Why May Applause Greet You in Wuthering Waves is the Most Frustrating Quest

Why May Applause Greet You in Wuthering Waves is the Most Frustrating Quest

You’re running around the Desorock Highland, dodging those annoying Exiles, and suddenly you’re stuck in a loop of theater metaphors and fetch quests. Honestly, the May Applause Greet You WuWa quest—officially titled "May Applause Greet You in Your New Life"—is one of those Wuthering Waves experiences that people either love for the lore or absolutely despise for the pacing. It’s a side quest. It’s long. It feels like a fever dream about an opera troupe.

But if you want those Astrites, you’ve gotta do it.

What is May Applause Greet You WuWa even about?

Basically, you run into this guy named Shengli. He’s part of a theater troupe that’s seen better days, and he’s obsessed with putting on a final, grand performance. Wuthering Waves loves its "lost art" tropes. You’ll spend a good chunk of time helping him gather his scattered performers and fixing up the stage. It sounds simple, right? It isn't. Kuro Games decided to bake in a lot of backtracking and dialogue that makes you realize how much the world of Solaris-3 actually cares about culture despite the Tacet Discords trying to eat everyone.

Getting the quest started

You don't just stumble into this one usually. You need to head to the Desorock Highland area. Look for the little blue quest marker near the Rearguard Base. If it’s not appearing, check your Union Level. Most players find that side quests in this region stay locked until you've progressed enough in the main "Grand Warstorm" arc. Once you talk to Shengli, the nightmare—or the masterpiece—begins.

The quest is essentially a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Or it's a way to get 40 Astrites. Probably both. You’ll find yourself looking for a lost script, dealing with a very stubborn lead actress, and eventually fighting off monsters that clearly don't appreciate fine art.

The Choreography of Frustration

The middle section of May Applause Greet You WuWa is where most players get a bit lost. You have to find the "leads." First, there’s Linlang. She’s skeptical. You have to prove that the stage is ready. This involves a lot of "go here, interact with this, come back" gameplay. It’s the classic RPG loop, but the environment in the Desorock Highland is vertical and jagged, which makes navigation a chore if you haven't unlocked all the Resonance Beacons yet.

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One thing that genuinely catches people off guard is the "cleaning" segment. You literally have to clean the stage. It's a chore. You use your basic attacks or skills to clear out debris and dust. It's a weirdly grounded moment in a game where you usually summon a giant flaming motorcycle to kick a boss in the face.

Dealing with the Exiles

Because this is a gaming world, there are always bandits. The Exiles have set up camp near where the troupe needs to perform. You’ll have to clear them out. This isn't a hard fight, especially if you're running a built Jiyan or Yinlin, but it adds to the "one more thing" energy the quest radiates.

The dialogue here gets heavy. Shengli talks about his mentor. He talks about the "Applause" mentioned in the title. It’s a metaphor for legacy. In a world where the Lament can erase entire cities, holding onto a play feels... desperate. And kind of beautiful. If you’re the type to skip dialogue, you’ll miss the fact that this quest actually connects back to some of the deeper world-building regarding how Jinzhou maintains its identity.

Solving the "Music Box" and Script Puzzles

There’s a part where you have to track down the script. It’s hidden in a chest that requires a bit of environmental awareness. Look for the glowing highlights. Wuthering Waves is usually pretty good about the "Sensor" mechanic, so hit T (or your controller shortcut) frequently.

The "May Applause Greet You WuWa" questline peaks when you finally get the troupe together. You’d think the quest ends once the play starts, but Kuro Games adds a defensive objective. You have to protect the stage while they perform. It’s a classic "defend the monolith" style mission. If the stage takes too much damage, you fail.

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  • Tip: Bring a healer or a shielder like Verina or Jianxin.
  • Crowd Control: Use characters who can suck enemies together. Yangyang is actually great for this if you’re F2P.
  • Don't Stray: If you run too far from the stage to chase a single scout, the bigger enemies will spawn and wreck the scenery.

Why people get stuck on the "Final Act"

The final part of the quest involves a specific time of day. If the NPCs aren't reacting or the quest marker seems stuck in the ground, check your in-game clock. Most of these "performance" quests require it to be evening or night. Open your menu, hit the clock icon, and fast-forward to about 20:00. This usually triggers the final cutscene and the "Applause" everyone's been waiting for.

The rewards are decent. You get Union XP, which is the real bottleneck for most players trying to hit UL 40 or 50. You also get some shell credits and those sweet, sweet Astrites. But the real reward is the achievement "The Show Must Go On" (or similar, depending on the localization updates in 2026).

The Lore Significance

Is it worth the 30 minutes it takes? Honestly, yeah. Wuthering Waves has a lot of "kill 10 birds" quests, but May Applause Greet You WuWa tries to do something different. It’s about the "New Life" mentioned in the full title. It represents the shift from the war-torn era of the Desorock Highland to a future where people can actually sit down and watch a play. It makes the world feel lived-in rather than just a series of combat arenas.

Actionable Steps for Completion

If you're looking at your quest log and seeing this thing sitting there, here is exactly how to blow through it without getting a headache.

First, Teleport to the Rearguard Base. Don't try to climb from the bottom of the valley; it's a waste of stamina. Use the Sensor immediately. It highlights the NPCs you need to talk to through walls, saving you about five minutes of wandering around the scaffolding.

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Second, Clear your inventory of trash. There’s a minor sub-objective involving gathering materials for the stage. If you already have the basic ores and plants from the region, you can skip the gathering phase entirely because the game will just count what's in your bag.

Third, Prepare for a wave-based fight. The defense portion isn't hard, but it’s annoying if you lose at 90% because a stray projectile hit the stage. Position yourself in front of the stage, not on it. Draw the aggro away.

Finally, Check the time. If the quest feels "broken," it's 99% likely you just need to change the clock to night-time. Once the applause finally greets you, talk to Shengli one last time to claim the rewards from the quest menu. You’ll be 40 Astrites richer and one step closer to that next pity pull.

Check your "Trophy" or "Achievement" tab right after finishing. There's often a hidden follow-up interaction with one of the actors near the city theater in Jinzhou that gives an extra bit of lore and a tiny bit of currency. It’s not marked on the map, but it’s a nice "secret" ending to the troupe’s story.