Shenhe Guide
In this article, I’ll be going over everything you need to know about Shenhe, including her playstyle, best artifacts, weapons, teams, and more.
Shenhe is a 5 Star Cryo polearm user whose role as a universal Cryo buffer proves quite significant in established compositions, as well as opening up new ones such as Mono Cryo. While far from a functional necessity in preexisting comps, she is a very competitive alternative when it comes to buffing and increasing the DPS of your Cryo carries.
When it comes to her value, it will entirely come down to preference and how important maximizing Cryo teams are to you, as she is not needed for a Cryo team but rather a strong luxury alternative.
Active Talents
Normal Attack – Dawnstar
Standard 5-hit sequence with nothing to write home about. Due to her role as a buffer, her Normal/Charge Attacks have virtually no use in regards to her damage contribution.
Elemental Skill – Spring Spirit Summoning
Shenhe’s defining talent and one that -upon cast- provides a team-wide flat damage bonus to any instance of Cryo damage dealt [Normals/Skill/Burst] in the form of the Icy Quill effect with each teammate having their own quota on-hit.
Icy Quill effect:
- Can be pressed or held. The main difference being the duration and CD along with different buffs from her A4 Passive. [see passives] Although pressing is much more recommended due to maximizing the buff within rotations.
- Icy Quill instances are consumed on hit, with a 5-7 hit quota per teammates that are able to deal Cryo DMG [Multiple Cryo characters/Cryo swirls]
- Instances of damage that are buffed by Icy Quills will be increased based on Shenhe’s ATK, meaning that sources of ATK on Shenhe through her gear are optimal for buffing capabilities.
- Icy Quill buff will still apply with off-field DMG instances as long as it’s within the buff duration OR have not yet consumed the hit quota [Ayaka Burst, Rosaria Burst, etc.]
- Icy Quill damage is calculated with base DMG, before Crit/DMG%, meaning that external sources of these stats and the more invested your teammates are, the more beneficial it will be for the flat damage bonus in increasing your damage.
Elemental Burst – Divine Maiden’s Deliverance
Upon cast, creates a field that deals periodic ticking Cryo DMG to opponents within the field while shredding their Cryo RES and Physical RES. A simple yet solid talent with beneficial qualities in the form of resistance shred along with additional DMG% to the active character from her A1 passive.
Do note that this Burst is an 80 cost, meaning that your Shenhe will want a substantial amount of ER just as much as ATK%.
Shenhe Talent Priority
Here’s a quick talent priority for Shenhe.
Elemental Skill > Elemental Burst > Normal Attack [not recommended]
Playstyle
Shenhe functions similarly to a quick swap unit with minimal field time that revolves around her buffing capabilities. When playing Shenhe, your priority will mostly be Icy Quill management as well as refreshing the buff in your rotation to where it is maximized.
Typically this means fitting in two skill casts per rotation by incorporating a cast early in your rotation and another one during your DPS window in order to refresh your Icy Quills.
Consider the following rotation [Ayaka freeze]:
Shenhe QE > Kazuha EQ > Kokomi E > Ayaka D N1EQ N2C > Shenhe E > Ayaka N2C > Kazuha E
Notation:
- E – Skill
- Q – Burst
- N – Normal Attack
- # – Number of Attacks
- C – Charge Attack
- D – Dash
In this rotation, Shenhe is able to cast her skill twice. One in the beginning of the rotation and another one after casting Ayaka Burst. This is to ensure that Ayaka Burst maximizes the Icy Quill buff. The initial hits from Ayaka’s Burst will be buffed from the first Skill cast in the beginning, and subsequent hits will be buffed from refreshing Icy Quills from the second Skill cast.
Overall, as long as you are timing/managing your Icy Quills and actively buffing your Cryo Carries during their DPS window, Shenhe performs just fine and can even offer flexibility in rotations.
Passive Talents
Ascension Stat
As you ascend Shenhe, she will gain ATK%.
1st Ascension [A1]: Deific Embrace
A straightforward buffing passive. It simply gives the active character in the field of Shenhe’s Elemental Burst a 15% Cryo DMG Bonus, further adding to her buffing capabilities.
An active character within the field created by Divine Maiden’s Deliverance gains 15% Cryo DMG Bonus.
