If you’ve recently returned to playing Wuthering Waves, the first thing you’ll notice when opening your character list is how much more complex the character designs are compared to when the game first launched. Back in the day, when looking at tier lists, people would mostly just debate which characters to pull: Jiyan, Yinlin, Jinhsi, Changli, etc. Now? Beyond basic roles like Main DPS, Sub-DPS, and Healer, you also have to think about team-specific mechanics, how to trigger Chain Attacks, stacking debuffs, fast-swap playstyles, Sound Shell setups, and even the same character can be a whole tier apart depending on which team you put them in.
So when I check the Wuthering Waves Tier List now, I don’t just ask that basic “who hits the hardest” question anymore. Instead, I prioritize details like how easy they are to slot into a full team, their in-game performance at 0 Resonance Level, how dependent they are on their signature weapon, how well they handle high-difficulty content, and how good they are in challenge stages like Abyssal Echoes and Sea of the Underworld Hymn.
As of August 20, 2026, Wuthering Waves is still in Version 3.5: "Legacy Echoes, Swords, Dream-Swaying Song". This update added characters like Yangyang · Black Feather, Suisui, and the Wanderer · Conductive. The current character meta has definitely entered an era where team synergy is more important than individual character strength. That’s why this tier list focuses mainly on characters at low Resonance Levels, while also considering Abyssal Echoes, Sea of the Underworld Hymn, build cost, and team flexibility—not just dummy damage numbers.
I. Wuthering Waves Tier List Overview & Update Notes
Let’s cut straight to what you all actually want to see.
Based on my experience guiding new players through account setup and high-difficulty team builds, the Wuthering Waves Tier List for Version 3.5 is roughly divided into the following tiers.
T0 Core Characters Top picks include: high-end Main DPS from the Everard lineup, Aemeath, Cartethyia, Phrolova, Yangyang · Black Feather, and core supports/survivability units like Shou'anren, Mornye, and Suisui that directly boost team completeness.
In current high-difficulty tier list evaluations, Aemeath, Cartethyia, Phrolova still hold top-tier damage ratings; flexible supports like Shou'anren and Mornye have long maintained high team value; and Yangyang · Black Feather and Suisui, added in Version 3.5, have also joined the ranks of top-tier characters being discussed.
T0.5 is for characters that are still really strong but require specific setups, teammates, or skilled play, like Hiyuki, Sigrika, Iuno, Augusta, Lynae, Denia, etc.
As for T1 characters, they’re by no means weak. Characters like Carlotta, Jinhsi, Jiyan, Camellya, Phoebe, Brant—if paired correctly with the right team and good Sound Shell substats—can still handle high-difficulty stages consistently.
So if your main DPS drops from T0 to T1, don’t rush to stick them in the backline and leave them unused.
Wuthering Waves isn’t just a pure stat-driven auto-battler. Playstyle, animation canceling, character swap timing, and dodge counter timing all have a huge impact on actual in-game performance. The difference in output between two players using the same character can be even bigger than the tier gap between different characters.
II. Wuthering Waves Tier Classification Breakdown
A. T0 & T0.5 Character Definitions
In my book, T0 isn’t just about “dealing the most damage.”
Characters that actually make it to T0 usually check at least these boxes:
High damage ceiling, full combat capability at 0 Resonance Level, mature team synergy, works well against both single targets and groups, and doesn’t immediately lose value when facing different enemy compositions in high-pressure scenarios.
For Main DPS, Aemeath is a perfect example—she has solid burst damage and great team synergy, and still sits in top-tier in most high-difficulty evaluations. Cartethyia has incredibly consistent damage, and Phrolova is especially useful against multi-wave enemy setups.
The logic for supports being T0 is a bit different.
Shou'anren doesn’t deal millions of damage on her own—her strength is that she can fit into so many different teams, has smooth rotation, and solid survivability. Characters like this often have more long-term account value than a single top Main DPS.
T0.5 tier characters are almost top-tier, but they often require specific teammates, custom team setups, or high-level mastery of gameplay mechanics.
B. T1 to T3 Character Definitions
T1 characters are still the reliable mainstays of most meta lineups. As long as you pair their Echoes, Weapons, and team composition, you can reliably clear the Abyss of Adversity.
T2 characters are usually legacy picks, situational specialists, or units that need extra work to keep up with the current meta’s power level.
When it comes to tier lists, T3 characters are mostly only recommended for players who genuinely love them, or for handling specific in-game mechanics that only they can counter—don’t force them into general use.
