Wuthering Waves Update 1.2: Ranking Best Value Banners

Now that Wuthering Waves Update 1.2 has officially been released worldwide, it features two banners – Zhezhi and Xiangli Yao.

While the Zhezhi banner is live starting August 15, Xiangli Yao’s banner is expected to be released during the second part of the 1.2 update from September 9 to September 28.

So, if you have to pick between the two options, I’ll let you know whether you should pull for Zhezhi’s banner or wait for Xiangli’s banner to go live. Without wasting any time, let’s get started.

Zhezhi’s Banner: High Potential Value

Four-Star Characters

1. Chixia: At her early sequence nodes, Chixia focuses on increasing personal damage and energy generation. However, her true potential shines at Sequence Node 6 (S6), where she becomes a universal buffer granting a 25% bonus to basic attack damage to the entire team. This makes her a strong candidate for combining with Zhezhi, a basic attack-oriented damage dealer.
2. Baizhi: Baizhi has fantastic synergies at later sequence nodes. While many of her nodes focus on her low personal damage, S5 grants her a revive stronger than Vina’s, and her S6 provides a 12% glacial damage bonus to the team. This makes her a viable option as a raw buffer, potentially outperforming five-star buffers in your Zhezhi teams.
3. Sanhua: Sanhua’s sequence nodes are heavily focused on her personal damage. However, her S5 and S6 offer significant team-wide buffs. S6 provides up to a 20% attack boost, making her a valuable asset for Zhezhi teams with her built-in basic attack damage buff.

Four-Star Weapons

Unfortunately, Zhezhi’s weapon banner is less impressive. While Zhezhi’s weapon is solid, the four-star weapons on her banner are niche or generally lack usability:

1. Dauntless Evernight & Hollow Mirage: Both are defense-focused weapons with limited utility compared to their concerto energy-generating counterparts or even three-star weapons.
2. Jinzhou Keeper: An attack scaling stat stick, its utility is minimal unless used as a consolation prize if you don’t pull Zhezhi’s weapon.

Verdict

Zhezhi’s overall package: While her four-star characters offer excellent synergy and potential value, her four-star weapons leave much to be desired.

Xiangli Yao‘s Banner: Mixed Opinion

Four-Star Characters

Xiangli Yao’s banner features less synergy:

1. Danjin & Aalto: Both characters serve as sub-DPS buffers that sometimes play the main DPS role. Their buffs are attribute-specific, and their sequence nodes are largely focused on personal damage. As Electro characters, they have limited synergy with Xiangli Yao except at very high constellations, making them less useful for his teams.
2. Yuanwu: A more universal character as a defense-scaling sub-DPS, Yuanwu focuses on stagger damage. While versatile, his most notable sequence node, S4, offers minor sustaining ability through a shield, but he doesn’t shine in teams without coordinated attacks like Xiangli Yao’s.

How to Play Wuthering Waves in Steam Deck?

Four-Star Weapons

Xiangli Yao’s weapon banner provides better value:

1. Marcato: Generates concerto energy and can shorten rotations, making it highly versatile and valuable for future teams.
2. Helios Cleaver & NovaBurst: Both provide general attack buffs, making them more serviceable with high dupes as DPS options, though limited five-star weapons outperform them.

Verdict

Xiangli Yao’s overall package: While his four-star characters lack synergy, his four-star weapons are versatile and usable across various compositions.

Final Verdict

Considering the pros and cons of each banner, here’s the final ranking:

1. Zhezhi’s Banner: Despite the lackluster four-star weapons, the high-value four-star characters push Zhezhi’s Banner ahead of Xiangli’s, especially for players looking to build effective team compositions.
2. Xiangli Yao’s Banner: Mixed for its lack of synergy in four-star characters but redeemed by solid, versatile four-star weapons that offer practical benefits for various teams.

Unlike Kuro Games, Hoyoverse has decided to reward you on their 4th anniversary. So, do check out everything you’re getting in Genshin Impact.