This page is part of IGN's Genshin Impact Wiki guide and details everything you need to know aboutHu Tao, which includes a full character overview, how to obtain Hu Tao, combat details, talents, and skill upgrade priorities, a recommended character build, and much more.
Want to skip to a specific section? Click on one of these links!
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- How to Get Hu Tao
- Hu Tao Gameplay Overview
- Hu Tao's Talents and Skill Priorities
- Hu Tao Talent Discussion
- Hu Tao's Constellations
- Best Weapons for Hu Tao
- Best Artifacts for Hu Tao
- Teambuilding with Hu Tao
Want to see how Hu Tao compares to other characters in Genshin Impact? Check out our complete Genshin Impact Tier List that ranks every character from Best to Worst.
How to Get Hu Tao
Hu Tao is the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. She's a very bright girl often with philosophical ways of thinking about life. However, she like playing pranks on other people and her humor can give a negative impression of her.
Hu Tao is a 5-star character who debuted in her character banner called "Moment of Bloom". She is occasionally rerun on limited banners, usually between Halloween and mid-February.
| Hu Tao | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rarity: | 5-Star | Guides | |||
| Element: | Pyro | Ascension Materials coming soon! | |||
| Weapon: | Polearm | ||||
Hu Tao Gameplay Overview
Hu Tao is widely considered to be among the best on-field Pyro DPS characters in the game. She deals the majority of her damage with her Charged Attacks buffed by her Skill, in which she infuses her Normal and Charged Attacks with Pyro while adding HP-scaling to her attacks. Therefore, HP% will be more beneficiall to Hu Tao than ATK%.
Paired with an off-field Hydro DPS like Xingqiu or Yelan, Hu Tao can maximize her damage with powerful Vaporized Charged Attacks. Learning how to consistently create Elemental Reactions with Hydro is essential to Hu Tao's gameplay. You might want to check out the Comprehensive Guide to Elemental Reactions.
You should focus on the following stats for Hu Tao (in no particular order):
- HP%
- Elemental Mastery
- Pyro, Normal, and/or Charged Attack DMG%
- CRIT Rate/DMG
The main drawback of Hu Tao is that she requires tight gameplay and rewards you the higher her Max HP is, but the lower her actual HP is, meaning keeping her on the brink of death is necessary to gain the most possible damage out of her. Her attack combos also require dash-cancelling or jump-cancelling her Charged Attacks.
Hu Tao Attack Combos
Hu Tao doesn't care about using her Burst, so all you need to focus on is her Skill and Normal and Charged Attacks. Once Hu Tao takes the field, the Skill always comes first, as it gives Hu Tao the buff and Pyro infusion on her attacks.
There are four main attack patterns you should know to best navigate Hu Tao's damage.
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- Two quick Normal Attacks, immediately followed by a Charged Attack, with the Charged Attack animation cancelled mid-way by a jump (C0) or dash (C1).
- The moment you see a red cone of elemental energy from her Charged Attack, it is safe to animation-cancel.
- One quick Normal Attack immediately followed by a Charged Attack, animation cancelled mid-way by a jump (C0) or dash (C1)
Animation cancelling helps maximize the number of buffed Charged Attacks Hu Tao can deploy while temporarily buffed by her Skill. It is not strictly requiried, but strongly recommended.
Hu Tao Talent Discussion
Check the notes in the far-right column for extra details and tips for the following talents!
