Wuthering Waves guide: basic mechanics and tips for beginners

In Wuthering Waves, the guide will help you understand the basic mechanics of the game, including the combat system, world exploration, character abilities, hero equipment, secondary activities and the banner system. We will also give tips for beginners that should help them avoid serious mistakes at the very beginning.

How to start playing Wuthering Waves

Creating an account and choosing a platform

First of all, you will need to create your own profile on the official website of the game. To do this, click on the little man icon in the upper right corner of the screen or on the “Sign Up” button at the bottom, and then click on “Register Now” and fill out all the fields provided.

You can also simply log into the site through your page on social networks or Google account, which will automatically link it to your game profile.

At this point in time, you can play Wuthering Waves on a computer (laptop) or mobile device based on iOS or Android. Later, the developers plan to release the game on PlayStation 5. You can familiarize yourself with the system requirements of the project in our separate guide.

You can choose any device, since the game is cross-platform, that is, your progress on a mobile phone is transferred to the PC without any problems. However, it is still more convenient to play it on a PC, since it has a dynamic combat system and a huge open world that is easier to explore on a big screen.

Russian language

Unfortunately, there is no Russian language in the game at the moment, but a group of fans have already made a localization based on an AI translator. In addition, you can use various on-screen translators, both on your PC and on your mobile device. We talked about this in more detail in a separate article.

Choosing the main character

At the very beginning of the game you will have to choose the gender of the main character, whom everyone will call Rover. Note that the male and female characters differ from each other only in appearance and voice, that is, in terms of abilities and combat potential, they are identical. This also has almost no effect on the plot. So you can make your choice based only on your personal preferences.

Background of the world

The events of VuVa take place in a post-apocalyptic future world called Solaris-3 (the third planet from the sun). In the past, a large-scale disaster occurred here, which destroyed most of humanity and led to the emergence of destructive anomalies, such as the Tacet Fields and Tacet Discord Outbreaks, from which various monsters began to appear. All this is called the Wave Phenomenon.

At the same time, people appeared capable of resonating with certain objects and manipulating their frequencies. These unique individuals began to be called Resonators. They exhibit incredible resonant abilities, also known as Fortes, manifested through the Taset Sign on their bodies. Some scientists believe that the skills of Resonators largely depend on their past experience and subconscious.

The main character, nicknamed Rover, is also a Resonator. He remembers nothing about his past and how he came to this world, but decides to help the inhabitants of Solaris-3 uncover the secrets of the Wave Phenomenon and destroy all the monsters.

Exploration and movement

If you have played Genshin Impact or other similar action role-playing games, then you should not have any problems with the movement system. Let's describe only some of its features in VUV:

• Sprinting (fast running) does not consume stamina outside of combat.
• You will receive a grappling hook (“T” key) that allows you to perform a powerful jump forward and upward without consuming stamina. However, its cooldown time is 10 seconds. It can be used to quickly climb onto ledges.
• Air dash (RMB or Shift) costs stamina and recharges as soon as you touch the ground.
• Wall run (RMB or Shift) costs more stamina, but allows you to climb vertical surfaces faster.
• The game gives you more control over your character's movements while climbing.
• If you run into a roof ledge while running along a wall, your character will automatically grab onto it and climb higher.

< li>If you stop flying on the glider, but continue to hold down any movement key (WASD), you will still fall in the indicated direction. You can reactivate the glider at any time (consumes a little stamina).

• The gadget selection menu (Tab) slows down the gameplay.

To quickly move around the world, you can use Resonance Nexus and Resonance Beacons, which are analogues of the statues of the seven archons and teleporters, respectively, from Genshin Impact. You need to unlock them before you can use them. The chains also reveal the map.

Exploration is an important part of Wuthering Waves, as it allows you to find treasure chests, new enemies, side quests, challenges, puzzles, and of course, materials. Without resources, you won't be able to level up your characters and weapons, and the rewards for these activities often include Astrites. On the interactive map you can see the location of all the important gizmos.

We would like to add that for exploring the world (opening chests, solving puzzles, activating teleports, etc.) you can receive additional rewards from the Pioneer Association. You can find it in the western part of Jinzhou, inside a small building standing on the water.

We advise you to use a character with a tall male body model to explore the world, since, all other things being equal, he will run faster and climb to higher ground, and, therefore, he will need less stamina to climb. Let's add that some heroes have abilities that allow them to cover long distances faster. For example, Verina can glide through leaves. 

We also recommend that you use Inferno Rider's echo, since holding his skill for a long time will allow you to summon a motorcycle. Be careful, as outside the settlements you may encounter dangerous enemies who may start chasing you if you get too close to them.

