Background
Shinobu is a 4-star Electro character from the region of Inazuma. She currently serves as deputy leader of the Arataki Gang and is often getting them out of trouble. The Traveler first meets her during 2.7, where she enters the Chasm with Itto to help Yanfei.
As the deputy leader of the Arataki Gang, it is up to Shinobu to bail the other members out of legal trouble and often has to apologize for the damages the gang had caused. She is the more responsible number of the gang and is often praised by the people of Inazuma for being professional and courteous. Shinobu likes to use physical violence to discipline the members to keep them in line. She wears a mask to hide her face so people will not recognize who she is.
Kuki Shinobu comes from a line of shrine maidens, and it was seen as a great honor to serve the Narukami Shrine. However, Shinobu wanted to forge her own path and set out on various journeys from studying in Liyue to joining the Arataki Gang. She is quite knowledgeable about the laws of both regions of Inazuma and Liyue from her time studying abroad. As a result of leaving her family, Shinobu dislikes going near the shrine and has a rocky relationship with them.
Kuki Shinobu Skill Talents
Shinobu is best used as an off field support to heal the active character and apply Electro to enemies with her elemental skill. She relies on having low health to fully maximize the benefits of her talents.
Shinobu’s normal attack, Shinobu’s Shadowsword, can perform up to 4 strikes with her sword. Her charged attack consumes stamina to unleash 2 sword strikes on the enemy. As an off field support, she will not have any use for her normal attack.
Her elemental skill, Sanctifying Ring, drains 30% of Shinobu’s current HP to deal damage to nearby enemies. This skill can only bring Shinobu down to 20% of her HP, so there is no risk of her dying from this skill. She will also gain the Grass Ring of Sanctification that will follow the active character around. This ring will deal Elector DMG to nearby enemies and heal the active character. It will deal damage 8 times at constellation 0, occurring every 1.5 seconds. The healing scales of Shinobu’s Max HP. The damage of the skill does not slapshot at the time it is activated, and is based on Shinobu’s current stats allowing other characters to buff her afterwords to boost her skill’s damage. At ascension 4, the ring will also gain increased healing and damage based on Shinbou’s Elemental Mastery stat. The healing amount is further increased when Shinobu is in low health with the help of her ascension 2 skill. Shinobu’s elemental skill lasts 12 seconds and has a cooldown of 15 seconds. Overall, her ring is effective in spreading Electro to enemies and can provide healing and decent damage to enemies.
Shinobu’s elemental burst, Gyoei Narukami Kariyama Rite, creates a field to deal Electro damage to enemies in a wide area. The field will last only 2 seconds, but its duration will be extended to 3.5 seconds when her health is 50% or less when it is used. The damage of her burst scales off her Max HP. It has a cooldown of 15 seconds with an energy cost of 60.
Shinobu’s main use in co-op will be to apply Electro to enemies through her elemental skill and burst. Her ring will only heal your active party member and can not heal the entire party. She can also deal damage with her burst, but her normal attack will be lacking if not invested properly.
Kuki Shinobu Passive Talents
Shinobu’s ascension skills increase her healing when she is at half health, and give a buff to her damage and healing based on a portion of her elemental mastery talent.
Kuki Shinobu’s passive talent, Protracted Prayers, allows her to gain more rewards when sent on 20-hour expeditions in Inazuma. This talent will allow you to gain more items on expeditions.
Her 1st ascension talent, Breaking Free, increases Shinobu’s healing bonus when her health is below 50%. This passive will automatically trigger when she is at half health, increasing her overall healing. Shinobu’s elemental skill reduces a portion of her health, allowing this talent to be easily triggered. However, it can be restricting to maintain her health to keep this talent active.
Shinobu’s 4th ascension talent, Heart’s Repose, gives her various effects based on her elemental mastery stat. The higher her EM, the greater the benefits of this talent. These effects will increase her healing amount and damage based on her elemental mastery, making it a great skill to boost her overall damage and healing for the team.
