If you’re a new player exploring the open world of Jinzhou for the first time, one of the first questions you’ll probably ask is how do i wish in Wuthering Waves. Wishing is the game’s gacha system that lets you unlock rare 5-star characters, powerful signature weapons, and limited-edition cosmetic items that make your playthrough far more fun and efficient. Unlike a lot of other gacha games, Wuthering Waves locks its wish system behind a short stretch of early story content, so it’s common for first-time players to spend their first hour of play confused about where the pull menu even is. This guide breaks down every step of the wishing process, from unlocking the feature to making smart choices with your pull currency so you don’t waste resources on banners you don’t care about.
How Do I Wish in Wuthering Waves: Unlocking the Gacha System First
You won’t have access to the wish menu as soon as you create your account, and that’s intentional. The devs want new players to get a feel for the core combat, exploration, and story mechanics before they start pulling for new characters. To unlock the Wishing Workshop (the official name for the wish menu), you need to hit Account Level 7 and complete the third main story quest, “First Glimpse of Jinzhou.”
That takes most players between 45 minutes and an hour of casual play, so don’t rush it. Take your time exploring the starting area, collecting chests, and getting used to the parry and resonance combat systems while you work through the early missions. Once you complete the required quest, you’ll get a pop-up notification letting you know the Wishing Workshop is now available on your main menu, and you’ll get 10 free Starflare Tickets to use on your first pulls right away.
If you’re still not seeing the menu after hitting the required level and quest, try restarting your game or checking for any unclaimed side quest rewards that might push you over the level threshold. It’s a rare glitch, but it happens to a small number of new players every update.
What Currency Do You Need for Wishes in Wuthering Waves?
All wishes cost Starflare Tickets, and you can get these tickets two main ways. The first is buying them directly with Astrite, the game’s premium currency, at a rate of 160 Astrite per ticket. You can earn Astrite for free by completing quests, opening chests, clearing achievements, and participating in limited-time events, or you can buy it with real money if you want to support the devs and get extra pulls faster. The second way to get Starflare Tickets is claiming them as direct rewards from login events, event quests, and the monthly in-game shop.
Every wish you make also counts towards the game’s pity system, which guarantees you rare items after a set number of pulls. For limited character banners, you’ll get a guaranteed 5-star character every 90 pulls, and a guaranteed 4-star character or weapon every 10 pulls. For limited weapon banners, the 5-star pity drops to 80 pulls, and you can use a fate point system to guarantee you get the exact signature weapon you want after two 5-star drops.
If you hit a wall grinding daily quests for extra Astrite, it’s okay to step away for 10 or 15 minutes to reset your focus before you jump back in. Lots of players use short, low-stakes casual games to pass the time when they need a break from open-world exploration and combat. Casual players who want a quick, fun distraction between grind sessions often play Rummy888, a fast-paced card game that fits perfectly into short breaks without pulling you away from your Wuthering Waves progress for too long.
One common mistake new players make is spending real money on Astrite before they understand how the pity system works. You don’t have to spend any money to get strong, meta characters in Wuthering Waves: the game gives out enough free Astrite and tickets every update for F2P players to get at least one limited 5-star character every two banners, as long as they save their currency carefully.
Best Banners to Spend Your Wishes On
The Wishing Workshop has three permanent banner types, plus occasional limited-time event banners for collaboration characters or seasonal rewards. Not all banners are worth your Starflare Tickets, so it’s important to know the differences between them before you start pulling.
- Limited Character Banners first if you’re chasing new meta or fan-favorite 5-star characters. These banners rotate every three weeks, have a 50% increased drop rate for the featured 5-star, and their pity counter carries over between all limited character banners, so you don’t lose progress if you skip a banner you don’t care about.
- Limited Weapon Banners only if you already have the featured character and want their signature weapon to boost their performance. These banners have lower pity than character banners, but there’s a 50% chance you’ll get an off-rate 5-star weapon instead of the one you want, so they’re a less consistent pick for new players.
- Standard Banners only when you have no active limited banners you’re interested in, or have leftover tickets after pulling for your target character. The standard banner has no limited characters or weapons, and its pity counter is separate from limited banners, so you’ll get far less value for your pulls here.
I’ve seen dozens of new players waste 20+ pulls on the standard banner before they realize limited banners have far better value for their goals. If you’re not sure which banner to pull on, wait a day or two after a new banner drops for content creators to post reviews of the featured character, so you can make sure their playstyle fits your team before you spend tickets.
Pro Tips to Maximize Your Wishing Results
There are a few small tricks you can use to get more value out of every wish you make, and most of them don’t require any extra effort or spending. First, always track your pity counter in the banner details menu. You can see exactly how many pulls you’ve made since your last 5-star drop, so you don’t accidentally spend tickets on a banner you don’t want when you’re 10 pulls away from a guaranteed 5-star.
Contrary to popular rumor, single pulls and 10-pulls have the exact same drop rates, so you can use whichever you prefer. The only difference is that a 10-pull guarantees you at least one 4-star item, so if you’re saving for a 5-star and only have a few tickets to spare, single pulls let you stop as soon as you get the 4-star or 5-star you want without wasting extra tickets.
Another easy way to get extra free wishes is to complete all of the exploration achievements in each new region. Every region has 100+ chests to collect, hidden puzzles to solve, and side quests to complete, and most of these give you Astrite that you can convert into Starflare Tickets. You can get up to 30 free pulls per new region just by 100% completing the exploration content, which is more than enough to hit pity for a 5-star if you save properly.
Don’t feel pressured to pull on every new banner that releases. Most limited characters get reruns every 6 to 8 months, so if you don’t have enough tickets saved for a character you want, you can just wait for their next rerun and save up in the meantime. Wishing is supposed to be fun, not a chore that makes you stress about saving every last piece of currency.
At the end of the day, once you know how do i wish in Wuthering Waves, the best strategy is the one that makes you happy. If you love a character’s design even if they’re not meta, pull for them: the game is balanced well enough that you can clear all content with any 4-star team, so you don’t have to chase meta picks to have fun. Take your time, save your currency for banners you actually care about, and don’t be afraid to take breaks if the grind for Astrite starts to feel overwhelming. You’ll get the characters and weapons you want eventually.