since it’s an artificial body, Ei can replace the Shogun’s bodily parts if need be, or create new bodies altogether.
Baleful Shadowlord
After accumulating enough ‘Ominous Destiny’, either passively over time or from being attacked, the Shogun can take the form of the Baleful Shadowlord. This form sprouts multiple appendages that can be used for clapping (the ouchie kind), and a massive blade, granting the Raiden Shogun many more devastating attacks and a larger range of effect. She also boasts a shield that drastically reduces any damage she sustains.
Powers & Abilities
Musou no Hitotachi/Musou Shinsetsu
Ei’s most iconic ability, the devastating Booba Sword:™: Since her sword, the Musou no Isshin, is stored in her chest, Ei can withdraw it at any time and wield the full might of her legendary blade. This technique is powerful enough to rend space and freeze time itself, which has led many to believe the Musou no Hitotachi can transcend any defense in the world.
As an attack consisting of pure elemental energy, anything the Raiden Shogun cleaves is left with an abundance of electro energy, going so far as to turn blood into plasma. Additionally, when performing this technique, the electricity she produces cannot be overridden by other elements, and Ei becomes considerably more resistant to physical damage.
Baleful Omen
It might not be especially flashy, but the Baleful Omen is a surprisingly useful technique. Upon activation, Ei will generate an Eye of Stormy Judgment that will proc an electrical strike in-tandem with any attacks Ei makes afterward. In doing so, Ei can also increase the power of her Musou Shinsetsu.
Plane of Euthymia
Ei has the ability to create an entire realm out of her consciousness known as the Plane of Euthymia. Realms such as the Plane of Euthymia vary in purpose and aesthetic, but Ei’s served to isolate her from the world as she sought to meditate on how best to achieve Eternity. As the master of her own Plane, Ei can always retreat to the Plane of Euthymia from the outside world on a whim, or eject unwanted visitors.
Realms of consciousness have been described as very “abstract concepts”, and because the concept of time is “meaningless” there, trying to enter one without Ei’s portals places the intruder at the risk of being swept away into “an unknown corner of space-time”. This strange interaction with time can also be observed during Ei’s fight with the Shogun. From their perspective, the battle lasted 500 years, but in the ‘real world’, it couldn’t have been more than a day from when Ei left and when she re-appeared. Additionally, objects that spawn from these realms, such as Makoto’s realm of consciousness, can apparently influence the ‘real world’ in the past. This is exactly what happened when Ei planted Makoto’s seed in the present, yet the Sacred Sakura tree had been around in Inazuma for 500 years, implying the events that occurred in the realm retroactively affected the past.
Yae, Ei's familiar, states that the risk of traveling to a realm of consciousness can be reduced by “placing your consciousness into an object first”, and that one requires an intensely strong and focused willpower to safely make the journey.
Vision Hunt Decree
Distinct from the physical confiscation of Visions depicted in the story, Ei possesses an ability of the same name. When employed in battle, she can completely nullify the usage of elemental powers from her opponents.
This technique has some interesting properties to consider. The Traveler, notably, is completely exempt from the effects of the Vision Hunt Decree, seemingly because they do not use a Vision to manipulate the elements. However, the VHD also affects the likes of Zhongli and Venti, two fellow Archons whose elemental powers do not derive from Visions. It is possible, though only speculation at the time of this writing, that the Traveler may be immune to Ei’s VHD for reasons other than their lack of a Vision. Regardless, the universality of this move should be considered when approaching matchups on a case-by-case basis.
Electrokinesis
As the Electro Archon, Ei has mastery of the element of electricity. This affords her multiple different applications of the element, including;
Lightning Strikes
Ei probably wouldn’t be a very good thunder god if she couldn’t summon a few bolts of lightning here and there. Luckily, she can! Interestingly, Ei has two forms of it; natural weather-based lightning and ‘Divine Bolts’, which can strike anytime of day regardless of the weather.
Electro Shields
The Raiden Shogun can erect a barrier of electricity to serve as a defensive shield against incoming attacks.
Additionally, while in the Baleful Shadowlord form, the Shogun is served by a constant electro-shield that drastically decreases physical and elemental damage, though it is susceptible to cryo-elemental attacks.
