Introduction
The core of the Summoner team and its main DPS, Cen Ying has retained a spot for herself across the many patches of Ash Echoes CN, both in her own team and as an interception specialist. Although she may have spent some time in the backseat as new DPS characters drew the attention to other teams. However, the recent addition of Midas on Ash Echoes CN proves that the Summoner team is still very much alive and well.
Cen Ying is one of the most accessible main carries for beginners, all thanks to her versatility, straightforward gameplay, not having to worry about elemental reactions (while benefiting from their effects), and a very cheap and easy build on launch composed mostly of free Memory Traces.
Regardless of all these benefits, Ash Echoes is still a game where different teams provide different experiences. To see if Cen Ying is the right pick for you, check out our detailed guide below.
Review
A Summoner through and through, Cen Ying's basic attacks are delivered by her main drone, “Light Seeker.” This means that her basic attacks are affected by Nexus Skills and buffs that benefit summons, giving this young Archaeologist a head start even when she isn't using her skills.
Every 30 seconds, Cen Ying summons a second Light Seeker drone to aid her on her auto-attacks. This secondary drone is affected by the level of her first skill “Stellar Parade,” a skill with a whopping 8 uses which summons 5 drones that stay on the field for 30 seconds or until they have attacked 24 times. Having a long range, the drones are very versatile: they can spread out to chase different enemies and projectiles or group up to attack a single enemy. Having an army easily at her disposal, Cen Ying’s damage and utility capabilities are further amplified by her second skill, “Captured on Camera,” which makes each Light Seeker hit up to 5 enemies, dealing damage and inflicting a [Dazzle] debuff on any non-mechanical enemies. [Dazzle] only lasts two seconds but makes the target miss all their basic attacks, helping with the team’s survivability.
Finally, the cherry on top is Cen Ying’s ultimate, “Millennial Voyage.” Cen Ying summons a ship with infinite range that traverses the battlefield. Lasting 32 seconds and bombarding targeted areas every 0.8s, this is her main source of burst damage. As a Tactician, Cen Ying starts battle with her Seed Skill already 50% charged, making it easy for a speedy burst regardless if you’re playing the Summoner team or if you have her as a backup for another team and need someone to clear up a wave fast.
However, as powerful as her kit is, no character is perfect. “Millennial Voyage” has a very long cooldown of 120s, and while Cen Ying’s damage is very stable, getting precise windows of burst damage can be tricky, especially since both her summons and her ultimate will prioritize projectiles and airborne enemies first. She also has trouble destroying barriers, breaking block gauges, and dealing extra damage to elite enemies and bosses.
Despite these shortcomings, Cen Ying still ranks among the best when it comes to dealing with big waves, and her versatility makes her a good addition to any player account—be it as the core of Physical/Summoner teams or as a powerful backup for any other element.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to build and use, thanks to the high amount of free Traces that grant benefits to summons;
- Versatile, can be used in any team as a backup to clear up projectiles and large waves or airborne/smaller enemies;
- Remains relevant and adaptable throughout most content, making her a reliable and lasting investment.
Cons
- Relies too much on her ultimate for burst damage, and her ultimate has a long cooldown and slow execution;
- Struggles to deal with barriers and block gauges;
- All her attacks and skills prioritize airborne enemies and projectiles, making fights tricky when you need to focus on an elite or specific target.
Gameplay Tips
General Tips
- If you’re dealing with many enemies or projectiles, use “Stellar Parade” right before unleashing “Millennial Voyage” to maximize burst damage. That way, the Light Seekers from “Stellar Parade” will clear away the projectiles and Airborne units first, letting the ultimate focus all its damage potential on the true threats.
- Cen Ying has the largest range in the game (classified as “Distant”). Take advantage of that to let her drones chase down enemies while you kite them during Nexus Encounters and to keep her safe during fights in general.
Dupes
F2P players can get the full Cen Ying experience at 0 dupes. Spenders or those who really like Cen Ying and her type of team should invest all the way to the Dupe 3—“Go big or go home.” The reason behind this is because, while the first dupe gives a nice damage amplification to her ultimate and secondary Light Seekers, it’s still a small upgrade when compared to the third dupe. Dupe 3 lowers the cooldown of summoning a secondary Light Seeker from 30 seconds to 10 seconds, ensuring that Cen Ying will have multiple drones executing her auto-attacks at all times, and consequently increasing her personal damage output on the long run.
