The first half of Genshin Impact’s Version 3.5 update will bring a new character to the world of Teyvat and have an old one return for players to wish on. The new character that is finally joining the world of Teyvat as a recruitable character is the five-star Pyro Claymore character Dehya and the returning character is the five-star Electro Polearm character Cyno.
Primogems are the most precious currency in Teyvat and they are also the only means of gaining Wishes outside of special events that occasionally grant players a few for free. Because of how costly and difficult Wishes are to obtain, players always want to consider their options carefully before spending them.
Sometimes the two featured characters are easier to compare because they function in similar roles. But most of the time, making the choice between any two Genshin characters is quite difficult because every playable character is unique.
The choice between Dehya and Cyno is an extremely interesting one that also asks players to consider whether either character is even worth wishing on at all.
Is Dehya worth pulling for in Genshin Impact?
Dehya is a rather unique character type in Genshin because she is only the second five-star Pyro Claymore character and the fourth five-star Claymore character overall. Players were originally extremely excited to recruit her when she first appeared in a massive Sumeru leak alongside a full cast of characters from the Dendro region.
The initial excitement for the Pyro character has, however, worn off and has now been replaced with anger and sadness over what has happened to the character. Players have watched her skillset become increasingly nerfed throughout beta tests and are now immensely confused about the Pyro character.
Dehya’s skillset, which was showcased by miHoYo itself during the Version 3.5 special program livestream, seems rather confusing and weak. One moment that has fans particularly upset was when the Pyro Claymore character struggled to vanquish a measly Hydro Slime during the livestream which seems to be a grim indicator of her lackluster skillset.
On top of her skillset appearing to be rather weak, Dehya will also join the standard “Wanderlust Invocation” wish banner once the initial debut run of her “Auric Blaze” banner comes to an end.
This is perhaps the most solid indication of how her abilities perform because the characters on this banner are all significantly less powerful than those that are exclusively available during featured banner runs. All five-star characters within this banner are pretty much on equal footing as decent characters but certainly not the best.
When Dehya originally surfaced as an upcoming playable character, many leaks suggested that she would be a four-star character for quite a long time. Leaks are known for changing, but they are also extremely reliable when it comes to Genshin.
Because of how up in the air Dehya’s star rarity was for so long, which is not something that usually happens which upcoming characters, many players are now wondering if she was actually meant to be a four-star after all but was changed to a lesser five-star fairly late into development.
Her skillset combined with the abundant leaks suggesting that she would be a four-star has players particularly confused, especially since many players have deeply analyzed her abilities and have already noted that certain four-star characters can outperform her in the ways that she is meant to excel.
Is Cyno worth pulling for in Genshin Impact?
Before he was officially released in September 2022, Cyno might have been one of the most highly anticipated characters among the Genshin community. This is because he was among a select group of characters that miHoYo teased way in advance in the “Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail” spoiler video.
Because of how long many players had been waiting to obtain him, players expected truly great things from the Electro character. But when he did finally release, players were mostly disappointed by his abilities.
Cyno’s storyline and unique appearance are certainly intriguing, but his skillset is rather lackluster in comparison to other exclusive five-star characters. It is especially difficult to rationalize wishing on him when Raiden Shogun, another five-star Electro Polearm character, exists and far surpasses his skillset. She is perhaps Genshin’s best character of all time which makes Cyno look immensely weak in comparison.
The Electro character is also only capable of playing one role which is a primary damage-dealing unit. This is not necessarily a bad aspect, but because there are many other characters that can excel in two or more roles, it is certainly worth considering whether you want to spend your hard-earned wishes on a character that will only ever fit one role or instead on a character that can fit in a few roles.
Should you wish for Dehya or Cyno in Genshin Impact?
Making the choice between two powerful five-star characters is always a difficult task. But with the choice between Dehya and Cyno, players will also want to consider not wishing on either.
If you are certain that you want to wish on one of the two and are simply seeking which one is objectively better, your answer is probably Dehya, but only for the potential future of Teyvat. This is because her skillset is rather unique and specific which makes her a tough character to build a team for right now.
Most members of the community, however, believe that players will be able to build a strong team for her when new characters are released because her skillset seems so specifically suited for teammates that do not currently exist in the game. This makes her an investment of sorts as players will struggle to utilize her now but may find that her immensely unique set of abilities functions well with new characters that are released in the future.
If you are looking for a solid primary damage-dealing force that you can build and utilize now, Cyno may be the character for you. He is certainly not one of the best damage-dealing forces in Genshin, but he is still a solid recruit and can perform well with the right team.
Obtaining a powerful five-star is only the first step to ensuring greater success in Genshin. Players also have to consider how well the character will fit into a team, so choosing Dehya, even if she does seem to be better than Cyno, is difficult since she does not really have impressive synergy with other Teyvat characters.
Cyno is easier to create a team for, but his skillset certainly leaves something to be desired. Although he is a featured five-star character, Cyno is not all that impressive. Characters that are permanently obtainable like the five-star Pyro Claymore character Diluc or the five-star Electro Sword character Keqing can easily match his primary damage-dealing skillset.
The standard five-star characters are generally meant to not fully measure up to the featured five-star characters which is why choosing either Dehya, who will become one of these characters, or Cyno, whose skillset matches these characters, is a tough choice. Cyno is exceptionally outperformed by Raiden Shogun while the only character that sort of matches up with Dehya is DIluc who seems to be a stronger or equal match for her.
While Dehya seems to be objectively a better recruit for players to wish on, Cyno is an exclusive character while Dehya will move to the standard “Wanderlust Invocation” banner five-star pool after her first banner run. This makes him much more difficult to obtain than she will be and could perhaps be a reason that players choose to wish on Cyno instead.
But on the other side of this argument, all characters within the standard banner are impossible to directly wish on whereas those that receive featured runs are at least directly obtainable. This means that Dehya’s featured banner run will be the only instance that players can wish on her with absolute certainty that they can eventually get her if they spend enough wishes to do so.
Cyno will receive more featured banner reruns in the future, although his next one will likely be at least six months away. But Dehya will move into a pool where players will never be able to wish directly for her.
There are benefits and drawbacks to wishing on either character, but with this set of banner runs more than any other, players should also strongly consider skipping them altogether. Both characters have more cons than they are worth and there are far more versatile and usable playable characters available for Genshin players to wish on.
Ultimately, unless something about either character truly draws you to them, neither banner is really worth spending your precious Primogems on. You’d be much better off saving for the second half of Version 3.5 when two immensely powerful five-star characters will be receiving a rerun, which is the five-star Cryo Sword character Kamisato Ayaka and the five-star Cryo Polearm character Shenhe.
