Razor might be a four-star character, but — with the right build — he also happens to be one of the most beastly damage-dealers in the game. For F2P players without any super fancy five stars to invest all of their time, tears, and heartstrings into, Razor is a significantly more accessible choice, performs as close to a 5-star as any 4-star could hope to, and is as near a one-size-fits-all DPS as anyone else in the game with his immense physical attack damage scaling.
Oh, and he’s clearly the Zenitsu of Genshin Impact.
Razor is the character for those who prefer to play Genshin Impact as a more straightforward RPG, switching out characters less frequently. He is also one the few characters who can almost make the entire elemental system irrelevant through the sheer amount of physical damage he can output with the right Razor build. Unlike other Elemental-reaction dependant characters, despite being Electro he can just comfortably massacre a group of electro slimes as he is Hydro Slimes.
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Razor Talents
Basic Attack: Steel Fang
Normal Attack
Steel Fang, Razor’s basic attack, is a 4-step combo ranging from 82% (on the second strike) to 136% on the final attack.
Charged Attack
Holding Razor’s Charged attack initiates a continuous AoE spinning-attack that costs 40 stamina per second before concluding with a final, heavy blow.
Plunging Attack
The plunging attack is, as one would expect, a straight-down meteor-strike that deals damage along the way before a final AoE impact.
Elemental Skill: Claw and Thunder
When pressed, Claw and Thunder is a powerful 199% damage strike that deals Electro damage in an AoE in front of Razor. Razor gains an Electro Sigil for each enemy struck (up to a maximum of 3) that increases his Energy recharge rate by 20% for each.
These sigils can be spent by holding the skill-key, unleashing a lightning storm that deals a titanic 295% Electro damage into a small AoE and restoring 5 flat Energy
Elemental Burst: Lightning Fang
Razor’s ult, Lightning Fang, summons his soul companion, The Wolf Within, that strikes enemies in tandem with Razor, dealing Electro damage on top of Razor’s attacks. Activating Lightning Fang gives Razor a 20% attack speed buff and a huge 50% Electro Resist bonus. The entire effect lasts 15 seconds.
Passive Talent 1: Awakening
Ascension 1 unlocks Razors’ first talent, Awakening, which decreases the cooldown of Claw and Thunder by 18% and refreshes it completely whenever he uses Lightning Fang.
Passive Talent 2: Hunger
At ascension 4, Razor unlocks Hunger, an awesome boost to Razor’s overall DPS by way of increased Energy Recharge — giving him a 30% energy boost whenever his energy dips below 50%.
Passive Talent 3: Wolvensprint
Razor’s third passive talent, Wolvensprint, gives the whole party a 20% reduction in the stamina cost of sprinting. This comes in extra handy in the Spiral Abyss, where, at a certain point, tanking shots won’t be an option any longer and you need to move.Â
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Razor Artifact Build
Gladiator’s Finale
Gladiator’s Finale simply ups your base damage for a simple, straightforward DPS buff without any extra mechanics to think about beyond combat itself. If you just want to hit a heck of a lot harder without worrying about any effects to proc or buff stacks to manage, Gladiator’s Finale is the Razor build for you.
Bloodstained Chivalry
Bloodstained Chivalry caters to a very specific playstyle and can pay dividends for those with whom it resonates. With a giant physical damage boost on top of Razor’s pre-existing multiplier and four-piece set bonus that seems made with Razor’s charged attack in mind, you can obliterate an opponent with some absolutely wild AoE.
But it isn’t perfect. While it gives Razor a huge boost to physical attack damage, the four piece-set bonus is directly opposed to the energy-recharge-oriented ult-spamming that many of the other Razor builds are centered around. Because Razor can’t use his charged attack while Lightning Fang is active, you lose that bonus completely. What you get for that trade-off, however, is a mini-nuke in the form of your charged attack.
It’s up to you to decide which way you want to use Razor — as an AoE machine or a straight DPS lumberjack chopping down whatever’s in front of him. He’ll hit like a truck either way.