| Type | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack: Spear of Wangsheng |
| The majority of her damage; even though Hu Tao's Skill buffs the Normal Attacks, levelling the Normal Attack first will yield better results per talent level.The key, again, is to use Charged Attacks after short Normal Attack chains, cancelled by a dash or jump. |
| Elemental Skill: Guide to Afterlife | Hu Tao consumes a portion of her HP to knock the surrounding enemies back and enter the Paramita Papilio state. Paramita Papilio
Blood Blossom
Paramita Papilio ends when its duration is over, or Hu Tao has left the battlefield or fallen. | The Blood Blossom here is nowhere near as useful as the buffs the Skill provides to Hu Tao's Normal and Charged Attacks. The interruption resistance provided is welcome, as every moment Hu Tao can attack uninterrupted turns into more DPS for your team. It should be levelled alongside the Normal Attack talent, but as previously stated, if you had to focus on one at a time, Normal Attack talent is the way to go. |
| Elemental Burst: Spirit Soother | Commands a blazing spirit to attack, dealingPyroDMG in a large AoE. Upon striking the enemy, regenerates a percentage of Hu Tao's Max HP. This effect can be triggered up to 5 times, based on the number of enemies hit. If Hu Tao's HP is below or equal to 50% when the enemy is hit, both the DMG and HP Regeneration are increased. | The weakest (damaging) talent. When used every rotation, it is actually a DPS LOSS. Thus, building Energy Recharge is not recommended. This frees up room for Hu Tao to invest in offensive stats like CRIT, Elemental Mastery, or HP% |
| First Ascension Passive: Flutter By | When a Paramita Papilio state activated by Guide to Afterlife ends, all allies in the party (excluding Hu Tao herself) will have their CRIT Rate increased by 12% for 8s. | Anything that gives characters CRIT stats is good and worth acquiring. Luckily, you get this just by levelling Hu Tao up, which you should be doing anyways. |
| Fourth Ascension Passive: Sanguine Rouge | When Hu Tao's HP is equal to or less than 50%, herPyroDMG Bonus is increased by 33%. | Essential for maximizing Hu Tao's damage. 33% is close to having an extra Pyro DMG% Goblet stapled to Hu Tao. |
| Passive Talent: The More the Merrier | When Hu Tao cooks a dish perfectly, she has a 18% chance to receive an additional "Suspicious" dish of the same type. | Not a very usefull Passive Talent. Suspicious dishes are worse than other dishes, and you'd be better off using a free character like Barbara for cooking to simply receive more of the same product. |
Hu Tao's Constellations
Hu Tao's constellations improves her overall DPS with almost all of her constellations adding a big chunk to it. C1 is extremely powerful, and is as important (or even more important) than getting her signature weapon, Staff of Homa. C, of course, is her most powerful constellation.
| Constellation Name | In-Game Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crimson Bouquet (C1) | While in a Paramita Bouquet state activated by Guide to Afterlife, Hu Tao's Charge Attacks do not consume Stamina. | One of Hu Tao's strongest constellations, as stamina is a bottleneck for Hu Tao's Charged Attacks. Without having to worry about stamina, you are more free to dodge while having greater ability to cram more Charged Attacks into Hu Tao's Skill duration. |
| Ominous Rainfall (C2) | Increases the Blood Blossom DMG by an amount equal to 10% of Hu Tao's Max HP at the time the effect is applied. Additionally, Spirit Soother will also apply the Blood Blossom effect. | Blood Blossom is not a very important part of Hu Tao's damage, so this is not worth aiming for. It's useful, but you're better off rolling for Staff of Homa at this point for greater damage gains. |
| Lingering Carmine (C3) | Increases the level of Guide to Afterlife by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | Generic talent buff on a useful talent. Not amazing, but you can't go wrong with it. |
| Garden of Eternal Rest (C4) | Upon defeating an enemy affected by a Blood Blossom that Hu Tao applied herself, all nearby allies in the party (excluding Hu Tao herself) will have their CRIT rate increased by 12% for 15s. | CRIT buffs are extremely valuable. It enables your off-field DPS's that synergize with Hu Tao |
| Floral Incense (C5) | Increases the level of Spirit Soother by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. | Hu Tao's Burst is not important for her damage, so this constellation isn't worth shooting for. |
| Butterfly's Embrace (C6) | Triggers when Hu Tao's HP drops below 25%, or when she suffers a lethal strike: Hu Tao will not fall as a result of the DMG sustained. Additionally, for the next 10s, all of her Elemental and Physical RES is increased by 200%, her CRIT Rate is increased by 100%, and her resistance to interruption is greatly increased. This effect triggers automatically when Hu Tao has 1 HP left. Can only occur once every 60s. | Completely eliminates the need for building CRIT Rate, allowing you to focus purely on CRIT damage. It is an an absolutely massive damage buff while also making Hu Tao harder to knock out of combat. The fact it can trigger once per minute is also desirable for longer fights. |
Best Genshin Hu Tao Weapons
Hu Tao's signature weapon, Staff of Homa, is her best weapon. However, there are other contenders, especially with the release of some of Sumeru's weapons.
