Is Sara better than Fischl? New 4-star character analysis
Last Updated on: 3rd September 2021, 03:16 pm
A loyal follower of the Raiden Shogun, Kujou Sara arrived in the 2.1 update, “Floating World Under the Moonlight” featured in Baal’s own banner as one of the rate-up 4-stars. She brings the storm’s might over her enemies, overpowering them with her Electro abilities.
Being a new 4-star character, a lot of speculation has been made around her. From possible builds, weapons, and team comps, one of the main subjects is her similarities with a certain Prinzessin der Verurteilung.
Her character tier, element, and weapon match Fischl’s completely. Sara’s Burst even reveals her Tengu wings, just like Fischl spreads Oz’s wings during her own Burst.
Being the newest character and having more supportive abilities, does that mean that Sara is better than Fischl?
General overview
Kujou Sara is an Electro Bow user who screams “support” in every way. Her base stats are not impressive in any way and, in fact, her base attack is one of the lowest of all characters in the game.
She’s not very tanky either, having the average defensive status for a bow user. At least Sara has more defense than Fischl, so she’s a little better at surviving.
This does not mean she’s weak in any way, only that she’s more suited for a supportive role than the main DPS.
Bennett is a good example, having an even lower base attack than Sara at lv 90 (191) and still being the best buffer in the game.
But she gets extra ATK for ascending (guess what? Fischl also does that), making her supportive abilities more effective, since her gameplay is centered around buffing her teammates and quick swapping.
READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.1: Kujou Sara Character Demo trailer
With all that said, this article does not intend to stop anyone from building her as a main DPS if desired.
Videos featuring characters like Barbara one-shotting bosses are pretty common, so every character has the potential to be powerful. It all depends on the user’s will (and RNG on artifacts).
Elemental Skill and Burst
Her Elemental Skill is Tengu Stormcall. By quickly dashing backward, she enters an empowered state called Crowfeather Cover. The indicator is her glowing hand, and the state end whenever she fires an Aimed Shot.
The shot will leave a feather in the ground, which deals damage after a few seconds and buffs the Atk of all characters inside its AoE based on Sara’s own base attack.
The necessity of hitting the Aimed Shot is problematic since she gets a little bit clunky, but as she levels and gets Constellations, it will be easier to get this buff out. She can also buff herself if you want to unleash her Burst right after her Skill.
This skill can be used for repositioning much like Ganyu and Mona’s Elemental Skills, but without the taunt effect.
The problem is that, currently, the teleport is quite inconsistent, and it may not move you at all. You can use the buff, though.
For some more explanation, this quick visual guide from Dimbreath can help you understand how the skill works.
Her Elemental Burst is Subjugation: Kokou Sendou. Revealing her hidden Tengu wings, she smites her opponents in a mighty thunderstorm. After the first strike, multiple claps of thunder will spread across the initial point.
This skill will also trigger her Atk buff for the active character. This means that if you’re having trouble with shooting to get the buff, just swap to her, use your Burst and go back to your main DPS.
The buff is the same as her Skill, so getting in the AoE twice will only refresh it, not stack it.
The damage is quite high and Constellations make it even stronger, but if you want to use Sara for her buffs, focus on leveling her Elemental Skill Talents first.
With a high 80 Energy cost, it might be hard to use it without some good investment in ER. But luckily, she’s featured in the same banner as the Raiden Shogun, AKA the new best energy battery in Genshin Impact, which instantly solves this problem.
Passive Talents
Her field passive is just like Fischl and Bennett’s passive, but Sara is the first one to have it in Inazuma, and that’s not exactly better, since Inazuma’s explorations are kinda lackluster.
Her 1st Ascension talent helps her to get the Aimed Shot out quicker. Pretty efficient, but having to aim may still be quite clunky.
Her 4th Ascension talent makes another nod to an ER-focused build. While it is not 100% required, it can be quite helpful since she’ll help her team out even more.
Constellations
If you’ve been hoarding your Primogems for Baal, you might end up with some upgrades to base Kujou Sara. And boy, those are some good upgrades.
Her most important Constellations are C2 and C6, but C4 is also a strong contender.
