Background
Shenhe is a 5-star Cryo character from Liyue that wields a polearm. She first appears within the story to help the Traveler rebuild the Jade Chamber.
Shenhe was born to an exorcist couple and lived a happy life. However, after her mother passed, her father attempted to sacrifice her to a god to revive his wife. However, Shenhe survived and managed to defeat the evil god. After the accident, Shenhe believed she was a cursed child and started to have homicidal thoughts. She was taken in by the adepti Cloud Retainer who trained her in the way of the adepti.
Due to her homicidal thoughts, Shenhe often has violent tendencies to eliminate anyone in her way. These thoughts are contained by the red rope she wears, given to her by the adepti to try to control her violent nature. This has caused her to lack emotions and appear indifferent to others.
From many years of living with the adepti, people have assumed that Shenhe is one herself. She feels as if she is unfit to live in human society until she meets the Traveler and begins to trust them.
Fun fact: Chongyun and Shenhe are from the same clan of exorcists. He refers to her as his aunt.
Shenhe Skill Talents
Shenhe is a Cryo support character that can increase your team’s Cryo DMG and debuff the enemy’s Cryo and Physical DEF. Her normal attack doesn’t play any role in her support capabilities.
Shenhe’s normal attack, Dawnstar Piercer, will strike up to 5 consecutive attacks with her polearm. The second attack will deal the least damage with the fifth attack dealing the most. The 4th attack in Shenhe’s attack combo will also hit 2 times. Shenhe’s charged attack will consume stamina to lunge toward the enemy. As a Cryo support, Shenhe won’t be using her normal attack often, as her Icy Quill buff only affects Cryo damage. She will need Chongyun to infuse her normal attack with Cryo with his elemental skill to serve as a Cryo DPS.
Her elemental skill, Spring Spirit Summoning, has a press and hold effect that will deal damage in different ways. The press effect will allow Shenhe to rush forward with her talisman to deal Cryo DMG. The hold effect will deal AoE Cryo DMG. Both effects will apply the Icy Quill effect to nearby party members. The press effect has a cooldown of 10 seconds, while the hold effect has a cooldown of 15 seconds. The duration of the buff will also depend on the press or hold effect. It will be 10 seconds with the press effect and 15 seconds with the hold effect. Since the cooldown and duration of the skill match, the buff can actively be restored right away. However, there is a quota limit of the Icy Quill buff.
The Icy Quill buff will allow the affected characters to deal increased Cryo DMG when they use their normal/charged attack, elemental skill, or burst to hit an enemy. The damage buff is based on Shenhe’s current ATK stat when the damage bonus is triggered. Shenhe’s elemental skill level will also increase the damage bonus she grants. It is not a permanent buff on the character, and will only apply to the damage they dish out. The buff will clear out after the 10 or 15-second ends of the quota limit are reached. Shenhe’s Icy Quill can only trigger 5 or 7 times, depending on if the press or hold effect was used. If Cryo DMG hits multiple enemies, then the buff will be triggered multiple times. Each party member will have their own Icy Quill buff and will have independent quota limits and activations. The buff is great to boost a character’s Cryo DMG, but it can be restricting to use as there is a limit to how many times it can activate. However, Shenhe can easily apply the buff again or you can switch to another character to deal Cryo DMG once the effects clear for one character.
Shenhe’s burst, Divine Maiden’s Deliverance, unleashes her Talisman Spirit to deal Cryo DMG in a wide field effect. It will deal periodic Cryo DMG to enemies in its range and will decrease the Cryo and Physical defenses of enemies inside. It will deal damage to the enemy 12 times over a 12-second duration. Shenhe’s burst works great with her Icy Quill buff to allow her teammates to deal increased Cryo DMG to the enemy. It also comes with a physical defense debuff to aide Physical DPS characters. It has an energy cost of 80 and a 20-second cooldown.
In co-op, Shenhe is best used as a Cryo support character for other Cryo characters. Her Icy Quill only affects Cryo DMG, so she won’t work with other elements. She can also help lower the enemies’ physical defense with her burst.
Shenhe Passive Talents
Shenhe’s ascension talent grants her teammates buffs through her elemental skill and burst. Her passive talent increases the number of materials she gains from 20-hour expeditions in Liyue.
Shenhe’s passive, Precise Comings and Goings, increases the material she collects from expeditions in Liyue. It has no use in combat, but will help you collect more resources. It will also only work for expeditions that last 20 hours.
Her first ascension talent, Deific Embrace, provides a Cryo DMG buff to any active character standing within her burst. This buff only affects Cryo DMG, but will overall boost its damage output when combined with Shenhe’s Cryo RES debuff on the enemy with her element burst.
