Shennong/Strategy

NOTE: This page currently under construction.

(This page is for Shennong strategy guide. For the standard Shennong page, click here.)

Overview

Shennong is an interesting moveslut as he introduces the new status effect [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown). After the first turn of each phase and having applied Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) to allies, he can give Poison Reversal to allies by moving, and it has the effect of boosting attack by 2x, boosting defense by 0.65x, and healing up to 400 HP, thereby counteracting the detrimental effects of Poison by 200 HP. Although these multipliers are relatively low compared to other buffs, this is an extremely powerful effect since it's an offensive and defensive buff rolled into one and has the guarantee of stacking with almost every other unit's kit released beforehand. Since Poison Reversal only lasts one turn, Shennong functionally acts like a low-cost Snow/Aizen/Surtr. While he loses out on defense since their buffs have a better multiplier (0.45x), he has the advantage of boosting allies' attack by a 3x multiplier through the effect of both Poison Reversal and Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) while having a similar net healing factor. Finally, he also has the nice ability of applying EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) for the first turn of each phase, either only to self or including allies depending on the rarity.

Disadvantage-wise, his main issue lies in needing Poison in order to trigger Poison Reversal. While Poison is not a particularly debilitating status effect, Shennong's skill effectively negates most forms of buff negation from allies. On the flip side, if his allies negate the Poison debuff, they won't be able to benefit from Poison Reversal immediately. Most importantly, this opens up the entire team to other debuffs which could be detrimental, so a team with Shennong will not be able to handle debuffs very well unless planned accordingly through some other means. Finally, Shennong carries all the associated problems/challenges of a moveslut such as weakness to FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) and the like.

Highlights

Class: Tank, Support

Gameplay Role: Mixed Buffer, Healer, Moveslut

Pros

+ Gives [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown) on move to self and allies, raising attack/defense and healing

+ Gives Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) on move to allies, further boosting attack and healing

+ Gives EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) with fat heal on first turn to self (+ allies for )

+ has VALIANT which is neutral/resists every elemental attribute except WORLD, can switch to for WOOD typing

+ TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) to self increases tanking abilities

+ Applies Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) to enemies

Cons

- Applies Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) to self and allies, making the team vulnerable to debuffs

- Ranges of skill activation can be restricting

- Slightly inconsistent procs without skill seeds, especially for form

- form only protects self on first turn

- Needs to move

Gameplay Role

For clarification regarding the timing of Shennong's skills, Shennong only triggers his EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) on the first turn of each phase. On the other hand, Shennong only triggers his [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown) skill on every turn except the first turn of each phase. So they are essentially mutually exclusive effects which will never stack if they come from Shennong.

Mixed Buffer/Moveslut

As mentioned before, the effects of [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown) make Shennong comparable to movesluts like Snow/Aizen/Surtr. While the latter three mentioned all have unique aspects to them, they all have in common a skill which gives a defensive buff with a 0.45x multiplier, +16 CP, and +500 HP to self and allies on move. Poison reversal, on the other hand, gives a defensive buff with a 0.65x multiplier, an offensive buff with a 2x multiplier, and a net +200 HP to self and allies on move after taking the effect of Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) into account. Since Shennong also gives Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) to allies, this increases the offensive multiplier to 3x and brings back the healing to +500 HP. So for allies, Shennong can be seen as trading some defense and CP charging for a 3x attack multiplier. Since Poison Reversal and Nourishment to a lesser extent are rare effects, Shennong can also stack these effects rather easily with other preexisting offensive/defensive buffs.