As seen in the video above, her C2 will allow her to buff allies without needing to aim.
C6 is a distant dream for F2P or low spenders, but possible in the long run. It turns Sara into the definitive partner for any Electro main DPS. Keqing becomes insanely strong with it, and the possibilities with the Raiden Shogun are amazing.
If rolling for her, it is strongly advised to try to get at least C2, since it will help Sara do more damage and stronger quick swaps.
Builds
Kujou Sara has many build options depending on which will be her role in your team. The standard support set would be Noblesse Obliged since it will buff an extra 20% Atk for her team.
But another recommended (and maybe even stronger) option is the new Emblem of Severed Fate set. The Energy Recharge will help her get her Burst out faster, while also boosting its damage.
If you’re already farming it for some other character (since it’s great for many users such as Baal, Mona, and Xingqiu), you might want to try this build and decide personally which suits you better.
Other viable builds include mixing 2 pieces of the Thundering Fury set and 2 pieces of Gladiator/Shimenawa/Noblesse set, focusing on more offensive power.
Aim for some Energy Recharge and Critical stats, since she can do some nasty damage with her Burst. Pure Atk is always good but not needed, since her buff scales off her base Atk, which is not affected by artifacts.
For the reasons stated above, it is almost mandatory to use an Atk bow in order to have a stronger buff. With that said, Prototype Crescent is a good call for her, since you’ll be firing some aimed shots.
READ MORE: Is Sayu a good healer? Genshin Impact 2.0 new 4-star character
Other bows such as Hamayumi and Rust may also work as a stat stick since their passives are not that great for her. Energy Recharge bows are also good but will give you a weaker buff, which may not be perfect.
Her best-in-slot is probably the Alley Hunter bow, but since it’s limited, it’s hard to get across it these days.
If you want to go for more offensive builds, 5-star bows such as Skyward Harp and Amos’ are great calls (especially Amos), but they might be better used on different characters.
If you’re aiming for off-meta, try out a physical build with 2/2 sets of +18% Atk bonus and 25% physical damage bonus. Pale Flame is the definitive set for physical DPS, but Sara cannot activate its 4-piece bonus unless she has C2.
TLDR; Is Sara better than Fischl?
As a support, yes. As a sub DPS, not even close. While Sara has good potential, she’s more of a niche character. Here’s why:
Supports are different from sub DPS, and Fischl falls in the second category. Thus, it is impossible to actually compare both characters, since they’re from different roles. You cannot compare Qiqi with Diluc, for example, since they do different jobs.
Both roles are similar, but Supports are focused on buffing your team in some way (Bennett and Sucrose fall in this category). A sub DPS is a character who does high damage but is not the main carry (Xingqiu and Fischl are great examples).
While there are strong characters who can be considered both (such as Mona, Venti, and Xiangling), this is not the case with any of the Electro bow girls.
Sara is better than Fischl when you need to buff another character to do the job. Fischl is better than Sara when you need some extra damage or reactions to defeat your enemies.
Also, Fischl’s own damage is great, especially with C6 when Oz becomes a literal machine gun. Her builds are usually focused on dealing high amounts of damage or creating reactions, making use of her 4th Ascension talent.
Nothing stops you from using both on the same team, which may not be a bad idea. They will constantly generate more energy for each other, and the Electro Resonance helps to do the same for the rest of your team.
But the main issue for Sara is her clunkiness. Even with constellations, her gameplay feels kinda out of place. You have to do quick swaps nonstop for her to be efficient, and still, it may not be enough.
In this aspect, Fischl is way better than Sara since is easier to use Oz and do direct damage. For her buff, Bennett can do the same while also healing your team.
She may not fit every composition but can be a good substitute for Bennett if you’re using him on a separate team. Otherwise, she may not be the best character to rely on for carrying your team.
Genshin Impact is finally on its 2.1 version, “Floating World Under the Moonlight”, featuring the conclusion of the Archon Quests in Inazuma, a new Weekly Boss, new World Bosses, new characters, and two new areas for exploration.
You can play the game for free on mobile devices (Android and iOS), Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Pc on both miHoYo’s official launcher and Epic Games Store. A Nintendo Switch version is stated to be in development.
