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Does Kuki Shinobu Need Elemental Mastery? A Comprehensive Guide

The short answer is a resounding yes, Kuki Shinobu absolutely needs Elemental Mastery (EM), especially if you plan to maximize her potential in a variety of team compositions, most notably Hyperbloom teams. While her healing does scale with HP, building EM significantly enhances her overall effectiveness, making her a potent support character with surprisingly high damage output. Let’s delve deeper into why EM is so crucial for Kuki Shinobu and explore her various roles.

Why Elemental Mastery Matters for Kuki Shinobu

Kuki Shinobu is a highly versatile character in Genshin Impact, capable of fulfilling multiple roles, including healer, support, and even sub-DPS. Her kit revolves around her Elemental Skill, Sanctifying Ring, which damages enemies with Electro and heals the active character. While her healing scales with HP, EM boosts both her healing output and her damage. This means that EM serves as a double-edged sword, amplifying both her offensive and defensive capabilities.

However, the most compelling reason to build EM on Kuki Shinobu is her role in Hyperbloom teams. Hyperbloom is a transformative reaction that scales solely with the Elemental Mastery of the Electro character triggering the reaction, as well as the character level and the enemy’s resistance. When Kuki Shinobu triggers Hyperbloom reactions, the damage dealt by these reactions is solely determined by her EM, not her ATK. This makes stacking EM on Kuki Shinobu absolutely crucial for achieving maximum Hyperbloom damage. In fact, to unleash her true potential in Hyperbloom teams, you should aim for 700-1000 EM.

Kuki Shinobu’s Scaling and EM

It’s important to understand the intricacies of Kuki Shinobu’s scaling to appreciate the value of EM. Her Elemental Skill’s damage scales with ATK, while her Elemental Burst scales with HP. However, the healing and damage of her Sanctifying Ring are also boosted by her Elemental Mastery. Specifically, for every point of EM, the healing of Sanctifying Ring is improved by 75% and the damage done by the skill gets a 25% boost. This dual scaling means that even when focusing on EM for Hyperbloom, you aren’t entirely sacrificing her healing capabilities.

It’s also worth noting that Kuki Shinobu’s passive talent adds an additional 15% healing bonus when she’s below 50% HP, which can be a strategic approach to increase her overall healing.

Artifact Choices for Elemental Mastery

When building Kuki Shinobu for EM, prioritize the following artifact stats:

Flower: HP (main stat), Elemental Mastery, HP%, Energy Recharge, Attack% (secondary stats)
Feather: ATK (main stat), Elemental Mastery, HP%, Energy Recharge, HP (secondary stats)
Sands: Elemental Mastery (main stat), HP%, Energy Recharge, Attack% (secondary stats)
Goblet: Elemental Mastery (main stat), HP%, Energy Recharge, Attack% (secondary stats)
Circlet: Elemental Mastery (main stat), HP%, Energy Recharge, Attack% (secondary stats)

The ideal artifact set for Hyperbloom Kuki Shinobu is the 4-piece Gilded Dreams set, which provides a significant boost to EM and ATK. An alternative is the 4-piece Flower of Paradise Lost, which is specifically designed for reactions like Hyperbloom and can push the ceiling of reaction damage.

Weapon Options for Elemental Mastery

Several weapon choices can further complement an EM build for Kuki Shinobu:

Iron Sting (4-star craftable): A readily accessible option with a high EM sub-stat.
Xiphos’ Moonlight (4-star): Provides additional EM and energy recharge for the team.
Freedom-Sworn (5-star): The best in slot option, but difficult to obtain. High base EM and buffs the party.

Kuki Shinobu in Hyperbloom Teams

Kuki Shinobu truly shines in Hyperbloom teams. This type of team usually consists of a Dendro applicator (like Nahida or the Traveler), a Hydro applicator (like Yelan or Xingqiu), and Kuki Shinobu to trigger Hyperbloom. The core strategy is to apply Hydro to enemies and then Dendro, creating Dendro Cores. Kuki Shinobu then triggers Hyperbloom by applying Electro to these Dendro Cores, dealing massive single target damage.

