Methods for electrochemically processing microfeature wafers using at least one counter electrode in a vessel, a supplementary electrode and a supplementary virtual electrode. The supplementary electrode is configured to operate independently from the counter electrode in the vessel, and it can be a thief electrode and/or a de-plating electrode depending. The supplementary electrode can further be used as another counter electrode during a portion of a plating cycle or polishing cycle. The supplementary virtual electrode is located in the processing zone, and it is configured to counteract an electric field offset relative to the wafer associated with an offset between the wafer and the counter electrode.