The contract-loving IPC agent, Jade, has finally made the transition from NPC to a playable character in Honkai: Star Rail. If you already own or are considering pulling for her, here’s the best build you use to make her shine.
Strongest Jade Build in Honaki: Star Rail
Jade is an Erudition Quantum character that focuses heavily on dishing out large amounts of AoE (Area of Effect) damage through her Basic and Follow-up attacks. You read that correctly: Jade is the first character in Honkai: Star Rail to feature a non-enhanced Basic attack with an AoE component. This signifies the focal point of AoE damage in her playstyle. Jade needs this AoE Basic and her unique skill, Acquistion Surety, to help her meet the requirements to launch her Follow-up attack, the most important aspect of her kit.
Acquisition Surety is a buffing skill that applies the target with a solid SPD (Speed) buff and a secondary buff called Debt Collector. When the designated Debt Collector attacks, Jade gains a stack toward her Follow-up attack based on the number of targets hit. Jade needs eight total stacks to launch her Follow-up, Ideally, the Debt Collector should be a character who can constantly hit several targets at once so Jade can build up stacks quickly. Jade can apply Debt Collector to herself in the worst-case scenario, but this is not ideal. Finally, Jade’s Ultimate, Vow of the Deep, damages all enemies on the field and enhances the next two Follow-ups she uses.
Jade’s single target damage is poor which is her greatest weakness, and no amount of gear investment will fix this issue. However, an Eidolon does significantly improve performance, but I’ll get that shortly.
Best Relics for Jade
Jade is a relatively straightforward character, especially when compared to several of the more recently released ones. Jade is an AoE Follow-up attacker, first and foremost, so it is ideal to gear her toward her specific niche. For Relics, I highly recommend using The Ashblazing Grand Duke 4-piece set. Both components of the set empower her Follow-up attacks nicely.
For her Planetary Set, Duran, Dynasty of Running Wolves is her ideal so long as you are using another Follow-up attacker with her to gain the actual effect. This set is useless if she is not running with another Follow-up character. In this scenario, Inert Salsotto is always a solid fallback that is always active no matter the situation or team composition. Speaking of which…
Best Team Comp for Jade
Jade needs to play with characters that deal AoE damage, or attack often so she quickly gains her Follow-up stacks. Her best team compositions focus heavily on these two factors making her best teammates Blade, Robin, and Aventurine. Additionally, characters like Clara, Herta, and Himeko provide significant advantages to her in the right game mode.
Blade has a unique synergy with Jade because the Debt Collector loses a small amount of HP every time they attack. This is, naturally, a large benefit for Blade, which is why Blade is her best pairing by far. Since Blade also has an AoE Follow-up attack himself, Blade rewards Jade with several stacks every time he uses it.
Robin is a natural benefit to practically every team in Honkai: Star Rail, and that does not change for Jade. Robin’s 100% Turn Forward Ultimate helps Jade get more stacks, regardless of who is the Debt Collector. Her teamwide buffs also benefit Jade in every regard.
Aventurine is often a very strong target for Jade’s Debt Collector because of how frequently he is able to make use of his own Follow-up attack, which is also a mass AoE. Every time it’s used, Jade gains stacks, while Jade remains protected due to his incredible shielding.
Clara is a great target for Debt Collector because she can use her Follow-up attack every time she is attacked, which rewards Jade with stacks. When Clara’s Ultimate is active, she will give Jade even more stacks per attack.
Hertha/Himeko are both incredibly strong characters for Jade if you’re playing Pure Fiction because of how often they can attack every single enemy on the screen—the perfect recipe for Debt Collector.
Should you get Jade’s Lightcone in Honkai: Star Rail?
While I won’t say that Jade requires her Lightcone, I do highly recommend grabbing it if you can. Her Lightcone, Yet Hope is Priceless, provides a slew of valuable stats that greatly improve her performance, including CRIT Rate, Follow-up Attack damage, and Defense Shred. With it, she becomes far easier to build, which may be worth it alone.
If you don’t want to grab her Lightcone, then Himeko’s signature Night on the Milky Way can be a functional alternative, though not nearly as good.
Best Eidolons for Jade in Honkai: Star Rail
While Jade is functional without any of her Eidolons, they make her significantly more powerful in all regards including effectively eliminating her single target weakness. If you’re planning to nab a few, then know that her E1, E4, and E6 are all significant boosts to her performance. A strong stopping point is E1, however, due to it being the Eidolon that fixes her core limitations.
- Altruism? Nevertheless Tradable (E1) – Jade’s Follow-up damage is greatly improved, and she always receives a minimum of three stacks toward her Follow-up counter, regardless of the number of targets hit. This means that Jade no longer suffers against single-target encounters which is monstrous for the design of her standard kit. She also will just do more damage with this Eidolon. Very, very strong.
- Morality? Herein Authenticated (E2) – When Jade has 15 stacks of Pawned Asset, her CRIT Rate is boosted by 18%. Pawned Asset is an extra buff Jade gets automatically by playing normally. The CRIT Rate buff is pretty nice, but a proper build won’t have issues with CRIT anyway.
- Honestly? Soon Mortgaged (E3) – A buff to her Skill and Talent, which means a buff to her Follow-up attack. This is a good Eidolon on the way to reaching E4.
- Sincerity? Put Option Only (E4) – Jade ignores 12% of any enemies she hits after using her Ultimate. This lasts for three turns following the Ultimate. While this may seem meager on paper, remember that Follow-up attacks can happen in between turns. With enough stacks being fed, this Eidolon will make Jade do significantly more damage overall.
- Hope? Hitherto Forfeited (E5) – Boosts to Jade’s Ultimate and Basic attacks. Nice, but far from required. A stepping stone.
- Equity? Pending Sponsorship (E6) – Jade gains 20% Quantum Resistance Penetration and always has the Debt Collector status. This Eidolon massively improves the frequency of Jade’s Follow-up attacks because, with it, she can increase her stacks while still having Debt Collector on another teammate. Her overall damage will skyrocket with this.