One important note: A character dropping in tier doesn’t mean they got suddenly nerfed.
For example, take Jinxi: she can easily hit 1 million damage right now, and she’ll still hit that same number even half a year later. What changes are new characters coming out—they can deal more damage with less effort and fewer resources.
That’s just how meta balance works in gacha games.
III. A Full Guide to Wuthering Waves Character Roles
A. Core vs. Sub-Core Role Differences
A Core character is the one that stays on the field the longest in a team, and handles the bulk of the damage output. Characters like Aemeath, Cartethyia, Hiyuki, and Yangyang Xuanling are the go-to picks for team builds—almost every team is centered around them.
Sub-Core roles work differently. The best Sub-Core playstyle is to pop in fast, use their key skills to add damage or buffs, then exit the field immediately to let the Core take over. If a Sub-Core stays on the field too long, they take away space from the Core and lower the team’s overall damage.
In Wuthering Waves, the strongest teams aren’t the traditional style where three characters rotate on the field for 20-30 seconds. Instead, they use tight, well-coordinated rotation cycles.
B. Support and Survival/Healer Roles
I actually think Support characters have gotten more and more important with each new version. Shorekeeper is a perfect example of a long-lasting, valuable Support unit. She doesn’t just keep the team alive—she also boosts overall damage, and best of all, she’s relatively easy to play and feels smooth to use.
Even now, Shorekeeper still ranks at the top of most tier lists, which is the whole point of a ‘universal Support’—she fits in almost any team.
Sui Sui, the new unit added in Version 3.5, is another great Survival Support to watch for. She’s a Condensation Amplifier type, and in endgame content, she pairs well with almost every other character. She’s also easy to play, so new players can pick her up quickly.
If you’re a new account, I always recommend focusing on building or pulling for useful Support characters first, before going for your third or fourth Core. That way, your team will grow more steadily.
IV. Wuthering Waves Elemental System and Its Link to Character Strength
A. Annihilation, Aero, and Conductive Element Performance
Annihilation Element is still a top-tier damage element in the game. Phrolova still shines in high-difficulty content; Camellya isn’t the top pick she was when she first came out, but a well-built team with her is still a force to be reckoned with. And Yangyang Xuanling, who debuted in Version 3.5, has brought Annihilation to a whole new level—she’s currently ranked at the top tier overall.
Aero Element has a really deep pool of strong characters. Cartethyia remains a top-tier Aero Core; Sigrika and Iuno both have strong performances in endgame play; and Zingyan, while an older unit, still works great against stages with lots of enemies.
Conductive Element has pretty unique character identities. Augusta is still one of the best Conductive damage dealers; and the new ‘Wanderer - Conductive’ unit added in Version 3.5 gives F2P players an easy-to-get Conductive option without needing to pull for it—super useful.
B. Heat, Condensation, and Diffraction Element Performance
Heat Element is best represented by characters like Aemeath
She still remains a top-tier damage dealer in the current meta, capable of handling both single-target burst scenarios and boasting a very mature team synergy system. With support from characters like Denia and Mornye, the overall Fusion attribute setup is becoming more and more complete.
Frost Attribute has seen a noticeable power increase and buff over recent patches.
Hiyuki is already a strong character on her own; Carlotta still has a full team synergy setup; and with Sui Sui being added in Patch 3.5, Frost attribute teams now have far more flexibility in choosing survival and support characters, boosting overall team stability a lot.
Diffraction Attribute, while not relying almost entirely on one top-tier main DPS like other attributes, has a very complete set of character types and diverse roles.
Luuk Herssen is a top-tier Diffraction main DPS; Lynae can provide both damage support and team buffs; as for Shou'an Ren (the Shore Keeper), he's one of the most versatile and best support characters in the entire game to invest in long-term.
V. Wuthering Waves Latest Version T0 Character Rankings
If you're only looking for characters to prioritize leveling up right now, I'd recommend focusing on these categories:
Aemeath
Aemeath is one of the most stable top-tier main DPS in the current meta. Her strength lies in a fully developed damage system with high burst damage, and her playstyle isn't just limited to stationary damage; as long as your team setup is on point, she performs extremely well in high-difficulty stages. According to current character assessments, her damage output and adaptability in special stages like the Abyssal Tower and Sea of Silent Songs are at the top tier.
Cartethyia
Cartethyia is one of the most worth-prioritizing main DPS for the Aero attribute. Her biggest advantage is a very high damage ceiling, straightforward gameplay logic, and she can shine in virtually any type of high-difficulty scenario without being too constrained.
