Wave Dancer
Element: Water · Signature meter: 💧 Swift (Fluid Form)
The Wave Dancer plays through one of three specializations — Thousand Cuts (Striker), Undertow (Anchor), and Tide (Mender). Each is a talent tree you field to lock in a core (a builder, a spender, and an always-on passive), then climb five rungs, choosing at each fork. This page lists all three in full, pulled straight from the combat engine. For the meter's counterplay and team pairings, see the class card and Team Composition.
The meter
A tempo meter (0–5): +1 stack whenever you land more actions than the enemy between their turns (a multi-hit skill counts as one action). Each stack grants +15% evasion, capping at 5 = 75% (the evasion ceiling). Speed and extra-hit skills fill it; being slow starves it.
Specializations (talent trees)
All three specializations are live for every player — field one from your Avatar's Roster. Every effect below is pulled straight from the combat engine, so it matches what happens in a fight.
Reading a tree
The core three are always fielded. On the rungs, a Fork makes you choose one option (pick by best when); a Grant hands you the skill at that Ascension tier. ⭐ marks the build-defining milestone rung. All powered by 💧 Fluid Form.
⚔️ Thousand Cuts — Striker
every crit opens a fresh ATK-scaling bleed (6 base, 3 rounds); pile the cuts for the Whirlpool detonate
Core — always fielded:
| Slot | Skill | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 🔧 Builder | Bloodtide | A stinging red tide opens a bleeding wound on every enemy — the thousand cuts spread wide, bleeding for damage over time. AoE utility, not the kit’s power. Bleed stacks cap at 20. many small cuts — an AoE that opens a bleed on the pack + banks Fluid Form by acting |
| 💥 Spender | Tidal Flurry | A flurrying cut that opens 3 bleeding wounds — 3 stacks of ATK-scaling damage that bite ONCE on the foe’s next turn, then fade. Cashes in a chunk of Fluid Form to pile the bleeds; detonate them with Whirlpool. Bleed stacks cap at 20. cash a chunk of the flow — the consuming hit snapshots the full pre-spend aura onto its bleeds, then draws down |
| ♾️ Passive | Edge | Class passive: every critical hit opens an ATK-scaling bleed (6 base) for 3 rounds. Fluid Form curves your ATK — soft below 2 stacks, ramping to ~+57% at 5. Each bleed tick has a 30% chance to refund 10% of your turn gauge — stack Speed for more turns and more cuts, not bigger hits. every crit opens a fresh ATK-scaling bleed (6 base, 3 rounds); pile the cuts for the Whirlpool detonate |
Talent tree — climb five rungs (⭐ = milestone); Fork = choose one, Grant = given:
| Rung | Unlocks | Type | Option — best when | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tier 10 | Fork | 🎯 Active Tsunami — packs — a 2-hit wave that softens the WHOLE pack (+12% damage taken) so the team's hits land harder (the detonate itself is now the granted Whirlpool) | A towering tsunami crashes over the whole pack twice, leaving every enemy battered and exposed — Erosion’s vulnerability (+12% damage taken). Wave Dancer AoE is utility that sets up the kill. |
| 🎯 Active Deluge — sustained single-boss — the big single-strike bleed pile, cashed into Whirlpool's detonate | A deluge of blades — a single strike that opens 5 Bleed stacks (ATK-scaling) that all bite ONCE on the foe’s next turn, then fade. Pile them high, then detonate the whole bleed-stack with Whirlpool for a huge burst. Cashes in a chunk of Fluid Form. Bleed caps at 20 stacks. | |||
| 🎯 Active Rip Current — a boss execute phase — bonus damage below 35% HP | Drag one foe under for 106 damage, plus 30 more when it's below 35% HP. | |||
| 2 | tier 20 | Grant | 🎯 Active Whirlpool | A crushing whirlpool drags every bleeding wound to the surface and bursts it — unleashes banked Fluid Form AND detonates every Bleed on all enemies, striking +12 power for each wound shattered. Requires banked Fluid Form. |
