Image: HoYoverse
Jiaoqiu is Acheron's long-awaited dedicated 5-star support, so run them together if you have them both!
We are now in the second half of Honkai: Star Rail version 2.4, which brings with it a new 5-star character in Jiaoqiu! Jiaoqiu wields the Fire element and follows the Path of Nihility, utilising the ‘Ashen Roast’ debuff to deal Fire damage-over-time (DoT) to enemies and increase the amount of DMG they receive, especially from ultimates. Because of this, Jiaoqiu is the new top support for premier Nihility DPS Acheron!
So, if you were lucky enough to have pulled Jiaoqiu, read on as we break down how to best build him, including his best gear and teammates:
Jiaoqiu's kit is centered around the Ashen Roast debuff from his Talent, Quarter Finesse, Octave Finery. At max level, Jiaoqiu's basic attack, skill, and ultimate will have a 100% base chance of inflicting Ashen Roast on all enemies hit.
When enemies have 1 stack of Ashen Roast, enemies receive 15% increased DMG from ally attacks, and all subsequent Ashen Roast stacks will increase that amount by 5%. At the same time, enemies inflicted with Ashen Roast are also considered to have the Burn DoT debuff, though this will be separate from other Burn DoTs. Ashen Roast stacks are capped at 5 and last for 2 turns.
Jiaoqiu's primary method of inflicting Ashen Roast stacks on enemies will be through his single-target basic attack and his skill, Scorch Onslaught. His skill inflicts Fire DMG to its primary target and any adjacent enemies while also inflicting 1 stack of Ashen Roast on the primary target. When paired with his Talent's effects, his skill will inflict 2 stacks of Ashen Roast to its primary target and 1 stack to any adjacent enemies.
Jiaoqiu's ultimate, Pyrograph Arcanum, sets the number of Ashen Roast stacks for all enemies to the highest amount present on the battlefield, creates a Zone, and deals Fire DMG to all enemies.
The Zone created by Jiaoqiu's ultimate causes enemies to receive 15% increased DMG from ultimates and get inflicted by 1 stack of Ashen Roast with a 60% base chance. The Zone can only inflict Ashen Roasts on enemies up to 6 times and only once per enemy turn, with the counter also being reset whenever Jiaoqiu uses his ultimate. The Zone lasts for 3 turns, will have its duration decreased at the start of Jiaoqiu's turn, and will disappear when he is knocked down.
Jiaoqiu's major Traces help him get his ultimate up faster, smoothen out his build by making his damage scale with Effect Hit Rate, and make him better at dealing with multiple waves of enemies in combat encounters like Pure Fiction.
Jiaoqiu's A2 Trace, Pyro Cleanse, gives him 15 energy at the start of a battle while his A4 Trace, Hearth Kindle, increases his ATK by 20% (up to a maximum of 240%) for every 15% of his Effect Hit Rate that exceeds 80%. And his A6 Trace, Seared Scent, causes enemies that enter the battlefield while the Zone from his ultimate is active to get inflicted with 1 stack of Ashen Roast and match the highest number of stacks present in the battlefield.
Finally, Jiaoqiu's Technique, Fiery Queller, creates a special dimension in the overworld that lasts for 15 seconds. When entering combat with the special dimension active, Jiaoqiu will deal Fire DMG to all enemies and inflict 1 stack of Ashen Roast on them with a 100% base chance.
When leveling up Jiaoqiu's abilities, focus on his Talent and ultimate and max them out first. You can get away with leaving his skill and basic attack at level 1 since leveling them up will only increase their DMG and not their chance of inflicting Ashen Roast stacks.
In battle, focus on inflicting as many Ashen Roast stacks on enemies as possible by using Jiaoqiu's skill if skill points are available. If you are low on skill points, generate more by using his basic attack on your priority target to ensure the most dangerous enemy is still inflicted with Ashen Roast attacks.