| Weapon Name | In-Game Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Staff of Homa 66.2% CRIT DMG | HP increased by20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on0.8% of the wielder's Max HP. When the wielder's HP is less than 50%, this ATK bonus is increased by an additional1% of Max HP. | Hu Tao's signature weapon and best-in-slot. It covers all the bases Hu Tao needs covered and is a generically good weapon on most polearm DPS's, even ones that don't care about their HP stat. |
| Staff of Scarlet Sands 44.1% CRIT Rate | The equipping character gains52%of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, the Dream of the Scarlet Sands effect will be gained for 10s: The equipping character will gain28%of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. Max 3 stacks. | Hu Tao cannot gain full stacks from the Staff of the Scarlet Sands, and yet it still manages to stay competitive with Homa, thanks to its high CRIT Rate and encouragement in building Elemental Mastery.An Elemental Mastery Sands is, thus, recommended when equipping this weapon. |
| Primordial Jade-Winged Spear 22.1% CRIT Rate | On hit, increases ATK by3.2%for 6s. Max 7 stacks. This effect can only occur once every 0.3s. While in possession of the maximum possible stacks, DMG dealt is increased by12%. | The ATK stat doesn't do much for Hu Tao, but it still manages to outdamage many 4-star options. It's also included on the Standard banner, so this weapon can show up at any time. You might just have an extra laying around! |
| Deathmatch 36.8% CRIT Rate | If there are at least 2 opponents nearby, ATK and DEF is increased by16-32% (R1-R5). If there are fewer than 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by24-48% (R1-R5). | You have to buy the Battle Pass in order to get this weapon, but it provides plenty of CRIT Rate, which makes building characters easier. The passive is decent on Hu Tao, and maximizes in efficiency in boss battles, which are becoming more common in Spiral Abyss. |
| Dragon's Bane 221 Elemental Mastery | Increases DMG against opponents affected by Hydro or Pyro by20-36% (R1-R5). | An excellent choice at R5, but be wary that Elemental Mastery buffs from other sources (like Yelan's Elegy for the End) will be diminished in value, as Elemental Mastery becomes less valuable on Hu Tao after 400. |
| White Tassel 23.4% CRIT Rate | Increases Normal Attack DMG by24-48% (R1-R5). | Can only be found in chests. This should be the bare minimum for Hu Tao. Despite its low ranking here, it is much better than most other 4-star weapons for Hu Tao. |
Best Genshin Hu Tao Artifacts
The main stats on your artifacts should be the following:
- Sands: HP% or Elemental Mastery (usually HP%)
- Goblet: Pyro DMG% Bonus
- Circlet: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG, depending on whatever gets you closer to a 75;150 CR;CD ratio.
Check the notes in the far-right column for strategies and details regarding the artifact set.
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| Artifact Name | In-Game Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4pc Crimson Witch of Flames | 2-piece effect: Pyro DMG Bonus +15%<br> 4-piece effect: Increases Overloaded and Burning DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using an Elemental Skill increases the 2-Piece Set Bonus by 50% of its starting value for 10s. Max 3 stacks. | The best possible choice for Hu Tao, as Vaporize reactions are a core part of her gameplay. It is also accessible through the artifact Strongbox at the alchemy workbench. |
| 4pc Shimenawa's Reminiscence | 2-piece effect: ATK +18% 4-piece effect: When casting Elemental Skill, if the character has 15 energy, 15 energy will be depleted and Normal/Charged/Plunging Attacks gain a 50% DMG bonus for 1 seconds. | Not as strong as Homa, but this dungeon is extremely resin-efficient to farm and can at least get comparable results. |
| 4pc Gilded Dreams | 2-piece effect: Elemental Mastery +8 4-piece effect: After triggering an elemental reaction, for each teammate of the same Element, +14% ATK. For each teammate of a different element, +50 Elemental Mastery | Very competitive with Homa. However, it suffers from the same drawback that the Dragon's Bane polearm does: outside Elemental Mastery buffs will be less powerful on Hu Tao.This is best used when Hu Tao is the only Pyro character on the team, so as to gain the full 230 Elmemental Mastery Bonus |
Genshin Hu Tao Teams
Hu Tao deals the majority of her damage thanks to elemental reactions. Thus, it's vital that she has a consistent way to amplify her damage for every Charged Attack she uses.
An ideal team would look something like this:
| Double Hydro | |||
| Hu Tao On-Field Pyro DPS | Yelan Off-field Hydro DPS | Zhongli Shield Support + Resistance Shred | Xingqiu Off-field Hydro DPS + Support |
The team slots highlighted in green are pretty much set in stone. If you use Hu Tao, you need Xingqiu. Xingqiu provides so many synergies with Hu Tao that you are taking a huge DPS loss by not using him. Xingqiu provides damage reduction, interruption resistance, and enough Hydro application on his Burst to ensure that every single Charged Attack can be Vaporized, resulting in 50% more damage + bonuses based on Hu Tao's current Elemental Mastery.
Yelan and Xingqiu are one of the most powerful two-character combinations in the game, and Hydro resonance gives everyone +25% HP, something every character above benefits from in their damage scaling.
