You spent your last Asterite saving for a banner reroll, watched the Encore rerun pass by, and now Brant is walking around your Discord chat like he owns the meta. Welcome to Wuthering Waves a year and a half in. Kuro Games has been pumping out new Resonators at a brutal pace, the echo system rewards effort in ways most gachas don't, and the Tower of Adversity rotations are more punishing every patch.
I've been running endgame across multiple accounts since 1.0 launch. The 2.x meta looks completely different from the launch lineup, and most older "S-tier" tier lists you'll find online are wildly out of date. Here's what actually clears Tower of Adversity, Whimpering Wastes, and the new Holographic Strategy difficulties as of mid 2026.
The State of Wuthering Waves in 2026
The combat is the best in the gacha space. Full stop. Parries, dodge counters, intro/outro skill chains, and air combo extensions give WuWa more depth than its competitors. But that depth means tier lists matter slightly less than in turn-based gacha — a skilled player can clear endgame with B-tier picks. Mechanical execution actually matters here.
That said, certain Resonators just have absurd kits. Carlotta's burst windows, Roccia's swap chains, Camellya's self-sustain plus damage, and Phoebe's group control define the modern meta. The current Tower of Adversity rewards short rotations, big burst spikes, and quick swap teams that abuse the intro/outro skill system.
The big change in 2.x: Kuro added Cartethyia and Phrolova-style Resonators that sit on the field longer and play fundamentally differently from the swap-spam carries we had at launch. The result is two viable meta archetypes — quick swap and hyper carry — instead of one. The echo system also got tuned, with the new 5-cost Echo sets enabling builds that weren't possible at launch.
Crucially, Wuthering Waves' weapon banner is significantly more F2P-friendly than its competitors. The standard battle pass weapons hit roughly 80% of the performance ceiling for limited five-stars, which means tier placement here is more about kit quality than dupe-gating.
Here's how I'm ranking: assuming S0 (no dupes), 5-cost echo equipped, decent (not perfect) substats, and the standard endgame rotation context. Sequences (dupes) matter for some characters but don't elevate them above S0 monsters.
S+ Tier: The Meta Definers
These Resonators define entire team archetypes. Pulling for them is the closest WuWa gets to a "must-have" recommendation.
Carlotta is the strongest single-target DPS in the game. Her burst window output is absurd, her quickswap rotations are clean, and she fits into a Glacio carry team that absolutely demolishes Tower of Adversity. She got a slight nerf in 2.0 that didn't matter — she's still top tier.
Roccia is the universal DPS amplifier. Her quickswap chains, off-field damage, and group buffs make her the new "everyone wants this" support similar to Furina in Genshin. She slots into nearly every carry team.
Camellya is the on-field Havoc carrier whose self-sustain plus damage output simply outclasses everything else in her element. Her air combo extensions are the most fun mechanic in the game and her damage is no joke.
Jinhsi is still elite. Her Spectro field plus stack mechanic makes her an Abyss queen, and Yinlin/Roccia teams remain top-tier. Slightly powercrept but still S+.
Phoebe is the new Spectro support / sub-DPS hybrid that teams perfectly with Jinhsi. Her group control plus damage amp pushed Spectro back into top-tier relevance.
Cantarella is the Hydro support of choice for nearly every carry team. Her shielding plus damage amplification work in any element pairing.
S Tier: Powerhouse Mains and Top Supports
Changli is still the best Fusion DPS amplifier and a strong on-field carrier. Her quickswap intro skill is one of the strongest in the game.
Shorekeeper is the universal sustain. She heals huge, buffs the team, and works in literally every comp. Pull her if you skipped at launch.
Brant is the new Fusion sub-DPS that elevates Camellya/Changli teams to absurd damage. His quickswap is clean and his off-field damage is huge.
Zani is a Spectro DPS who fits into Phoebe + Jinhsi comps for a triple-Spectro burst team that hits like a truck.
Cartethyia is a long-field Havoc carrier with hypercarry potential. She wants Roccia and Cantarella but the ceiling is enormous.