4th Ascension [A4]: Spirit Communion Seal
This passive offers different types of team wide DMG increases depending on whether or not her Elemental Skill was pressed or held. Pressing the skill increases Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 15%. Holding the skill Increases Normal/Charge/Plunge Attack DMG by 15%.
The more practical usage would definitely be the press version, due to the damage contribution of most Cryo carries coming from their Elemental Bursts. Regarding Ganyu in freeze, you still want to press the skill, as the majority of her damage is coming from her Burst.
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.
Utility Passive: Precise Comings and Goings
Gains 25% more rewards when dispatched on a Liyue Expedition for 20 hours.
Constellations:
As always for constellations, every 5 star unit is completely functional at c0. Constellations in general and what they offer are far from needed. Shenhe’s constellations – along with other 5 stars – usually translate to unnecessary increases in damage, clear time and/or quality of life aspects.
Do keep in mind, constellation value takes into account the value you lose going for another copy of the character rather than a completely different character that could impact your account far more than a constellation would.
- C1: Low/Medium Impact
- C2: Medium Impact
- C3: Low Impact
- C4: Low Impact
- C5: Low Impact
- C6: Low Impact
Constellation 1: Clarity of Heart
Spring Spirit Summoning can be used 1 more time.
Essentially, this constellation gives Shenhe two charges of her Elemental Skill. However, you cannot stack the Icy Quills and it will refresh instead. That being said, assuming you do 2 Skill casts on your initial rotation, you can get away with a hold Skill on your 2nd Skill cast due to this constellation, effectively giving your Cryo units more quills.
Constellation 2: Centered Spirit
Divine Maiden’s Deliverance lasts for 6 seconds longer. Active characters within the skill’s field deals 15% increased Cryo CRIT DMG.
Lengthens the duration of Shenhe’s Burst and offers a Cryo Crit DMG buff to active characters within the field created by the Burst. A very straightforward but impactful constellation that offers a noticeable increase in damage.
The duration extension is actually quite nice for more uptime on the Cryo RES shred and more ticks while a Crit DMG buff will pretty much always be solid in general.
Constellation 3: Seclusion
Increases the Level of Spring Spirit Summoning by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A straightforward talent increase to Shenhe’s Elemental Skill. While it does increase her Icy Quills damage, it is a minimal increase overall.
Constellation 4: 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.
A largely negligible constellation due to it only increasing Shenhe’s personal damage with her Elemental Skill depending on how many quills her teammates are able to consume within a rotation. Basically, this constellation has no practical use outside of seeing a bigger number from Shenhe, especially for such a high constellation.
Constellation 5: Divine Attainment
Increase the Level of Divine Maiden’s Deliverance by 3.
Maximum upgrade level is 15.
A straightforward talent increase to Shenhe’s Elemental Burst with an even more negligible increase than her Skill increase constellation.
Constellation 6: Mystical Abandon
When characters trigger Icy Quill’s effects using Normal and Charged Attack DMG, it does not count toward the Trigger Quota.
A situational constellation that can be strong when incorporated correctly. Basically her C6 makes Normal/Charge attacks not count towards the trigger quota, meaning those attacks are able to trigger the quills on each instance of damage.
However, typically in a Shenhe team, Skills and Bursts from your Cryo carries will consume the majority of quills. You would have to modify or even extend a rotation at times just to gain value from this constellation.
For example, during an Ayaka rotation, her Burst will easily consume quills, meaning that Normal Attacking during her DPS window will not extract value from this constellation. Instead you must fit in a sequence somewhere in that rotation where quills are not being consumed, which could pose inconvenience when trying to maximize this constellation. The same principle applies to Ganyu’s Burst and how you could miss out on maximizing this effect due to her Burst icicles consuming quills.
Artifacts
4 piece Noblesse Oblige
Shenhe’s best-in-slot choice if there is no other holder of this set in the party. While it is low on personal damage, it can beat out alternatives in terms of buffing, providing more team DPS overall.
2 piece Shimenawa + 2 piece Glad [or any atk% 2 pieces]
Another great option for Shenhe that is much easier to access if you are struggling to complete a 4 piece. This set offers marginal but higher damage overall for her Icy Quills while being a generalist set, providing value in any team setting.