When Jiaoqiu's energy bar is full, use his ultimate to boost the amount of Ashen Roast stacks on all enemies and make them receive more Ultimate DMG. While the Zone from his ultimate has a generous 3 turn durations, make sure to time using it well for when his teammates also have their ultimates ready to maximise your team's DMG output.
Jiaoqiu's best gear
Light Cones
Jiaoqiu's best Light Cone is hands-down his signature, Those Many Springs. This Light Cone gives him a hefty amount of Effect Hit Rate to help him hit his stat requirements while also letting him inflict the ‘Unarmored’ and ‘Cornered’ debuffs that cause enemies to receive up to 24% increased DMG.
If you don't have his signature Light Cone, good alternatives for Jiaoqiu are any that help him get more Effect Hit Rate and inflict more debuffs on enemies. Among the limited 5-star Light Cones, go for Black Swan's signature Reforged Remembrance or Silver Wolf's signature Incessant Rain.
For 4-star Light Cones the only two that give Effect Hit Rate are Eyes of the Prey and the event-exclusive Before the Tutorial Mission Starts. You can also go for Resolution Shines as Pearls of Sweat, which reduces the DEF of any enemies it hits, though it doesn't provide Effect Hit Rate stats.
Relics
The Cavern of Corrosion relics you will equip Jiaoqiu with will depend on whether you will be playing him as a support in a Hypercarry team for Acheron or as a Sub DPS and debuffer in a DoT team.
When playing Jiaoqiu as a support in a Hypercarry Acheron team, go for the 4-piece Eagle of Twilight Line set. While this set's 2-piece bonus won't do anything for Jiaoqiu, its 4-piece effect lets him maximise the uptime of his ultimate Zone by advancing his action forward by 25% with every use of his ultimate.
When playing Jiaoqiu in a DoT team, go for the 4-piece Prisoner in Deep Confinement set, the go-to relic set for any DoT character.
With that said, a good generalist set for Jiaoqiu will be a mixed set of the 2-piece Messenger Traversing Hackerspace set and any 2-piece set that gives ATK, DMG, or Fire DMG bonuses.
As for Jiaoqiu's Planar Ornament relics, your best bet will be the 2-piece Sprightly Vonwacq set. This set helps with his energy needs while also advancing his action forward by 40% upon starting a battle to let him quickly stack up Ashen Roast on enemies.
If you're having trouble getting enough Effect Hit Rate, then go for the 2-piece Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise. You can also go for the 2-piece Fleet of the Ageless or the 2-piece Broken Keel sets if you want to focus on buffing Jiaoqiu's teammates.
Jiaoqiu's best teammates
Jiaoqiu's is designed to be the dedicated 5-star support for Acheron, as his Ashen Roast stacks count as debuffs to charge up her ultimate while the Zone from his own ultimate greatly boosts Acheron's already powerful ultimate. Jiaoqiu charges up Acheron's ultimate the fastest of any character right now, especially in multi-wave combat situations like in Pure Fiction.
If your Acheron is not yet at E2, make sure to have another debuffing support alongside Jiaoqiu like Silver Wolf or Pela with the Resolution Shines as Pearls of Sweat Light Cone. But if your Acheron is already at E2, then Jiaoqiu can be the sole Nihility support and free up another slot for Harmony supports like Sparkle, Bronya, Robin, or Ruan Mei.
Additionally, the mechanics of Jiaoqiu's kit renders the need for a Preservation support equipped with the Trend of the Universal Market Light Cone in an Acheron team redundant. Therefore, an Acheron team with Jiaoqiu in it will have more freedom when it comes to fielding sustain characters.
But if you want to run Jiaoqiu in a DoT team, then his best teammate in such a composition will be the DoT queens Kafka and Black Swan. If you don't have those characters, you can also run with Guinaifen, who can detonate any Burn DoTs on enemies during her turn by using her ultimate.
Jiaoqiu is one of the rate-up 5-star characters in the second half of Honkai: Star Rail version 2.4 alongside the rerun for the 5-star Quantum Harmony character Sparkle. After version 2.4 comes version 2.5 in September, which will feature three more new characters in Feixiao, Lingsha, and Moze.