
Wuthering Waves · Build Guide
Best weapons, echoes & teams
Updated
Strings to Steel
Press repeatedly or hold Normal Attack to perform up to 4 consecutive attacks, dealing Aero DMG.
Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 1 and Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 4 are in Sheathed Stance.
Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 2 and Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 3 are in Drawn Stance.
When Qin Heart and Sword Cadence are full, Heavy Attack - Stringblade becomes available.
Hold Normal Attack to consume STA and cast this skill, dealing Aero DMG.
Casting this skill consumes all Qin Heart and Sword Cadence and sends Qingxiao into the Ephemeral Transcendence state.
Press Normal Attack consecutively or hold it down to perform up to 3 consecutive attacks, dealing Aero DMG.
This skill is in Drawn Stance.
After landing from Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 3, press or hold Normal Attack within a certain time to cast Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 3.
While in mid-air, Resonance Skill is replaced by Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 3.
While in the Sword Flight state, Jump is replaced by Plunging Attack.
Consume STA to perform a Plunging Attack, dealing Aero DMG.
While out of the Ephemeral Transcendence state, press Normal Attack within a certain time after casting this skill to cast Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 3.
Press Normal Attack within a certain time after a successful Dodge to attack the target, dealing Aero DMG.
Press or hold Normal Attack within a certain time after casting this skill to cast Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 4.
While in mid-air, Dodge is replaced by Sword Glide.
Severing Note
Deal Aero DMG. During this skill, gain 45 points of Qin Heart.
While not in the Ephemeral Transcendence state, press or hold Normal Attack within a certain time after casting this skill to cast Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 4.
While casting Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 2, Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 3, or Dodge Counter - Stringblade, Resonance Skill is replaced by Severing Note: Ascendant.
Deal Aero DMG.
This skill is in Drawn Stance.
Billows Beneath Heaven
Deal Aero DMG.
Can be cast in mid-air close to the ground.
Tonality Shift
Deal Aero DMG. Upon casting, gain 30 points of Sword Cadence and gain Resonant Chime.
Casting Resonance Skill - Severing Note: Judgement grants 30 points of Qin Heart and removes Resonant Chime.
Lingering Song
Deal Aero DMG equal to 800% of Qingxiao's ATK.
Sea of Thought, World of Dust
Upon entering combat, gain 1 stack of Gathered Mind.
After damage dealt directly by Resonators in the team defeats a target inflicted with the Mindlock effect:
If Qingxiao does not have the Gathered Mind effect, gain Gathered Mind with stacks equal to the target's Mindlock stacks.
If Qingxiao already has Gathered Mind and the target's Mindlock stacks are no fewer than Qingxiao's Gathered Mind stacks, Qingxiao's Gathered Mind stacks will be matched to the target's Mindlock stacks.
After Resonators in the team deal damage to a target, inflict Mindlock equal to Qingxiao's Gathered Mind stacks. This effect can only trigger 1 time on the same target.
When Resonators in the team cast Tune Break, if the target has Tune Strain - Shifting, additionally inflict 1 stack of Tune Strain - Interfered on the target. This effect can only trigger 1 time on the same target.
When Qingxiao is knocked out, she can no longer gain Gathered Mind, and any existing Gathered Mind effect becomes inactive.
Gathered Mind stacks up to 15 times and lasts for 30s.
To Know, To Banish
Qingxiao's following skills deal 2% more DMG per stack of Mindlock on the target, with an additional 5% per stack for the first 7 stacks.
Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence, Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, Resonance Liberation - Billows Beneath Heaven.
Each time after a Resonator in the team inflicts Tune Strain - Interfered on an Overlord Class or Calamity Class target, additionally inflict 1 stack of Mindlock on the target.
Formless Heart Sword
While Qingxiao is in the Ephemeral Transcendence state, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence and Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence become available.
Press repeatedly or hold Normal Attack to perform up to 4 consecutive attacks, dealing Aero DMG.
Before Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence becomes available, this skill's DMG Multiplier is increased by 100%.
Can be cast in mid-air.
Press or hold Normal Attack within a certain time after a successful Dodge to attack the target, dealing Aero DMG.
When Heart Sword Intent is full, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence becomes available. Hold Normal Attack to cast the skill, dealing Aero DMG.
Casting this skill consumes all Heart Sword Intent and ends the Ephemeral Transcendence state.
