Genshin Impact - Shenhe Weapon, Artifact, and Team Builds

Shenhe is finally getting another re-run banner in Genshin Impact Version 3.5 after over a year of being absent as a featured 5-star.

 Hailing from the mountains of Liyue, this silver-haired lady is a skilled exorcist who trained with an adepti for years in seclusion. Her exceptional abilities have gained her trust among adepti, but her isolation with such divine beings has made her inept at the common ways of human society.

Shenhe is a 5-star Cryo polearm character, who specializes in off-field DPS and a ton of Cryo application. Her Elemental Skill is a good ability for delivering consistent off-field DPS with Cryo characters. Her Elemental Burst is also similar to Ganyu’s, while also applying resistance shred to Cryo and Physical RES of opponents. She seems to be the perfect support for Permafreeze teams, and certain teams like Melt Ganyu and Physical Eula.

Shenhe is a fantastic new character, but some fans might not be all-too compelled to get her. If you're still on the fence about it, check out some of the reasons why you should pull for Shenhe.

Abilities Overview

Shenhe’s Elemental Skill is called Spring Spirit Summoning. Upon activation, the skill grants the Icy Quill effect, which deals bonus DMG upon dealing Cryo DMG from almost any source. The skill has different stats whether it is pressed or held, with the held version having a longer duration, more instances, and longer cooldown. The skill itself also deals a good amount of damage, which is increased when the skill is held. 

Spring Spirit Summoning is a great tool for dealing a ton of damage off-field, which scales the more Cryo characters you have in your team. Since the whole party gets the Icy Quill effect, having a team for three Cryo characters can deal up to 7 instances of extra DMG for each of them. 

An ideal team for this would be a combination of Ganyu, Ayaka, and Shenhe, along with one Hydro character for freeze. Outside of a triple-Cryo comp, there’s not much this ability can do aside from providing Cryo energy. This is due to the limitation of the ability, where it can only proc upon dealing a hit that deals Cryo DMG.

Shenhe’s Elemental Burst is Divine Maiden’s Deliverance. Shenhe creates a large divine area around her, dealing periodic AoE Cryo damage to opponents within the area. This skill also decreases the Cryo and Physical RES of enemies. 

Surprisingly, the RES shred of this ability is what makes Shenhe a viable alternative for Anemo characters in Cryo teams. Anemo characters are usually used in these teams for their 40% RES shred, but that is the only thing they usually provide. Since RES shred is half as effective at negative values, Shenhe’s RES shred is usually enough for most opponents, while also delivering a lot of extra DPS for the whole team.

Outside of Cryo teams, Shenhe’s burst is a good skill for applying a lot of Cryo for Pyro characters to Melt, like Diluc, Hu Tao, or Xiangling. Her Elemental Burst is quite costly, though, so good investment towards Energy Recharge substats is recommended. 

Best Weapon Build for Shenhe

Calamity Queller – The weapon tailor-made for Shenhe. This has a monstrous base ATK of 741, apart from its somewhat low ATK substat of 16.5% at lv90. Its passive provides a ton of ATK when off-field, which supplements the damage from her Elemental Skill. If you feel like spending a bit more to improve Shenhe, look no further.

Alternative 5-star polearms are the Staff of Homa, and Skyward Spine. Staff of Homa is unconditionally amazing for so many polearm users, including Shenhe. Skyward Spine is also a good pick if her team lacks Energy generation, especially on non-Cryo focused teams. 

Blackcliff Pole – This weapon has been consistent at being accessible and providing great stats. This polearm can be accessed from the Shop using Starglitter, which is quite accessible even for F2P players. For Shenhe, it’s a bit better than the Deathmatch, with its higher Base ATK. Deathmatch is a good alternative, though its passive does not work when Shenhe is not on the field. 

The Catch – The pure F2P polearm. This weapon never disappoints, and is a good fit for players who want to build Shenhe as a flexible support. It provides decent ATK, good Energy Recharge, and higher damage on her Elemental Burst. 

Best Artifact Sets for Shenhe

Blizzard Strayer (4-Piece) – Crit Rate is quite difficult to come by, but it’s not the case for Cryo characters. This Artifact set provides so much Crit Rate (especially when combined with Cryo Resonance), which makes it easier to allocate more Crit DMG from Artifact substats. This is especially potent on Perma-freeze teams, because the Frozen stats provides even more Crit Rate from the set bonus. 

Noblesse Oblige (4-Piece) – If your team still lacks this set, Shenhe is completely capable of using this Artifact set. 20% ATK for your whole team is an amazing bonus, and Shenhe herself can benefit from the stat boost. The 2-piece portion of the set also boosts Shenhe’s Elemental Burst, which is great. 

Best Team Compositions for Shenhe

Triple Cryo Permafreeze (Shenhe, Ganyu, Mona, Ayaka)– This team consists of Shenhe and Ganyu as off-field DPS, Mona for Freeze, and Ayaka as the main damage dealer. Having three Cryo characters makes full use of Shenhe’s Elemental Skill, but we still need to bring a Hydro character to apply the Frozen status and trivialize most fights. This team is quite expensive due to having four 5-star characters, but Ganyu can be replaced with Kaeya, while Xingqiu can be used instead of Mona.

Ayaka Freeze (Ayaka, Kazuha, Shenhe, Kokomi/Hydro) – This is a variation of the Triple Cryo Permafreeze build, but this replaces one Cryo character with Kaedehara Kazuha. Ayaka functions as the main DPS in this team, while Kazuha acts as another buffer. His Talents allow him to provide additional buffs to the Cryo DPS and he can also shred Cryo resistance. Shenhe, needless to say, is here to provide buffs to Ayaka, enable Cryo resonance, and act as a Cryo battery. Sangonomiya Kokomi is optimal as the Hydro source for this team as she provides consistent Hydro application on top of massive healing. Although theoretically, any Hydro character can replace her in this spot, such as Ayato or Mona.

Classic Morgana (Ganyu, Kokomi/Mona, Venti, Shenhe)- Morgana abuses the interaction of Mona’s Omen and the Frozen status, making the debuff last longer than it should. On the event that Mona cannot be used, Morgana is still viable as long as Venti is present due to his crowd control capabilities from his Vacuum. Ganyu acts as the main DPS in this team, while Shenhe serves as a buffer, to activate the Cryo resonance, and as a Cryo battery as always.