QiuhuaBuild and Guide

Character Summary

Qiuhua is a single-target damage dealer with a kit design centered around her Scorch Mark mechanic, a debuff that stacks (up to 12) on enemy targets for each instance of Burn damage received. Qiuhua deals a powerful end-of-turn attack based on the number of Scorch Mark stacks present on the enemy, which then resets the stack count. Qiuhua’s performance is closely tied to how well her team can enable her stacks, and supported well, she delivers strong damage well worth the setup.

Character dupe performance is generally confined to its own section, but Qiuhua’s V6 performance deserves mention. Qiuhua’s dupes uncap her stack limit (at V3) and double the rate at which she applies them (at V6), substantially increasing her maximum damage output. While V6 is generally unattainable to the average player, Qiuhua(V6)’s prevalence in Gunsmoke as a premier support makes her common enough to warrant covering.

Fixed Keys

Fixed Keys core to Qiuhua’s function are:

• 02-01 - Prepared Meal: The additional 3 starting Confectance Index greatly improves Qiuhua’s tempo by allowing her to perform Skill 2 into Ultimate Skill on turn 1.

Fixed Keys of contextual relevance that supplement Qiuhua’s core function are:

• 02-03 - Flourishing Stove: Allows Qiuhua to tag an enemy with her Scorch Mark debuff at the start of turn, letting the team build stacks without having Qiuhua act first.

• 04-01 - Chopping Delight: Provides some degree of self-sufficiency to ease the burden on the team’s healers. Although Qiuhua herself has no way to apply Burn-type tiles, she is generally always played alongside Vector, who has no shortage of ways to set the map on fire.

• 04-03 - Fragrant Stir-Fry: Provides a source of Overburn, which can trigger her and other team members’ Wise Support attacks. For players without Qiongjiu V3, this can help out quite a bit.

Mod Key

As of writing, Qiuhua does not yet have a Mod Key.

Character Function

Qiuhua is the capstone that finishes off the Qiongjiu-Vector “Burn” team with a flashy damage dealer centerpiece. Building off the existing synergy, Qiongjiu’s Burn damage Action Supports feed into Qiuhua’s stacking Scorch Mark passive self-buff to significantly boost Qiuhua’s damage. To briefly cover the mechanic, and how it changes with dupes:

Scorch Mark is applied on enemy targets through Qiuhua’s:

• Ultimate skill, to all enemies hit by its 3 tile radius AOE

• Fixed key, to the enemy with the highest HP, on a 2 turn cooldown

Once the Scorch Mark debuff has been applied, it will:

• (At V0) Gain 1 stack for each instance of Burn damage received, up to 12 stacks

• (At V3) Gain 1 stack for each instance of Burn damage received, for unlimited stacks

• (At V6) Gain 2 stacks for each instance of Burn damage received, for unlimited stacks

• Reset its stack count once Qiuhua has performed her end-of-action attack

For each stack of Scorch Mark:

• (At V0) Increase the damage multiplier on Qiuhua’s end-of-turn attack by +7% ATK per stack, for up to 12 stacks

• (At V6) Increase the damage multiplier on Qiuhua’s end-of-turn attack by +10% ATK per stack, for unlimited stacks

• (Additional effect, at V3) Increase Qiuhua’s ATK by +1% per stack, for each stack beyond the first 10 stacks

Character Synergies

Qiuhua is most prominently featured in Qiongjiu-Vector “Burn” teams, where she serves as a core damage dealer for the team. These “Burn” teams refer to comps built around the Qiongjiu-Vector damage core and forgo a second damage pairing (e.g., Tololo-Springfield) to instead push damage through maximizing the value of Vector’s Burn buffs by using more Burn characters (i.e., Qiuhua, Sharkry, Peri). 