Mindlock stacks up to 15 times.
Each time when a Resonator in the team inflicts Tune Strain - Interfered on a target, inflict 1 stack of Mindlock on the target.
For each stack of Mindlock on the target, DMG taken from Qingxiao's following skills is Amplified by 2%, with an additional 5% per stack for the first 7 stacks.Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence, Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, Resonance Liberation - Billows Beneath Heaven.
For each stack of Mindlock on the target, DMG taken from Qingxiao's following skills is Amplified by 2%, with an additional 5% per stack for the first 7 stacks.
Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence, Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, Resonance Liberation - Billows Beneath Heaven.
Upon entering combat or casting Resonance Liberation Billows Beneath Heaven, gain Heaven's Clarity.
When Sheathed Stance/Drawn Stance moves deal damage, the rates at which Qin Heart/Sword Cadence are obtained increase by 100%.
When casting Heavy Attack - Stringblade, inflict 3 stacks of Mindlock on nearby targets, and enhance the next Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence: its DMG Multiplier is increased by 100% and it builds additional Off-Tune Level on the target. Switching to another Resonator ends the Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence enhancement.
Casting Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence removes Heaven's Clarity.
Casting Intro Skill - Tonality Shift or Heavy Attack - Stringblade grants 1 stack of Swordlight Ward.
Swordlight Ward stacks up to 1 time. When taking DMG from an enemy's attack, 1 stacks of Swordlight Ward can be consumed to grant immunity to interruption and reduce DMG taken by 60% for 1s. This effect can be triggered once per second.
While in the Sword Flight state, Qingxiao moves with a special animation.
Moving in Sword Flight continuously consumes Flight Qi.
Casting the following skills sends Qingxiao into the Sword Flight state:Sword Dodge, Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 1, Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 2, Severing Note: Ascendant, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence, Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, and Intro Skill - Tonality Shift.
Casting the following skills sends Qingxiao into the Sword Flight state:
Sword Dodge, Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 1, Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 2, Severing Note: Ascendant, Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence, Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, and Intro Skill - Tonality Shift.
Exit the Sword Flight state byCasting Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 3 or Plunging Attack.Triggering certain environmental interactions or Utilities.Returning to the ground.Switching to another Resonator.Depleting all Flight Qi.
Exit the Sword Flight state by
Casting Mid-air Attack - Stringblade Stage 3 or Plunging Attack.
Triggering certain environmental interactions or Utilities.
Returning to the ground.
Switching to another Resonator.
Depleting all Flight Qi.
While in the Sword Flight state, hold Jump to leap up and dash forward a short distance.
Sword Step can only be cast once during Sword Flight.
Can hold up to 100 points.
Dealing damage with Sheathed Stance skills grants Qin Heart.
Qin Heart cannot be gained while in the Ephemeral Transcendence state.
Dealing damage with Drawn Stance skills grants Sword Cadence.
Sword Cadence cannot be gained while in the Ephemeral Transcendence state.
Dealing damage with Basic Attack - Ephemeral Transcendence or Dodge Counter - Ephemeral Transcendence grants Heart Sword Intent.
Draw and Sunder
Qingxiao inflicts Tune Strain - Shifting on the target after dealing damage with skills. Each skill can only trigger this once for the same target.
Qingxiao can respond to Tune Strain - Interfered.
Responding to Tune Strain - Interfered: For each stack of Tune Strain - Interfered on the target, every point of Qingxiao's Tune Break Boost increases the total DMG Qingxiao deals to that target by 0.12%. While Qingxiao is in the team, the max stack limit of Tune Strain - Interfered on a target is increased by 1.
Additionally, when the target's Off-Tune Level is full, Qingxiao can cast Tune Break on it. While on the ground and not in the Ephemeral Transcendence state, press Normal Attack within a certain time after casting Tune Break to cast Basic Attack - Stringblade Stage 3.
