Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

The best Shinobu builds in Genshin Impact

By

The roster of Genshin Impact grows with every new update, adding characters with different skills, elements, roles, strengths, and weaknesses. Part of the fun of the game is looking forward to finally getting your hands on one of those new exciting characters and seeing how they can be incorporated into your different team compositions to take on the challenges in the world of Teyvat. Unlocking characters can be tedious at times, but some, like Kuki Shinobu, are absolutely worth the grind.

Shinobu is the first time we’ve gotten an Electro healer character in Genshin Impact. She’s a four-star rank and is part of the Oni’s Royale banner, along with Arataki Itto, Gorou, and Chongyun. She wears an iconic mask, is the second in command of the Arataki Gang, and was once a part of a family that works as shrine maidens. If you want to help this strong, capable character reach her full potential, here are the best ways you can build her character in Genshin Impact.

Recommended Videos

Further reading

Shinobu overview

Shinobu's backstory.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As mentioned, Shinobu is an Electro-type character you can obtain via Wishes. She wields a shadowsword, which is more like a dagger, and has the usual suite of skills and passives like all other characters. Here’s her offensive overview:

Related

Normal Attack: Shinobu does a four-hit combo with her shadowsword, and she can charge it up with some stamina to deal two lightning-fast attacks. If you pull off a plunging attack, you will deal damage to anything below you, plus in a small AoE at your point of impact.

Elemental Skill: For a small amount of HP, Shinobu can create a Grass Ring of Sanctification that deals Electro damage to any enemy within it. The ring will follow Shinobu around as you move her, dealing damage every 1.5 seconds, but also heals any friendly characters in the ring based on your max HP value.

Elemental Burst: By thrusting her evil-excoriating blade into the ground, Shinobu creates a zone that deals Electro damage to any enemies within its AoE based on her max HP. If you use this skill while at 50% HP or lower, the AoE will last longer.

1st Ascension Passive: If you have less than 50% HP, healing effects are increased by 15%.

4th Ascension Passive: The Sanctifying Ring’s abilities are boosted in relation to Shinobu’s Elemental Mastery, with healing increased by 75% of Elemental Mastery and damage output increased by 25%.

Utility Passive: For 20 hours, you will get 25% more rewards when Shinobu is dispatched on Inazuma Expeditions.

Best weapons

Shinobu equipping a weapon.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In terms of weapons, since Shinobu doesn’t have a signature weapon, there are a couple of options that best serve her skills.

Freedom-Sworn Sword:

This sword is the most common choice to pair with Shinobu due to it having a strong attack stat and great buff to the wielder’s Elemental Mastery, both of which serve this character very well. The only downside is that, as a support, you may have other characters you want to use this sword on more.

Primordial Jade Cutter:

To help buff her support skills, Primordial Jade Cutter is a great choice. It will give her a nice boost to her HP, which then translates into a stronger attack stat.

Favonius Sword:

Another great weapon, this time to boost energy recharge, even when not on the field, is the Favonius Sword. The extra energy it gives Shinobu when active is obviously great, but it also generates particles that other teammates can take advantage of.

Best artifacts

Shinobu crouching in the grass.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Artifacts are best used in sets, but Shinobu is one of those characters that do well with some mixing and matching in pairs as well depending on which function you want her to focus on. No matter what, though, her primary use should be healing and support-focused.

Buffs:

The best healing and buff artifact set would be a pure Tenacity of the Millelith set. These bonuses are also fantastic since they apply regardless of whether or not Shinobu is active or not.

  • Two-piece sets give 20% more HP.
  • Four-piece sets give the entire party +20% attack and +30% shield strength for three seconds any time an elemental skill hits an enemy, which will be often.

DPS:

For a healer that also gives some bonus DPS, throw on the Ocean-Hued Clam set. Like the other set, these effects are also active regardless of whether or not Shinobu is on the field or not.

  • Two-piece sets are a raw +15% healing bonus.
  • Four-piece sets summon a Sea-Dyed Foam every time a Shinobu heals another character. This foam lasts for three seconds and absorbs all the healing done during that time, capping out at 30,000 HP. Once the three seconds pass, it will deal 90% of the healing it soaked up as damage in an explosion.

Best roles

Shinobu doing a ninja pose.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Without a doubt, as mentioned numerous times, Shinobu will be your support class for your team in Genshin Impact. She also works best if she’s not the solo Electro character. For a team composition, she does great on a team with the following:

  • Kamisato Ayato
  • Xiangling
  • Kaedehara

An alternative team she works great in is:

  • Childe
  • Yanfei
  • Kaedehara

Editors’ Recommendations

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
How long is Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
A vista in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

BioWare RPGs are known for being lengthy adventures. Whether it is one of the Mass Effect games or older Dragon Age titles, you can expect a hefty playtime full of adventure, charming companions, and side content. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the first game in the series in 10 years and is far more action-heavy than previous entries, but does that mean it will lean on the shorter side? Or is this game a return to the old BioWare and something you can easily sink 40-plus hours into? There are a few ways to answer that question, and it will vary slightly from person to person, but here's about how long you can expect it to take you to beat Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
How long is Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

While it isn't quite an open-world game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is still huge, with expansive hubs full of side content to explore. It also features incredibly customizable difficulty settings that can vastly influence your playtime. All that being said, if you were to take a balanced approach to exploring, doing side content, and playing on a difficulty level that challenges you a bit, expect the game to last you around 40 hours. You can probably shave off around 10 hours if you mainline the story, and maybe a bit more if you set the difficulty to the lowest level to just experience the story.

Read more
The best Augments in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

Longtime fans of the Zombies mode in past Call of Duty games are no doubt loving the return to the round-based structure Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has taken. Between the Perks, Pack-A-Punch machines, and Easter eggs, there's already a ton of content to explore in the first two maps. Whether you're new to the mode or know all the tips and tricks from past games, there's one element that has most players scratching their heads. Augments are hardly explained in Black Ops 6 and are largely ignored because of this. However, ignoring this mechanic will only make life harder for you and your team. We've done all the research required to tell you how Augments work and which ones you should try to get first in Black Ops 6.
How Augments work in Black Ops 6

In short, Augments are equippable passive perks that add an additional minor or major effect to either a Perk, field upgrade, or ammo mod. Each one of these has six possible augments -- three minor and three major -- that each give a different buff. But there are two things you need to do before you can even begin tinkering with these Augments.

Read more
Can you change classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
Knights below a giant dragon in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Before you begin your quest to save Thedas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you need to make several important decisions. While you're making your character, you will customize your race, appearance, background, and more, but the most impactful decision is which class you pick. There are only three options: Warrior, Mage, and Rogue, but each one is highly customizable, with dozens of skills and ways to specialize them. We know that you can freely change your appearance after you've left the character creator, and there is an easy way to respec your skill points, but does the game also let you swap classes or do you need to give very careful thought when choosing?
Can you change classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Once you've made your choice between Warrior, Mage, and Rogue while creating your character, you're stuck with it. There is no way to change to a new class without restarting the entire game from scratch.

Read more