With Wuthering Waves 3.5 slated to arrive on July 10th, Kuro Games held its regular preview stream to hype up the coming update. With an entirely new region on the way, there is a lot for fans to look forward to. But while there is plenty of new in the coming patch, there is also plenty of the familiar to be excited for as well.
With the story traveling to a new region of Huanglong, there was lots of speculation as to whether or not Rover may stop by Jinzhou to see old friends. This turns out to be the case. A trailer for the next story chapter showed glimpses of Chixia, Zhezhi, Xiangli Yao, and Yangyang in the familiar setting. Plus, a side story featuring Danjin was also revealed, marking the launch character’s first foray into the game’s narrative. And this may not be all the returning cast, either.
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The devs revealed that a special rerun banner will be available throughout the entirety of Wuthering Waves 3.5. Featuring all the Jinzhou cycle characters, minus The Shorekeeper and Camellya, there feels like a strong likelihood that the other resonators from the region could make an appearance. The exclusion of the two Blackshores characters feels like a hint at this connection, as why else would you omit them but to keep cohesion between the plot and banner?
A Second Awakening is likely the cause of Yanyang’s new transformation.
While seeing so many returning characters is exciting, the one that stands out above the rest is Yangyang. With a new, 5-star version of the character already announced, we knew our first friend in Solaris-III would play a role in the coming story. As it turns out, she is the central focus of much of it.
When Yangyang and Chixia go off to investigate a string of disappearances, the two are separated, with Yangyang’s whereabouts remaining unknown when Rover returns to Jinzhou. In classic Rover fashion, they set out to discover the whereabouts of their trusted friend. Along with the aid of Yangyang’s sister, Suisui (the other new resonator in the update).
While no spoilers were given, it’s easy to assume that whatever transpires in the story will be the cause of Yangyang’s new transformation. Likely the product of a Second Awakening, other such occurrences that we’ve seen previously, like Jinshi in the 1.1 update, have never featured a change in elemental alignment like Yangyang’s, leaving room for added mystery.
Xuanfang Hold is the new frontier defensive structure at the heart of Wuthering Waves 3.5’s new region.
Playing host to much of the story in Wuthering Waves 3.5 is the new region. Xuanfang Hold is the central city of the new environment. As part of Mengzhou, the city was built as a frontier defensive structure before Jinzhou took on the role. The visuals of the new hub area are designed around the central theme of mechanisms.
Much of the city’s design takes the jade and gold we often see in classical Chinese aesthetics and combines it with a mechanical, almost steampunk inspiration. This combination creates a striking visual appeal that also feels custom-built for interactive puzzles and shifting landscapes.
Surrounding the city are huge mountains that further enhance a sense of awe in the new locale. The space looks expansive, but players will likely find traversal easy, as it has been shown that the motorbike will be available in the new region. We even saw the recent flight function in action, meaning that players should have an easy time ascending to even the highest peaks.
The motorbike gets enhancements and more returning game modes in 3.5.
Drawing players through the new areas will be two-story missions, as well as a pair of exploration quests (one of which is the previously mentioned Danjin story). Some new gameplay elements bring some top-down adventure moments and a leisurely crane game to the region’s list of things to do. Plus, investigation quests collected in the new Mingshen System offer players rewards for helping solve mysteries.
Returning game modes will also be offering more to do in Wuthering Waves 3.5. More race tracks will be available for players to complete. Some of the footage shown gave some of the tracks a more obstacle-course feeling, giving them a bit of fresh energy compared to the previous ones.
The bike is also getting an enhanced drift element with the new patch, which will likely make maneuvering around tracks that much smoother. Also, for the bike enthusiasts, several new chassis will be available in the new update.
Two Familiar combat modes are also returning. Lament Recon brings its top-down swarm survival mode back. It provided a fun change of pace when it first debuted, and is likely to deliver similar experiences with its second run. Look to cutting down hoards of TDs in your free time.
Virtual Crisis also returns, challenging players to apply custom parameters to fights, creating ever increasingly difficult challenges. This mode is one of the more versatile combat side modes Kuro has done, as it allows players of all skill and collection levels to build fights that work for them.
Also on the combat front, changes are coming to some of the endgame content. Denia will be the newest Tactical Hologram for players to clash with. We get to relive our painful confrontation with her from the 3.3 update now, with higher difficulty settings. No tears here.
The devs also announced they are doing some tweaking to the next Endstate Matrix reset. Some resonators will be getting a second point of vigor for increased use (please be Chisa), and a new medal system will further reward players for their best runs.