Phrolova
If you value performance in Sea of Silent Songs, multi-wave battles, or consistent damage output, Phrolova is still very much worth investing resources into. She excels in these scenarios, and her gameplay feels really smooth! In the current meta assessment, her adaptability in Sea of Silent Songs stands out a lot.
Yangyang · Xuanling
This is the 5-star Void attribute character "Yangyang · Xuanling (Void Quick Blade)" introduced in Patch 3.5.
Her role is completely different from the free-to-get regular Yangyang at launch; the new Yangyang · Xuanling in this version is a self-sufficient, high-intensity main DPS. Based on the latest assessments, her damage output, flexibility in team setups for high-difficulty battles, and overall versatility are all quite impressive.
Shou'an Ren (Shore Keeper)
If I had to pick from the list of "characters you'll never regret pulling when starting a new account," it'd definitely be Shou'an Ren. Main DPS characters get updated really fast. But characters that boost the whole team's combat performance, cover survival needs, and can fit into almost any team tend to have way longer lifespan.
Sui Sui
Sui Sui, the "Frost Amplifier" type character introduced in the second part of Patch 3.5. Right now her role leans more towards a high-value support/survival character. She fits into a huge variety of teams, doesn't need to take resources or damage time from main DPS, and is super beginner-friendly with a low learning curve for new account players.
VI. Wuthering Waves Attribute Strength Tier List & Character Recommendations
Based on the current meta, here's how I'd rate the performance of characters by attribute:
Void Attribute: Prioritize Yangyang · Xuanling and Phrolova; Camellya and Chisa also still have complete team synergy setups available.
Aero Attribute: Cartethyia is top-tier strength, Sigrika and Iuno also perform excellently, while Ji Yan is better suited for clearing groups and mature veteran team setups.
Electro Attribute: Augusta is a relatively stable high-end pick right now, while Wanderer (Electro) is a free option very worth trying for new players.
Fusion Attribute: Aemeath is the highest-priority character right now, while Mornye and Denia are responsible for completing the whole team synergy setup.
Frost Attribute: Hiyuki is the representative high-end damage character, Carlotta still has mature team setups, and Sui Sui greatly improves the comfort of Frost teams in combat.
Diffraction Attribute: Luuk Herssen
Sen is an absolute beast main DPS, while Lynae brings solid damage and support value. The Shorekeeper isn’t a main DPS, but their impact on your account might even be higher than many dedicated damage dealers.
That said, tier lists are just guidelines—don’t spread your resources thin just to “level up one team per element” for no reason.
A fully built T1 team is way more reliable than three half-assembled T0 main DPS units.
VII. Wuthering Waves Adversity Abyssal Depths Tier List Analysis
The core of Abyssal Depths is time-limited damage challenges, so three character types rule here: fast burst damage dealers, characters with short skill cooldowns, and units that don’t require chasing bosses all over the arena.
In the current meta’s top-tier Abyssal Depths teams, comps around Aemeath, Hiyuki, Luuk Herssen, and Sigrika hold up great; teams with Cartethyia, Iuno, and Phrolova also sit pretty far up the tier list.
One super important, often missed tip for Abyssal Depths: you need to split your energy resources properly—throwing your three strongest teams together won’t work.
Some lower-difficulty floors can be knocked out easily with old characters or a free-to-play (F2P) team—save your mains for the real tough boss rooms, and you’ll get way more stars overall.
VIII. Wuthering Waves Song of the Deep Seas Tier List Analysis
The rules for Song of the Deep Seas don’t match Abyssal Depths at all. Abyssal Depths is all about burst damage for single bosses, but Song of the Deep Seas has waves of enemies, environmental puzzles, and rotating buffs—so area-of-effect (AoE) damage, fast clear speed, and sustained damage matter way more here.
Phrolova’s a perfect example of a strong pick here—her sustained damage and ability to handle multiple enemy waves make her a total beast for this mode.
Similarly, survival supports like The Shorekeeper, Mornye, and Suisui that don’t kill your skill rotation work great for long fights.
Current tier lists split Abyssal Depths and Song of the Deep Seas for a reason—these two modes need totally different characters, so don’t just slap an “Abyssal T0” label on a team and call it good for everything.
