5 reasons to pull Jiaoqiu in Honkai Star Rail

Jiaoqiu will finally make his debut in Honkai Star Rail on August 21, 2024. After his limited-time banner becomes available, players will be able to use their Star Rail Special Passes to roll for him. Not following the Nihility DPS unit tradition, Jiaoqiu will be filling the support role in various DoT or Acheron Hypercarry teams.

With that being said, Honkai Star Rail is a gacha game. Trailblazers tend to pull for the characters that usually benefit their account in various ways. This article lists five reasons why you should pull for Jiaoqiu in this turn-based gacha title by HoYoverse.

Note: This article is subjective and solely relies on the writer’s opinion.

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Reasons why you should be pulling for Jiaoqiu in Honkai Star Rail

1) Unique kit

Jiaou has a unique kit (Image via HoYoverse)

Every character in Honkai Star Rail features a unique kit and Jiaoqiu is no exception. The abilities in his possession are only accessible to him. Unlike the recently released Nihility units, Jiaoqiu cannot be used as a DPS character since his kit doesn’t allow him to do so. Therefore, his abilities are only helpful to the DoT (Damage over Time) DPS units such as Kafka, Black Swan, or Acheron.

Jiaoqiu’s kit allows him to place Ashen Roast stacks on his opponents. This debuff makes them vulnerable and ultimately they take more damage.

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2) Best support for Nihility DPS characters

Acheron in Honkai Star Rail (Image via HoYoverse)

As per the current meta, the Acheron Hypercarry teams and Kafka DoT teams are dominating in some of the end-game activities. Since Kafka requires another unit to inflict DoT debuffs on the enemies, this is where Jiaoqiu hops on the stage as he can inflict Fire DoT. This helps the former to consistently deal a ridiculous amount of damage.

Moreover, Acheron needs a certain number of debuffs on the enemies, nine to be exact, to unleash her ultimate. Since Jiaoqiu’s Ashen Roast stacks count as debuffs, this will greatly help the former acquire her ultimate faster.

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3) Stunning visuals and animations

Jiaoqiu's ultimate animation (Image via HoYoverse)

Another reason to pull for Jiaoqiu in Honkai Star Rail is his mesmerizing animations. While it's mesmerizing, the animations are also quite amusing. During his skill animation, he throws various cooking ingredients such as Star anise which suits his character since he likes to cook.

Additionally, Jiaoqiu’s abilities, upon contact, light the enemy on fire. Moreover, his ultimate ability creates a gigantic hotpot, creating a firepool around the battlefield.

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4) Low chance of power creep

Jiaoqiu has a low chance of becoming a victim of power creep (Image via HoYoverse)

Since Honkai Star Rail is a gacha title, characters becoming the victim of power creep is quite common. The prime example is the old limited-time 5-star units such as Seele. However, the meta-defining characters usually have the lowest chance of getting power crept. Since Jiaoqiu is a support, there is a high chance he will not be power-creeped in future updates. One of the examples is Ruan Mei, who is still an SS-tier character in several activities.

If you have Acheron and are thinking of rolling for Jiaoqiu, you should definitely do so. Even if the former gets power-creeped, Jiaoqiu will still be viable due to his ability to make the enemies take more damage.

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5) Easy to build

One of Jiaoqiu's BiS Relic sets (Image via HoYoverse)

One of the reasons Trailblazers often skip characters is because of their complicated build. Due to their unique kit, some characters require multiple stats to completely utilize their abilities. As Jiaoqiu is a support character in Honkai Star Rail, the primary stat he needs is SPD and Effect Hit Rate, which are quite easy to acquire.

Moreover, Jiaoqiu does not deal any damage and his abilities mesh perfectly well without a good amount of investment. This implies players can just stick some Relics with the right stats and he can adequately utilize his abilities.