4 piece Blizzard Strayer
A fine option if you are focused on Shenhe’s personal damage and when using only in Cryo/Freeze teams that already have a Noblesse user. However, I hesitate to recommend this, as farming this set specifically for Shenhe is not as resin efficient as the aforementioned sets. Nonetheless, it is still viable under the right circumstances.
Main Stats
- Circlet: ATK%
- Sands:ATK%/Energy Recharge
- Goblet:ATK%
Regarding Mainstats for each piece, the Sands is really the only main stat that can afford to change from an ATK% stat. This is due to her high Burst cost and the relevancy of her Burst in relation to the team.
Regarding the Goblet and Circlet, it is statistically more common to drop ATK% main stats on those pieces, meaning the chances of obtaining an ATK% main stat with solid substats is simply easier to get.
In addition, stats like Elemental DMG Bonus and Crit are more impactful towards Cryo carries rather than a buffer like Shenhe. And on top of that, 3 ATK mainstats -while marginal- will typically always beat out ATK/Cryo/Crit or ATK/Cryo/ATK combinations anyways.
Sub Stats
Here’s the order of sub stats to prioritize: ER till requirement > ATK% > Crit Rate/DMG
Energy Recharge:
- 170% give or take with Fav Lance
- Upwards of 190%without Fav Lance
- Around 130-145% in Mono Cryo
Weapons
5-Star Weapons
Calamity Queller
Shenhe’s signature weapon and her technical best-in-slot. To no surprise, this weapon synergizes well with Shenhe allowing her ATK to increase over time, along with doubling this increase when she is off-field.
While it is very good on her providing high base ATK and an ATK% substat, you will need heavy ER substat investment in gear and more often than not, have to swap to an ER main stat on your sands. Nonetheless, it is undoubtedly one of her best options.
Engulfing Lighting
A very solid weapon for Shenhe due to the relatively high base ATK and surprisingly synergistic passive along with an ER substat. The passive allows you to benefit from an ER sands outside of only Burst uptime, giving you ATK the more ER Shenhe has, both of which Shenhe greatly appreciates.
Skyward Spine
Mainly a stat stick in terms of base ATK as well as providing Energy Recharge on the substat; two aspects that Shenhe greatly appreciates. The passive being largely irrelevant to her playstyle but this weapon checks off boxes that are beneficial to Shenhe anyways so it’s usable.
Staff of Homa/Primordial Jade Winged Spear
Both are grouped here due to both being similar in terms of what they provide. Both being relatively high base ATK weapons with Crit substats. These weapons contribute mostly to Shenhe’s personal damage and not much else. Other characters can utilize these weapons much better, otherwise it’s only functional and you’re better off using Favonius Lance.
4-Star Weapons
Favonius Lance
One of Shenhe’s highly recommended weapons and arguably one of her best weapons. This is largely due to the very good passive from Favonius weapons, decreasing ER thresholds of not only the holder but the entire team, leading to an increase in DPS more often than not.
Regarding Shenhe specifically, not only is she somewhat lackluster in terms of particle generation, she is also typically paired with Energy hungry units like Ayaka, meaning Fav Lance can circumvent slight ER issues on not only Shenhe but other units as well.
Lithic Spear/Wavebreaker’s Fin
Again, relatively similar weapons in terms of what they offer. Both having high base ATKs and ATK% substats. Wavebreaker’s contributing to Shenhe’s personal DMG in the form of DMG%, while Lithic provides ATK% and Crit Rate increases.
Assuming 2 Lithic stacks, the difference between the two is barely over 1%. At 1 stack, Lithic becomes significantly worse. If you don’t have a Favonius Lance, consider these weapons.
Teams
Freeze
Shenhe’s most common team setting. Her ability to buff already strong Cryo Carries with the likes of Ayaka, Ganyu, or Rosaria allow her to fit nicely in established freeze compositions while providing substantial value through her Icy Quill mechanic.
One of Shenhe’s best freeze compositions include Ayaka, Kazuha, and Kokomi. But that is no means the only Freeze composition Shenhe fits in, as the baseline framework of these teams are usually Shenhe + 1 Cryo carry + 1 Hydro + 1 Anemo.
