Best Hu Tao Build Guide in Genshin Impact

Here is everything you need to know to build Hu Tao, the 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, in Genshin Impact. As one of the best Pyro DPS in the game, Hu Tao has a lot going for her and you can learn her best teams, weapons, aritfacts sets and more here.

Best Hu Tao Build Guide in Genshin ImpactHu Tao quickly became a fan-favourite character in Genshin Impact after her introduction, with her notoriety only increasing month after month. As the esteemed head of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, Hu Tao is an important figure in Liyue known by all for her strange ways and unique mannerisms. Quirky and upbeat, Hu Tao is one of Genshin Impact’s strangest and most beloved 5-Star units.

Armed with a Polearm and a Pyro Vision, Hu Tao is unlike any other character in the game. With a gameplay loop built around having as low HP as possible to maximise damage, she can be tricky to build around if you don’t know what to do. Having the right weapons, artifacts and team compositions are extremely important to not only make Hu Tao as strong as possible but allow her to stay alive long enough to do her job. 

Here is everything you need to know about the best Hu Tao builds in Genshin Impact. This includes knowing her best weapons, what order you prioritise her skills, whether her Constellations are worthwhile, her best team compositions and more. This is an updated version of the previous Hu Tao guide released in 2021.

Want more Genshin Impact builds and guides? You can find more here on KeenGamer:

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  2. Genshin Impact Yaoyao Best Build Guide
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  4. Genshin Impact: All Desert of Hadramaveth Shrine of Depths Locations
  5. Genshin Impact: Ayamiya (Yoimiya + Ayaka) Genius Invokation TCG Deck Guide

Hu Tao General Information

Who is Hu Tao from Genshin Impact?

Hu Tao was first introduced to Genshin Impact in Version 1.3 as the 77th Director of Liyue’s Wangsheng Funeral Parlour. Her personality does not befit her station, as she is a mischievous and surprisingly peppy girl for someone who deals with the dead. Knowledgable on all manner of ghouls, ghosties and rites in Liyue, Hu Tao doesn’t shy away from much, preferring to use her natural charisma to help serve Wangsheng as best as she can. 

In combat, Hu Tao wields a Polearm and a Pyro Vision. As a 5-Star unit, she is one of the strongest main DPS in the entire game, capable of clearing bosses and mobs alike with ease. Whether it’s trying to offer discounts for coffins or beating down bandits around Wuwang Hill, Hu Tao is persistent, cunning and nearly inescapable. 

“When the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is performing important rites, we appreciate it if people keep a respectful distance away from the proceedings.

But if you insist on gatecrashing a funeral… Well, I’m sure we can squeeze you in somewhere…”

Character Demo – Hu Tao: Let the Living Beware

How to Get Hu Tao

Hu Tao is one of Genshin Impact’s non-mainstay banner 5-Star units. This means that, unlike characters such as Jean or Keqing, Hu Tao can only be obtained whenever her exclusive banner returns to the game.

So far, Hu Tao has returned and reran 2 times since her initial release:

  • Moment of Bloom (Hu Tao’s First Banner): March 2nd, 2021 to March 16th, 2021 
  • Moment of Bloom (Rerun): November 2nd, 2021 to November 23rd, 2021
  • Moment of Bloom (Second Rerun): February 7th, 2023 to February 28th, 2023
Moment of Bloom

Moment of Bloom

Hu Tao Ascension Materials and Costs

To raise Hu Tao to her maximum Ascension Level, you need: 

  • Silk Flowers (Liyue Speciality)
  • Agnidus Agate Gemstones (Pyro Elemental Gemstones)
  • Whopperflower Nectar (Enemy Drop)
  • Juvenile Jade (World Boss Drop)

The Silk Flower is a Liyue-exclusive plant that will help Hu Tao reach her maximum potential. You can identify these by their distinct pink buds and crimson leaves, and they grow in several areas of prominence (specifically near the Yujing Terrace in Liyue Harbour and outside Wangshu Inn). In total, Hu Tao asks for 168 Silk Flowers. Your hunt can be made significantly easier by using Qiqi or Yanfei (whose Passive Talents highlight Liyue Specialities on the mini-map) or by using the Teyvat Interactive Map to precisely pinpoint their locations. 

