Wuthering Waves is on the verge of beginning the second phase of its 3.6 Update—titled “Where Santu Beckons”, which will finally introduce the Nethermancer Jingran as a playable Resonator. If you’ve been keeping up with the game, then chances are you already tested him for a bit—he was available as a guest character during the last story mission (the one where Qingxiao was a major part of).
Hailing from the region of Mengzhou, Jingran is introduced as a wandering Nethermancer who navigates the uncharted depths of Mirage Realms and ancient, forgotten ruins. He is shown as independent, snarky, and operating outside established sects and doctrines, choosing instead to follow his own gut. As a Fusion-based fighter, he relies on Broadblades to dish out massive amounts of damage, easily positioning himself as a hybrid between a DPS enabler and a Tank unit.
His arrival is near, too, scheduled for September 10th, 2026. He will come alongside reruns of Hyiuki and Mornye. And given that Hyiuki herself is one major addition you may have missed during the Lahai-Roi storyline, the update beckons a question: should you ´pull for Jingran, or spend your much-needed Astrites elsewhere? Well, let’s dive in to answer that.
Should You Pull For Jingran?
Yes. Yes, you should. And we’ll tell you why. First, Jingran is not just a Fusion Resonator, but a frontline, full-frontal assault fighter. Although we’ve had Fusion characters recently, most, if not all, were positioned as supporters, not carriers. And a high-impact-driven fighter makes sense in the current storyline.
Jingran is also extremely durable due to his kit scaling entirely off his Max HP stat, meaning he will have a massive life pool at base level, and that will only be further increased as you evolve and build him up. He also possesses an inherent defensive mechanic that automatically generates a personal shield every time he inflicts damage on the battlefield.
Granted, being an assault-first unit, Jingran may be exposed to dangers (which in itself can be a major problem, but we’ll get to that in a bit), but he does possess a scaling healing amplification that boosts incoming restoration by up to 310%, meaning a single tick of healing from a support can comfortably restore his massive health bar to full
Imagine pairing that with an Aero Rover for support: attacking and healing at the same pace surely does count for a lot.
Finally, his offensive playstyle offers a highly engaging rhythm that revolves around transitioning between two distinct combat stances. Switching states unleashes heavy, high-multiplier attacks while continuously cycling his resource bar, creating a highly satisfying loop that rewards active battlefield presence. Best of all, his baseline performance is fully realized without duplicate investment, making him functional right out of the box. He is also highly accessible for budget-conscious players, pairing smoothly with readily available free-to-play companions who can amplify his heavy attacks.
Jingran’s Self-Sufficiency More Than Compensates for His One Weakness
We’ll tell you right out of the gate: Jingran has no defense. That’s not an euphemism: his DEF stat is literally zero. And we understand that this part alone may make you frown upon him, and skipping his banner entirely might sound tempting because of it.
You would be wrong.
That’s because it would be easy to see a hard-hitting frontline fighter such as himself as a character to be built for solo play. And while it is true that he can offset that weakness with his larger-than-anyone-else healing rate (and the fact that Wuthering Waves has some hard-hitting bosses, especially in special challenges like some of Lahai-Roi’s Void Storms), it is in team play that Jingran really shines.
You see, his core offensive multiplier—which can elevate his Fusion damage by a comically impressive 125%—accumulates when other characters on his team receive a shield. In direct terms, pairing him up with any shield-providing Resonator will build these stacks, allowing for maximum offensive output.
Iuno would be the most optimal partner for Jingran’s defensive building, but she is absent from the current banners and had her own rerun in April, after being originally introduced in September, 2025. But even though counting on Iuno to make a comeback would be a bit of a stretch, countless others perform just like her; the easiest to obtain would be Jianxin, a 5-star Aero Resonator that can be pulled repeatedly through the “Character Permanent Convene” (the that uses Lustrous Tides).
Additionally, characters like Augusta, Brant, Chisa and Aemeath are easy choices for defensive builds and, if you don’t want to splurge your hard-earned Astrites on 5-star characters like the ones above, then go down a rank, as 4-star Resonators like Yuanwu and Taoqi have their own set of protection skills as well.
It is easy to look at Jingran and think he would be the most vulnerable to lethal, one-shot skills due to his zero-defense approach, but in truth, he can actually be the most resistant and the one who carries the damage-dealing parts of any fight.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, there is only one reason why we recommend skipping Jingran’s banner: the update that comes after him, 3.7, is supposedly introducing Hsin, the Sentinel of Mengzhou. In Wuthering Waves lore, a Sentinel is something akin to a God, worshipped by the residents of any given region. Hsin will mark the first time someone of that magnitude will be brought as a playable character, which makes her highly anticipated, at least for now.
This is not us sharing an impression, mind you: there is actual data to back up our assertion. Genshin Impact has its Archons as playable characters, and any time HoYoverse’s game updates to an Archon banner, there is a major influx of pull attempts and microtransaction purchases: Raiden Shogun, the samurai Electro goddess from Inazuma, has the highest revenue-grossing solo debut ~$33.02 million in China alone, according to GenshinLab) and second-highest dual banner (~$33.56 million), sitting just tight behind the actual top dual banner (Nahida & Yoimiya at ~$34.02 million). By that logic, it stands to reason that an “archon banner effect” may take place in Wuthering Waves as well, whenever 3.7 rolls around.
This is obviously problematic if you’re short on resources: Astrites, the currency necessary to buy the tokens for character and weapon pulls in Wuthering Waves, are not generously given and, more often than not, you have to grind. A lot. And the Mengzhou arc also introduced a new, major storyline that has seen nothing but high points: starting with Yangyang’s evolution, the arrival of her older sister Suisui, and following up with an all-powerful Qingxiao, and now running Jingran at its second phase, and the potential Hsin debut next.
You’re in for a very large spending, is what I’m saying.
Still, we recommend you pull Jingran. Even at base level, he packs one mean punch that can one-shot basic enemies and do a hefty amount of damage on bosses. He also has an excellent kit that boasts defensive and offensive capabilities that most Resonators struggle to match—even if you’re sacrificing defense and pretty much playing a “high risk/high reward” scenario whenever he comes around.
So, if you’ve got the resources for him, go for it and be ready to knock out regular and boss enemies.
