4 cost
CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
3 cost
Aero DMG
3 cost
Aero DMG > ATK%
1 cost
ATK%
1 cost
ATK%
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Last updated: 22/October/2026
Best guide and build for Qiuyuan from WW (Wuthering Waves). Qiuyuan is a 5★ rarity character from the 
Aero element who uses the Sword type weapon.
Qiuyuan has at least one video guide available:
Last review update
Patch 3.7
Last major build/calcs update
Patch 2.7
Last profile update*
22/October/2026
*Profile update means smaller edits to echoes, stats, synergies or teams that don't require new calculations.
To learn more about Qiuyuan check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Profile
Inkwash
Basic Attack
Perform up to 3 consecutive attacks, dealing Aero DMG.
Heavy Attack
Consume STA to attack the target, dealing Aero DMG. Press Normal Attack within a certain period of time after casting this skill to perform Basic Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash Stage 4.
Mid-air Attack
Consume STA to perform Plunging Attack, dealing Aero DMG.
Dodge Counter
Press Normal Attack right after a successful Dodge to attack the target, dealing Aero DMG, considered as Heavy Attack.
Moments after a Basic Attack or Heavy Attack, Qiuyuan becomes immune to the next instance of DMG he takes and casts Dodge Counter upon being attacked, dealing Aero DMG.
Through the Groves
Press Resonance Skill to dash forward for a distance, dealing Aero DMG, considered as Echo Skill DMG. If Resonance Skill is cast upon being attacked by an enemy target, Qiuyuan becomes immune to this instance of DMG and stagnates nearby enemies, while gaining immunity to interruption during this Resonance Skill.
Switching to other Resonators removes the Stagnation effect from enemies.
Undaunted Wayfarer
Hold Resonance Skill to dash forward for a distance at the cost of STA, dealing Aero DMG to the target, considered as Echo Skill DMG.
If there are no targets nearby, Qiuyuan will leap up and dash through the air by continuously consuming STA until it runs out. Release Resonance Skill to immediately end the dash and land. If there are targets nearby when Qiuyuan lands, deal Aero DMG to nearby targets, considered as Echo Skill DMG. This skill can be cast in mid-air.
Sundering Strike
Deal Aero DMG to targets within range, considered as Echo Skill DMG.
For every 1% of Qiuyuan's Crit. Rate over 50%, this skill increases the Crit. DMG of all nearby active Resonators in the team by 2% for 30s, up to 30%.
Verdant Edge
Basic Attack - Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash
When Qiuyuan reaches 200 points of Swordster's Soliloquy, his Basic Attack is replaced with Basic Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash, which chains together up to 4 consecutive strikes, dealing Aero DMG, considered as Heavy Attack DMG.
Bamboo's Shade
When Qiuyuan reaches 400 points of Swordster's Soliloquy, he gains the Bamboo's Shade effect, granting all nearby active Resonators in the team 30% Echo Skill DMG Bonus for 30s.
Inksplash of Mind
When Swordster's Soliloquy is full, Qiuyuan enters the Inksplash of Mind state for 8s, during which Heavy Attack is replaced with Heavy Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save.
In this state, hold Normal Attack to consume Swordster's Soliloquy to perform Heavy Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: To Teach, Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save, and Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice in order, dealing Aero DMG, considered as Heavy Attack DMG.
Performing Thus Spoke the Blade: To Teach, Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save, or Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice is considered as performing Echo Skill.
Inksplash of Mind ends when Swordster's Soliloquy is used up.
Swordster's Soliloquy
Qiuyuan can hold up to 600 points of Swordster's Soliloquy.
100 points of Swordster's Soliloquy is obtained when performing Basic Attack Stage 3.
100 points of Swordster's Soliloquy is obtained when performing each stage of Basic Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash.
100 points of Swordster's Soliloquy is obtained when performing Dodge Counter.
400 points of Swordster's Soliloquy is obtained when performing Intro Skill.
Swordster's Soliloquy cannot be obtained in the Inksplash of Mind state.
Swordster's Soliloquy is cleared when the Inksplash of Mind state ends.
Quietude Within
Qiuyuan obtains Quietude Within for 10s upon entering the Inksplash of Mind state. This effect can be triggered once every 22s.
Heavy Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: To Teach, Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save, and Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice deal 50% more DMG. Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice additionally restores 30 points of Concerto Energy on hit.
This effect ends early when Qiuyuan is switched off the field.
Drink Away Woes Age-Old
When casting Echo Skill, Qiuyuan's bamboo flask absorbs the overflowing energy and brews it into Flowing Panacea.
The next time Swordster's Soliloquy is obtained, the Flowing Panacea is consumed to gain 10% ATK increase for 20s.