Another point of comparison to be made is between other previous offensive buffers such as Babalon (Jiangshi), Tomte, and Tangaroa (Canaan). Jiangshi Babalon and Tomte both give ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff), and Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff) in some way, where Jiangshi Babalon also gives Immobility+12CP/turn, cannot move at will for 3 turns (Buff) for extra CP while Tomte does not need to move. Summarizing, Jiangshi Babalon has a net effect of an offensive buff of 3.6x to allies, +17 CP, and +900 HP while Tomte has a net effect of an offensive buff of 3.6x to allies and +1200-1500 HP. These two trade defense for more offense, healing, or CP but also have some sort of caveat with Jiangshi Babalon restricting movement and Tomte having subpar proc rates. Canaan Tangaroa, on the other hand, is more defensive and closer to Shennong, boasting a potential offensive buff multiplier of 3.6x, a potential 0.19x defensive multiplier, and healing of around +1200 HP, although this value can increase rapidly since it depends on how many enemies hit him. The major downside however is that Canaan Tangaroa needs to be hit for these effects to spread and his procs are inconsistent. Due to skill activation order, this also means that the offensive buffs do not have a 100% uptime since the effects only apply for the following turn, unlike defensive and healing effects.

In a similar vein, Shennong as an offensive buffer also carries a similar major flaw and that regards needing Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) on allies as previously discussed in the overview. First, it should be mentioned that the 70% proc rate of Shennong's Poison activation skill is not a major issue since Shennong's Poison reversal only applies to the second turn of the phase and onwards. In matters of first application, there is a 91% chance of allies having Poison for an unseeded Shennong and a 96% chance when seeded, which is consistent enough. Since Poison also has a high uptime of five turns, refreshing the debuff is also less of an issue.

What is more pressing of an issue is debuff mitigation. The presence of Poison can mess with attempts to remove or nullify debuffs, making the team open up to potential debuffs. Moreover, it makes it so that an ally will not benefit from Poison Reversal since Poison has been negated. To give an example, consider Wakan Tanka (Fashionista). Since he has a Nullify DebuffPrevent receiving debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff) on [Turn Start], Shennong must precede him in team order in order to give the debuff. However, the Poison infliction will also remove Nullify Debuff for every subsequent turn as noted in the skill's description. The main result is that unless tested and planned around properly, using Shennong should be avoided in situations that call for debuff mitigation.

The following table attempts to summarize the previous discussion. Ranges are used to indicate inconsistent procs (<70%).

Summary of Movesluts/Previous Offensive Buffers
Unit	Status effects for allies	ATK multiplier	DEF multiplier	HP gain	CP gain	Range	Moveslut	Flaws	Notes
	Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)	3x	0.65x	+500	+0	Directly adjacent	Yes	Needs Poison, removes debuff immunity.	Applies only after first turn of each phase.
	ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff)	1x	0.45x	+500	+16	One square away	Yes		Has Guts+1HP when HP is at 0 at the end of the turn for 5 turns. Removed once activated. (Buff).
	TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff)	1x	0.20-0.45x	+500	+16	Directly adjacent	Yes		Can BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) enemies.
	ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff)	1x	0.20-0.45x	+500	+16	Cross range	Yes	INFERNAL typing and occasional BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff) weaken survivability.	Has EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) on first turn.
	ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff), Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff), Immobility+12CP/turn, cannot move at will for 3 turns (Buff)	3.6x	1x	+900-1200	+17	Directly adjacent	Yes	Immobilizes teammates.	Effects do not apply to self.
	ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff), Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff)	1.5-3.6x	1x	+1200-1500	+0-5	Directly adjacent	No	None type, inconsistent procs especially for Ardor.	Assumes that Blessing and Nourishment trigger.
	VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff), UnctionDEF Up by 0.85x ~ 0.425x, +150~300HP every turn for 2 turns (Buff), ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff)	3.6x	0.19-0.425x	+>1200	+0	Directly adjacent	Somewhat	Needs to be hit, inconsistent procs.	Assumes that first three status effects trigger and are spread.

Healer

As demonstrated in the table above, the net healing effect of Shennong's kit is comparable to movesluts of the variety. However, it is small compared to units who specialize in healing such as Jiangshi Babalon or Tomte. Still, it can be concluded that Shennong's HP drain from Poison is not something to be worried about. As an additional note, the healing from Shennong's first turn skill and his CS is somewhat large, improving overall the team's sustainability.

