Shikanoin Heizou dashes into Genshin Impact version 2.8 as part of Kazuha‘s banner. Should you pull for Shikanoin Heizou in Genshin Impact? Is he worth it?

Shikanoin Heizou’s kicks and strikes might just be one of the coolest move sets in Genshin Impact, and he’s finally here to show players what he’s really made of. He is a swift catalyst-user bearing an Anemo Vision, making him the male counterpart of Sucrose. However, he’s nowhere as close to Sucrose’s play style, and he’s better suited for the active butt-blasting combat he excels at.

In this article, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the character, and whether he’s worth pulling for.

Why Shikanoin Heizou is Worth It

Shikanoin Heizou is quite unique for an Anemo character, as he plays more similarly to Xiao than to Sucrose, despite sharing the same archetype with the latter. Most of his attacks and abilities are close-ranged but inflict heavier staggers—which is uncommon for many catalyst users. If you’re skilled enough with him, you can even infinitely juggle a lightweight enemy in the air, much like an unbalanced fighting game.

Heizou’s biggest strength is his low-cooldown abilities, making him a very powerful Elemental Reaction driver. Sucrose might still be stronger in this regard, but a C0 Heizou is not that far behind. Stringing together a good sequence of Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, Elemental Skills, and Elemental Bursts, allows him to bypass his Normal Attack ICD and thus create reactions frequently.

Here are more reasons why Shikanoin Heizou is worth pulling:

  1. You like Heizou’s gameplay and/or design.
  2. You want to try a completely unique play style.
  3. You need more good Anemo characters in your roster.

Why Heizou isn’t Worth It

Truth be told, he doesn’t really add much to a veteran player’s account, unlike the other recently released 4-star characters (Shinobu, Gorou, Sara). Sucrose is still in his way at being the premier reaction driver, while she even has the advantage of providing huge amounts of EM for the team. 

Heizou also doesn’t help new players, since he only performs well once you fill in three other well-built characters that synergize with him. He’s also a lot harder to play than Anemo Traveler, who is free and can get full constellations after doing the story. 

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Here are more reasons why Shikanoin Heizou is not worth your Primogems:

  1. You don’t like Heizou’s gameplay and/or design.
  2. You might risk breaking your pity counter for the next 5-star that you want.
  3. You already have too many Anemo characters. 
  4. You don’t want to invest into many characters that Heizou can support, which will be necessary for endgame content.

Conclusion

Heizou might not be shaking the meta any time soon, but he’s still an incredibly enjoyable character to play, especially if you want to try a brawler-type fighter who can keep smacking foes. If tossing enemies into the air is your thing, then you might want to try this one for sure. In case you do end up playing as Shikanoin Heizou, then you can check out our build suggestions in our Shikanoin Heizou guide here.