Priority nodes: S6 Cleanse This Tarnished Age, Till All Runs Clear · S3 Dreams Fade, Sword Abides · S2 Like Petals That Fall Without a Sound
Cleanse This Tarnished Age, Till All Runs Clear
★ PriorityTargets take 40% more DMG from Qingxiao's Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, Resonance Liberation - Billows Beneath Heaven, and Juque Perdition. During Heavy Attack - Stringblade, gain Exorcising Seal stacks equal to the highest Mindlock stack count present among nearby enemies. For each stack of Mindlock on the target, the DMG of Juque Perdition taken by the target is Amplified by 2%. The first 7 stacks additionally grant 5% DMG Amplification. When Inherent Skill - To Know, To Banish is unlocked, the DMG of Juque Perdition on targets with Mindlock is increased by 2% for each stack of Mindlock. The first 7 stacks additionally grant 5% DMG increase. The effect of Qingxiao's response to Tune Strain - Interfered is increased by 20%.
+40% DMG taken on every damaging cast, Juque amplified per Mindlock · Targets take 40% more damage from Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Heaven's Reckoning, Billows Beneath Heaven and Juque Perdition - which is, between them, everything she does. On top of that each Mindlock stack amplifies Juque Perdition by 2% with the first seven worth an extra 5%, and since the S2 node pushes the Mindlock cap to 25 the two nodes compound rather than overlap.
Qingxiao is a 5★ Aero Sword Main DPS in Wuthering Waves. The best build is Glint of Clouds with the 5-piece Heart of Evil's Purge echo set, using Calamity Effigy as the main echo. The strongest team is Qingxiao with Denia and Mornye. At Level 90, aim for 14500+ HP, 1100+ DEF, 2100-2400+ ATK, 55-80%+ CRIT Rate, 255-275%+ CRIT DMG (before Echo set bonuses), 110-115%+ Energy Regen and 40-70%+ Aero DMG Bonus.

Glint of Clouds
R1BestQingxiao's best weapon by a lot, her Signature grants her with a ton of CRIT Rate, lower-end base ATK but a ton of Aero DMG Bonus and some extra DEF Ignore to boot.
100.0%

Red Spring
R1Camellya's Signature grants some Basic ATK DMG bonus that Qingxiao uses to an extent, but otherwise it's not an ideal replacement to her own Signature weapon. Decent alternative.
81.1%

Azure Oath
R1Simple ATK, CRIT Rate and DMG Bonus stat-stick for Qingxiao, who does not benefit from this weapon's Havoc Bane-related effects.
79.7%

Everbright Polestar
R1Simple ATK, CRIT Rate and DMG Bonus stat-stick for Qingxiao, who does not benefit from this weapon's Tune Rupture/Fusion Burst-related effects.
79.7%

Emerald Sentence
R1Largely a simple ATK and CRIT Rate stat-stick for Qingxiao, buffs the party's Echo DMG Bonus by a bit but only makes an extremely small, particularly negligible difference in her teams.
79.4%
Percentages show relative damage performance from calculations; some weapons bring un-quantifiable quality-of-life on top.
5-Piece Sonata
Heart of Evil's Purge
Simple 20% CRIT DMG increase compared to the standard Aero DMG set Sierra Gale. Provides the same 40% total Aero DMG on the 5-piece alongside 20% CRIT DMG on the condition that Tune Strain can be applied - a condition Qingxiao instantly and easily fulfills.
Example Loadout · 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 · 1 cost
CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
Aero DMG
ATK% ≥ Aero DMG
ATK%
ATK%
Energy Regen (Until Satisfied) > CRIT Rate = CRIT DMG > ATK% > ATK > Heavy/Liberation/Basic DMG%
Forte
Liberation
Basic
Skill
Intro
Priority nodes: S6 Cleanse This Tarnished Age, Till All Runs Clear · S3 Dreams Fade, Sword Abides · S2 Like Petals That Fall Without a Sound
Cleanse This Tarnished Age, Till All Runs Clear
★ PriorityTargets take 40% more DMG from Qingxiao's Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Heavy Attack - Heaven's Reckoning: Ephemeral Transcendence, Resonance Liberation - Billows Beneath Heaven, and Juque Perdition. During Heavy Attack - Stringblade, gain Exorcising Seal stacks equal to the highest Mindlock stack count present among nearby enemies. For each stack of Mindlock on the target, the DMG of Juque Perdition taken by the target is Amplified by 2%. The first 7 stacks additionally grant 5% DMG Amplification. When Inherent Skill - To Know, To Banish is unlocked, the DMG of Juque Perdition on targets with Mindlock is increased by 2% for each stack of Mindlock. The first 7 stacks additionally grant 5% DMG increase. The effect of Qingxiao's response to Tune Strain - Interfered is increased by 20%.
