Wuthering Waves Taoqi Build Guide
Jul. 11, 2024Wuthering Waves Taoqi Build Guide
In thisWuthering Waves Taoqi Build Guidewe’re going to be covering a hybrid sub-dps and defensive build, for Taoqi. This build focuses on doing burst damage as a sub-dps, while giving shield to protect team. That’s on top of her buffing capabilities. Taoqi is an adaptable character, suitable for all open world, and endgame modes in Wuthering Waves.
In Tower of Adversity, you use two or three teams. First team always takeVerina, so Taoqi is good pick for second team. As she provide more damage than most other sustain characters.
Taoqi is a four star character, with Havoc element, and Broadblade weapon. And contrary to all characters, she has Def scaling skills. The def scaling sets Taoqi aside from the rest of Wuthering Waves roster, as Def value is naturally higher than attack. So she can build as a good sub dps, without sacrificing her defensive and buffing utility. That make Taoqi fill multi roles at same time, and increase her value.
A unique feature about Taoqi, is that she may unleash her special Forte attacks with Intro skill. This enable her to get on field, do quick rotation, and switch out. However, that’s not enough to fill her concerto energy. So she need timing to counter an enemy attack, to do another chain of Timed Counters. Which can be done by switching her out without Outro, then switching her in at the right moment for a counter. Then finally use an Outro.
Meanwhile, she deal decent burst damage. And unlike other sustain characters, she has low energy cost for Resonance Liberation. So Taoqi manages her energy well, with pure dps build (at S5), or hybrid build (prior to S5). And as a four star, she may get Sequences easier, to improve her performance.
In Illusion Realm, Taoqi may perform very well, with certain setup. She can shield, heal, and all she need is a path that provide good sustained damage, and she’s a beast in that mode. Which is another dimension to her kit.
For Taoqi, Basic skill is not important at all. It scale with Attack, rather than Def, has low multipliers, and slow. Leveling this is a huge waste of resources, for too little gain. However, Basic Attack has some unique mechanics that she uses in certain cases.
Holding Heavy Attack make Taoqi enter specialRocksteady Defensemode. She stops all movement and skills, and wait for enemy attack. In this mode, all Damage taken is reduced by35%, that stacks with other damage reduction modifiers. So by merely using Echo Skill “Bell-Borne Geochelone” and holding Heavy Attack, Taoqi gets 85% damage reduction, enabling her to tank huge hits. Then with her Skill, she literally takes zero damage.
If enemy Attack hits Taoqi inRocksteady Defense, she perform aStrategic Parry. This is a super counterattack, that deal damage to enemy, and allow Taoqi to use her ForteTimed Counters. AfterStrategic Parry, Taoqi can perform three consecutive counter attacks, if her Forte bar has enough charges. However, this is not the only way to triggerStrategic Parry, as it auto cast if Taoqi is hit while casting Resonance Skill as well.
Not only that, but theTimed Countersattacks may also trigger after using Intro. So a support, and a sub-dps Taoqi build doesn’t have to rely on Counters to do her support rotation.
Note thatStrategic Parryscales with Def, so it add a bit of damage to Taoqi dps. But not something to rely upon.
Similar to sustain characters, Taoqi Resonance’s Skill is a healing skill. Both healing and damage scales with Def, but it only heals Taoqi, and not the team. So leveling this skill is important.
It give a mini shield, that reduce damage taken by15%. Which stack withRocksteady Defense, and “Bell-Borne Geochelone” Echo skill, for a total of100%Damage Reduction.
The shield has three stacks, to reduce damage for three hits. They are consumed regardless if Taoqi took hit while inRocksteady Defenseor not. So be careful on what hits you take with Taoqi, if you want to fully negate an enemy attack.
The three stacks of the shield should persist after switching. So if you switch Taoqi and she still has stacks unconsumed, next characters can take advantage of them. This enable her main shield to endure more hits, preventing character from taking damage to their HP.
The Resonance Skill has15seconds cooldown though, so it’s harder to weave more than one skill in rotation. Even with quick swap comps, you need a full30seconds rotation to cast skill twice. Which is not very common duration for rotation among most teams.
AtS4, Taoqi restore HP upon usingStrategic Parry, and buff her own Def by50%for5s. This is very good buff, considering how high her base Def is.
The main damage source of Taoqi is her Resonance Liberation. A single hit AOE burst that deal Havoc damage, similar toHavoc MC‘s Liberation. The scaling modifier is lower than than most burst dps characters. However, the Def stat Taoqi can reach is like at least double the ATK of most characters. So in the end, Taoqi still deal good burst damage.
Resonance Liberation has125energy cost, and that’s on the cheaper side. So Taoqi can perform very quick rotations, without building so much energy recharge.
Taoqi has three charges on Forte bar, which she charge byRocksteady Shieldbeing either consumed or expired.Rocksteady Shieldcomes from Resonance Skill, and consumed upon taking hits.
