Complete Build Guide • Wuthering Waves • February 2026
A Tier • Fusion • Rectifier • Main DPS • 5★ Standard Banner • Consultant from the Black Shores
Overview
Encore is a 5-Star Fusion Rectifier Main DPS from the standard banner and one of Wuthering Waves’ original launch characters. She is a cheerful Black Shores consultant accompanied by two Woolie companions — Cosmos and Cloudy — who become central to her combat kit. Her identity revolves around the Cosmos Rave Liberation state, where her entire moveset transforms: Basic Attacks become the Cosmos: Frolicking chain, her Resonance Skill becomes Cosmos: Rampage, and her Forte-charged Heavy Attack unleashes the devastating Cosmos Rupture explosion. Roughly 70% of her total damage comes from Basic Attacks inside the Liberation window.
The core resource Encore manages is Dissonance (max 100), which is built by landing Basic Attacks, Resonance Skills, and Intro Skill hits. When Dissonance is full during Cosmos Rave, her Heavy Attack enters a Dissonance state (70% damage reduction) and automatically detonates into Cosmos Rupture — a massive Resonance Liberation-type Fusion burst. The optimal rotation seeks to activate this Rupture before the 10-second Liberation window expires, with advanced players using Swap-Cancel on the Rupture cast to immediately hand off to a buffer. Outside Liberation, her Flaming Woolies skill delivers strong energy generation and is a core part of both the Quick-Swap and Hyper Carry playstyles.
As of February 2026, Encore sits comfortably in A Tier — a versatile standard-banner DPS who benefits from flexible team compositions, high energy self-sufficiency, and relatively low mechanical difficulty compared to characters like Calcharo. She is one of the best options for players who want a reliable Fusion DPS without spending limited pulls, and she genuinely competes with early S-tier characters in properly buffed Hyper Carry setups.
🔥 Cosmos Rave System — Dissonance, Frolicking & Cosmos Rupture
- Built by hitting targets with Basic Attacks, Resonance Skill, Intro Skill
- Also restores during Cosmos Rave from any hit
- At 100 Dissonance, Heavy Attack transforms → triggers Cosmos Rupture burst
- Dissonance state grants 70% DMG Reduction — safe to Swap-Cancel immediately
- Activated by Resonance Liberation: Cosmos Rave (125 Energy cost)
- Basic Attacks → Cosmos: Frolicking (4-hit Fusion chain, ~70% of total damage)
- Resonance Skill → Cosmos: Rampage (independent cooldown from base Skill)
- Dodge Counter → links directly to Basic Attack Part 3 — minimal rhythm loss on dodge
- At full Dissonance during Cosmos Rave → Heavy Attack = Cosmos Rupture
- Massive Fusion DMG — classified as Resonance Liberation DMG
- Key rule: as long as Heavy ATK is pressed before Rave ends, Rupture fires even if duration expires mid-cast
- Immediately Swap-Cancel after Rupture begins channeling → safe exit, full Outro buff
- Summons Cosmos & Cloudy for a heat-ray Fusion burst during non-Liberation phase
- Extremely strong Energy and Concerto generation per cast
- Swap-Cancel after casting P1 (Flaming Woolies) — Encore finishes in an immune state off-field
- Energetic Welcome (P2 follow-up) adds damage but is rarely worth committing to — cast only when time permits
Strengths & Weaknesses
✓ Strengths
- ✓ Dual playstyle flexibility — equally effective as a Hyper Carry (full Liberation burst focus) or Quick-Swap DPS alongside another damage dealer
- ✓ Exceptional self-sufficiency — among the best Resonance Energy generators of any on-field DPS; rarely needs ER-focused supports
- ✓ Standard banner 5-star — accessible to most players without spending limited pulls; obtainable from the standard banner pool
- ✓ Dodge Counter during Cosmos Rave links directly to Basic Attack P3 — dodging barely disrupts DPS compared to other characters, making her very forgiving
- ✓ Flaming Woolies Swap-Cancel is one of the easiest and most forgiving Quick-Swap moves in the game — great entry skill for learning the swap-cancel mechanic
✗ Weaknesses
- ✗ Weak outside Liberation — normal state DPS is noticeably lower than during Cosmos Rave; needs teammates or Echo skills to bridge downtime