Kuki Shinobu gains a Max HP buff based on her ascension level.
| Protracted Prayers Unlocked Automatically Gains 25% more rewards when dispatched on an Inazuma Expedition for 20 hours. |
| Breaking Free Unlocked at Ascension 1 When Shinobu’s HP is not higher than 50%, her Healing Bonus is increased by 15%. |
| Heart’s Repose Unlocked at Ascension 4 Sanctifying Ring’s abilities will be boosted based on Shinobu’s Elemental Mastery: · Healing amount will be increased by 75% of Elemental Mastery. · DMG dealt is increased by 25% of Elemental Mastery. |
Kuki Shinobu Constellations
Shinobu’s constellation gives her various effects from increasing the duration of her skill to dealing additional damage to enemies.
At C1: To Cloister Compassion, Shinobu’s burst gains more range, allowing it to reach more enemies in a wider area.
C2: To Forsake Fortune increases the duration of Shinobu’s elemental skill effect from 12 seconds to 15 seconds. This will allow it to deal damage and heal 10 times, increasing the amount by 2. This constellation is great to extend the use of her elemental skill.
C4: To Sever Sealing allows the active character affected by Shinobu’s elemental skill effect to mark enemies with Thundergrass Mark when they use a normal, charged, or plunging attack. This mark with hit the position of the enemies and deal AoE damage based on Shinobu’s Max HP. This damage can occur every 5 seconds.
C6: To Ward Weakness allows Shinobu to survive 1 lethal strike every 60 seconds and will automatically trigger when her health reaches one. In addition, Shinobu gains increased elemental mastery when her health drops below 1/4. This effect can occur every 60 seconds. Overall, this constellation increases Shinbou’s survivability in combat, while also giving her an EM boost when she is at 25% HP.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| C1: To Cloister Compassion | Gyoei Narukami Kariyama Rite’s AoE is increased by 50%. |
| C2: To Forsake Fortune | Grass Ring of Sanctification’s duration is increased by 3s. |
| C3: To Sequester Sorrow | Increases the Level of Sanctifying Ring by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C4: To Sever Sealing | When the Normal, Charged, or Plunging Attacks of the character affected by Shinobu’s Grass Ring of Sanctification hit opponents, a Thundergrass Mark will land on the opponent’s position and deal AoE Electro DMG based on 9.7% of Shinobu’s Max HP. This effect can occur once every 5s. |
| C5: To Cease Courtesies | Increases the Level of Gyoei Narukami Kariyama Rite by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| C6: To Ward Weakness | When Kuki Shinobu takes lethal DMG, this instance of DMG will not take her down. This effect will automatically trigger when her HP reaches 1 and will trigger once every 60s. When Shinobu’s HP drops below 25%, she will gain 150 Elemental Mastery for 15s. This effect will trigger once every 60s. |
Recommended Builds
Kuki Shinobu Healer Build
Shinbou’s main use will either be to apply Electro to enemies or heal the active character. Building her based on damage will sacrifice the amount of healing she is capable of. This build will focus on building up her healing with her elemental skill. With her elemental skill, her ring will deal damage to nearby enemies while healing the active party member based on her Max HP. This healing and damage are further increased with her ascension 4 talent. Her burst is optional to apply Electro to enemies in a wide range. Shinobu’s normal attack can be ignored as it doesn’t help with her healing potential in any way. To gain increased healing from her ascension 1 talent, Shinobu will need to be at below 50% of her health, which can be annoying to work with. The activation cost of 30% of her current HP can also be tricky to manage, but will help trigger her low health buffs. This build can work as a support or healer build, depending on your artifact choice.
Shinobu can work in a Geo team, Superconduct, or Electrocharge team. An overload team isn’t recommended as the explosion will knock back enemies away from the range of Shinobu’s elemental skill. Eula and Shinobu make a great combo, boosting her physical damage with the use of Superconduct and healing her with Shinobu’s elemental skill. Raiden Shogun can deal passive Electro DMG and can act as an energy battery for the team. She can be replaced with Yae Miko or Fischl. Rosaria will act as the sub DPS for the team, dealing Cryo or Physical DMG. She can also increase the Crit Rate of the team when she casts her burst. She can be replaced with another support or sub-DPS character.
