by Shenhe is a very interesting 5-star character from Genshin Impact since, summing up a lot, his main function is to provide great support (through damage increases and others), especially Cryo Element characters.
We already have characters with similar roles, such as Kujou Sara for Electro or Gorou for Geo. However, Shenhe is the first character of this style who is also a 5-star character.
Additionally, Shenhe is very versatile and while she is more geared towards being a Support DPS alongside a Cryo Main DPS, she can also be viable as a Main DPS herself (since she is Cryo after all). Either way, I’ll show you both builds in this post, but let’s take a full look at the character first as usual.
WEAPON AND ELEMENT OF SHENHE
Shenhe carries a Spear and this is already a point in favor because it seems to me one of the best weapons in the game (especially in the face of being a Main DPS). But leaving that aside, there are many very powerful spears in the game and that is something that is appreciated.
His element is Cryo, which frankly is one of my favorites and without a doubt one of the most powerful, but this one in particular is very good for its good Elemental Reactions and for the brutal combos that we can perform thanks to Winter Drifter and his Elemental Consonance ( without discrediting physicists like Eula).
SHENHE STATS
Shenhe ‘s stats are quite good despite what it may seem at first glance:
- Base Health: 12,993
- Base Attack: 304
- Base Defense: 830
- Attack %: 28.8%
In terms of his defensive section (although it is not our priority) he is very good in both Life and Defense; He is not a paper character at all, as Ganyu is, for example.
And speaking of the offense that is what interests us, it must be said that although his Base Attack is not low at all… it is true that it is somewhat low especially if we compare him with many Main DPS such as Eula, Diluc , Shogun Raiden or Xiao … to name a few examples. But that being said, it’s still pretty cool.
As a characteristic or ascension attribute we have the Attack % which a priori may seem like this is horrible since we are used to 5-star characters having attributes that are generally more interesting such as Critical or Damage Bonus, but you will see that in fact, Attack % is the best Shenhe can have since it will benefit her team (and herself) more the more Attack she has.
TALENTS OR SKILLS
Let’s see your talents or abilities.
NORMAL ATTACK: STARPIERCER
The typical, there is nothing special:
- Normal Attack: A combo of 5 quick hits with the spear. In the fourth movement of the combo we will hit 2 times in a row. Deals physical damage.
- Charged Attack: A more powerful attack that will deal Cryo damage.
- Descending Attack: Air attack with which we will hit the ground causing quite high physical damage.
ELEMENTAL ABILITY: EXORCISING SPIRIT
- TdE: 10 sec.
- TdE hold: 15 s.
- Duration: 10 sec.
- Hold Duration: 15s.
This is where we start to see her Support DPS component for Cryo characters (which includes herself, of course).
With the Elemental Skill we will perform a kind of charge causing Cryo Damage or we will cause area damage if we keep the skill pressed. But the really important thing here is that we will activate the effect of «Glacial Feather», it will increase the damage of the Cryo hits caused by her or her team based on her Total Attack during the stipulated time (10 s normal and 15 s if you keep the ability).
At level 7, for example, it would be an increase equal to 68.48% of his Attack. Come on, if we have 2000 Attack, it will increase the damage of our attacks (only if they are Cryo) by 1369 points; the crit is applied afterwards as usual.
The catch is that this won’t be infinite, in addition to the time that Glacial Feather is active, we also have some charges that will be consumed with Cryo Damage hits. Specifically 5 if we activate the Elemental Skill normally or 7 if we do it by keeping it pressed. Companions will also take advantage of this buff.
ULTI: ENCHANTMENT OF THE DIVINE DAMSEL
- Energy Cost: 80.
- TdE: 12 sec.
- Duration: 20s.
We will deal Cryo damage in an area and create a field on the ground that will deal Cryo damage to enemies in the area for 12 seconds. The damage is not huge, but since it will hit many times, it will end up being relevant (and more if we apply the Elemental Skill buff).
In addition to this, it will also reduce the Cryo and Physical resistance (by 12% at Talent level 7) of enemies in the area.
PASSIVE 1: DIVINE PRECEPT
Increases the Cryo Damage Bonus of characters on your team who are in the area of the Ulti by 15%. It’s very good, the truth is, it brings more and more to the Cryo characters.
PASSIVE 2: SEAL OF SPIRITUAL CONVERGENCE
Brutal because again it allows us to buff even more. By using the Elemental Skill normally, we will increase the damage of Elemental Skills and Ulti of our group by 15% for 10 s. If instead, we keep the skill pressed, what we will enhance (also 15%) will be the Normal, Charged and Descending Attacks; but for 15 seconds.
There you decide what you prefer to enhance , it will also depend a lot on your composition and others.
PASSIVE 3: TIMELY ARRIVAL
Increases by 25% the rewards that we will obtain in Liyue’s 20h expeditions. Not bad because it is something that we can take advantage of on a daily basis, do as many as you can in Liyue if you have it.
CONSTELLATIONS
This is what we will get through the Shenhe Constellations:
- C1 – Pure Heart : You will be able to cast the Elemental Skill 2 times. Brutal not only because of the damage increase, but because we can do it maintained and also without maintaining it to obtain all the hit buffs.
- C2 – Spiritual Concentration : Brutal too. The area of the Ulti will last 6 seconds more (you can practically have it permanently) and on top of that, it will increase the Critical Damage of Cryo attacks to characters that are in the area by 15%.
- C3 – Reclusion : Increases Elemental Skill by 3 levels, can be increased up to 15 levels.
- C4 – Clairvoyance : So far all very good! With this we will be generating new charges for Shenhe every time someone gets the damage bonus with the charges of the Elemental Skill. When we perform the Elemental Skill, it will increase its damage by 5% for each of these new charges that Shenhe has. Better take advantage of it with the charged Elemental that is area damage.