Shenhe’s ascension 4 talent, Spirit Communion Seal, provides a buff to nearby party members depending on if Shenhe uses the press or hold effect of her elemental skill. The press effect will boost elemental skill and burst damage for 10 seconds, while the hold effect will boost the character’s normal attack damage for 15 seconds. This talent is a great support buff that will provide your characters with extra damage for their skills and attacks. Both her effects also have the same cooldown as the buff’s duration, allowing it to be easily applied again.
Shenhe gets an ATK% bonus based on her ascension rank. This bonus helps increase the buff she provides with her elemental skill.
| Precise Comings and Goings Unlocked Automatically Gains 25% more rewards when dispatched on a Liyue Expedition for 20 hours. |
| Deific Embrace Unlocked at Ascension 1 An active character within the field created by Divine Maiden’s Deliverance gains 15% Cryo DMG Bonus. |
| Spirit Communion Seal Unlocked at Ascension 4 After Shenhe uses Spring Spirit Summoning, she will grant all nearby party members the following effects: Press: Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG increased by 15% for 10s. Hold: Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG increased by 15% for 15s. |
Shenhe Constellations
Shenhe’s constellation offers her and her teammate various buffs through the use of her Icy Quill and burst. However, she does not need her constellations to provide support for your Cryo characters.
At C1: Clarity of Heart, Shenhe can use her elemental skill again after using it the first time. This constellation allows her to activate both her press and hold effect to grant various buffs for her team.
C2: Centered Spirit increases the duration of Shenhe’s burst from 12 seconds to 18 seconds, allowing the burst’s debuff on the enemy to last longer. This constellation will also increase the Cryo critical damage of players within her burst.
C4: Insight will grant Shenhe the ability to gain Skyfrost Mantra stack when her elemental skill Icy Quill damage buff takes effect with any active character. These stacks are consumed when Shenhe uses her elemental skill and will increase the damage it deals based on the number of Skyfrost Mantra stacks consumed. Although the limit is 50 stacks, multiple characters will have to be used to gain all of these stacks due to the quota limit of her Icy Quill effects. This constellation will help boost Shenhe’s elemental skill damage.
At C6: Mystical Abandon, characters who trigger the Icy Quill damage bonus will ignore the quota limit when they use their normal or charged attack. This will allow your characters to use their normal attack without worrying about reaching the limit of the damage bonus. However, the quota will still be applied when a burst or elemental skill is used.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| C1: Clarity of Heart | Spring Spirit Summoning can be used 1 more time. |
| C2: Centered Spirit | Divine Maiden’s Deliverance lasts for 6 seconds longer. Active characters within the skill’s field deals 15% increased Cryo CRIT DMG. |
| C3: Seclusion | Increases the Level of Spring Spirit Summoning by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C4: Insight | When characters under the effect of Icy Quill applied by Shenhe triggers its DMG Bonus effects, Shenhe will gain a Skyfrost Mantra stack: When Shenhe uses Spring Spirit Summoning, she will consume all stacks of Skyfrost Mantra, increasing the DMG of that Spring Spirit Summoning by 5% for each stack consumed. Max 50 stacks. Stacks last for 60s. |
| C5:Divine Attainment | Increase the Level of Divine Maiden’s Deliverance by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C6: Mystical Abandon | When characters trigger Icy Quill’s effects using Normal and Charged Attack DMG, it does not count toward the Trigger Quota. |
Recommended Builds
Cryo Support
The effects of Shenhe’s elemental skill allow nearby party members to gain the Icy Quill buff. This buff will increase the character’s Cryo DMG, but only for a certain amount of hits on the enemy. This bonus scales off both Shenhe’s ATK and the elemental skill talent level. For this build, Shenhe will buff the Cryo DMG of your team. You will want to raise her ATK as high as possible and her elemental skill level. Her burst will also be great to reduce the Cryo RES of the enemy. Shenhe’s normal attack is not needed as her Icy Quill can not boost her physical attack. She will also be playing more of an off-field role in this build.
Shenhe’s skills are centered for a more Cryo-focused team because she will only boost the Cryo DMG of your characters. Both Ayaka and Chongyun will have their damage increased with the effects of Icy Quill. Ayaka will serve as the Main DPS, with Chongyun playing as a sub-DPS who can infuse the party’s attack with Cryo through his elemental skill. His elemental skill can also decrease the enemies’ Cryo RES when they are hit. He can be replaced with Ganyu for extra Cryo DMG. Bennett will heal the team and further buff Ayaka’s DMG. He can also apply Pyro to enemies for Melt damage.