- ✗ No parrying in normal form — limited counter options during non-Liberation phase; forces reliance on standard dodges rather than using Parry-type mechanics
- ✗ Forte Heavy Attack (Cosmos Rupture) has a small input window — if input is slightly too early or late, the Rupture can miss or misfire, causing a large DPS loss
- ✗ Outro Skill (Thermal Field) generates a stationary Burn zone — difficult to maximize the 6s AoE damage value when enemies are not rooted or crowd-controlled
- ✗ Tight Liberation window — only 10 seconds of Cosmos Rave means any missed Skill cast or slow input loses a significant percentage of her total burst damage
Skill Leveling Priority
| Priority | Skill | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ 1st | Resonance Liberation — Lv.10 | Cosmos Rave activates the entire burst phase. Enhanced Basic Attacks (Cosmos: Frolicking) deal damage as Basic Attack DMG but scale with Liberation level — this is the #1 node. Unlocks Cosmos Rupture finisher multiplier |
| ★★★★ 2nd | Forte Circuit — Lv.10 | Governs Dissonance generation rate and Cosmos Rupture multiplier directly. Second-highest priority — upgrade alongside Liberation when resources allow |
| ★★★★ 3rd | Resonance Skill — Lv.10 | Flaming Woolies and Cosmos: Rampage both contribute meaningful damage and energy. Third priority — Skill cancels used outside and inside Liberation for Quick-Swap efficiency |
| ★★ 4th | Normal Attack — Lv.6–8 | Enhanced Basic Attacks during Cosmos Rave scale with Liberation level, not Normal Attack level. Still worth leveling to Lv.6–8 for normal-state damage and Dissonance building outside Liberation |
| ★ Last | Intro Skill — Lv.4–6 | Woolies Helpers restores Dissonance and deals minor Fusion DMG on entry — not an integral damage source. Invest after all other skills are fully leveled |
Best Weapons
| Weapon | Rarity | Substat | Key Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stringmaster | 5★ | Crit Rate 36% | +All DMG Bonus and +ATK% on Resonance Skill hit (stacks up to 2×). High Crit Rate substat frees up echo substats for Crit DMG. BiS for any Rectifier DPS including Encore |
| Cosmic Ripples | 5★ Limited | Crit DMG 72% | +Basic Attack DMG Bonus on hit (stacks up to 5×). Excellent Crit DMG substat and strong Basic Attack passive that procs reliably inside Cosmos Rave spam — second only to Stringmaster |
| Nullify Disorder | 5★ | Crit Rate 24.3% | +ATK% on Liberation cast — directly procs on Cosmos Rave activation. Solid Crit Rate substat helps with stat balancing. Good budget 5-star if Stringmaster is unavailable |
| Jinzhou Keeper | 4★ | Crit Rate 20% | ATK stack passive from Basic Attack hits — builds quickly during Cosmos Rave chain. Best 4-star Rectifier option for Encore; farm to R5 for full value |
| Variation | 4★ F2P | ATK 54% | +Energy Regen and +Basic Attack DMG Bonus on Basic Attack hits. Craftable in-game. Not spectacular but provides useful Energy Regen for beginners — a reliable no-pull option while farming better weapons |
Best Echo Sets
Molten Rift (5-PC)
2-PC: +10% Fusion DMG Bonus — unconditional buff that applies to every hit including Cosmos: Frolicking chain and Cosmos Rupture
5-PC: After Resonance Skill, +30% Fusion DMG for 15s. Triggers reliably from both Flaming Woolies before Liberation and Cosmos: Rampage inside it — near-permanent during her rotation
Recommended Main Echo: Nightmare: Inferno Rider — provides Fusion DMG + Basic Attack DMG boost passively on equip. Far stronger than base Inferno Rider since no Echo Skill cast is needed to activate the buff
Flaming Clawprint (5-PC)
5-PC: After Liberation, +15% Fusion DMG Bonus for all team members + +20% Liberation DMG Bonus for the caster (35s duration). Great for Dual Fusion teams with Changli or Brant since the 15% team buff stacks with their own
Note: Forces reliance on Cosmos Rupture (Liberation-type) for maximum value. Best in Quick-Swap setups where another Fusion character benefits from the team-wide buff
Crit DMG
Echo Substat Priority: Crit Rate ★★★ > Crit DMG ★★★ > Energy Regen% ★★ (until ~105–130%) > ATK% ★★ > Basic ATK DMG Bonus ★ > Heavy ATK DMG Bonus ★ — Balance Crit Rate and Crit DMG at roughly 1:2 ratio. ER breakpoint is low (~105%) for Hyper Carry and ~130% for simpler rotation styles.
