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Hu Tao Talent Priority: Maximizing Your DPS Potential

For players looking to unleash the full potential of Hu Tao, prioritizing her talents effectively is paramount. Her unique kit revolves around HP scaling and a powerful Pyro infusion, making her a formidable main DPS. But knowing where to invest your resources can dramatically impact her performance. So, what talents should you prioritize?

The short answer: Prioritize her Elemental Skill, then her Normal Attack talent, and lastly her Elemental Burst. This sequence allows you to maximize her damage output and synergy with her kit. Let’s delve into why this approach is optimal.

Understanding Hu Tao’s Talents

Elemental Skill: Guide to Afterlife

Hu Tao’s Elemental Skill, “Guide to Afterlife,” is the cornerstone of her damage. Activating it consumes a portion of her HP, infuses her weapon with Pyro, and increases her attack based on her max HP. This skill is non-negotiable for maximizing her DPS because:

Pyro Infusion: It converts her Normal and Charged Attacks into Pyro damage. This is critical to trigger elemental reactions like Vaporize, one of Hu Tao’s most potent damage tools.
HP-Based Attack Boost: It massively boosts her attack based on her max HP, scaling multiplicatively with other attack-enhancing buffs. The higher the skill level, the more significant the bonus.
Main Source of Damage: While her other talents are crucial, the majority of her on-field damage comes from the infused attacks empowered by this skill.

Normal Attack: Secret Spear of Wangsheng

After activating her Skill, Hu Tao’s Normal and Charged Attacks are her primary damage source. Upgrading her Normal Attack talent, “Secret Spear of Wangsheng,” is therefore crucial to increase their potency. Here’s why:

Charged Attacks: Hu Tao’s charged attack is her bread and butter. It deals significant Pyro damage and applies Pyro reliably.
Synergy with Skill: The damage from her Normal and Charged attacks scales directly with the Pyro infusion from her elemental skill. A higher level normal attack talent means even higher damage during her skill’s duration.
Consistency: Upgrading this talent provides consistent and reliable damage gains throughout her time on the field.

Elemental Burst: Spirit Soother

Her Elemental Burst, “Spirit Soother,” deals AoE Pyro damage and heals Hu Tao based on the number of enemies hit. While it can do significant damage, it is less important to prioritize early on than her other talents, Here’s why:

Healing and Damage: It serves a dual purpose, healing her when below 50% HP (which is a requirement for maximizing her passive damage buff) and offering a burst of AoE damage.
Limited Uptime: The burst is on a longer cooldown and is not as reliable as her infused normal and charged attacks.
Lower DPS Increase: While upgrading it will increase both the damage and healing it provides, it provides less of a direct and consistent DPS increase compared to her Skill and Normal attacks.

Recommended Talent Leveling Order

Based on the above, the recommended talent leveling order for Hu Tao is:

Elemental Skill (Guide to Afterlife): Max out as your top priority. This is the single biggest boost to her damage.
Normal Attack (Secret Spear of Wangsheng): Level up next. Her charged attack, used in conjunction with the Skill, accounts for the bulk of her consistent damage.
Elemental Burst (Spirit Soother): Level last. It is important, but the least impactful to her overall DPS compared to the other two talents.

Essential Talent Information

Crown Priority: If you have the resources, prioritize crowning the Elemental Skill first, and then consider crowning the Normal Attack talent.
Leveling Strategy: Consider leveling her Skill and Normal Attack to at least level 8 before focusing on her Burst.
Consistency over Burst: Always aim to maximize the consistency of her on-field damage before looking at boosting Burst damage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does Hu Tao’s damage scale with Attack or HP?

Hu Tao scales significantly with HP. Her Elemental Skill boosts her Attack based on her maximum HP, and her damage output is significantly more impacted by HP than traditional attack. Therefore, prioritize HP% on artifacts and weapons.

2. How important is keeping Hu Tao under 50% HP?

Keeping Hu Tao below 50% HP is crucial for maximizing her damage due to her passive talent, “Sanguine Rouge.” This passive grants her a 33% Pyro damage bonus when her HP is below or equal to 50%.

3. Which support characters synergize best with Hu Tao?

Xingqiu is generally considered her best support due to his consistent Hydro application, which allows Hu Tao to trigger Vaporize reactions constantly. Yelan, with similar hydro application, is another great support option. Zhongli or other shielders can be great for preventing her death.

4. Should I use a healer with Hu Tao?

Generally, avoid traditional healers with Hu Tao. Overhealing can negate her passive bonus. Shielders are preferable for survivability. However, characters like Bennett can be useful in certain situations when used in moderation, to prevent deaths.

5. What are the best weapons for Hu Tao?

Staff of Homa is her signature and BiS (Best in Slot) weapon. Other good options include Staff of the Scarlet Sands and Dragon’s Bane (R5).

6. Which artifacts should I equip on Hu Tao?

The 4-piece Crimson Witch of Flames set is typically the best for her. However, 2-piece combinations of Crimson Witch with either HP% or EM boosting sets can work well. Focus on HP%, Pyro DMG Bonus, Crit Rate, and Crit Damage.

7. What Crit Rate and Crit Damage ratio should I aim for on Hu Tao?

Aim for a 60-70% Crit Rate and as much Crit Damage as possible, ideally over 200%.

8. How much HP is considered good for Hu Tao?

Aim for around 30,000 HP, though this can vary depending on whether you are using Staff of Homa. Without Homa, you should be aiming for mid 30k+ range.

9. Is Hu Tao C1 worth it?

Hu Tao’s Constellation 1 (C1) is highly valuable. It eliminates stamina consumption from her charged attacks, significantly improving her damage output. Many consider it to be a major quality-of-life improvement for her gameplay.

10. Is Hu Tao worth pulling for?

Hu Tao is a top-tier single target DPS. She is worth pulling for if you enjoy hypercarry playstyles and have the proper resources and support characters to back her up. She excels in content where single target DPS matters, making her a valuable addition to any team.

11. Can I use White Tassel on Hu Tao if I don’t have other polearms?

While White Tassel is not optimal, it can serve as a decent temporary option for beginners due to its Crit Rate substat. However, prioritize acquiring a better polearm as soon as possible.

12. Why does Hu Tao lose HP when she uses her Elemental Skill?

Hu Tao loses HP when she activates her Elemental Skill, as this is a core part of her kit. The HP loss allows her to access her boosted attack and Pyro infusion and is part of her risk-reward playstyle.

13. How does Hu Tao regenerate her HP?

Hu Tao primarily regenerates HP through her Elemental Burst. It heals her based on the number of enemies hit. However, this is often not enough to keep her consistently healthy and under 50% HP so shielders and cautious gameplay are needed.

14. Is Hu Tao good without her signature weapon, Staff of Homa?

Yes, Hu Tao is good without Staff of Homa. While it is her BiS, other weapons like Dragon’s Bane can work very well, especially at higher refinements. She has excellent scaling and team synergies that allow her to excel even without her signature weapon.

15. Can I make Hu Tao work in all types of team compositions?

Hu Tao is primarily a single-target DPS character. While she can work in some AoE situations, other DPS characters might perform better in those scenarios. Focus on teams that support her core strengths.

By understanding and applying these tips, you can maximize Hu Tao’s damage potential and conquer challenging content in Genshin Impact.

What talent to prioritize on Hu Tao?