Damage Mitigator

Outside of Poison Reversal, Shennong also has the ability to provide EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) on the first turn of each phase to himself and, in his form, also to allies. Sitri (Christmas) also effectively had this ability, and it's worth mentioning here for Shennong as well for the same reasons. Most of the time, this skill gives the team a free turn for putting out damage and activating skills. In particular, it's worth mentioning that units who have skills which activate [When/After Receiving Damage] are helped by this effect greatly, which includes units like Canaan Tangaroa, Oz, and Maria. Unlike Christmas Sitri, Shennong is also more of an active damage mitigator through Poison reversal as well, so he enables team compositions geared around such skill timings more easily.

The form of Shennong loses out on this ability so he won't be able to perform the same way. Since he functionally still does everything regarding Poison Reversal however, it is not too huge of a loss so this first turn can be used to move a unit who only needs to move periodically like Christmas Sitri. On the other hand, if the number of turns taken to clear each phase is low, the form will be more of a dead weight.

Stats and Seed Usage

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	6276	8264	3595	5179	1977	2848	2013	2900
	7726	9820	4119	5688	2265	3128	3460	4778
	7927	9864	4753	6305	1521	2018	1901	2522

For consistency purposes, it is highly recommended to skill seed Shennong due to the presence of multiple 90% procs. Following that, since the purpose of Shennong is to tank and support the team as much as possible, HP and Level seeds should be favored. Finally, ATK seeds are nice since they actually influence his damage per square by a rather large percentage.

Team Synergy

Units who do not need to move

Shennong is a moveslut so it goes without saying that his allies generally should not have to move. There is an exception if using his form since his first turn skill is not as useful, so units who only need to move periodically can also be useful here.

Units who do not remove/nullify debuffs/immune to Poison

As mentioned previously, the main appeal of Shennong functions only if Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) is up, so using units who don't negate/remove the debuff actively is important. Since [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown) is rather unique, the buff will stack with most units' kits as a result. This isn't a hard and fast rule since there may be exceptions with regards to skill activation timing, etc.

No Dark Lords AR, No Jambavan.

Units with [After Debuff] skill timing

Speaking of exceptions, units with skills with [After Debuff] timing generally have some sort of debuff removal, but they can pair well with Shennong since he can force their skills to activate, something that is otherwise not always guaranteed to happen. In particular, Breke and Hanuman (Journey) greatly benefit. On the other hand, Gullinbursti does not benefit as much since his skill evolution immediately removes Poison most of the time, not allowing him to enjoy the benefits of Poison reversal.

Units with [When/After Receiving Damage] skill timings

Due to Shennong's EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) skill and his supportive nature as a damage mitigator, units who have these skill timings benefit quite a bit. Tangaroa (Canaan), Seth, and Maria are examples of such units.

Units with extra damage to Poison

As of writing, the only units that apply here are both forms of Astaroth. Astaroth particularly benefits the most due to their role as an attacker and for having a higher damage multiplier than their form.

AR Equipment

There aren't too many options to choose from here, but Sunset Youth would be ideal for increasing Shennong's durability. If using Shennong, opting for Summoners Christmas or Sun and Oil! is not a bad idea.

Checks and Counters

Movement inhibiting debuffs

As Shennong is a moveslut, any debuff that restricts movement such as FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) will be a problem for him and the entire team. Moreover, as stressed previously, Shennong inherently makes warding off such debuffs difficult, so he will be easily susceptible to such an effect.

Units which pierce Evasion

Since one of Shennong's main abilities is the access to EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff), units which pierce said Evasion will give him a much harder time. Shennong also can't give Poison Reversal in the turns he would usually give out Evasion, so it's particularly threatening to the defense created by Shennong.

