Genshin Impactupdate 2.8 introduced a new character from Inazuma — Shikanoin Heizou. And for a 4-Star character, he’s getting plenty of love from the community. Since his release, there have been plenty of videos cropping up showcasing his massive damage output. All in all, his character is a step in the right direction in terms of the game’s combat variety.
Heizou ofGenshin Impactis an Anemo Catalyst user. He is the first male character that uses a Catalyst in combat, though his playstyle is vastly different from past Catalyst characters. This is because he’s a martial artist, unlike the rest of the Catalyst users who are spellcasters.
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Shikanoin Heizou of Genshin Impact
Heizou is anInazuma-basedGenshin Impactcharacterand the best detective of the Tenryou Commission. Upon the release of his character demo, plenty ofGenshin Impactplayers were excited to try him out as the video showcased a new type of playstyle. Despite being a Catalyst user, Heizou’s attack pattern consisted of a flurry of kicks and punches in rapid succession.
WhenGenshin Impactversion 2.8finally came out, players were quick to pull for the Heizou, building him to a playable state. And many have found him to be a viable DPS, which is surprising considering he’s a 4-Star. He attacks much quicker than traditional Catalyst users. Plus, his Elemental Skill can do massive damage with the right build and timing.
Granted, Heizou is far from a perfect character. His attacks are quick, but they tend to push enemies away, forcing the player to dash after them. And while his Elemental Skill is powerful, it requires all four stacks to do the best damage. Otherwise, it’s not as useful. He’s also a 4-Star character, which means his stats simply won’t scale as well when compared to the5-Star characters inGenshin Impact.
The Problem with Genshin Impact’s Catalysts
Still, Heizou is a breath of fresh air toGenshin Impact’scharacter roster, especially for the Catalyst lineup.Catalyst users inGenshin Impactare often seen as the least appealing, primarily due to their traditional playstyle. The attack system is clunky at best because players have no way of targeting a specific enemy. The same problem can be said about Bow-users, but at least those character types have aimed Charged Attacks. Plus, their Normal Attack animations aren’t as slow as Catalyst users.
Catalyst users also draw a lot of flak for their high-cost Charged Attacks. Most require a whopping 50 stamina, which is huge compared to that of other weapon types. And taking into account the clunky targeting system, the attacks might not even land. This is dismal when compared to the usual Claymore Charged Attacks, for example, which use 40 Stamina per second but deal decent damage to any nearby enemies.
However,Genshin ImpactHeizou circumvents all these issuesbecause he’s essentially a melee character labeled a Catalyst. His Charged Attack also costs far less at 20 stamina. Overall, it’s a step in the right direction forGenshin Impact.Heizou is likely a preliminary test for HoYoverse to gauge how the fans would react to a drastic shift in playstyle. And considering his positive reception, the community can probably expect more characters that push the boundaries of weapon types and traditional playstyles.
It’s especially exciting now that plenty of upcoming characters have already been teased. Perhaps theGenshin Impact3.0 characterswill have alternative playstyles. Further down the line, the Fatui Harbingers could have drastically different attack patterns as well. All in all, Heizou could be the start of a new tradition.
Genshin Impactis now available on mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development with no confirmed release date.
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