Wuthering Waves Tier List – Best Resonators Ranked for Version 3.6

Wuthering Waves has a large roster of Resonators, but building every character is rarely practical when weapons, Echoes, and upgrade materials require considerable investment. This tier list ranks the current roster for general PvE performance in Version 3.6, with particular attention to Tower of Adversity and Whimpering Wastes. Damage matters, but so do rotation speed, team flexibility, buffs, sustain, and how much setup a character needs before reaching their potential. Current endgame rankings also show significant differences between single-target Tower teams and wave-focused Whimpering Wastes compositions.

Wuthering Waves Tier List

This ranking treats each Rover element separately and focuses on practical team value rather than judging characters exclusively by their personal damage. A lower-ranked Resonator can still perform extremely well in a team specifically designed around them.

Note: Jingran is not included in the ranking yet. The Version 3.6 character launches on September 10, 2026, so there is not enough live performance data available at the time of writing to place him fairly.

S Tier – The Current Meta Leaders

S-tier Resonators sit at the top of the current Wuthering Waves meta. These characters either deliver exceptional damage, enable some of the strongest teams in Version 3.6, or provide enough universal utility to remain valuable across several compositions. They are generally safe long-term investments, although even the strongest DPS characters still need teammates that complement their mechanics.

Qingxiao

Qingxiao is an Aero Sword DPS centered around Tune Strain and aerial combat. Her rotation builds toward Ephemeral Transcendence before unleashing Heaven’s Reckoning and other enhanced attacks. Despite the amount going on behind the scenes, her actual inputs are remarkably straightforward, with much of her main rotation performed simply by holding the Basic Attack button.

That accessibility comes alongside excellent single-target damage, which makes Qingxiao one of the strongest current choices for Tower of Adversity. The tradeoff is team flexibility. She benefits enormously from combinations involving Denia, Mornye, or Lynae, and her Tune Strain-focused gameplay is noticeably less comfortable when dealing with multiple waves. Her ceiling and ease of execution still earn her an S-tier position.

Aemeath

Aemeath is a Fusion Sword main DPS with an unusually flexible set of team archetypes. She can operate through Tune Rupture, Fusion Burst, or Mono Fusion setups, allowing players to change how she functions depending on the partners available. Her personal damage is exceptional, and current endgame evaluations place her among the strongest Fusion carries available.

The main catch is that Aemeath’s best teams are not cheap. Partners such as Lynae and Denia can dramatically increase her performance, while her Forte generation also relies on landing short-range Basic Attacks. Enemies that move away or spend significant time airborne can interfere with her rotations. These shortcomings require some planning, but they do little to undermine her position near the top of the current meta.

Hiyuki

Hiyuki is a Glacio Sword DPS whose kit revolves around Glacio Chafe and Resonance Liberation damage. She builds her Forte resources before unloading several high-damage attacks in quick succession, with built-in grouping helping her handle enemy waves more effectively than many other burst-focused carries.

She currently stands well ahead of older Glacio damage dealers in her strongest teams. Large area attacks, good control, and animation windows that provide safety during her rotation make her effective against both bosses and groups. However, reaching that ceiling requires premium partners such as Lucilla or Lynae alongside characters like Chisa or Mornye. Hiyuki is powerful enough to justify that investment, but she is less friendly to accounts without those pieces.

Shorekeeper

Shorekeeper remains one of the easiest S-tier characters to recommend because she does not depend on a specific damage archetype. This Spectro Rectifier support provides continuous healing alongside CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and general damage amplification, allowing her to improve almost any team while occupying the sustain slot.

Her main limitation is rotation management. Most of Shorekeeper’s strongest buffs revolve around her Resonance Liberation and Outro setup, and she appreciates weapons that provide enough Energy Regen and Concerto generation to keep that cycle smooth. Once those requirements are met, however, few characters can match her combination of survivability and universal offensive support.

A Tier – Strong Contenders With Some Requirements

A-tier characters are still excellent and can perform at or near S-tier levels in the right situations. The difference is usually a more restrictive team, heavier setup, weaker performance in one type of endgame content, or a particular mechanic that prevents them from being as universally useful as the characters above.

