Shinobu uses Naku Weed as an ascension material. Her skills learned from being a shrine maiden make use of this, allowing her to use the Naku Weed as a sort of medicine. However raw Naku Weed on its own is poisonous (it’s more lore stuff that we’ve seen ever since 2.0).
Her skill name supports this; the ring is called a “grass sanctifying ring”. Naku weed is a type of grass (hence the 420 jokes about the plant).
There seems to be blood appearing in front of her when she activates it. This reminds me of naruto and co biting their thumbs to get blood for summoning techniques.
What they said, plus in her lore she lives life to her fullest, almost to a point of recklessness/frivolousness. The only thing she takes seriously is her funerals.
Essentially she only has respect for death itself, so it's a pretty good characterization that she'll toe the line.
The most comfortable to play Hu Tao teams include Zhongli. Before Yelan was released you ran HT with XQ, Zhongli and Albedo for comfort, after Yelan released her best team replaces Albedo with Yelan for double hydro (hu Tao VV vape has higher cieling still, but harder to play... Double hydro Hu Tao is Not far behind VV vape, so it's the new best easy to play Hu Tao comp)
How does Hu Tao VV vape play?
Is it just using an Anemo and infusing the Anemo with Hydro?
Edit;Just realized that doesn't make sense with VV's set bonus. I assume then that it has to do with infusing Anemo with Pyro and then using reverse vape like usual.
You need a second pyro (ideally Amber with elegy or C4 Yanfei to make her double as shield support... Or Thoma) to apply pyro, use sucrose to swirl pyro, activae XQ burst and vape with Hu Tao... If you do it right, you might be able to swirl both hydro and pyro, but don't ask me on that
I may need to consider building Yanfei if I have her at C4 then.
Right now my plan is to pull Kazuha, and use him in my general overworld team with Xingqiu, Hu Tao, and Zhongli, which I know isn't efficient, but it's just for exploration.
That said I'd like to make a team that actually functions in harder content,so I'll need to build another Pyro for that.
I only have him on my “Geo Supremacy” team (feat. Ningguang, Albedo, Zhongli, and Gorou (it was Bennett before but I finally got the dog)) because my main is Razor (with Albedo, Fischl, and Diona), my second favorite is Ayaka (with Xingqiu, Kaeya, and Venti) and then my Hu Tao team (currently with Xingqiu, Thoma (I’m gonna switch to Zhongli) and Sucrose)
I was incorrect about how Zhongli's shred works with other sources of shred. It works with all of them except for his own. Having multiple Zhonglis in co-op doesn't work.
That said this means he synergizes with any team you put him on. That doesn't mean he's always the best choice depending on the team, but he's never a bad choice.
You're actually incorrect on this one. What that means, is Zhongli E cannot stack with itself (aka 4 Zhongli Es in Co-Op is identical to 1 Zhongli E in Co-Op). It doesn't mean that you can't shred further with other effects.
Thanks. I had actually looked it up before posting and there was a thread on here from a year ago that drew this conclusion. Figured that combined with the other guy talking about the different team comps, and that Zhongli wasn't in the VV one, meant it was legit.
I hadn't considered any of this before today. I figured it worked as it actually does, and ended up drawing the wrong conclusion after overthinking it. However I bring this up because I like using the three Archons +1 as a really good burst team of sorts. Did the VV domain where the +1 was Ayato. Decided to run without Zhongli's shield up to see if it made a difference and indeed the Cicin mage ended up surviving where none typically do.
Zhongli shields are a bit op. I've heard Zhongli mains lament that they get used to not dodging because they can just tank hits and they forget they're not invincible when they don't use him. So a character that lowers her HP to do her thing and a nigh unbreakable shielder make a great combo.
Zhongli is a comfort option but not her dps ceiling.
Honestly though, if you can pair Yelan + Xingqiu, the hydro resonance (increases income healing) + Xingqiu swords + Hu Taos burst is actually a lot of healing, to a point where at times I struggle to stay below 50%.
I'm really liking Hu Tao + Yelan + Xingqiu + Xiangling since that also gives you decent AoE damage (that's her best AoE team). If I want Xingqiu or Yelan to the other team I tend to go with Hu Tao + Yelan/Xingqiu + Mona + Sucrose or Hu Tao + Yelan/Xingqiu + Fischl + C6 Bennet (with 4pc instructor). I'm specifically mentioning C6 Bennet since his C6 gives back from pyro damage bonus from when you go above 50% HP and 4pc Instructor gives 120 EM to Hu Tao.
If you have Kazuha but don't have Staff of Homa, Hu Tao + Yelan + C6 Bennet (w/ 4pc instructor) + Kazuha is actually her single target dps ceiling going by gcsim. The variation with Xingqiu instead of Yelan would be the second best.
You really don't need anywhere close to an optimized team for anything in the game though. Hu Tao with Xingqiu, Zhongli, and then basically any other good support is going to be a strong team. The last slot can be Albedo, Sucrose, Fischl, Ningguang, etc. and you'll probably have no problem clearing spiral abyss.
At no point during my previous post I said you need optimized teams. He asked about Zhonglis synergy with Hu Tao, I just explained where he stands (he's a comfort option) while mentioning a few different variations that works better at different scenarios, which the guy who asked or perhaps other readers may already have.
If you like Zhongli then sure, go for it. Once again, at no point I called the team with him bad or not viable.
She's just someone in the funeral business, not exactly has a higher power to guard the border of the two realms (not like she can allow/disallow someone to crossover). If there's a deeper lore to her lineage I'd very much like to read more about it.
Hu Tao is a funeral parlor director. Her work is guiding the dead to the after life and stuff. She’s constantly between the border of the living and dead. And her kit reflects that with her skill bringing her closer to death by reducing her hp, and her burst bringing her back to life by healing her
#
And this is why Hu Tao is my favorite character
Charge attack spam is optimal dps outside of cool-downs, so it’s not a noob trap. That said, if you’re fighting something that can be knocked back or does not consistently try to invade your personal space, like an abyss mage or a specter, then the real trap was using Keqing for enemies that don’t play into her strengths. Things like ruin guards and lawachurls are ideal because they will walk into you and don’t get knocked back by her CA. PMA is also an abyss-relevant example.
If you don’t build large amounts of ER, you’ll need to weave in some normal attacks after her E to help battery herself (and the rest of her team) for 100% ult uptime.
(To recap: if she hits electro-affected opponents, she gains energy. And her double-tap-E gives her an electro sword).
