Genshin Impact Shenhe guide – Talent priorities and passives
Let’s talk about Shenhe’s build in Genshin Impact based on her talent priorities and passives.
Normal Attack: Dawnstar Piercer – This improves Shenhe’s normal, charged, and plunging attacks. We’ll ignore this talent.
Elemental Burst: Divine Maiden’s Deliverance – This creates a small AoE field that deals Cryo damage. Enemies within this field also lose Cryo and Physical damage resistances (up to a maximum of 15% at talent level 10). You won’t really need to invest in this too much.
Elemental Skill: Spring Spirit Summoning – This is the talent you want to prioritize for Shenhe. It can be pressed or held down before casting, allowing for multiple mechanics:
- Talisman Spirit – This is the main method that allows Shenhe to deal damage with this skill. Her actual damage with this isn’t important.
- Icy Quill – Shenhe’s skill, while the duration is active, adds damage to various Cryo hits from all kinds of attacks, skills, and bursts. This scales based on her current ATK when those hits are occurring. Each party member, including Shenhe, has a limit as to how many times they can trigger this effect.
| Mechanic | Shenhe’s E. Skill Button Pressed | Shenhe’s E. Skill Button Held |
| Skill Duration | 10 seconds | 15 seconds |
| Skill Cooldown | 10 seconds | 15 seconds |
| Trigger Limit (per character) | Five hits | Seven hits |
| Spirit Communion Seal (passive) | +15% skill and burst damage for 10 seconds | +15% normal, charged, and plunging attack damage for 10 seconds |
Note: We discuss the Icy Quill buff in our character summary section. Sufficed to say, we’re going to be stacking a ton of ATK/ATK%.
Passive Talents
- Precise Comings and Goings – +25% more rewards for Shenhe in a Liyue expedition.
- Deific Embrace – Active characters within the AoE field of her burst gain +15% Cryo damage.
- Spirit Communion Seal – Shenhe’s elemental skill/Icy Quill provides boosts whether the button is pressed or held (seen in the table above).
Note: Shenhe’s talents require Prosperity booklets from Taishan Mansion (Monday, Thursday, and Sunday), as well as Whopperflower Nectars. For higher levels, she needs the Hellfire Butterfly dropped by La Signora.
Constellations
- C1: Clarity of Heart – Shenhe’s elemental skill can be used one additional time.
- C2: Centered Spirit – Shenhe’s elemental burst lasts six seconds longer and characters within the field gain +15% Cryo crit damage bonus.
- C3: Seclusion – +3 levels for your elemental skill; maximum level is 15.
- C4: Insight – When the Icy Quill bonus damage is triggered, Shenhe gains a Skyfrost Mantra stack. Upon using her elemental skill once more, all Skyfrost Mantra stacks are consumed. Each stack adds 5% damage to her elemental skill (maximum of 50 stacks and lasts for 60 seconds).
- C5: Divine Attainment – +3 levels for your elemental burst; maximum level is 15.
- C6: Mystical Abandon – Normal and charged attacks no longer count toward the Icy Quill trigger quota/limit.
All right, let’s go to the next part of our Genshin Impact Shenhe guide to talk about the best weapon options for her.
