Wuthering Waves Yinlin build guide

With the best Yinlin build in Wuthering Waves, you’ll get your dream Electro sub-DPS. Yinlin doesn’t need much active time to deal damage; in fact, the former Jinzhou Patroller can destroy your enemies while she’s not even on the field. Beware that it takes a rather specific attack rotation to reach this 5-star Electro character’s full potential, so make sure you understand Yinlin’s kit.

From weapons to Echoes, here’s how to get the best Wuthering Waves Yinlin build. 

We've also got some Wuthering Waves codes to help you get more resources and a guide on how to wish in Wuthering Waves to help you get you more characters and weapons.

Yinlin’s abilities and rotation

• Basic Attack: controls the puppet ‘Zapstring’ to perform up to 4 attacks, dealing Electro DMG. Also comes with a Heavy Attack, Mid-Air Attack, and Dodge Counter.
• Resonance Skill: the Zapstring puppet deals Electro DMG to the target and puts Yinlin in ‘Execution Mode’. The Execution Mode’s Basic Attack and Dodge Counter trigger one Electromagnetic Blast when hitting a target. Each stage of the Basic Attack or Dodge Counter can only trigger one Electromagnetic Blast, up to four times. The Electromagnetic Blast attacks all targets marked with the Forte Circuit’s Sinner's Mark, dealing Electro DMG. Use the Resonance Skill again (after casting Resonance Skill the first time) to cast ‘Lightning Execution’, dealing additional Electro DMG. If Lightning Execution is not activated in a while or this Character is switched, this Skill will be put on cooldown.
• Forte Circuit: Yinlin can hold up to 100 Judgment Points, which are gained by hitting targets with a Normal Attack or any of the Resonance Skill stages. When Judgment Points are full, Yinlin’s Heavy Attack is replaced with ‘Chameleon Cipher’, consuming all Judgment Points to attack a target and deal Electro Damage. If it hits a target with ‘Sinner’s Mark’, the mark is replaced with ‘Punishment Mark’, lasting for 18 seconds. Normal Attacks, Resonance Liberation, and the Intro Skill apply Sinner's Mark on hit (removed when Yinlin exits). When a target marked with Punishment Mark is damaged, ‘Judgement Strike’ will fall, dealing Electro DMG to all targets marked with Punishment Mark (can be triggered up to once per second).
• Resonance Liberation: command Zapstring to call for thunder, dealing Electro DMG in a large range.
• Intro Skill: command Zapstring to attack, dealing Electro damage in a large range. 
• Outro Skill: The incoming character (or character on a nearby team that activates an Outro Skill) has their Electro DMG amplified by 20% and Resonance Liberation DMG amplified by 25%, lasting for fourteen seconds or until the character leaves the field.
• Pain Immersion (Inherent Skill): After using the Resonance Skill’s Magnetic Roar (the initial attack), Yinlin's Critical Rate is increased by 15% for five seconds.
• Deadly Focus (Inherent Skill): The damage of the Resonance Skill’s Lightning Execution is increased by 10% when hitting targets marked with Sinner's Mark, and Yinlin's ATK is increased by 10% for four seconds. 

The list above details all of Yinlin’s abilities in Wuthering Waves. It may sound complex, but the key to an efficient Yinlin rotation is to place her Sinner’s Mark and Punishment Mark on her opponents before attacking them, as this will greatly increase her damage. Yinlin can be played as a main or sub-DPS, but she’s best as a sub-DPS and Electro support hybrid. If there’s another Electro DPS on Yinlin’s team, they will greatly benefit from her Outro Skill, which buffs the Electro Damage of the next character by 20% and their Resonance Liberation damage by 25%. 

At the start of her turn, Yinlin must apply Sinner’s Mark to her opponents. She may do this automatically if she triggers her Intro Skill, but you can also use her Resonance Liberation if it’s ready. If you can’t use either, just one Heavy Attack may be enough to cast Sinner’s Mark on all your opponents thanks to its large range. If an enemy is marked with Sinner’s Mark, you’ll see a purple glowing star on their chest - in the picture above, all enemies have the mark.

