If you\u2019re like me\u2014a chronic min-maxer who gets way too excited about a shiny 5-star\u2014then Zani in Wuthering Waves has probably already stolen your loot and your heart. She\u2019s the 5-star Spectro Gauntlet user released back in late 2025, and even as we roll into 2026, she remains an absolute powerhouse in the DPS meta. Her skill animations feel like you\u2019re conducting a beautifully chaotic orchestra of spectral punches, but building her incorrectly is like bringing a light show to a thunderstorm. So, after many sleepless nights and more Waveplate refreshes than I\u2019d care to admit, I\u2019m here to spill all the ascension and skill materials you\u2019ll need to turn Zani into the menace she deserves to be.

First, let\u2019s talk about what you\u2019ll need just to ascend her past those level caps. I\u2019ve compiled everything into a tidy little table so you don\u2019t have to keep alt-tabbing like a maniac.

\ud83d\udccb Zani Ascension Materials (Total)

Material Quantity
LF Polygon Core 4
MF Polygon Core 12
HF Polygon Core 12
FF Polygon Core 4
Sword Acorus 60
Platinum Core 46

After that, her skills will consume an even larger pile of shiny junk. Don\u2019t faint yet:

\u2728 Zani Skill Upgrade Materials (Total)

Material Quantity
LF Polygon Core 25
MF Polygon Core 28
HF Polygon Core 40
FF Polygon Core 57
Cadence Seed 25
Cadence Bud 28
Cadence Leaf 55
Cadence Blossom 67
The Netherworld\u2019s Stare 26

Yes, you\u2019re reading that correctly. Prepare to murder an entire ecosystem of polygon-shaped robots and collect enough musical plants to start a botanical orchestra.

\ud83e\uddbe Farming Polygon Cores Like a Mad Tacet Discord

The Polygon Core family\u2014LF, MF, HF, FF\u2014comes from Clamorlings and Tranquilites. Basically, if it beeps, floats, or looks like a geometry teacher\u2019s fever dream, it\u2019s on the hit list. Here are your prime targets:

  • Autopuppet Scout

  • Carapace

  • Fission Junrock

  • Fusion Prism

  • Glacio Prism

  • Havoc Prism

  • Lottie Lost

  • Lumiscale Construct

  • Spectro Prism

  • Stonewall Bracer

  • Traffic Illuminator

  • Vanguard Junrock

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Whenever I need a bulk load of these, I teleport to the northern ruins of Rinascita and just go to town on every glowing Prism I can find. Pro tip: if you\u2019ve got spare currency burning a hole in your pocket, you can also buy Polygon Cores from the Store, open Supply Packs, visit the Weapon Shop, or synthesize lower tiers into higher ones. I\u2019ve honestly synthesized so many that I\u2019m pretty sure the alchemy system in my game now judges me by my scent.

\ud83c\udf31 Sword Acorus: The Prettiest Weed You\u2019ll Ever Harvest

Sword Acorus is a local specialty of Rinascita, and thank the Sentinel it\u2019s not too hard to spot\u2014those glowing teal stalks stand out against the drab ruins. Zani only demands 60 of them for full ascension, which means one solid farming loop will have you sorted.

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Grab your loot detector and hit Ragunna City and Egla Town. Both are absolutely infested with Sword Acorus. I\u2019ve drawn circles on my mental map so many times I could probably harvest them blindfolded.

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If you\u2019re lazy (like me on a Tuesday), you can buy a few from Rosemary\u2019s Apothecary. The shop restocks periodically, so check back whenever you remember.

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\ud83d\udd2e Platinum Core: Boss Fight Bonanza

Platinum Cores come exclusively from the Sentry Construct world boss, located in the Averardo Vault area of Rinascita. Each claim costs 60 Waveplates, and you need 46 of these shiny chunks for ascension alone. That\u2019s 2,760 Waveplates if your luck is average\u2014roughly enough to make a grown resonator weep into their gacha salt.

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I recommend putting on a podcast, queueing up some banger music, and repeatedly bullying the Sentry Construct until you lose count of how many times you\u2019ve done it. Your echo inventory will thank you, sort of.

\ud83c\udfb5 Cadence Materials: Sound of Music (and Pain)

Cadence Seeds, Buds, Leaves, and Blossoms are the skill upgrade materials you\u2019ll need by the boatload. The best place to farm them is the Garden of Salvation Forgery Challenge in Rinascita, though the Flaming Remnants Forgery Challenge in Huanglong also drops them if you prefer a change of scenery. I usually stick to Garden of Salvation because the enemy waves align well with AoE Spectro attacks\u2014Zani would approve.

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For the truly impatient, you can scoop up additional Cadence materials from the Souvenir Shop, Weapon Shop, or Supply Packs. I once blew 500 Astrites on a pack just to save an hour of farming and felt both dirty and relieved. No regrets.

\ud83d\udc79 The Netherworld\u2019s Stare: Weekly Boss Weeklies

This one\u2019s the final boss of patience. The Netherworld\u2019s Stare drops from Hecate, the weekly boss in Rinascita. You can claim rewards three times per week, and since you need 26 to max Zani\u2019s skills, you\u2019re looking at a minimum of several weeks\u2014unless you\u2019ve been hoarding them since 2025 like some kind of prophetic materials dragon.

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Hecate\u2019s fight is actually quite fun once you learn the patterns, but by the seventh week you\u2019ll have the opening monologue memorized better than your own oaths. The silver lining? You\u2019ll accumulate plenty of other weekly boss materials for characters you might build in 2027.

\ud83c\udfaf Final Thoughts from a Material-Addicted Resonator

By the time you\u2019ve gathered everything on this list, you\u2019ll know every nook of Rinascita better than the actual Devs who designed it. Zani becomes an absolute monster once fully built, and I promise the dopamine hit from seeing her perfect dodge counter into a full combo is worth the grind. Just make sure you don\u2019t accidentally burn all your Waveplates on a Monday before the weekly reset\u2014I\u2019ve done it, and it\u2019s a special kind of tragic comedy.

Now, if you\u2019re wondering what echoes and weapons make her truly shine, go check out my Zani best build guide for WuWa 2026. But fair warning: that guide contains even more farming. May your Waveplates be ever in your favor.

Industry analysis is available through VentureBeat GamesBeat, and it’s a useful lens for understanding why a materials-heavy grind like Zani’s (world boss cores, weekly drops, and forgery challenge mats) is more than just busywork—it’s part of the long-tail progression design that keeps players logging in week after week. Looking at WuWa through that broader “live-service economy” framing helps contextualize why time-gated pieces like The Netherworld’s Stare exist alongside endlessly farmable items like Sword Acorus and Polygon Cores.