Wuthering Waves
Personal Story Quest Tier List
Community-ranked companion and personal story quests by narrative quality, emotional impact, and pacing. Know which ones to prioritize and which to skip.
Companion Quests
Narrative Quality
Updated: mid-2026
Top 3 Must-Do Quests
#1
Cantarella
2.2 Avinoleum Arc
Universally lauded for emotional depth, themes, fights, and lore. Widely called peak gacha story.
#2
Changli
Immortal Blaze
Top-voted for intrigue and character writing quality across all community rankings.
#3
Jiyan
Daybreak at Last
Enduring favorite for heroism, emotional payoff, and cinematic quality.
Full Tier List
SS
Peak Gacha Writing
Do these before anything else
Jiyan
Daybreak at Last
Epic military resolve, strong emotional payoff, and excellent Huanglong worldbuilding.
Changli
Immortal Blaze
Deep intrigue, masterful pacing, profound character insight with high emotional stakes.
Cantarella
2.2 Avinoleum Arc
Peak emotional depth, lore revelations, humanity themes, and cinematic fights. Most players call this the best overall.
Encore
Companion Quest
Pure cinema with exceptional storytelling and character moments that stand out dramatically.
Cartethyia / Lupa
2.2 / 2.4 Arc
Outstanding lore, map integration, boss fights, emotional impact, and praised in medias res narrative structure.
S
Strongly Recommended
High quality with minor gaps
Shorekeeper
1.3 Quest
Strong lore breaks and emotional resonance, frequently highlighted positively by the community.
Jinhsi
1.1 Quest
Solid political intrigue and character growth with memorable moments throughout.
Xiangli Yao
Wishing Tree / Moon Chasing
Engaging personal story with good ties to events and strong character depth.
Ciaccona
Companion Quest
Excellent worldbuilding and atmosphere, consistently praised as strong and immersive.
A
Good, With Caveats
Worth doing for mains or story fans
Zhezhi
True Colors
Beautiful cutscenes but pacing issues noted by many; good but not elite tier.
Yinlin
Solitary Path
Interesting plot and execution but messy elements; better than average with noticeable flaws.
B
Serviceable
Do for completionism or specific character affinity
Lingyang
Wild Heart's Return
Decent structure but often criticized as the weakest and least engaging among early quests.
Early 1.0 Companions
Various
Serviceable but lack the depth and quality of later patches. Do for lore completionism only.
Play Priority Guide
- Unlock prerequisites first: Most companion quests require specific main story progress. Check your quest log before attempting.
- Start with characters you pulled for: Their quests add the most immediate value and context for understanding their kit.
- Prioritize SS tier before the backlog: Jiyan, Changli, Cantarella, and Encore deliver the best return on time investment.
- Prioritize by patch timing: Recent quests (2.x and later) trend higher quality. Do new quests fresh for maximum emotional impact.
- B tier last or skip: Only do early 1.0 companion quests if you are a completionist or specifically attached to that character.
Key Decision Points
Main your character?
Do their quest immediately. The lore context makes their gameplay feel more meaningful and their character writing more rewarding to follow.
Story enjoyer vs. gameplay-first?
Story enjoyers: prioritize SS tier (Jiyan, Changli, Cantarella) over grinding the backlog. Gameplay-first players can safely skip B tier entirely.
Limited time - which to cut?
Cut B tier and most early 1.0 quests. The drop in quality is significant enough that your time is better spent on S and SS tier quests.
New patch just dropped?
Recent quests (3.x and later) often earn community hype for emotional hits. Tackle new quest content fresh before seeking community reactions.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping all companion quests entirely - you miss character depth that makes the world and story significantly richer.
- Doing quests in random order before finishing main story prerequisites - this risks spoilers and narrative confusion.
- Expecting every quest to be SS tier - many have pacing and filler issues. Temper expectations based on community consensus before investing time.
- Playing distracted - these quests hit harder when fully immersed. Consider JP voice acting for extra emotional impact on high-tier quests.
- Over-relying on a single tier list - cross-reference multiple community discussions since tastes differ between romance, action, and tragedy-focused quests.
Video References
Ranking every Wuthering Waves main story quest by quality
Community tier list of WuWa story quests