With Sinner’s Mark applied, you can use the Resonance Skill to trigger Execution Mode. Hit your opponents with one full Basic Attack sequence (you may throw a Dodge Counter in there) and they’ll receive additional Electromagnetic Blast damage (remember: only those who have Sinner’s Mark). End this sequence by triggering a second Resonance Skill, which deals powerful Lightning Execution damage. Beware that Execution Mode’s duration is 10 seconds, so make sure you finish the Basic Attack combo plus the second Resonance Skill attack within that time frame. 

As Yinlin’s Judgment Points should be full by now, you must trigger a Heavy Attack; this will change the Sinner’s Mark effect to Punishment Mark. Whenever a target with Punishment Mark is hit, all enemies with that mark receive Electro damage. Here’s the important thing: although Sinner’s Mark disappears when Yinlin leaves the field, Punishment Mark does not. So, immediately after casting Punishment Mark, Yinlin should swap to the other Electro DPS on the team, and this DPS will trigger the Punishment Mark effect while benefitting from Yinlin’s Electro damage and Resonance Liberation bonus. If it’s full, Yinlin can use her Resonance Liberation before she swaps out. 

To sum up Yinlin’s rotation: use either the Intro Skill, Resonance Liberation, or Heavy Attack. Cast Resonance Skill followed by four Basic Attacks, then the Resonance Skill again. Is the Judgment bar full? Cast Heavy Attack, cast Resonance Liberation if you have it, swap out to an Electro DPS.

Yinlin’s Resonance Chain and upgrade priority

• Morality’s Crossroads: the Resonance Skill’s Magnetic Roar and Lightning Execution deal 70% more damage.
• Ensnarled by Rapport: Resonance Skill Electromagnetic Blast recovers an additional five Judgement Points and five Resonance Energy on hit.
• Unyielding Verdict: Forte Circuit’s Judgment Strike's DMG multiplier is increased by 55%.
• Steadfast Conviction: when Forte Circuit’s Judgment Strike hits a target, the ATK of all team members is increased by 20% for 12 seconds.
• Resounding Will: Resonance Liberation Thundering Wrath deals 100% extra damage to targets with Forte Circuit's Sinner's Mark or Punishment Mark.
• Pursuit of Justice: in the first 30 seconds after casting Resonance Liberation’s Thundering Wrath, when Yinlin's Basic Attack hits a target, Furious Thunder will be triggered, dealing Electro DMG equal to 419.59% of Yinlin's ATK. Every Basic Attack hit can trigger Furious Thunder one time, up to four times. This is considered Resonance Skill DMG.

The list above shows Yinlin’s Resonance Chain passive abilities, which can be unlocked by obtaining Yinlin duplicates from the Wuthering Waves wish banners. Since Yinlin is a 5-star character, beware that it takes a very large amount of Astrite/Lustrous Tides to unlock all six Resonance Chain abilities, but you can still get a great Yinlin build without them.

If you’re willing to build Yinlin’s Resonance Chain, note that Morality’s Crossroads, Unyielding Verdict, Pursuit of Justice, and Resounding Will are pretty straightforward damage boosts. Just beware that unlocking Resounding Will means you should only trigger the Resonance Liberation if the enemy is already marked (not at the very start of Yinlin’s rotation without an Intro Skill). Pursuit of Justice’s description sounds a bit complex, but it just means that the Basic Attack damage between the two Resonance Skill uses is automatically boosted.

Steadfast Conviction is a very strong support ability as it improves Attack power for the team’s second Electro DPS - it triggers whenever the Punishment-Marked enemies gain Yinlin’s (off-field) damage. If you often need to land additional Basic Attacks to stack Judgment Points, Ensnarled by Rapport may help you out. 

Whether you choose to upgrade the Resonance Chain or not, make sure you upgrade all Inherent Skills and Stat Bonuses on your Yinlin build. The ability upgrade priority is Forte Circuit and Resonance Skill first, then Resonance Liberation and Basic Attack, and finally the Intro Skill. 

Best weapon for Yinlin

• Best 5-star weapon: Stringmaster. Increases Critical Rate by 8-36%. Increases damage bonus by 12-24%. When dealing Resonance Skill damage, Attack is increased by 12-24%, stacking up to two times and lasting for five seconds. When the equipped Resonator is not on the field, increases their attack by an additional 12-24%. 
• Best 4-star weapon: Augment. Increases Critical Rate by 4.5-20%. When Resonance Liberation is released, increases the caster's ATK by 15-48%, lasting for 15 seconds.

