Razor is 4-Star Electro Claymore character from Mondstadt. In addition to the gacha, he can be obtained with Masterless Starglitter in “Paimon’s Bargains” during the months of March and September. A selfish carry, Razor specializes in dealing Physical DMG against his opponents.
Razor’s Elemental Skill, “Claw and Thunder” has him strike his opponent with Electro DMG. While it does serve as a means to use Superconduct, this Skill does have some additional utility depending on your input. If you press the Skill button, a successful strike will net Razor an Electro Sigil, which increases his Energy Recharge. Up to 3 sigils can be obtained and gaining a new one will refresh their duration. Holding the Skill button allows Razor to strike in an AoE and doing so will also convert any Electro Sigils in his possession into Energy. Each Energy Sigil gives Razor 20% Energy Recharge when in its possession and 5 Energy when they are sacrificed by the Hold version of his Skill. With all three Sigils, Razor can either gain 60% Energy Recharge or 15 Flat Energy. Razor’s Elemental Burst costs 80 Energy so either effect is much appreciated.
Which version of Razor’s Elemental Skill you use depends on the situation and your own judgment. The Press version is better in a prolonged fight and/or if you’re able to generate a lot of particles. The Hold version is better against mobs and/or if you need an immediate Energy gain. One situation I can think of where you actively want to avoid the Hold version is if you have the Pale Flame Artifact set equipped on Razor. Pale Flame’s 4-Piece effect gives a 7 second 9% ATK buff after a successful hit with a Skill. At a maximum of two stacks, both the ATK buff and the 2-Piece effect’s 25% Physical DMG Bonus gets doubled. With Razor’s A1 passive, the Press version of his Skill cools down in 4.92 seconds while the Hold version cools down in 8.2 seconds. Razor can easily maintain the full effects of Pale Flame with the Press version but he risks losing a stack if he uses the Hold version. To comfortably use the latter while equipped with Pale Flame, he would have to take advantage of his A1 passive which, in addition to the cooldown reductions, resets his Skill cooldown when he casts his Elemental Burst.
The Hold version of Razor’s Elemental Skill is also useful outside of combat as it is capable of instantly breaking ore in an AoE. If you find yourself frequently farming ore in the open world, it may be worth putting Razor in your team as his Skill does cut down on the monotony. He is the second character for mining after Zhongli and being obtainable in the shop makes him the most F2P-friendly miner available to Genshin players.
When Razor casts his Elemental Burst, “Lightning Fang”, he summons the Wolf Within. This familiar converts Razor’s Electro Sigils to flat Energy, in similar fashion to the Hold version of his Skill, and will then deal Electro attacks in coordination with Razor’s Normal Attacks. Razor meanwhile has his Charged Attacks disabled and receives various effects. He gains a buff to his ATK SPD, Electro RES, and resistance to interruption as well as immunity to Electro-Charged’s bonus DMG. All of these effects lasts for 15 seconds but they will immediately disappear if Razor leaves the field, hence why he’s considered a selfish unit.
As you can imagine, Razor ideally wants to use his Burst in order to maximize his DPS. The ATK SPD buff allows him to perform his Normal Attack combos at a much faster pace and the increased resistance to interruption allows him to better tank through enemy aggression and continue attacking. While Electro DMG isn’t too valuable for Razor, the Wolf Within’s coordinated attacks will ensure that enemies are constantly afflicted with Superconduct. The only thing this Burst doesn’t do is directly buff Razor’s stats. It would’ve been nice but perhaps miHoYo thought that would’ve been too overpowered for him.
Since Razor is a Physical DPS unit, it is all but essential that he’d be paired with a Cryo unit so that he has access to Superconduct. This Elemental Reaction inflicts a 40% Physical RES debuff onto enemies, thus making it the main Reaction for Physical DPS units to be concerned with. For a Cryo support, the two best candidates are Diona and Rosaria. Diona is the more versatile of the two, being both a shielder and a healer. Rosaria is a more offensive option as she can provide a CRIT Rate buff after she casts her Elemental Burst. At C6, she can also provide a Physical RES debuff. If you’re super new to Genshin, Kaeya is also not a bad character to consider. His Elemental Burst can be used in tandem with Razor’s for frequent Superconduct procs. You also don’t have to worry about positioning as it’ll follow your active character throughout its duration.
While Razor’s Energy needs are largely covered by his Elemental Skill, it may still be worth pairing him with another Electro unit who can act as battery. Thing is, Razor’s Skill does not generate particles while his Burst is active so it may help to have someone who can funnel him Energy during that period. For a battery, I recommend Fischl. Not only does her Skill spawn particles at an even pace, it also attacks off field and therefore won’t conflict with Razor’s greed for field time. The Raiden Shogun may seem appealing as a more premium alternative but I don’t recommend pairing her with Razor. She does have similar particle generation as Fischl and she does provide flat Energy. However, her Elemental Burst will compete with Razor’s for field time and Raiden is also capable of carrying a team on her own.
For Constellations, I recommend getting Razor to C4. His fourth Constellation adds a 7 second 15% DEF debuff to the Press version of his Skill. DEF debuffs are hard to come by and they scale much more compared to RES debuffs, making it a very valuable asset for Razor’s DPS. C1 also gives a early boost to Razor’s DPS by increasing his DMG by 10% for 8 seconds every time he picks up an Energy particle. Given his selfish nature, making sure Razor is picking up a particle shouldn’t be an issue. If paired with Fischl, it’s extremely easy to maintain this Constellation’s effect. Once you reach C4, I wouldn’t worry about getting Razor’s C6. For every 10 seconds, it charges Razor’s Claymore with Electro energy that’ll inflict an extra Electro attack upon hit. It’ll also grant him an Electro Sigil provided that he is not using his Elemental Burst. It can be helpful but it is generally tricky to coordinate with in a rotation.
Genshin newcomers will find plenty to like with Razor, with his straightforward and aggressive playstyle and his penchant for Physical DMG, which no enemy is immune to. However, I am forced to admit that he currently does not rank as one of the game’s best carries. Part of that is him being a 4-Star character. Another part is that, in most cases, Physical DMG is frankly outclassed by Elemental DMG and Reactions. A substantial amount of work would be needed in order for him to tackle the endgame. Rather than use Starglitter to get yourself a Razor, consider saving them for Bennett and Xingqiu. And if you are looking for a carry, you should consider Xiangling, who is given out to all players entirely for free.
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