Best Wuthering Waves DPS characters, ranked

DPS characters in Wuthering Waves are the main damage dealers and the primary focus of every team composition. Players must use characters that synergize with DPS units to make them stronger. They will generally spend most of their time with their main damage dealer on the field and consume all the team buffs to clear overworld or endgame content.

Naturally, some DPS units are going to perform and feel better than others, and players might be wondering who is the strongest out of them all. This article will rank all the DPS characters in the Wuthering Waves 1.0 update.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

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Top 7 Wuthering Waves DPS characters, ranked (worst to best)

Wuthering Waves DPS tier-list (Image via Kuro Games)

Here is a detailed tier list showcasing the ranking for all DPS characters in the Wuthering Waves 1.0 update.

7) Lingyang

Lingyang is currently underwhelming and clunky (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Glacio
• Weapon: Gauntlets

Despite having the most unique playstyle, the 5-star DPS, Lingyang, is currently the weakest and most underwhelming character in Wuthering Waves. He is a single-target melee DPS unit whose main source of damage comes after casting Resonance Liberation, which grants DMG buffs and enhances his normal combos.

Lingyang can fly during the entire ultimate duration in the air, allowing him to perform mid-air attacks, dodge, and encounter enemies in a new dimension. However, this flying ability is also his biggest weakness. While Lingyang is airborne, players will face noticeable movement restrictions and hitbox issues; these will often lead to missing combos and major DPS losses.

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6) Chixia

Chixia is a free 4-star DPS unit (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Fusion
• Weapon: Pistols

Chixia is one of the starter DPS units that players can obtain during the start of Wuthering Waves' main storyline. She is a ranged damage-dealer with a straightforward kit that revolves around building and spending her Forte Gauge. She is easy to play and master, but this comes at a great cost.

Chixia has the longest on-field time amongst all DPS units and is vulnerable to interruption. As a ranged unit, she lacks parry abilities and relies on dodging. While she might be helpful in early progression, many DPS units would outperform her in the long run.

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5) Danjin

Danjin has a unique playstyle (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Havoc
• Weapon: Sword

Danjin is a 4-star DPS unit with a unique berserker playstyle in Wuthering Waves. She sacrifices her own HP to enhance her attack, leaning towards a high-risk high-reward gameplay. In addition, she is also one of the best units for parries and 1v1 battles.

Despite all this, she has major drawbacks. At Sequence 0, her damage ceiling is lower than other ultimate-based DPS units. She is constantly on the field with low HP, which makes her extremely vulnerable during combat. Furthermore, she currently lacks a dedicated Hybrid unit for her best teams.

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4) Havoc Rover

Havoc Rover is a reliable DPS (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Havoc
• Weapon: Sword

Havoc Rover is a free 5-star DPS unit that can deal massive damage from his Resonance Liberation and Forte Circuit. Wuthering Waves' MC can be used both in a main DPS and dual DPS teams, the most famous one being the double Dreamless team with Danjin. Rover's playstyle revolves around building and spending his Forte Gauge, making him one of the best on-field DPS units.

In the Wuthering Waves 1.0 update, players can only unlock the first two sequence nodes for Havoc Rover. This makes him weaker than other 5-star main damage dealers who can have stronger sequence nodes that can be unlocked. However, it also implies that Havoc Rover is yet to reveal his true DPS potential after unlocking all of its sequence nodes for free in future updates.

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3) Encore

Encore is a powerful DPS unit (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Fusion
• Weapon: Rectifier

Encore is one of the best-rated DPS units in Wuthering Waves' 1.0 update. As a melee powerhouse, she excels in Hypercarry and Quick Swap teams. Her ultimate enhances her combos and makes her a viable Hypercarry damage dealer. Meanwhile, players can easily swap-cancel after using her Resonance Skill and Forte Circuit in Quick Swap teams.

On the downside, they can easily face DPS losses if they don't use swap-cancel on Encore's attacks. This is especially relevant for her Forte Gauge, which makes her vulnerable due to movement restrictions. In addition, during her ultimate, she cannot parry as efficiently as other DPS units on the roster.

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2) Calcharo

Calcharo has one of the highest damage ceilings (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Electro
• Weapon: Broadblade

Calcharo is a 5-star Broadblade user and one of the best DPS units in Wuthering Waves. He is an ultimate-centric damage dealer with a high skill ceiling and can deal massive damage.

On the other hand, he relies heavily on combos and swap cancels; it's very easy to mess up his rotation, ultimately leading to DPS losses. In addition, Calcharo is the only unit whose damage ceiling is directly affected by the player's skills. This implies, that he would feel great in the hands of skillful players, but would feel slow and clunky for those who aren't aware of his kit or core combat mechanics.

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1) Jiyan

Jiyan is one of the best and excels at AoE (Image via Kuro Games)

• Attribute: Aero
• Weapon: Broadblade

Jiyan is a limited 5-star character and the best DPS unit in Wuthering Waves' 1.0 update. He is an ultimate-based damage dealer, offering high DPS output with crowd-control properties. This makes him the best and only AoE DPS unit to play against a group of enemies or nimble bosses.

However, Jiyan's reliance on his Resonance Liberation is a relevant weakness. Without enough Energy Regen built on him, he will face major DPS losses as his damage outside the ultimate feels lackluster.

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