When Taoqi unleash aStrategic Parry, she can immediately follow by threeTimed Counters. EachTimed Countersconsumes one Forte charge, and the combo must not be interrupted. TheseTimed Countersare considered Normal Attacks in damage formula, but scales with Forte Circuit levels. So prioritize leveling Forte right behind Resonance Liberation. AtS5, Taoqi gets50%damage multiplier toTimed Counters, as well as restoring energy. This eliminate the need for Energy on Echoes entirely.
On top of dealing damage,Timed Countersbuild up a shield for the team to protect them. The shield scales with Taoqi Def value, and with Forte level, but nothing else. Unlike Healing, there’s no stat for shield strength on Weapons nor Echoes. However,S1gives Taoqi shield a1.4xmultiplier, which is big improvement.
With damage reduction modifiers, the shield takes less damage from enemies with damage reduction modifiers. So Taoqi Resonance skill and Echo skill comes in handy. It also stack with other shields from other shielders, instead of overlapping. Which is a huge benefit when Taoqi is paired with characters such as Jianxin.
The shield lasts18seconds, but if player doesn’t avoid the most deadly hits, it will not last that long. So be careful.
This passive increase the Def of Taoqi by15%, as long as she hasRocksteady Shieldfrom resonance skill active. This usually doesn’t apply to theStrategic ParryandTimed Countersfollowing an Intro skill. Reason is, you can’t interrupt the combo to cast Resonance Skill. AndRocksteady Shieldis very unlikely to persist from previous rotation.
And player not also advised to use Resonance Skill before Resonance Liberation if energy is full. So it only comes to play when Taoqi manually triggerStrategic Parryby timely countering an enemy. This is still good, so allocate this passive when you can.
Stamina recover is useful if you have to chainStrategic ParryafterStrategic Parry. This only occur in Illusive Realm mode, or if you happen to use stamina heavy characters.
The Intro and Outro skills need fully charged Concerto energy to cast. They are important to trigger certain Echo Sets bonuses and weapons, And in the case of our Wuthering Waves Taoqi Build, Intro is tied to the core of her kit. While Outro is a great buff.
Intro is very simple, deal some damage that scales with ATK. So it’s very useless to level. But very important to use. Switch to Taoqi with Intro, and she auto triggerStrategic Parry, then follow by threeTimed Counters.
So she can perform her full combo with Resonance Liberation and Resonance skill, and continue. dealing all her damage and gain shield in very short window.
A straight up38%(1.38x) Resonance Skill DMG multiplier, to next character. This buff lasts 14 seconds, or until next character switches out. So be careful not to waste it by using Outro into the wrong character, nor the correct character, but switching them out before they benefit from the buff.
On the correct characters though, it’s unmatched buff. Especially with the fact that Taoqi deal also damage on her own, and provide protection to the team!
As explained before, Taoqi default combo is not enough to fully charge Concerto. So Taoqi need to adapt switching in at correct timing to use anotherStrategic Parry. Then she may build enough Concerto to use Outro.
For this Wuthering Waves Taoqi Build, gear is a crucial part, and Weapon is a major part of gearing. Taoqi dps scales with Crit, Def, and Havoc damage stats. And her shield also scales with Def. This mean base ATK from all weapons doesn’t add anything to Taoqi.
Taoqi doesn’t need energy Recharge from Echoes, especially at S5 and higher. This helps her focus on proper stats. Taoqi uses Broadblade, which has very limited access to Def weapons.
A free weapon you collect in game, from the top of some flying buildings. It’s a four star Broadblade, so you may get random copies from any character or weapon banner. It’s not really hard to get, so we use as default weapon, and don’t consider ant three star options.
The weapon comes with massive61.5%Def bonus in sub stats, and another15%Def on using Intro. This15%grows up to30%Def at maximum refinement (Using 5 dupes). So it really help Taoqi get a massive Def bonus, even while weapons lack base Def stats.
There’s no other weapon that provide similar power to Taoqi. Even five star weapons, and limited five star weapons with Crit stats can’t compete.
Similar toRelicsfromHonkai Star RailandArtifactsfromGenshin Impact,EchoesinWuthering WavesTaoqi buildworks as gear. We have five slots to equipEchoes, but unlike the other games, we are not restricted to using certainEchoesin specific slots.
In total, a character has12points to distribute amongEchoes.Echoescome in three grades: Common (1cost), Elite (3cost), and Overlord/Calamity (4cost). So, the ideal distribution in the endgame is (4,3,3,1,1). However, in certain situations, some other setup is possible. Such as getting more Crit stats from the (4,4,1,1,1) setup. Energy recharge set has two bosses with4costs, so (4,4,1,1,1) is possible.
In this Wuthering Waves Taoqi Build we aim to get these dps main stats:
If your Taoqi is less than S5, she might need Energy Recharge Stat. But with good sub stats, she doesn’t need it as a main stat. AT S5, she doesn’t need Energy Recharge at all.
