Waves have slow travel time and don't have good KPM. Relying solely on them is also a damage loss, because aren't getting the bonus damage from making physical contact with the blade itself. To make the most of [Exalted Blade] and its 1.0 [Follow Through] modding for range is important.

Arcane Strike is strongly recommended. Can [Reach] 97.5% crit chance by equipping 3 gladiator mods on the regular melee. Their set bonus carries over to exalted weapons. To make the most of [Condition Overload] can use a primer like [Diriga] with [Helstrum], or doing it manually with [Epitaph], [Kuva Nukor], etc.