Build for Hu Tao - Weapons, Artifacts, Teams and More

Hu Tao is one of the oldest characters in the game, being released basically at the beginning of it, and to this day, she’s extremely relevant and popular among players. It’s undeniable that some recently released DPSs, such as Arlecchino, may have surpassed the damage of our beloved gravedigger, but, with the right set and statistics, you won’t fall behind any other damage-focused character in the game.

And, as the highest floors of the Spiral Abyss are made in two phases with the need for two teams, there's nothing better than having her and another powerful DPS on your account, right? So, if you have that Hu Tao sitting quietly in the corner writing her eccentric poems, it's time to dust her off and let her incinerate her enemies on the field with all her power. And, if you have any questions, just leave a comment.

Hu Tao is the 77th and current director of Wangsheng Funeral Home, a traditional establishment in Liyue, who takes care of burials in the Nation like no one else. Although she’s eccentric and a bit airy, walking around at night composing strange poems or talking to the lion statues in front of the Ministry of Civil Affairs headquarters, there is no one better suited for the job than her.

Since she was little, she followed all the funeral rites performed by the funeral home, alongside her grandfather, and learned to perform them perfectly. As much as everyone finds her strangely amusing and, at times, a little scary, everyone blindly trusts that she will perform the ceremonies with all the respect that the dead deserve.

Hu Tao was very attached to her grandfather, and when he passed away, she embarked on a difficult journey to reach the point where souls cross from the material to the immaterial plane, hoping to be able to speak to her grandfather's soul one last time, but, when she got there, she didn't find him at all.

Saddened, she waited for days for her grandfather to appear, almost dying of hunger, until the soul of an old lady told her that she would never find him there, as no director at Wangsheng Funeral Home ever left any business unfinished. Understanding that her grandfather was at peace, she received her Vision and returned to her home, taking over her family's business.

Hu Tao is well liked by everyone and is always close to Zhongli, who works as her consultant. The only people who have a disagreement with her are Dr. Baizhu and his protégé, the little zombie, Qiqi. Hu Tao thought that Qiqi should be buried and left in peace, but when she understood that her life, even though it was a living death, was too precious, she stopped chasing the little zombie. Qiqi still doesn't fully trust Hu Tao, but both she and Baizhu have already forgiven her.

When Hu Tao was released, her build was very restricted, as there were not enough artifacts and weapons in the game, with the Crimson Witch of Flames being practically mandatory and using anything else was a “crime” for the community.

However, over time she’s gained a lot more variety in terms of the playstyles you can choose from. Things changed a lot when the Shimenawa Reminiscence artifact set was released with the Version 2.0 update.

Hu Tao's Elemental Skill is the “icing on the cake” of most of her kit, as it gives Pyro infusion to your Basic Attacks and gives an extra ATK bonus based on his Max HP. These attacks can be used to constantly deal Pyro damage to enemies, but you also have to lose 30% of your health every time the Elemental Skill is used. She regains some health when she uses her Elemental Burst, but this may not always be necessary.

Regarding artifact statistics, Hu Tao will always need a lot of HP, both to stay alive and to exchange for ATK bonuses. So, always go for HP in the Sands or Elemental Mastery if you can't get good HP. Goblet go towards Bonus Pyro Damage and in the Circlet, Damage or Critical Rate, no mistake. The substats are the same too: HP, Critical Damage Rate and Mastery.

Regarding Talents, just like all other Genshin Impact characters, Hu Tao has three active talents that can be improved up to level ten. However, she’s one of the characters that consumes the most resources, since it’s essential to improve all of her skills. The Elemental Skill should be prioritized as it offers the greatest damage increase.

After that, Normal Attacks can be improved to increase their damage even further. Finally, you can improve your Elemental Burst up to level six if you are using a build with the Shimenawa Reminiscence set, or take it up to level ten for a build with Crimson Witch of Flames.

Generic DPS Build

This is a generic DPS build for Hu Tao, where you may not be able to get the most value, but it will be the most comfortable option to use in any situation. The Crimson Witch of Flames is an ideal early game artifact set, offering bonus Pyro Damage as well as increased damage based on elemental reactions, which is where her kit really shines.

With this build, you can use her Elemental Skill multiple times and perform the Charged Attack combo until her Elemental Burst is ready, then use it to restore some of her health and keep hitting. However, keep in mind that you won't want to recover too much health, as her damage increases considerably when she is below 50% HP. Naturally, her exclusive weapon, the Staff of Homa is the one that works best in this context.

You can still use the Blackcliff Pole or the Deathmatch to get good stats, although it’s not as effective as your signature weapon.

Build based on Elemental Skill

As previously mentioned, Hu Tao's Elemental Skill is her main source of damage, allowing her to make a significant impact with her Normal Attacks, even surpassing the damage potential of her Ultimate. Therefore, this build focuses on maximizing damage in charged attack situations after activating the Elemental Skill.

Here you will prefer to use four pieces of Shimenawa Reminiscence instead of the Crimson Witch of Flames. And as weapons, Staff of Homa is still the best choice, but Ballad of the Fjords or Dragon's Bane also works.

However, this increase in damage comes at a cost: it consumes 15 points of Elemental Burst Energy, which makes it practically impossible to use it to heal the character during battle. Although this build increases damage potential compared to generic DPS, it also requires a Support character who can protect Hu Tao, such as Zhongli or Diona.

Teams for Hu Tao

A great team composition for Hu Tao is to pair her up with a Hydro character like Yelan to activate Vaporization reactions, which drastically increases her damage by taking advantage of her powerful Charged Attack.

Zhongli, as a support, is ideal for protecting her with strong shields, as Hu Tao needs to keep her health low to maximize damage, and he prevents her from being interrupted or defeated easily. Don't use healers, as you want to keep her at low HP and her Burst recovers HP.

Finally, adding a Cryo character, such as Ganyu, or Dendro, such as Nahida, who creates additional reactions or helps with field control, as well as keeping the team flexible to different enemies, maximizing the team's damage potential and resistance.

A F2P version of this team could be Xinqiu, Diona or Noelle, Rosaria or Kaeya, and for Dendro, you could go with Yaoyao (although she'll want to keep healing) or Collei.

A quick tip to maximize the potential of her Charged Attack is to use animation cancels. To perform this technique, press the jump or dodge button immediately after performing the Charged Attack to interrupt the animation.

Jump cancellation works especially well, especially at C0, as it helps save energy for dodging or moving during combat. On the other hand, dodge cancellation allows you to reposition yourself while attacking, but it’s best used after unlocking C-1, as it consumes a lot of energy.