Phrolova is the Glacio sub-DPS that elevates Carlotta teams. Strong off-field damage and clean rotations.
Yinlin is still top-tier. Off-field Electro damage, easy quickswap rotations, and great compatibility with Jinhsi made her one of the most-used Resonators in the game.
A Tier: Strong, Reliable, Slightly Conditional
These Resonators carry teams but want specific element pairings or teammates to truly shine.
Calcharo is still the Electro hypercarry of choice for mono-Electro teams. He's slightly outclassed by Jinhsi-team Yinlin builds but still strong.
Encore is the original Fusion carry. She's been powercrept by Changli and Camellya but with her Sequences still hits hard.
Verina remains the F2P-friendly support of choice. Her healing and damage amp are reliable and she works in every team. Almost an S Tier honorable mention purely for accessibility.
Sanhua is the budget Glacio quickswap support. She enables Carlotta teams without requiring a limited support pull.
Mortefi is the Fusion off-field Resonator that pairs with Encore and Calcharo. His coordinated attacks deal real damage.
Xiangli Yao is a strong Electro main DPS pick. He punches above his tier and is a great budget alternative to Calcharo.
B Tier: Solid Picks That Need Help
Aalto is a fine Aero sub-DPS but the Aero element itself is the weakest in the meta currently.
Lingyang is the cute panda Glacio DPS who simply got powercrept by Carlotta. Still works in F2P teams.
Taoqi is a Geo sub-DPS who fills a niche but rarely sees Tower of Adversity use.
Yuanwu is the Electro tank/support who saw early popularity but has dropped off entirely.
Baizhi is the F2P healer alternative to Verina. Solid for early game.
C Tier: Niche Use
Chixia is the standard banner Fusion DPS. She's playable but every limited pick outclasses her.
Danjin is a self-damage Havoc DPS with a fun gimmick that doesn't pay off in practice.
Jianxin is an Aero main DPS who's been left behind by every meta shift since launch. Her shielding and parry bonuses have a niche use case but the damage just isn't there for serious endgame.
D Tier: Outdated or Outclassed
Rover (Spectro) and Aero Rover are decent main characters but limited Resonators outclass them in every endgame slot. They're worth building for story content but not for pushing top-tier endgame.
Jiyan is the standard banner DPS who launched as the strongest in the game and has been slowly powercrept since. Still playable, but he's no longer cracking the meta.
These aren't unplayable — WuWa skill expression matters — but at the highest difficulties of Tower of Adversity, they're a tier behind.
F2P-Friendly Best Picks
If you're not whaling, the cleanest investments are:
- Verina (4-star) — best F2P support in the entire game
- Sanhua (4-star) — Glacio quickswap support that enables Carlotta teams
- Mortefi (4-star) — coordinated-attack Fusion off-field damage
- Baizhi (4-star) — F2P healer alternative
- Yangyang (4-star) — Aero sub-DPS who works in budget Jiyan teams
- Rover (story unit) — actually viable in mid-game endgame
- Jiyan (standard banner) — decent F2P-friendly Aero carry pull
A team of Carlotta + Sanhua + Verina + any sub-DPS can clear most of the endgame on a single limited pull. Wuthering Waves is genuinely generous to dedicated F2P players.
Make Your Own WuWa Tier List
Want to rank these Resonators based on your account, your weapons, and your playstyle? Build your own Wuthering Waves Resonator tier list and drag every Resonator into the tier you actually believe in. Settle the Discord arguments, share your Tower of Adversity flex on Twitter, or rank them by waifu/husbando energy — your call.
References
- Wuthering Waves Tier List - All Resonators Ranked - Prydwen Institute (2026)
- WuWa Resonator Database - Fandom Wiki (2026)
- Tower of Adversity Statistics - Kuro Games (2026)
- Wuthering Waves Tier List - GamesRadar (2026)
试用 Tier Maker
探索更多关于层级列表和排名工具的指南、技巧和见解。