Teambuilding Options

This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.

Using Oz

Team Details (submitted by milk)
Seth 【Debuffer】	Breke 【Damage Dealer】	Oz 【Damage Dealer】	Shennong 【Mixed Buffer, Healer】
Cost: ≥48

This is a joke team designed to make using Oz a painless process as much as possible. However, it is useful for demonstrating how Shennong can help units with skill timings such as [When/After Receiving Damage] and [After Debuff].

Oz has a straightforward kit: he gets hit, buffs himself and allies, and traps enemies with OppressionCannot move at will for 2 turns (Debuff). The problem is that Oz's skills have awful proc rates such as 40% and 60%, so he needs to be hit as much as possible to compensate. Moreover, one of his offensive buffs is BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff) which makes his survivability poor. Finally, his damage output is still mediocre despite such efforts. This is demonstrated in the following table:

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)		Notes
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	3362	3608	21194	32126	6409	8995	19226	26986	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff)
	3299	3621	20556	31923	10261	14365	6840	9577	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff)
	4709	5551	62903	96378	19226	26986	57677	80958	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)
	4672	5571	60765	95769	30782	43096	20521	28731	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), BerserkATK Up and DEF Down by 1.3x ~ 2.6x for 4 turns (Buff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)

With Shennong however, EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) provides the opportunity for triggering the offensive buffs more safely and the health drop is not as dramatic with the latter issue also being addressed by the presence of Seth. Moreover, Shennong's own buffs provide the support needed for Oz to dish out respectable damage for a Magic spread. Of course, for a more serious team, one can simply replace Oz with a different offensive magic unit like Typhon (Make Sail) or Astaroth whose stats are displayed in the table below.

Comparison Table
Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)		Notes
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	7499	9368	11496	16982	3663	4755	5232	6793	With VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff)
	10730	14413	32223	50947	10988	14265	15696	20379	With VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)
	6236	8143	44988	69799	14652	19544	43957	58631	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff), Fatal Poison-200~-400HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff)
	9362	12528	25893	39658	8325	11104	24975	33313	With Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)
	9362	12528	266085	418794	87914	117262	263741	351787	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff), Fatal Poison-200~-400HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff), Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff)

Outside of Oz, Breke is the other damage dealer of the team and has good synergy with Shennong. In particular, Breke's [After Debuff] skill grants him VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff) and +30 CP, which he can immediately get through Shennong's application of Poison-100~-200HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff). Moreover, he can refresh the skill by either moving to activate Drifter+ or by activating his CS which removes all debuffs. As a result, Breke almost always has both ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff) and VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff) up, and he charges his CP rather quickly although it should be noted that his CS negates the effects of Poison Reversal by virtue of removing Poison. This is presented in the table below.

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)		Notes
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	6915	8881	20573	31006	10163	13952	30489	41857	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff)
	6700	8636	21620	32299	6167	8398	32019	43604	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff)
	10245	13663	60779	93017	30489	41857	45734	62786	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) (CS nullifies effects of Poison Reversal)
	9925	13286	63881	96898	18500	25193	48028	65406	With ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff), [[|No name provided .]]No description provided. (Unknown), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) (CS nullifies effects of Poison Reversal)

Finally, Seth is used to round out the team and provide extra defense. Regarding defense, Breke is actually the powerhouse of the team since he also has TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) which stacks with Seth's ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and Shennong's Poison Reversal. Furthermore, due to his ability to shrug off debuffs, Breke circumvents the debuff issue concerning Shennong. Breke can be used to lure enemies with problematic debuffs, soak those effects up, and retaliate while the other three units avoid them. If the situation is appropriate, Seth can also be used to give Skill LockCannot activate skills for 5 turns. (Debuff) to enemies whose debuffs trigger [After Attacking], since Seth's skill activates [When Receiving Damage] and will win out as a result.

Gameplay examples

• Example external link