+40% DMG taken on every damaging cast, Juque amplified per Mindlock · Targets take 40% more damage from Heavy Attack - Stringblade, Heaven's Reckoning, Billows Beneath Heaven and Juque Perdition - which is, between them, everything she does. On top of that each Mindlock stack amplifies Juque Perdition by 2% with the first seven worth an extra 5%, and since the S2 node pushes the Mindlock cap to 25 the two nodes compound rather than overlap.
Glint of Clouds is the weapon to build around. Without it, Red Spring, Azure Oath and Everbright Polestar are the next picks, in that order. Feather Edge is the budget option.
On the Heart of Evil's Purge set, run CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG on the 4-cost, Aero DMG on the 3-cost, ATK% ≥ Aero DMG on the 3-cost and ATK% on both 1-costs. Substats in priority order: Energy Regen (Until Satisfied) > CRIT Rate = CRIT DMG > ATK% > ATK > Heavy/Liberation/Basic DMG%.
The Resonance Chain nodes worth pulling for are S6 (+40% DMG taken on every damaging cast, Juque amplified per Mindlock), S3 (+100% Liberation Crit. DMG, Mindlock feeds Heaven's Reckoning) and S2 (+40% Heavy Attack - Stringblade multiplier, Mindlock cap to 25). Level Forte Circuit → Res. Liberation → Basic Attack → Res. Skill → Intro Skill.
Ascension needs 46× Forged Empyrean's Sigh above everything else, and the full build — ascension plus every forte node — costs 2,200,000 Shell Credits.
Glint of Clouds is the best-in-slot weapon. Qingxiao's best weapon by a lot, her Signature grants her with a ton of CRIT Rate, lower-end base ATK but a ton of Aero DMG Bonus and some extra DEF Ignore to boot. The next best options are Red Spring and Azure Oath. Feather Edge is the strongest budget pick.
Run the 5-piece Heart of Evil's Purge set on Qingxiao. Calamity Effigy is the recommended main echo. Main stats by cost: 4-cost CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG, 3-cost Aero DMG, 3-cost ATK% ≥ Aero DMG, 1-cost ATK%, 1-cost ATK%.
On Qingxiao, prioritise these echo substats: Energy Regen (Until Satisfied) > CRIT Rate = CRIT DMG > ATK% > ATK > Heavy/Liberation/Basic DMG%.
Level the forte nodes in this order on Qingxiao: Forte Circuit → Res. Liberation → Basic Attack → Res. Skill → Intro Skill.
Best Team: Qingxiao with Denia and Mornye. Lynae Team: Qingxiao with Lynae and Mornye. Any teammate alternatives are not recommended to use, as with Denia, not running Mornye suffers very significant team damage losses.
S2, S3 and S6 give Qingxiao the biggest gains: S2 — Like Petals That Fall Without a Sound; S3 — Dreams Fade, Sword Abides; S6 — Cleanse This Tarnished Age, Till All Runs Clear.
To reach level 90, Qingxiao needs 4 LF, 12 MF, 12 HF, 4 FF Autopuppet Kernels, 46 Forged Empyrean's Sigh, 60 Blade Blossom and 170,000 Shell Credits. Maxing every skill and stat node adds 25 LF, 28 MF, 40 HF, 57 FF Autopuppet Kernels, 25 Broken Wing Polarizer, 28 Monowing Polarizer, 55 Polywing Polarizer, 67 Layered Wing Polarizer, 26 We Who Question and 2,030,000 Shell Credits.
Qingxiao is a 5★ Aero Sword resonator from Huanglong, released on August 20, 2026.
×4LF Autopuppet Kernel
×12MF Autopuppet Kernel
×12HF Autopuppet Kernel
×4FF Autopuppet Kernel
×46Forged Empyrean's Sigh
×60Blade Blossom
170,000 Shell Credits
×25LF Autopuppet Kernel
×28MF Autopuppet Kernel
×40HF Autopuppet Kernel
×57FF Autopuppet Kernel
×25Broken Wing Polarizer
×28Monowing Polarizer
×55Polywing Polarizer
×67Layered Wing Polarizer
×26We Who Question
2,030,000 Shell Credits