A Rare Moment

A Rare Moment

Next up is the Whooperflower Nectar. Unsurprisingly, these are the common-tier drop from any kind of Whopperflower: Pyro, Cryo and Electro Whopperflowers all have the chance to drop this Nectar upon defeat. They can be found all across Teyvat in every major region, but using the Advetnure’s Handbook to mark their locations will make finding them a lot quicker. For Hu Tao, you will need 18 Whopperflower Nectar, 30 Shimmering Nectar and 36 Energy Nectar

Juvenile Jade is the World Boss Drop from the Primo Geovishap enemy in Western Liyue. This boss is a massive, primordial version of the Geovishap enemies, complete with the ability to absorb and use a variety of Elements. Bring a Geo character (or any character who creates a Shield like Layla or Xinyan) to make the fight go much smoother. You’ll be required to collect 46 Juvenile Jade drops to get Hu Tao to the maximum level which is a minimum of 15 runs. (or 600 Resin).

Last but not least are the Agnidus Agate Gemstones. Every Element in Genshin Impact has an Elemental Gemstone that matches them, and you will have to use these Gems on characters matching that Element. Hu Tao is a Pyro Vision holder so you need to use Agnidus Agate. You can easily get your hands on these by claiming the rewards from any Pyro-aligned World Boss such as the Pyro Regisvine or Hypostasis. Alternatively, you can use the Alchemy Table and either transmute or upgrade any remaining Gems you need. You will need to gather: 

  • 1x Agnidus Agate Sliver
  • 9x Agnidus Agate Fragment
  • 9x Agnidus Agate Chunk
  • 6x Agnidus Agate Gemstone

To finish the Ascension, you’ll also need 420k Mora and 416 Hero’s Wit EXP Books77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour

Hu Tao Playstyle and Talent Overview

General Playstyle: Low Health, High Damage

Hu Tao is one of the most interesting characters in Genshin Impact thanks to her unique gimmick. To get the most out of her in terms of damage, she needs to be on low HP. She is a character built around the idea of risk and reward: if you can keep her alive at low health, she can shred through almost anything with ease, but if you mess up she can easily die in a single hit. 

She is a great main DPS with access to near-constant Pyro application via her Elemental Skill. If you can master that risk-reward playstyle that she puts forward, you’ll be met by a character who excels in every part of her kit. Hu Tao has one of the strongest damage buffs in the entire game, her Normal Attacks can consistently output as much damage as Claymores can and she is a unit capable of great sustain.

Outside of needing to play at low health (which can be navigated around in several ways), Hu Tao has very few weaknesses. Learn her rhythm and timing, as well as who she synergises with, and you may never want to put Hu Tao down. 

Secret Spear of Wangsheng

Secret Spear of Wangsheng

Hu Tao Skills

Hu Tao’s Normal Attack is the Secret Spear of Wangsheng. This is a standard 6-hit combo with her Polearm that deals moderate damage. The Charged Attack variant has Hu Tao lunge forward at high speeds, damaging anybody in her way. Both of these are important to Hu Tao’s main DPS builds, but her Charged Attack is the star of the show. 

Meanwhile, Guide to the Afterlife is her Elemental Skill. This is what brings her entire kit together and gives you ample opportunities to make use of her unique playstyle. Upon activation, Hu Tao will lose 30% of her current HP in return for entering the Paramita Papilio State

This state has a 9s duration and during this time:

  • Hu Tao’s ATK is increased based on her Maximum HP value, with this amount increasing per Talent Level.
  • Converts Normal Attack DMG to Pyro DMG (as opposed to Physical) which cannot be overridden by other Elemental Infusions such as Candace’s Burst. 
  • Charged Attacks apply the Blood Blossom Effect to any enemy hit. An enemy affected by a Blood Blossom will take Pyro DMG every 4s for 8s, which counts as Elemental Skill DMG for calculation purposes.
  • Hu Tao’s resistance to interruption and stun increases.
    Guide to the Afterlife

    Guide to the Afterlife

Finally, Spirit Soother is Hu Tao’s Elemental Burst. When triggered, it will hit all enemies around Hu Tao in a circular AoE, dealing Pyro DMG. Upon striking an enemy, Hu Tao will regenerate a set amount of her HP. If Hu Tao has less than 50% HP when she activates her Burst, both the damage and the HP regeneration increase dramatically. This is a great source of sustain and burst damage for Hu Tao.

