Storyline

Wuthering Waves follows the story of Rover, a mysterious Resonator who was awoken on the edges of Jinzhou by a mysterious woman in a vast sea of empty space. She gives Rover their Tacet Mark, the source of a Resonator’s power, before thrusting them into the world of Sol-III. Upon waking, Rover finds themselves in the company of two Resonators who later become the free starter characters, Chixia and Yangyang. These three embark on journeys all across Jinzhou, protecting it from its two main enemy factions. The first faction is not much a faction as it is a species – Tacet Discords are strange monsters that inhabit Sol-III, and Resonators can utilize them in combat. These monsters were created by the Lament, the catastrophe that made Sol-III into what it is now. The second faction is the Fractsidus, a group of people who try to merge themselves with Tacet Discords in order to become stronger. Their goal is to bring about a second Lament. 

Much like with combat, the story of Wuthering Waves is complex and intricate. If the player is not paying attention to a main story quest, or even a general world quest, there is a high chance to get completely lost in what is happening. A lot of information is thrown at players in the beginning of the game, both for combat and story. If players are able to retain that information as they play, the story makes a lot more sense. Despite this, sometimes the game likes to throw new concepts and plot threads in at random times, so anything could come back and be important. While this can be frustrating, it is also impressive how the writers of this game weave previous details and mentions into the story. 

Gacha System

The main aspect and most controversial part of a gacha game is the gacha (or gambling) system. The way the system functions is that players collect a specific type of currency, and once they have enough of it, they can spend it on “pulls” to get a random drop, be it a weapon or a character. These weapons and characters vary in rarity, and thus power. In Wuthering Waves, that currency is called Astrite. One pull is 160 Astrite, while a 10-pull is 1600 Astrite. The rarity tiers in Wuthering Waves are three-stars, four-stars, and five-stars. A 10-pull guarantees at least one four-star item. Gacha games also have a feature called pity, where if a player does a certain amount of pulls, their chances of getting a five-star are increased. Wuthering Waves has a standard gacha banner with select characters and weapons and limited banners with characters that are only available on that specific banner.

What sets Wuthering Waves apart from other gacha games, specifically its main competition Genshin Impact, is how many things it gives to new players for free. At the beginning of Genshin Impact, players get 20 standard pulls. At the beginning of Wuthering Waves, players receive 20 standard pulls but are also given the opportunity to earn plenty more. Just by logging for a week for each patch, players can earn five standard pulls and five limited pulls. Just by reaching certain player ranks, players can get anywhere from five to 15 standard pulls, plus a five-star weapon of the player’s choice once they reach rank 45. New players can also pick to obtain a standard five-star of their choice! This incentives players to continue playing the game if the story and combat have not won them over already.

Final Rating

As someone who has played many gacha games, Wuthering Waves is one of the best in the genre. Not only does it have intuitive and engaging gameplay, but the story is interesting and thought out. It is one of the more generous gacha games in terms of pulls and free characters. Players of gacha games should absolutely at least give Wuthering Waves a try. Those hesitant on gacha games and how similar they are to gambling are well within their right to stay away. Remember to spend responsibly!

Wuthering Waves is available on PC and mobile devices. The current event, the Moon-Chasing Festival, is available until September 28th, 2024.