Gladiator’s/Berserker’s Mix
Source Source
Combining the 2 set bonuses of both Gladiator’s and Berserker’s gives you a 12% boost to crit rate and an 18% attack bonus — nothing to scoff at. It may lack the nuance of other sets, but is great for those who just want to beef up their base stats and leave the rest to straight, real-time combat tactics.
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Razor Best Weapons
For the most part, you’ll want to stay away from a reaction-based Razor build, for despite having a high output of Electro effects, Razor shines for his immense physical damage output and you’ll get much, much bigger bang for your buck when building for crit and straight attack bonuses.
Wolf’s Gravestone
The fancy-pants weapon, a Razor build with Wolf’s Gravestone is designed to simply maximize your damage across the board and finish opponents quickly. There isn’t much nuance to it other than destroy, but in this case that is far from a bad thing. If you’re willing to grind for Wolf’s Gravestone (or Whale-out for it), you really can’t go wrong with the solid power it brings to any Razor build. It also happens to have belonged to Razor’s teacher, Grandmaster Varka, hence the Wolf connection.
Prototype Aminus (4-Star)
Prototype Animus is, the same way Gladiator’s is great for buffing up your damage via base stats, a simple and straightforward way of hitting harder. Attack and a chance to proc an extra 240% damage on-hit every 15s is always good on a DPS character. What it lacks, however, is any synergy with Razor’s more unique characteristics.
Consider pairing Prototype Animus with either straight Gladiator’s or Bloodstained Chivalry.
Serpent Spine (4-Star)
Razor is uniquely positioned to take advantage of Serpent Spine’s unique, classic RPG-Berserker-style bonus more than most other characters due to the simple fact that you won’t be switching him out frequently. With you either building energy recharge for his ult or hulk-smashing when the wolf is out, you’re really only switching out of Razor to set up superconducts or because something went wrong, and Serpent Spine allows you to up your damage and absolutely shred enemies before you — if you have the skills to hit without getting hit, that is.
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Skyrider Greatsword (3-Star)
Almost definitely the best early-game, easy to acquire weapon for Razor, Skyrider’s Greatsword hits all the right notes to synergize perfectly with a solid Razor build. Not only does it function almost like a Serpent Spin-lite with increasing damage stacks that scale nicely with an infrequently switched-out Razor, it also further boosts the physical damage that is his bread and butter. The weapon of choice, early-game, without any doubt whatsoever.
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Razor Gameplay Tips & Team Comp
Razor is Best Friends with Kaeya
Having a Cryo like Kaeya in your party will allow you to proc Superconduct — the only elemental reaction you really need with Razor as your main DPS — to lower the physical defense of your targets, which is a great bonus. Especially when you combine their ults that can turn a battle into proc-city and up the damage big time. But what makes Kaeya specifically synergize well with Razor is his passive, Heart of the Abyss, which provides up to two extra elemental particles from enemies frozen by his Frostgnaw. This goes together with Razor’s in-built elemental recharge bonuses like peanut butter and jelly.
Live for the Knockups
Characters with great hard CC, especially in the form of knock-ups, are like fish in a barrel for Razor due to his uncanny ability to strike airborne foes from the ground. This is because of the unique angle of Razor’s attacks that seem to be diagonal just enough to clip enemies levitating in CC like Venti’s Ult.
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Stick and Move
If you really want to get the most out of Razor, he needs to be out for extended periods of time — hence the specific artifact and weapon recommendations we make in the Razor build above. And part of maining Razor is using him like a light-footed boxer — as a high DPS but somewhat squishy character, whenever Razor’s out it’s time to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Attack, move, stay aware, don’t overextend, and always get that ult up to start hammering enemies as soon as an opening presents itself. It sounds like the basic fundamentals of a real-time combat system, but fluid movement is key with Razor more so than any other character.
Don’t forget to bring out the Wolf in you whenever you’re playing Razor! He’s the Genshin Impact hybrid of Naruto Uzumaki and Zenitsu Agatsuma, and no matter how many stars he has next to his name can hit enemies like a truck with any of the builds above. Feel free to shoot any other questions you have below, we’d love to answer them for you — otherwise check out our Genshin Impact archives for more builds, walkthroughs, guides, and other tips and tricks.
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