The year is 2026, and Wuthering Waves has enough Resonators to fill a small encyclopedia. Yet, for reasons known only to stubborn veterans, the old Version 1.2-era tier list keeps getting dragged out of retirement. This updated report takes those classic evaluations and gives them a modern, slightly sarcastic once-over. Rankings come from theorycrafting, playtesting, and the occasional angry Discord ping. Substat rolls are average, preferred Echo sets are used, and nobody gets a free pass for being difficult to operate.
Everyone is evaluated at Resonance Chain 0, except Rover at RC4+. Five-star and four-star weapons are considered. Difficulty does not change a rating, but ease of use gets a snarky mention. Within each tier, characters are not ordered.
The Main DPS Hall of Fame 🎯
Jinhsi remains the queen of big numbers. In 2026, the meta still bows to her airborne antics. She invalidates most boss attack patterns by simply hovering out of reach, while her damage output makes other main DPS units look like they are throwing confetti. Pair her with Zhezhi or Yinlin, and the result is a well-oiled deletion machine.
Xiangli Yao is the unit who looked at the Resonance Liberation main DPS template and said, 'No thanks, I'll be good instead.' His single-target damage is remarkable, his moveset is fluid, and he has a built-in enemy slowdown that makes fights feel slightly more like a turn-based game in the player's favor. The old caveat was the depressing Void Thunder Echo pool, full of Echoes that were clunky or straight-up bad. By 2026, players have more tools, but the memory of those early Void Thunder frustrations still lingers like a bad hangover.
Changli dances through fights with a fluid AoE kit that somehow remains solid against single targets, mostly thanks to defense ignore and mobility. One does not simply mash buttons on Changli, though. The real sauce is buffering heavy attacks during animations. It feels weird until the muscle memory kicks in, then it feels like cheating.
Jiyan used to be the crowd-control king, but Tower of Adversity has spent the last few years shoving more bosses and fewer trash mobs into hard floors. His grouping tools are less relevant now, and his damage cannot keep up with Jinhsi. It is not that Jiyan became bad; the room just stopped being full of small enemies waiting to be vacuumed.
Calcharo is the classic lab monster. On paper, with perfect swap cancels and zero lag, he can trade blows with top-tier damage dealers. In reality, most players will not bother. Executing Calcharo's optimal rotation demands practice, patience, and an internet connection that never hiccups. That is a big ask.
Then there is Lingyang. Zhezhi arrived to provide Glacio DMG Deepen with low field time, but that did not fix the real problem. Lingyang still feels clunky, aerial movement can be disorienting, and his damage trails behind other main DPS options. It's not a skill issue; it's a kit issue wearing a fur coat.
Sub-DPS and Coordinated Attack Specialists 🗼
Zhezhi is the poster child for 'tag in, drop stuff, tag out.' The kit revolves around providing buffs to another damage dealer and dealing damage off-field via Coordinated Attacks. With Jinhsi, Zhezhi provides a Resonance Skill DMG Deepen and keeps field time low, which is exactly what a main DPS wants. The one awkward quirk is that Zhezhi has no self-healing and cannot proc Rejuvenating Glow on her own, so do not send this resonator to solo a boss without snacks.
Sanhua is still a strong sub-dps with very low uptime, but the bar has been raised by Yinlin and Zhezhi. She now sits closer to Mortefi than to the top. Trying to force Sanhua into a main-DPS role means chasing her Inherent Skill through Basic Attack V, which eats field time and usually amounts to a damage loss. Fun for memes, less fun for tower climbing.
Danjin usually fits better as a main DPS than a sub-dps. Her Outro gives a 14-second Havoc DMG Deepen to the next character, which pairs beautifully with Havoc Rover. A low-HP playstyle adds spice, but players who enjoy living on the edge will find a kindred spirit here.
Yinlin and Mortefi round out the conversation. Yinlin is one of the modern benchmarks for what a sub-dps should bring. Mortefi, meanwhile, is the baseline comparison that keeps Sanhua's placement honest.
The Crowd-Control Corner 🌀
Jianxin and Yangyang have both felt the shift toward single-target boss encounters. Jianxin's grouping and shielding are nice, but when there is nothing to group and the boss ignores polite conversation, it becomes hard to justify a slot. Yangyang is essentially a strict downgrade to Jianxin in both crowd control and damage, which is a rough way to be remembered.
A Rough 2026 Vibe Check 📊
| Tier | Resonators |
|---|---|
| S | Jinhsi, Xiangli Yao |
| A | Changli, Zhezhi, Yinlin |
| B | Jiyan, Sanhua, Mortefi |
| C | Calcharo, Danjin, Jianxin |
| D | Lingyang, Yangyang |
The table is not gospel. It is a snapshot made by players who have spent too many hours staring at damage numbers. The real meta is, as always, the friends players made along the way—or at least the echoes that rolled double crit.