Golden Cubes

Sonance Caskets look like golden cubes and are scattered throughout the world. In each region you can find different types of these items. We advise you to collect them and then give them to relic traders to receive additional rewards. In a separate guide, we showed their location.

Legacy of the Tide

Tidal Heritage are special objects that can be found in the open world. They are usually guarded by elite enemies that must be destroyed to unlock a purple or white star. Interact with her to receive various rewards, including shards, which you can later exchange in the gift shop for upgrade materials.

Cooperative

VuV has multiplayer, which allows you to visit the worlds of friends or invite them to your own server to jointly explore locations and fight bosses. It opens upon reaching Union Level 30.

In general, the cooperative mode is very similar to the one presented in Genshin Impact, that is, there is no talk of a full-fledged MMO component here. Plus, you can only invite two users, since a team can consist of no more than three characters.

Characters (Resonators)

Resonators are playable characters in Wuthering Waves. They can mainly be obtained through Convenes, the local Gacha system. However, some heroes can be obtained completely free of charge by completing certain missions or events.

Resonator characteristics

The list below shows all the character parameters in VuV, and briefly notes what exactly they affect:

• Health (HP) – shows how much damage the resonator can withstand before dying.
• Attack Power (ATK) – shows how much pure damage the resonator can deal.
• Defense (DEF) – reduces the damage received by the resonator
• Max Stamina – Determines how much stamina a character can spend performing various actions (dash, dodge, climb, swim and some attacks) before being forced to stop.
• Critical Strike Chance (Crit) Rate) – shows the probability of dealing critical damage.
• Critical damage (Crit DMG) – determines the damage multiplier when dealing a critical hit.
• Energy Regen – determines how quickly the resonator can restore its energy to use resonance release (ultimate).
• Resonance Skill DMG Bonus – increases the damage of the Resonance skill.
• Resonance Skill DMG Bonus – increases the damage of the Resonance skill.
• Resonance Skill DMG Bonus – increases the damage of the Resonance skill.
• Basic Attack DMG Bonus – increases damage from basic attacks.
• Heavy Attack DMG Bonus – increases damage from heavy attacks.
• Resonance Liberation DMG Bonus – increases damage from resonance release (ultimates).
• Elemental Damage Bonus (Elemental DMG Bonus) – increases all damage dealt by the character. Please note that there are six different elements in the game, and each of them has its own individual bonus to elemental damage.
• Elemental Damage Resistance (Elemental DMG RES) – Reduces the damage a resonator takes from a specific element.
• Healing Bonus – increases the amount of healing provided by the resonator.

Resonator elements

Each character belongs to a specific element, inflicting the corresponding type of damage on enemies. There are currently 6 different elements in the game:

• Havoc
• Glacio
• Aero
• Electro
• Fusion
• Spectro

You should know that enemies may have weaknesses or increased resistance to certain elements, and sometimes even have an elemental shield. For this reason, you should carefully study the parameters of elite enemies or bosses before attacking them in order to select the right teams.

Add that some supports and sub-DDs can enhance elemental damage, so they are best combined with a main DD of the same type element that they have. You should also take those Echoes whose bonus to elemental damage corresponds to the hero’s element.

Resonator Weapons

Each character can only use one of 5 types of weapons. For example, if he is a Sword master, then you will not be able to equip him with Pistols. The hero's fighting style depends on the weapon:

• Gauntlets are melee weapons characterized by a high attack speed but a low damage zone, therefore suitable mainly for destroying single targets.

< li>Sword – a melee weapon with a slightly lower attack speed than gauntlets, but a larger impact area.

• Broadblade – a melee weapon with a slightly lower attack speed than a sword , but the area of ​​effect is larger.
• The Rectifier is an analogue of the catalyst from Genshin, allowing you to fire elemental projectiles at enemies at a medium distance.
• Pistols are an analogue of the bow from “Genshin”, allowing you to hit enemies at long range. By holding down the attack button (LMB), you can perform aimed shots.

Note that the battle itself does not change dramatically depending on what weapon the character uses. Except that the Converter and Pistols allow you to attack enemies from afar. It also does not affect the role of the hero in the squad, that is, one sword user can be a support, and the second can be the main damage dealer.

Character classes

Formally, there are no classes in the game, but in Depending on the characters’ abilities, they can be conditionally divided into three groups:

• Main damage dealers (main DD) – aimed at inflicting maximum damage on enemies. These are the ones you will keep most of the time on the battlefield.
• Secondary damage dealers (sub-DD) – can cause damage outside the battlefield and enhance the main damage dealers. You will sometimes need to switch to them to activate abilities or deal damage while the main DD's skills are recharging.
• Supports – buff allies, heal them or apply shields. You will only switch to them to activate their skills. Most of the time they will be inactive.

