Xiangli Yao: Full build guide for Wuthering Waves’ new free DPS

As a main DPS, getting the most out of Xiangli Yao’s kit means equipping him with the best Echoes set, a good build, and a strong team composition. 

Wuthering Waves is getting its second Electro DPS and it’s someone who wields a Gauntlet this time around. Xiangli Yao is released in the second phase of version 1.2, as a free character for everyone who has finished the Moon-Chasing event. Despite being free, Kuro Games hasn’t skimped on his kit.

In fact, Xiangli Yao might be one of the most powerful resonators yet, with the ability to freeze time and the potential to unleash a six-digit nuke. He also has a fun playstyle, so building him can be worth the grind. Here are the best Xiangli Yao builds and team compositions that everyone can have for the Electro main DPS. 

Best Xiangli Yao builds in Wuthering Waves 

Xiangli Yao’s best DPS Echoes set are 5-piece Void Thunder, 5-piece Lingering Tunes, and 2-piece Void Thunder, 2-piece Lingering Tunes.

This Echoes build lets Xiangli Yao really dominate the field and melt through enemies. It’s not a particularly unique setup, using standard DPS and Electro items, but it more than does the job.

5-piece Void Thunder – Best Echo set for Quickswap and hypercarry playstyle 

With 5-piece Void Thunder equipped, Xiangli Yao becomes a powerhouse. He has heavy dependence on electro damage, making Void Thunder a prime candidate. It gives 10% electro damage upfront, and another 15 to 30% of the same attribute upon casting heavy attack, or resonance skill. 

Going for Thundering Mephis, or Tempest Mephis as the main echo is suggested. Both has echo skills that land continuous electro damage, and gives electro buff. What sets them apart is that, Thundering Mephis grants Resonance Liberation, while the other increases heavy attack damage. Since majority of Xiangli Yao’s damage is considered resonance liberation, the former is obviously a better choice. 

Here are all of the Void Thunder echoes in Wuthering Waves: 

• Aero Predator
• Baby Viridblaze Saurian
• Electro Predator
• Fission Junrock
• Fusion Warrior
• Havoc Prism
• Spectro Prism
• Traffic Illuminator
• Vanguard Junrock
•  Flautist
•  Lumiscale Construct
• Violet-Feathered Heron
•  Tempest Mephis
• Thundering Mephis

5-piece Lingering Tunes – Best Hypercarry on-field DPS Xiangli Yao build

Lingering Tunes is another good pick, although Void Thunder slightly outperforms it. Xiangli Yao receives a maximum of 30% ATK and 60% Outro skill damage from its bonus effects. But the catch is, he needs longer field time to gain access to this effect. Hence, LT echo set is not recommended for quickswap compositions.

Mech Abomination is a highly recommended main echo. Cast this echo and it will inflict AoE electro damage. This is on top of the ATK bonus he receives. 

Here are all of the Lingering Tunes echoes in Wuthering Waves: 

• Mech Abomination
• Chasm Guardian
• Flautist
• Spearback
• Young Geohide Saurian
• Diamondclaw
• Fusion Prism
• Hooscamp
• Snip Snap
• Tick Tack
• Vanguard Junrock
• Zig Zag
• Lava Larva

2-piece Void Thunder, 2-piece Lingering Tunes

2-piece Void Thunder and 2-piece Lingering Tunes is a viable choice, when players struggle to complete a 5-piece set. Combining this set provides both an electro damage bonus and ATK bonus on the spot, without further conditions. 

Best weapon options for Xiangli Yao in Wuthering Waves

Verity’s Handle, Abyss Surges, Stonard and Hollow Mirage all stand as great weapons for Xiangli Yao.

However, while there are multiple workable options, there’s one definitive best for him. Verity’s Handle is designed for Xiangli Yao and, unsurprisingly, offers him the best tools for success.

Verity’s Handle (5-star)

Xiangli Yao’s very own signature weapon beats all others in terms of strength. Verity’s Handle makes each of his attacks hit harder. He gets crit rate, electro damage, and resonance liberation bonus, which no other weapon in the game could offer.

Abyss surges (5-star)

Abyss surges performs pretty well with this mutant resonator. In spite of the lack of critical values, it gives a handful of valuable stats including ATK, resonance skill and basic attack damage increase. Since Xiangli Yao counts on his resonance liberation, the energy regen it provides will not go to waste. 

Stonard (4-star)

Moving towards the more free-to-play options, here’s Stonard which might just be his best-in-slot among all the non-five star gauntlets. Xiangli Yao receives crit rate from its substats and improves his overall damage from resonance liberation damage bonus. To get the most out of this weapon, try to reach the maximum refinement to get 54% increase to his ultimate ability, and other attacks that scale with resonance liberation.

Hollow Mirage (4-star)

Another four-star pick that players could pick up is Hollow Mirage. Its wielder gains an average amount of ATK from both substats, and passive effect. Not worth spending a lot of astrites on, but it’s not entirely a bad weapon to have while looking for better ones, as Xiangli Yao scales with ATK anyway. 

Best team composition for Xiangli Yao in Wuthering Waves

Taking the role of an on-field main DPS, Xiangli Yao could create potential synergies who are capable of buffing his Electro and Resonance Liberation damage. 

He needs to be on the field most of the time to chip away at enemies’ health bars with his Resonance Liberation and Forte Circuit. Hence, units that can perform their role without needing much field time are best paired with Yao.

The best hypercarry team composition for Xiangli Yao – Xiangli Yao, Yinlin and Verina

Both Yinlin and Verina perfectly caters to Xiangli Yao’s needs. Yinlin’s outro skill amplifies Yao’s electro and resonance liberation damage by 20 and 25%, respectively, while Verina’s outro skill allows him to receive another boost to his ATK. On the other hand, both units can throw in some extra damage with their resonance liberation that unleashes coordinated attacks while Xiangli Yao’s active. Lastly, Verina also doubles as the team’s main healer. 

Quickswap team consisting of Xiangli Yao, Changli, Verina

Changli can be an expensive alternative to Yinlin. She might not be on the same level as Yinlin when it comes to buffing Yao, but she could still synergize just fine with him. Instead of focusing solely on Xiangli Yao’s attacks, players can give Changli some field time to turn the team into a quickswap setup. After Verina’s outro skill which grants teamwide ATK buff, Changli and Xiangli Yao could take turns executing their combos. Both units are combo-focused, so it’s best to practice it to squeeze the most damage out of them. Apart from damage, Changli also offers resonance liberation buff which is useful to Xiangli Yao. 

Best Hypercarry/crowd control comp for Xiangli Yao – Xiangli Yao, Yinlin and Jianxin

While Verina is almost every team composition’s go-to healer, Jianxin also proves to be an excellent support for Yao for several reasons. Jianxin is an aero resonator with the ability to whip up powerful wind field that pulls enemies in, making each of Xiangli Yao’’s attacks easier to land. Besides that, she amplifies Yao and Yinlin’s damage by giving resonance liberation damage boost, through her outro skill. For team sustain, Jianxin provides healing and shields too.