Attack the Must-Defend
Attack the target, dealing Aero DMG, considered as Heavy Attack DMG.
Within a certain period of time after casting this skill, press Normal Attack to perform Basic Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash Stage 3.
Strike Before Ready
Attack the target, dealing Aero DMG equal to 100% of Qiuyuan's ATK, considered as Echo Skill DMG.
Grant 50% Echo Skill DMG Amplification to the incoming Resonator, lasting for 14s or until the Resonator is switched out.
Sequence Node 1
Thus Spoke the Blade: To Teach, Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save, and Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice can no longer be interrupted.
Qiuyuan gains 20% Crit. Rate increase.
Sequence Node 2
Bamboo's Shade now grants an additional 30% Echo Skill DMG Amplification to all nearby Resonators in the team.
Sequence Node 3
The DMG Multiplier of Resonance Liberation Sundering Strike is increased by 500%.
If Concerto Energy is full when not in the Inksplash of Mind state, Qiuyuan's Resonance Skill is replaced with Resonance Skill Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain, available once every 20s.
Upon casting Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain, the Quietude Within effect immediately ends and 60 Concerto Energy is consumed to deal Aero DMG equal to 500% of Qiuyuan's ATK, considered Echo Skill DMG, and restore 400 points of Swordster's Soliloquy. The next Basic Attack is replaced with Thus Spoke the Blade: Inkwash Stage 3.
Upon casting Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain, Qiuyuan cannot gain the Quietude Within effect the next time he enters Inksplash of Mind. Thus Spoke the Blade: To Teach, Thus Spoke the Blade: To Save, and Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice gain 600% DMG Multiplier increase and additionally restore 30 points of Concerto Energy on hit. When not in Co-op mode, upon casting Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain, the next Outro Skill is replaced with Outro Skill Sheath Fallen, New Shoots Revealed, which deals Aero DMG equal to 500% of Qiuyuan's ATK, considered Echo Skill DMG.
Sequence Node 4
ATK is increased by 20%.
Sequence Node 5
Qiuyuan now ignores 15% of the target's DEF when dealing damage.
Sequence Node 6
Casting Heavy Attack Thus Spoke the Blade: To Sacrifice stagnates nearby targets for 5s or until the targets are damaged or until Qiuyuan is switched off the field. This effect is not available in the Co-op Mode.
When Qiuyuan is the active Resonator in the team, upon exiting Inksplash of Mind, he deals Aero DMG equal to 600% of his ATK to all targets within range, considered Echo Skill DMG.
Casting Resonance Skill Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain increases Qiuyuan's Crit. DMG by 100% for 6s. Switching to another Resonator ends this effect early.
CRIT Rate
ATK%
HPATK
DEF
Max EnergyCRIT Rate
CRIT DMG
Healing Bonus
Aero DMGWhile the source of the materials can be quickly found in the game, when it comes Wintry Bell you will have to gather them from the map. Check our Interactive map to find them quickly:
Review
Please keep in mind Wuthering Waves is a skill-based game and each character has a different playstyle, difficulty level and even special tricks and combos. Wuthering Waves is also a team based game and it's only by combining both these factors to the highest level a character can reach optimal performance.
Quick rotations, strong specialized buffing, and easy gameplay make for a high-quality buffer;
The Echo Skill damage niche is currently very strong in the meta (particularly via Sigrika, Phrolova, but also Galbrena), for which Qiuyuan is a buffer of choice;
Has very good permanently accessible weapon options.
His value is tied to Echo Skill damage dealers until at least S3 (at which point any modern DPS can function amazingly well). His value therefore dies alongside Echo Skill damage dealers’, with no guarantee of further maintenance of this niche (see Spectro Frazzle for a reference of this phenomenon);
Optimal Echo sets vary between team choices; optimizing his build while wanting to keep him flexible in between his different teams can prove to be expensive on resources;
One of the most inconsistent Hybrid characters in the game until S1. Getting interrupted on his Forte Heavy Attack chain happens often, and can ruin his Concerto generation and cause him to not apply all his buffs.
Qiuyuan is a 5-star Aero Sword character who focuses on buffing Echo Skill damage and possesses multiple Echo casts. As you can most likely guess, this enables him to function well in Echo Skill-focused teams as a buffer, and indeed, that is his main and most competitive use in the meta. Let’s delve into the details of his kit to understand how to make him work:
The most important aspect of Qiuyuan’s gameplay resides in his Forte gauge called “Swordster’s Soliloquy”. It is separated into three thirds at a value of 200 points each. At 200 points, he acquires enhanced Basic Attacks called Inkwash. At 400 points, he grants a 30% Echo Skill DMG Bonus to the active resonator in the team for 30s, and at 600 points, he gets to cast 3 Forte Heavy Attacks that restore a lot of Concerto Energy, deal good damage, and expend his Forte Gauge, concluding his rotation.