- C5 – Divinization : Increases Ulti by 3 levels, can be increased up to 15 levels.
- C6 – Mystic Abandon : And this is when we can support the Main DPS as a god, be it her or another Cryo character. And it is that the Normal and Charged Attacks will not consume the charges of the Feather that buffs with the Elemental Ability, so only the Elemental Abilities and the Ulti will consume the charges (which, as they are more occasional, since the buff based on in the Shenhe Attack).
He seems to me to be a tremendous character already from the series and on top of that he is the typical one who improves a lot with each Constellation… be careful in C6, because cloth; If you’re a whale, it’s not a bad character to add constellations to.
THE BEST BUILD FOR SHENHE (SUPPORT DPS)
We will focus it purely on support for teams where the Main DPS is Cryo (those that do a lot of Cryo damage like Ganyu or Ayaka , in physical ones like Eula it doesn’t spread as much).
BEST WEAPONS FOR SHENHE
These are the weapons that I recommend for Shenhe:
- Disaster Peacemaker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: It’s her weapon, she couldn’t miss it. It has a very high Base Attack, which will come in handy; It will also increase Attack % both as a secondary stat and in its effects and will also give us some Elemental Damage Bonus. And be careful because one of its effects is that it gets more Attack % when it is out of the field.
- Homa Staff ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: We all know very well that Homa is a god and that practically any character can take advantage of it in a fantastic way. Good Base Attack, a lot of Critical Damage, an increase in Life and more Attack the more Life we have (that Attack is great for us). If you have it in Hu Tao or Zhongli , don’t take it away, of course; but it is a very good option. Jade Falcon is another interesting option.
- Lytic Spear ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Especially interesting if we go with several Liyue characters in the team (something not strange because it is a good idea to take it with Ganyu and Xingchiu ) since it will give us a lot of Attack % and Critical Chance.
- Spear of Favonius ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Interesting to add an extra component of Support, generating more elemental particles for the group. The Energy Recharge will also come in handy because his Ulti has a very high cost.
Other % Attack spears will also come in handy.
BEST ARTIFACTS
As for stats on artifacts:
- Helmet or Crown : Attack %.
- Clock : Attack % or Energy Recharge. Attack % if you don’t have Reload on your weapon, otherwise Reload.
- Chalice : Attack %.
It may sound weird, but in the end what we are most interested in is increasing the damage caused by our Main DPS Cryo and that is how we will achieve it. We will lose damage with Shenhe (for not having Critical, Cryo Damage Bonus… etc), but the Main DPS will win a lot and in the end he is the one who has to distribute the good cakes.
Substats you are looking for:
- Priority: Critical Chance, Critical Damage, Attack %, and Energy Recharge.
- No Priority: Attack.
And as for the Artifact Set :
- Ancient Ritual of the Nobility :
- 2 Pieces: +20% damage with the Ulti.
- 4 Pieces: After casting the Ulti all your team gets +20% Attack for 12 seconds.
We mainly want it for that 20% Attack boost to our sync pairs (and ourselves) to further boost their damage. That extra 20% Attack will also increase the bonus we give to Cryo attacks.
BUILD FOR SHENHE MAIN DPS
In this build we will focus on making her Main DPS , a role that she can also fulfill (although I prefer her as Support DPS) since the idea will be to boost ourselves and have our teammates support us. We will be a Main DPS somewhat similar to Shogun Raiden in the sense that we will be both a Main DPS and also a Support DPS.
BEST WEAPONS FOR SHENHE
I recommend the same weapons as in the Support DPS build except Favonius’ Spear, which being Main DPS is quite meh. Other spears like the one from the Dark Rock will also be phenomenal (Critical Damage and on top of that good Attack bonuses if we are defeating enemies, something more common in a Main DPS).
BEST ARTIFACTS
As for stats on artifacts:
- Helmet or Crown : Critical Damage.
- Clock : Attack %.
- Chalice : Bonus Cryo Damage.
Substats you are looking for:
- Priority: Critical Chance, Critical Damage, Attack %, and Energy Recharge.
- No Priority: Attack.
And as for the Artifact Set :
- Winter Wanderer :
- 2 Pieces : +15% Cryo Damage Bonus.
- 4 Pieces : +20% Critical Chance against enemies affected by Cryo and an additional 20% against frozen enemies.
This choice may be strange since we can’t imbue the weapon in Cryo… or can we? Now let’s go to that.
BEST TEAMMATES
And to finish this Build, we go with the recommended equipment (adapt it to your liking):
- Chongyun : Essential because it will allow us to imbue Shenhe’s weapon in Cryo thanks to his Elemental Ability.
- Xingchiu : Mainly to passively apply Hydro thanks to his Ulti and freeze enemies. Obviously it brings much more like a lot of energy, a lot of damage, damage reduction, resistance to interruption… what can I tell you at this point, it’s god.
- Sayu / Jean : We will need a healer and if it is brutal Anemo to reduce resistance to Cryo and thus greatly increase our damage, much better.
Zhongli could take 4th as well, between his shield and freezes you shouldn’t worry about health. His shield also lowers resistances (less than Anemo, but lowers them), with Geoarmed it will increase our Attack more… etc.
ASCENSION MATERIALS AND TALENT BOOKS
We will need the following materials to upgrade you:
- Jade Shivada and Pseudofin Dragon of the Deep (Deep Dragon Pack ).
- Chingxin flower .
- Megaflora materials.
And as for Talent Books and others:
- Prosperity Books.
- Megaflora materials.
- Hellfire Butterfly ( Signora ).
