Name: Hu Tao (this is her full name with ‘Hu’ as her last and ‘Tao’ as her first)
Vision: Pyro
Birthday: 15 July
Constellation: Papilio Charontis
Titles: Fragrance in Thaw, 77th-Generation Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Director Hu, “Versemonger of the Darkest Alleys” of Liyue Harbor
Hu Tao follows the pattern of potent Pyro DPS characters. Be careful when using her, though, because her skill uses a bit of her HP every time you use it. Fortunately, she can heal herself with her Burst, which balances out. Still, the lost HP can make it easy for a careless player to let her fall in battle.
Guide to Afterlife, her E skill, sacrifices a percentage of her HP and lets Hu Tao enter the Paramita Papilio state. For its duration, she gets an ATK boost based on her max HP, and her attacks are infused with Pyro. Also, her Charged Attacks apply the Blood Blossom status to enemies it hits. Take note that her ATK boost cannot be more than four times her Base ATK (her ATK stat + her weapon’s ATK stat). This means that after a specific point, stacking more HP is useless.
Blood Blossom is indicated by a flower mark on the affected targets. While under its effects, enemies take Pyro damage every 4 seconds. That damage is considered Elemental Skill DMG. Blossoms last for 8 seconds, and the Paramita Papilio state for 9 seconds.
Her Burst, Spirit Soother, deals AoE Pyro DMG and heals her for every enemy she hits. However, healing effects can only trigger up to 5 times, so at least five enemies should be there for the most amount of healing. If Hu Tao’s HP is below 50% when using this skill, damage and HP regeneration are increased.
Getting her fourth Ascension talent increases her damage even more, as it increases her Pyro DMG by 33% when her HP is equal to or less than 50%.
Genshin Impact Hu Tao Builds
There’s only one way to build Hu Tao: to make her a DPS. The only variation is which sets you’ll be using. So far, there are only two sets that fit her style, and those are the Crimson Witch of Flames and Shimenawa’s Reminiscence. The former is the better option, but it will do if you have better substats for the latter.
Another option is to use a combination of Crimson Witch and Tenacity of the Millileth, which boosts her HP and, with it, her attack. She doesn’t need as many ATK points as other DPS characters. Because her Ascension stat is Crit DMG, you can focus on building more Crit Rate.
Main Stats: HP%, Pyro DMG Bonus, Crit Rate
Substats: Crit DMG, Crit Rate, HP, Energy Recharge
Weapons
As for her weapons, her signature one is the Staff of Homa. Its passive effect really complements her abilities, and it even boosts her Crit DMG even more. Other alternatives are:
- Primordial Jade Winged-Spear
- Dragon’s Bane
- Deathmatch
- Prototype Starglitter
- White Tassel
- Black Tassel
Genshin Impact Hu Tao Lore (Backstory)
Despite her occupation and position as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao is a cheery and amiable young lady. In fact, she’s prone to mischief and other whims of fancy, something you won’t expect from someone who organizes funerals.
Like a butterfly, she flits to and fro, constantly confusing Liyue citizens with her eccentricities. She once cared for the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ stone lions as if they were living creatures. Hu Tao slapped their hands, named them Mittens and Whiskers, and even bathed them. Everyone who watched her do so watched with confused bafflement. The guards were similarly shocked, though it was more because Hu Tao sneaks in at midnight to play with the lions.
Just when the guards and people got used to her antics, she suddenly stopped coming. The guards tasked to clean and maintain the statues couldn’t enjoy their break any longer. They stood guard at the entrance for a time, waiting for an opportunity to ask her why she stopped coming.
When they finally had the chance, Hu Tao only answered that the lions were now adults and could take care of themselves. She excused herself afterward, mentioning that she was late for a discussion on the meaning of life with a Statue of the Seven. Faced with that kind of answer, the guards could only send her on her way.
She had been this way since childhood. As a three-year-old, she read classic volumes while doing handstands. Three years later, her caretakers found her sleeping in coffins instead of attending class. At eight, she lived in the parlor to learn the proper etiquette of funeral ceremonies.
When she was thirteen, she performed her first ceremony. In the days leading up to it, the undertakers and consultants were rightly nervous about the whole thing. However, it was a groundless worry, as Hu Tao organized and conducted the ceremony to the highest standards. Still, she can be found playing four-player card games by herself or somehow amusing herself in odd ways.
She takes funerals seriously, despite all her quirks. It is also the only time you’ll find her more solemn side. Even eccentric, she has pride in her position and work. She’s always looking for methods and opportunities to further her business. It’s a rather unfortunate affair if you think about it. Nobody wants to talk about death, but she doesn’t let that stop her.
When she took the mantle of Director, the business became steady as funerals were tactfully performed. Her efforts to respect the client’s wishes warmed the citizens’ toward the idea of funerals. Whether a lively event or a peaceful ceremony, she instructs her undertakers never to push their own opinions on the client.
For her, death is a natural part of the cycle of life. Funeral rites let the deceased pass on peacefully. She tried so hard to bury Qiqi, who she thought needed to pass on. Later, she learned what Qiqi endured and accepted the little zombie as an exception. However, first impressions have soured the zombie’s attitude toward Hu Tao, and all her attempts to make up have failed since then.
While she is Director Hu of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao is more popular as a poet. She wanders the harbor, and the neighboring landmarks of Liyue as verse falls from her lips and pen glides through paper. Her most famous work is the ‘Hilitune,’ a poem that reached even the children in Qingce Village.
Curious hobbyists and serious critics crowded the Wanwen Bookstore in droves, hoping to find more works by this great poet. They came home disappointed, as Hu Tao’s other anthologies have yet to be published. Xingqiu, ever the bookworm, wanted to meet her and set up a meeting on an auspicious date.
They hit it off with an impromptu poetry battle right in the middle of the parlor. They traded poetry tips, even as Hu Tao countered Xingqiu’s formal and artistic lines with a playful and mischievous one. Ever since then, they have met up once in a while to compose poetry or read books together. Later, they roped in Chongyun in their meet-ups, and their laughter rang throughout the streets. Well, it’s more on Chongyun’s expense if his voice lines about the other two are any indication.