Since Qiuyuan is a character focused on buffing, he additionally gives teammates up to 30% CRIT DMG from his Ultimate if he is at 65% CRIT Rate or higher. However, this buff and the 30% Echo Skill DMG Bonus from acquiring 400 Forte points both only apply to the active resonator in the party, which means they won’t apply to any Coordinated and off-field characters. In Qiuyuan’s case, this is most relevant for Phrolova’s Hecate. It makes the synergy a bit weaker than it would otherwise, but as we’ll discuss later, the synergy between Phrolova and Qiuyuan is very much present regardless of this.
Lastly, he provides 50% Echo Skill DMG Amplification to the next character that switches in via his Outro for 14s, which expires upon swapping. This is only really relevant for Galbrena and Sigrika in the current meta; his Signature weapon also provides 20% Echo Skill DMG Bonus to the entire team, and he also has 2 Echo sets to provide team buffs in the form of Moonlit Clouds and Law of Harmony.
Overall, this makes his buffing profile really specialized towards Echo Skill damage, and indeed this will be the team archetype that he plays in.
Qiuyuan’s rotation is very easy to understand simply by reading his kit, as his combos are intended to flow naturally into one another.
His Intro provides him 400 Forte points and also allows him to directly start his Basic chain from Stage 3. Since he gets 400 Forte from his Intro alone, this makes him cast Enhanced Basic Attacks right away and Stages 3 & 4 of his Inkwash Basic Attacks are enough to get him to the full 600 Forte.
After that, his Ultimate follows to give himself the 30% CRIT DMG buff on top of dealing a lot of damage and restoring Concerto Energy.
Since his Forte is full at this point, he can hold Basic Attack to cast his 3 Forte Heavy Attacks and finally finish the rotation with a Swap Cancel of his Echo cast (interrupted by his Outro) if it has an animation like Impermanence Heron to activate its buffs. In the Phrolova team specifically, however, casting it right before his Ultimate to privilege buffing Enhanced Hecate attacks is a better idea, so there is some nuance. And that concludes his rotation, very easy to perform. If he gets interrupted at any point, he can recover some Forte and Concerto relatively quickly through his Heavy Attacks that directly lead into Inkwash Basic 4.
At S3 and higher, his rotation changes as he is allowed to perform a unique Skill in place of his Intro to perform this same rotation a second time. This unlocks a DPS playstyle for him, while still enabling his use of the standard Skill as a buffer by simply holding the Skill input instead of tapping it.
Qiuyuan is in a strong meta position currently, but he is not without his flaws. Due to his lack of personal damage and generalist buffs, he doesn’t perform well as a generalist buffer. He does not have potential as a Main DPS until S3 either, unlike Iuno or Brant, for example.
This makes Qiuyuan somewhat niche, where he’ll have a hard time finding a spot on your teams unless you own an Echo Skill damage dealer. However, as it currently stands, the Echo Skill Damage archetype is composed of several very strong meta contenders in terms of DPS right now, and rest assured, Qiuyuan is on some of the best teams of Sigrika and Phrolova while being very close to Mono Fusion for Galbrena. This is because Qiuyuan’s numerous Echo casts and team-wide Echo damage buffing increase Hecate’s damage potential by a ton in Phrolova teams (not to mention Qiuyuan benefits from 25% DMG Amplification via Phrolova’s Outro), and in teams featuring Galbrena and Sigrika, they fully utilize Qiuyuan’s array of buffs, including his Outro and multiple Echo Skill casts, boosting their damage by a massive amount.
However, this does not come without its downsides. Qiuyuan is currently one of the strongest choices for these characters, but he is only a choice in these three teams. The issue with that? He is easily replaced by Lupa in a Galbrena team (where Lupa proves stronger alongside Mornye or other Quickswap teams for more advanced players), and he is easily replaced in any team by Lucilla. In Phrolova teams, he’s replaceable by the likes of Shorekeeper, Buling and even Danjin, if nothing else is available. Alternatives always exist, and Qiuyuan is hence never necessary. Lucilla is a more consistent version of him, with slower but easier rotations that get interrupted less frequently, and, if they do get interrupted, they aren’t punished anywhere near as harshly as Qiuyuan’s.