How to choose the best characters

The tier list of the best heroes in VUV can be found in our separate guide. He will help you select the most powerful resonators for your team. However, in the first hours of the game it is unlikely to be useful to you, since most of the content can be completed with starting heroes.

Banner

If you have previously played Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, you will quickly understand the local banner system. For example, there are also three main types of banners here:

• Permanent (Tide Chorus and Weaponry) – valid all the time, regardless of current events, promotions and patches. Thanks to them, you can knock out certain characters and weapons with a rarity of 4 and 5 stars. To perform spins in them, Lustrous Tide is required, which is sold for 160 Astrites in the in-game store.
• Temporary (convening character and weapon events) – change regularly with the release of a new update, and during one patch they change twice. As a rule, they provide a guaranteed opportunity to receive new (if they are released) or old (as part of reruns) 5-star resonators and equipment. To spin, they require Radiant Tide and Forging Tide, which are sold for 160 Astrit in the in-game store.
• Beginner Banners are one-time use banners that disappear after the first drop of a 5-star character. . To perform spins in them, Shiny Tides are also required.

We strongly advise you to spend astrits only on Radiant and Forging Tides, because this way you will be more likely to get the character or weapon you need. Let's add that when you drop resonators or weapons, you will be given Afterglow Coral and Oscillate Coral, which can be used to purchase tides, duplicate heroes and materials. You can read more about each banner individually in our other material.

Echo

Echo is another type of equipment in the game that performs almost the same function as artifacts in Genshin Impact . By equipping the resonator with them, you will receive a significant increase in various characteristics: from HP to energy recovery. For this reason, they should never be ignored.

• Each echo has an active ability.
• There are a total of 5 slots for echoes. You can use the creature's active skill if it is installed in the first slot. The order of the others does not matter.
• Each echo has a certain cost (Cost), which can vary from 1 to 4 depending on its class. At the beginning, each resonator has a Cost Limit of 8 units, which can later be increased to 12. Thus, in any case, you will not be able, for example, to place an echo with a cost of 4 units in all 5 slots.

Echoes can be distinguished from each other by the color of the card, which indicates their rarity. The number of secondary characteristics unlocked when tuning a creature and its maximum pumping level depend on it. The cost determines what basic parameters the echo increases. You can read more about this in our separate guide.

Getting Echoes

Fight monsters in the open world and clear the Tacet Filed to get new echoes. The fact is that they will drop from enemies with a certain probability. The drop rate and rarity of consumed creatures depends on the level of your Data Bank.

Opponents in locations are reborn daily along with a server reset. Moreover, this timer is unique for each individual world, so you can join another player to farm creatures that you have already killed in your own.

Data Bank

A special system, the pumping of which determines the cost limit of resonators, the probability of echo loss and their rarity. For this reason, it is recommended to take up the task of increasing the level of the Data Bank as early as possible. To do this, you will need to catch different types of creatures. Let's add that for unlocking new levels you will also receive additional rewards, including astritis.

Upgrading characters, equipment and account

Characters

Heroes can increase three categories of attributes:

• Level – increases from 1 to 90, which leads to an increase in the basic characteristics of the resonator (attack, defense and health). There are also 6 stages of elevation, to overcome which you need to obtain certain materials from bosses.
• Abilities (Fortes) – we are talking about basic attacks, skills, ults and talents of the hero, which can be increased from 1 to 10 by spending a certain amount of resources on it.
• Resonance Chain – an analogue of Constellations from “Genshin”, which are unlocked by obtaining duplicates of the hero. They can significantly enhance it.

Equipment

Weapons can also be increased in level from 1 to 90 (and go through 6 stages of elevation), thereby increasing their characteristics, and strengthening their passive ability by increasing their rank (duplicate weapons are required).

To increase the echo level, Sealed Tubes or other creatures are required. Thus, you can increase their characteristics transmitted to the character. After fully leveling up, you can start tuning them to unlock their sub-stats.

Unity Level

This indicator is analogous to the adventure rank and mastery level from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, respectively. It represents the player's overall progress in Wuthering Waves and is increased by gaining Union EXP, which is awarded by completing quests, solving puzzles, participating in events, and spending Waveplates.

Increasing your Unity level (the maximum value is exactly 60), you will unlock new game features (for example, daily assignments), expand the limits for leveling up characters and weapons, and also open access to certain quests.

SOL-3 phases

In Wuthering Waves, the SOL3 Phase is an analogue of the World level in Genshin. It can be increased every 10 levels of Unity, that is, now the maximum rank can be 7. By increasing this parameter, you will receive more rewards from monsters and challenges, but the enemies themselves will become noticeably stronger.

If you feel that you cannot cope with the strengthened versions of mobs, then we advise you to simply lower the SOL-3 Phase. You can change the rank no more than once a day.