Taoqi comes with no initial Crit Rate nor Crit Damage stats, neither does her her weapon. So you always get Crit Rate on your4cost Echoes. If you use (4,4,1,1,1) then one get Crit Rate, and other get Crit Damage.
For sub stats, get Energy Recharge, Crit, % Def, Flat Def, and Resonance Liberation Damage. There’s also Normal Attack Damage that’s a bit useful, and better than nothing. However it’s not very important.
On top of providing main and sub-stats, each Echo provide a skill that can be used in battle. Only one skill can be acquired this way, and it comes from the top Echo on the Echoes page. Taoqi’s optimal set is theEnergyRecharge set, even if she doesn’t need energy anymore at S5. Reason is, to use one of the top support Echo skills in this set.
The 4-cost Bosses skill in theEnergyset areBell-Borne GeocheloneandImpermanence Heron. And the decision to use which, relies on team mates. If you use another healer with healing set, it’s guaranteed they are usingBell-Borne Geochelone, so pick the other one. If your second support is using Energy Set or a damage set instead; You should let them haveImpermanence Heron. and Taoqi getBell-Borne Geochelone.
It’s usually better to have theBell-Borne Geocheloneon Taoqi, because of the synergy with other damage reduction sources in her kit. As this Echo reduce a whole50%of damage taken for three hits. It also give10%Damage bonus until three hits are taken.
I recommendEnergySet, since current available roster in version1.0~1.1has no Def scaling set. Even at S5, and when Taoqi need no extra Energy Recharge, the Energy Set still provide great ATK buff to next character. One of the main reasons to use Taoqi is using her Outro, and this set trigger on using Outro. So the buff works very well.
Teams inWuthering Wavesconsist of three characters, and to buildTaoqiright, we have to pair her with two suitable companions.Taoqiis a sub-DPS who add a layer of protection, and Resonance Skill DMG buff. So, we focus on getting a main dps who focus on dealing Resonance Skill damage. As well as a sustain who also deal good dps.
At launch, there was only one main damage dealers who deal Resonance Skill damage. That isDanjin, andDanjinconsumes her own HP, so she’s harder to play, and less popular. This resulted in Taoqi not finding suitable team mate to benefit from her massive Outro buff.
With players getting more used to game mechanics and enemy skills, playingDanjinis becoming easier. She has high player skill expression, but very rewarding to play, if done right. And there’s also the triple Dreamless setup, that involveDanjin,Havoc MC, andTaoqi. Where you useHavoc MCLiberation to buff Dreamless Echo damage, then cycle through all characters and spam Echo skill. But that’s not the focus of this build.
With the release ofYinlinin version1.0second half,Taoqicould find another partner. This time more reliable and easier to play.Yinlinis usually prefer a sub-dps role, with buffing capabilities. However, with38%more damage multiplier fromTaoqi, she can play main dps and stay on field. It’s unconventional but reliable comp.
Usually, the best pair forTaoqiandYinlinisJianxin. Reason is,Jianxinis another shielder, and her shield stacks with Taoqi shield. This create a very tough defensive layer that’s hard for any enemy to go break. Not only that, butJianxinhas a Resonance Liberation buff she may only pass to one character. In typical Resonance Liberation team, such as withCalcharo, you can’t buff Calcharo with bothYinlinandJianxin. This result inJianxinbuff being wasted.
However, inYinlinandTaoqiteam,Jianxincan pass her buff toTaoqi, who mainly deal Resonance Liberation damage. ThenTaoqipass her buff toYinlin, who deal resonance skill damage. This way the damage distribution is more even.Jianxinalso gather enemies for bothTaoqiandYinlinto attack in AOE. AndJianxinhave great parry and counter attacks, and if played correctly, can spend very little on field.
If you don’t haveJianxinand still want to playTaoqiandYinlin, you may play a Resonance Liberation sub-dps. One good example isYangyang, especially at S5 or higher.YangyangResonance Liberation multiplier gets pretty high at S5, and she help charge energy for the team. So she can fit in this slot pretty well, and she also gather enemies similar toJianxin.
Taoqi is a unique character that hasn’t realized her full potential yet. She shall get a lot better, if Kuro release any character that gain more benefits from being shielded. But in the meanwhile, Taoqi can still find a place in couple useful teams. If you like the playstyle and want her to work, it’s not that hard to utilize her.
As a Four star, Taoqi gets better with Sequences, especially her S2 that gives both Crit Rate and Crit Damage. So beware that her ranking in tier lists vary depends on how many Sequences she has.
The 100% damage reduction on Taoqi, paired with another defensive character such as Jianxin result in great tankiness. If you learn how to use both characters, and switch to them effectively, you can challenge much harder content without a problem. But note that very mobile enemies gives Taoqi a headache, as Taoqi may miss herTimed Counters. This results in even greater lose of Concerto energy, making Taoqi Outro buff harder to use, and reduce team performance.
Stay tuned for moreWuthering Waves Character Guides. and check out ourSanhua,Yinlin, andEncorebuild guides. And Check ourYouTube channelfor news & guides on other games.
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