Cartethyia is one of the strongest 5★ Aero DPS characters in Wuthering Waves — an HP-scaling Sword Resonator who dominates Tower of Adversity at R0 with F2P gear. Her banner ends April 2, 2026, tied to the Abyssal Descent event. If you have 80+ Radiant Tides saved and need a premier Aero carry, pull. If you're under 40 pulls with no pity, read the math below first.
Should You Pull Cartethyia Before April 2?
Pull if you have 80+ Radiant Tides, a functional Aero team, and you're hitting walls in Tower of Adversity. Skip if you're under 40 pulls with no pity carryover and no Aero supports to pair her with. Community data puts her next rerun at late February or March 2026 at the earliest — a 6–8 week gap minimum.
Check Your Pity First
Before anything else, open your Convene history. At 70+ pulls without a 5★, you're in soft pity — your next 5★ is nearly guaranteed within 10 pulls. That changes the cost calculation entirely. Both pity count and 50/50 guarantee carry over to the next limited banner, so nothing is lost by pulling a few to test your luck now.
Why April 2 Actually Matters
It's not just about missing the character. The Abyssal Descent event runs concurrently — miss the banner, miss those Astrite rewards that could've fed your next pity count. Community tracking puts her rerun at Version 3.1 Phase 2 (February 26 – March 18, 2026), unconfirmed. If you're stuck in end-game content right now, that's real progression time lost.
Who Is Cartethyia?
A 5★ Aero Sword primary DPS whose damage identity revolves entirely around stacking Aero Erosion — a multiplicative damage amplifier. She's a selfish carry. Not a support, not a hybrid. She wants to stay on field, build stacks, and detonate.
Her base stats at Lv.90: HP 14,800 / ATK 312 / DEF 611 / Energy Regen 100%. That modest ATK is intentional — damage scales off Max HP, which completely changes how you build her.
Community consensus rated her SS tier on release (June 2025) and she's held it. The closest comparison is Jinhsi — similarly dominant in Tower of Adversity, but with an easier execution floor. She solos end-game content with less effort than Danjin.
Kit Breakdown
Normal Attacks
Four stages. Stage 4 generates 1 Aero Erosion stack — it's not filler. Skipping it in your rotation is a real DPS loss.
Resonance Skill
Generates 2 Aero Erosion stacks on a 14-second cooldown. Combined with Intro Skill and Basic Attack generation, you hit max stacks faster than the cooldown implies. Expect to use it roughly twice per 30-second rotation.
Forte Circuit
This is where her damage lives. Blade of Howling Squall deals 6.60% Max HP × 7 hits — 46.2% Max HP total per activation. At the target 48,000–50,000 Max HP, that's roughly 22,000–23,000 damage per hit before Aero Erosion amplification and Crit. HP investment isn't optional.
Resonance Liberation
Costs 125 Energy, 25-second cooldown. Reduces current HP to 50% and enters Manifest state for 12 seconds. New players read the HP reduction as a penalty — it isn't. It's intentional kit design that synergizes with her damage thresholds. Manifest state is your primary burst window. Target 115–120% Energy Regen for consistent uptime.
Intro / Outro Skills
Intro Skill applies 2 Aero Erosion stacks immediately on swap-in — you enter your damage window already partially stacked. The Outro Skill grants the next Resonator +17.5% Aero DMG Bonus for 20 seconds, which benefits Ciaccona or Aero Rover. Genuine team synergy, not just a selfish rotation.
Passive Talents
Aero Erosion gives +20% damage amplification per stack, capping at 5 stacks (+100% total) at baseline. S2 raises this to 8 stacks. Every stack matters — losing them mid-rotation by swapping out unnecessarily is a meaningful DPS loss. Stack management is the skill expression here.
Resonance Chain: Where to Stop
Most players should stop at S0 or S1.
S0 clears Tower of Adversity with F2P weapons — confirmed by community testing. S1 is the best return on investment if you're pulling duplicates at all. Beyond S2, returns diminish sharply.
Banner Mechanics and Cost Planning
Soft pity starts at ~70–73 pulls. Hard pity is 80 pulls — guaranteed 5★. Base 5★ rate is 0.8%; 4★ is 6.0%. In practice, most players hit their 5★ between pulls 70–80.
On a 5★, there's a 50% chance it's Cartethyia. Lose the 50/50 and your next 5★ is guaranteed to be the featured character. That guarantee carries over between limited banners.
1 pull = 160 Astrite or 1 Lunite
If you're close to a guarantee and running short, buy Wuthering Waves Lunites top up through BitTopup — fast delivery, competitive rates, useful when you're racing a hard deadline.