Luuk Herssen

Luuk Herssen is a Spectro Gauntlet DPS built around aerial attacks, Tune Strain, and a powerful Resonance Liberation finisher. His combat loop has him chaining enhanced mid-air attacks before dropping a heavily empowered burst on the enemy, giving him excellent single-target performance and a relatively easy rotation to learn.

His biggest weakness is rigidity. Swapping Luuk out in the middle of his rotation effectively breaks his setup, removing much of the quickswap flexibility available to other characters. His aerial and single-target focus also makes multi-wave content less favorable. Against the right boss with the right support team, he can absolutely perform like an S-tier carry, but those limitations make A tier a more appropriate general placement.

Denia

Denia is a Fusion Rectifier Hybrid who can change her function before combat. Her two Resonance Modes allow her to support either Fusion Burst or Tune Strain teams, providing strong personal damage, specialized buffs, and off-field grouping while maintaining a relatively short rotation.

Within those archetypes, Denia is exceptional. She pairs particularly well with Aemeath for Fusion Burst and can support Qingxiao or Luuk Herssen in Tune Strain setups. The problem is that her strength is highly specialized. Outside these teams, generalist buffers such as Lynae offer considerably more flexibility. Denia is therefore a top-class piece for the accounts that need her, rather than a character every roster needs.

Carlotta

Carlotta is a ranged Glacio Pistol DPS focused heavily on Resonance Skill damage. She can output an impressive amount of burst damage once her resources and buffs are prepared, while her ranged attacks make dealing with mobile targets much more comfortable than with many melee carries.

Her setup and long cooldowns are what keep her below the top tier. Carlotta excels against single targets but loses value when stages continuously spawn new waves, making her much stronger in Tower of Adversity than Whimpering Wastes. With a properly built team and clean rotation, she remains an excellent boss killer and a strong investment for players who already have the right support pieces.

Brant

Brant brings an unusual amount of utility for a character capable of dealing meaningful personal damage. This Fusion Sword Hybrid fights primarily in mid-air, provides healing and shields, and can amplify Fusion and Resonance Skill damage through his Outro. He can consequently function as a damage dealer or as part of a multi-DPS composition.

His actual combat inputs are fairly simple, but building him properly is another matter. Brant has demanding Energy Regen requirements, and his signature weapon helps considerably with getting the most out of his dedicated Echo setup. He also lacks interruption resistance during some important attacks. The versatility is excellent, but realizing all of it takes more preparation than the best S-tier options.

B Tier – Good Characters That Have Fallen Behind

B-tier Resonators remain completely viable for normal progression and can clear difficult content with good builds and teams. Most are here because newer characters have raised the damage ceiling or because their mechanics demand additional effort for results that stronger options can achieve more easily.

Camellya

Camellya is a Havoc Sword hypercarry who can shift between forms favoring different combat situations. She remains relatively accessible to build and can provide solid area damage without requiring a roster full of premium teammates, making her far from obsolete.

Her problem in the current meta is time. Camellya’s rotations are very long, and some of her strongest attacks are vulnerable to interruption. Buffs can expire before she reaches later portions of her damage cycle, while newer carries simply reach higher numbers with cleaner rotations. Players who already invested heavily in her have little reason to stop using her, but she is harder to recommend as a new priority.

Jinhsi

Jinhsi was one of Wuthering Waves’ defining early carries, and her enormous Resonance Skill nukes are still satisfying. She can execute surprisingly fast rotations once properly optimized, and her Unison mechanic gives skilled players considerable room to experiment with swaps and team flow.

The current environment exposes her weaknesses more clearly. She relies heavily on Coordinated Attacks to build her major damage window, and much of her output is concentrated into individual bursts. That can cause severe overkill when enemies arrive in multiple waves, particularly in Whimpering Wastes. She remains capable in Tower of Adversity, but newer Spectro and generalist DPS options have pushed her down the priority list.

Changli

Changli is a Fusion Sword Hybrid with excellent quickswap potential. She deals much of her damage through Resonance Skills while using her Outro to amplify Fusion and Liberation damage for the next character. Her animations provide numerous opportunities to swap out without wasting time, making her particularly rewarding for players comfortable with advanced rotations.