IX. Wuthering Waves New Player 5-Star Selection Picks
For permanent banner 5-stars, my top recs right now are:
1st Pick: Viviane Simple reason—she’s a support that brings both survival and buffs. New players are desperate for heals early on, and Viviane can slot into your second or third team later; even if you pull The Shorekeeper or Suisui later, Viviane won’t be useless, since high-difficulty content needs multiple teams anyway.
2nd Pick: Anke
If you’re dying for a main damage dealer, Anke’s one of the most solid long-term carries from the permanent 5-star pool.
Pair her with Sanhua and you’ve got a team that’s cheap as hell to build.
3rd Pick: Jianxin
She’s super beginner-friendly with a low skill bar—she can pull enemies together, stay alive, and bring tiny buffs, making her a breeze for new players exploring the open world.
Kakaro’s an option too, but he needs way more skill to play well.
As for Lingyang, just pull him if you like his look—don’t stress too hard about his tier strength.
If you’re totally stuck on who to pick, Viviane’s still your safest bet.
X. Wuthering Waves F2P & Casual Player Best Team Comps
The big rule for F2P players isn’t “never touch limited 5-stars”—it’s don’t build a team that needs three limited characters plus their signature weapons to work.
Abberation Wanderer F2P Team
Abberation Wanderer + Sanhua / Dan Jin + Viviane / Baizhi
The biggest upside of this team is how cheap it is to level up.
The Wanderer’s free, so building them early is no hassle; Sanhua has a fast skill cooldown, and Baizhi’s a free healer—new players can put this team together in 5 minutes.
Anke F2P Team
Anke + Sanhua + Viviane
I’ve always thought this team’s perfect for new players.
Anke does main damage, Sanhua jumps in for quick assists, and Viviane keeps the team alive so they don’t wipe instantly.
Free Wanderer Comp
With the 3.5 update, the Wanderer’s Electro element unlocks.
Afterward, F2P players get another great element option to test out. The best part about the Wanderer is you don’t have to pull for the character itself. If your account lacks Conductance damage or a related team, you can make do with existing characters instead of immediately wasting Starsound on a new element just because it’s out.
XI. Wuthering Waves Top Teambuilding & Compositional Tips
A truly top-tier team isn’t just shoving three T0 characters together.
A well-balanced team usually has:
Main DPS + Sub DPS / Exclusive Support + Survivor / Buffer.
In today’s endgame teams, Aemeath can be built around Meltdown burst or its unique mechanics. Hiyuki, Luuk, and Sigrika all have solid Hypercarry (single-core DPS) setups. Cartethyia and Phrolova each have their own optimal full team builds.
When building teams, there are three big things I focus on.
1. Who the Resonance Boost skill buffs.
2. Whether the three characters’ skill rotations clash with each other.
3. If the other characters’ Buffs are still active when the Main DPS needs to burst.
A lot of new players’ teams look great on paper with all T0s, but they do zero damage because none of the characters synergize or support each other—they’re just working solo.
XII. Wuthering Waves Pulling Advice & Resource Allocation Strategy
If you’re F2P or a Monthly Card player, my long-term pulling priority is:
Missing core teammates > Missing secondary team Main DPS > Favorite characters > Signature weapons > Resonance Chains.
Of course, if there’s a character you absolutely love, you don’t have to follow this list—games are meant to be fun, after all～
But if we’re only talking account power, the biggest mistake F2P players make is pulling for every new Main DPS.
After half a year, you might have six Main DPS, but no full Support to make a proper team with them.
This kind of account looks full of 5-stars, but it’s super hard to clear endgame content because you can’t assemble a viable team.
Universal Supports and survivability roles are usually more valuable. You can only field one Main DPS at a time, but Supports like the Shorekeeper can be swapped in with every new version’s Main DPS—they’re super flexible.
As for weapon banners, Wuthering Waves’ limited weapon system is actually pretty nice, but don’t pull for every one of them—you’ll run out of resources.
If a character can still do 90% of their job without their signature weapon, I’d rather save resources for the next full team than waste them on a weapon.
XIII. Wuthering Waves: How Echoes & Weapons Affect Your Power
One big mistake people make when looking at Wuthering Waves Tier List is thinking pulling a T0 character means your account is already fully maxed out.
That’s not even close to true.
Characters are only half of your account’s power.
The other half comes from your Echoes, weapons, and skill level builds.
The same Aemeath feels way different in practice with 50% Crit Rate / 180% Crit Damage vs. 70% Crit Rate / 260% Crit Damage. The latter’s damage literally multiplies several times over.
For Echo builds, the first priority is getting the main stats right.