Electro Constructs
Interestingly, the Shogun can also create electro-constructs such as platforms to stand on mid-air. These constructs are likely similar to the barriers and shields Ei creates, though this is only speculation.
Elemental Transformation
Allogenes have the capability to transform into an elemental state respective to their Vision, such as a bolt of lightning or a trail of water. Being an Archon, Ei can do this as well, though even more aggressively and instantaneously than a normal Allogene. Typically, this is used to close the gap between her and her opponent, or to evade attacks.
Electro Immunity
Befitting the Electro Archon, Ei is completely immune to any and all electro-based elemental attacks. Notably, however, this immunity does not extend to the Shogun or the Baleful Shadowlord form.
Electro Immunity Negation
In the battle between Ei and the Shogun, the Shogun was able to harm Ei with electro-based attacks despite her immunity to them. Admittedly, this isn’t very clear, but it could be construed that the Raiden Shogun therefore has the ability to bypass immunities to electro-based attacks.
Magnetism
Ei can seemingly utilize her electrokinesis to tap into magnetism, handy for when you’re trying to confiscate a bunch of (presumably metal) accessories from people. Oh and I guess all the other stuff magnetism would be useful for, sure.
Balethunder
As a side effect of simply using her powers with intent to kill, Ei has left behind permanent scopes of land affected by Balethunder; essentially places bursting at the seams with high concentrations of Electricity.
When exposed to a locale with Balethunder, the victim will continuously take passive chip damage, becoming exponentially greater in size over time. Unless shielded by certain Electrogana, the effects of Balethunder can result in death, making it incredibly dangerous to linger in without protection.
Elemental Reactions
In Genshin Impact, one of the most important mechanics available for players to use is that of Elemental Reactions. Essentially, every Elemental type has a ‘reaction’ when introduced to a different element, and these combinations result in combat-relevant reactions that can aid the player in the heat of battle. Ei only has access to Electro elemental energy, so we’ll only be covering Electro-based reactions, as they’re the only ones she can actively influence with her abilities.
Overloaded - When Electro meets Pyro, the result is a combustion that damages everyone in the vicinity, including whoever triggered the Elemental Reaction in the first place.
Electro-Charged - Combining Electro with Hydro creates the Electro-Charged reaction. As long as someone is wet, they will continuously take damage over time from this reaction.
Superconduct - Not really sure what this has to do with real-life superconductors, but in Genshin, this reaction mainly serves to drastically reduce an opponent’s physical resistance to damage. This makes it an ideal debuff to apply for those that primarily rely on physical damage as opposed to elemental power.
Catalyze - Electro and Dendro (basically plant energy?) results in Catalyze, which can further splinter off into Quicken, Spread or Aggravate reactions. But basically, these are all elemental bonus damage amplifiers.
Weather Manipulation
Ei is capable of commanding all thunderstorms in the world at once. She even created a massive, constant thunderstorm surrounding the country of Inazuma to keep the country isolated.
Time Stop
Fitting of a god seeking unchanging eternity, the Raiden Shogun can freeze the flow of time itself with her devastating sword strikes. These attacks span a large AOE and, as a result of the time stop stemming from an attack that rends through space, ensures that anyone caught is almost guaranteed to suffer a devastating blow.
Spatial Rending/Durability Negation
One of the Shogun’s most devastating techniques. Appearing from a void, the Baleful Shadowlord’s mighty sword sweep shatters through space, instantly annihilating anyone standing in its’ path. Notably, this attack completely bypasses any and all instances of shielding and damage reduction, and one-shots its’ target regardless of the gap between the Shogun and her opponent’s stats.
Teleportation/Portal Creation
As the master of her own Plane of Euthymia, Ei can create portals that allow her to travel between Teyvat and her Plane in an instant. She is often seen doing so by slicing open a dimensional rift with her sword, though it’s unclear if this is necessary or just for show.
Battlefield Removal
One of Ei’s most surprising and dangerous abilities involves her forcefully whisking her opponent away into her Plane of Euthymia. While it is exceedingly rare for her to do so, the prospects of gaining an instant, inherent home field advantage while simultaneously trapping your opponent away from the real world is worth considering.