| 3 ⭐ | tier 30 | Fork | 🎯 Active Riptide Edge — many-actions tempo — a cut that refunds 30% of your gauge on hit, so you act again SOON and weave a torrent of small cuts | A flowing cut for 104 that refunds 30% of your turn gauge on landing and opens a bleed for 5 per turn for 3 rounds. |
| ♾️ Passive Undertow's Grace — Nightmare survival — a reactive dodge that slips the follow-up with zero DEF | Passive: when a blow lands, 50% chance to gain a 15% dodge chance for 1 round — the striker slips the follow-up without spending a single point of DEF. | |||
| 🎯 Active Sharpen — a burst/DPS check — empower the next detonate | Hone the edge — your next skill strikes for +50% power. | |||
| 4 | tier 40 | Grant | 🎯 Active Chumwater | Chum the water: hit all enemies for 96 and open a 5-per-turn bleed for 3 rounds on each. |
| 5 | tier 50 | Fork | ♾️ Passive Sanguine Tide — attrition / no dedicated healer — your hits lifesteal the long fight | Passive: every attack you land heals you for 4% of your max HP — the flow sustains its own long fight without a dedicated healer. |
| 🎯 Active Maelstrom — big packs — a twin-hit AoE that also refunds the gauge to keep the flow going | Whirl into every enemy twice for 104 per hit and refund 20% of your turn gauge. | |||
| ♾️ Passive First Blood — burst windows / adds that die fast — a crit proc that feeds Edge | Passive: each attack has a 30% chance to raise your crit chance by 20%. |
🛡️ Undertow — Anchor
the current answers every dodge: each slip (a shadow eaten counts) ripostes the attacker
Core — always fielded:
| Slot | Skill | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 🔧 Builder | Crashing Wave | A surging wall of water that stuns the target for 1 turn. many small actions — a striking wave that stuns + banks Fluid Form by acting |
| 💥 Spender | Drowning Pull | Drag the aggressor under and gather the flow — consume all Fluid Form, banking the current into a surging ward. Requires banked Fluid Form. spend the banked flow into a surging self-ward — hold the stacks or dump and re-set-up |
| ♾️ Passive | Counter-Current | Passive: each attack you dodge (including one a shadow eats) ripostes the attacker for 34 power. the current answers every dodge: each slip (a shadow eaten counts) ripostes the attacker |
Talent tree — climb five rungs (⭐ = milestone); Fork = choose one, Grant = given:
| Rung | Unlocks | Type | Option — best when | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tier 10 | Fork | ♾️ Passive Whitewater — dodge-heavy fights — spin from the DODGE side: every slip lays a bleed on the attacker, the more you weave the deeper the field bleeds | Passive: each attack you dodge (including one a shadow eats) opens an ATK-scaling bleed (6 base) on the attacker for 3 rounds. |
| 🎯 Active Riptide — fast/bursty enemies — sap the whole pack's Speed and kite them | A riptide that saps 20% speed from every enemy for 3 rounds. | |||
| 2 | tier 20 | Grant | 🎯 Active Tidal Surge | A double-cresting surge that strikes every enemy twice. |
| 3 ⭐ | tier 30 | Fork | 🎯 Active Utsusemi — the identity weave — maintain 3 shadows, each eats one hit fully then collapses; untouchable while up, glass when empty | Weave three shadows — after-images of flowing water. Each of your next 3 incoming attacks strikes a shadow and is fully dodged; when they run out, you're exposed. Recast to re-weave to 3. |
| 🎯 Active Tidal Bulwark — a telegraphed team burst — a party shield for when self-weaving shadows won't cover the backline | Raise a wave over the party, shielding each ally for 26. | |||
| 🎯 Active Sinking Grip — a world-boss race — spend the turn on OFFENSE, drag the foe under (the offense opt-out) | Drag a single foe under — a drowning wound that Bleeds for 3 rounds. On hit, a WHIRLPOOL drags the target’s tempo under: it drains their turn-gauge (ATB), not their HP. | |||
| 4 | tier 40 | Grant | ♾️ Passive Standing Wave | Plant like a standing wave — gain 40% evasion for 2 rounds. |