Spirit Soother

Spirit Soother

Hu Tao Passive Talents

Hu Tao also has a suite of Passive Talents, too. 

The More the Merrier is Hu Tao’s Ascension 1 Talent (meaning that it is always active from level 1). When cooking certain dishes perfectly, Hu Tao has an 18% chance to create a ‘Suspicious’ version of that same dish. While these aren’t very helpful, they are an amusing addition to her characterisation. 

Flutter By is unlocked when Hu Tao reaches Ascension Rank 2. When the Paramita Papilio State induced by Hu Tao’s Elemental Skill ends, all allies in the party (aside from Hu Tao) gain a 12% Crit Rate bonus for 8s. This is great to pair with a sub-DPS or allow your supports to get in a bit of damage while Hu Tao is recharging. 

Lastly, Sanguine Rouge is unlocked when Hu Tao hits Ascension Rank 4. This simply increases Hu Tao’s Pyro DMG Bonus by 33% when her current HP is less than 50%. Considering that you will play around this 50% threshold thanks to the damage boost from having low HP, this is a great boon and works to make Hu Tao an even stronger main DPS.

Another thing that technically isn’t a Passive Talent but is interesting nonetheless is Hu Tao’s Sprint. Upon triggering Sprint, Hu Tao will briefly disappear in a flutter of butterflies before reappearing and continuing to run. This is somewhat similar to the unique Sprinting animations of Mona and Ayaka, but the main benefit is that you more easily use it to dodge attacks thanks to Hu Tao’s disappearing act.

Gotta Dash

Gotta Dash

Hu Tao Constellations

Constellations are an important part of any character, but some units need them more than others. 5-Star characters, in particular, are hard to get more Constellations for because of their low pull rates. However, Hu Tao is certainly a character who you will want to consider for her Constellation: at least her C1, which increases her damage potential and potency dramatically. 

Hu Tao’s Constellation is the Papilio Charontis: 

  • Crimson Bouquet (C1): While in a Paramita Papilio state activated by Guide to Afterlife, Hu Tao’s Charge Attacks do not consume Stamina.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Butterfly’s Embrace (C6): When Hu Tao drops below 25% or suffers a lethal strike, she will not die. Instead, she will gain a 200% increase in her Physical RES and Elemental RES and a 100% boost to her CRIT Rate for the next 10s. This can only be triggered once every 60s. 

Hu Tao’s C3 (Lingering Carmine) and her C5 (Floral Incense) simply raise the Talent Level of her Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst, respectively. The real prize here is her C1, Crimson Bouquet, thanks to how much it increases her overall damage potential. 

Hu Tao Constellations

Hu Tao Constellations

Talent Priority Order for Hu Tao

This next section will discuss what order you should prioritise Hu Tao’s Talents when you are going to level them. Increasing the Talent Level of a character’s Normal Attack, Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst will raise the multipliers and percentages used in those skills. Knowing which Talent is the most important can help drastically improve the viability of a character.

For Hu Tao, you’ll need the following materials to begin levelling up her Talents:

  • Teachings/Guides/Philosophies of Diligence (Liyue Talent Books, available Tuesday/Friday/Sunday)
  • Whopperflower Nectar (Enemy Drop)
  • Shard of a Foul Legacy Weekly Boss Drop from the Childe Challenge Battle

With that out of the way, here is the order you should focus on when levelling up Hu Tao’s Talents.

Cheeky Smile

Cheeky Smile

Guide to the Afterlife

Hu Tao’s Elemental Skill is the bedrock of her entire kit. Guide to the Afterlife is her unique way of tapping into her low health requirement without having to deliberately take damage from enemies. In most team compositions, this will be your primary way of getting Hu Tao low enough that effects like Sanguine Rouge can activate, so levelling it up to get additional benefits is a no-brainer.

This Skill offers an absurd level of benefits and buffs that, even if it didn’t lower Hu Tao’s health, would still be a contender for her best Talent. The additional ATK bonus that the Paramita Papilio State provides ties into her most desired stats nicely and works to strengthen her position as a main DPS carry. Meanwhile, the resistance to the interruption is great for allowing Hu Tao to go more on the offensive against Elite and Boss enemies without fear that you will lose precious moments of DPS thanks to being thrown around.