Illusion Clones
The Shogun’s best Shadow Clone jutsu imitation, resulting in 4 electro-based autonomous clones of Ei appearing at once. The illusory clones can be damaged and dispersed, and defeating the correct clone will force the Shogun to reappear.
Healing/Restorative Willpower
When in a pinch, the Raiden Shogun can heal herself in one of two ways; by using an invincible electric barrier to shield her while she slowly regenerates her health, or by simply willing herself back into peak condition on-command with no specified upper limit.
Body Creation
As demonstrated by the existence of the Shogun puppet and Scaramouche, Ei has the ability to create entire functioning human bodies that she can inhabit. She has also indicated that she’s capable of replacing specific parts of the body as well.
Malefic Aura
The Raiden Shogun is capable of emitting a massive, dominating electro aura over a relatively large range. Those caught in range of this aura are afflicted by immobilizing headaches, a distortion of the senses, and general sluggishness.
Energy Drain
The Baleful Shadowlord is capable of draining the elemental energy that her opponents accumulate. This happens automatically when in her presence, and will occur repeatedly with no upper limit.
Weapon Conjuration
Apparently everyone in Genshin can conjure their weapon from thin air, and then tuck it back into some pocket-space when finished.
Levitation
Ei and the Shogun have both been shown to levitate from time to time.
Noooot really sure what else there is to say about that. How’s your day going? Hopefully well. Remember to stay hydrated!
Curses
Gods in Genshin Impact are capable of applying curses on individuals that, apparently, take effect on “a higher level of reality than the person themselves.” Beings such as Orobashi were able to lay curses on an entire island, lasting well beyond even its own death.
As a God herself, Ei should be capable of something similar, though this is notably unconfirmed as of now. Still, for the sake of covering as many potential bases as possible, some of the effects of curses in Genshin Impact are as follows:
Immortality
Notably seen with Dainsleif, pictured above, who was cursed with immortality, forced to roam the world forever after his nation fell.
(Not a bad deal tho if you ask me)
Madness Inducement/Bodily Deterioration
On the island of Yashiori, the Tatarigami left by Orobashi resulted in a curse that could have incredibly adverse effects on the island residents. Those exposed to the Tatarigami are vulnerable to auditory hallucinations, unbearable headaches, dizziness, physical impairment, and eventually, complete madness. It’s also been shown that high-density areas containing the Tatarigami have the potential to outright incapacitate people, even those normally resistant to the negative effects of the Tatarigami like the Traveler and other Allogenes.
Environmental Manipulation
As an additional side effect of the Tatarigami curse, the island of Yashiori suffered deterioration to its plantlife, decaying trees and even spawning areas of Balethunder, mentioned earlier.
Immortality/Incorporeality
After transferring her consciousness to the Plane of Euthymia, Ei has become functionally immortal. She no longer has her original body, and thus has no mortal form of her own that can perish or deteriorate. As such, she only exists as a consciousness inside her sword and cannot be interacted with directly unless she lets you.
As far as the puppet Shoguns go, they are completely artificial, and thus do not age or have any kind of natural lifespan.
Consciousness Interaction
Ei was able to enter Makoto’s realm of consciousness and managed to preserve parts of it after Makoto’s death. It’s not clear if everyone has their own ‘realm’ of consciousness, but if they do, it’s possible Ei could manipulate it to some degree, or enter and attack her target there directly.
Resistances & Vulnerabilities
Energy Draining
Positive Showings:
When Ei battled the Shogun, she was immune to the Baleful Shadowlord’s energy draining abilities
Negative Showings:
Technically is only immune during the story-battle against the Shogun. When fighting the same boss afterward (non-canon), Ei is susceptible to energy draining like everyone else.
Possession
Positive Showings:
The Shogun can forcibly override Ei’s influence on her body, indicating that the Raiden Shogun can resist outside influences attempting to control her.
Negative Showings:
When Ei took control of the Shogun, it was able to fight against her for control of the body, significantly weakening her combat ability. This is basically just the flip side of the positive showing, lol.