| 5 | tier 50 | Fork | 🎯 Active Deep Weave — a single deadly telegraph — re-weave two shadows AND act first, get your cover up before the blow | Re-weave two shadows at once and act first next turn. |
| ♾️ Passive Soak — long single-boss — ramp your ATK while the shadows hold | Settle into the current: +14% ATK, growing another 5% each round. | |||
| 🎯 Active Mist Veil — protecting a fragile ally/comp — veil the party in evasion so the whole team weaves shadows | Veil the whole party in mist — the team gains 25% evasion for 1 round. |
✨ Tide — Mender
every dodge becomes a heal: each blow the Tide slips (a shadow eaten counts) washes a heal across the whole party
Core — always fielded:
| Slot | Skill | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 🔧 Builder | Flood Tide | A rising flood heals the whole party and veils them in spray — every ally gains 8% evasion for 2 rounds, slipping the next blows. mend the team → bank Fluid Form by healing; the flow builds by mending |
| 💥 Spender | High Tide | High tide rises — shield the whole party and grant a surge of evasion, cashing the built-up Fluid Form into an extra team shield that scales with the flow, then letting the tide re-gather. Requires banked Fluid Form. cash the banked flow into a team wall + evasion surge — scales with the flow you maintained |
| ♾️ Passive | Tidal Lash | Class passive: each attack you dodge (including one a shadow eats) washes a heal across the whole party for 5% of each ally's Max HP. every dodge becomes a heal: each blow the Tide slips (a shadow eaten counts) washes a heal across the whole party |
Talent tree — climb five rungs (⭐ = milestone); Fork = choose one, Grant = given:
| Rung | Unlocks | Type | Option — best when | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tier 10 | Fork | 🎯 Active Spring Surge — one ally getting spiked — a big single clutch heal | A surging spring; allies below 30% HP are healed for half again. |
| 🎯 Active Mist Cocoon — raw damage — prevent with a team shield + cleanse | Cocoon the whole party in mist; also cleanses one debuff from each ally. | |||
| ♾️ Passive Tidewell — steady attrition — a party heal-over-time foothold | Open a well: the whole party gains a heal-over-time for 18 HP per turn for 4 rounds. | |||
| 2 | tier 20 | Grant | 🎯 Active Groundswell | A groundswell heals the whole party — +16 power at 4+ Swift, then consumes all Swift. Requires 2 Swift. |
| 3 ⭐ | tier 30 | Fork | ♾️ Passive Mistveil Aura — high-incoming AoE — veil the team in evasion so the whole party weaves shadows and every slip feeds Tidal Lash | Veil the party in mist: each ally gains a 12% dodge chance for 3 rounds. |
| 🎯 Active Undertow Nip — fights you can afford to attack (world-boss) | A nipping undertow; the caster heals for half the damage dealt. | |||
| 🎯 Active Sluice — DoT/debuff-spam — a strike that washes afflictions off yourself | Sluice through one foe for 110 damage and wash 2 afflictions off yourself. | |||
| 4 | tier 40 | Grant | 🎯 Active Slipstream | Slip the ally into the current — they act first next round. |
| 5 | tier 50 | Fork | ♾️ Passive Wellspring Overflow — overhealing content — convert the flow's waste into a team ward | Shield the whole party for 20 and convert any overhealing into extra shield. |
| 🎯 Active Riptide Renewal — a 'someone will die' mechanic — a big clutch single heal, heavier below 30% HP | Heal one ally for 60 HP, plus 20 more when they're below 30% HP. | |||
| ♾️ Passive Communal Flow — feeding a resource-hungry ally/comp — a party ATK amp | Share the flow: raise the whole party's ATK by 14%. |
See also
- Class Cards — the one-card summary of every class's meter and counterplay.
- Class Kits & Meters — how meters and the combat HUD work.
- Skills — how specializations, cooldowns, and resource gates work.
- Glyphs — the glyph currency you spend to build a specialization.