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Genshin Impact best Kuki Shinobu build and Kuki Shinobu F2P options

The Oni gang's deputy is shockingly good in battle

The best Kuki Shinobu build gives your party a dedicated healer who can also spread plenty of Electro damage around the field. Kuki Shinobu is a four-star sword user introduced in the Genshin Impact version 2.7, and she continues the recent trend of occupying a unique position that’s not fully a DPS role but not fully a support one either. Her abilities have heal the party while dealing damage, not unlike Qiqi, and you can tweak how much the numbers go up by focusing on building one specific stat.

You’ll need plenty of Naku Weed to level Kuki Shinobu up, so start gathering it while you’re out and about in Inazuma.

Cover image for YouTube videoVersion 2.7 "Hidden Dreams in the Depths" Trailer | Genshin Impact

When is the Kuki Shinobu banner?

Kuki Shinobu makes her debut in the second half of the version 2.7 update, which is scheduled to go live on June 21. She’s one of the four-star characters on Arataki Itto’s rerun banner, though Hoyoverse is still keeping the other two four-star characters a secret for now.

Is Kuki Shinobu a DPS character?

Not really, though you can build her as an elemental sub-DPS character if you focus on her burst. Shinobu’s base attack is too low to warrant turning her into a full physical DPS, but her skill and burst pick up the slack. Shinobu’s skill creates a ring that deals Electro damage in pulses and heals the active character, while her burst generates an Electro field that delivers continuous Electro damage. The field only lasts for two seconds, so its primary use is applying Electro to a broad area.

Kuki Shinobu’s talents are pretty straightforward and don’t introduce any lingering buffs, as Yelan’s do, so her role is likely going to be split between healing and setting up or triggering Elemental Reactions. If you plan on using Shinobu primarily as a healer, it’s worth letting her stay on the field for a bit to take some damage. Shinobu’s passive talent Breaking Free boosts her skill’s healing effect by 15% when her HP drops below 50%.

What is the best Kuki Shinobu build in Genshin Impact?

The best Shinobu build is, like the ninja herself, fairly straightforward, with a few variations depending on whether you want to focus on her skill or burst.

What is the best Kuki Shinobu weapon?

The Freedom-Sworn Sword is a popular choice in theory-craft builds for a few reasons. It has one of the highest base attack stats of any sword in the game, which is handy if you’re trying to mop up foes with it.

The secondary stat is even better for Kuki Shinobu, though, since it increases her Elemental Mastery. Shinobu’s passive talent Heart’s Repose buffs her skill’s damage and healing effect based on Elemental Mastery. The passive ability also increases party attack damage, helping Shinobu play a stronger support role.

However, it’s also a pretty valuable sword to use on a sub-DPS character. If you don’t have a spare one lying around, consider using the Favonius Sword or Sacrificial Sword.

The Favonius Sword is incredibly good for Energy recharge thanks to its secondary stat and a passive skill, while the Sacrificial Sword can reset the user’s skill cooldown timer.

What are the best Kuki Shinobu Artifacts?

Since most of Shinobu’s damage and healing depends on her HP, you’ll want to buff that stat as much as possible, so if you can, prioritize Artifacts with HP as their primary stat.

  • Two-piece Tenacity of the Millilith: Increases HP by 20%
  • Two-piece Noblesse Oblige: Increases Elemental Burst damage by 20%

There’s a bit of flexibility here. Noblesse Oblige is ideal, since you can easily get two pieces just by leveling up your Adventure Rank. If you want to buff Shinobu’s skill, though, consider using a two-piece Thundering Fury set, which grants a 15% buff to Electro damage.

Alternatively, if you want a burst-focused Shinobu, you could use the full four-piece Noblesse Oblige set, which increases the party’s attack by 20% after the wearer uses their burst.

What is the best Kuki Shinobu F2P build?

Kuki Shinobu has an excellent F2P option for her weapon that’s just about on par with the paid build.

Kuki Shinobu F2P weapon

The craftable sword Iron Sting is ideal for Kuki Shinobu. Its secondary stat grants an Elemental Mastery buff almost equal to the Freedom-Sworn Sword’s, and the passive skill gives the user a damage buff of 6%-12% after they deal Elemental damage, a buff which stacks twice. Since you can craft Iron Sting – and with materials that are easy to find – you can easily get the high-end damage boost.

If you’ve gotten lucky on some weapon banners before, you could also try Lion’s Roar. The secondary attack boost is fairly small, but it increases damage dealt to enemies afflicted with Electro and Pyro by 20%.

Finally is The Alley Flash, which increases the user’s attack by 12% just for equipping the sword and has a high base attack stat to begin with.

What are Kuki Shinobu’s materials?

  • Kuki Shinobu uses:
  • Vajrada Amethyst
  • Naku Weed
  • Spectral Husk
  • Runic Fang (from the Chasm boss)
  • Elegance books
  • Tears of the Calamitous God (from the weekly Raiden Shogun boss)

If you're just getting started in Genshin Impact, check out our in-depth beginner's guide for everything you need to know on your journey through Teyvat. Keep up to date with Genshin's promo codes to top off your pile of Primogems, and plan ahead for how many you might need with our list of upcoming Genshin Impact banners.

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Josh Broadwell

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