DPS Build 👍

Hu Tao is most effective when used with Xingqiu to proc Vaporize/Freeze Melt reactions which utilizes her BiS Set, Crimson Witch of Flames (4). Freeze Melt refers to freezing enemies for Melt set up, since unlike Diluc or Klee, Hu Tao doesn't shatter frozen enemies. Regarding Weapon Choices: Primordial Jade Winged-Spear: Is better than the [R1] variants of Dragon's Bane and Deathmatch with ideal stacking. While this is a very strong weapon when fully stacked, maintaining the stacks on Hu Tao isn't ideal in realistic situations making the weapon less consistent than other options. Deathmatch: This weapon is better than Dragon's Bane when you're not doing Vaporize. Blackcliff Pole: Despite seeming quite good due to the Crit DMG substat, Blackcliff Pole at 1 stack performs only slightly better than an [R5] White Tassel in practice as it is difficult to maintain stacks consistently. It is not recommended to buy this weapon specifically for Hu Tao and should only be used if you already have one. Vortex Vanquisher: Provides little to nothing to Hu Tao since she scales better with HP% than ATK% with every spear in the game. Base ATK makes little difference on Hu Tao because she has a very high HP to ATK conversion cap. White Tassel: This weapon requires your combos to be more focused on Normal Attacks (N2C over N1C) to make use of it's passive. Regarding Artifact Sets: Shimenawa's Reminiscence (4): Provides higher AA damage than Crimson Witch of Flames (4) but lowers your Elemental Burst damage which hurts your AoE damage, also if you're unable to burst, it might cause survivability issues if you're not running a healer. Gilded Dreams (4): This artifact set is equal to Crimson Witch of Flames (4) if you are using Staff of the Scarlet Sands. Retracing Bolide (4) and Crimson Witch of Flames (2) / Tenacity of the Millelith (2) + 80 EM set (2): All these options are almost on equal footing because both of the sets have an equal overall damage output assuming you have 100% shield uptime when using Retracing Bolide (4). The difference is, you want to use +80 EM set (2) / Tenacity of the Millelith (2) / Crimson's Witch of Flame (2) when focusing on Nuking and better consistency, while Retracing Bolide (4) is for overall higher AA damage at the expense of lower burst damage, although inconsistent if you cannot keep your shield permanently. Regarding Artifact Substats Priority: Since Hu Tao is able to trigger Vaporize on most of her damage output, Elemental Mastery is quite valuable on her. If you have less than 100EM total (including from Sucrose EM share, Instructor (4), etc) EM substat take priority over Crit Rate / DMG.

ABILITY TIP

When ending Hu Tao's combos with an Elemental Burst, if you do not jump/dash cancel the last charged attack, the Elemental Burst will still benefit from Hu Tao's Elemental Skill. It is recommended to use cancels when performing your Hu Tao combos as to maximize damage. N2CJ for [C0] and N2CD for [C1]. N3CJ/N3CD can be used to conserve stamina at the cost of damage. *N = Normal Attack, C = Charged Attack, J = Jump, D = Dash

MAIN STATS

SANDS

HP% / Elemental Mastery

GOBLET

Pyro DMG

CIRCLET

Crit Rate / DMG

SUB STATS

1. Crit Rate / DMG

2. Elemental Mastery

3. HP%

4. ATK%

5. Energy Recharge

TALENT PRIORITY

Normal Attack

Skill

Burst

WEAPONS

Reckless Cinnabar

HP increased by 20%/25%/30%/35%/40%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 0.8%/1%/1.2%/1.4%/1.6% of the wielder's Max HP. When the wielder's HP is less than 50%, this ATK Bonus is increased by an additional 1%/1.2%/1.4%/1.6%/1.8% of Max HP.

ATK

608

CRIT DMG

66.2%

1

Staff of Homa

Heat Haze at Horizon's End

The equipping character gains 52%/65%/78%/91%/104% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, the Dream of the Scarlet Sands effect will be gained for 10s: The equipping character will gain 28%/35%/42%/49%/56% of their Elemental Mastery as bonus ATK. Max 3 stacks.

ATK

542

CRIT Rate

44.1%

2

Staff of the Scarlet Sands

Bane of Flame and Water

Increases DMG against opponents affected by Hydro or Pyro by 20%/24%/28%/32%/36%.

