The complex Cryo Polearm character Shenhe is finally about to receive her first banner rerun during the second half of Genshin Impact’s Version 3.5 update. Shenhe is an immensely useful support unit but will only truly shine when she has the best team possible to match her.
Born and raised by an exorcist clan, delivered as a sacrifice to a god by her own father, and brimming with murderous intent tied down by the special adepti red ropes that run throughout her Cryo skillset, Shenhe is certainly a complex character with one of Teyvat’s most intense backstories. All of Teyvat’s recruits boast unique appearances that complement their overall personalities and backstories but Shenhe is one of Genshin’s most striking and cohesive units.
Shenhe is an immensely powerful recruit to have on a Genshin team but players will also want to ensure that they have a solid grasp of how her skillset works, know what the best weapon for her is, and are thinking about which artifacts they want to equip her with when deciding how they want her team composition to look.
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There are a lot of unique factors that players will need to think about when it comes to building Shenhe’s team, but carefully attention to the process will ensure that players are rewarded with a dynamic and powerful lineup as a result.
How to create a good team comp for Shenhe in Genshin Impact
The Cryo character has a very unique and specific skillset that is designed to complement Cryo and physical damage-based units. This means that any Teyvat recruits that don’t fit into these two categories will not enjoy the full benefits of Shenhe’s skillset.
Because of this, players will want at least one other Cryo unit on the team with her. This will not only allow for Shenhe’s skillset to be put to use properly but will also grant Cryo elemental resonance for the presence of two characters of this type.
With Shenhe’s unique skillset in mind, players will want to construct a team for her based on the following criteria.
- The first team member should be a powerful primary damage dealer. To fully capitalize on Shenhe’s skillset, this character should wield the Cryo element. There are many powerful Cryo primary damage dealers that players can choose from for this role.
- The second team member should be a solid secondary damage dealer with a skillset that complements the first. Anemo characters that can round up enemies, deal damage with ease, and spread elements as needed are an especially excellent choice for this role but as long as you have a versatile secondary damage dealer in this role the team will flow well.
- Shenhe functions as the third member within the team and provides strong support. Her skillset allows her to decrease foes’ resistance to Cryo and physical damage, boost the damage dealt by her team’s normal, charged, and plunging attacks as well as their elemental skills and elemental bursts, and otherwise supplies a solid supporting Cryo skillset.
- The fourth team member can be whatever players feel that they are lacking. Because Shenhe is made to complement a Cryo primary damage dealer, it is generally a good idea to include a Hydro character somewhere within her team lineup. If you don’t have one elsewhere, adding a Hydro recruit here is a powerful choice. Otherwise, players can look for shielders, healers, or more damage dealers depending on what they feel their team needs the most.
The five best Shenhe team compositions in Genshin Impact
Shenhe is an immensely powerful support unit but her skillset is only tailored toward amplifying specific characters. Because of this, she is not as versatile as many of Genshin’s other recruits and does require players to think carefully about the team that they place her in.
Although Shenhe’s skillset is rather distinguished, there are still many Teyvat recruits that players can have join her on the battlefield. The best characters to place on a team with Shenhe are:
- Five-star Cryo Sword character Kamisato Ayaka
- Five-star Anemo Sword character Kaedehara Kazuha
- Five-star Electro Polearm character Raiden Shogun
- Five-star Geo Polearm character Zhongli
- Five-star Hydro Catalyst character Sangonomiya Kokomi
- Five-star Cryo Bow character Ganyu
- Five-star Anemo Bow character Venti
- Five-star Cryo Claymore character Eula
- Four-star Anemo Catalyst character Sucrose
- Four-star Hydro Sword character Xingqiu
- Four-star Pyro Polearm character Xiangling
- Four-star Cryo Claymore character Chongyun
- Four-star Pyro Sword character Bennett
Players can mix and match these recruits and even more beyond them for a solid Shenhe team lineup. However, carefully constructing her team will result in much more powerful results.
