If you’ve spent hours roaming Wuthering Waves’ open world looking for a top-tier sword that works for almost every Glacio and Fusion DPS character, you’ve probably already heard rumors of the Helios Cleaver. This heavy 5-star sword boasts one of the highest base attack stats in the game, plus a passive that boosts damage against shielded and frozen enemies by 30% at max refinement. I’ve farmed this weapon for three of my own accounts, so I’m breaking down exactly how to get Helios Cleaver in Wuthering Waves without wasting hours on dead-end tasks. You don’t need to spend any in-game premium currency to unlock it, either, as long as you meet a few basic prerequisites first.
Prerequisites You Need to Meet Before Hunting for the Helios Cleaver
You can’t start the quest line for this sword right after you finish the prologue, so don’t waste time roaming the Jinzhou region looking for the quest trigger too early. First, you need to reach Adventure Rank 38 and complete the main story quest “The Fall of the Lion Guard” to unlock the side quest chain that leads to the cleaver. You also need at least one level 50 Glacio character on your team to get past the frozen barrier blocking the entrance to the Sunken Mine where the cleaver is hidden.
One mistake I see a lot of new players make is skipping the three precursor side quests in the northern Jinzhou village: “Old Miner’s Request”, “Missing Tools”, and “Frozen Cave Exploration”. You have to finish all three of these short quests before the NPC at the village entrance will give you the “Sunken Mine Secret” quest that leads to the Helios Cleaver. None of these quests take more than 10 minutes each, so knock them out first if you haven’t already.
You should also stock up on at least 10 firebombs before you head into the mine, as you’ll need to melt multiple ice walls to reach the final chest. You can craft firebombs at any crafting bench using 2 pine resin and 1 sulfur, both of which you can collect easily around the Jinzhou mountain slopes.
How to Get Helios Cleaver in Wuthering Waves: Full Quest Walkthrough
Once you’ve met all the prerequisites, head to the northern Jinzhou village and speak to the old miner NPC named Lao Wei standing next to the broken cart at the entrance. He’ll give you the “Sunken Mine Secret” quest and hand you a rusted key that opens the first gate of the mine. Follow the quest marker to the mine entrance, which is hidden behind a frozen waterfall on the west side of the mountain north of the village.
Once you’re inside the mine, follow these steps to reach the final chest:
- Use the rusted key to open the first gate, then defeat the three level 45 ice slimes guarding the first corridor. Pull the lever on the left wall to open the path to the lower level of the mine.
- Melt the ice wall at the end of the lower corridor with a firebomb, then solve the pressure plate puzzle by stepping on the plates in the order of red, blue, green, yellow. You’ll find the clue for this order scratched into the wall next to the puzzle.
- Defeat the level 50 mini-boss Frost Guard at the end of the puzzle room. Make sure to dodge his ice slam attack, as it can one-shot characters with less than 15k HP. Once he’s defeated, pick up the ancient chest key he drops.
- Head through the door the mini-boss was guarding, and use the ancient key to open the ornate gold chest in the center of the final room. The Helios Cleaver will be inside, along with 500 primogems and 3 refinement ores for the weapon.
That's the whole process, and it only takes around 25 minutes to complete if you don’t get stuck on the puzzle. I got stuck on the pressure plate order my first run because I didn’t look for the clue on the wall, so don’t make that same mistake and waste 10 minutes testing random combinations.
One thing to note: if you leave the mine before opening the final chest, you’ll have to restart the quest from the beginning, so make sure you have enough time to finish the whole run before you head in. You can’t fast travel out and come back, as the mine entrance will lock once you enter the puzzle room.
Hidden Chests and Bonus Rewards Along the Helios Cleaver Quest Path
You don’t just get the Helios Cleaver from this quest line, there are 7 hidden chests scattered around the mine that you can pick up for extra rewards, including primogems, weapon ascension materials, and character EXP cards. Most players miss these because they just follow the quest marker straight to the final room, but it’s worth taking 5 extra minutes to grab them.
The first hidden chest is behind the broken cart in the first corridor of the mine, right after you defeat the ice slimes. It’s a common chest with 20 primogems and 3 character EXP cards. The second is behind a loose rock wall to the right of the pressure plate puzzle room, you can break the wall with any heavy attack to get a precious chest with 50 primogems and 2 Glacio ascension stones.
The most valuable hidden chest is on the ledge above the mini-boss room. You can climb up the wooden beams on the left side of the room to reach it, and it’s a luxurious chest with 100 primogems and a 4-star Glacio damage bonus artifact. I only found this chest on my second run, and it’s one of the easiest luxurious chests to miss in the entire Jinzhou region.
All of these chests are one-time rewards, so you can’t farm them repeatedly, but they add up to almost 250 extra primogems total, which is enough for almost one pull on the limited banner. It’s a small bonus, but it’s well worth the extra time to grab them while you’re already in the mine for the cleaver.
Is the Helios Cleaver Worth Upgrading for Your Roster?
Now that you have the Helios Cleaver, you might be wondering if it’s worth spending your rare weapon ascension materials to level it up to max. The short answer is yes, for most accounts, but there are a few cases where you might want to hold off on upgrading it first.
This sword works best on Glacio DPS characters like Jiyan and Changli, as its passive boosts damage against frozen and shielded enemies, which both of these characters can proc easily. It also works well on Fusion DPS characters that frequently apply freeze, like Verina, if you don’t have her signature weapon already. At max level 90, it has 674 base attack and a 22.1% crit damage sub-stat, which is comparable to most 5-star limited banner swords.
The only time you shouldn’t prioritize upgrading this weapon is if you already have a signature 5-star weapon for all your main DPS characters. It’s a great generalist weapon, but signature weapons will always perform better for their specific characters. If you’re a new player still working on building your first DPS team, though, this is one of the best free weapons you can get in the game.
You can refine the Helios Cleaver up to level 5 using the special refinement ores you get from the quest and from weekly boss fights. Each refinement level increases the passive damage boost by 7.5%, so it’s worth refining it to max if you plan to use it as your main DPS weapon long-term.
If you’ve been looking for a powerful free 5-star sword to boost your Glacio or Fusion DPS teams, following this guide to get the Helios Cleaver in Wuthering Waves is one of the best uses of your in-game time. It doesn’t cost any premium currency, the quest is short and straightforward, and the weapon is viable for endgame content like Spiral Abyss and weekly boss fights. I’ve used this sword on my main Jiyan account for months, and it still performs just as well as most limited banner weapons I’ve pulled. Just make sure you meet all the prerequisites before you head into the mine, and don’t forget to grab the hidden chests along the way for extra rewards.