Qingxiao is a 5-star Aero Sword Main DPS introduced in Version 3.6.
Her damage revolves around the Tune Strain mechanic and stacking Mindlock on enemies.
Best weapon: Glint of Clouds (signature) | F2P option: Lumingloss or Emerald of Genesis.
Best Echo set: 5-piece Heart of Evil’s Purge with Calamity Effigy as the main Echo.
Best teams: Qingxiao + Denia + Mornye (Tune Strain team) or Qingxiao + Sanhua + Mornye (Hypercarry).
Skill priority: Forte Circuit > Resonance Liberation > Resonance Skill > Basic Attack.
She works fine at S0 but benefits significantly from Resonance Chain 1 and 2.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao build guide is exactly what you need if you just pulled the new Aero Sword Resonator in Version 3.6 and want to make the most of her. Qingxiao is one of the strongest on-field damage dealers in the game right now — but she does not play like a simple carry. Her damage lives inside the Tunability system, which means she needs the right Echoes, weapon, and team to hit her ceiling. Get it right and she is an absolute powerhouse. Get it wrong and she will underperform badly. This guide covers everything: kit, weapons, Echoes, stats, teams, rotation, skill priority, and ascension materials.

You can also visit the official Wuthering Waves website for the latest news, or download the game on Google Play if you haven’t already.

Table of Contents

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Overview

Qingxiao is a 5-star Aero Resonator who wields a Sword. She is the legendary Sword Transcendent and Xuan Paragon of Xuanfang Hold in Mengzhou — a reclusive master of both the qin and the sword who has defended the region for over a century.

In combat, she is a Main DPS who wants maximum field time. Her job is to apply Tune Strain – Shifting to enemies, stack Mindlock debuffs on them, and then cash out that setup into massive Aero damage through enhanced Heavy Attacks and her Resonance Liberation. She is not a one-button carry. You need to manage two Forte gauges before entering her powered-up state, and she needs teammates who can keep Tune Strain active to unlock her full damage potential.

The good news: she functions perfectly at S0 (no Resonance Chains), has strong built-in interruption resistance through her Swordlight Ward mechanic, and has excellent aerial mobility through Sword Flight.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Kit Explained

Understanding how Qingxiao’s kit works is essential before you start building her. Her whole damage loop revolves around three steps.

Step 1 – Fill the Two Forte Gauges

Qingxiao has two Forte resources: Qin Heart and Sword Cadence. Each holds up to 100 points.

Qin Heart is filled by hitting enemies in Sheathed Stance (Basic Attack Stages 1 and 4, Resonance Skill).
Sword Cadence is filled by hitting enemies in Drawn Stance (Basic Attack Stages 2 and 3).

Her four-hit Basic Attack combo cycles through both stances automatically. You just need to keep attacking and weave in your Resonance Skill to build gauges faster.

Step 2 – Enter Ephemeral Transcendence

Once both Qin Heart and Sword Cadence are full, the Normal Attack button changes. Hold it to trigger Heavy Attack – Stringblade. This consumes both gauges and sends Qingxiao into Ephemeral Transcendence — her powered-up state where she rides a flying sword and commands aerial attacks.

Inside Ephemeral Transcendence, she gains a new resource called Heart Sword Intent (up to 100 points), built by using her enhanced Basic Attacks and Dodge Counter.

Step 3 – Finish with Heaven’s Reckoning and Liberation

When Heart Sword Intent is full, Hold Normal Attack again to trigger Heavy Attack – Heaven’s Reckoning. This is her hardest-hitting move and ends the Ephemeral Transcendence state. Her Resonance Liberation – Billows Beneath Heaven also deals a massive Aero nuke and sets up Mindlock on all nearby enemies.

The key rule: always use Heavy Attack – Stringblade before your Liberation. This ensures all the Liberation damage lands on enemies who are already carrying Mindlock stacks, amplifying every hit.

Mindlock Explained

Mindlock is a stacking debuff Qingxiao applies to enemies through Tune Strain interactions. Many of her strongest attacks deal increased damage per Mindlock stack on the target — up to 15 stacks. The first 7 stacks each grant a larger bonus, so building to that threshold early is important. Mindlock stacks also survive mob waves, since when a teammate kills a marked enemy, Qingxiao inherits those stacks.

