Genshin Impact Hu Tao Build Guide: Weapons, Artifact Sets, Roles, Teams, Constellations, and more

Last Updated on: 8th February 2023, 03:07 pm

Hu Tao is a playable 5-star Pyro character in Genshin Impact. While she has an amusingly eccentric personality, she is someone who is solemn when it comes to holding funeral ceremonies as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue.

This guide will discuss Hu Tao’s talents, constellations, recommended roles, best weapons, artifact sets, and more! So, if you want to add this character to your team, feel free to read on.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT: HU TAO’S ASCENSION MATERIALS AND THEIR LOCATIONS

Hu Tao’s Talents and Priority

Hu Tao has a unique Elemental Skill that infuses her Normal Attacks with Pyro at the cost of her own HP. If you don’t have any idea about Hu Tao’s kit, this might sound a bit suicidal. However, this mechanic is actually essential in bringing out her full potential.

Apart from infusing her Normal Attacks with Pyro, her Elemental Skill also buffs her ATK based on her Max HP at the time of using it (the skill), increases her resistance to interruption, and allows her to mark enemies with “Blood Blossom” using Charged Attacks. Marked enemies will periodically take additional Pyro DMG which is considered Elemental Skill DMG.

If you’re worried about Hu Tao’s HP going down every time she uses her Elemental Skill, her Elemental Burst can both take advantage of this low HP percentage and remedy it. This is because using her Burst while her HP is below 50% will increase her DMG. On the other hand, she can regenerate a percentage of her HP after striking enemies with her Burst, allowing you to use her Elemental Skill again more safely.

Another important thing to remember is that with her 1st Ascension Passive, Hu Tao’s Pyro DMG is increased when her HP is below or equal to 50%. This means that it’s ideal to keep Hu Tao’s HP below 50%, making her a “high risk, high reward” unit.

To know which Talents you should level up first, below is our Talent Level-up priority recommendation:

• 1st priority – Elemental Skill and Normal Attack (equally important)
• 2nd priority – Elemental Burst

Normal Attack – Secret Spear of Wangsheng	Normal Attack Performs up to six consecutive spear strikes. Charged Attack Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to opponents along the way. Plunging Attack Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Elemental Skill – Guide to Afterlife	Only an unwavering flame can cleanse the impurities of this world. Hu Tao consumes a set portion of her HP to knock the surrounding enemies back and enter the Paramita Papilio state. Paramita Papilio – Increases Hu Tao’s ATK based on her Max HP at the time of entering this state. ATK Bonus gained this way cannot exceed 400% of Hu Tao’s Base ATK. – Converts attack DMG to Pyro DMG, which cannot be overridden by any other elemental infusion. – Charged Attacks apply the Blood Blossom effect to the enemies hit. – Increases Hu Tao’s resistance to interruption. Blood Blossom Enemies affected by Blood Blossom will take Pyro DMG every 4s. This DMG is considered Elemental Skill DMG. Each enemy can be affected by only one Blood Blossom effect at a time, and its duration may only be refreshed by Hu Tao herself. Paramita Papilio ends when its duration is over, or Hu Tao has left the battlefield or fallen.
Elemental Burst – Spirit Soother	Commands a blazing spirit to attack, dealing Pyro DMG 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.
1st 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.
4th Ascension Passive – Sanguine Rouge	When Hu Tao’s HP is equal to or less than 50%, her Pyro DMG Bonus is increased by 33%.
Utility Passive – 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.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT: WHERE TO FIND SILK FLOWER

Constellations and Effects

Hu Tao is an amazing unit even at C0 (no constellation). However, if you want to give her some constellations, we recommend that you stop at C1, especially for free-to-play (F2P) or low-spending players.

As mentioned in the Talents Section, Hu Tao can mark enemies with “Blood Blossom” by hitting them with Charged Attacks after her Elemental Skill. Therefore, using Charged Attacks is vital for maximizing her damage potential. Unfortunately, this also means that she is a stamina-hungry unit. This issue can be solved with C1, as Hu Tao’s Charged Attacks after using her Elemental Skill will no longer consume Stamina.

For more details about her Constellations, be sure to check out the table below:

LEVEL	NAME	EFFECT
1	Crimson Bouquet	While in a Paramita Papilio state activated by Guide to Afterlife, Hu Tao’s Charge Attacks do not consume Stamina.
2	Ominous Rainfall	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.
3	Lingering Carmine	Increases the Level of Guide to Afterlife by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
4	Garden of Eternal Rest	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.
5	Floral Incense	Increases the Level of Spirit Soother by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
6	Butterfly’s Embrace	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.

Recommended Roles and Teams for Hu Tao

As someone who can infuse her own attacks with Pyro and ideally use Charged Attacks for a period of time, Hu Tao will stay the longest on the field among all your party members. This means that it would only make sense for Hu Tao to take the role of the Main DPS.

One of the best and most popular teams for Hu Tao is the Vaporize Team. There are several kinds of Vaporize Teams with Hu Tao that you can try. For more team recommendations (including Burgeon), you might consider checking our more detailed Best Teams for Hu Tao Guide here.

DOUBLE HYDRO VAPORIZE TEAM

Main DPS	Support/Sub-DPS	Support/Sub-DPS	Shield Support
– Hu Tao (Pyro)	– Xingqiu (Hydro)	– Yelan (Hydro)	– Zhongli (Geo)

While Yelan (C0 or C1) is a 5-star character, she is not the best standalone Hydro applicator for Hu Tao. Therefore, you might consider having Xingqiu and Yelan together. With two Hydro units, you can surely trigger Vaporize consistently. Moreover, you don’t have to worry too much about having very low HP because of Zhongli’s shield.

