Roco Kingdom Best Starter: Which Jini to Pick

Quick answer: Shuilanlan is the safest starter, Huohua is the fastest, and Miaomiao is the most flexible. Dimo is the showcase Jini many new players meet first, but its long-term role is less documented. If you want one pick and no second thoughts, take the Water starter: it answers the Fire-heavy early zones, stays useful in the first boss fights, and is easy to pair with almost anything.

The Short Answer

None of these picks can ruin your run. The gap between starters is smaller than the gap between a player who switches on bad matchups and one who does not.

Huohua — The Fire Pick

Huohua is the tempo choice. Fire hits Flora, Ice and Insect hard, and the early provinces are full of Flora spawns. That means fewer turns per fight and a faster route through the first quest chain.

The cost is the symmetric chart. The same Jinies Huohua beats can hit it back for the same multiplier, so a Fire lead invites Fire counters. You will need a Water or Earth partner early, and you will need to learn when to switch instead of trading.

Pick Huohua if: you want the fastest opening and do not mind switching.

Avoid Huohua if: you like to leave one Jini in for the whole fight.

Shuilanlan — The Safe Pick

Shuilanlan is the recommendation for most players. Water covers the Fire and Earth Jinies that punish a Fire start, and it is not hard-walled by any early zone. It also pairs naturally with the two most common second catches: a Flora body and an Electric attacker.

The trade-off is that Water is rarely the flashiest option. It wins by covering holes rather than by one-shotting a boss. In a beta where you are learning the map, that consistency is worth more than highlight damage.

Pick Shuilanlan if: you want a starter you will not regret after the first province.

Avoid Shuilanlan if: you already know you want a Fire-first playstyle and plan to catch a Water Jini immediately.

Miaomiao — The Balanced Pick

Miaomiao is the classic "not wrong" starter. It does not have the strongest matchup spread on paper, but it also does not fold to a single common element. That makes it the easiest starter to keep in a six-slot team while you experiment.

For new players, Miaomiao is a good choice because it teaches the value of a reliable mid-slot: you are not winning with a gimmick, you are winning with coverage and switching. Its evolution line is also reachable in normal play, which matters in a short beta.

Pick Miaomiao if: you want one Jini that stays useful while you learn.

Avoid Miaomiao if: you want the fastest possible early clear.

Dimo — The Showcase Option

Dimo is one of six Jinies Tencent shows individually on the official site and the only one with published dimensions (0.54–0.78 m, 5.5–7 kg). That treatment suggests a mascot role, and Light is a useful element in the beta's later regions.

What we do not have is a published stat line or skill list. Dimo is therefore a "test it yourself" pick: flexible and visually distinctive, but not something to recommend as the optimal starter until the global build documents its kit.

Pick Dimo if: you want the official mascot and do not care about min-maxing a wiped beta.

What Actually Matters More Than the Starter

1. Your second catch. A starter plus one different element is a real team; a starter alone is not.
2. Switching discipline. The chart is symmetric, so every lead has a bad matchup.
3. Evolution access. A starter whose line evolves in normal play stays relevant longer. See the evolution guide.
4. Coverage, not tiers. A B-tier Jini that answers your starter's weakness is worth more than a duplicate S-tier. The tier list explains the method.

Can You Get the Other Starters Later?

In the Chinese build, the unchosen starters are not simply gone forever — they can be obtained through later systems and events rather than the opening choice. The global beta's exact rules are not documented. Treat your first pick as your only guaranteed starter for the test, and do not assume you can catch the others in the first week.

If you want to test all three, the practical route is to play the opening three times on separate accounts, not to expect a swap. That is a lot of tutorial for a beta that wipes.

FAQ

What is the best starter in Roco Kingdom? Shuilanlan is the safest for most players, Huohua is the fastest, and Miaomiao is the most flexible. Dimo is the showcase pick but has less documented long-term value.

Can I change my starter? No free swap is documented in the opening hours. Plan to live with your pick for the beta.

Is Dimo a starter? Dimo is officially showcased and appears early, but the Chinese build's starter triad is Huohua, Shuilanlan and Miaomiao. The global beta's opening may differ.

Does the starter matter at launch? Less than most guides imply. Any starter can clear the story; the difference is how quickly you learn to cover its weakness.

Sources

Roco Kingdom on Steam · Official site · Quack Quack Test FAQ

Related Guides

• Beginner guide for the first hours
• Provisional tier list
• Full Jini list
• How evolution works