If you’re looking to expand your collection of characters, then you need to keep track of the current and next Wuthering Waves banners. As the main method of acquiring new characters, particularly powerful five-star fighters, then you have to try your luck at the various banners.
The Wuthering Waves banner schedule regularly introduces new characters while phasing out old ones, at least for a short time. To improve your odds of success though, it’s wise to understand how the banners work. So, this banner guide digs deep into the Wuthering Waves pity system, how to pull on banners, and all the characters available right now.
Current Wuthering Waves Banners
The current Wuthering Waves banner is Prevail the Lasting Night, is available from Wednesday, May 22, until Wednesday, June 12, 2024, and contains the following characters:
- Jiyan (five-star, Aero, Resonator)
- Chixia (four-star, Fusion, Pistol)
- Mortefi (four-star, Fusion, Resonator)
- Danjin (four-star, Havoc, Sword)
The current weapon banner is Absolute Pulsation, also available from Wednesday, May 22, until Wednesday, June 12, 2024:
- Verdant Summit (five-star Broadblade - Jiyan's signature)
- Dauntless Evernight (four-star Broadblade)
- Variation (four-star Rectifier)
- Hollow Mirage (four-star Gauntlets)
These are the phase one Wuthering Waves 1.0 banners that launched alongside the game, giving us our first selection of additional characters to try our luck for. You don’t have forever though. Each phase only lasts three weeks, so the 1.0 phase one banners above will be replaced by the next Wuthering Waves banners, 1.0 phase two.
Knowing what characters and weapon banners are coming up next is vital to ensuring you’re spending your Astrites and Tides wisely. After all, you can only earn so much and, chances are, it won’t be enough to get every character that comes out. As such, you’ll have to pick and choose, likely favoring the best Wuthering Waves characters first.
Next Wuthering Waves Banners
The next Wuthering Waves banner is When Thunder Pours, which will be available from Wednesday, June 12, likely until Wednesday, July 3, 2024:
- Yinlin (five-star, Electro, Rectifier)
- Taoqi (four-star, Havoc, Resonator)
- Aalto (four-star, Aero, Resonator)
- Yuanwu (four-star, Electro, Resonator)
Likewise, the next weapon banner in Wuthering Waves is Absolute Pulsation 1.0 phase two:
- Stringmaster (five-star Rectifier - Yinlin's signature)
- Jinzhou Keeper (four-star Rectifier)
- Cadenza (four-star Pistols)
- Lunar Cutter (four-star Sword)
Between Jiyan and Yinlin in the 1.0 banners, you’ll have a tough time choosing who to go for. As a main DPS, Jiyan will lead your team and deal the most damage in your party. However, it’s often the main DPS characters that get power-crept over time. On the other hand, Yinlin is a sub-DPS, which generally has stronger staying power in the meta. If you can only choose one, I’d recommend Yinlin.
Wuthering Waves Gacha and Pity System Explained
To pull for characters and weapons, you'll need to use Astrite, Wuthering Waves' premium currency. It costs 160 Astrite to purchase a single pull, known as a Tide. However, there are three types of Tides available:
- Radiant Tide - Used for pulls on the limited character banner.
- Forging Tide - Used for pulls on the limited weapon banner.
- Lustrous Tide - Used for pulls on the standard banner, which features both characters and weapons.
While you can purchase Astrite with real money, it can also be earned through in-game actions. And trust me, you’re going to want to take advantage of every piece of free Astrite you can get. You can earn Astrite by completing daily and weekly missions, exploring the world such as by solving puzzles or opening chests, and completing achievements.
Outside of the more generous Beginner's Convene, all Wuthering Waves banners share the same pity system that guarantees a high-rarity item after a certain number of pulls:
- Four-star pity - 10 pulls
- Five-star soft pity - 60-70 pulls
- Five-star hard pity - 80 pulls
In other words, if you don’t get a four-star character or weapon within nine pulls, then your tenth is guaranteed to be the rare item. Likewise, five-star items start to increase in drop rate after 60 pulls, with a guaranteed drop after 80 pulls.
This pity system will come in clutch as the Wuthering Waves drop rate isn’t incredibly generous:
- Five-star item - 0.8% drop rate
- Four-star item - 6% drop rate
- Three-star item - 93.2% drop rate
Wuthering Waves Beginner Banner (Novice Convene)
The Novice Convene, Utterance of Marvels, is Wuthering Waves’ beginner banner. This one-off starting banner is designed to let you build your first real team of rarer characters. With a maximum of 50 pulls and a guaranteed five-star within those 50, it’s a great way to get started without splashing your cash.
Although you can’t do single pulls on the beginner barrier, only in bulks of ten, you can at least purchase them at a discount. For every ten pulls, you only need to spend eight Lustrous Tides. That’s a bargain!
These are all the five-star characters in the Wuthering Waves beginner banner:
- Verina (Spectro, Rectifier)
- Encore (Fusion, Rectifier)
- Calcharo (Electro, Broadblade)
- Lingyang (Glacio, Guantlets)
- Jianxin (Aero, Gauntlets)
Wuthering Waves Standard Character Banner
Wuthering Waves’ standard character banner is known as the Character Permanent Convene. This features a pool of five-star and four-star characters that will be permanently available, unlike the characters featured in the limited banners.
Although you often won’t go out of your way to purchase pulls on this banner, these are also the characters that you could get if you lose your 50/50 on the limited-time character banner. So it’s good to know who the Wuthering Waves standard characters are anyhow.
Here’s a list of every standard five-star character in Wuthering Waves as of now:
- Verina (Spectro, Rectifier)
- Encore (Fusion, Rectifier)
- Calcharo (Electro, Broadblade)
- Lingyang (Glacio, Guantlets)
- Jianxin (Aero, Gauntlets)
What you'll notice is that the standard characters in Wuthering Waves are the same as the ones found in the beginner banner. So, you'll be able to build out your collection relatively easily.
The best standard characters to aim for are Verina, Encore, and Calcharo. While the latter two are great DPS units, Verina is a strong support unit, providing healing, buffs, and even off-field damage. Put them together and you'll have a fun team right away.
Wuthering Waves Standard Weapon Banner
Wuthering Waves’ standard weapon banner is called the Weapon Permanent Convene. Like the standard character banner, this contains a pool of five-star weapons that will always be available. The big difference between how these banners function is that this weapon banner allows you to choose a five-star weapon, which is guaranteed within 80 pulls.
These are the standard five-star weapons:
- Abyss Surges (Gauntlets)
- Cosmic Ripples (Rectifier)
- Emerald of Genesis (Sword)
- Lustrous Razor (Broadblade)
- Static Mist (Pistols)
So, that’s all you need to know about the current and next Wuthering Waves banners, as well as a comprehensive overview of the pity system. With this newfound knowledge, hopefully, you’ll be able to get the characters and weapons you’re hunting for. Good luck!