Skill Upgrade Priority
- Skill 1, “Stellar Parade,” takes priority when deciding which one to invest in first. Cen Ying’s combat trait and her secondary Light Seeker are affected by the level of “Stellar Parade,” which means that upgrading this skill will not only benefit her main source of steady damage, but also her auto-attacks.
- Skill 2, (Captured on Camera), is also worth upgrading for its cost-benefit in terms of cooldown vs damage. Keep in mind that its Dazzle debuff won’t work on mechanical enemies, and this skill is more effective against large groups of enemies, while, (Stellar Parade) can adapt and flock to a single enemy if needed. If you have other high priority skills to upgrade, then focus on them first.
Team Recommendation
Leader: Cen Ying
Damage Blessing - Diamond - ɑ
Classes: Tactician / Support
Increases Extra DMG by 10% (At Lv. 1) / 18% (At Lv. 2) / 25% (At Lv. 3). The Effect is doubled in a [Dry Environment]. It does not stack with [Damage Blessing - Diamond - β].
Right Hand Man - Diamond
Classes: Tactician / Support
Increase the Extra DMG of own Summons by 30% (At Lv. 1) / 60% (At Lv. 2) / 100% (At Lv. 3).
Teams
NOTE: Remember you can mix and match Echomancers among all suggestions and alternate options, adjusting based on who you have available.
SUMMONER TEAM
A straightforward team. Cen Ying and Luke are obvious picks and need no introduction. Mo Hongxiu can create barriers, displace and group up enemies, helping to control the battlefield and direct burst windows.Freda is another easy pick for her buffs and ability to lower her teammates’ cooldowns, which helps with Cen Ying’s problem of having a long cooldown on her Seed Skill.
Lorelle has the ability to draw DMG Taken to herself while on Defense Mode, and buff all allies attacks when in Attack mode. She’s also useful for her gauge breaking capability, something the Summoner team usually struggles with. She can be paired with Sephonis. As a fellow summoner and Corrosion Echomancer, Sephonis benefits from most traces in the build and synergizes with Lorelle. If you’re pulling for Cen Ying, chances are you’ll get at least one copy of her.
The usage of this team match is that Cen Ying stands in the front line to die once; Su Xiao can directly resurrect and then buff her ATK and CRIT until the end of the battle. Gauya's “Soul Queller" is considered a summon, and he’s also able to temporarily summon a ghost of an ally who died to fight.
More Alternate and Backup Options
Begonia [Sub-DPS]. Begonia’s “Wailing Bird” is considered a summon. Aside from benefiting from the summoner build herself, she can permanently buff the team’s ATK SPD by up to 50% (at dupe 1). Being a Striker, she also covers the problem of dealing with block gauges.
Tong [Sub-DPS]. Similarly to Cen Ying, the floating cannons that Tong uses for his auto-attacks are considered summons. While he may not synergize with the team as well as Luke does, he still boasts great burst damage and an Auto-skill that disables enemies and increases their Physical DMG taken.
Roar [Sub-DPS]. Much like Mo Hongxiu, Roar can trigger “Codename Diversity”, and help with dealing with waves of enemies if you don’t have Luke or Tong.
Shu [Tank]. Can offer consistent AoE stun.
Rodney [Tank]. Offers taunt and a bit of damage. Like Shu, both are Physical Echomancers and can benefit from most Memory Traces from this build.
Memory Trace Recommendations
Below you can find the Memory Traces you should use on Cen Ying.
BIS
- [ATK] Beneath The Deception
- [VIT] Behind The Curtains
- [MST] Born From Ashes
- [MST] Bad Soil Bloom
- [DEF] Nightmare(if with Longqing or Tian Ruo)
- [DEF] Karma
Alternatives and/or Budget options
- [MST] Happy Hours(Replaces “Bad Soil Bloom”)
- [MST] Traces In The Museum
- [MST] Racing Night(if with Luke)
- [DEF] Dawn
- [DEF] Double Attraction
- [ATK] Codename Diversity
- [TRM] Wish In The Rain
Future Synergies
Boreas [Support]. The next big addition to the Summoner team, Boreas can increase the CRIT Rate of summons by 100% and enhance his allies’ Ice Element attacks, allowing for Cen Ying & co. to take part in a wider range of team comps and elemental reactions.
Midas [DPS]. While still far away in the future, Midas is the next big Physical DPS. He synergizes very well with Cen Ying, as his own summon deals extra instances of damage every time his teammates’ summons attack.