Combat system in Wuthering Waves

Battles in this project take place in real time and are in many ways similar to battles in Genshin Impact, but have and a number of differences. All this is manifested in the abilities that resonators have, namely:

• Basic attacks or auto attacks that are available at any time. You will use them most often, especially when playing as a main damage dealer. They often open up a window of opportunity for performing various combos and using other skills. In addition to normal attacks, there are also heavy strikes performed by long pressing the LMB.
• Resonance Skill is an active ability that can provide various effects, ranging from dealing pure damage to healing allies. It usually has a cooldown, so it cannot be used multiple times in a row without recharging.
• Resonance Liberation is an ultimate, that is, the character’s most powerful active ability. Before using it, you need to first charge it by performing certain combat actions, such as damaging enemies or performing a perfect dodge. You will need to charge it after each use.
• Forte Circuit is an ability that determines the character’s gameplay, as it is unique to each resonator. In the game, it is presented as an additional scale located above the health bar. You can find out that it has become available for use by its changed color (it will turn into the hero’s element) and the acquisition of a different appearance, reminiscent of the shape of a sound wave. Different fighters activate this ability in different ways. 
• Outro and Intro skills are abilities that are activated when switching the resonator if the active character has filled Concerto Energy. It also has its own scale, located to the left of the health bar. After the change, the current hero activates his Outro skill, strengthening the next active fighter. Intro skills are unique attacks that the new active resonator will perform.

You can read more about all types of resonator abilities in our separate article on the combat system. In it we also talked in more detail about combinations of attacks, parrying, dodging and other mechanics. Here we will consider them only briefly.

How to use Echo

Above we noted that if you put Echo in the first slot, you will be able to use its active ability in battle. To do this, you just need to press the “Q” key. After this, you will either summon him to the battlefield and he will perform an attack, or you yourself will transform into him and strike.

Note that all attacks are carried out automatically and cannot be interrupted, so you become vulnerable to enemy attacks. Fortunately, damage taken in this form is reduced by 50%.

Parry and counterattack

If you see a yellow outline appear around an enemy, this means you can parry it strike by pressing the attack button (LMB). After this, the character will automatically make a counterattack, temporarily stunning the enemy and partially knocking down his shield (if available).

Evasion

During battle, you can dodge enemy attacks, thereby avoiding taking damage. If you can dodge at the very last moment, perform an Extreme Evasion, which will allow you to restore the energy of the Concert and immediately launch a powerful counterattack.

Vibration Power

Most elite enemies and bosses have Vibration Strength – this is a white bar located under the health bar. If you bring it to zero (the fastest way to do this is with heavy hits, abilities, and counterattacks), you will stun the enemy and be able to perform a finishing blow that deals massive damage.

Main game systems in Wuthering Wave

Wasting daily energy

WuVe has its own primordial resin or energy. We are talking about the so-called Wave-shaped plates. As in the miHoYo games, it is necessary to obtain various materials in dungeons and boss battles. It takes 6 minutes to form one plate. You can keep a maximum of 240 plates with you.

We advise you to try to spend this energy every day to obtain new resources necessary to upgrade your characters and weapons. In addition, it helps to raise the level of Unity. Note that if you do not have enough plates, then you can replenish their number with the help of astrites or Crystal Solvents, which can be obtained as a reward for some missions. For one crystal they give 60 wave-shaped plates.

Completing tasks

There are several types of quests in the game, namely:

• Story – they are marked in yellow in the mission log and on the mini-map. For them you can usually get astrits and a large amount of Unity experience.
• Companion – personal tasks of resonators, allowing you to better learn their character and background. They are marked in purple in the mission log and on the mini-map. They also give astrits and Unity points.
• Side quests are optional quests that are usually given by minor characters. They are marked in blue in the mission log and on the mini-map. For some of them you can get astritis.
• Research – regional tasks through which you can study more deeply the lore of a particular region of the world. They are marked in green in the mission log and on the mini-map.
• Activities are daily assignments that are updated regularly. For each such mission, 10 to 20 activity points are awarded. By collecting 100 points, you can receive a daily reward of 60 astrit.

Additional goals

Some time after starting the game, the Drifting Inscription menu will open, which includes various tasks related to the gameplay. For example, you need to upgrade the resonator to level 60 or absorb at least 10 echoes of purple rarity. For completing these goals you will receive additional rewards.

Pioneer Podcast

Pioneer Podcast is a battle pass, including free and premium access (which can be unlocked with real money). Players can earn rewards in them by completing daily, weekly, and timed challenges. It resets periodically (most likely every 6 weeks).

Note that the paid version of the pass has a 4-star weapon selector, which is not presented anywhere else , as in Honkai: Star Rail.

The guide is in the process of being written…