Hu Tao is a 5 Star Pyro Polearm character in Genshin Impact. She is one of the 6 top-tier DPS characters in Genshin, alongside the likes of Eula, Raiden or Ganyu. Her unique skill set allows her to deal much more damage while at low HP. However, this requires some dodging skills or shielder teammates so that Hu Tao would not get killed.
In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the top 10 best teammates for Hu Tao in Genshin Impact.
1. Xingqiu
Xingqiu is Hu Tao’s premier Hydro enabler. His rate of off-field Hydro application is unsurpassed (especially at C6), and he also contributes a large amount of damage in Hu Tao’s teams.
Players can choose to run Xingqiu with a Favonius Sword instead of a Sacrificial Sword for shorter rotations. He can also use 5-star swords like Mistsplitter Reforged or Primordial Jade Cutter, but these require more Energy Recharge because of the lack of any Energy-generating passive.
2. Yelan
Yelan is another premier Hydro enabler, although she doesn’t apply as much Hydro as a C6 Xingqiu at C0. Given her lower rate of Hydro application, she can have issues keeping up with Hu Tao’s Pyro application when other teammates like Zhongli are also “eating away” at the Hydro aura applied to an enemy through their off-field Elemental application. This can result in lost Reverse Vapes, decreasing Hu Tao’s damage.
However, this issue can be alleviated in a couple ways, such as using an extra Electro character or adding an additional normal attack to combos. It is also completely avoided with her C2.
3. Kazuha
Kazuha works extremely well as both a grouper and a buffer for Hu Tao and/or her teammates. He can use Swirls to buff the Hydro DMG of Xingqiu and/or Yelan through VV and his A4 Passive; in VV Vape teams he can also provide similar buffs for Hu Tao’s Pyro DMG.
Kazuha can also buff Hu Tao even without Shredding Pyro Resistance with his C2 or Freedom-Sworn, making him an even better support option at whale-level investments.
4. Zhongli
Zhongli provides a large amount of survivability for Hu Tao, and his Interruption Resistance can make it easier to perform combos. While Hu Tao + Xingqiu already provides a large amount of Interruption Resistance, there are still enemies who can disrupt Hu Tao; Zhongli’s shield makes it nigh-impossible for Hu Tao to be interrupted.
Additionally, Zhongli also buffs his team’s damage with his AoE Resistance Shred. The only drawback that Zhongli has is that the Geo application from his pillar can sometimes interfere with Reverse Vaporize reactions if the Hydro aura applied to enemies is inconsistent.
5. Thoma
Because of Thoma’s ability to provide Interruption Resistance, Pyro Resonance, and an NA/CA buff at C6, he is an extremely valuable member of Hu Tao teams. As Hu Tao needs to keep her HP low, she can't use Bennett, which means Thoma is the obvious choice for Pyro battery and shield.
Hu Tao’s N1C combos allow Thoma’s shield to be stacked and remain strong for the entirety of the fight while minimizing the number of Vapes stolen by Thoma. The flex slot tends to be an Anemo character holding the Venerer set to Swirl Pyro for RES shred.
6. Sucrose
While she is not as versatile as Kazuha due to her buffing primarily only benefitting Hu Tao and having significantly less off-field damage, Sucrose is a strong support option for Hu Tao. Her Elemental Mastery buff and ability to hold TTDS already serve as a significant boost to Hu Tao’s damage; further, she can offer additional buffs to the team using her artifact set.
4pc Viridescent Venerer is the best option when Sucrose can Swirl Pyro and/or in Double Hydro teams; however, 4pc Instructor can also be competitive when this is not the case.
7. Layla
Currently, Layla's main contenders are Zhongli and Diona. Zhongli will most likely be superior, but against Diona, Layla seems like a direct upgrade. All Diona provides is shielding with minor buffs, but Layla has shielding with continuous cryo application that is not detrimental to Hu Tao.
Additionally, Layla is also very easy to build and only has 60 burst cost, so only moderate amount of farming of HP/HP/HP artifacts with ER substats is needed.
8. Albedo
Albedo's EM bonus benefits Hu Tao Vape teams greatly. His Burst would provide an extra source of off-field damage to Hu Tao lineup, alongside enabling Geo Resonance if you are running Zhongli.
His Geo Element would not interfere much with your Pyro reaction, and he can also provide crystallize shield occasionally.
9. Diona
Diona and Hu Tao don't work very well, because both her shield and heals scale off of HP, so it's going to be very difficult to keep Hu Tao with low HP and have a strong shield at the same time. However, if you don't have many character built, she is a good F2P option.
It heavily depends on the team, but Diona will most likely be mainly a shielder, unless you run a melt team with both Diona and Rosaria/Kaeya/Ganyu (and Xingqiu of course).
10. Fischl
Fischl can do three important things for Hu Tao teams:
- She can “protect” Hydro aura to make Reverse Vaporizes more consistent in teams with lower Hydro application.
- She can deal significant amounts of damage as an off-field DPS.
- She can apply Electro to enable Overloads from Hu Tao for even more damage.
That said, it should be kept in mind Fischl and other Electro characters should not be used in conjunction with Cryo characters.
>>> Read more: Complete Guide For Yelan In Genshin Impact 3.4: Best Talents, Builds, Team Comps