In every gacha game, there’s that moment of triumph when you finally see the golden glow or rainbow sparkle on your screen. You’ve beaten the odds, you’ve landed a high-rarity unit, and your excitement spikes. But then reality sets in. Not all 5* or SSR units are created equal, and sometimes that dream pull quickly turns into a long-term regret. Whether it’s because of power creep, clunky gameplay, or just poor design choices, these characters have become infamous across the gacha community. Today, we’re looking at eight units that players often regret building but don’t always want to admit.
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8. Zani (Wuthering Waves)
On paper, Zani has style, flash, and all the makings of a great unit. In practice, she is one of the most regretted pulls in Wuthering Waves. Her entire kit is shackled to Spectro Frazzle, a debuff that she desperately needs on her targets to function. Without it, her damage is underwhelming at best.
The problem is that she cannot apply it herself consistently. This makes Zani extremely reliant on teammates who can provide the debuff for her, locking her into restrictive team compositions. Players who invested in her quickly realized she was more of a headache than a hero, as her effectiveness crumbles without the perfect support cast.
Additionally, Zani’s abilities have long cooldowns and require precise timing, making her less forgiving than other units. Players must maintain constant awareness of Spectro Frazzle uptime while weaving in skill rotations, and a single misstep can significantly reduce her damage output. Many players feel that the absurd team dependency makes her not worth the investment, even if she looks visually impressive.
7. Silver Soldier Anby (Zenless Zeon Zero)
Anby entered Zenless Zone Zero as a stylish unit with a unique defensive, counter-heavy playstyle. But the reality of her kit left many disappointed. Her damage output is mediocre, her iframes are lackluster, and her reliance on dodge counters makes her feel clunky to play compared to more aggressive, straightforward DPS units.
Anby is also highly situational. She performs well for reactive play, but in fast-paced encounters, her defensive playstyle becomes a liability. Players must time their counters perfectly to maintain damage output, which can be punishing if timing is off. Many regret pulling her after realizing that her niche is extremely restrictive, not to mention her ingrained bugs, making her difficult to play and, thus, leaving her underutilized compared to more straightforward damage-dealing units.
6. Calcharo (Wuthering Waves)
Calcharo’s case is not about being objectively weak. Instead, his regret factor comes from a choice that haunted early players. When Wuthering Waves launched, players were given the option to select one of the standard five-star units for free. Many chose between Calcharo or Verina.
Fast forward to today, Verina remains one of the strongest and most universally useful characters in the game. Calcharo, on the other hand, has aged poorly. His kit demands intense mechanical effort, animation management, and risk-taking to even approach the damage of other DPS units.
Additionally, Calcharo’s abilities are combo-dependent, requiring precise timing to maximize output. Any minor mistake drastically reduces his effectiveness. Players who selected him over Verina often feel this regret, compounded by the fact that Verina continues to excel in nearly every game mode. This opportunity cost is what makes Calcharo one of the most regretted early choices in Wuthering Waves.
5. Klee (Genshin Impact)
Klee is/was powerful on paper and is one of the earliest limited Pyro characters in Genshin Impact. But once the novelty wears off, her flaws become glaring. She is clunky to play, her normal attacks lock her into long animations, and making the most of her requires abnormal animation cancels that most players simply do not enjoy.
Klee also suffers from a limited range of flexibility. Unlike newer Pyro units, who can perform safely from a distance or apply elemental reactions consistently, Klee often puts herself in danger to maximize damage. Her defensive options are minimal, and she struggles with content that requires fast mobility. Many players regret pulling her because, while her damage is strong, her playstyle feels tedious and overly complicated for the reward.
4. Seele (Honkai: Star Rail)
When Honkai Star Rail launched, Seele was the queen of DPS. She dominated early content and quickly became the poster child for meta strength. But then came the updates and with them power creep.
Newer characters began dealing higher damage, offering better utility, or both. Seele’s niche of high single-target burst is no longer enough to justify her slot, even with investment. Even at higher Eidolons, she horribly fails to keep up with the rest of the cast in her role. Additionally, her main gimmick of having kills grant her another turn is extremely difficult to utilize now, thanks to her poor DPS. Many early adopters now regret the resources sunk into her, watching her go from best-in-class to nearly irrelevant.
3. Cyno (Genshin Impact)
Cyno’s release was highly anticipated due to the glow-up he had in the story, but the shine wore off quickly. His kit revolves around long Burst windows where he hogs the field, making him what players often call a selfish DPS. While he does decent damage, his kit is monotonous and offers little off-field value.
Players who enjoy dynamic team rotations often find Cyno frustrating. His effectiveness is maximized only when paired with very specific supports, leaving him rigid in team-building. Compared to versatile units that can pivot between damage and utility, Cyno ends up feeling like dead weight. Many players regret pulling him because he fails to provide flexibility or excitement in longer-term gameplay.
2. Jing Yuan (Honkai: Star Rail)
Jing Yuan looked promising when he debuted with his Lightning Lord summon, adding a flashy, semi-automated style of combat. Unfortunately, his kit has a major drawback that causes many who pull for him to regret their investment. While Lighting Lord acts independently, if Jing Yuan himself is crowd-controlled, Lighting Lord also gets shut down.
The frustration became worse as newer summon-style characters arrived. Characters like Topaz and Numby do not suffer these same penalties and continue acting even if their summoner is disabled. Jing Yuan’s kit feels clunky in comparison, and his performance drops sharply in many encounters. Players regret pulling him not because he is weak but because future characters have made his unique mechanic feel outdated and restrictive.
1. Xiao (Genshin Impact)
Xiao’s plunging playstyle made him a fan favorite on release. He was powerful, unique, and offered a straightforward way to deal damage. The regret comes not from Xiao being weak, but from what happened next. Hu Tao was released.
Hu Tao almost completely outclassed him in every meaningful way. Both characters share the polearm weapon type, meaning players had to invest in the same limited gear pool. Hu Tao’s kit is stronger, more versatile, and scales better with future supports. For players who built Xiao, it felt like they immediately wasted resources once Hu Tao hit the stage, cementing Xiao as a regretted investment despite his initial popularity.
Pulling a high-rarity character in a gacha game is always a gamble. The unit may look amazing in trailers or seem strong at launch, but over time, weaknesses show. Whether it is Zani’s restrictive debuff reliance or Jing Yuan being power-crept by smoother summon units, the reality is clear: rarity does not guarantee satisfaction.
At the end of the day, regret is a shared experience in gacha communities. Some players will stubbornly defend their pulls, but many quietly admit the truth: they built a character they wish they had not. It’s a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but we’ve all been there.
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