Qingxiao Skill List

Basic Attack – Stringblade: 4-hit combo cycling through Sheathed and Drawn Stances. Builds both Forte gauges.
Resonance Skill – Severing Note: Judgement: Deals Aero DMG and grants a large chunk of Qin Heart at once. The biggest single forte-generation move in her kit.
Heavy Attack – Stringblade: Consumes both full Forte gauges to enter Ephemeral Transcendence. Deals Aero DMG and applies Mindlock to targets.
Heavy Attack – Heaven’s Reckoning: Cast when Heart Sword Intent is full inside Ephemeral Transcendence. Her finisher. Deals massive Aero DMG.
Resonance Liberation – Billows Beneath Heaven: Big Aero nuke. Applies Mindlock to nearby enemies and boosts her next Heavy Attack damage by 100%.
Intro Skill – Tonality Shift: Always enter via her Intro Skill. Deals Aero DMG and immediately grants 30 Sword Cadence, plus activates Resonant Chime for extra gauge generation on the next Resonance Skill cast.
Outro Skill – Lingering Song: On swap out, deals Aero DMG equal to 800% ATK. A strong damage hit on every rotation swap.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Best Weapons

Qingxiao wants a Sword that gives Crit Rate, Crit DMG, or ATK. Weapons that boost Aero DMG or DEF ignore are especially valuable because they sync directly with her Tune Strain playstyle.

Glint of Clouds (Signature – Best in Slot)

This is Qingxiao’s best weapon by a wide margin. It gives her a high Crit Rate base stat and an ATK boost. Its passive stacks Aero DMG Bonus up to 5 times each time she applies Tune Strain – Shifting — a trigger she hits constantly in her normal rotation. At max stacks, the duration extends and she gains DEF ignore on all her Aero damage. If you plan to main her long-term, pulling this weapon is the single biggest DPS upgrade available.

Red Spring (5-Star Alternative)

A solid 5-star alternative for players who already own it. Red Spring increases ATK and grants stacking Basic Attack DMG Bonus through consistent hits. Consuming Concerto Energy adds another large Basic Attack DMG buff for 10 seconds. It doesn’t interact with Tune Strain like the signature does, but the raw stat contribution keeps it competitive for players without Glint of Clouds.

Emerald of Genesis (5-Star Alternative)

One of the best standard 5-star options for Qingxiao. It gives good base ATK and reliable Crit Rate, plus an ATK% buff from casting a Resonance Skill. The Crit Rate stat alone reduces the pressure on Echo substats. If you are an F2P player who has the standard 5-star selection, this is your go-to pick until you can pull the signature.

Lumingloss (4-Star F2P Best Option)

The best free-to-play weapon for Qingxiao. While it has lower Base ATK and an ATK% substat, its passive grants up to 64% Basic and Heavy Attack DMG Bonus. That lines up directly with where Qingxiao deals most of her damage. For a 4-star weapon, the output is impressive and makes her fully viable in end-game content without spending on weapons.

Weapon Tier Summary

S-Tier: Glint of Clouds (signature)
A-Tier: Red Spring, Emerald of Genesis
B-Tier: Lumingloss (4-star F2P)
Avoid: Weapons with Max HP scaling, Glacio bonuses, or Havoc-locked passives — none of those stats help Qingxiao.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Best Echo Set

5-Piece Heart of Evil’s Purge (Best in Slot)

This is the clear best Echo set for Qingxiao and it was practically built for her. The 2-piece bonus gives +10% Aero DMG Bonus. The 5-piece bonus triggers when Qingxiao inflicts Tune Strain – Shifting: she gains 30% Aero DMG and 20% Crit DMG for 15 seconds. Since she applies Tune Strain – Shifting constantly in her rotation, the 5-piece bonus stays active almost permanently with no additional setup.

You can farm Heart of Evil’s Purge at the Eastern Xuan Peaks Tacet Field in Mengzhou, which opened in Version 3.5. That means you can already have a strong pre-farmed set ready before you even pull her.

Main Echo – Calamity Effigy

The new boss echo added in Version 3.6 is her ideal main Echo. It is a 4-cost Echo that synergizes with her Aero damage kit. If you cannot obtain a Calamity Effigy with good substats yet, run any 4-cost Echo with Crit DMG or ATK% in the meantime while farming.

