Yao Guang Best Build: Relics, Light Cones, and Team Comps | HSR 4.0

Yao Guang is rolling into HSR 4.0 and basically yelling: “Elation mains, we feast.” If you’ve been waiting for a character who makes Elation teams feel more like a real, repeatable gameplan, she’s the vibe. This guide keeps it practical—what she actually does for a team, what kinds of carries love her, and how to build her so she shows up first, stays online, and keeps the party moving.

Yao Guang Overview

Rarity: 5-Star  |  Element: Physical  |  Path: Elation

Yao Guang is a 5★ Physical / Elation support who doesn’t just “buff” — she turns your team into an Elation factory. She sets up a team-wide window that pushes everyone’s Elation upward based on her own, then feeds herself a resource to keep that engine running. Once her mode is online, every ally attack can spit out extra Elation follow-up damage, and SP-heavy actions get rewarded with even more bonus procs, so your spendy carries suddenly feel celebrated, not punished. Her burst also hands Aha an extra action and gives the team All-Type RES penetration, making the whole loop snowball faster.

 

Yao Guang Key mechanics & features

Zone-based Elation Amp

Yao Guang plants a lingering field that raises every ally’s Elation based on her own, then keeps feeding herself Punchlines as she takes regular turns. With her SPD-scaling trace, she naturally ramps faster and keeps the whole team’s “Elation baseline” high.

Punchline → Tempo Spikes

Her burst stocks more Punchlines, instantly gives Aha an extra action that “counts” a fixed Punchline amount, and hands the squad All-Type RES PEN for the next few turns—aka the kind of button that makes Elation teams start snowballing right now.

SP-to-Extra-Hits Converter

When she’s in Certified Banger, allies’ attacks trigger Great Boon bonus Elation damage—and SP-hungry actions get extra procs (up to a cap), with low-Elation allies borrowing her Elation for scaling. She also applies Woe’s Whisper to make enemies take more damage before blasting AoE Elation hits, plus she can refund SP after doing so.

 

Yao Guang Materials Overview

Yao Guang’s playstyle is all about fast tempo and keeping your Elation engine online — so don’t let missing upgrade mats be the thing that stalls your hype. For a full farming checklist, best stages, and smart priority order, check our complete Yao Guang Materials guide!

 

Yao Guang Trace Priority

Skill	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Top)
Talent	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (High)
Ultimate	⭐⭐⭐ (Medium)
Basic ATK	⭐⭐ (Low)

Skill: keeps the “Elation floor” high, every turn

In real runs you’re refreshing/maintaining her Zone a lot, and that Zone is what shares a chunk of her Elation to the whole team. Higher Skill levels directly mean a bigger team-wide Elation baseline and smoother Punchline generation off her normal actions.

Talent: where the team’s extra hits actually come from

Once her mode is active, every ally attack can trigger bonus Elation damage, and SP-hungry attacks can trigger extra procs. This is the part that fires nonstop in rotations, so Talent levels translate into the most “felt” DPS gain.

Ultimate: huge spike, but not your main uptime

It’s a power button—more Punchlines, Aha gets an extra action, and the team gets All-Type RES PEN—but you’re not pressing it as often as your core loop pieces.

Basic ATK: mostly an SP-saving filler

It’s just a Blast hit with extra Energy value; leveling it mainly buffs the Basic’s own damage, not the “Elation engine” parts of her kit.

 

Yao Guang Best Light Cones

Signature Light Cone

When She Decided to See

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ATK: 529.2   DEF: 529.2   HP: 1058

Game Changer

Increases the wearer's SPD by 18%. When the wearer enters combat or uses Ultimate on an ally target, the wearer gains "Great Fortune" for 3 turn(s). While the wearer has "Great Fortune," all allies' CRIT Rate increases by 10%, CRIT DMG increases by 30%, and the wearer's Energy Regeneration Rate increases by 12%.

Why it’s ideal for Yao Guang

Her kit rewards building SPD: she has a trace that converts high SPD into extra Elation, and her core setup boosts the whole team’s Elation based on her own Elation—so the cone’s big SPD bump is basically “more engine, faster.” More turns also means she can more consistently generate her resource while keeping the team’s Elation floor elevated.

Also, the cone front-loads value at battle start and gives a clean 3-turn buff window: teamwide CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG plus extra Energy Regen for Yao Guang. That Energy helps her reach her Ultimate more often, which is a huge tempo button for Elation teams.

 

Alternatives Lightcone

Dazzled by a Flowery World	The most “toolbox” alternative: CRIT DMG for her personal output, plus higher SP cap based on how many Elation units you run. The real perk is: every SP she spends ramps all allies’ Elation (stacking) and gives her DEF ignore on her Elation damage. Not great in low-SP teams, but fun in spendy rotations.
Today's Good Luck	Budget-friendly and comfy: free CRIT Rate, plus every time she presses an Elation Skill she stacks more Elation (up to 3). That’s solid for a support who wants higher Elation for her own scaling and to keep her engine pieces feeling “on” without needing perfect stats.
Mushy Shroomy's Adventures	A cute “team Elation amp” option: it boosts her Elation, and whenever she uses an Elation Skill it makes enemies take more Elation DMG for 2 turns—nice if your squad’s damage comes from repeated Elation procs. Not flashy outside that window, but it’s consistent.

