As a new player to Wuthering Waves, you’ll be given the option to select which 5-star standard character you want to receive from the starter banner. There are five characters to pick from, but there are only a few options if you’re trying to be efficient with your pick.
Which 5-star Standard Character should you pick in Wuthering Waves?
As someone who had the opportunity to spend a large amount of time running through Wuthering Wave during the last Closed Beta Test (Test 3), I was lucky enough to play with all five 5-star standard characters. I was able to get a solid feel of their kits and use cases. However, as a quick disclaimer, content from the beta was subject to change, so things could end up differently on the Wuthering Waves official release.
The five 5-star characters you can choose from are Calcharo, Encore, Jianxin, Lingyang, and Verina. Of these characters, I highly recommend you pick either Jianxin or Verina as your 5-star choice. The reason has a lot to do with general gacha game climate and long-term viability as the game ages. Calcharo, Encore, and Lingyang all play various roles as DPS characters in Wuthering Waves. The problem with this is that DPS characters tend to be the first ones to get power crept, which is a problem for your long-term account. While power creep is not completely avoidable, characters able to play several roles in a party or provide significant supporting buffs tend to have a much longer lifespan in the meta.
Why you should pick Jianxin
Jianxin is a jack-of-all-trade type character, able to tank hits, provide shields, HoTs(Heal over time), and even extremely solid DPS. She is also Aero, an element that naturally comes with suction-based support, allowing her to effectively group enemies in large fights. She is a valuable choice because she can do all of these things at the same time, as her main mechanic revolves around channeling her chi to enable the mentioned effects.
Jianxin also comes with an auto-parry that hits hard and prevents a single instance of damage should an enemy attack land. Her weakness is the flip side of her strength in that she is a master of none. She is not the best at any one thing and will likely never be the absolute best pick for a team comp in the future of Wuthering Waves.
Why you should pick Verina
Verina is a supporting character that provides massive damage buffs using her Intro/Outro skills as the catalyst, and big, meaty heals while she is on-field. She also comes with the additional ability to provide some off-field DPS when her allies hit targets she has marked with her Ultimate. Verina is, likely, the best pick because of her extensive ability to support any team she is on as her damage buffs are universal and not tied to any specific element.
What’s more, Verina is Spectro, a rather rare element only shared by the Rover at the launch of Wuthering Waves. It is the least represented element, meaning having Verina allows you to have a Spectro character on both teams in Wuthering Wave’sversion of the Spiral Abyss. At release, no other healer or support in the game rivals Verina’s abilities.
Why you should not pick Calcharo, Encore, or Lingyang
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with picking a character you like the vibe of, but, as I mentioned earlier, these three are the most susceptible to power creep as 5-star standard DPS characters. From a logistic standpoint, why would you pull for a limited DPS character that is weaker than the standard ones? Such is why these characters are not ideal if you intend to stick to the meta.
However, one thing I will add is that the time it takes for these characters to be power creep will vary, so if you like any of these characters, you should go for them still. The initial difference between them and a new 5-star limited DPS will probably not be large enough for concern. Over time the power creep will become apparent, however.
Still, if you’re sticking to meta picks and want to play one of these characters, despite all three being DPS, Encore is likely the one to stay relevant due to her unique off-field DPS playstyle. It involves switching her out with another character once her charge is full, leaving a persistent high-damage zone on the field. Calcharo is probably the next most viable due to the later addition of the limited-time character Yinlin. Lingyang? Meh. I wouldn’t.
