Rover Havoc is one of the most powerful characters in the current Wuthering Waves meta, and you don’t even have to spend a pretty penny to get them. As the main character of the game, every player starts with Rover in their lineup! For the WuWa-devout going the free-to-play route, investing into Rover Havoc lets you enjoy all the game has to offer without relying on too many gacha pulls. Here’s how to build for maximum DPS, including the ideal Echoes and optimal team compositions to get the most out of Rover.
How to build Rover Havoc
Whether you prefer Rover in the primary DPS or sub-DPS role, you always want to maximize ATK and CRIT on Rover Havoc. CRIT DMG and CRIT Rate should always take top priority, as higher CRIT stats generally deal more damage than simply stacking your ATK in Wuthering Waves.
Additionally, since Rover Havoc’s primarily deals Havoc DMG, Echoes and equipment that provide Havoc DMG bonuses are important to have.
Stats Priority List (Highest to Lowest)
| Priority | Stat | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | CRIT Rate | CRIT stats provide better DPS than ATK stats on Rover. |
| 2. | CRIT DMG | Same reason as above. |
| 3. | Energy Regen % | Higher Energy Regen means you can use your ultimate more often. |
| 4. | ATK% | Improved ATK stats are always useful on a DPS. |
The Best Gear and Main Echo for Rover Havoc
| Gear Type | Gear Name | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Emerald of Genesis | Enhances CRIT Rate and ATK. Also boosts Energy Regeneration so you can use Resonation Liberation more often in battle. |
| Sonata Effect | 5-piece Sun-sinking Eclipse | The premier Havoc set in Wuthering Waves, the full 5-piece provides a big bonus to Havoc DMG. |
| Main Echo | Dreamless | Greatly enhances Rover’s Havoc DMG, particularly their Resonance Liberation. |
Team Compositions
Rover Havoc, Roccia, and Shorekeeper
Roccia and Shorekeeper are the perfect companions to buff Rover Havoc’s natural strengths.
Roccia’s Outro Skill grants a 20% Havoc DMG bonus and a 25% Basic Attack DMG bonus, which pairs well with Rover Havoc’s kit. With Roccia in your lineup, you’ll want to frequently use your Concerto, since Rover Havoc’s Intro Skill synergizes so well with Roccia’s Outro Skill.
Shorekeeper keeps her allies HP topped up while also buffing CRIT Rate and Crit DMG.
In sum, this lineup provides massive Havoc DMG with a 20% Havoc DMG and CRIT boosts.
Rover Havoc, Danjin, Yangyang
Danjin with a Dreamless Echo lets you enjoy of the damage buff from Rover Havoc’s Resonance Liberation two times. Meanwhile, Yangyang provides excellent Energy Regen buffs (though Shorekeeper is preferred, if you have her).
The biggest downside to this composition is that it revolves around Rover Havoc’s ultimate being off cooldown, so having a support like Yangyang can cut down the downtime between casts.
How to Play Rover Havoc
Rover Havoc’s kit revolves around their Forte Circuit gauge (found above the health bar) and their Dark Surge state. Basically, you want to charge their Forte Circuit gauge so they can enter Dark Surge state, which boosts their Havoc DMG by 20%. This means you want to spend as much time as possible in Dark Surge state.
Charging the Forte Circuit Gauge
The Forte Circuit gauge has 41 bars. Once it’s full, you can enter Dark Surge state by performing a Heavy Attack (hold down the Basic Attack button). These are the actions that charge the Forte Circuit gauge sorted by their charging effect:
| Action | Charging Effect |
|---|---|
| Air attack | 4.5 bars |
| Dodge counter (Dodge + Basic Attack) | 5 bars |
| Heavy attack combo (Heavy Attack + 2 Basic Attacks) | 11 bars |
| Intro skill (swap-in attack) | 12.5 bars |
| Full Basic Attack Combo (entire 5-strike combo) | 13 bars |
| Resonance Skill | 17 bars |
When you’re in Dark Surge state, your Resonance Skill is the only action that will fill Rover’s Forte Circuit gauge. You can use it to extend the duration of Rover’s Dark Surge state.
Combos to Charge the Forte Circuit Gauge
The most efficient combo to charge your Forte Circuit is Intro Skill → Full Basic Attack Combo, which gives you 25.5 bars toward the full gauge. Afterwards, you can perform Resonance Skill to push your Forte Circuit to full, then follow up with a Heavy Attack to jump into Dark State.
If you’d rather not have to do a swap-in, then Resonance Skill → Heavy Attack combo → Heavy Attack combo will get you to full from zero the fastest. Note that this puts your Resonance Skill on cooldown, so you can’t use it to extend the Dark Surge state later.
Combos for Dark Surge State
Once you’re in Dark Surge state, spam Basic Attacks and your Resonance Skill to deal as much Havoc DMG you can before Rover exits Dark Surge. Always use your Resonance Liberation (Rover’s Ultimate Skill) when it’s off cooldown, then follow up with your Echo Skill to stack the bonuses from Dark Surge and Resonance Liberation on Dreamless.
Full Basic Attack Combo → Resonance Skill → Resonance Liberation (whenever available) → Dreamless