This is without mentioning the Blood Blossoms, too, which are another bonus source of DPS that Hu Tao can exploit. If you level up Guide to the Afterlife, these Blossoms can deal an additional 300% DMG in the time they are active. Paired with Hu Tao’s already high Normal Attack damage (especially if she has Crimson Bouquet), this creates a killing machine out of Hu Tao that can rinse through bosses and mobs alike.

Guide to the Afterlife does everything from being a great buff to a source of additional damage to an infusion skill and it is even a source of resistance. This should most certainly be your priority when levelling Hu Tao’s Talents.

~Silly-churl, Billy-churl~

~Silly-churl, Billy-churl~

Secret Spear of Wangsheng / Spirit Soother

The next priority should come at the behest of your build. Guide to the Afterlife is important enough that it should be prioritised over the other two Talents no matter what, but where you go from there should be determined by which path you decide to take Hu Tao down.

If you want Hu Tao to be a stronger consistent main DPS option, opt to level Secret Spear of Wangsheng. The extra ATK bonus from Guide to the Afterlife will work alongside the high base ATK of your levelled Normal Attacks to deal a ludicrous amount of damage. Additionally, it will boost the damage of Hu Tao’s strongest main attack – her Charged Attack – which you will likely be using most of the time. Focusing on this Talent lets you use Hu Tao more often, more consistently, and at a high level of power.

On the other hand, if you are building Hu Tao as a burst DPS character, choose Spirit Soother instead. This Talent will improve the DMG of the Burst to an absolutely absurd degree (with level 10 being 617%, up from only 379% at level 1), allowing Hu Tao to instantly wipe out most high-health targets and even some bosses. This is great in allowing Hu Tao to remain a viable Burst DPS option as, on her own, she can produce some of the highest single-target damage in the entire game (when paired with specific Elemental Reactions and buffs, of course). 

Whatever Talent you do not choose as the second most important shouldn’t be neglected, though. Even if using Hu Tao’s Normal Attacks is how you will normally play her, levelling up her Burst is still extremely important in giving you another source of instant high damage and self-healing. On the flip side, levelling up your Normals even if you are mainly using Burst DPS Hu Tao gives you more flexibility in how you use her.

Caught You

Caught You

Hu Tao’s Best Weapons

Best in Slot

Hu Tao has a very famous signature weapon, one that has quickly become one of the strongest Polearms in the entire game. That weapon is the Staff of Homa.

The Staff of Homa is a 5-Star Polearm that was released in Version 1.3 alongside Hu Tao. It rotates in and out of availability on the Unique Weapon Banner whenever Hu Tao is available, so if she’s on the Character Banner, Homa will be on the Weapon Banner.

This Polearm has a Base ATK stat of 608 and a CRIT DMG substat of 66% (when the weapon reaches level 90). Alongside those already high stats and bonuses, the Staff of Homa has the weapon skill Reckless Cinnabar. This increases the user’s maximum HP by 20% when equipped (a massive benefit for Hu Tao) as well as giving an ATK bonus based on the wielder’s max HP: that bonus is 0.8% when above 50% current HP and 1% when below 50% current HP.

As Hu Tao’s signature weapon, this massively increases the viability of every part of her kit. The bonus stats alone make the weapon worth equipping – as the extra HP and CRIT DMG are both equivalent to a well-rolled artifact and will directly help boost her damage potential – but the weapon skill is just the cherry on top. You’ll be stacking HP as high as you can on Hu Tao, so while the extra 0.8% bonus may seem small, it becomes a lot better once you have 30,000+ HP. There just isn’t a weapon that comes close and, no matter if you choose to build Hu Tao as a main DPS or burst DPS, the Staff of Homa should be your top option for weapons.

Hu Tao's best in slot is the Staff of Homa - Hu Tao Build

Hu Tao’s Best in Slot

Replacement Options

But what if you don’t have the Staff of Homa? Is your Hu Tao doomed to a life of low damage and neglect? Never! Hu Tao has a suite of other useful (and powerful) options besides Homa.

