I added some fancy GIF edits this time! Please don't hesitate to give me feedback on them. It's the first time I made these types of edits, afterall.
Intro
Shenhe makes it to the list of “niche” support, where this time, she’s ready to serve a Cryo team. Her buff is mostly for units that deal Cryo damage, so it’s limited to either Ganyu and Ayaka or Chongyun-reliant teams.
The obvious way to maximize Shenhe’s damage bonus is by stacking as much ATK as possible, but is it wise to ignore ER?
Conclusion
Similar to Gorou, I also think Shenhe has a meh damage. Unfortunately, I even think her buff is so-so. Yes, it’s helpful, but not 5-star worthy, imo. Anyhow, here are the best options for Shenhe’s builds.
Artifact Main Stat:
• Timepiece: ATK% or Energy Recharge (ER)
• Goblet: ATK%
• Circlet: ATK%
Artifact Set:
1. 4-Noblesse Oblige
2. 2-Gladiator’s Finale + 2-Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
3. 2-Gladiator’s Finale + 2-Emblem of Severed Fate
For Shenhe’s Artifact, Noblesse can outperform Gladiator + Shimenawa due to how limited her Quills are. Emblem is an option if you can’t maintain her Burst uptime (Although this shouldn’t be hard since you’ll have Cryo units in the team anyway).
Best Weapon For Shenhe:
1. Calamity Queller
2. Engulfing Lightning
3. Vortex Vanquisher
4. Skyward Spine
5. Lithic Spear
6. Primordial Jade Winged-Spear
Of course, Calamity Queller is Shenhe’s best-in-slot weapon. Meanwhile, Engulfing is both a major ER boost and also increases her ATK, which makes it the second-best option. Vortex Vanquisher has a lot of potential, but sadly, the stack doesn’t add off-field, similar to PJWS. As for Lithic Spear, it’s comparable to PJWS on 2 stacks (Buff-wise), but can be better with more stacks.
Shenhe's Mechanic
Elemental Skill
Shenhe grants Icy Quill to all party members. When a character does a Cryo hit, their damage will be increased based on Shenhe's attack. Multiple Quills will be consumed if you hit multiple times (or multiple enemies), for example, if Ganyu hits 5 enemies at once, then she’ll consume 5 Quills.
Luckily, though, each character has a different Quill count. So if you’re playing in a mono-Cryo comp, you can rotate between each unit to ensure everyone consumes their Icy Quill. This effect can trigger off-field, so characters like Qiqi don’t have to take field time to benefit from it.
Shenhe’s Elemental Skill has a Press and Hold Version, each with different effects:
Press Skill (10s CD)
• Grants 5 Icy Quills
• Buff Elemental Skill and Burst damage by 15% for 10s (Any damage, not just Cryo)
Hold Skill (15s CD)
• Grants 7 Icy Quills
• Increase Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack by 15% for 15s (Any damage, not just Cryo)
It’s important to note that Shenhe’s Elemental Skill does not Snapshot. It’s completely dynamic, so she can fully utilize Calamity Queller.
Elemental Burst
Shenhe’s Elemental Burst has the following effect:
• Reduces enemy's Cryo and Physical RES by (up to) 15%
• Increase Cryo DMG of characters in the AoE by 15%
Talent Level-Up Priority
1. Elemental Skill
2. Elemental Burst
3. Ignore Normal Attack
Shenhe's Constellations
C1: Elemental Skill can be used 1 more time.
Priority: High
• This effect will help Shenhe be an acceptable damage buffer, instead of for-flex support. I’d go for this constellation to make her a more reliable support.
C2: Elemental Burst lasts for 6 seconds longer (From 12s to 18s). Active characters in the AoE deal +15% Cryo Crit damage.
