Genshin Impact caught a few of us by surprise with the release of fiery funeral director Hu Tao as a playable character. She was included in some recent leaks, but it did seem as though a few characters might be ahead of her in the queue. Nevertheless, Hu Tao immediately proved a popular choice, with her reveal trailer racking up one million views in just seven hours. However, she is less popular amongst the cast themselves, who almost universally find her incredibly annoying.

Hu Tao is a new polearm Pyro fighter arriving in the Moment of Bloom banner, and like all new five star characters, she’ll be tough to get your hands on. If you do pull her though, you might just have one of the most cinematic and charismatic characters in Genshin Impact in your party.

Every Pyro DPS character is held up against Diluc, who is generally thought of as one of the best characters in the game full stop. Hu Tao might not quite reach his heights, but armed with the right weapons and artifacts, she can still be a devastating presence in the squad.

Best Weapon For Hu Tao In Genshin Impact

There’s one clear standout when it comes to the best polearms in the game, and it’s the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it’s also a bit of a gutful for your enemies when they’re stabbed with it. This five-star polearm must be pulled in a Wish summon, but if you manage to get it, it’ll make Hu Tao extremely powerful. This polearm increases your ATK by 3.2% for six seconds, but that can stack up to seven times, leaving you with an extra 22.4% ATK. With Hu Tao sweeping across the battlefield with big swings and swirling flames, you can keep that full stack up in most skirmishes.

There are a few other good polearms worth plumbing for too, like the Skyward Spine, or the Staff of Homa, but if you’re looking for a discount weapon for the free-to-play Genshin experience, the Halberd is an excellent and easily available three-star polearm. It can give you a huge 160% ATK boost, though only once every ten seconds. It’s not amazing, but it can be very effective and you’ll likely have them in your inventory already.

Best Artifacts For Hu Tao In Genshin Impact

Hu Tao’s best artifact set is the Crimson Witch of Flames, which boosts her Pyro damage and gives her better combinations with other elemental attacks from the rest of the party.

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From two parts of this set, Hu Tao gets a 15% Pyro damage boost, but things get really interesting once you have four equipped. The set bonus for four pieces is a 40% boost to Overload and Burn, as well as a 15% boost to Vaporize and Melt. With four pieces of Crimson Witch of Flames, an Elemental Skill attack from Hu Tao increases the party’s two-piece bonuses by 50% for ten seconds, and can be stacked three times.