When built right, Hu Tao’s impressive Pyro abilities make her one of the most powerful characters in Genshin Impact. The five-star Polearm character hails from Liyue and is the current Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, which is part of the reason she is seen alongside a ghost friend.
Hu Tao has only been available twice as the featured character on two special event wish banners. Thus, she is currently one of the rarer characters in Genshin Impact, but will likely have many reruns of her banner in the future as has been the pattern with other characters.
Besides boasting one of the most efficient Pyro abilities in Genshin Impact, Hu Tao is one of the few characters that becomes more powerful when her health dips below 50 percent. She also has a healing ability alongside some of the game’s highest base statistics, which means that she is useable much faster than most new characters.
Whether you’re trying to gather resources to attain her in the future, or looking to improve upon her current build, here is a complete guide to building the powerful Pyro Polearm five-star.
Weapons
The best role for Hu Tao is the primary damage dealer on a team. While she can function decently as support, she really shines as the one dealing a majority of the damage. Her polearm should be one that focuses on building her overall damage output.
Staff of Homa
Because the Staff of Homa was built specifically for Hu Tao, this five-star polearm is the best weapon choice for her. The “Reckless Cinnabar” effect increases the wielder’s health by 20 percent.
The “Reckless Cinnabar” effect of the Staff of Homa also grants an Attack bonus based on 0.8 percent of the character’s health. Additionally, when the wielder is below 50 percent health, the Attack bonus increases by one percent of the maximum Health Points.
Primordial Jade Winged-Spear
The “Eagle Spear of Justice” effect on this five-star polearm grants the wielder a 3.2 percent increase to their Attack. This effect can stack a maximum of seven times, and can only occur once every 0.3 seconds. While the character wielding this polearm has the maximum number of stacks, their damage is also increased by 12 percent.
Deathmatch
Deathmatch is a solid four-star polearm that players can attain by purchasing the Gnostic Hymn on the Battle Pass. The “Gladiator” effect on this polearm increases Attack and Defense depending on the number of opponents on the battlefield.
When two or more opponents are nearby, the wielder’s Attack and Defense are increased by 16 percent. When there are less than two opponents, Attack is increased by 24 percent.
Skyward Spine
The Skyward set is one of the easier five-star weapon sets to attain, and the set is quite versatile. Skyward Spine’s “Black Wing” effect increases the wielder’s Critical rate by eight percent, as well as their Normal Attack speed by 12 percent. When Normal and Charged Attacks successfully hit opponents, there is also a 50 percent chance that a vacuum blade dealing 40 percent of Attack as Damage may occur in a small area of effect. This effect can only occur once every two seconds.
The Catch
This four-star polearm is another solid choice and easy for all players to get, since it can be unlocked for free by fishing and delivering fish to the Inazuma Fishing Association. The “Shanty” effect increases the wielder’s Elemental Burst damage by 16 percent and Elemental Burst Critical Rate by six percent.
Artifacts
The most important statistics to focus on when choosing Hu Tao’s artifacts are damage and health. Building Hu Tao’s damage is important for battle, but making sure she has plenty of health is also essential for her complex abilities, many of which are based on her health. As with most characters, the best method for choosing Artifacts is mixing and matching two-piece sets from multiple Artifact sets and trying different combos until you find the one that works best for your team.
Crimson Witch Of Flames
This Artifact set will build Hu Tao’s Pyro damage. The two-piece set increases Pyro damage by 15 percent. The four-piece set builds the damage output of the various Pyro Elemental Reactions.
With the four-piece set, damage caused by Overloaded and Burning is increased by 40 percent. Damage dealt by Vaporize and Melt is increased by 15 percent. Additionally, using the character’s Elemental Skill will increase the two-piece set’s Pyro damage by 50 percent of the character’s starting value for a total of 10 seconds. This ability can be stacked up to three times.
Noblesse Oblige
This is one of the most versatile Artifact sets in Genshin Impact, and is a great choice for Hu Tao. The two-piece set increases Elemental Burst damage by 20 percent and the four-piece set increases the attack of the entire party by 20 percent when an Elemental Burst is used. This effect does not stack.
Shimenawa’s Reminiscence
The two-piece set of Shimenawa’s Reminiscence increases Attack by 18 percent, which is great for building Hu Tao’s damage output. The four-piece set is a bit complex and builds Attack damage.