To briefly cover Qiuhua(V6)’s team:

• The traditional “Burn” team consists of Qiongjiu-Vector(V1)-Centaureissi-Peri-Qiuhua(V6). Within the team, Peri exists as an enabler for Qiuhua(V6); Peri’s Burn damage Basic Attacks feed into Qiuhua(V6)’s stacking passive self-buff to significantly boost Qiuhua(V6)’s damage.

• Sharkry’s Mod Key changes her Wise Support damage type from Physical to Burn. Sharkry is enabled by Qiongjiu(V3). This allows Sharkry to build stacks for Qiuhua(V6) while simultaneously dealing damage, replacing Peri in the team.

• Substituting Peri for Sharkry, Qiongjiu(V3)-Vector(V1)-Centaureissi-Sharkry-Qiuhua(V6) outperforms the traditional setup. However, this new team doesn’t proc all instances of Qiongjiu(V3) Action Support; there is untapped damage potential here.

• Substituting Centaureissi for Andoris, Qiongjiu(V3)-Vector(V1)-Andoris-Sharkry-Qiuhua(V6) further improves damage on account of Qiongjiu(V3) now triggering all 6 instances of her Action Support.

Qiuhua(V6) outputs a staggering amount of damage but she is entirely dependent on her team to provide the Burn attacks needed for her stack mechanic. This ties Qiuhua(V6) to her “mono-Burn” team and greatly limits her teambuilding options. This can create issues down the line, when the only way to increase the team’s damage is through directly powercreeping one of the team’s members in their role within the team.

Vertebrae Breakpoints

SSR characters are reviewed at V0/V1 strength. However, for those especially dedicated players, it is worth noting Qiuhua’s significant dupe powerspikes at:

• V3: Removes the maximum stack limit on Scorch Mark to uncap her damage potential.

• V6: As covered above, V6 is the basis for Qiuhua’s dominant presence in Gunsmoke as a single-target damage monster. V6 builds on Scorch Mark by doubling stack gain (from +1/ trigger to +2/ trigger) and increasing the damage dealt per stack. Together, these upgrades result in a substantial boost to her overall damage.

Fixed Keys core to Qiuhua’s function are:

• 02-01 - Prepared Meal: The additional 3 starting Confectance Index greatly improves Qiuhua’s tempo by allowing her to perform Skill 2 into Ultimate Skill on turn 1.

Fixed Keys of contextual relevance that supplement Qiuhua’s core function are:

• 02-03 - Flourishing Stove: Allows Qiuhua to tag an enemy with her Scorch Mark debuff at the start of turn, letting the team build stacks without having Qiuhua act first.

• 04-01 - Chopping Delight: Provides some degree of self-sufficiency to ease the burden on the team’s healers. Although Qiuhua herself has no way to apply Burn-type tiles, she is generally always played alongside Vector, who has no shortage of ways to set the map on fire.

• 04-03 - Fragrant Stir-Fry: Provides a source of Overburn, which can trigger her and other team members’ Wise Support attacks. For players without Qiongjiu V3, this can help out quite a bit.

Attachment Bonus

1. Phase Strike: Deals 15% increased damage to targets with Phase Element debuffs.

2. [Elemental] Boost: When dealing [Elemental] damage, the damage is increased by 20%.

Phase Strike is the standard set across all characters due to its universal compatibility and negligible damage difference compared to [Elemental] Boost sets. The 5% difference between +15% Phase Strike and +20% [Elemental] Boost translates to only a 1~3% overall damage increase. Farming new sets and calibrating existing ones both demand stamina; by focusing on fewer shared Phase Strike sets, players can allocate more stamina towards attachment calibration for higher attachment quality and better overall performance.

Attachment Substat Priority

Crit DMG% >= ATK% > Flat ATK > Crit Rate

Important! There is already more than enough damage within the character roster to meet the damage thresholds to clear at-level content. Endlessly rerolling calibration% in pursuit of incremental higher numbers has minimal impact on actual gameplay performance. To the average player, attachment calibration min-maxing is unnecessary.