With that being said, he does have his selling points. Qiuyuan does not need his Signature weapon, which makes him less costly than most of his recent Hybrid peers (Lucilla included); while less consistent, he has the highest ceiling for Sigrika teams when played fully optimally, being the strongest Echo team currently. The Echo archetype also is one of the rare ones that dominates Whimpering Wastes right now through Sigrika and Phrolova. Additionally, Lucilla can very often be busy in Glacio Chafe mode playing alongside Hiyuki instead. Qiuyuan has no such flexibility, but Echo characters are very meta-relevant, and the fact that he’s a second Echo Mode Lucilla alone is more than enough to justify his position in the meta as a Hybrid buffer. You only have so many Lucillas after all, even if she is a better character for the majority of accounts and players, by way of her added Glacio Chafe team flexibility, and rotation consistency.
In conclusion, Qiuyuan is currently in a very strong meta position in spite of his flaws. Able to work with 3 of the best teams in the game as one of the best team members available, and having no need for a Signature weapon while remaining easy to play, he has a lot going for him. However, he can very easily get interrupted, and is only limited to these 3 teams because of the nature of his kit focusing on the archetype of Echo Skill damage. Qiuyuan has a niche in which he specializes in and is very strong, and in spite of his low number of use cases and inconsistency issues, for players looking to improve their Sigrika, Phrolova and/or Galbrena teams, he’s definitely worth considering.
Build
The percentages show the performance of the weapon based on calculations, but in some cases, some weapons might provide additional QOL that can't be quantified and it would push that weapon ahead of others in the priority (and in those cases, we would put that weapon higher).
Qiuyuan calculations were done using added buffs from the following teammates:
Sigrika + Solsworn Ciphers + 
Sound of True Name
Ciaccona + Woodland Aria + 
Gusts of Welkin
100.00%
83.40%
82.60%
80.80%
79.50%
72.10%
72.80%
1
Optimally used in Phrolova teams and DPS Qiuyuan teams. Qiuyuan's best set to maximize his personal damage and buff Echo skill damage of teammates. Gives Qiuyuan 30% Heavy Attack DMG Bonus on the majority of his rotation and up to 16% Echo Skill DMG Bonus to the whole party, most often up permanently throughout a fight. A good mix of personal damage and team buffing makes for a strong set for him to use.
Best combined with your choice of:
Sierra Gale
Gusts of Welkin
Windward Pilgrimage
Sound of True Name
Moonlit Clouds
Endless Resonance
Reel of Spliced Memories
Empyrean Anthem
Tidebreaking Courage
Below you can find Main Echo options:
2
Optimal with Galbrena + Shorekeeper. This set sacrifices Qiuyuan's personal damage in order to provide higher buffing to a single character. It provides an extra 10% Energy Regen to the wielder unconditionally and gives 22.5% ATK to the incoming character for 15s after casting Outro skill.
Below you can find Main Echo options:
Substats: Energy Regen (Until Satisfied) > CRIT Rate = CRIT DMG > ATK% > Heavy Attack DMG% > ATK
All recommended endgame stats portray a fairly good quality endgame build as a goal to aim for on most characters. However, don’t treat this as an end-all-be-all, and more of a suggestion.
All stat recommendations are given at S0 for 5-stars, S6 for 4-stars, and free characters (unless specified otherwise), based on total stats in the in-game stat-screen with the character out of combat but also active in the party (and hence some buffs may or may not apply). Any other precision may be directly specified. If not specified, Energy Regen requirements are estimated in the character’s best team.
HP: 16500+
DEF: 1150+
ATK: 1600-2400+
CRIT Rate: 65-80%+
CRIT DMG: 210-260%+
Energy Regen: 115-130%+
The lower end was estimated by a team with Galbrena+Shorekeeper; the higher end was estimated by a team with Phrolova+Cantarella.
Aero DMG Bonus: 40-70%+
Below you can find the order of leveling the abilities for Qiuyuan.
Forte Circuit
Res. Liberation
Intro Skill
Res. Skill
Basic Attack
Gameplay and teams
Qiuyuan is a very simple character in practice. His kit’s focus is to cast his Forte Heavy Attacks after his Ultimate in order to buff the active teammate’s CRIT DMG (this applies to Qiuyuan himself as well). To do this, he needs to generate Forte via his Intro and his Inkwash Basic Attacks - there is very little that can be done outside of this. As a result, his rotation happens as follows:
With Reminiscence: Fenrico: Cast immediately to benefit from his Inherent Skill; otherwise, use Impermanence Heron at the end of his rotation before Outro to cancel the animation with it but still benefit from its DMG increasing effect to the incoming character. With Bell-Borne Geochelone for Phrolova teams, cancel it right before his Ultimate to buff Phrolova’s Enhanced Hecate attacks, most of Qiuyuan and the 2nd slot character’s rotations, as well as some of Phrolova’s on-field rotation.