When a character uses an Elemental Skill and has 15 or more Energy while they have the four-piece set applied, they then lose 15 Energy, and the damage done by their Normal, Plunging, and Charged Attacks is increased by 50 percent for 10 seconds.
Gladiator’s Finale
Because Hu Tao excels as a damage dealer, the Gladiator’s Finale Artifact set that focuses on damage dealt is a solid choice. The two-piece set increases Attack by 18 percent. The four-piece set increases Normal Attack damage by 35 percent when the character this set is applied to wields a Polearm, Sword, or Claymore.
Vermillion Hereafter
This set echoes Hu Tao’s own abilities by providing bonuses when health is decreased. The two-piece set is standard and grants an 18 percent increase to Attack.
The four-piece set is quite complex, but works great on Hu Tao. When a character who the four-piece set is equipped to uses an Elemental Burst, they will then gain the Nascent Light effect, which will increase their Attack by eight percent for 16 seconds. When the same character loses Health Points, their Attack will increase by 10 percent. Because Hu Tao’s abilities drain and restore her health often, the Attack bonus this set gives is often activated on Hu Tao.
The 10 percent bonus can be triggered a maximum of four times every 0.8 seconds. If the character the Artifact set is equipped to is swapped out, the Nascent Light effect ends. If an Elemental Burst is used again while the effect is active, a new Nascent Light effect will replace the old one.
Echoes of an Offering
This Artifact set also revolves around building damage output. The two-piece set increases Attack by 18 percent. The four-piece set makes it so that when the character the set is equipped to performs a Normal Attack, there is a 36 percent chance it will then activate the Valley Rite ability. This ability increases Normal Attack damage by 70 percent of Attack and will end 0.05 seconds after a Normal Attack deals damage.
If a Normal Attack does not activate the Valley Rite ability, the chance of it being activated during the next Normal Attack is increased by 20 percent. This special bonus can occur once every 0.2 seconds.
Ascension Materials
To increase Hu Tao’s statistics, players will need to gather the necessary ascension materials. In total, players will need to gather 420,000 Mora, 46 Juvenile Jade, one Agnidus Agate Sliver, nine Agnidus Agate Fragment, nine Agnidus Agate Chunk, six Agnidus Agate Gemstone, 168 Silk Flower, 18 Whopperflower Nectar, 30 Shimmering Nectar, and 36 Energy Nectar.
When the materials are broken down across each Ascension level, these numbers are much easier to attain.
- Ascension to level one requires 20,000 Mora, one Agnidus Agate Sliver, three Silk Flower, and three Whopperflower Nectar.
- Ascension to level two requires 40,000 Mora, three Agnidus Agate Fragment, two Juvenile Jade, ten Silk Flower, and 15 Whopperflower Nectar.
- Ascension to level three requires 60,000 Mora, six Agnidus Agate Fragment, four Juvenile Jade, 20 Silk Flower, and 12 Shimmering Nectar.
- Ascension to level four requires 80,000 Mora, three Agnidus Agate Chunk, eight Juvenile Jade, 30 Silk Flower, and 18 Shimmering Nectar.
- Ascension to level five requires 100,000 Mora, six Agnidus Agate Chunk, 12 Juvenile Jade, 45 Silk Flower, and 12 Energy Nectar.
- Ascension to level six requires 120,000 Mora, six Agnidus Agate Gemstone, 20 Juvenile Jade, 60 Silk Flower, and 24 Energy Nectar.
Talent Materials
Leveling up Hu Tao’s Talents requires players to face Childe in the “Enter the Golden House” Domain, and regularly fight Whopperflowers to attain the various types of Nectar needed. Players will also need to visit the Taishan Mansion on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for the various levels of Teachings of Diligence needed.
To fully level up all of Hu Tao’s talents, players will need to gather 1,652,500 Mora, six Whopperflower Nectar, 22 Shimmering Nectar, 31 Energy Nectar, three Teachings of Diligence, 21 Guide to Diligence, 38 Philosophies of Diligence, six Shard of a Foul Legacy, and one Crown of Insight.
While Hu Tao is not currently a featured five-star and thus is not available, she will likely have a rerun sometime in the near future, since her last run occurred in Nov. 2021.