One of the most popular and effective Hyperbloom team compositions features Alhaitham, Nahida, Yelan, and Kuki Shinobu. In this team, Kuki Shinobu is the linchpin, consistently triggering Hyperbloom reactions with her fast Electro application and high EM.

Kuki Shinobu’s Other Roles

While Kuki Shinobu is a powerful Hyperbloom enabler, she can also function well in other team compositions:

Superconduct teams: She can pair with Eula or other physical DPS characters to reduce physical resistance of the enemy.
Overload teams: Where she can be a reliable Electro applicator.

However, the amount of elemental mastery will vary greatly depending on the team role you have her in.

The Takeaway

In conclusion, Elemental Mastery is crucial for Kuki Shinobu, particularly for maximizing her potential in Hyperbloom teams. While her healing scales with HP, building EM also significantly boosts the healing and damage of her Sanctifying Ring. The synergy between EM, Kuki Shinobu’s abilities, and Hyperbloom makes her one of the most potent 4-star support characters in Genshin Impact.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How much Elemental Mastery does Kuki Shinobu need?

For Hyperbloom teams, aim for 700-1000 EM to maximize damage. For other roles, the ideal EM will vary depending on her team role.

2. Is it better to build Kuki Shinobu on HP or EM?

For Hyperbloom, EM is more valuable. For general support and healing, HP is important, but EM should be prioritized if your goal is to amplify reaction damage. Luckily, EM boosts her healing output anyway.

3. Does Kuki Shinobu need Energy Recharge?

Generally, Kuki Shinobu does not require high Energy Recharge, as her Burst is not a priority. However, if you intend to use her Burst frequently, especially if she’s not below 50% HP, you will need to build some energy recharge for consistency.

4. What are the best artifact sets for Kuki Shinobu Hyperbloom?

The best artifact sets for Hyperbloom Kuki Shinobu are 4-piece Gilded Dreams or 4-piece Flower of Paradise Lost.

5. What is the best weapon for Kuki Shinobu?

Iron Sting is a good free option, Xiphos’ Moonlight is a great EM sword, and Freedom-Sworn is her best-in-slot if you can obtain it.

6. Is Kuki Shinobu a good healer?

Yes, Kuki Shinobu is a good healer, but she is more valuable when used for her Electro application and reaction damage.

7. What does Kuki Shinobu’s Elemental Skill do?

Kuki Shinobu’s Elemental Skill creates a ring that follows the active character, deals Electro damage and heals the active character every 1.5 seconds. This provides consistent healing and Electro application.

8. What are the best team comps for Kuki Shinobu?

Kuki Shinobu shines in Hyperbloom teams with Dendro and Hydro characters, also she works well in Physical damage teams for Superconduct reactions.

9. Can Kuki Shinobu be a DPS?

Kuki Shinobu is not primarily a DPS, but she can function as a sub-DPS due to her Electro application and reaction damage. She can also be played as a Physical DPS.

10. How to maximize Kuki Shinobu’s healing?

To maximize healing, build her with HP% and Healing Bonus, using 4-Maiden Beloved or 2-Maiden Beloved + 2-Ocean-Hued Clam artifacts. Her passive talent also makes her a more effective healer when at low HP, encouraging players to keep her HP below 50%.

11. Why is Kuki Shinobu good for Hyperbloom?

Kuki Shinobu’s consistent and fast Electro application, paired with her ability to scale both her healing and reaction damage with EM, make her an ideal Hyperbloom trigger.

12. What other stats should I look for on her artifacts?

Besides EM, prioritize HP%, Energy Recharge, and a small amount of Attack %.

13. Should I keep Kuki Shinobu’s HP low?

It is strategically beneficial to keep her HP below 50% because her healing bonus increases when she’s low. This makes for a more strategic playing style.

14. Is Kuki Shinobu better than other Electro supports?

She is one of the best 4 star Electro units and offers a lot of value as a healer and reaction trigger, especially in Hyperbloom teams.

15. What does Hyperbloom damage scale with?

Hyperbloom damage is solely based on the Elemental Mastery of the Electro character triggering the reaction, as well as character level and enemy resistance.

Does Kuki Shinobu need em?