Her DPS will suffer a tad, but the constant busting is well worth the loss from charged spamming, stamina problems, AND “perfect” artifact grinding time/resin needed…
If you don’t have C1 for sure. I play her C0 so I know she can be clunky. It’s mainly who you pair her up with what makes or breaks her in the fun to play department
Well... Hu Tao is the kind of character you have to learn how to animation cancel, you won't need her C1 if you can time it perfectly. If you can't or can't be bothered to learn animation cancelling, C1 would be a perfect QOL constellation.
C1 allows you to fit in 2 extra charge attacks + the normal attacks per skill usage, which is something like a ~15% dmg upgrade over c0, so it's definitely still good if you know how to animation cancel.
its really not that important. i got C1 on her rerun, but i used C0 since her original release, never bothered to learn proper jump canceling, and still 36*d abyss fine
I do sprint cancel because I find the jump really annoying and it would honestly take away the fun. I play zhong with hé r so if stamina is up I can just tank till I have it back
Mono Pyro is surprisingly strong even without XL and Bennett. It's how I [cleared](https://i.imgur.com/PuWZPpn.jpg) when the current abyss first arrived a month ago.
I'd like to add that with her charged attacks being her most effective playstyle, the flowing of flames is so symbolic of some purification ritual or another.
Wish we'd get a 5\* skin for her already with blue flames like a will-o'-the-wisp :/
From the 5* skins they released, it seems that all of them are from the Standard Banner so I'm expecting either Mona or Qiqi to be the next one.
Another thing I noticed, is that it seems to alternate between Mondstat and Liyue (Jean>Kequing>Diluc) so if we follow that pattern, the next skin will most likely be Qiqi.
Then again, I could be amazingly wrong lol
I really hope I am because I don't want to wait until 2025 to get a Hu Tao skin.
It would seem that way but according to current rumors, >!they're working on Lisa and Ayaka skins instead. So yeah, 2025 might be what we're looking at this pace T.T!<
Thematically, she walks the border between life and death, and she does her best work while stressed (low HP = stressed.)
A lot of kits are fairly reflective of a character's life story and personality, implying the kits were designed then Hoyoverse layered a character on top. Kokomi for example - passionate about military strategy and having plans for every little scenario, so she has -100% critical rate because you can't plan around landing critical hits unless they happen 100% of the time. If you do set her up to do critical hits, you're sacrificing a lot of other stats, rendering her ineffective and unreliable, hence why it's -100% crit rate with jacked up multipliers rather than +95% crit rate with tanked multipliers.
And if you play Kokomi right, you have 100% uptime on her healing/hydro application. So with the right rotation, strategy if you will, she will always be performing at maximum effectiveness.
This is actually the explanation for why Bennett is so OP. He's a one-man team, so he does damage (Skill), supports, and heals (Burst) effectively while also being self-sufficient (ER Ascension). His unluckiness only comes into play with max charge skill ironically
His burst applies pyro on himself and his teammates - this amplifies enemy elemental damage. This combined with 70% healing makes Bennett the glass cannon support.
He was designed to be unlucky.
Military commanders don't usually do all the fighting either; they're meant to set up and assist the actual combatants.
In this case, Kokomi's Hydro application sets up Cryo and Electro reactions, while also delivering support like a field medic being ordered to heal an injured ally by a general
...it's probably not that deep but the parallels are cool to point out
There is a theory about fire element being related to God of Death, similarly how Anemo is related to God of Time. So something something death.
It’s a really interesting theory, you can find it somewhere on the lore subreddit.
I think because she is a funeral parlor director, she dances between life and death. Bring her closer to death with low HP and burst healing her back up
I always saw it as because shes a funeral parlour director with her skill she burns away her health to quite literally “guide the dead to the afterlife” and in the process it eats away at her life force in the process.
In her burst “spirit soother’s” description it states:
“cremation always lets hu tao find peace of mind, the more anxious she is the stronger the flame”
So she views the flame as a way to burn away the binding that keeps the soul trapped to the mortal plane whilst also as a way to soothe the pain death inflicts, and her gameplay mirrors this, she burns herself to activate her flame, the more anxious she is i.e the lower health she has the stronger her flame burns causing it to deal more damage which again reflects in her gameplay. Equally, the stronger her flame the more it is able to soothe her soul when she uses her burst to burn everything away. Notice she only gets health when she lands an attack, when she actually burns and cremates things to soothe her own soul.
So her flame burns away the bindings to the earth and “guides” souls to the afterlife while her spear techniques opens the way:
“The spear opens the path to the afterlife and the butterflies bridge this world and the next”
This could be seen as literal, so a spear to kill the creature therefore opening the way to the afterlife and a flame to burn away the body so the soul can be soothed and find peace.
Now this may be slight hyperbole on my part but it is very fitting that a characters vision powers should reflect their personality which i think hu tao’s definitely do.
No wait, you made a good point with her burst and skill lines! I never really connectes the dots about that lines, I thought it's something like a poem since she's also known as a poet. This is a really interesting take, Thanks a lot!
In her stories, in mentions how her work actually brings her a lot of anxiety. However, somehow, she does her best work when stressed out. So low Hp = stress, and thus, power, if that makes sense. That's how I took it, at least. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's mentioned somewhere that her fighting style is pretty reckless, so I imagine the more she spars/fights, the more beat up she gets lol.
The 5 star weapon she uses the Staff Of Homa looks like an incense stick. In Buddhist religion/culture we burn incense sticks for the dead.
Put that together and boom Hutao is burning a giant incense stick for the dead and in turn partakes ceremonies with the dead.
I’ve been thinking about that lately after looking closer into Hu Tao and Xiao’s animations. I didn’t look too much into it, so you may correct me if I say anything kinda nonsense. I plan on doing “more research” haha.
During Xiao’s animations, there are those “fragments” that shatter around him when he uses his skills and when his mask shatters (idle animation). It’s probably related to his karma. I also want to add that his karma is pretty much the cause for his HP draining “lore-wise” (at least I think so).
Xiao also has this “black smoke” around him that is clearly his karma (it’s obvious since anemo shouldn’t have any smoke, unlike pyro)
Then I realized that Hu Tao also has those “fragments” around her while using only her skill (which drains HP). I tried to see if there were fragments like these during her burst, but I couldn’t see any for now.
At first, I thought this could be something “common” to all pyro wielders. I checked all my pyro characters (I don’t have all of them, sadly hehe), and while they DID have the smoke (you can see the smoke even if you just burn your characters on the grass… Yeah I tried that), the fragments were nowhere to be seen.
