Wuthering Waves' combat rewards mechanical skill more than most gacha games — dodge counters and parries genuinely change clear times — but that doesn't mean roster choice stops mattering. Echo sets, weapons, and Resonance chains still gate how far skill alone can carry a team. We ranked the current Version 3.6 roster with Tower of Adversity and Whimpering Wastes performance as the benchmark, since those are the two modes that punish a weak team the fastest.
S-Tier: The Current Meta Core
Jinshi, Changli, Shorekeeper, and Camellya anchor the top of the roster this patch. Changli remains one of the best hypercarry DPS units in the game thanks to her burst-heavy kit and consistently strong scaling, while Shorekeeper continues to be the sustain-and-buff support most top-end teams are built around — she's less "nice to have" and more "the reason your DPS numbers look the way they do." Camellya's aggressive, sustain-through-lifesteal playstyle still holds up as one of the most satisfying and mechanically rewarding DPS kits in the game, provided you're comfortable with her more hands-on rotation.
The Version 3.6 addition Aemeath has landed at the very top of the current meta on release — a versatile, extremely strong DPS unit that's quickly being folded into top team comps. If she fits your account's element coverage, she's a safe investment rather than a gamble pull.
For newer accounts still building their first real team, Jiyan is worth calling out specifically: he's an older unit at this point, but he remains the most reliable main DPS for players without a deep roster, largely because his kit doesn't lean on a specific support to function the way some newer units do.
A-Tier: Strong, More Situational
Sigrika is the current go-to pick if you need a strong Aero-element DPS and don't already have one — she fills a real gap in team building rather than just adding another strong unit to an element you've already covered. Beyond the top tier, several A-tier units perform close to S-tier levels in the right team shell but ask for more specific support pairings or Echo investment to get there. If you already own one of these and it matches your team's element and role needs, building it is rarely a mistake — the practical gap between "great" and "meta-defining" in Wuthering Waves is often a matter of a few seconds per Tower of Adversity clear, not a difference that decides whether you clear at all.
Budget and F2P-Friendly Picks
Wuthering Waves is one of the more f2p-friendly games in this genre because Echoes — not just character pulls — do a huge amount of the heavy lifting, and Echoes are earned through gameplay rather than gacha pulls. That changes the budget calculus:
- Prioritize Echo farming and substat quality over chasing every new DPS release. A well-rolled 4-cost Echo on a mid-tier Resonator will often outperform a poorly rolled Echo on an S-tier one.
- Jiyan or another accessible early DPS plus a generalist sustain unit is enough to clear the vast majority of Tower of Adversity content. Don't feel pressured to build three full DPS teams before you've maxed out what your first team can do.
- Save pulls for a support like Shorekeeper before a second DPS. As in most gacha combat systems, a strong support raises the ceiling of every DPS you already own, while a second DPS only helps the teams it's slotted into.
Team Comps That Work Right Now
The most consistent Tower of Adversity shell this patch pairs a hypercarry DPS (Changli, Camellya, or Jiyan for newer accounts) with Shorekeeper for sustain and buffs, then a flexible third slot chosen for elemental resonance and Concerto Energy generation. Against Aero-weak content, swapping in Sigrika as either the primary DPS or a strong sub-DPS is currently one of the cleanest answers available.
Conclusion
Wuthering Waves' Version 3.6 meta is defined less by a single "must-pull" unit and more by how well your team's elements and roles fit together — Changli, Shorekeeper, and Camellya remain the safest high-investment picks, Aemeath is the patch's standout new addition, and Jiyan quietly remains the best on-ramp for newer accounts. Spend your Echo farming time before your pulls, and the rest of the roster will follow.