ATK

454

Elemental Mastery

221

3

Dragon's Bane

Gladiator

If there are at least 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 16%/20%/24%/28%/32% and DEF is increased by 16%/20%/24%/28%/32%. If there are fewer than 2 opponents nearby, ATK is increased by 24%/30%/36%/42%/48%.

ATK

454

CRIT Rate

36.8%

4

Deathmatch

Eagle Spear of Justice

On hit, increases ATK by 3.2%/3.9%/4.6%/5.3%/6% for 6s. Max 7 stacks. This effect can only occur once every 0.3s. While in possession of the maximum possible stacks, DMG dealt is increased by 12%/15%/18%/21%/24%.

ATK

674

CRIT Rate

22.1%

5

Primordial Jade Winged-Spear

The Wind Unattained

Within 10s after an Elemental Reaction is triggered, ATK is increased by 12%/15%/18%/21%/24% and Elemental Mastery is increased by 48/60/72/84/96.

ATK

510

ATK

41.3%

6

Missive Windspear

Press the Advantage

After defeating an enemy, ATK is increased by 12%/15%/18%/21%/24% for 30s. This effect has a maximum of 3 stacks, and the duration of each stack is independent of the others.

ATK

510

CRIT DMG

55.1%

7

Blackcliff Pole

Lithic Axiom: Unity

For every character in the party who hails from Liyue, the character who equips this weapon gains a 7%/8%/9%/10%/11% ATK increase and a 3%/4%/5%/6%/7% CRIT Rate increase. This effect stacks up to 4 times.

ATK

565

ATK

27.6%

8

Lithic Spear

Sharp

Increases Normal Attack DMG by 24%/30%/36%/42%/48%.

ATK

401

CRIT Rate

23.4%

9

White Tassel

Golden Majesty

Increases Shield Strength by 20%/25%/30%/35%/40%. Scoring hits on opponents increases ATK by 4%/5%/6%/7%/8% for 8s. Max 5 stacks. Can only occur once every 0.3s. While protected by a shield, this ATK increase effect is increased by 100%.

ATK

608

ATK

49.6%

10

Vortex Vanquisher

ARTIFACTS

1

2 Set Bonus

Pyro DMG Bonus +15%

4 Set Bonus

Increases Overloaded, Burning, and Burgeon DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using Elemental Skill increases the 2-Piece Set Bonus by 50% of its starting value for 10s. Max 3 stacks.

Crimson Witch of Flames 4

2

2 Set Bonus

ATK +18%.

4 Set Bonus

When casting an Elemental Skill, if the character has 15 or more Energy, they lose 15 Energy and Normal/Charged/Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 50% for 10s. This effect will not trigger again during that duration.

Shimenawa's Reminiscence 4

3

2 Set Bonus

Increases Elemental Mastery by 80.

4 Set Bonus

Within 8s of triggering an Elemental Reaction, the character equipping this will obtain buffs based on the Elemental Type of the other party members. ATK is increased by 14% for each party member whose Elemental Type is the same as the equipping character, and Elemental Mastery is increased by 50 for every party member with a different Elemental Type. Each of the aforementioned buffs will count up to 3 characters. This effect can be triggered once every 8s. The character who equips this can still trigger its effects when not on the field.

Gilded Dreams 4

4

Choose 2

2 Set Bonus

Pyro DMG Bonus +15%

4 Set Bonus

Increases Overloaded, Burning, and Burgeon DMG by 40%. Increases Vaporize and Melt DMG by 15%. Using Elemental Skill increases the 2-Piece Set Bonus by 50% of its starting value for 10s. Max 3 stacks.

Crimson Witch of Flames 2

Gilded Dreams Wanderer's Troupe

Elemental Mastery +80 set 2

2 Set Bonus

HP +20%

4 Set Bonus

When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, the ATK of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their Shield Strength is increased by 30% for 3s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. This effect can still be triggered even when the character who is using this artifact set is not on the field.

Tenacity of the Millelith 2

5

2 Set Bonus

Increases Shield Strength by 35%.

4 Set Bonus

While protected by a shield, gain an additional 40% Normal and Charged Attack DMG.

Retracing Bolide 4