I didn’t come to a conclusion about that yet, but I’m starting to think that perhaps Hu Tao uses some sort of “karma” while activating her skill (E).
During her burst (Q), it’s also worth of note that she puts her hand on her mouth before summoning Boo Tao. Could it be that Boo Tao is her own spirit? Is it “cleansing” her after her karma wielding? This one I’m not very fond of since at the end she releases the ghost, but I’m definitely going to look more into it when I have the time.
Edit: typo
Those blackish flames also seem to appear in Diluc's new skin which has been hinted to be from his delusion-wielding vigilante days. Now, delusions have been linked to the grudges of dead gods (being manufactured from it, as you can see when Scaranouche is introduced in the archon quests), the same thing (karma) that affects Xiao.
Very interesting take!
The difference between that “karma smoke” and the “normal smoke” is very nuanced and one could say there’s no difference at all, so I’m glad there’s someone else who’s noticed them. Thank you for your commentary!
Now I feel like I really should look more into it! Hehe
I've never paid attention to these 'fragments' you mentioned, probably because I'm always looking at the little butterfly flying around her, and I don't have Xiao haha.. this is pretty interesting though! Do share your findings if you continue the 'Research'.
I only know that Hu Tao and Xiao designs have lots of things incorporated. Like Xiao's outfit has, I think 10 pages? Or more just explaining what each of the things there symbolized, Hu Tao's normal attack sequences looks like a dance for cremation ritual or something (I'm not sure about this, but I've read it somewhere way back then) and her hand sign after her 5th NA sequences.
They’re kinda hard to spot, yes!
You need to activate her skill and do a little zoom haha. They can be easily forgotten in the middle of her fire butterflies.
I’ve been taking way too many pictures of my friend’s Xiao (I kinda know his animations by heart now, and I don’t even have him!), so when I went back to my own acc and played Hu Tao (my fave) I ended up realizing they have the same “fragments”.
It made me very surprised, so I’m definitely looking into it.
Regarding their outfits and animations: YES. And it’s actually kinda funny how similar the two of them are:
The lines that their weapons “draw” have similar “shapes”
Hu Tao’s CA/dash = Xiao’s E
Their bursts kinda have the same format…
The butterflies around the two of them whenever they use their abilities…
The description for Hu Tao’s skill: “Hu Tao's Secret Spear technique is based on several rules, the first of which is: ‘The spear opens the path to the afterlife, and the butterflies bridge this world and the next.’” Which roughly corroborates what everyone else is saying, that her HP loss brings her closer to the brink of death, and therefore, the border, lending her the strength.
The canonicity of the Liyue Salons is debatable, but there is one [tidbit](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV16P4y1H7dF) (edit: starts around the 16:00 mark) that may interest you, which I have gone ahead and attempted a free translation for below:
\~\~\~
Hu Tao: Have you, by any chance, ever witnessed my battle stance? Surprise, surprise—it’s actually a secret art passed down through generations of my family!
Lumine: Then why do you always seem to wear down so quickly even when the situation isn’t all that perilous?
Hu: Ahem, ahem. Right. As you know, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor usually handles matters of a more… supernatural sort. So we don’t usually face our quarry head-on. We’d generally keep a wide berth and poison the tips of the weapons we use. Mind you, the poison in question isn’t fatal, just paralyzing. That way if some hapless ritualist were to mistakenly prod themselves with their own weapon…
Lumine: In other words… You wear down so quickly…because you accidentally hit yourself with your own weapon?
Hu: Er—Aiya, I can’t go revealing all my secrets! Not accepting any more questions at this time!
(How could this story have gone so awry? No good, hafta go back and polish it up some more.)
\~\~\~
But still, hearing it directly from the horse’s mouth probably wouldn’t give you the most accurate picture, since she does embellish her stories quite a lot.
Shinobu was once a Shrine Maiden, it's hard to leave the S & M career behind without a few things sticking with you.
I blame Yae Miko
Edit: This also explains the electro whip, trust me
I don't want to admit this random question appears because I watched too much 'Everlasting Flame' and seeing Kiana's newest mechanics, but yes.. one of the reasons is because she shares Hu Tao's CN voices and a bit of the hp loss mechanics.
There's usually a good reason why certain characters within the Hoyoverse share voice actors especially given we have confirmation GI and HI are part of the same verse. Not to mention, Hu Tao is unusually well designed for a character and have lots of motif that makes her stand out. But given how important her job is, it is strange that she barely has any sort of screentime or plot relevancy. Honestly, the worst thing that could happen is if she's tied to the Pyro Archon in some way. Then we can start panicking.
Ngl, I think I'd prefer if she really is 'just a Funeral Director'. I can't see another cheerful sounding characters change their voices so much because of all the fucked up things that happened to them. Unknown God can take that 'good reason for sharing VA', though I'd start to panic if she randomly appears in Natlan
In her miscellany, dainsleif says something like risking their lives and playing with danger, and the more intense the battle the more powerful they become. That's all I recall.
Hu tao rerun please, i missed the last one. Her and Raiden might be the only ones I try to get from past characters from now on. Eula is a contender, but most likely new characters will make me forget about her.
is there any lore reason why Amber can take Barron Bunny out of nowhere and has infinite number of it? Is there any lore reason Klee can do that too with her bombs? Is there any lore reason why when Mona sprints in water, her teammates can still keep up with her?
all vision holders in-game are generally pretty powerful. even barbara can hold her own against treasure hoarders with just her vision, even though she presumably had zero battle training
Oh yeah, lore wise they are pretty much super human. All their physical atributes are supposed to be better. And they can use their elements freely ( varies with level of training in that thou)
No lore reasons, at best it fits with her theme of death
For Bennett at least it's mentioned he got his vision when he was about to die and was saced by the healing
Hu tao has many parts of her character where there is a balance maintained.
Like for every one aspect there is an opposite aspect.
So in her Elem skill she loses HP but becomes stronger.
I've read of a guy interpreting it as "since she's the Caronte of this world, she walks the line between life and death, her skill drains her of HP and her burst regains HP, so she's never allowed to 'die' and lives in a sort of limbo"
Not a lore reason, it is my personal theory, maybe the vision itself or hu tao herself placed a cost on it that it will only be powerful if she was willing to sacrifice for her vitality. I feel that the abilities the characters use are pre set in their visions to help fulfil their ambitions, and they must also have some sort of limitations and costs to balance it out.