Intro
Basic: Inkwash 3
Basic: Inkwash 4 (OPTIONAL: Cancel animation on cast via Skill, use Ultimate otherwise)
OPTIONAL: Skill (Cancel animation endlag via Ultimate)
Ultimate
Heavy: To Teach
Heavy: To Save
Heavy: To Sacrifice
Outro
Qiuyuan’s Skill is either usable before his rotation in Quickswap (most optimal), or during his rotation in 123 (if needed), because his Energy Regen requirements can be exceedingly high without casting it. In the case that it’s necessary, it’s not a huge loss of team DPS to cast it.
However, variations exist depending on the Main Echo used and on the Sequences that Qiuyuan has unlocked, as follows:
At S3 and higher, Qiuyuan’s Skill is replaced by a new Skill that enables him to recast his 2 Inkwash Basics and 3 Forte Heavy Attacks and function as a Main DPS. However, it consumes Concerto Energy, and as a result it must be skipped out when used as a buffer. A normal Skill can still be cast in a pinch for Resonance Energy by holding down the Skill input.
With 5P Moonlit Clouds, he uses Impermanence Heron as his main Echo. This can make him necessitate way less Energy; however, it needs to be cast either before his rotation starts (optimally) to benefit from the flat Energy regeneration effect and extra damage, or at the end of his rotation, which will interrupt the animation via his Outro.
If you want to rotate without an Intro (can be used when optimizing rotations to fit in some extra key attacks in niche situations, e.g: Sigrika Shorekeeper Double Outburst), then you can rotate like this:
Heavy
Basic: Inkwash 4
Heavy
Basic: Inkwash 4 (Cancel animation on cast via Echo/Ultimate)
If on Moonlit: Echo (Interrupt instantly via Dash)
If on Moonlit: Dash (Interrupt instantly via Ultimate)
Ultimate
Basic: Inkwash 1
Basic: Inkwash 2 (Interrupt via Dash when Forte is generated)
Dash
Basic: Inkwash 1
Basic: Inkwash 2 (Interrupt via Heavy)
Heavy: To Teach
Heavy: To Save
Heavy: To Sacrifice (Swap)
Outro
An extra tech for this rotation with Shorekeeper in specific: It’s possible to swap out of Qiuyuan’s first Heavy, cast Shorekeeper’s Ultimate into Skill, and then come back to Qiuyuan after that. This slightly speeds up the rotation while adding some extra Shorekeeper buffs.
Now that we have all his Hybrid rotations covered, his S3 allows him to re-use his Forte Heavy Attack sequence quickly by casting a special Skill that instantly refunds him 400 Forte Points and allows him to combo into his Inkwash Basics 3 and 4 as if he had cast another Intro. This enables him to function as a DPS at S3 and higher. That rotation works as follows:
Intro
Basic: Inkwash 3
Basic: Inkwash 4 (Cancel animation on cast via Ultimate)
Ultimate
Heavy: To Teach
Heavy: To Save
Heavy: To Sacrifice
Skill: Straw Cape in Drizzly Rain
Basic: Inkwash 3
Basic: Inkwash 4 (Cancel animation on cast via Heavy)
Heavy: To Teach
Heavy: To Save
Heavy: To Sacrifice
Outro
As a DPS, he’ll always run 3P Law of Harmony with Reminiscence: Fenrico as his main Echo.
Sigrika 
Galbrena 
Phrolova - Qiuyuan is the best second slot teammate for Galbrena, and the best third slot teammate for Phrolova. The reason why is simple: for Galbrena and Sigrika, he is her best buffer due to his many buffs catered towards Echo Skill DMG, including his powerful Outro. For Phrolova, he has multiple Echo Skill casts which activates Hecate Enhanced Attacks and he also is a good recipient of Phrolova's 25% Heavy DMG Amplification Outro. These 3 pairs make Qiuyuan very strong in the current meta and are absolutely worth using.
The Shorekeeper 
Verina - As the two best generalist Supports by heaps and bounds, it's no surprise Shorekeeper and Verina can slot in almost any team in the game as they provide high team-wide ATK% and 15% DMG Amplify. Shorekeeper additionally provides CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG, always making her the best third slot teammate for Galbrena+Qiuyuan teams, but Verina is a close, more accessible second provided Shorekeeper isn't available.Best Team
Phrolova can be stronger in multi-wave scenarios like Whimpering Wastes, but it's worth keeping in mind Phrolova also has stronger teams of her own.
Phrolova Team
Galbrena Team
Calculations