Genshin Impact 4.2 banner evaluation: Should you pull for Furina or Baizhu?
Furina is the do-it-all character for Hydro, as befitting her status as the Hydro Archon, while Baizhu is one of the best supports for the game's powerful Dendro teams.
Genshin Impact version 4.2 is almost upon us, and boy does this upcoming update have a lot in store for Travelers.
Aside from the featuring the climax of the Fontaine Archon Quest, the first half of version 4.2 will also see the debut of none other than the 5-star Hydro sword user Furina, also known as the Hydro Archon Focalors. She will be running alongside the 5-star Dendro catalyst user Baizhu, who is getting his first rerun.
Furina's long-awaited debut will be especially tempting for Archon collectors and players looking to keep up with the metagame. But if you're still on the fence about getting the Hydro Archon, or Baizhu, then read on as we break down all the reasons why they are worth your Primogems.
Need a do-it-all Hydro character? Get Furina
As the Hydro Archon, it's only right that Furina is the most versatile character of her element, able to do pretty much everything you want: deal damage and apply Hydro from both on and off-field, healing, and damage buffs.
Hydro already has top tier characters like Yelan, Kokomi, and Xingqiu cemented in so many meta teams. With how much Furina brings to the table, it's safe to say she'll be at that tier too once she's released, especially with the current HP manipulation theme that Fontaine characters and gear have going on.
Furina's skill is one of the most unique abilities in the game, having two separate effects depending on the Arkhe state she is currently in. She will be in her Ousia state by default and can change to the Pneuma state by using her Charged Attack, which comes with a sleek outfit change.
While in her Ousia state, Furina's skill summons three Hydro companions that will attack nearby enemies, focusing on the target of the active character. These companions will consume the HP of all party members to empower their attacks, coming to around 50% of each party member's Max HP over the course of the skill's 30-second duration. Yes, you read that right, this skill last for 30 seconds and only has a 20-second cooldown, meaning you can have full uptime on it.
Switching Furina to her Pneuma state makes her skill only summon one Hydro companion which will heal the active character to offset the HP drain from the Ousia version of this ability.
As if Furina's dual-mode skill isn't already enough utility, her burst lets her allies enter a state where their damage will be buffed by how much their HP increases or decreases. This buff notably increases the outright damage characters deal, instead of something like increasing their ATK, making it a universal damage buff that is honestly hard to beat.
Of course, all that power comes with some drawbacks, mainly from Furina's Ousia skill. The HP drain is significant, and Furina won't be able to reliably heal it by herself, which means you will need to run a healer in almost every Furina team.
But considering everything that Furina brings to the table, it's well worth the effort.
Hydro is the most versatile element in Genshin Impact, so you can run the Hydro Archon in any team that uses Hydro elemental reactions, so that includes Freeze, Vaporize, Tazer (Electro-Charged), Bloom, Hyperbloom, and Burgeon teams. Heck, you can even put Furina in a mono Hydro team alongside Yelan, Neuvillette, Kokomi, or Xingqiu to wash away all opposition.
As for Furina's build, you'd want to use her with the 4-piece Golden Troupe artifact set with an HP% or Energy Recharge sands, HP% or Hydro DMG Bonus goblet, and a Crit Rate/DMG circlet.
As for her weapons, if you're not going for her signature then she has some good alternatives in the Key of Khaj-Nisut and Primordial Jade Cutter for 5-stars or the Favonius Sword, Fleuve Cendre Ferryman, and Festering Desire for 4-stars.
To put it succintly, Furina is looking like one of the best characters in recent memory, as should be expected of one of the Seven Archons. Whether you're running her as the main damage dealer or as a support, Furina can do it all and will be well worth any Primogems you spend trying to get her.
If all that wasn't enough to convince you, did you know that Furina can walk on water whenever her skill is active? Since it has a 30-second duration and 20-second cooldown, you can virtually walk on water forever. Cue all the videos of players walking from Liyue to Inazuma.
Need a Dendro healer AND shielder? Get Baizhu
As the game’s first 5-star Dendro healer, Baizhu is a worthwhile pick for the defensive utility and versatility he will bring to your Dendro teams. Not only does he provide reliable healing with his skill, he can also summon a shield with his ultimate and boost the damage dealt by Dendro-related elemental reactions.
Baizhu’s skill summons attacks nearby enemies and then heals his teammates after dealing 3 attacks or if there are no enemies nearby. Thanks to its 10-second cooldown, you can use this skill at the beginning and end of your rotation to make sure your party remains healthy throughout a battle.
Baizhu’s burst provides a shield, healing, and off-field Dendro application when used. It generates a new shield every 2.5 seconds, heals the active character, and deals Dendro damage to nearby enemies to help drive elemental reactions.
On top of all that defensive utility, Baizhu also helps the team offensively by boosting the damage of all Dendro-related elemental reactions based on his Max HP thanks to his A4 passive.
Baizhu will be a great addition to any Dendro team thanks to his ability to consolidate all defensive utility in one character, allowing you to run more offense-oriented characters in your party.
For example, a Hyperbloom Alhaitham team typically includes the likes of Kuki Shinobu or Sangonomiya Kokomi to provide healing at the expense of some damage. With Baizhu on the squad instead, you can run more offensive supports like Fischl or Yelan for more firepower.
And while Baizhu will generally remain off-field, he can also be a good on-field driver for reactions as his normal attacks deal Dendro DMG — he is a catalyst user, after all.
Baizhu is very easy to build too as his entire kit scales of his Max HP. He can carry the 4-piece Deepwood Memories artifact set to help boost the party’s damage while stacking as much HP as possible to boost his healing and shielding capabilities.
Baizhu will be especially useful as part of Furina teams, as his constant healing will offset the HP drain from her skill while also unlocking the ability to make use of the powerful Dendro reactions.
Genshin Impact version version 4.2 will be released on 8 November. For more details on what's to come in this new update, check out the full preview livestream here.
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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