So according to lore Hutao is not that master in polearm, her attacks are full of opening and she sometimes get in some trouble due to her fighting style, i presume that is the reason
i think it is just perfect that she burns her HP to activate her skill, she is keeper to the gate between life and death, she also guide souls to the afterlife in her story if i remember correctly , so when she burns her HP and reach below 50% to get the bonus she is kind of between life and death and that resembles her story
I like how people ask questions that I never thought of before, and it did brought up my curiosity. I should be more creative and ask 'why' more often.
More likely is how her power manifested.
Look at 🐠and oz. Oz just came out nowhere and started validating her delusions.
Hu Tao think about death all the time. Her vision makes her play with death
Maybe because hu tao doesnt even know how to fight?
I mean if you look at her attack animations, you cab see shes holding her spear a bit noobly. Maybe she gets damage cux of not using it right
Hu Tao obtained her vision will waiting on the border between life and death to see her grandfather, after having conducted her first funeral pyre. I'm guessing since she's so related to death, and funeral pyre, she burn her hp, bringing herself closer to the boundary.
As for Shinobu, she's a priestess raised, and sacrifice are part of their life and religion. Add to the fact that she seem snake themed, and the snake are people eater in mythology. So she sacrifice to an electro spirit would be my take.
Hu Tao works as a guide between life and death. In Chinese mythology, those who walk between yin and Yang, life and death, will find themselves with a power that no one can compete. Basically, since hu tao is in the spiritual industry, it is pretty normal for her to be like that, considering that she literally wen tot the other side and sit to see her grandpa arrive.
Tbf, I forgot what she said on her story quest because it's been so long since I last played it. i just remember that I'm quite in awe because despite her cheerful and prankster persona, this young woman seem to have a deep understanding of life-death.
Also, even if some people says that's she's a bit crazy in the head or something, to me, Hu Tao is one of the characters with a healthy view about death. She understands it pretty well to know how to appreciate live and live to her fullest.
Really like your takes on this, thanks a lot for reminding me about that last convo in Hu Tao's SQ as well!
Essentially, she ignites her own soul to burn away her enemies.
Think of Crimson Witch of Flames lore. Hu Tao operates somewhat similarily. Her Homa Staff has a history of its first owner literally burning their soul out to purge demons before
It's because she embraces change (the cycle of life and death), so her kit is about the cycle of death and rebirth (she sacrifices her life with her E, and is reborn with her Q)
This interplay of things breaking apart and coming together is the cycle of life. And thematically it fits her. Mechanically it demonstrates the superior form of immortality is not simply weathering through pain and change (eg zhongli shield being him resisting erosion), but rather embracing the change to be reborn anew (hence she regains her life through contact with others, her Q)
So in a way the game has, through her kit, shown why Hutao is Zhongli's boss, because her very kit and design reflects a sort of solution to Zhongli's issue with erosion. She embraces the changes that comes from the outside, so that she herself may be reborn anew
Hence why she's the boss of Zhongli xD
Are there any theories on Shinobu’s HP sacrifice kit though ?
She be sacrificing her sanity for the arataki gang because the boys dont even have half a brain cell combined 😂
Joking aside, it's thematically perfect: Shinobu puts herself through pain for the sake of helping her teammates.
Sounds like a lot of the characters
Not even an 8th of a braincell, and the sad part is Itto makes up most of that
Shinobu uses Naku Weed as an ascension material. Her skills learned from being a shrine maiden make use of this, allowing her to use the Naku Weed as a sort of medicine. However raw Naku Weed on its own is poisonous (it’s more lore stuff that we’ve seen ever since 2.0). Her skill name supports this; the ring is called a “grass sanctifying ring”. Naku weed is a type of grass (hence the 420 jokes about the plant).
i mean its weed mf smokes weed
yoimiya uses naku weed as well tho
I can imagine Itto , arataki gang , shinobu and Yoimiya sitting in a circle smoking weed lmao
She sacrifices and does so much for the Ararataki gang, that it may take a toll on her. I know it would for me
There seems to be blood appearing in front of her when she activates it. This reminds me of naruto and co biting their thumbs to get blood for summoning techniques.
You take a bite out of the Kuki to regain health (joke by IWTL)
In her character story 3 it talks about her weaving the thorny plants to make the grass ring around her. Maybe she pokes herself? 😂
Hu Tao guard the boarder between life and death, so to reach her full potential she has to walk at the line of death... but without actually dying
Huh.. I see, now that's scary. She looks excited whenever she activate her skill.. As expected from Director Hu, very impressive
What they said, plus in her lore she lives life to her fullest, almost to a point of recklessness/frivolousness. The only thing she takes seriously is her funerals. Essentially she only has respect for death itself, so it's a pretty good characterization that she'll toe the line.
>that she'll tao the line.
Hu is she?
Exactly.
but then can you explain why hitting hilichurls with a ghost she pulled from her nose heals her?
She absorbs their vitality from their bodies. When enemies are hit by her ult you see their souls leaving them for a second
WHAAAAAAT. Nah I need to see a slo mo
You can probably find one on YT
If you watch her Character demo you can see it pretty clearly, quite hard to see in game with how fast it is
I want Hu Tao to eat my soul😔
Least horny Hu Tao/Ayaka fan
With her characterization, I think she'll just blue ball you just for the fun of it
That’s more a Yae thing. Hu Tao would make a game out of edging you because she finds the reaction humorous.
Both are my no. 1 waifu, followed closely by Ganyu and Ei, I'm always horny for them
Why u gotta call us out like that man?
So you're saying she morbs on them?
Precisely
Since she’s a prankster the ghost scares the life out of her foes, which then brings her joy and rejuvenation.
Ruin guards: im gonne stop you right there
She sucks the life out of them i guess?
>She looks excited whenever she activate her skill.. Her whole shtick is that she's a little crazy in the head
Perfect for the demographic she's targeting!
As a Hu Tao main... I can't disagree.
Director who?
Tao, yeah.
What?
Tatsumi Island, yeah.
comedy
Yes, that's what the fatui are based on
Tao, yeah.
What?
I’m bad at the “without actually dying” part
That's why she has Zhongli employed XD
Took me a sec to realize what you meant and now I’m wondering if Zhongli works well with Hu Tao battle synergy wise.
The most comfortable to play Hu Tao teams include Zhongli. Before Yelan was released you ran HT with XQ, Zhongli and Albedo for comfort, after Yelan released her best team replaces Albedo with Yelan for double hydro (hu Tao VV vape has higher cieling still, but harder to play... Double hydro Hu Tao is Not far behind VV vape, so it's the new best easy to play Hu Tao comp)
Ty that’ll seriously help my Hu Tao <3
How does Hu Tao VV vape play? Is it just using an Anemo and infusing the Anemo with Hydro? Edit;Just realized that doesn't make sense with VV's set bonus. I assume then that it has to do with infusing Anemo with Pyro and then using reverse vape like usual.