With the list of the best characters for Shenhe teams and her unique support skillset in mind, here are the five best teams that players can utilize.
1) Shenhe, Kamisato Ayaka, Kaedehara Kazuha, and Sangonomiya Kokomi
This team lineup focuses on sustaining enemies in the Frozen elemental reaction for as long as possible. This kind of a team lineup has been coined by the Genshin community as “permafrost” or “permafreeze” team due to its ultimate goal of keeping foes suspended in ice for as long as possible.
Although this team is one of the most costly ones that players can craft since it includes four exclusive five-star characters, it is one of the best options for Shenhe and well worth the investment. Within this team, Kamisato Ayaka functions as the primary damage dealer dishing out her icy skillset.
Kazuha works primarily as the secondary damage dealer and is able to easily round up foes with his impressive Anemo skillset that made crowd control look easy while also providing amazing damage and general support. Kokomi grants healing, support, and the Hydro element to allow for the Frozen elemental reaction.
Within all of this, Shenhe works mostly as a support character but can also provide solid damage when needed. The one major issue with this team is that it is going to be quite difficult for most players to construct for the moment since Kamisato Ayaka’s next banner will be running at the exact same time as Shenhe’s.
2) Shenhe, Ganyu, Venti, and Sangonomiya Kokomi
Shenhe and Kokomi function in the same way that they did in the last team within this lineup which is also primarily focused on the Frozen elemental reaction. Ganyu works as the primary damage dealer among this team and utilizes the Hydro that Kokomi supplies to activate Frozen consistently.
Venti works as both a secondary damage dealer and support with his Anemo skillset. Like Kazuha, so too can Venti easily group enemies and apply general crowd control that is essential within this lineup. His Anemo abilities are also useful for spreading Kokomi’s Hydro element around so that Frozen can then be applied more consistently.
3) Shenhe, Eula, Raiden Shogun, and Zhongli
The Cryo character Eula is one of the best primary damage dealers to pair with Shenhe because she excels at both Cryo and physical damage and also works to reduce enemies’ resistance to both of them just as Shenhe does. This makes them a mighty duo but they generally function better when placed within a team that is based around something other than the Frozen elemental reaction.
With this lineup, the Superconduct elemental reaction is the focus. Eula will spend the most time on the battlefield dishing out heavy damage, Raiden Shogun serves as both a secondary damage dealer and support that grants consistent Electro application regardless of whether she is on the battlefield, Shenhe works as Cryo support, and Zhongli joins the roster as a shielding character that keeps the team safe while also adding the Geo element into the mix.
4) Shenhe, Ganyu, Xiangling, and Bennett
While the overall best teams for Shenhe include all five-star characters, players that do not have the means to fully construct a five-star team can also have four-star units join Shenhe in battle for solid results. This lineup has Ganyu acting as the primary damage dealer alongside Shenhe’s support skillset once again but also brings two new four-star characters into the mix so that it is a team lineup that is much easier for the average player to construct.
Xiangling and Bennett add Pyro to mix with Shenhe and Ganyu’s Cryo. This means that the team is built around the Melt elemental reaction and that the damage dealt will be multiplied when players mix the two.
5) Shenhe, Chongyun, Xingqiu, and Sucrose
Players who only have the five-star unit Shenhe can still craft a decent composition with all four-star characters beside her. This is a doable and solid team for any Genshin player that is lacking other more powerful five-star units but should be edited with more powerful recruits as players obtain them.
This free-to-play friendly party features Chongyun as the primary damage dealer, Xingqiu as the secondary damage dealer, Shenhe as support, and Sucrose as a bonus support unit. Each character in this lineup basically functions the same as the best Shenhe team but at a lower capacity.
Chongyun replaces Kamisato Ayaka as the consistent Cryo damage dealer, Sucrose replaces Kazuha as the Anemo unit that rounds up foes and spreads Hydro, and Xingqiu replaced Kokomi as the Hydro unit that is required for the Frozen elemental reaction. Shenhe works within this lineup as usual within a support capacity that also regularly applies Cryo.