Every team will use both Hu Tao and Xingqiu, but there are still other compositions, such as Double Geo and Double Cryo.
Every team, then, should consist of a few things:
- Hu Tao
- Xingqiu
- A shielder OR a buffer/debuffer (usually an Anemo character holding 4pc Viridescent Venerer)
- A character that provides a useful resonance and deals strong off-field damage, so a Geo, Cryo, or Hydro character.
Shielding Options
There are a few decent shield options. Shielding is important because Hu Tao's HP is meant to be kept low to increase her damage. Giving a shield keeps Hu Tao from dying while allowing her to keep her health low.
| Zhongli | The best shield in the game, and it's not close. Essentially makes Hu Tao indestructible. His shield also shreds the resistances of enemies against physical and elemental damage by 20%With another Geo unit who deals respectable off-field damage, the team will gain Geo Resonance, which increases shield strength, buffs DMG by 15% when protected by a shield, and lowering the Geo resistance of enemies hit with Geo attacks. |
| Layla | A Cryo shielder with the bonus of enhancing Normal and Charged Attacks after she has some constellations. With another Cryo unit who can apply Cryo rapidly off-field, the team will gain Cryo Resonance, increasing CRIT Rate against enemies affected by Cryo by 15% |
| Diona | A Cryo shielder who has a weak shield, but offers healing, movement speed and an Elemental Mastery buff, depending on her Constellations.With another Cryo unit who can apply Cryo rapidly off-field, the team will gain Cryo Resonance, increasing CRIT Rate against enemies affected by Cryo by 15% |
| Thoma | A Pyro shielder whose shield gets stronger as you Normal Attack; this is something that Hu Tao will be doing a lot anyways.With Hu Tao, the team gains Pyro resonance, which grants the entire team a 25% ATK bonus. However, most of Hu Tao's best teammates scale with HP, so this buff is not as valuable as it would be on other teams.The occasional Pyro application could also disrupt some of Hu Tao's Vaporized Charged Attacks. |
Other Options
Your last team slot should be occuppied by a buffer, debuffer, off-field DPS, or a character that can cover more than one of these roles.
| Yelan | Usually the best option alongside Xingqiu. They may appear redundant, due to both being off-field Hydro DPS's, but the Hydro resonance is extremely valuable, and Yelan and Xingqiu together can usually carry teams by themselves, even without Hu Tao's high damage output.Her Burst and Ascension Passives also buff Hu Tao's damage by a good amount. |
| Kazuha | Among the most contested teammates in the game, Kazuha is wanted on nearly every team. The Viridescent Venerer artifact set allows him to reduce Pyro or Hydro resistance, and his Burst offers an Elemental DMG bonus based on what elements are swirled.Use an Anemo character in place of a shielder, but only if you're confident you don't need a shielder. |
| Sucrose | Sucrose is the 4-star alternative to Kazuha, but she can do something that Kazuha can't: share a portion of her Elemental Mastery with the party. Since she usually has 800-1000 Elemental Mastery when built properly, she can add a massive amount of damage through both this and Swirls with Viridescent Venerer.Use an Anemo character in place of a shielder, but only if you're confident you don't need a shielder. |
| Albedo | Albedo is a generic off-field DPS that mainly deals damage with his Skill. He is only recommended if you are trying to build Geo Resonance with Hu Tao together with Zhongli. It is not advised to use him otherwise.Double Geo teams offer less damage than other options, but the most comfort in play. Choose Double Geo for "easy mode" Hu Tao gameplay. |
| Yunjin | Yunjin, instead of dealing damage off-field, buffs the Normal Attacks of teammates through the use of her Burst. This is mainly to buff Hu Tao further. It is recommended, then, that Hu Tao's default combo becomes two Normal Attacks and an animation-cancelled Charged Attack (repeatedly).Only use Yunjin if Zhongli is also on your team for the Geo resonance. |
| Kaeya | Everyone has Kaeya, and he provides off-field Cryo damage and application through his Burst, which orbits the active character. Since Hu Tao is at melee range, this is quite beneficial.It is only recommended to use Kaeya if you are also using a Cryo shielder on the team like Layla or Diona for the Cryo resonance. |
| Rosaria | Rosaria is an alternative to Kaeya. Her damage is exceptional off-field, but her Burst stays in one place. Thus, it's best to use Rosaria over Kaeya during boss battles where the boss doesn't move very much.It is only recommended to use Rosaria if you are also using Cryo shielder like Layla or Diona for the Cryo Resonance. |
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Up Next: Genshin Hu Tao Ascension Materials
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