Yinlin uses Rectifier weapons. The best 5-star weapon for your Yinlin build is the Stringmaster, which offers a much-needed Critical Rate boost that works well together with her Critical Rate Stat Bonuses - as they’ll give your Yinlin build a Critical Rate boost of around 44%, this enables you to focus the main Echo stat on Critical Damage. Furthermore, the Stringmaster weapon grants Yinlin a damage boost both when she’s active (upon using the Resonance Skill) and when she’s not (after triggering Punishment Mark and leaving the field). 

The other 5-star Rectifier, Cosmic Ripples, isn’t bad on Yinlin either. The Attack boost, Energy Regeneration, and Basic Attack buff are all useful, but this weapon lacks Critical stats and off-field damage improvements. The best 4-star weapon for your Yinlin build is Augment; thanks to the Critical Rate stat and high Attack boost, it’s almost as good as Cosmic Ripples. If you don’t have Augment, go for Jinzhou Keeper (high Attack boost).

Best Echoes for Yinlin

• Best Echo set: the full Void Thunder set. Increases Electro Damage by 10%, and also increases Electro Damage by 15% after releasing a Heavy Attack or Resonance Skill. Stacks up to two times and lasts fifteen seconds. 
• Best Echo ability: Thundering Mephis. Transform into Thundering Mephis, engaging in a rapid assault of up to six strikes. After the final hit, increase the current character's Electro Damage by 12.00% and Resonance Liberation Damage by 12.00% for 15 seconds. The cooldown is 20 seconds. 
• Echo stats: Critical Rate, Critical Damage, Electro Damage, Attack.

Yinlin has two amazing Echo sets to choose from: Void Thunder and Moonlit Clouds. The first improves her own Electro Damage, while the second improves the damage of the Electro DPS who takes the field next. Which Echo set is best for your Yinlin build depends on your preference: do you want a better Yinlin DPS or a better Yinlin support? That said, Void Thunder is typically a better option because of the massive damage boost that benefits her entire kit, while the Energy Regeneration on the Moonlit Clouds set isn’t that useful on Yinlin. As Yinlin often uses her Heavy Attack and Resonance Skill, it’ll be easy for her to activate the full Void Thunder effect. 

As for the best Echo ability for your Yinlin build, Thundering Mephis or Tempest Mephis are both brilliant choices as they increase Yinlin’s Electro Damage. Beware that Thundering also increases Resonance Liberation while Tempest increases Heavy Attack damage. The difference it’s massive (neither is her most important damage source), so if you have both, pick the Echo with the best stats.

Speaking of stats, Critical Damage is the priority if you already have a high Critical Rate. Attack is always good, and Electro Damage Boost is even better. You don’t need Energy Regeneration as a main stat on a three-cost Echo, but it would be good to have it as a sub-stat. Any ability bonuses on the substats are welcome too.

Best Yinlin teams

• Best Yinlin team: Yinlin, Calcharo, Verina.
• Best Yinlin free-to-play team: Yinlin, Spectro Rover, Baizhi.

Yinlin is the perfect sub-DPS for an Electro main DPS, and as luck would have it, Wuthering Waves has such a DPS: Calcharo. Use Yinlin’s rotation before swapping to Calcharo, and Calcharo will receive a massive Electro boost while Yinlin herself continues to deal off-field Electro damage. As they need someone to keep them both alive, the best healer in Wuthering Waves should ideally take up the third team spot: Verina. The only weakness in this Yinlin team is Calcharo’s long field time, which makes it especially important to rotate Yinlin very quickly, leaving no room for errors that may delay the Judgment Points charge.

In a free-to-play Yinlin team, she’s best used as a main DPS or dual DPS. Since Yinlin herself is the strongest (and probably only) Electro DPS on the team, forget about her support ability - instead, you can use a support character to support Yinlin, such as Yangyang or Sanhua. Spectro Rover is also a great choice; although Rover and Yinlin can’t buff each other, they’re two of the strongest free-to-play DPS characters who don’t require a lot of active field time, so they can swap places quite easily. On top of that, Spectro Rover slows enemies with their Outro, which can help Yinlin if she plays next. Baizhi can become the healer for this Yinlin team. 

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