Shenhe’s recommended weapon 5-star Calamity Queller due to its high base arrack and passive ATK stat. Its ability will also help increase Shenhe’s elemental damage and allow her to trigger the Consummation effect for 20 seconds after using her elemental skill. This buff will increase her ATK% every second, up to 6 times. This increase is doubled if Shenne is off the field, further boosting the effects of her elemental skill. Other 5-star weapons like the Engulfing Lightning and Skyward Spine will also work with a Shenhe support build.
For 4-star weapons, the Favonius Lance has a passive in Energy Recharge and allows Shenhe to provide energy for the team when she triggers a critical hit. This will require you to build up her Crit Rate. The Lithic Spear is another viable option, but its passive increase in ATK and Crit Rate requires you to have a whole team of Liyue characters to maximize its effects.
In the early game, use the 3-star Halbard for the extra ATK boost.
Shenhe’s recommended artifact set is a 2-piece Gladiator’s Finale and Shimenawa’s Reminiscence. Both artifact sets will increase Shenhe’s ATK by 18% each. You may also choose a 2-piece Emblem of Severed Fate and one of the ATK boosting sets to increase Shenhe’s energy recharge as well.
Shenhe’s artifact stat should be:
Sands: ATK%
Goblet: ATK%
Circlet: ATK%
Shenhe’s main focus should be to boost her ATK to increase the bonus she provides. Energy Recharge will work to improve the uptime of her burst. Crit Rate and Crit DMG can also work to increase her damage.
Sub-DPS
Shenhe can also play the role of a sub-DPS with her elemental burst that will deal Cryo DMG to enemies in its range and decrease their Cryo and Physical DEF. This build boosts the damage of her burst, but her elemental skill will still be useful to increase the Cryo DMG of the team. Due to Shenhe’s high energy burst, another Cryo character or investment in her Energy Recharge will help improve its uptime.
As a sub-DPS, Shenhe can work in more team compositions that aren’t Cryo focused, but the Cryo RES debuff on enemies will still be helpful to improve the Cryo DMG of your teammates. Her burst also lowers the physical defenses of enemies, so Super Conduct teams can work with a sub-DPS Shenhe. This team focuses on boosting the elemental damage of Ganyu while dealing damage herself with her burst. Shenhe will debuff the enemies’ Cryo RES with her burst and Kazuha will increase Ganyu’s elemental damage. Bennett will heal and buff the ATK of the team. You will want to apply Kazuha’s burst with Pyro to trigger melt damage with Ganyu or Shenhe.
For Shenhe’s weapon, any 5-star weapon will work for Shenhe to boost her overall damage. The 5-star Engulfing Lightning has a passive in Energy Recharge and increases her ATK based on a portion of her Energy Recharge stat. Shenhe will also regain some energy after using her burst.
The Catch is a great weapon to boost Shenhe’s burst crit rate and damage. Its passive in Energy Recharge will help charge her burst. This 4-star weapon is free and only requires trading in fish in Inazuma to unlock. The 4-star Wavebreaker can also be used to increase Shenhe’s ATK. Its passive boosts Shenhe’s burst damage depending on the Energy capacity of her entire team’s burst. The Favonius Lance or Lithic Spear are other options for this build.
Shenhe’s artifact set is a 2-piece Noblesse Oblige and Blizzard Strayer to boost her Cryo and burst DMG. A 2-piece Emblem of Severed Fates and Blizzard Strayer can also work to provide her some additional Energy Recharge.
Shenhe’s artifact stat should be:
Sands: Energy Recharge or ATK%
Goblet: Cryo DMG Bonus%
Circlet: Crit DMG% or Crit Rate%
In the sub-stats, look for Crit DMG, Crit Rate, Energy Recharge, and ATK%.
Recommended Party Members
Ayaka can infuse her normal attack with Cryo when she exits her sprint form. Her burst will also benefit from the damage bonus from Shenhe.
Chongyun can infuse any melee’s character physical attack with Cryo. His burst can also deal massive damage with the help of Shenhe.
Bennett will buff the team and heal with his burst. He can also apply Pyro to enemies.
Kazuha will increase the elemental damage of the team and can easily spread elements around with his burst.
Ganyu is a powerful Cryo DPS that will benefit from Shenhe’s Cryo DMG bonus.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Icy Quill buff scales off her ATK stat | Icy Quill only affects Cryo DMG |
| Burst reduces the enemy’s Cryo and Physical RES and covers a wide area | No use in her normal attack talent |
| Great for Cryo-focused teams | Icy Quill has a quota limit |
Conclusion
Shenhe is a 5-star Cryo support character that is very niche as her skill only boosts the Cryo DMG bonus of your characters. This may leave her team composition very limiting, but she serves as a well-added addition to any Cryo-focused team, allowing their damage output to massively increase. She may also play a role in a Superconduct or physical team through the use of her elemental burst to debuff the enemy’s physical defenses.
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