In 2026, the gacha system of Wuthering Waves is a familiar beast, but a veteran player named Lin still recalls the first time the community saw its shape. It was not in the live version, but in CBT2, when the developers lifted the NDA and let payment options appear. That moment felt like a signal: the team was confident in the gacha, and drastic changes were unlikely. So what did that early blueprint look like? And why does it still matter two years later?

Every gacha has a starting banner, and Wuthering Waves was no exception. The beginner banner featured five standard characters. It guaranteed at least one 5-star standard character at 50 pity and offered a discount: 8 pulls instead of 10 per ten-pull. Once a player made 50 total pulls, the banner vanished. The standard roster was:

• Verina (Spectro - Rectifier)

• Calcharo (Electro - Broadblade)

• Ling Yang (Glacio - Gauntlets)

• Jianxin (Aero - Gauntlets)

• Encore (Fusion - Rectifier)

After that, the standard character banner took over. It featured the same five characters. The rules were simple: a 4-star guaranteed every 10 pulls, a 5-star guaranteed at 80 pulls, and soft pity beginning around 60 to 70 pulls. Lin remembers how players debated whether to save or spend. Was it worth chasing a specific standard character when the beginner banner already gave a discount? The answer depended on patience and luck.

Then came the standard weapon banner, separated from the character banner. It featured five standard weapons, and players could pick one to aim toward with a 100% guaranteed drop rate. The weapon list included:

• Emerald of Genesis - Sword

• Lustrous Razor - Broadblade

• Abyss Surges - Gauntlets

• Static Mist - Duel Pistols

• Cosmic Ripples - Rectifier

Its gacha rules matched the character banner: 4-star guaranteed per 10 pulls, 5-star guaranteed per 80 pulls, soft pity around 60 to 70. For many, this was a safer investment than the limited weapon banner, because standard pulls were separate.

The limited character banner was where the real drama lived. It featured a rate-up with a 50% drop chance for that character. If a player obtained a 5-star that was not the rate-up, the next 5-star would be guaranteed to be the limited rate-up. If the 5-star was not the rate-up, they received one of the standard characters instead. The current limited characters in CBT2 were:

• Jiyan (Aero - Broadblade)

• Yinlin (Electro - Rectifier)

The rules were 4-star guaranteed per 10 pulls, 5-star guaranteed per 80 pulls, a 50/50 with guarantee after losing, and soft pity around 60 to 70. The limited weapon banner worked similarly to the standard weapon banner, but it offered a 100% guaranteed drop rate for the signature weapon matching the rate-up limited character. The limited weapons were Verdant Summit (Jiyan's Signature) - Broadblade, and Stringmaster (Yinlin's Signature) - Rectifier. Same pity rules applied.

When it came to rerolling, Lin knew it was purely a personal choice. Did a player want to reset with a new account until they got their desired standard character from the beginner banner? Or were they just looking for a lucky start? Rerolling was optional. In CBT2, the best standard characters to aim for were Calcharo, Encore, and Verina. Calcharo and Encore were strong DPS characters, while Verina offered buffing utility through her kit and the Rejuvenation Glow Sonata Effect, plus great healing and off-field damage.

In both CBTs, Jiyan was the first limited banner, and Yinlin came right after him. When it came to choosing whether to pull for Jiyan on release or save to guarantee Yinlin, it was more of a personal preference. Both played very differently, were both very strong, and filled different roles. Jiyan was a main carry type of character, the center of a team built to focus buffs and deal huge damage. Yinlin was more of a sub-DPS, offering less damage but bringing buffs to the table. She excelled at dealing bursts of damage through quick-swapping.

The general recommendation for players was to focus on pulling characters, not weapons. Characters offered more gameplay variety, while weapons only gave bigger numbers. For free-to-play players, it was extremely recommended to avoid spending currency on weapons unless they were absolutely sure. For light spenders and whales, there was a bit more room for weapons. But remember: a game should be fun. If unlocking a certain weapon gave more enjoyment than a new character, it was fine to go for it.

But which weapons should players prioritize? Limited or standard? Currently, in CBT2, there were only two limited weapons, Jiyan's and Yinlin's signatures. Both were good weapons with good damage increases. However, as time went on, players would unlock better 4-star weapons at higher tiers, which would compete with signature weapons much better. Signature weapons cost pulls that could be used on limited characters, while standard weapons only used pulls for standard banners. Since players could unlock all standard characters from losing 50/50s on limited rate-up banners, it was not a bad idea to aim for 5-star weapons from the standard banner.

Technically, the best standard weapon depended on which characters a player owned, but there were some to prioritize. Emerald of Genesis (Sword) was a really powerful sword that granted Crit Rate as its secondary stat, plus Energy Recharge and ATK% through its passive. Since many beginner characters unlocked for free were sword users, such as Rover, Yangyang, and Sanhua, this gave the weapon extra value. Sanhua could not fully stack the passive, but it was still an incredibly strong stat stick on her. Static Mist (Duel Pistols) was also a Crit Rate weapon that gave Energy Recharge%, and after an outro skill, the team gained a 10% ATK buff. This made it a good stat stick for damage dealers like Chixia, while also offering supportive benefits for characters like Aalto or Mortefi.

By 2026, Wuthering Waves has grown far beyond those CBT2 days. Banners have rotated, new characters have arrived, and the meta has shifted many times. Yet the core lessons from that early blueprint still echo. Does a player chase the shiny limited character, or save for the guarantee? Do they invest in a signature weapon, or broaden their roster? The answers remain personal. What mattered then, and what still matters now, is that the gacha should serve the fun, not replace it. Lin smiles when she thinks about it. After all, the best pull is the one that makes a player want to keep playing.