Basic Combat Guide – Wuthering Waves

Basic Combat System

To thoroughly appreciate Wuthering Waves’ combat system, you first need to understand every concept of the game’s combat set: Normal Attack, Heavy Attack, Evasion, Parry, Forte Circuit, Resonance Skill, Resonance Liberation, Intro and Outro Skills.

Basic Attack

All Resonators have their own unique Normal Attacks / , primarily used for offense, and are always available. These Primary Attacks significantly influence the Resonator’s attack pattern, with some trigger attack stages depending on the character’s playstyle. Overall, Wuthering Waves offers a wide range of fighting styles, each unique to its characters for you to master.

Mid-Air Basic Attack also varies per Resonators. For some characters, it allows a plunge attack; others can maintain a chain combo, and a few don’t have any mid-air attack and will simply dash or glide through.

Heavy Attack

By holding down the Basic Attack Button / , your Resonator will perform a Heavy Attack, consuming some of your Stamina. Like Normal Attacks, Heavy Attacks vary based on the Resonator’s playstyle. Upon execution, some characters will enter a defensive state that counters incoming attacks, while others will unleash elemental skills or perform strong offenses.

Note: While Heavy Attack lands a powerful hit on the target, Pistol-wielding Resonators enter an Aim Mode state that grants powerful single shots.

Evasion

Evasion mechanics / in Wuthering Waves is impressive on its own. For most major ARPG games, Evasion is only possible after you have completed your current action or attack chain, but in Wuthering Waves, Evasion is a high priority.

Evasion interrupts actions even in the middle of the maneuver, making it possible to evade an enemy attack right before it lands, but of course, this maneuver is not limitless. Activating Evasion consumes a certain amount of Stamina. If you don’t have enough Stamina, you won’t be able to evade.

Parrying

While in combat, specific enemy attacks present a Parry opportunity in the form of a ring of light. There’s an outer and inner ring that moves and aligns. Once these rings align and shine the brightest, attacking the enemy triggers the Parry. Some may find this challenging as certain enemies move fairly fast, but with practice, parrying becomes easier. Parries can be triggered not just with Normal Attacks / ; Heavy Attacks / and Skills / also work.

Once you successfully parry an attack, there’s a chance your target will be paralyzed, granting you an opportunity to land more damage or launch a finishing blow. 

Note: Larger enemies and bosses have break gauges beneath their health bars that can be reduced by attacking them. Parrying, however, significantly reduces these gauges. Once the gauge is fully depleted, the enemy will enter a stunned state.

Forte Circuit

Resonators possess a passive ability called Forte Circuit. This skill provides a unique effect that defines your Resonator’s playstyle in the field. Forte Circuit works hand in hand with your Normal Attack, Resonance Skill, and Resonance Liberation.

Each Resonator has a Forte Gauge found above your health bar, which can be filled up by dealing direct damage to your target. It then triggers the skill once the gauge hits max.

Resonance Skill

Closely tied to Forte Circuit and Resonance Liberation, Resonance Skill  / is another foundation of the combat system, which may provide healing, buffs, or deal elemental damage to the target. It has varying effects based on the Resonator’s playstyle.

Note: Unlike Forte Circuit, which requires its gauge to be filled before usage, Resonance Skill is only limited by its cooldown. Using the Resonance Skill also regenerates energy for your ultimate skill.

Resonance Liberation

Resonance Liberation  / is what we consider the Ultimate Skill in every RPG game. This skill requires Resonance Energy to fill up its gauge, along with your QTE, which is accumulated by attacking your target or using Resonance Skill. The amount of energy gathered will circle your Ultimate Skill UI, and once it’s full, the Resonance Liberation icon will pulsate.

Note: Using Resonance Liberation provides invisibility frames as your character enters the flashy animation of their ultimate, rending your character immune to damage for that brief second, use this to your advantage to avoid taking devastating damage.

Intro and Outro Skills

At the start of combat, Resonators use a unique ability called an Intro Skill. Switching out of combat triggers another ability called an Outro Skill. Each Resonator has different Intro and Outro skills; some may provide buffs, while others damage their target.

QTE (Concerto Skill)

In Wuthering Waves, Concerto Skills, also known as QTE, is a switch-in attack that allows you to switch Resonators while keeping up DPS. Once you switch and do damage, your character generates more Resonance Energy.

How do you use QTE instead of a normal Resonator switch? Ensure your Concerto Energy gauge, located to the left of your health bar, generates enough energy. Once you QTE, the character that tagged out consumes their Concerto Energy.

Note: Like Resonance Energy, the Concerto Energy gauge charges up when you damage your target. Keep in mind that each Resonator has their own QTE gauge.

Concerto Effects

Concerto Effects are what we consider Elemental Resonance. Specific effects will occur by switching in and out of characters with QTEs between certain elements in a specific order.

Using Echoes

In Wuthering Waves, Echoes may drop after you defeat certain monsters, which you can collect by absorbing them into your Resonance Terminal. Once you have absorbed the Echoes, you can equip it to a character’s main Echo slot to give them an extra skill in combat. 

Skills obtained vary on the Echo you equipped. Some transform you into a monster or let you summon the monster. Using Echo Skills / ( + ) generates Concerto Energy and Resonance Energy.

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