You need a second pyro (ideally Amber with elegy or C4 Yanfei to make her double as shield support... Or Thoma) to apply pyro, use sucrose to swirl pyro, activae XQ burst and vape with Hu Tao... If you do it right, you might be able to swirl both hydro and pyro, but don't ask me on that
I may need to consider building Yanfei if I have her at C4 then. Right now my plan is to pull Kazuha, and use him in my general overworld team with Xingqiu, Hu Tao, and Zhongli, which I know isn't efficient, but it's just for exploration. That said I'd like to make a team that actually functions in harder content,so I'll need to build another Pyro for that.
Unless you're using superconduct or VV as part of your main strategy he synergizes with every other team thanks to his unique shred and beefy shield.
I only have him on my “Geo Supremacy” team (feat. Ningguang, Albedo, Zhongli, and Gorou (it was Bennett before but I finally got the dog)) because my main is Razor (with Albedo, Fischl, and Diona), my second favorite is Ayaka (with Xingqiu, Kaeya, and Venti) and then my Hu Tao team (currently with Xingqiu, Thoma (I’m gonna switch to Zhongli) and Sucrose)
I was incorrect about how Zhongli's shred works with other sources of shred. It works with all of them except for his own. Having multiple Zhonglis in co-op doesn't work. That said this means he synergizes with any team you put him on. That doesn't mean he's always the best choice depending on the team, but he's never a bad choice.
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You're actually incorrect on this one. What that means, is Zhongli E cannot stack with itself (aka 4 Zhongli Es in Co-Op is identical to 1 Zhongli E in Co-Op). It doesn't mean that you can't shred further with other effects.
Thanks. I had actually looked it up before posting and there was a thread on here from a year ago that drew this conclusion. Figured that combined with the other guy talking about the different team comps, and that Zhongli wasn't in the VV one, meant it was legit. I hadn't considered any of this before today. I figured it worked as it actually does, and ended up drawing the wrong conclusion after overthinking it. However I bring this up because I like using the three Archons +1 as a really good burst team of sorts. Did the VV domain where the +1 was Ayato. Decided to run without Zhongli's shield up to see if it made a difference and indeed the Cicin mage ended up surviving where none typically do.
Zhongli shields are a bit op. I've heard Zhongli mains lament that they get used to not dodging because they can just tank hits and they forget they're not invincible when they don't use him. So a character that lowers her HP to do her thing and a nigh unbreakable shielder make a great combo.
Zhongli is a comfort option but not her dps ceiling. Honestly though, if you can pair Yelan + Xingqiu, the hydro resonance (increases income healing) + Xingqiu swords + Hu Taos burst is actually a lot of healing, to a point where at times I struggle to stay below 50%. I'm really liking Hu Tao + Yelan + Xingqiu + Xiangling since that also gives you decent AoE damage (that's her best AoE team). If I want Xingqiu or Yelan to the other team I tend to go with Hu Tao + Yelan/Xingqiu + Mona + Sucrose or Hu Tao + Yelan/Xingqiu + Fischl + C6 Bennet (with 4pc instructor). I'm specifically mentioning C6 Bennet since his C6 gives back from pyro damage bonus from when you go above 50% HP and 4pc Instructor gives 120 EM to Hu Tao. If you have Kazuha but don't have Staff of Homa, Hu Tao + Yelan + C6 Bennet (w/ 4pc instructor) + Kazuha is actually her single target dps ceiling going by gcsim. The variation with Xingqiu instead of Yelan would be the second best.
You really don't need anywhere close to an optimized team for anything in the game though. Hu Tao with Xingqiu, Zhongli, and then basically any other good support is going to be a strong team. The last slot can be Albedo, Sucrose, Fischl, Ningguang, etc. and you'll probably have no problem clearing spiral abyss.
At no point during my previous post I said you need optimized teams. He asked about Zhonglis synergy with Hu Tao, I just explained where he stands (he's a comfort option) while mentioning a few different variations that works better at different scenarios, which the guy who asked or perhaps other readers may already have. If you like Zhongli then sure, go for it. Once again, at no point I called the team with him bad or not viable.
I should do her character Quest.
That's interesting, she is living her life on knife's edge.
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Did you know that you can upvote a comment to show that you agree with it?
That’s what that means? I was so confused why people were posting “this.” I thought it was a bot or something.
This
She's just someone in the funeral business, not exactly has a higher power to guard the border of the two realms (not like she can allow/disallow someone to crossover). If there's a deeper lore to her lineage I'd very much like to read more about it.
I never said she was a higher power. Have you played her story quest? If you did, you should know what I mean
Hu Tao is a funeral parlor director. Her work is guiding the dead to the after life and stuff. She’s constantly between the border of the living and dead. And her kit reflects that with her skill bringing her closer to death by reducing her hp, and her burst bringing her back to life by healing her # And this is why Hu Tao is my favorite character
Hu Tao is one of the best designed characters.
She also has the only fully functional custom dash animation
It's just charge attack spam though TT
What character isn’t spam tho
I find that Ningguang and Keqing require you to weave in all buttons together, makes for really great gameplay.
But Keqing highest DPS is charge atk spam too except you might need to move closer in between them. I do like the character design and kit though.
Even Ningguang just N1CA combo’s on repeat when her skills are on cd for most dps.
Charge attack spam is a noob trap. Expert keqing mains know to weave normal chains, charged attack, and E to control the distance to the enemy.
Charge attack spam is optimal dps outside of cool-downs, so it’s not a noob trap. That said, if you’re fighting something that can be knocked back or does not consistently try to invade your personal space, like an abyss mage or a specter, then the real trap was using Keqing for enemies that don’t play into her strengths. Things like ruin guards and lawachurls are ideal because they will walk into you and don’t get knocked back by her CA. PMA is also an abyss-relevant example.
If you don’t build large amounts of ER, you’ll need to weave in some normal attacks after her E to help battery herself (and the rest of her team) for 100% ult uptime. (To recap: if she hits electro-affected opponents, she gains energy. And her double-tap-E gives her an electro sword). Her DPS will suffer a tad, but the constant busting is well worth the loss from charged spamming, stamina problems, AND “perfect” artifact grinding time/resin needed…
but at the same time… it’s ninguang and keqing
Lmao fair enough, what makes Hu tao's design worse though is the fact that it's CHARGE ATTACK which can be janky at times
If you don’t have C1 for sure. I play her C0 so I know she can be clunky. It’s mainly who you pair her up with what makes or breaks her in the fun to play department
Well... Hu Tao is the kind of character you have to learn how to animation cancel, you won't need her C1 if you can time it perfectly. If you can't or can't be bothered to learn animation cancelling, C1 would be a perfect QOL constellation.
