Wuthering Waves character guide: An overview of the 17 Resonators
Wuthering Waves takes you on an unforgettable journey across a mysterious world. Your character is a stranger in a strange land, and must discover the true nature of their newfound powers—and enlist a few allies along the way.
Our Wuthering Waves character guide takes a look at all 17 Resonators (i.e. unique and playable characters) that are available in Version 1.0, and briefly discusses related facets, such as their rarities, elemental attributes, and skills. If you're looking for more tips, we also have a beginner’s guide to Wuthering Waves that can help you get started with the campaign.
How to recruit characters in Wuthering Waves
The vast majority of Wuthering Waves characters are obtained through the game’s Convene system. This is a “gacha” mechanic whereby you use real money/premium currency for a chance to get a particular Resonator character as a reward. However, there are other methods to obtain certain heroes:
- Rover: This is your main character.
- Yangyang: Joins your party when you battle a large Tacet Discord enemy at the start of the campaign.
- Chixia: Joins your party once you reach Jinzhou.
- Baizhi: You’ll unlock the Convene tutorial after clearing the simulation battle in Jinzhou Academy. Spend one Lustrous Tide on the Tidal Chorus banner to receive Baizhi for free. Note that you can still get a guaranteed Baizhi later from the same banner even if you skip the tutorial.
- Sanhua: Log in for five days to receive her for free via the Gifts of Thawing event.
- Yuanwu: Clear the Tower of Adversity (Stable Zone) to receive him for free.
There are also 5-star characters that can only be obtained if you get lucky with their respective Convene banners:
- Jiyan: 5-star banner from May 22 to June 12.
- Yinlin: 5-star banner from June 12 to July 3.
Rover (Main Character)
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Varies
- Weapon: Sword
- Role: Varies
The Rover is one of the most flexible Wuthering Waves Resonators thanks to a unique feature: They can swap to a different element. At the start, only the Spectro (light) element is available. Later, you gain access to other affinities, each with its own skill and ultimate.
Jianxin
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Aero
- Weapon: Gauntlets
- Role: Support
The Taoist monk Jianxin is a master of martial arts. Her Resonance Skill causes her to enter parry stance, negating damage and triggering a counterattack. Her Forte Circuit, meanwhile, provides shielding and healing for her comrades.
Jiyan
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Aero
- Weapon: Broadblade
- Role: Main DPS
General Jiyan is a formidable fighter who’s able to summon a Qingloong dragon. His entire kit revolves around using speedy, high-damage strikes, which are further empowered by the spirit of the Qingloong.
Yangyang
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Aero
- Weapon: Sword
- Role: Sub-DPS
Yangyang isn’t as strong as other Wuthering Waves characters. However, she more than makes up for this deficiency by having a Resonance Skill and Resonance Liberation with vortex-like effects. This means she can pull hostiles closer to each other, allowing her teammates to unleash their abilities.
Aalto
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Aero
- Weapon: Pistols
- Role: Sub-DPS
Aalto’s kit involves the use of Mist Avatars, which can taunt foes and generate bullets. He can also use a Gate of Quandary as his ultimate, which boosts the attack power of projectiles that pass through it.
Calcharo
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Broadblade
- Role: Main DPS
Calcharo’s Resonance Skill, Extermination Order, creates a ghostly apparition that strikes opponents. Electro damage is further amplified through the use of his Hunting Mission Forte Circuit and Phantom Etching Resonance Liberation. Moreover, he has some multi-hit attacks that are part of his combo strings.
Yinlin
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Rectifier
- Role: Sub-DPS/Support
Yinlin uses her puppet, Zapstring, to blast hostiles with lightning strikes. This includes foes that are affected by her Sinner’s Mark and Punishment Mark. What makes her even more invaluable is her Outro Skill, Strategist, which grants buffs to Resonance Liberation and Electro damage for the next character that you swap in.
Yuanwu
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Electro
- Weapon: Gauntlets
- Role: Sub-DPS
Yuanwu’s primary role in your squad is to boost Electro damage by placing down a Thunder Wedge. This pillar triggers coordinated attacks when an on-field character hits a target, making it a decent option if you have Resonators with fast strikes.
Lingyang
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Glacio
- Weapon: Gauntlets
- Role: Main DPS
Lingyang has to remain on the field for prolonged periods if you want to make the most out of his capabilities. These include his Forte Circuit, which allows him to enter the Striding Lion stance. While active, Lingyang walks on makeshift poles as he claws and kicks his opponents.
Baizhi
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Glacio
- Weapon: Rectifier
- Role: Support
Baizhi is, simply put, one of the best characters in Wuthering Waves. She can be obtained for free, and she has an amazing kit that heavily focuses on healing and support. Her Resonance Skill, Resonance Liberation, and Forte Circuit all call on a You’tan spirit to restore the HP of her teammates.
Sanhua
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Glacio
- Weapon: Sword
- Role: Sub-DPS
Most of Sanhua’s damage comes from her Eternal Frost Resonance Skill, which creates a wall of jagged icicles in front of her. Meanwhile, her Clarity of Mind Forte Circuit requires you to hold the left mouse button and let go of it at the right time.
Encore
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Fusion
- Weapon: Rectifier
- Role: Main DPS
Don’t let Encore’s diminutive size fool you, as her abilities pack quite a punch. She makes use of stuffed toys and floating drones that can consistently deal Fusion damage to her targets.
Chixia
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Fusion
- Weapon: Pistols
- Role: Main DPS/Sub-DPS
Chixia joins you very early in the campaign. Her playstyle entails keeping your distance from foes as you pepper them with Fusion-empowered bullets. Furthermore, her Forte Circuit lets you hold the 'E' key to unleash a continuous stream of rapid-fire shots.
Mortefi
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Fusion
- Weapon: Pistols
- Role: Sub-DPS
We suggest having Mortefi as an off-field DPS, thanks to his Resonance Liberation ultimate ability, Violent Finale. It applies the Burning Rhapsody effect to all party members, causing Mortefi to do a coordinated attack whenever his allies hit a foe.
Verina
- Rarity: 5-star
- Element: Spectro
- Weapon: Rectifier
- Role: Support
Among the available characters in Wuthering Waves 1.0, few hold a candle to Verina. This is due to her healing capabilities. Both her Forte Circuit and Resonance Liberation offer HP restoration, and her Outro Skill grants extra healing and boosts All-Type Damage Deepen for 30 seconds.
Danjin
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Havoc
- Weapon: Sword
- Role: Main DPS
Danjin has the potential to have the highest damage, at least among 4-star Resonators in Wuthering Waves. This is due to her Crimson Fragment Resonance Skill, which can be repeatedly cast. The problem is that each cast also consumes 3% of Danjin’s max HP. While she can heal herself via her Forte Circuit, Serene Vigil, she might still need additional restoration and shielding from her allies.
Taoqi
- Rarity: 4-star
- Element: Havoc
- Weapon: Broadblade
- Role: Tank/Support
Taoqi excels as a full-fledged tank. Charging her heavy attack reduces damage taken, while also allowing for a Strategic Parry. Meanwhile, the Fortified Defense Resonance Skill replenishes her HP and creates floating rocks that surround her or her teammates. This Rocksteady Shield ability also helps mitigate damage.
That does it for our Wuthering Waves characters guide. We hope that this information helps you recruit Resonators and build the perfect team. Do take note that more characters will be introduced in future updates.
Wuthering Waves is a free-to-play game that’s available now on the Epic Games Store. If you’re just starting your journey, we encourage you to check out our beginner’s guide.