As a healer, Shinobu’s best 5-star weapon is either the Freedom-Sworn or Primordial Jade Cutter. The Primordial Jade Cutter has a passive that boosts HP, while the Freedom-Sworn raises Elemental Mastery. In addition, the Freedom-Sworn can also boost the team’s normal attack talent when Shinbou gains a sigil by triggering an elemental reaction. The Freedom-Sworn is a great support weapon, allowing her to buff her team while also boosting the power of her reactions and healing.
Shinobu’s best 4-star weapon as a healer is the Favonius Sword or Sacrificial Sword. Both have a passive in Energy Recharge, with the Favonious Sword providing energy regen for the team when she lands a critical hit on enemies. The Sacrificial Sword has a chance to reset the cooldown of her elemental skill, allowing it to be used a second time. Another great option is the Iron Sting, boosting Elemental Mastery and all her elemental damage when Shinobu triggers a reaction. In the early game, use the Skyrider Sword to raise Shinobu’s energy recharge. You can also use the 4-star Festering Desire for more damage, as its skill increases her elemental skill damage and Crit Rate.
Shinobu’s recommended artifact set as a healer is the 4-piece Ocean-Hued Clam. This artifact set is great for any healer, boosting their healing amount and allowing the amount they heal to deal physical damage to the enemy. You can also use the 4-piece Tenacity of the Millelith. This artifact set raises Shinobu’s HP and increases any nearby party member’s ATK and shield strength when her elemental skill hits an enemy. To gain the full benefits, a shield generator like Zhongli or Diona should be on the team. The Ocean-Hued Clam is ideal for a healer build, while the Tenacity of the Millelith is more support-focused. Her healing scales off both her EM and HP%, so it is important to build those two stats up. For boosting her elemental reaction damage, a 4-piece Thundering Fury is recommended. This artifact set raises Shinobu’s Electro DMG and increases the power of her reactions while decreasing her elemental skill cooldown when the reaction is triggered.
Artifact stats for Shinobu:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP%
- Circlet: HP% or Healing Bonus % or EM. (You can also go with Crit Rate if you are using the Favonious Sword.)
In the sub-stats, look for HP%, EM, and Energy Recharge.
Kuki Shinobu Support Build
Shinobu excels as an off-field support or healer for your team. This build focuses on her ability to heal with her elemental skill and also applying Electro to enemies to trigger Crystalize in a Geo team. The recommended artifact set for a support Shinobu is the Tenacity of the Millelith.
For her teammates, Itto will be the primary damage dealer while Albedo will deal passive Geo DMG with his elemental skill. Zhongli can generate a shield, to help benefit from the shield strength buff from the 4-piece bonus of the Tenacity of the Millelith. He can be replaced with Gorou for an additional DEF bonus.
Like the first build, Shinobu can utilize the Freedom-Sworn or Primordial Jade Cutter in a support build, with the Freedom-Sworn being more support oriented. The same 4-star weapon composition also applies to this build
Shinobu’s recommended artifact set is the 4-piece Tenacity of the Millelith due to its HP bonus and the ability to provide an ATK and Shield Strength buff to her teammates when her elemental skill hits an enemy. This artifact set works if she is off the field, making it a great choice for her! You can also choose to sacrifice the shield strength buff and work this build in another team for Supercondcut or Electro-charge.
Artifact stats for Shinobu:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP%
- Circlet: HP% or Healing Bonus % or EM.
In the sub-stats, look for HP%, EM, and Energy Recharge.
Recommended Party Members
Raiden Shogun will act as an energy battery and can also deal passive Electro DMG.
Rosaria serves as the sub-DPS capable of dealing both Cryo and Physical DMG.
Eula benefits from Shinobu’s ability to apply Electro to enemies to reduce their physical defenses.
Albedo deals passive Geo DMG to the enemy with his elemental skill. He can be replaced with Gorou.
Itto is a powerful DPS capable of dealing massive Geo DMG to the enemies.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Low burst cost | Low DMG Output |
| Elemental skill applies Electro to enemies and heals | Healing only applies to the active character |
| Elemental skill works when she is off the field | Elemental skill drains HP |
Conclusion
Shinobu can do a variety of things from healing, dealing damage, and applying electro to enemies with her skills. Her main use will be her elemental skill that can constantly apply Electro to nearby enemies while healing the active character of your damage. She does lack damage output, but can make a good support or healer for your team.
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