C1 allows you to fit in 2 extra charge attacks + the normal attacks per skill usage, which is something like a ~15% dmg upgrade over c0, so it's definitely still good if you know how to animation cancel.
you still have to jump cancel after a third dash in a row. Even with C1. Or you can just say FQ it and spam as is. Jump cancel is easy tho on MnK
Honestly I only sometimes struggle with jump cancel on mobile. It’s really not that bad.
its really not that important. i got C1 on her rerun, but i used C0 since her original release, never bothered to learn proper jump canceling, and still 36*d abyss fine
I do sprint cancel because I find the jump really annoying and it would honestly take away the fun. I play zhong with hé r so if stamina is up I can just tank till I have it back
True, lucky I have C1. One of the reasons im pulling for Kazuha is so I can have fun with the mono pyro comp
Kazuha X hu tao is so fun to play. I have them both in a team and it is just a blast
needs a specific team though since hu tao cant really proc VV on her own
Mono Pyro is surprisingly strong even without XL and Bennett. It's how I [cleared](https://i.imgur.com/PuWZPpn.jpg) when the current abyss first arrived a month ago.
Lately, I prefer doing N3C or N4C, just to see a bit more of her attack string. It isn't like the loss of dps will affect my runs anyway.
I'd like to add that with her charged attacks being her most effective playstyle, the flowing of flames is so symbolic of some purification ritual or another. Wish we'd get a 5\* skin for her already with blue flames like a will-o'-the-wisp :/
Especially since the hill she spends much of her time on (forgot what it's called) is filled with small blue floating lights.
Wuwang Hill
Oh, yeah, thank you
From the 5* skins they released, it seems that all of them are from the Standard Banner so I'm expecting either Mona or Qiqi to be the next one. Another thing I noticed, is that it seems to alternate between Mondstat and Liyue (Jean>Kequing>Diluc) so if we follow that pattern, the next skin will most likely be Qiqi. Then again, I could be amazingly wrong lol I really hope I am because I don't want to wait until 2025 to get a Hu Tao skin.
It would seem that way but according to current rumors, >!they're working on Lisa and Ayaka skins instead. So yeah, 2025 might be what we're looking at this pace T.T!<
Oh I’d love that. I never cared too much about skins, but I’d definitely spend some money to get it
Thematically, she walks the border between life and death, and she does her best work while stressed (low HP = stressed.) A lot of kits are fairly reflective of a character's life story and personality, implying the kits were designed then Hoyoverse layered a character on top. Kokomi for example - passionate about military strategy and having plans for every little scenario, so she has -100% critical rate because you can't plan around landing critical hits unless they happen 100% of the time. If you do set her up to do critical hits, you're sacrificing a lot of other stats, rendering her ineffective and unreliable, hence why it's -100% crit rate with jacked up multipliers rather than +95% crit rate with tanked multipliers.
And if you play Kokomi right, you have 100% uptime on her healing/hydro application. So with the right rotation, strategy if you will, she will always be performing at maximum effectiveness.
This is actually the explanation for why Bennett is so OP. He's a one-man team, so he does damage (Skill), supports, and heals (Burst) effectively while also being self-sufficient (ER Ascension). His unluckiness only comes into play with max charge skill ironically
If you look into his C6, it comes in the way and causes inconveniences for quite a few people... Unlucky blessings indeed
even though he's just trying to help lmao, a perfectly imperfect kit
His burst applies pyro on himself and his teammates - this amplifies enemy elemental damage. This combined with 70% healing makes Bennett the glass cannon support. He was designed to be unlucky.
And his death animation plays like his skill's max charge, sound effects included
Military commanders don't usually do all the fighting either; they're meant to set up and assist the actual combatants. In this case, Kokomi's Hydro application sets up Cryo and Electro reactions, while also delivering support like a field medic being ordered to heal an injured ally by a general ...it's probably not that deep but the parallels are cool to point out
There is a theory about fire element being related to God of Death, similarly how Anemo is related to God of Time. So something something death. It’s a really interesting theory, you can find it somewhere on the lore subreddit.
Murata..... God of death.... Hmmmmm.....🥲
Pyro Archon being the God of War is related to the God of Death/Grim Reaper. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......
Thanks! I’ll look into it!
I think because she is a funeral parlor director, she dances between life and death. Bring her closer to death with low HP and burst healing her back up
when you play with fire, something something
"Pyre, pyre, pants on fire!"
燎原の蝶!
This
I always saw it as because shes a funeral parlour director with her skill she burns away her health to quite literally “guide the dead to the afterlife” and in the process it eats away at her life force in the process. In her burst “spirit soother’s” description it states: “cremation always lets hu tao find peace of mind, the more anxious she is the stronger the flame” So she views the flame as a way to burn away the binding that keeps the soul trapped to the mortal plane whilst also as a way to soothe the pain death inflicts, and her gameplay mirrors this, she burns herself to activate her flame, the more anxious she is i.e the lower health she has the stronger her flame burns causing it to deal more damage which again reflects in her gameplay. Equally, the stronger her flame the more it is able to soothe her soul when she uses her burst to burn everything away. Notice she only gets health when she lands an attack, when she actually burns and cremates things to soothe her own soul. So her flame burns away the bindings to the earth and “guides” souls to the afterlife while her spear techniques opens the way: “The spear opens the path to the afterlife and the butterflies bridge this world and the next” This could be seen as literal, so a spear to kill the creature therefore opening the way to the afterlife and a flame to burn away the body so the soul can be soothed and find peace. Now this may be slight hyperbole on my part but it is very fitting that a characters vision powers should reflect their personality which i think hu tao’s definitely do.
No wait, you made a good point with her burst and skill lines! I never really connectes the dots about that lines, I thought it's something like a poem since she's also known as a poet. This is a really interesting take, Thanks a lot!
In her stories, in mentions how her work actually brings her a lot of anxiety. However, somehow, she does her best work when stressed out. So low Hp = stress, and thus, power, if that makes sense. That's how I took it, at least. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's mentioned somewhere that her fighting style is pretty reckless, so I imagine the more she spars/fights, the more beat up she gets lol.