Echo Configuration (4-3-3-1-1 Setup)

Cost 4 (Main Echo): Crit DMG main stat
Cost 3 (x2): Aero DMG Bonus main stat on both
Cost 1 (x2): ATK% main stat on both

Best Substats

Prioritize in this order: Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Heavy Attack DMG Bonus > ATK% > Energy Regen. Aim for roughly 110% to 120% Energy Regen if your Liberation feels delayed in rotation. If you use Glint of Clouds, it provides a lot of Crit Rate, so you can focus more substats on Crit DMG.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Best Teams

Qingxiao is heavily team-dependent. Her damage multipliers are gated behind Tune Strain – Interfered being applied to enemies. Without a Tune Strain teammate, her numbers will fall off noticeably. With the right support, she rivals the best carries in the game.

Team 1 – Best Team: Qingxiao + Denia + Mornye

This is her strongest team and the one most tier-list creators recommend first.

Denia – Sub-DPS and Tune Strain applier. Provides Tune Break Boost to the team and applies Tune Strain – Shifting. Her Erosion Field also groups enemies together, making it easier for Qingxiao to hit everything. She is Qingxiao’s best-in-slot sub-DPS by a large margin.
Mornye – Healer and support. Her Syntony Field heals and boosts Off-Tune Buildup Rate. She applies an Interfered Marker that amplifies enemy damage taken. Mornye’s S1 provides full uptime on damage buffs, making her an even bigger upgrade than some of Qingxiao’s own Resonance Chains in Tune Strain teams.

If you’re missing Denia from your roster, the 3.6 Phase 1 banner features her rerun alongside Qingxiao. Getting both together is the ideal setup for this team.

Team 2 – Hypercarry: Qingxiao + Sanhua + Mornye

A solid option if you do not own Denia. Sanhua provides fast rotations and Basic Attack DMG buffs that benefit Qingxiao’s frequent basic combo hits. Mornye fills the healer and buffer slot. This team is slightly weaker than the full Tune Strain team but is more accessible for most players.

Team 3 – Alternative: Qingxiao + Lynae + Verina

If you have Lynae, she works as a Tune Strain applier similarly to Denia. Verina provides healing, ATK buffs, and universal team support. This composition is a flexible fallback for players who missed both Denia and Mornye.

Teammates to Avoid

Avoid pairing Qingxiao with supports who have no Tune Strain synergy and can’t help her stack Mindlock. She also struggles in wave-based endgame modes like Whimpering Wastes, where Tune Strain is harder to maintain across multiple waves of enemies — this is her main weakness in the current meta.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Rotation

The optimal rotation for Qingxiao follows this pattern:

1. Intro Skill – Tonality Shift: Always enter via Intro. Grants 30 Sword Cadence immediately and activates Resonant Chime.
2. Basic Attack Stages 1 → 2 → 3: Build both gauges. Stage 1 fills Qin Heart; Stages 2 and 3 fill Sword Cadence.
3. Resonance Skill – Severing Note: Judgement: The biggest gauge spike in her kit. Grants 45 Qin Heart in one cast. Use it to top off your gauges quickly.
4. Basic Attack Stages 1 → 2 → 3 → 4: Finish filling both gauges. Stage 4 is Sheathed Stance and tops off Qin Heart.
5. Heavy Attack – Stringblade: Hold Normal Attack when both gauges are full. Enter Ephemeral Transcendence. Applies Mindlock to enemies.
6. Resonance Liberation – Billows Beneath Heaven: Cast immediately after entering Ephemeral Transcendence. Applies more Mindlock, nukes for huge Aero damage, and sets up +100% Heavy Attack DMG on your next hit.
7. Enhanced Basic Attacks inside Ephemeral Transcendence: Build Heart Sword Intent toward 100 points.
8. Echo Skill: Use your Main Echo skill inside the damage window for extra Aero DMG.
9. Heavy Attack – Heaven’s Reckoning: Once Heart Sword Intent is full, Hold Normal Attack to trigger the finisher. This ends Ephemeral Transcendence.
10. Outro Skill – Lingering Song: Swap out after the finisher. The Outro deals 800% ATK in Aero DMG.