Mental Deterioration
Positive Showings:
All Gods are prone to Erosion, the deterioration of mental faculties over an incredibly long period of time. As she no longer has a physical form, however, she is seemingly free from this inevitability.
After her 500 year old duel against the Shogun, it was stated that the willpower needed to withstand that battle would have “penetrated minds”, but not Ei’s.
Negative Showings:
None in her current state
Time Stop
Positive Showings:
Ei appears to be unaffected by her own time-stopping attacks when she performs them
Negative Showings:
Technically during non-canon gameplay, however, Ei is susceptible to her own time stop attack.
Feats
Overall
Withstood a continuous battle for 500 years against herself, and won
Along with her sister Makoto, survived and prevailed over the Archon War in Inazuma
Successfully severed ties from Celestia, freeing her and her nation from the Heavenly Principles
Inherited the position of Electro Archon
Recalled the Vision Hunt Decree, and began to reform Inazuma
Humiliated Kujou Kamaji in a duel
Created completely autonomous ‘puppet’ people more than once
Remains equally feared and worshipped by her people to this day
Power & Strength
Signora previously knocked out Venti, an Archon, and stole his Gnosis forcefully
Venti once terraformed the landscape of Mondstadt
With the Musou no Hitotachi, sliced the island of Yashiori in half as a side effect of killing Orobashi
It’s possible, though only speculation, that Ei’s slash affected more than just the Island of Yashiori; Mt. Yougou, located in the same direction as the the Musoujin Gorge, could either simply have two natural peaks, or it could be a result of Ei’s slash extending far beyond what it is confirmed to have covered.
Nearly killed the Traveler in their first battle
Ei later fought the Traveler, empowered by 99 Visions at once. While she lost fair and square, she is still more than capable of defeating the Traveler, indicated by the fact that the latter has multiple revives to help prevent defeat.
When empowered by just one extra vision, Kazuha (someone comparable to the Traveler) was able to deflect the Raiden Shogun’s Musuo Shinsetsu, something that would require at least somewhat comparable strength to the Shogun herself.
The Thunderbird is responsible for destroying the island of Seirai and created a massive storm cloud formation with the remnants of its’ power
In her fight against the Puppet Shogun, expended enough energy to “turn night to day and vaporize the oceans.”
Created a massive, constant storm surrounding the country of Inazuma
Can shut off all storms in the world on command, and given her ability to create thunderstorms, she can likely create these storms on the same scale
Speed
Sliced a thrown lance inches from her face after having already swung her blade
Can move as fast as lightning in her attacks
Fast enough to appear as a blur in her basic combo
Capable of not only bringing down natural lightning, but dodging it as well
Can dodge the Mirror Maiden’s close-quarters water beams
Could possibly move in tandem with what appear to be industrial lasers
Can also dodge lasers fired by Ruin Guards, though these are concussive rather than light-based
Can move in-tandem with wisps of light in the Guiding Light Ceremony
Durability
As the Shogun, boasts a physicality far beyond that of a mortal body
Ei and the Shogun could match each other in battle, taking each others’ blows equally for an extended period of time
Can survive her own Spatial-rending durability-bypassing attack
Scaling
Power & Strength
Should be superior to the dragons Dvalin and Durin, whose battles resulted in a planet-wide storm spreading and darkening the skies. It’s even stated to have “shook the heavens” and the very sun itself.
As an Archon, is superior to the Adepti like Xiao, Ganyu and Madame Ping, who can create and sustain autonomous pocket worlds in the Serenitea Pot with Sub-space Creation
Madame Ping herself confirms that the feats of the Adepti, specifically the creation of a pocket world, is nothing in comparison to what an Archon like Zhongli is capable of
As the Electro Archon, Ei is outright far superior to the likes of Lisa and Razor, whose thunderclouds can extend all the way from Inazuma to Mondstadt and Liyue in an instant
Should be comparable to fellow Archon Zhongli, who once threw entire mountains as spears
Zhongli himself is superior to Azhdaha, who could create earthquakes throughout Liyue with “the tiniest movement”.