All of the expected recurring events are making their return. Lollo Logistics will have its familiar stamp rally that lets you spin a wheel for prizes after accomplishing objectives. There is the usual photo mode that tasks you with capturing shots of some of the new region’s best views. Photo enthusiasts will also be excited to learn that the combat photo challenge is back as well.
Let’s talk about the banners for Wuthering Waves 3.5. As mentioned above, there is a special multi-character rerun banner. The target character is selectable and can be changed at any time. The pull system is identical to the standard premium banners: 50/50 at 80 pulls, with a guaranteed hit at 160. There will also be a rerun weapon banner that will be available with all the rerun characters’ weapons. This seems to follow the standard 80 pull guarantee that all weapon banners do.
An important note about the rerun banners: they do not share pity with other premium banners. However, seemingly to take some of the sting out of rolling on them, the devs revealed that the first ten pulls on the rerun banner will be free, with bonus premium pulls being rewarded at certain milestones within the rerun banner. How many pulls would be gifted and how many had to be made to earn them was not detailed, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Yangyang’s new Resonance Liberation can actually change the weather.
When Wuthering Waves 3.5 goes live, the new Yangyang, as well as Lynae and Luuk, will have premium banners running. After them, Suisui and Aemeath will get banners. All characters will also have their corresponding signature weapons available.
Both of the new characters look fun and feature gorgeous animations. Building on the elemental debuff themes, both use their given element’s effects, making them new additions to Havoc Bane and Glacio Chaff teams, respectively. Also worth noting, Yangyang’s new Resonance Liberation can actually change the weather. Where appropriate, she will cause a flash storm to appear. A cool feature that lets the character hold onto her weather-based roots, even if she has exchanged her Aero element for Havoc.
Also, providing more team-building options is Rover’s latest element: Electro. Becoming available once a set moment in the story is completed, the new element looks like a fairly balanced design, sporting both offensive and defensive moves. It incorporates the Electro debuff, so we can expect more characters to utilize the effect in the future (currently, only Buling implements it).
A bevy of cosmetic options is coming in Wuthering Waves 3.5.
Most visually striking about the new element is the enhanced attack string it can perform. Once certain conditions are met, Rover can launch a string of attacks that sees them hop from Havoc to Spectro, to Aero, before returning to Electro. As this fluidity of form has been a feature of the character’s cinematic move set dating all the way back to 2.2, it’s great to see it incorporated here.
Also of note is the appearance of a gauntlet for this form, instead of the standard sword Rover has always used. Whether or not this is purely a cosmetic choice or if the MC will actually change their weapon preference when in this mode was not clarified, but either seems equally likely.
There is also a bevy of cosmetic options coming in this update. Both new characters get adorable, chubby bird accessories. Yangyang’s perches on her head, while Suisui’s looks comfortable atop her hairpin. Lynae and Chisa are also getting summer-themed skins. Both vibe well with their design and feel like what they would be likely to wear for a day in the summer sun. No new animations or other bonus elements were mentioned for either skin.
There were also numerous quality-of-life updates shown off. Tweaks to the autoplay in story mode give players more control over how they experience the narrative. Each resonator can now have its spoken language set individually. Though it is important to note, this function only works on non-story audio. Which makes sense, as there would undoubtedly be issues like line timing if the languages were mixed during cutscenes.
Some material farming fights (forgery challenges, for example) will be accessible through the guidebook directly, rather than making players travel to the physical location. New filtering options when searching for which challenge you want to undertake are also coming, providing even more time-saving in the process.
There are also some visual enhancements, as well as game size management improvements, coming with Wuthering Waves 3.5. There will also be a new login screen to reflect the new region, as well as a desktop icon update for the game. The new icon reflects Yangyang’s transformation and looks pretty snazzy.
Wuthering Waves is coming to consoles.
The final major announcements are for console players. Preorders for the Wuthering Waves deluxe physical edition will go live for PlayStation 5 players on July 5th. The physical edition features numerous bonus goodies along with an actual disc for the game. No price was mentioned. Also, the Xbox version will be going live with the new update on July 10th. Along with access to the game, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will receive some extra bonuses when they log in.
With new adventuring, new and old allies, and a ton of new content, long-time fans and new players alike, thanks to quick skip options, have a ton to look forward to with Wuthering Waves 3.5.
Wuthering Waves 3.5 goes live on July 10th on PC, Mobile, PlayStation 5, and XBOX Series S|X.