Free Astrite Before April 2
That's roughly 53–68 free pulls. Combined with existing pity, many F2P players at 40+ pulls can guarantee Cartethyia without spending.
Best Teams
Premium
Cartethyia / Ciaccona / Shorekeeper — community-consensus optimal. Ciaccona provides Aero sub-DPS and benefits from Cartethyia's Outro Skill. Shorekeeper handles healing and buffs.
Mid-Tier (Most Players)
Cartethyia / Aero Rover / Shorekeeper — Aero Rover is free, provides Aero resonance, and performs well in all content.
F2P-Accessible
Cartethyia / Aero Rover / Baizhi — confirmed Tower of Adversity clears at R0. Yangyang can flex in for additional Aero DMG if survivability isn't an issue.
The 4★ characters boosted on this banner — Yangyang, Youhu, and Baizhi — all slot into Cartethyia teams, making this banner unusually F2P-friendly for building her support roster simultaneously.
Build Guide
Weapons
Defier's Thorn (5★ signature): Base ATK 412–413, HP% 72.2%, +12% Max HP, ignores 8% enemy DEF, +20% DMG at ≥1 Aero Erosion stack. Meaningful upgrade — not mandatory.
Red Spring enables endgame ToA clears. Don't pull the weapon banner if it means sacrificing character pulls.
Echo Set: Windward Pilgrimage (5-piece)
2-piece: Aero DMG +10%
5-piece: Crit Rate +10% and Aero DMG +30% for 10 seconds on Erosion hit
Cost layout: ④④①①① Main Echo: Reminiscence: Fleurdelys — farm this first.
Target Stats
Substat priority: Crit Rate > Crit DMG > Basic ATK DMG Bonus > HP% > Energy Regen
Skill priority: Forte Circuit → Resonance Liberation → Resonance Skill → Basic Attack
Ascension materials: Tidal Residuum ×4, Unfading Glory ×46, Bamboo Iris ×60, Shell Credit ×170,000
Pull Decision: 5 Questions
1. What's your pity count and 50/50 status? At 70+ pulls with a guaranteed 50/50 win, you're looking at ~1,600 Astrite. Completely different decision than 0 pity on a fresh 50/50.
2. Do you have a team for her? Minimum viable: Aero Rover + Baizhi (both free). Without them, she'll underperform until you build the support roster.
3. Are you hitting content walls? Clearing ToA comfortably? She's a quality-of-life upgrade. Stuck on ToA floors? She's a direct solution.
4. Is a better banner coming soon? No confirmed SS-tier character is announced for the immediate next patch. Saving for an unknown future banner is speculative resource management.
5. Can you top up if you're just short? Sitting at 60+ pity and needing 10–20 more pulls? A small top-up is reasonable. At 0 pity needing 160 worst-case? That's a much larger commitment.
Topping Up Before the Deadline
The Lunite Subscription at $4.99 gives 300 Lunite upfront plus 90 Astrite/day for 30 days (2,700 Astrite total) — best value for consistent players supplementing free pulls over time.
For immediate pulls before April 2, recharge Wuthering Waves Astrite currency through BitTopup — fast processing, no waiting around when you're racing a banner deadline.
Conversion reference: 160 Lunite = 1 pull · 1,600 = 10 pulls · 12,800 = 80 pulls · 25,600 = 160 pulls
FAQ
Is Cartethyia worth it at S0? Yes. Community testing confirms R0 clears Tower of Adversity with F2P weapons and non-optimal echoes. Sequences enhance her — they don't complete her.
When does she rerun after April 2? Unconfirmed community estimate: Version 3.1 Phase 2 (February 26 – March 18, 2026). Based on Kuro Games' historical patterns, not official announcement.
What happens to my pity after her banner ends? Both pull count and 50/50 guarantee carry over to the next limited banner. Nothing is lost.
Does she work without her signature weapon? Yes. Red Spring (4★) enables endgame ToA clears. Don't sacrifice character pulls for the weapon banner.
Best F2P team? Cartethyia / Aero Rover / Baizhi. Yangyang can replace Baizhi for more Aero DMG if survivability isn't an issue.
Is the Liberation HP reduction dangerous? No. It's intentional kit design — reduces current HP to 50% on activation, synergizing with her HP-scaling damage thresholds. Keep a healer in your team and use Liberation freely. It's your primary burst window, not a hazard.
Cartethyia is the rare case where community consensus and the math point the same direction: strong at S0, accessible to F2P with the right team, and the April 2 deadline is real with a multi-week gap before any confirmed rerun. If you have the pulls and the team, this is a straightforward decision. If you're borderline on resources, the five questions above will give you a clearer answer than any tier list.