Wuthering Waves gives players their 5-star Resonator of choice in the Beginner Banner. Here’s why (and why not) you should pick Calcharo as your free 5-star Resonator in Wuthering Waves.

Why pick Calcharo?

Calcharo is a 5-star Electro Broadsword character. His role in a team would be the main, on-field damage dealer. He’s quite selfish with field time, so he’s best paired with characters that can function as a quick switch or fully off-field.

Calcharo is one of five choices you have in the 5-star character selector upon completing the Beginner Banner. The Beginner Banner is a discounted banner, where players can draw 50 times. Players can obtain a random 5-star standard character, and upon finishing the 50 draws, they will be able to choose in the selector.

The choices are Jianxin, Calcharo, Verina, Lingyang, and Encore.

Calcharo Skills

Read more details about Calcharo’s kit here.

Basic Attack – Gnawing Fangs

Basic Attack

  • Perform up to 4 attacks, dealing Electro DMG.

Heavy Attack

  • Consume Stamina to attack the target, dealing Electro DMG.

Mid-air Attack

  • Consume Stamina to perform a Mid-Air Plunging Attack, dealing Electro DMG.

Dodge Counter

  • Using Basic Attack after a successful Dodge to attack the target, dealing Electro DMG.

Resonance Skill – Extermination Order

Cast up to 3 attacks. Deal Electro DMG.

If this Character is switched or Resonance Skill Extermination Order is not repeated in a while, it will be put on a Cooldown. Resonance Skill Extermination Order does not reset your Basic Attack stage.

Resonance Liberation – Phantom Etching

Calcharo attacks the target, dealing Electro DMG and enters Deathblade Gear state. After Resonance Liberation Deathblade Gear state ends, Calcharo’s next Intro Skill is replaced with Intro Skill “Necessary Means”, which deals Electro DMG, considered as Intro Skill damage.

Deathblade Gear

  • Basic Attack is replaced with Basic Attack Hounds Roar. Dodge Counter deals increased damage, considered as Resonance Liberation damage.

Hounds Roar

  • Perform up to 5 consecutive attacks, dealing Electro DMG, considered as Basic Attack Damage.

Calcharo has one of the highest damage potentials in the release version of Wuthering Waves. His potential is heightened when his gameplay is optimized, i.e. stringing Basic Attacks with casts of his Resonance Skill.

Considering all of these gameplay factors, you should choose Calcharo if:

  1. You need a main DPS.
  2. You have a Baizhu, Verina, or a Jianxin who can provide support with minimal field time.
  3. You are planning to get Yinlin, who has good synergy with Calcharo.

Other factors that would make you want to choose Calcharo for your 5-star selector:

  1. You like Calcharo’s character design.
  2. You find his gameplay enjoyable.

Why you should not choose Calcharo

While he is currently one of the best damage sources in the game, upgrading his Resonance Chain with dupes is not worth it, especially in the early game. His damage is also reliant on mastering his rotation, meaning that if you do not want to spend the time reaching Calcharo’s skill floor, it might not be wise to get him. Thus, you should not choose Calcharo if:

  1. You already got Calcharo through other means.
  2. You do not have characters that would form a good team with him and do not want to build a team around him.
  3. You want a character with a lower skill floor.

Of course, the preference-related reasons are valid as well:

  1. You do not like Calcharo’s character design.
  2. You do not like his gameplay.

Wuthering Waves is now live on Windows, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.