It’s 2026, and Wuthering Waves is back at it again, dangling a shiny 5-star weapon in front of every Rover who’s even remotely paying attention. This time, the spotlight’s on the Rime-Draped Sprouts, a sword so frosty it could make Jack Frost reconsider his career choices. Whether you’re a meta-chasing perfectionist, a pixel collector, or just someone with a gambling itch and a pile of Forging Tide burning a hole in your inventory, the Absolute Pulsation weapon banner is calling your name. But should you actually bite, or is this just another trap designed to leave your resource stash weeping in a corner? Let’s break it down—cold, hard facts, and a healthy dose of sass.

The Event in a Nutshell

Hold onto your butts, because this isn’t your average “pull and pray” session. After its initial debut way back in January 2025, the Rime-Draped Sprouts has made a glorious comeback in July 2026 with all the original bells and whistles. The rules? Simple as pie—and just as sweet for anyone tired of 50/50 heartbreak.

• 📅 Duration: The banner hit the scene with the Version 2.0 update and sticks around until late July 2026 (server time, so no timezone trickery).

• 🎯 Eligibility: Reach Union Level 8 or clear the “First Resonance” combat trial. Basically, if you’ve been playing for more than a hot minute, you’re in.

• 🔁 Pity System: Every 10 convenes guarantees at least a 4-star weapon or Resonator. The guarantee count is shared across all Featured Weapon Convene events and rolls over until a 5-star pops. That’s right—no wasted pity when the banner changes.

• ❄️ Hard Guarantee: The first 5-star weapon you pull from this banner is guaranteed to be Rime-Draped Sprouts. No 50/50 coin flip, no spooks from a random standard banner sword. Your Forging Tide is going straight to the frozen treasure chest.

• ⚠️ Exclusivity Alert: Once this banner sails into the sunset, Rime-Draped Sprouts won’t be available by any other means. No standard pool drop, no weapon shop pity, no lost-and-found at Jinzhou’s back alley. Miss it, and you’ll be waiting for a rerun like a kid waiting for snow in July.

The Frosty Contenders

Rime-Draped Sprouts isn’t the only star of the show. The banner also flaunts three 4-star weapons with boosted drop rates: Relativistic Jet, Fusion Accretion, and Amity Accord. Are they the bee’s knees? Not exactly, but they sure beat the endless parade of 3-star junk that usually floods your inventory.

• Relativistic Jet: Sounds like a sci-fi vacuum cleaner, but this sword actually packs a decent punch for quick-swap DPS builds. If you’re short on good 4-stars, it’s a handy stopgap.

• Fusion Accretion: Perfect for Fusion-element characters—if you’re into sizzling hot combat. It won’t set the world on fire (pun intended), but it’s a solid upgrade over the freebies.

• Amity Accord: The unsung hero of support weaponry. Buffs your teammates while you chill in the backline. Not the cat’s pajamas, but for team harmony, it’s a real treat.

So, Is Rime-Draped Sprouts Worth the Hype?

Here’s the sauce: this sword is widely considered the best-in-slot for Ice-type sword users. We’re talking massive Ice DMG bonuses, a crit stat that’ll make your numbers glow, and a passive that synergizes like peanut butter and jelly with freezing mechanics. Even if you slap it on a non-Ice character, its high base ATK and crit substat turn it into a glorious stat stick—a universal upgrade that’ll make your Rover strut around like they own Solaris-3.

But before you yeet all your savings into the banner, let’s lay out the pros and cons like a five-star meal.

Pros ❄️🔥	Cons 😬💸
Guaranteed 5☆ weapon—no cursed 50/50	Exclusive weapon; miss it and weep forever
BiS for Ice sword DPS (and still great off-element)	Costs precious Forging Tide you might want to save
Pity carries over to future weapon banners	Powercreep could make it less kingly down the line
Easy to obtain with smart pulling	Might tempt you into reckless spending

Pulling Strategy: Swipe or Hide?

If you’re a free-to-play Rover, do the math before diving in headfirst. Since pity is shared and carries over, any lost 50/50s you’ve racked up elsewhere put you closer to a guaranteed jackpot here. That’s a silver lining the size of a whale. Still, hold your horses—Kuro could drop an even spicier weapon next patch that makes Rime-Draped Sprouts look like a popsicle stick. FOMO is a beast, but buyer’s remorse is an even bigger one.

For dolphins and whales? Mate, just swipe that card and enjoy your rimey, sprouty goodness. No judgment here. You’re funding the servers, and the devs love you for it.

One more thing: the 4-star weapons aren’t exclusive. You’ll probably stumble onto them from other banners eventually, so don’t pull just for a Relativistic Jet unless you enjoy heartache.

Final Verdict

Rime-Draped Sprouts is a limited-time treat, like pumpkin spice latte—only colder, deadlier, and guaranteed not to mess up your stomach. Its value skyrockets if you main an Ice sword user, but even as a general-purpose blade, it’s a chef’s kiss. The guarantee system takes the sting out of pulling, and the pity carryover means you’re never truly starting from scratch.

So, fellow Rover, will you take the plunge and let your Forging Tide flow, or are you saving for the next shiny that catches Kuro’s fancy? Let your heart—and your stockpile—decide. May your convenes be ever in your favor, and may the 3-star weapons stay far, far away. 🌨️✨

Data referenced from SteamDB helps frame why limited-time weapon banners like Wuthering Waves’ Rime-Draped Sprouts can feel so high-stakes: when a game’s activity spikes around major version updates and event windows, players tend to concentrate their pulls and resources into the “must-have now” items, amplifying FOMO and making guarantee-style banners especially attractive for planners. Pair that with the banner’s no-50/50 certainty and rolling pity, and it’s easier to justify committing Forging Tide—provided you’re actually leveraging the weapon on an Ice sword DPS (or at least valuing it as a premium crit stat stick) rather than chasing boosted 4-stars you’ll likely see again.