Recommended Endgame Stats
Best Teams
Encore + Sanhua + Shorekeeper
Sanhua’s Outro provides Basic Attack DMG Amplification — directly multiplying Encore’s Cosmos: Frolicking chain during Cosmos Rave. Since ~70% of Encore’s total damage is Basic Attack type, this is the best possible Outro buff she can receive. Shorekeeper provides Crit Rate/DMG buffs, ATK buffs, and full sustain — the gold-standard support pairing for Encore.
Encore + Changli + Shorekeeper
Double Fusion Quick-Swap composition. Flaming Clawprint 5-PC on Encore triggers its team-wide +15% Fusion DMG buff on Liberation, which also boosts Changli’s damage. Both characters share the Fusion amplification loop and cover each other’s cooldown windows. Note: this team has a harder rotation to manage than Hyper Carry due to coordinating two DPS cooldowns simultaneously.
Encore + Sanhua + Verina
Best fully free-to-play friendly composition. Verina provides +20% team-wide ATK through her Inherent Skill plus healing and Concerto energy generation — slightly outperforming Baizhi as healer. Sanhua provides the critical Basic Attack DMG Amplification Outro. This team can clear all endgame content and requires zero limited pulls to assemble.
Optimal Rotation
💡 Key Tips: Always cast the Inferno Rider Echo Skill (3 presses) before the combo to activate its Fusion + Basic ATK DMG buff. The Liberation window is only 10 seconds — prioritize reaching Cosmos Rupture before it expires. Swap-Cancel on Rupture begins the moment Encore starts channeling the detonation — you do NOT need to wait for the explosion animation. For skill-cancel tech, cancel BA Part 4 using Skill input to trigger the next Cosmos: Rampage faster, squeezing in an additional BA cycle.
Resonance Chain (Sequences)
| Chain | Name | Effect & Value |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Woolies at Play | When Basic Attack hits, Fusion DMG Bonus +3% (stacks up to 4×, total +12%). Activates very quickly inside Cosmos Rave spam — provides a reliable +12% Fusion DMG by the 4th hit. Small but consistent improvement |
| S2 | Woolies’ Blessing | After Basic Attack Wooly Attack or Energetic Welcome, restores +10 Resonance Energy (once per 10s). Reduces ER requirement meaningfully — good QoL upgrade that frees echo substats for damage stats |
| S3 | Woolies’ Power | Cloudy Frenzy and Cosmos Rupture DMG multiplier +40%. Large direct multiplier increase to the Forte finisher move — boosts Cosmos Rupture’s damage output significantly at mid-investment |
| S4 | Woolies’ Song | Cosmos Rupture grants +20% Fusion DMG Bonus to all team members for 30s. Excellent in Fusion-heavy teams (Changli, Brant) — provides a lasting team-wide Fusion amplification after each rotation |
| S5 | Woolies’ Chant | Resonance Skill DMG Bonus +35%. Boosts Cosmos: Rampage damage inside Liberation — meaningful upgrade especially in the advanced rotation where 3 Skill casts are used |
| S6 | Woolies’ Legend | During Cosmos Rave, gains 1 stack of “Lost Lamb” per damage instance, each stack +5% ATK for 10s (max 6 stacks = +30% ATK). The fastest ATK stacker in the game during Cosmos Rave — peaks at +30% ATK within 6 hits |
📌 Chain Notes: As a permanent standard banner character, Encore’s Resonance Chain upgrades are intentionally modest — maximum total gain from S0 to S6 is roughly ~35–40% total damage increase across all nodes. S0 is fully viable for all content. S1 and S2 provide the best QoL-per-pull value. Deep investment in Encore’s sequences is optional unless you specifically enjoy her playstyle.
