Genshin Impact gives a bleak but action-packed look at new character Shenhe

Genshin Impact recently dropped two new trailers showcasing its next five-star character, the cryo exorcist Shenhe, and fans have responded by declaring her the strongest auntie in Teyvat.

Shenhe's character demo is a full-fat animated short co-starring Chongyun, one of Genshin's original four-star cryo characters, as well as some unfortunate Abyss soldiers who are soundly pummeled. The trailer ends with a powerful line from Chongyun, who realizes Shenhe is his "auntie" after seeing her exorcism techniques and learning her name. Naturally, this sparked a wave of fan art featuring "Auntie Shenhe" and her newfound nephew – or rather, her many nieces and nephews, because Shenhe is now everyone's aunt.

MiHoYo explained Shenhe's abilities in more detail in a follow-up trailer which is more gameplay-focused. Shenhe is a support unit who specifically amplifies cryo damage, sort of like a five-star version of elemental supports like Kujou Sara and Gorou. Her elemental skill buffs the cryo damage of other party members by a percentage of her attack, while her elemental burst reduces the cryo (and physical) resistance of enemies. But like many other support characters, she also has irresponsibly detailed normal attack animations which most players will rarely see as they swap her in and out just to use her skills.

Shenhe is a sister disciple of Ganyu, a top-ranked DPS character whose banner will see its first rerun after Shenhe's release, so it's a safe bet that the two will work well together. Judging from these trailers, Shenhe may also have some cool combos with Chongyun since he can infuse other party members' attacks with cryo energy. We'll get a better feel for her play style once Shenhe's banner debuts tomorrow, January 5. You can get a head start on farming her ascension materials with this pre-release teaser.