The latest Genshin Impact patch, 3.1, added a new 5 star electro character to the roster. So, is he worth pulling for? I’ve been building him and playing him to find out. We’ll start with the basics. Cyno is a limited 5 star character whose banner will end on 14th October. He is an electro, main DPS, who has a very long elemental burst. This means that he requires a lot of field time, as you can’t swap him out during his burst or it will go to waste.
As with most electro characters, Cyno depends on elemental reactions to produce his best DPS with cryo, pyro, hydro or dendro. Because of his long burst, you really need supporting characters who can continuously apply their elemental effects while out of the field, which severely restricts the roster of characters he works effectively with. His best reaction is hyperbloom caused by mixing dendro, hydro and electro. With only three dendro characters currently out, there is not yet a dendro character that can make the most of his long burst time which makes his effectiveness hard to fully evaluate.
When it comes to building Cyno, its worth warning you that his ascension material, scarabs, are hard to collect. They are very spread out across the new desert region and many are locked underground behind a long world quest chain. They also don’t shine, so are hard to spot. It took me many hours just to collect enough to get him to level 80. I dread gathering enough for the final ascension.
In terms of artifacts, he isn’t too hard to gear up. There are two sets he can use, the new Gilded Dreams set released in 3.0 or the Thundering Fury set. The Thundering Fury set can now be swapped for at a crafting table. If you have a lot of unwanted 5 star artifacts, this could be the fastest route to get a full set. As most guides agree gilded dreams is his best option, I took the time to farm it for him. He is also quite flexible in terms of weapons. There are quite a few 5 star and 4 star polearms that he can use. So if you get him, you will most likely already have a suitable weapon for him. I gave him the Battle Pass, 4 star polearm.
As a conclusion, while I love Cyno’s look and enjoy his playstyle, he isn’t, at the moment, a meta character. He will be a good upgrade for any players with only 4 star electro characters, but with Raiden rumoured to be coming back for a rerun soon, you might be better saving your wishes for her. Cyno might be best pulled on in a future banner, when some dendro supports which are better suited for his playstyle have been released. However, he is not weak, by any means, and does seem to have potential for future growth.
If you like his character or playstyle and are willing to go to the effort of building him and a suitable support team then go for it. While many players pull only with meta in mind, I feel that having a team of characters that you like and enjoy playing is more important. I would encourage everyone to give him a try through his trial event. If you like him and can afford the wishes, pull him. If you don’t or if you think your wishes are better spent on a future banner then don’t. The choice is yours.