As mentioned earlier, even if you don’t have Ayaka, alternative carries like Ganyu, Rosaria and even Kaeya exist that are all functional especially when paired with Shenhe.
Your Ideal Hydro option tends to be Kokomi due to her sustained Hydro Application but Mona is a fine alternative that makes up for her lackluster Hydro application with her Omen buff/Fav Codex. As a last resort, Xingqiu can be situationally functional with Ayaka if you don’t have access to either.
For your Anemo slot, Kazuha is highly optimal due to his grouping, buffing, and how he fits in rotations but alternatives like Venti and Sucrose function just fine as VV/grouping bots.
Example Rotation [Ayaka/Shenhe/Kazuha/Kokomi]:
Shenhe QE > Kazuha EQ > Kokomi E > Ayaka D N1EQ N2C > Shenhe E > Ayaka N2C > Kazuha E
Notation:
- E – Skill
- Q – Burst
- N – Normal Attack
- # – Number of Attacks
- C – Charge Attack
- D – Dash
Mono Cryo
This composition exists due to the fact that Shenhe is able to buff multiple Cryo carries through her Icy Quill Mechanic. It is important to note that this comp is mostly only viable against unfreezable/high poise enemies such as bosses, due to the fact that you lack access to the Freeze reaction in this comp.
In these situations, the ideal Mono Cryo comp [Ayaka/Ganyu/Shenhe/Kazuha] is able to dish out some of the highest team DPS in the game, which is enough to warrant a mention. This is largely due to Shenhe further increasing the damage of already strong carries, as well as the many sources of buffs/RES shred in this team.
While this team is arguably impractical and very expensive, it’s a team worth mentioning due to how synonymous Shenhe is with the Mono Cryo Archetype.
Of course, you can opt for alternative options like Kaeya/Rosaria in place of the 5 star carries and they will function just fine. Cryo units in general will mostly be more effective paired with Shenhe anyways, making mono Cryo variants viable enough.
Example rotation [Ayaka/Ganyu/Shenhe/Kazuha]:
Ayaka D N1E > Kazuha hold EQ > Shenhe EQ > Ganyu QE > Ayaka D N1EQ > Kazuha hold E > Shenhe E > Ganyu 2C E
Notation:
- E – Skill
- Q – Burst
- N – Normal Attack
- # – Number of Attacks
- C – Charge Attack
- D – Dash
Reverse Melt
If you are looking to use Shenhe outside of a Freeze setting, a Reverse Melt comp proves viable as well. The team consists of the Bennett Xiangling pair including one other Cryo unit. Ideally your Cryo Melter here would be Rosaria, due to her ability to Melt all of her hits, on top of being buffed by Shenhe.
This comp is basically a standard reverse melt comp in replacing Kaeya with Shenhe. While Rosaria is ideal here, if you don’t have her, alternatives can be used.
Keep in mind these alternatives can be weaker like Kaeya for example, where he will be melting half of his hits give or take due to ICD. Or Ganyu, which can be strong on paper especially with higher investment, but can prove difficult to play without a shielder nonetheless.
Example Rotation [Shenhe/Rosaria/Xiangling/Bennett]:
Shenhe EQ > Bennett QE > Rosaria EQ> Xiangling QE > Shenhe E > Bennett E funnel > Xiangling > Bennett E funnel > Xiangling > Rosaria E funnel > Shenhe
Notation:
- E – Skill
- Q – Burst
- N – Normal Attack
- # – Number of Attacks
- C – Charge Attack
- D – Dash
Summary
Shenhe has proven to be quite the interesting unit in terms of overall power level. She is a very good Cryo buffer, however Cryo carries and their respective comps were already top meta picks before her release.
This means that Shenhe, while far from a necessity in these scenarios, will still be a strong pick in terms of furthering the damage of said carries/compositions.
That being said, her impact to an account can be quite limited especially when compared to other units that can potentially open up more team variety. If you are simply a Cryo enjoyer, you could consider her. Otherwise, I could only see her being worth a roll when looking to maximize a particular Cryo carry and their performance.
But of course, that’s just from a meta perspective and if you like the character in any way, that should be enough reason to roll for.
