Should you pull J?

This one is a definite maybe, which is a nice respite from the slew of meta characters we received in 1.8 and Anniversary. J is good, don’t get us wrong, and he has a few very powerful and fun teams, but he isn’t going to deal the most damage, he isn’t going to hyperbuff your team nor is he going to make it unkillable

J is a 6-star Arcanist of the Beast Afflatus. Somewhere between Carry and Support, J's kit is focused around Counters and Burn, using both to deal consistent Mass DMG and apply sizable shields to the entire team.

From his passives, J inflicts [Burn] on himself whenever he applies it to an enemy, gaining an amount of ATK based on the amount of stacks on himself and taking reduced damage from [Burn]. In addition, while affected by [Burn], J is immune to [Freeze]/[Cold] and while below 50% HP, he dispels all non [Burn] statuses from himself to gain Crit Rate at the start of the round.

But how to apply [Burn]? That's done through "Heat Treating". This Incantation applies a 2 turn shield to all allies, it's size scaling with the amount of [Burn] stacks on J. Whenever enemies attack allies that carry J's shields, he counters with "Tempering", which is a Mass attack that deals Reality DMG scaling with J's Lost HP and inflicts [Burn].

Then there's "Hardness Testing", which is a 1-target attack that inflicts [Burn] and grants allies a +DMG Dealt buff that scales with the amount of [Burn] stacks on J.

Finally, "Over The Haight Street" is a Mass attack that inflicts [Burn] on enemies equal to the amount of [Burn] on J before it lands, with every excess [Burn] stack increasing the damage dealt of this attack.

Gameplay

Though he's not exactly punished for having [Burn], not reliably being able to be used with characters like 6 and Vila is a pretty steep price, as a majority of his kit revolves around either being low HP or having a lot of [Burn] applied to himself.

Beyond that, there's only good stuff here. All of his Counters (which he can trigger individually per ally, even on Mass attacks from enemies) count as Extra Attacks, allowing him to fuel FUA based teams. In addition, his extremely consistent [Burn] application provides solid support for [Burn] and [Neg Status] based teams, and his damage scaling with Lost HP allows him to slot into HP Loss comps with Semmelweis, Kakania and shielders. Him providing his own Crit Rate and +DMG Dealt buffs makes him remarkably self-sufficient and his chunky 2-turn shields also help provide additional survivability, though his immunity to [Freeze] is kind of unremarkable.

In other words, he is a "niche" jack of all trades, focusing on dealing with aggressive enemies that cast a lot of incantations.

Pros & Cons

J works fine at P0.

Depending on what you plan to use him for, you can either go for P1 or P2 if you want to improve his damage output or P3 if you want to include bigger shields.

J provides ample synergies given his generalist kit. His large amounts of FUAs help units like 37 and Ms. NewBabel (Euphoria), his access to loads of [Burn] helps Spathodea, Isolde, Lopera and even Tuesday while his large shields (especially when paired with Ms. NewBabel) give him a way into HP Loss teams with Eternity (Euphoria) and Semmelweis.

Notable synergies include:

37

Isolde

Semmelweis

Spathodea

Future notable synergies:

Tuesday

Lopera

Ms. NewBabel

Eternity

Here are the best Psychubes you can use on J:

The Unbearable Lightness

Knock on the Door

Blasphemer of Night

Standard Teams

Flaming Doritos[GLB]

Damage Dealer

Support

Sustain

TEAM EXPLANATION

• 4th slot options: 37
• Mass DMG oriented team for tough Limbos and Mass DMG fights like Isle Master, Bellows of the Earth or Projection of Nightmare. The idea is that J simultaneously helps Isolde stack [Heat] while also charging 37’s “Supplementary Formula”; once Isolde hits [Interlude], her constant FUAs will also help quicken 37’s [Eureka] generation. Kakania is here to provide some sustain while allowing J’s shields to take the mainstage in terms of survival so his HP is kept low to maximize the damage of “Tempering”.

Deathbed Warriors[CN]

Damage Dealer

Support

Sustain

TEAM EXPLANATION

• 4th slot options: Semmelweis
• The first proper HP Loss team comes to thee by the graces of the Euphoria system. With their Euphoria 1 unlocked, NewBabel can overcap J’s shields to massive sizes, ensuring that the team is kept safe regardless of the amount of HP they ultimately have; Eternity also turns into a potent Support, providing a slew of crit buffs scaling with HP Loss which is something Semmelweis does for DMG Bonus. This all ensures that J’s “Tempering” deals the most amount of damage, all while the team itself consumes very little AP due to Ms NewBabel and Semmelweis’ damage potential coming almost entirely from FUAs (just like J).