Genshin Impact: Hu Tao guide — Best weapons, artifacts, and talents

Character summary and gameplay tips

So, how exactly does Hu Tao fare in Genshin Impact? Let’s find out.

I have Hu Tao and the Staff of Homa at level 80 and, so far, I’m fine with her burst potential. Although her base ATK was a bit low, she still had 37,000+ HP, 35% crit rate, 190% crit damage. Thanks to the Staff of Homa and her character ascension, I can easily punch through enemies.

Upon activating her elemental skill, normal attacks could hit for 5,000+ damage and dash attacks struck for 12,000+ damage. It’s on par with the regular DPS I do with Childe/Tartaglia, though slightly below Xiao’s Bane of All Evil burst/plunging attack spam and Ganyu’s repeated aimed shots.

In a way, I think these are the issues that might set Hu Tao back by a bit. There are some inconsistencies since you’re often dashing around to apply the Blood Blossom Pyro DOT (things can get messy when you’re trying to hit multiple mobs). Also, once the elemental skill’s effect has expired, there’s a five-second window before you can reactivate it. It presents a weird rotation where you’re trying to smack enemies, use dash attacks, reapply the DOT, then switch to another DPS character like Diluc or Childe/Tartaglia while Hu Tao’s unable to use her skill.

Do remember that she consumes a portion of her HP whenever you use her elemental skill. As such, you’ll want to rely on the emergency heal and nuke damage from her burst. Moreover, if she’s the main DPS in your squad, you could pair her with support characters like Albedo and Qiqi. Just pop their shielding and healing abilities respectively, then switch to Hu Tao to use her elemental skill. These should help you survive while trying to blast opponents with flames.

Conversely, a nuker would want a particular setup. For instance, vaporize comps would have Mona or Xingqiu, and melt-focused teams would have Chongyun. Throw Bennett and Sucrose in there to boost your DPS too.

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