Main DPS usually prioritize Crit Rate, Crit Damage, elemental damage, and Attack. Some characters, though, depending on their skill mechanics, will want HP, Defense, Resonance Efficiency, or other special stats.
You can work on the sub-stats later by farming.
Don’t throw out an Echo just because it doesn’t have double Crits! New players don’t need to be that picky yet.
Especially for new accounts, getting the right Echo set with the correct main stats is way more important than grinding for days just to get one more Crit Damage stat.
Weapon builds work the same way.
While a character’s signature weapon can boost their power ceiling a lot, many characters can still handle most content with a 4-star weapon or a standard banner 5-star weapon.
To figure out if a character is worth investing resources into, the key is to check:
Can they work properly and fulfill their core function with easily accessible weapons at 0-resonance level (no breakthroughs)?
If you have to pull them to high breakthroughs and pair them with their signature weapon just to jump from T2 to T0, they’re not actually a cost-effective T0 option for F2P players.
14. Wuthering Waves Version Power Shifts & Dark Horse Character Breakdowns
In Wuthering Waves, character power never just goes straight downhill monotonously.
A lot of older characters actually get a second wind when new characters come out, becoming viable strong picks again.
The most common scenario is that the new character brings unique damage-boosting mechanics, and the newly released
Echo sets perfectly fill in the gaps of older characters’ weaknesses, or align really well with the mechanics of current hard-mode levels for certain playstyles.
Because of that, I never recommend players immediately dissemble their Echo sets to waste resources just because a character drops to T1 on tier lists.
Take older characters like Jiyan, for example—they still put out solid DPS when fighting hordes of mobs.
Jinhsi might not top every tier list like she did at the game’s launch, but her core burst DPS kit never got nerfed or removed.
Camellya is in a similar boat—just because there are more top-tier DPS characters in the current version doesn’t mean she can’t handle hard-mode levels.
The real underrated sleeper picks in the current version fall into three main categories.
First up are 4-star Sub-DPS characters with fast switch times.
Take San Hua, for example—they have a low resource investment, short rotation times, and can stay in your team for ages if paired with the right Main DPS.
Second are the free-to-obtain Rovers.
Rovers get new elemental forms with every version—they even added an Electro form in patch 3.5. These free characters are incredibly valuable for F2P players’ long-term account growth.
Third are the veteran Support characters.
Main DPS characters’ damage numbers get outclassed by new ones super fast, but Support characters with unique buffs, mob grouping, healing, or quick resonance abilities can still make a comeback to the meta if their core kit isn’t completely replaced.
So when you check the Wuthering Waves Tier List, the most important thing isn’t just memorizing T0 and T1 rankings.
What you really need to understand is the logic behind why a character is strong in this version.
Now, Let’s Wrap Up The Key Points
Overall, by 2026, Wuthering Waves isn’t a game where you can just run a single Main DPS to clear all content anymore.
When looking at the Wuthering Waves Tier List now, I’d recommend breaking down characters into Main DPS, Sub-DPS, and Support roles, then assessing them against your account resources, current team, and the needs of levels like Adversity: Deep Tide and Mingsong Sea Ruins.
In the current patch 3.5 meta, characters like Aemeath, Cartethyia, Phrolova, and Yangyang Xuanling are still top-tier DPS picks worth keeping an eye on. Meanwhile, high-value Support characters like Shouanren, Mornye, and Suisui are sometimes even more important for your account’s long-term growth than pulling a new Main DPS.
New players also don’t need to pull and level every T0 character they see on the tier list.
If you already have a solid main team that can consistently clear hard-mode levels, your next step should be building a second team and picking up versatile survival characters—not constantly switching out your Main DPS. F2P players especially should prioritize low-investment characters like the Rover, San Hua, Baizhi, and Verina to build their core team first, then save their Starwave resources for limited characters that will actually improve their account structure.
Also, don’t sleep on the importance of Echo builds and in-game skill.
One of the coolest things about Wuthering Waves is that tier list rankings don’t always equal actual in-game performance. Players who know how to dodge, use character swaps to cancel attack lag, and time their Bursts can absolutely crush hard-mode levels with a T1 team. Conversely, if you don’t get team rotation mechanics at all, even putting three T0 characters together won’t make your DPS consistent or feel impactful.
So the best use for this Wuthering Waves Tier List is to help you decide which character to invest your resources in next—not to restrict you to only playing the characters on the list. The characters worth leveling for the long run are always the ones that fit well with your existing team, and that you actually enjoy playing and feel comfortable with.