 

Yao Guang Best Relics

4-Pc Selection

Diviner of Distant Reach	2-Pc: Increases SPD by 6%. 4-Pc: Before entering combat, if the wearer's SPD is greater than or equal to 120/160, increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 10%/18%. When the wearer uses Elation Skill for the first time in each battle, enhances all allies' Elation by 10%. This effect cannot stack.
This set is Yao Guang’s “hit the breakpoint, share more” option: it helps reach the SPD threshold that turns extra speed into Elation, so her teamwide Elation share (and bonus-hit scaling when allies are lower) ramps harder from turn one.
Eagle of Twilight Line	2-Pc: Increases Wind DMG by 10%. 4-Pc: After the wearer uses their Ultimate, their action is Advanced Forward by 25%.
Eagle’s 4-pc action advance after Ultimate lets Yao Guang take her next turn sooner, so she can refresh her team’s Elation field, generate Punchlines, and keep her bonus-hit mode rolling. Niche tempo tech, not best.

2-Pc Selection

Lushaka, the Sunken Seas	2-Pc: Increases the wearer's Energy Regeneration Rate by 5%. If the wearer is not the first character in the team lineup, then increase the ATK of the first character in the team lineup by 12%.
Put Yao Guang anywhere except slot 1 and it quietly feeds your main carry’s damage while also helping Yao Guang cycle her Ultimate more often—which matters because her Ultimate drives the team’s tempo with Aha’s extra action + All-Type RES PEN.
Sprightly Vonwacq	2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s Energy Regeneration Rate by 5%. When the wearer’s SPD reaches 120 or higher, the wearer’s action is Advanced Forward by 40% immediately upon entering battle.
She’s already chasing SPD 120+ to turn speed into more Elation. Vonwacq makes that breakpoint feel “turn-one relevant,” so she can get her setup online earlier and start generating resources for the Elation loop before the fight can slow you down.
Broken Keel	2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s Effect RES by 10%. When the wearer’s Effect RES is at 30% or higher, all allies’ CRIT DMG increases by 10%.
Keel is the “don’t let the engine stall” pick: more Effect RES helps her avoid getting CC’d so rotations stay clean, and the teamwide CRIT DMG payoff makes every crit-built carry hit harder—especially when she’s adding extra Elation damage instances.

 

Yao Guang Relic Best Stats

Yao Guang wants a fast start: act early, drop her Zone, and start the Elation loop. SPD is priority because “Opening Gift” converts speed (120+) into more Elation for stronger support. Her endgame set, Diviner of Distant Reach, rewards 120/160 SPD with extra CRIT Rate—pair it with a CRIT Rate body and some CRIT subs.

Body	Crit Rate
Feet	SPD
Planar Sphere	Physical Damage Bonus% >> Attack%
Link Rope	Energy Regen% >> Attack%
For Sub Stats, Players should aim for this priority: SPD＞Crit Rate＞Effect RES＞Attack%

 

Yao Guang Pull recommendation

Low Budget — E0S0

Pulling Yao Guang alone already works if you’re building into the new Elation/Aha playstyle: she opens a Zone that shares her Elation to the whole team, then turns ally attacks into extra Elation bonus hits during her uptime window. Her Ultimate is your “go” button for tempo: Aha gets an extra action and the team gains All-Type RES PEN.

Mid Budget — E0S1

Her signature cone is the cleanest single upgrade because it pushes the two things she cares about most: more SPD (easier to hit her SPD→Elation breakpoint) and a very front-loaded team crit package, plus extra Energy regen on her while the buff is up. That translates into faster startup, smoother Ultimate cycling, and more consistent “engine uptime.”

Standard Budget — E2S1

E1 is mainly a damage/tempo buff (more Punchline counted for Aha’s extra turn + stronger Elation ability), but E2 is the real team upgrade: while her Zone is active, everyone gets a noticeable speed + Elation bump, which means more actions inside your setup window and fatter procs across the whole squad.

High Budget — E4S1

E4 is where she starts feeling like a “teamwide scaling switch”: whenever allies deal Elation DMG, they gain DEF ignore. That’s a direct multiplier for the very thing her kit enables—repeated Elation damage instances from multiple teammates—so it scales harder the more “Elation-pilled” your roster becomes.

Unlimited Budget — E6S1

E6 pushes the ceiling: it amps all allies’ Elation damage output and also boosts her own Elation ability multiplier, so both the team’s proc engine and her personal contribution jump together. Going beyond that (signature to higher superimpositions) is pure luxury—nice, but very marginal compared to the E2/E4 spikes.

 

Yao Guang Best Team Comp

Sparxie	Yao Guang	Sparkle	Dan Heng·PT
Yao Guang	Sparkle	Topaz & Numby	Gallagher
Yao Guang	Sparkle	Fu Xuan	Evanescia

Yao Guang’s Skill sets up a Zone that massively boosts the whole team’s Elation, and when her “mode” is online, allies who attack while spending Skill Points can trigger Great Boon for extra Elation damage—the more SP that attack burns, the more bonus procs you get.

Her Ultimate is also a huge tempo button: it gives Aha an extra action and grants the entire party All-Type RES PEN.

So her best teammates are SP-hungry main DPS (Elation carries or fast multi-hit/follow-up style carries) plus SP-positive supports who keep rotations smooth and refill SP so the engine never runs dry.

 

Conclusion

Treat Yao Guang like your team’s hype manager: prioritize a fast opener and a rotation that rewards SP-hungry carries (Elation or rapid multi-hit/follow-up styles), then plug in SP-positive support so the loop doesn’t choke on empty Skill Points. If you’re timing pulls around banners and your Oneiric Shard math looks cursed, topping up via LDShop is the clean “no panic, no detours” fix—grab the unit, keep the plan, and get back to farming like nothing happened!