Leveling Guide: How to Increase SOL3, Union and Data Bank Levels Quickly - Wuthering Waves Guide - IGN (2024)

Wuthering Waves features a plethora of leveling systems that allow you to grow stronger and provide rewards for your efforts. Some of these systems, like your SOL3 Phase and Union Level, can impede your progress in others, so it's important to learn how to quickly level up so you can power up your team.

Use the links below to skip to the section you need:

• How to Increase SOL3 Phase and Union Level Quickly
  • Complete Quests
  • Defeat Boss Challenges
  • Complete Your Daily Activities
  • Remember Your SOL3 Phase
• How to Increase Your Data Bank Level Quickly
  • Use Your Guidebook
  • Travel to Different Areas
  • Grind Tacet Fields
  • Defeat Boss Challenges and Remember Your SOL3 Phase

How to Increase SOL3 Phase and Union Level Quickly

Since SOL3 Phase and Union Level are linked, they're both covered here. Virtually everything you do in Wuthering Waves will provide Union EXP, whether it's activating Resonance Beacons, opening treasure chests, or completing quests. This makes it easy to level passively while exploring or pursuing the story. Of course, for people that like to maximize their efficiency, there are definitely avenues that will provide more Union EXP than others.

Complete Quests

Quests are story-based adventures typically worth a decent chunk of Union EXP. Whether they are main story quests, side quests or companion quests, it's worth completing them to learn about the people in the world or to advance the narrative of Wuthering Waves. None of the quests are terribly time consuming if you focus on them, but they can only be completed one time each. At the very least, it's important to complete at least Chapter 1, Act 3: Ominous Star, since it unlocks various other features.

Defeat Boss Challenges

Once you've completed Chapter 1, Act 3: Ominous Star, you'll unlock Boss Challenges. These powerful enemies can be defeated for rewards, provided you have 60 waveplates in exchange. Each boss challenge provides a bonus reward - including more Union EXP - the first time you beat them, but with repeatable rewards and the chance to drop a powerful Echo, you'll want to take on these challenges as often as you can.

Complete Your Daily Activities

Another feature unlocked with the completion of Chapter 1, Act 3: Ominous Star, Daily Activities are a list of fairly simple tasks that provide 20 or 40 points each. Every 20 points earned grants you rewards, including some Union EXP, up to 100 points. These short and simple tasks can be completed in mere minutes and provide around 2000 Union EXP per day, so they should be a priority every day you log in.

Remember Your SOL3 Phase

While your SOL3 Phase is tied to your Union Level, it's possible to limit yourself by not paying attention to it. In a nutshell, your SOL3 Phase is a rank that dictates how powerful your enemies are and how potent your rewards for repeatable challenges are. Every 10 Union Levels will increase your SOL3 Phase, but every 20 Union Levels (20, 40, 60 etc) you'll need to complete a SOL3 Phase Ascension quest.

Otherwise your SOL3 Phase will remain at the next highest level until you complete it. This can be done intentionally if you haven't focused on making your team and their weapons stronger, but it's possible to lower your SOL3 Phase if you find enemies too tough, so it's worth doing as soon as possible.

How to Increase Your Data Bank Level Quickly

The Data Bank is like a minigame within Wuthering Waves. Most enemies you defeat (with the broad exception of humans) can drop an Echo when defeated. Collecting these Echoes allows you to equip them to your Resonators, granting them transformation abilities and passive stat boosts. Every new Echo you capture also contributes experience to your Data Bank, which in turn determines the potential power of Echoes that drop. These rarer, stronger Echoes contribute further to your Data Bank, leading to a steady spiral of improvement, but you can follow these tips if you want to speed up the process.

Use Your Guidebook

Unlocked after Chapter 1, Act 2: Echoing Marche, the Guidebook allows you to track enemies you've fought before, highlighting the nearest enemy of that type. This allows you to focus on one enemy type if you're looking to gather specific drops or, more importantly, stronger, rarer Echoes.

Travel to Different Areas

Some enemies will only be found in specific areas, so if you find yourself fighting a few familiar faces repeatedly, you should head somewhere else. For instance, the Dim Forest in the south side of the map is host to different creatures than the Gorges of Spirits or Desorock Highland.

This gives you the chance to find several new Echoes and give your Data Bank an EXP boost. This especially applies after you've leveled your Data Bank enough to unlock a higher rarity tier, because you can go back to areas you've explored extensively and collect stronger Echoes for extra EXP.

Grind Tacet Fields

Unlocked at Union Level 19, these repeatable activities can provide random Echoes from specific Sonata Effect groups, if you have enough Waveplates to redeem the rewards. If you're looking to round out your collection or simply collect some Echoes for leveling purposes, these are a good place to start, especially because each one provides a first-clear bonus reward, each of which includes a handful of Echoes.

Defeat Boss Challenges and Remember Your SOL3 Phase

These are a repeat from the previous segment, but it bears repeating. The boss creatures can be fought repeatedly even if you're out of Waveplates, since simply defeating them gives you a chance to capture an Echo. In addition to providing Data Bank EXP, these Echoes can provide powerful attacks when equipped. While your SOL3 Phase doesn't correlate directly to your Data Bank Level, it eventually becomes capped if you don't raise your SOL3 Phase. You can't capture higher rarity Echoes until your Data Bank level is raised, so if you find your progress stagnating, this is the likely culprit.

These tips are good general advice, but if you're still in the opening hours of Wuthering Waves, you should also take a look at our Beginner's Guide: Tips for Getting Started for information on making the most of your early playtime.