Priority: High
• In this article, we’ll cover why you shouldn’t sleep on Shenhe’s Elemental Burst. Her C2 further emphasizes this point. You now have an 18s Burst duration with a 20s cooldown, so the party can enjoy the +15% Cryo DMG Bonus and +15% Cryo Crit DMG Bonus almost all the time.
C4: Shenhe gains a Skyfrost Mantra stack when an ally triggers the Icy Quill. When she uses her Elemental Skill, she'll consume them and increase her Skill damage by 5% each stack (Max 50).
Priority: Low
• Since Shenhe is best used as a support than a damage dealer, her C4 is a negligible bonus.
C6: Triggering Icy Quill using Normal or Charged Attack does not count toward the trigger quota.
Priority: Very High
• Shenhe’s weakness lies in how limited her Icy Quill is. If you manage to whale your way to C6, she’ll get rid of this restriction. With her C6, Shenhe is easily the best support for Cryo DPS like Ganyu and Ayaka.
Choosing the Artifact
Tested Sets:
1. 2-Gladiator’s Finale + 2-Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
2. 4-Blizzard Strayer
Tested Main Stat:
• ER/ATK/ATK
• ATK/Cryo/Crit
Choosing the Weapon
1. Calamity Queller (Full-stack)
2. Engulfing Lightning (+30% ER is active)
3. Vortex Vanquisher (No stack)
4. Staff of Homa (HP above 50%)
5. Lithic Spear (2 stacks)
6. Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (No stack)
7. Deathmatch (+24% ATK)
8. Wavebreaker’s Fin (+38.4% Burst DMG)
Simulation and Assumptions
1. Shenhe level 90
2. Enemy is one Hilichurl level 80
3. Talent lv9, C0
Stat Overview
Note: Engulfing has ATK instead of ER.
Damage Overview
Even with a full damage build, I feel like Shenhe’s damage is not that good for anyone to go through this route. It’s better to just keep her as a dedicated Cryo support.
Energy Recharge or Attack for Shenhe?
Shenhe’s 15% Cryo and Physical RES reduction may seem negligible, but if combined with the +15% Cryo DMG Bonus, it’s not bad at all. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scenarios in which ATK and ER can be compared.
Therefore, to keep it simple, I simulate this in a 60s Ganyu gameplay:
ATK Build:
• Burst every 30 seconds.
• 18 Frost + Bloom without Burst
• 12 Frost + Bloom with Burst
ER Build:
• Burst every 20 seconds.
• 12 Frost + Bloom without Burst
• 18 Frost + Bloom with Burst
As you can see, the difference in damage between ER and ATK is not that high, so even from here, we can already know that ATK isn’t that far better than ER. After simulating the 18 + 12 hits, the difference stays low, which shows that ER buff isn’t that good either.
However, considering ATK is only good for her Icy Quill buff (Which is extremely limited) while ER can infinitely boost your Cryo DMG, I’d recommend not ignoring Shenhe’s Elemental Burst, and using ER if necessary.
Noblesse VS Gladiator
Because of the result on Yun Jin's analysis, I decided to test Shenhe's buff with Noblesse as well. This is what I got:
This is assuming Ganyu with Amos' Bow. If she's using Prototype Crescent, Gladiator will yield higher damage. But, again, as her Icy Quill buff is limited whereas Noblesse isn't, it means Noblesse Oblige the better option for Shenhe.
Personal Opinion
As mentioned on the first day, I’m not a fan of Shenhe’s kits. I feel like a lot of her supportive abilities are hidden behind constellations, which sucks, but if you can afford it, then Shenhe can be a great addition to your team.
If I have a Shenhe, I’d use 3 Cryo in the party, so I can focus more on stacking ATK and settle with ER off substats. But if you can’t maintain her Burst uptime, then I’d recommend ER instead.
Penny for your thoughts
Do you think Shenhe is worth it as a support in general? What about as a mono-Cryo support?
Did you pull for her? Why?
As usual, if you have any questions, corrections, or feedback, feel free to throw them in the comment!
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