The main options we will be recommending are 4-Star options as they are the most readily available. However, it is worth noting that the 5-Star weapons Staff of the Scarlet Sands and the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear are both excellent picks for Hu Tao. The Staff of the Scarlet Sands, in particular, is good for a Hu Tao working in a main DPS team, where Vaporize and other Elemental Reactions are the main way of boosting your damage output.

Aside from the 5-Star options, the best picks for Hu Tao are the Deathmatch, Dragon’s Bane and the Prototype Starglitter.

The Deathmatch

The Deathmatch

First up is the Deathmatch, which is the Battle Pass Polearm you can acquire after hitting level 30. It has a Base ATK stat of 454 and a CRIT Rate substat totalling 36%. CRIT is always nice on Hu Tao, but the Gladiator weapon skill is what makes this weapon worth using. It changes based on the number of enemies on the battlefield. When at least 2 enemies are around, the equipped character will gain 16% bonus ATK and DEF: if there are less than 2, they get a 24% ATK bonus instead. This weapon serves Burst DPS Hu Tao well by either purely increasing her DPS potential against bosses or elites, or by increasing her ATK and survivability against groups (something she needs considering she will almost always be fighting at low health thresholds). 

Next is the Dragon’s Bane. This Polearm can be acquired by pulling on any Wish Banner and boasts a base ATK of 454 and an Elemental Mastery substat of 221. Bane of Flame and Water is the weapon skill and it increases damage against enemies affected by Hydro or Pyro by 20%. In most main DPS Hu Tao teams, she will be running alongside several Hydro characters for bonus stats and Vaporize (one of the strongest Reactions in the game) so getting that bonus 20% DMG is easy. This effectively gives Hu Tao a constant 20% damage increase to all of her attacks – her Normals, her Skill boost and her Burst – making it a very solid pick for main DPS Hu Tao. 

Lastly, Prototype Starglitter is another great pick for Burst DPS Hu Tao. You can craft this Polearm using Northlander Bilets, which has a Base ATK of 510 and an Energy Recharge substat at 45%. That bonus ER will help you get Spirit Soother back much faster, whereas the weapon skill gives you a bit more coverage. Magic Affinity increases Normal and Charged Attack DMG by 8% for 12s after using an Elemental Skill. This is roughly how long the Pipilio State lasts, giving a constant bonus to Hu Tao during that time, in which you can deal big damage and generate a lot of particles for your Burst. 

Dragon's Bane

Dragon’s Bane

Hu Tao Best Artifacts

Main Pyro DPS Artifact Set Up

There are two main paths for a main DPS Hu Tao build in Genshin Impact. Both of them are very effective, but one is far more reliant on Elemental Reactions than the other, so pick and choose depending on your team composition. 

The first set is a 4-piece Crimson Witch of Flames. This is a pretty standard set for any Pyro main DPS as it increases your damage output directly, as well as enhancing Pyro Reactions. With a full 4-Piece set, Hu Tao will gain a constant +15% Pyro DMG Bonus (from having 2 pieces of Crimson Witch) as well as a substantial boost to all of her Pyro Reactions. Overload, Burgeon and Burning DMG are increased by 40% while Vaporize and Melt DMG are increased by 15%. Additionally, activating your Elemental Skill will increase the 15% Pyro DMG Bonus to a whopping 50% for 10 seconds, which stacks up to 3 times. 

The second option here is the Inazuman 4-piece Shimenawa’s Reminiscence set. Instead of relying so much on Reactions (which are still insanely useful to any Hu Tao composition), this set focus much more on increasing Hu Tao’s potential on her own. 2 pieces of Shimenawa’s simply boost ATK by 18%. The 4-piece triggers upon Elemental Skill usage, where it will drain 15 Burst Energy from the equipped character: in return, though, they will have their Normal, Charged and Plunging Attack DMG increased by 50% for 10s

Out of the two sets, the 4-piece Crimson Witch is more likely to see results in most team compositions. Hu Tao can exploit Reactions like Vaporize and Melt to deal some crazy damage, even without the additional buffs from having 4-pieces: with them, she’s not only a monster in terms of her DPS but in terms of Reaction DPS, too. On the other hand, 4-piece Shimenawa means that you can run Hu Tao in more varied compositions without having to rely on Elemental Reactions. She can be the star of the show all on her own, opening the gate for some niche supporting characters. 