This team will also let you unlock the Hydro Elemental Resonance and increase your HP by 25%. This will benefit everyone on the team. Hu Tao and Yelan will have a better overall DMG. Xingqiu will have a slightly better 1st Ascension Passive healing, and Zhongli will have better shields.

DOUBLE PYRO AND DOUBLE HYDRO VAPORIZE TEAM

Main DPS	Support/Sub-DPS	Support/Sub-DPS	Support/Sub-DPS
– Hu Tao (Pyro)	– Xingqiu (Hydro)	– Thoma (Pyro) – Amber (Pyro) – C4 Yanfei (Pyro) – Xiangling (Pyro)	– Yelan (Hydro)

Having two useful Elemental Resonances makes this one of the best teams for Hu Tao. With this team composition, you can unlock the Pyro and Hydro Elemental Resonances which will increase your ATK and Max HP by 25%.

The HP increase is beneficial for everyone on the team. Of course, this is a great buff for the HP-scaling Hu Tao. On the other hand, Xingqiu can increase his 1st Ascension Passive healing and Yelan can increase her overall DMG. Lastly, if you choose C4 Yanfei or Thoma, having more HP means better shield strength. (Note: Yanfei can only be a viable Pyro support for this team once she unlocks her shield at C4.)

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT: BEST TEAMS FOR HU TAO

Recommended Weapons for Hu Tao

The Staff of Homa is Hu Tao’s signature weapon and is easily her Best-in-Slot (BiS). However, this can only be obtained from the limited weapon banner. If you don’t have this polearm and are looking for other options, below are our recommendations. For our commentary on each weapon, be sure to check out our Guide on the Best Weapons for Hu Tao here.

WEAPON	SOURCE	DETAILS
Staff of Homa (5 stars)	Limited Weapon Banner	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 46 – 608 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT DMG 14.4% – 66.2% Base Skill Effect: HP increased by 20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 0.8% of the wielder’s Max HP. When the wielder’s HP is less than 50%, this ATK bonus is increased by an additional 1% of Max HP.
Staff of the Scarlet Sands (5 Stars)	Limited Weapon Banner	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 44 – 542 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT Rate 9.6% – 44.1% Base Skill Effect: The equipping character gains 78% 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 gain 42% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. Max 3 stacks.
Primordial Jade Winged-Spear (5 Stars)	– Standard Banner – All Limited Weapon Banners	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 48 – 674 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT Rate 4.8% – 22.1% Base Skill Effect: On hit, increases ATK by 3.2% 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 by 12%.
Dragon’s Bane (4 Stars)	All Banners except Beginner’s Wish	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 41 – 454 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): Elemental Mastery 48 – 221 Base Skill Effect: Increases DMG against opponents affected by Hydro or Pyro by 20%.
Lithic Spear (4 Stars)	Limited Weapon Banner	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 44 – 565 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): ATK 6% – 27.6% Base Skill Effect: For every character in the party who hails from Liyue, the character who equips this weapon gains 7% ATK increase and a 3% CRIT Rate increase. This effect stacks up to 4 times.
Deathmatch (4 Stars)	Battle Pass	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 41 – 454 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT Rate 8% – 36.8% Base Skill Effect: If there are at least 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 16% and DEF is increased by 16%. If there are fewer than 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 24%.
White Tassel (3 Stars)	Chests in Liyue and The Chasm	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 39 – 401 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT Rate 5.1% – 23.4% Base Skill Effect: Increases Normal Attack DMG by 24%.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT: BEST WEAPONS FOR HU TAO

Recommended Artifact Sets and Stat Priority for Hu Tao

Below are our recommended artifact sets for Hu Tao:

ARTIFACT SET	EFFECTS
Crimson Witch of Flames x4	2-piece: Pyro DMG Bonus +15% 4-piece: Increases Overloaded and Burning, and Burgeon DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using Elemental Skill increases the 2-Piece Set Bonus by 50% of its starting value for 10s. Max 3 stacks.
Shimenawa’s Reminiscence x4	2-piece: ATK +18% 4-piece: When casting an Elemental Skill, if the character has 15 or more Energy, they lose 15 Energy and Normal/Charged/Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 50% for 10s. This effect will not trigger again during that duration.
Crimson Witch of Flames x2 Tenacity of the Millelith x2	2-piece: Pyro DMG Bonus +15% 4-piece: HP +20%

With its focus on Pyro DMG and Pyro-related Elemental Reactions, we highly recommend that you equip a decent Crimson Witch of Flames x4 artifact set for Hu Tao. This set is also relatively easy to obtain because you can get it from the domain Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula and the Artifact Strongboxes accessible via the Crafting Benches all over the cities of Teyvat.

However, in case you have better stats for Shimenawa’s Reminiscence x4, you might consider this instead, as Hu Tao relies heavily on using her Elemental Skill and hitting enemies with Normal/Charged Attacks afterward.

If you don’t have a lot of decent pieces for Crimson Witch of Flames and Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, you might consider going for the combo of Crimson Witch of Flames x2 and Tenacity of the Millelith x2. This set will give Hu Tao Pyro DMG bonus and more HP which she will definitely enjoy.

As for the artifact main stats, we recommend the following:

ARTIFACT PIECE	MAIN STAT
Flower	Flat HP (Fixed)
Plume	Flat ATK (Fixed)
Sands	HP %
Goblet	Pyro DMG Bonus
Circlet	CRIT DMG or CRIT Rate depending on which stat you need

Moreover, Hu Tao’s sub-stats should focus on CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, HP%, and Elemental Mastery. In case you are using the Shimenawa’s Reminiscence x4 set, you might also consider some Energy Recharge.

Genshin Impact is an action role-playing game developed by miHoyo, also known as HoYoverse. The game is available on PC, PS4, PS5, iOS, and Android, while a release on Nintendo Switch is currently in the works.