The most important rule to remember: use your Liberation after entering Ephemeral Transcendence, not before. The Mindlock stacks you apply during Heavy Attack – Stringblade amplify the Liberation’s damage. Reversing the order loses a significant portion of your burst damage.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Skill Priority

Upgrade her skills in this order:

1. Forte Circuit – Her absolute top priority. Nearly all her enhanced damage in Ephemeral Transcendence scales from this node. Max this first.
2. Resonance Liberation – Her nuke and the Mindlock trigger. A direct multiplier increase on her hardest-hitting window.
3. Resonance Skill – Faster gauge generation and more Aero damage. Upgrade third.
4. Basic Attack – The lowest priority since her basic combo damage matters less than her enhanced state. Upgrade last.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Resonance Chains (Sequences)

Qingxiao works well at S0 with no Resonance Chains. But if you plan to invest further, here is what each gives:

S1: Targets take 40% more damage from her Heavy Attack – Stringblade, Heaven’s Reckoning, Resonance Liberation, and Juque Perdition. A large damage boost and the best stopping point for most players.
S2: During Heavy Attack – Stringblade, she gains Exorcising Seal stacks equal to the highest Mindlock count among nearby enemies. The Juque Perdition damage is also amplified 2% per Mindlock stack (plus 5% for each of the first 7 stacks). Strong in single-target content.
S3–S4: Provide team ATK buffs, stronger Resonance Liberation and Resonance Skill scaling, and further DMG amplification. Mid-tier investment.
S5–S6: Major upgrades that rework her Exorcising Seal mechanic and further boost Mindlock-scaling damage. S6 is her ceiling but requires heavy investment.

Best stopping point for most players: S1 or S2. The cost-to-power ratio drops off significantly after S2 unless you are pushing top-end endgame rankings.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Ascension Materials

To fully ascend Qingxiao to Level 90 and max all her Forte nodes, you’ll need the following materials:

Blade Blossom – Local specialty from Xianling Village in Mengzhou. Blooms only at night. Switch the in-game clock to night before farming. 60 required.
Autopuppet Kernels – Enemy drops from Autopuppet enemies in the Xuanfang Hold area. Approximately 182 required across all tiers. Use the Synthesizer to convert lower-tier kernels into higher ones.
Solidarity’s Loneflame (Forged Empyrean’s Sigh) – Boss material from the new overworld boss in Version 3.6. Approximately 46 required.
Wing Polarizers – Weapon and skill materials from the Forgery Challenge: Fallen Sanctum in Mengzhou. Approximately 215 required across all tiers.
We Who Question – Weekly boss drop from Seed of Illusory Origin. Approximately 26 required. Unlocks after completing the Denia weekly boss fight. Locked behind the 3.6 main quest.
Shell Credits – Approximately 2,530,000 total (170,000 for Ascension + 2,030,000 for Forte + 330,000 for signature weapon). Start saving now.

Most Mengzhou-specific materials are locked behind the 3.6 update and cannot be obtained in advance. However, you can pre-stock Shell Credits and universal Resonator EXP materials before her release to start leveling her immediately on day one.

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao – Is She Worth Pulling?

Yes, with one important condition: you need to build the right team around her.

Qingxiao is one of the strongest Aero DPS characters in Wuthering Waves right now. Her Mindlock mechanic rewards players who manage her rotation well, and her aerial combat style is genuinely unique. The Swordlight Ward gives her built-in interruption resistance, and her Outro Skill hits hard on every rotation swap. Early tier-list creators are placing her in the T0 bracket alongside the game’s top carries.

The main caveat is her inflexibility. She needs a Tune Strain applier — ideally Mornye or Lynae — or her numbers drop off. She also struggles in wave-based content where Tune Strain status is harder to sustain across enemy groups. If you already own Denia or Mornye, she slots in beautifully. If you own neither, consider picking up Denia on the Phase 1 rerun alongside Qingxiao — it is one of the highest-value investments you can make for her team.

Skip only if you already have a well-built Aero DPS and a tight Astrite budget, or if you plan to save everything for upcoming characters in future versions.

More Wuthering Waves Character Guides

Looking for guides on other Resonators? Here are some to check out:

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Build Guide – Best Weapon, Echoes, Teams & Skills

Wuthering Waves Qingxiao Overview