Burst DPS Artifact Set Up

If you are running Hu Tao mainly as a Burst DPS, you’ll want to take a slightly different route with her artifacts. Once again, choose the best option for your team composition, as both recommended sets work best in different situations.

Once again, 4-piece Crimson Witch of Flame is the primary recommendation (especially if you are using supporting Hydro or Cryo characters). Even if you’re just using Hu Tao for big burst damage, the extra 15% Pyro DMG Bonus (or +50% upon Skill trigger) and Reaction DMG boosts are incredibly useful and they can easily make your Hu Tao capable of hitting 50-100k damage in a single Burst. 

The other set for Burst DPS is a hybrid set: 2-piece Crimson Witch and 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith. This set is much less reliant on Reactions, instead focusing on Hu Tao’s innate damage potential. Together, the 2-piece set bonuses provide a 15% Pyro DMG Bonus as well as a 20% HP bonus. While not as exciting as the 4-piece effects, these both go a great way in making Hu Tao stronger.

We’ll be recommending 4-piece Crimson Witch again for most team compositions and scenarios thanks to it having a high likelihood of dramatically increasing Hu Tao’s Elemental Burst DMG, in particular. That isn’t to sell the hybrid set short, though. With a boost to both Pyro DMG and HP, Hu Tao’s Elemental Skill bonus becomes even more effective and powerful, allowing you to get some incredibly high multipliers and bonuses that will aid in putting out consistently high Burst DMG. 

Best Main and Substats for Hu Tao

Here are the main stats you should be looking for on Hu Tao’s artifacts. This applies to every Hu Tao build, no matter if you’re running her as the main DPS or Burst DPS.

  • Hourglass (Sands): HP%
  • Goblet: Pyro DMG Bonus
  • Circlet: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG

In conjunction with that, you should be on the lookout for the following substats:

  • HP
  • ATK
  • CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG

It should hopefully be evident how important Hu Tao’s HP is by now. HP is a much easier stat to build into than either CRIT or ATK and investing heavily in it can increase your performance considerably. Having high HP allows Hu Tao’s most important Talent, her Elemental Skill, to shine by providing a significant ATK boost to all of her abilities. Having a higher HP also means that she will have much higher survivability (especially when she will be fighting at low HP most of the time) while still having great damage output. 

Peek-a-Boo!

Peek-a-Boo!

ATK is also just as self-explanatory. Hu Tao may gain a healthy bonus thanks to her HP, but her ATK stat is where most of that damage originates. Whether main DPS or sub-DPS, if your ATK is too low you just won’t be putting out as much damage as Hu Tao can manage. Her reliance on HP means that you don’t need to go all-or-nothing on her ATK stat, making her much easier to build into than for other main DPS characters. Balance having good HP and good ATK to maximise her potential.

Last but not least is CRIT. Whether you focus more on CRIT DMG or CRIT Rate depends on your weapon and team composition. If you have the Staff of Homa, for example, you may want to lean more into CRIT Rate so you can effectively use the 66% CRIT DMG buff it grants. However, just having a good amount of CRIT, no matter what will always be good – a high CRIT Rate means always hitting higher damage, a mix of both is the best of both worlds and a high CRIT DMG means more chances to hit Bursts that deal over 100k. 

Here's Hu Tao!

Here’s Hu Tao!

Best Hu Tao Team Compositions

Main DPS Vaporize Team

This team features Hu Tao, Yelan, Xingqiu and Zhongli.

This team is one which mainly relies on using Hu Tao’s high natural damage paired with constant Hydro to deal ludicrous damage. Hu Tao’s boosted Charged Attacks already deal great damage in the state induced by her Elemental Burst, but when paired with constant Hydro application from Yelan and Xingqiu they can ascend to new heights thanks to Vaporize. Her role in this team is simple: do as much damage as possible while being supported by the other 3 members of the team. 

Yelan and Xingqiu are the next important part of this team. While they do provide different benefits (Yelan acts as a superb off-field DPS whereas Xingqiu has good healing potential) they both mainly act as sources of Hydro in this composition. Yelan’s Elemental Skill is a quick way of instantly applying Hydro to an entire field of enemies, and Xingqiu’s Burst will constantly apply Hydro while Hu Tao is on the field. Having 2 Hydro characters in the team will also grant the Hydro Resonance Bonus, granting another 20% HP increase to the entire team (meaning more damage for Hu Tao). 