Note that the lore states Azhdaha’s location to be Nantianmen, located in Northwest Liyue. Since Morax/Zhongli resides over Liyue Harbor, it’s reasonable to assume the quakes Azhdaha created could be felt across the entire region of Liyue.
Physically superior to the likes of Arataki Itto, who could smash a giant boulder apart, and Shenhe, who could lift an extremely large rock
The weapons Ei uses should be far more potent than what Liyue’s bladesmiths could produce, which includes the Prototype Rancour, a sword said to be able to shake mountains at their foundations.
Speed
Massively superior to Amber, who can dodge the natural cloud-to-ground lightning found in-game. Jean, Amber’s superior, could move faster than Amber could track. Ei is, herself, massively superior to Jean by virtue of being an active and insanely combat-capable Archon.
Likely scales to Yae Miko, who can send someone’s consciousness to a realm of consciousness in under a minute. These realms are stated to be abstract in nature and surrounded by waves of space-time. It may be possible the traveler is sent forward and backward through time given the imagery shown, though this is speculative.
Durability
Should be vastly superior to Halfdan, a fallen Khaenri'ah soldier, whose soul was able to withstand power that should have “turned him into ashes in an instant”.
Also superior to the Yaksha known as Xiao, who has withstood having an immense amount of Karma for years. This Karma is described as affecting souls, driving other Yakshas to insanity, but Xiao persists to this day, relatively fine all things considered.
Xiao also uses special painkillers from Zhongli that are stated to be more powerful than “anything in this world” can withstand.
Ei is superior to her familiar, Yae Miko, as well as her creation, Scaramouche, who were perfectly fine amidst the Tatarigami that simultaneously incapacitated the Traveler.
Weaknesses
While exceedingly rare and contextual, Ei can become significantly weakened if The Shogun fights against her from within. Even common monsters can pose a threat to her if such circumstances are met, though it is worth stressing this may only arise if Ei’s ideals significantly change without the Shogun’s approval.
According to Yae Miko, who knows Ei better than literally anyone else, Ei kinda has a problem with jumping straight into action without thinking. Specifically, Yae mentions that Ei is “impossibly stubborn”, even when dealing with something that demands her full power.
The Shogun’s Baleful Shadowlord form can be forcibly removed with enough damage dealt, and doing so leaves her extremely vulnerable for a period of time
Can slice an island in half, but not a wooden shield
Ei’s consciousness resides in the Musou Isshin. The blade’s durability, if it can be physically destroyed at all, is unknown, but if it were to be removed from existence, Ei would presumably be removed as well.
Cannot cook to save her life
Possible Matchups
Raiden VS Raiden Shogun (Mortal Kombat VS Genshin Impact)
Love it or hate it, Mortal Kombat’s Raiden is definitely Ei’s most popular opponent and it isn’t particularly hard to understand why. Perhaps thanks, in part, to memes spawned by a certain other Raiden, comparisons between the 3 have made the rounds even in casual circles. Between the three, the pair of Lightning Gods make for the most obvious bout. What it lacks in connections, it makes up for in simple spectacle; lightning gods with great music and martial arts mastery, with plenty of crazy powers and abilities to boot. Also far more complex a discussion to be had than it seems on the surface, for better or worse.
Raiden Shogun VS Enel (Genshin Impact VS One Piece)
If Mortal Kombat’s Raiden doesn’t tickle your fancy, then we’ll shift away from the Raijins, Zeus, Thor and Odin types to bring you an alternative. Distinct from the Raiden VS Raiden, in this match we’d see Ei go up against the monster that is One Piece’s arrogant and untouchable (allegedly) zappy god. His name is Enel, bringing equal parts venom and thunder to this bout. Oddly enough, there’s a simple and coherent theme here as well as a nice contrast in the way these two characters carry themselves. Sure, it’s not technically anything new (we just saw this dynamic with Omni-Man VS Homelander), but it remains ever-so satisfying to watch unfold.
Hey so thanks for (hopefully) reading all of that. This blog was a long time coming, and I’m glad it coincidentally finished in time to be posted on my birthday, which also makes it just a few days off from a year since the Raiden Shogun was officially made playable in Genshin Impact. Fun facts, y’know?
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