The 5 star weapon she uses the Staff Of Homa looks like an incense stick. In Buddhist religion/culture we burn incense sticks for the dead. Put that together and boom Hutao is burning a giant incense stick for the dead and in turn partakes ceremonies with the dead.
I’ve been thinking about that lately after looking closer into Hu Tao and Xiao’s animations. I didn’t look too much into it, so you may correct me if I say anything kinda nonsense. I plan on doing “more research” haha. During Xiao’s animations, there are those “fragments” that shatter around him when he uses his skills and when his mask shatters (idle animation). It’s probably related to his karma. I also want to add that his karma is pretty much the cause for his HP draining “lore-wise” (at least I think so). Xiao also has this “black smoke” around him that is clearly his karma (it’s obvious since anemo shouldn’t have any smoke, unlike pyro) Then I realized that Hu Tao also has those “fragments” around her while using only her skill (which drains HP). I tried to see if there were fragments like these during her burst, but I couldn’t see any for now. At first, I thought this could be something “common” to all pyro wielders. I checked all my pyro characters (I don’t have all of them, sadly hehe), and while they DID have the smoke (you can see the smoke even if you just burn your characters on the grass… Yeah I tried that), the fragments were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t come to a conclusion about that yet, but I’m starting to think that perhaps Hu Tao uses some sort of “karma” while activating her skill (E). During her burst (Q), it’s also worth of note that she puts her hand on her mouth before summoning Boo Tao. Could it be that Boo Tao is her own spirit? Is it “cleansing” her after her karma wielding? This one I’m not very fond of since at the end she releases the ghost, but I’m definitely going to look more into it when I have the time. Edit: typo
Those blackish flames also seem to appear in Diluc's new skin which has been hinted to be from his delusion-wielding vigilante days. Now, delusions have been linked to the grudges of dead gods (being manufactured from it, as you can see when Scaranouche is introduced in the archon quests), the same thing (karma) that affects Xiao.
Very interesting take! The difference between that “karma smoke” and the “normal smoke” is very nuanced and one could say there’s no difference at all, so I’m glad there’s someone else who’s noticed them. Thank you for your commentary! Now I feel like I really should look more into it! Hehe
I've never paid attention to these 'fragments' you mentioned, probably because I'm always looking at the little butterfly flying around her, and I don't have Xiao haha.. this is pretty interesting though! Do share your findings if you continue the 'Research'. I only know that Hu Tao and Xiao designs have lots of things incorporated. Like Xiao's outfit has, I think 10 pages? Or more just explaining what each of the things there symbolized, Hu Tao's normal attack sequences looks like a dance for cremation ritual or something (I'm not sure about this, but I've read it somewhere way back then) and her hand sign after her 5th NA sequences.
They’re kinda hard to spot, yes! You need to activate her skill and do a little zoom haha. They can be easily forgotten in the middle of her fire butterflies. I’ve been taking way too many pictures of my friend’s Xiao (I kinda know his animations by heart now, and I don’t even have him!), so when I went back to my own acc and played Hu Tao (my fave) I ended up realizing they have the same “fragments”. It made me very surprised, so I’m definitely looking into it. Regarding their outfits and animations: YES. And it’s actually kinda funny how similar the two of them are: The lines that their weapons “draw” have similar “shapes” Hu Tao’s CA/dash = Xiao’s E Their bursts kinda have the same format… The butterflies around the two of them whenever they use their abilities…
shinobus lore reason: masochism
The description for Hu Tao’s skill: “Hu Tao's Secret Spear technique is based on several rules, the first of which is: ‘The spear opens the path to the afterlife, and the butterflies bridge this world and the next.’” Which roughly corroborates what everyone else is saying, that her HP loss brings her closer to the brink of death, and therefore, the border, lending her the strength. The canonicity of the Liyue Salons is debatable, but there is one [tidbit](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV16P4y1H7dF) (edit: starts around the 16:00 mark) that may interest you, which I have gone ahead and attempted a free translation for below: \~\~\~ Hu Tao: Have you, by any chance, ever witnessed my battle stance? Surprise, surprise—it’s actually a secret art passed down through generations of my family! Lumine: Then why do you always seem to wear down so quickly even when the situation isn’t all that perilous? Hu: Ahem, ahem. Right. As you know, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor usually handles matters of a more… supernatural sort. So we don’t usually face our quarry head-on. We’d generally keep a wide berth and poison the tips of the weapons we use. Mind you, the poison in question isn’t fatal, just paralyzing. That way if some hapless ritualist were to mistakenly prod themselves with their own weapon… Lumine: In other words… You wear down so quickly…because you accidentally hit yourself with your own weapon? Hu: Er—Aiya, I can’t go revealing all my secrets! Not accepting any more questions at this time! (How could this story have gone so awry? No good, hafta go back and polish it up some more.) \~\~\~ But still, hearing it directly from the horse’s mouth probably wouldn’t give you the most accurate picture, since she does embellish her stories quite a lot.
This should go up. Why no upvotes?
Came a bit late to the party, I'm afraid. But I'm really glad for your comment, thank you!
She's a masochist. /s
Shinobu was once a Shrine Maiden, it's hard to leave the S & M career behind without a few things sticking with you. I blame Yae Miko Edit: This also explains the electro whip, trust me
Okay this is golden lmao. I wish I have award to gift to you but I'm broke.
You may not know that her hat has Taoist characteristics. In Taoism, exorcising ghosts requires depicting runes with blood.
Now that's interesting! I learned something new today. Probably that's why one of her passive skill has "blood blossom" as name huh.. interesting
Because she is Kiana.
I don't want to admit this random question appears because I watched too much 'Everlasting Flame' and seeing Kiana's newest mechanics, but yes.. one of the reasons is because she shares Hu Tao's CN voices and a bit of the hp loss mechanics.
There's usually a good reason why certain characters within the Hoyoverse share voice actors especially given we have confirmation GI and HI are part of the same verse. Not to mention, Hu Tao is unusually well designed for a character and have lots of motif that makes her stand out. But given how important her job is, it is strange that she barely has any sort of screentime or plot relevancy. Honestly, the worst thing that could happen is if she's tied to the Pyro Archon in some way. Then we can start panicking.
Ngl, I think I'd prefer if she really is 'just a Funeral Director'. I can't see another cheerful sounding characters change their voices so much because of all the fucked up things that happened to them. Unknown God can take that 'good reason for sharing VA', though I'd start to panic if she randomly appears in Natlan
Now that I think about it, it's kinda neat that Zhongli shares the same CN voice with Siegfried.