Lastly, we have Zhongli. He’s here for a few reasons, but primarily as Hu Tao’s main supporting unit. His Elemental Burst generates one of the strongest shields in the game, letting Hu Tao stay alive without needing to heal and get rid of her damage boost from being below 50% HP. Zhongli’s Burst is also a great backup DPS option should you need it. 

Other characters who could rotate into this team include Candance and Kazuha. Candace can take the place of either Hydro character and she can provide Hu Tao with a huge increase to her Normal Attack damage thanks to her Elemental Burst (which won’t override Hu Tao’s Pyro with Hydro, leaving her with just the damage bonus). On the other hand, Kazuha can step in for Zhongli if you want to take a more proactive approach to combat by triggering Swirl alongside Vaporize. 

Main DPS Team

Burst DPS Team

This team features Hu Tao, Mona, Raiden Shogun and Bennett

In this composition, Hu Tao and Shogun will each play a game of dealing high Burst Damage before switching to the other party member. They are both insanely strong and, thanks to several factors including Elemental Reactions, you will constantly be getting your Elemental Bursts back. Sprinkle in some support from Mona and Bennett and voila, you have your Burst DPS team. 

Shogun is the other Burst DPS in this team alongside Hu Tao. Her Burst is a transformation Burst, allowing her to remain on the field for a longer period to generate energy and particles to refill Hu Tao’s Burst. She also deals very good damage on her own, serving as a great sub-DPS who can get you out of many tricky situations.

Mona and Bennett both play a supportive role here. Mona applies Hydro for high Vaporize DMG, but she also uses her Burst to debuff enemies and set them up for either Hu Tao or Shogun’s cataclysmic Burst. Meanwhile, Bennett can heal and provide a chunky ATK bonus with his Burst, while also providing the entire team with a +20% ATK boost thanks to the Pyro Resonance effect When used together, Mona and Bennett are one of the strongest and most consistent combos in the game for enabling DPS characters.

Other characters who could rotate into this team include Yelan (or any other Hydro DPS) and Kazuha. Yelan can substitute for Shogun as another sub-DPS. While she won’t deal as much damage as Shogun might, her presence will generate the Hydro Resonance effect and act as another source of Hydro for Hu Tao’s Vaporize. Meanwhile, Kazuha can also replace Shogun as a good DPS option, providing Swirl and Anemo in place of Electro. 

Burst DPS Team

Burst DPS Team

Free-to-Play Team

This team features Hu Tao, Xingqiu, Anemo Traveller and Lisa. Aside from Hu Tao, every character in this team has been available for free at some point or another. 

This showcase will primarily be focusing on a free-to-play main DPS team for Hu Tao. It will serve as a less effective, but still highly capable, version of the first main DPS team. Hu Tao will be the star of the show, dealing incredibly high damage and exploiting the Elemental Reactions her supporting team members throw her way. Play her the same as you would in any other team. 

Xingqiu is a great and consistent source of off-field Hydro to pair with Hu Tao. He can also serve as the team’s backup healer if need be. If you don’t have Xingqiu and still want to run a Hydro character, Barbara is another good choice as a Catalyst that can instantly apply Hydro with her Normal Attacks (although, she doesn’t synergise that well with Hu Tao’s need to stay at low HP). 

Anemo Traveller is a scaled-down version of Kazuha (or Venti) who can group enemies for easy damage on Hu Tao’s end. The Swirl Reactions can generate a nice addition to the team allowing for a bit more DPS and particle generation without interrupting the flow of battle too much. 

Finally, Lisa is a good option for off-field Electro DPS with her Burst. Honestly, though, she is a bit of a flex pick and you can substitute in several characters depending on what you want or need. That can be Amber for the Pyro Resonance and access to a Bow character or another Hydro character for more HP on Hu Tao. The rest of the team is sustainable enough that this slot is free for you to play with. 

F2P Team

F2P Team

That was everything you need to build Hu Tao in Genshin Impact. Good luck with your Wishes, Travellers!

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