That optimization is also why she sits in B tier. Playing Changli casually leaves a significant amount of performance on the table, and newer Fusion characters can achieve higher ceilings with less effort. Her easily accessible weapon options and flexible quickswap gameplay keep her relevant, but she is now more of a specialist for experienced players than a general meta recommendation.

Xiangli Yao

Xiangli Yao is an Electro Gauntlet DPS centered around a long Resonance Liberation state. His extended burst window is forgiving enough to allow dodges and minor mistakes without ruining the entire rotation, while the interruption resistance gained during his Ultimate makes him comfortable to use against aggressive enemies.

He also has strong support options, including Lynae and Yinlin, but his personal ceiling has fallen behind the newest generation of carries. His attack animations are lengthy, and maximizing the three Hypercube-powered Law of Reigns attacks still requires understanding his combo flow. Xiangli Yao remains perfectly usable, but current endgame teams have several stronger ways to fill the main DPS slot.

C Tier – Niche Picks and Personal Favorites

C-tier characters are not unusable. Wuthering Waves rewards player execution enough that a heavily invested lower-tier character can still complete difficult encounters. These Resonators simply provide less return for the resources required, have narrow team applications, or have been substantially surpassed by newer alternatives.

Lingyang

Lingyang is a Glacio Gauntlet hypercarry who spends much of his burst window fighting in an enhanced aerial state. His basic game plan is easy to understand: fill his Forte, activate his Liberation, enter Striding Lion, and stay on the field to deal as much damage as possible.

The problem is that his damage is low compared with modern five-star carries, while his unusual aerial movement takes additional practice to control. Hiyuki and other newer Glacio options now offer far stronger results at the top end. Lingyang can still work for players who enjoy his combat style, but he is difficult to justify purely from a meta perspective.

Aalto

Aalto is an Aero Pistol Hybrid built around Mist Avatars and gates that enhance his gunfire. His clones can taunt enemies, and his Outro provides Aero damage amplification, giving him some utility beyond his own attacks. He can even be built as a main DPS if a player wants to commit to his unusual playstyle.

Unfortunately, Aalto has almost no area coverage and requires careful positioning to consistently fire through his gates. His damage and support value have both been surpassed by newer characters, leaving him without a meaningful place in most current meta teams. He remains functional, but using him is largely a matter of preference.

Yuanwu

Yuanwu is one of the cheapest characters to make functional. His Thunder Wedge performs Coordinated Attacks from off-field, while his kit provides interruption resistance and additional Vibration Strength damage. He also spends almost no time on the field, making his basic rotation extremely quick.

Those advantages once made him a useful budget partner for Jinhsi, but his applications remain extremely narrow. Yuanwu contributes very little personal damage and provides fewer offensive buffs than modern supports. His low investment cost keeps him useful for specific accounts, but players with a developed roster will usually have stronger alternatives.

Chixia

Chixia is a free Fusion Pistol DPS with strong ranged attacks and a surprisingly powerful Resonance Liberation. She can function as either a main or secondary DPS, and pairing her with a quickswap-friendly character such as Changli gives her enough room to build Forte resources without monopolizing field time.

Her shortcomings are substantial, though. Chixia has limited AoE, a costly Ultimate, and must spend noticeable time channeling her strongest Forte attacks, where interruption can cause major damage losses. She can still clear difficult content with sufficient investment, but that investment is difficult to recommend when considerably stronger Fusion damage dealers are available.

The Version 3.6 Wuthering Waves meta strongly favors characters that combine high damage with efficient rotations, specialized mechanics such as Tune Strain, or powerful team-wide support. Qingxiao, Aemeath, Hiyuki, and other S-tier carries currently set the pace for damage, while characters such as Shorekeeper, Lynae, Mornye, and Suisui remain valuable because they enable a wide range of teams.

That does not make lower-tier Resonators worthless. Wuthering Waves is heavily influenced by team composition and player execution, so an optimized B-tier character can outperform a poorly supported S-tier one. Use the tier list to decide where your resources are likely to have the greatest impact, but there is still plenty of room to build a favorite character when their playstyle is what keeps you playing.

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