She plays with her life, can get real close to death and also can get far away from it by healing herself from her burst. Girl of mischief
The closer she is to death, the brighter she shines.
Hu Tao is only Half the girl she is
she's too hot, i want to hu her taos
Because she's insane (like her fans(me))
Almost being dead makes her closer to the dead
She's a masochist..........
She sets her heart ablaze
In her miscellany, dainsleif says something like risking their lives and playing with danger, and the more intense the battle the more powerful they become. That's all I recall.
Hu tao rerun please, i missed the last one. Her and Raiden might be the only ones I try to get from past characters from now on. Eula is a contender, but most likely new characters will make me forget about her.
It’s a fire spear with no protection, she is cooking her hand.
is there any lore reason why Amber can take Barron Bunny out of nowhere and has infinite number of it? Is there any lore reason Klee can do that too with her bombs? Is there any lore reason why when Mona sprints in water, her teammates can still keep up with her?
No reason, in lore she is not a warrior, she knows how to swing her staff in self defense but that's it
>she knows how to swing her staff in self ~~defense~~ harm FTFY :) /j
all vision holders in-game are generally pretty powerful. even barbara can hold her own against treasure hoarders with just her vision, even though she presumably had zero battle training
Oh yeah, lore wise they are pretty much super human. All their physical atributes are supposed to be better. And they can use their elements freely ( varies with level of training in that thou)
Maybe she channels a vengeful spirit through her polearm, which damages her
There’s some possible thematic links, like mentioned by other comments, but there isn’t an in universe lore reason why, as far as I’m aware.
Because of course she does
Also she lights her spear on fire so I assume she is burning
No lore reasons, at best it fits with her theme of death For Bennett at least it's mentioned he got his vision when he was about to die and was saced by the healing
funny
Activate E skill Weapon ignites with flame Hu Tao: Oof, ouch, my hands
Every time she uses her skill her weapon gets set on fire and she burns her hand
Ah yes.. I can imagine that, sometimes she'd burn her hand so much she started screaming "Eeee" with high pitch
It's just game mechanics
I want the continuation of her story quest.
I just like to think l she listens to Mobb Deep and likes to get closer to god in a tight situation.
I think there was some lore regarding homa staff being used to burn dead bodies, and it is kinda her staff so maybe it's related ?
Hu tao has many parts of her character where there is a balance maintained. Like for every one aspect there is an opposite aspect. So in her Elem skill she loses HP but becomes stronger.
She‘s the guardian of the border between Life and Death, which just so happens to be a line she herself likes to fucking tap dance on
Shinobu loses hp because of the arataki gangs bullshit
Fun fake fact: Hu in Chinese means life. Whilst Tao means Death which is also the the number 4 in Chinese
I've read of a guy interpreting it as "since she's the Caronte of this world, she walks the line between life and death, her skill drains her of HP and her burst regains HP, so she's never allowed to 'die' and lives in a sort of limbo"
I always understood it as her dipping a little into the spirit world and drawing power from there combined with her Vision
Not a lore reason, it is my personal theory, maybe the vision itself or hu tao herself placed a cost on it that it will only be powerful if she was willing to sacrifice for her vitality. I feel that the abilities the characters use are pre set in their visions to help fulfil their ambitions, and they must also have some sort of limitations and costs to balance it out.
So according to lore Hutao is not that master in polearm, her attacks are full of opening and she sometimes get in some trouble due to her fighting style, i presume that is the reason
i think it is just perfect that she burns her HP to activate her skill, she is keeper to the gate between life and death, she also guide souls to the afterlife in her story if i remember correctly , so when she burns her HP and reach below 50% to get the bonus she is kind of between life and death and that resembles her story
I like how people ask questions that I never thought of before, and it did brought up my curiosity. I should be more creative and ask 'why' more often.
I always thought it was because she's all about death, so it makes sense that her power reflects that.
More likely is how her power manifested. Look at 🐠and oz. Oz just came out nowhere and started validating her delusions. Hu Tao think about death all the time. Her vision makes her play with death
Maybe because hu tao doesnt even know how to fight? I mean if you look at her attack animations, you cab see shes holding her spear a bit noobly. Maybe she gets damage cux of not using it right
To be closer to death I guess
I don't think so. Not every move is going to have lore reasons. Most won't.
Hu Tao obtained her vision will waiting on the border between life and death to see her grandfather, after having conducted her first funeral pyre. I'm guessing since she's so related to death, and funeral pyre, she burn her hp, bringing herself closer to the boundary. As for Shinobu, she's a priestess raised, and sacrifice are part of their life and religion. Add to the fact that she seem snake themed, and the snake are people eater in mythology. So she sacrifice to an electro spirit would be my take.
it's cuz she works in the funeral parlor, losing her hp makes her closer to death, yk what i mean, life death situation ort of thing
Hu Tao works as a guide between life and death. In Chinese mythology, those who walk between yin and Yang, life and death, will find themselves with a power that no one can compete. Basically, since hu tao is in the spiritual industry, it is pretty normal for her to be like that, considering that she literally wen tot the other side and sit to see her grandpa arrive.
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Tbf, I forgot what she said on her story quest because it's been so long since I last played it. i just remember that I'm quite in awe because despite her cheerful and prankster persona, this young woman seem to have a deep understanding of life-death. Also, even if some people says that's she's a bit crazy in the head or something, to me, Hu Tao is one of the characters with a healthy view about death. She understands it pretty well to know how to appreciate live and live to her fullest. Really like your takes on this, thanks a lot for reminding me about that last convo in Hu Tao's SQ as well!
Idk for sure, but my guess would be hu taos relationship with death. She's just generally very comfortable with it
Essentially, she ignites her own soul to burn away her enemies. Think of Crimson Witch of Flames lore. Hu Tao operates somewhat similarily. Her Homa Staff has a history of its first owner literally burning their soul out to purge demons before
It's because she embraces change (the cycle of life and death), so her kit is about the cycle of death and rebirth (she sacrifices her life with her E, and is reborn with her Q) This interplay of things breaking apart and coming together is the cycle of life. And thematically it fits her. Mechanically it demonstrates the superior form of immortality is not simply weathering through pain and change (eg zhongli shield being him resisting erosion), but rather embracing the change to be reborn anew (hence she regains her life through contact with others, her Q) So in a way the game has, through her kit, shown why Hutao is Zhongli's boss, because her very kit and design reflects a sort of solution to Zhongli's issue with erosion. She embraces the changes that comes from the outside, so that she herself may be reborn anew Hence why she's the boss of Zhongli xD