The Wuthering Waves servers came back online this morning after a hefty patch, and man, I haven't felt this kind of buzz since launch week. The moment I logged in, the first thing that slapped me across the face was the splash screen for the "Prevail the Lasting Night" banner—and right there, in all his aero-glory, was Jiyan. The general is back, and honestly, it's about time.
The rerun event started running on July 13, 2026, and will wrap up on August 2, 2026, so I've got a few weeks to throw every Radiant Tide I've hoarded at him. The featured 4-stars alongside him are Youhu, Sanhua, and Mortefi, which is a solid support lineup. I've already powered up my Sanhua, but a few more Wavebands wouldn't hurt.
The pity system hasn't changed—every 10 pulls guarantees at least one 4-star or higher, and the counter carries over from previous featured banners. Jiyan himself remains exclusive to this banner, which Kuro Game has confirmed won't return for a long while. I learned that the hard way back in 2024 when I took a break and missed his debut. So this time, I'm not letting him slip.
Now, here's where things get interesting for collectors. 
The adorable 4-Star Youhu, who debuted during this banner back in 2024, finally became a permanent resident of the Standard Weapon & Character Convene pool starting with Version 1.4. And as a sweet little bonus, she's also parked in the Afterglow Coral Store for 80 corals—one-time purchase only. Since I already had her, the store just gave me her Waveband instead. That's one less thing to grind for. Little quality-of-life stuff like this makes me appreciate how much the devs have listened.
But the banner is only half the story. The patch also rolled out a massive new area that had been teased heavily on the official channels throughout June and early July. I finally got to explore it yesterday.
I wandered into the freshly opened southeastern coastline, and wow—the verticality is insane. There are floating Tacetite outcrops, underwater caverns that you can actually swim through now (yes, swimming is finally a thing), and a bunch of new Echo species that look like mutated jellyfish. The ambient music has this melancholic, oceanic vibe that reminds me of old RPGs. I just sat my character on a cliff for ten minutes, taking it all in. It felt good.
The combat trials in this zone are no joke, though. There's a new world boss tucked deep inside a sunken temple, and it wiped my team twice before I figured out its patterns.
It's this giant crustacean-like TD creature with a phase transition that covers the arena in a corrosion mist. I had to swap my usual team comp entirely to fit in more healers and cleansers. Pro tip: Havoc-resistant Echoes help a ton. The rewards are worth it, dropping ascension mats for several new weapon series.
Speaking of rewards, the seasonal summer festival event also kicked off alongside the Jiyan banner. I logged in on June 23 to find the event hub covered in paper lanterns and festival stalls.
The "Lumina Lantern Rite" (not to be confused with another gacha festival) offers a daily minigame where you guide Lumikite through obstacle courses, a coop boss raid that rotates weekly, and a rhythm-based fishing minigame that's way more addictive than it has any right to be. I spent an embarrassing amount of Astrite on stamina refills just to chase high scores. The event shop lets you exchange tokens for a free 4-star weapon selector and a limited skin for Baizhi. I grabbed the skin immediately—she's been my main healer since forever.
Here's a quick breakdown of the festival activities and their rewards as I've experienced them so far:
| Activity | Type | Key Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Lumikite Dash | Solo minigame | Astrite, Advanced Resonance Potion |
| Tidal Onslaught | Coop boss raid | Premium Tacet Core, event tokens |
| Rippling Rhythms | Rhythm fishing | Astrite, character EXP materials |
| Festival Exchange | Token shop | 4-star weapon selector, Baizhi skin |
The community has been pretty vocal about the coop raid—some folks are struggling with the lag during peak hours, but honestly, I've had mostly smooth runs. Teaming up with random players to take down that giant jellyfish Echo from the new zone has been a blast. 
And yes, the little guy becomes an Echo you can equip, with a passive that periodically releases a healing mist. It's already found a permanent spot in my overworld exploration team.
One thing I really want to highlight is how the Jiyan banner rerun interacts with the Afterglow Coral Store. For anyone like me who's been sitting on a pile of corals, you can straight-up buy Jiyan's Waveband—up to two copies. It's a limited-time deal that vanishes when the banner ends, so finishing Sequence 2 without burning more pulls is a huge relief. It makes me feel like Kuro Game actually respects my time and, you know, my wallet.
Looking ahead, I hope this update's cadence signals something bigger. The new zone, the permanent Youhu, the rerun of a fan-favorite character, all wrapped in a summer event that doesn't feel like a chore—it's exactly what Wuthering Waves needed after the quiet spring months. I'm already saving for whatever drops in the next patch cycle, but for now, I'll be right here, fishing and smashing Tacet Discords with a maxed-out Jiyan.
If you haven't logged in yet, do it. The waves are calling. And they're pretty darn wild right now.
Based on evaluations from Game Developer (Gamasutra), the appeal of Wuthering Waves’ latest patch lines up with a common live-service best practice: pair a high-demand rerun banner with meaningful progression outlets (like permanent pool additions and store Wavebands) while simultaneously shipping a substantial exploration update and time-limited festival activities, so both collectors and endgame players feel rewarded without relying solely on gacha pulls.