Hu Tao

Overview

Hu Tao is a playable Pyro polearm character in Genshin Impact, serving as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue. Beneath her eccentric and playful exterior as a quirky street poet lies a dedicated leader responsible for overseeing funerary rites and preserving the delicate balance between life and death. While her unpredictable antics and unconventional promotion methods often bewilder the citizens of Liyue Harbor, she approaches her duty toward both the living and the deceased with profound solemnity and unwavering professional pride, making her one of the nation's most memorable figures.

Appearance

Hu Tao features long brown hair with dark red gradient tips tied into twintails, complemented by striking red eyes with blossom-shaped pupils. She wears a black hat decorated with a red plum blossom branch and a wooden talisman. Her clothing consists of a brown coat with wide sleeves and rectangular coattails, black shorts, three-quarter socks, rings, and black nail polish. She is frequently accompanied by a small floating ghost. In her alternate outfit, Cherries Snow-Laden, she wears a light-colored dress gifted by a friend alongside sunglasses from her personal collection.

Personality

Hu Tao possesses an energetic, whimsical, and playful personality, often delighting in teasing others and causing unexpected surprises. She spends her free time wandering the wilderness at night or composing unconventional dark rhyming poems that circulate through Liyue. Despite her mischievous exterior and eccentric habits, she harbors a deep empathy and respect for human emotions. Hu Tao views death as a natural part of existence that must never be treated lightly. When conducting business for the funeral parlor, she casts aside her lighthearted demeanor, demonstrating absolute seriousness, unwavering resolve, and meticulous care for her clients.

Abilities

Wielding a polearm and Pyro Vision, Hu Tao scales her combat strength with her health. Her Elemental Skill consumes a portion of her current HP to enter an enhanced state, boosting her Attack based on her Maximum HP and imbuing her attacks with Pyro. In this state, her charged attacks apply Blood Blossom, dealing periodic Pyro damage to enemies. Her Elemental Burst unleashes a flaming spirit for wide-area Pyro damage while restoring her HP upon striking targets. Both her damage output and healing capabilities increase significantly when her HP drops to 50% or lower.

Background

Hu Tao inherited the leadership of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, an ancient Liyue institution founded during the Archon War to cleanse plague and maintain the boundary between the living and the dead. Assuming the position of 77th Director at a young age, she took on the responsibility of managing funerary services and keeping the realm's yin and yang in balance. Beyond organizing solemn farewell ceremonies, she travels to spiritual sites like Wuwang Hill to resolve boundary disturbances and help lingering souls move on. Inspired by the knowledge that past directors departed without regrets, she proudly fulfills her familial and professional legacy.

Relationships

Hu Tao maintains varied relationships across Liyue and beyond. She employs Zhongli as a knowledgeable consultant at the funeral parlor, relying on him for errands while respecting his erudition. She initially sought to bury the zombie child Qiqi to give her peace, but ceased upon realizing Qiqi's desire to live, though Qiqi remains fearful of her. Baizhu often intervened in her attempts regarding Qiqi. She shares a close friendship with the chef Xiangling, who cooks for her and designed her alternate attire. Additionally, she enjoys poetical exchanges with Xingqiu and formed a quick kinship with the Mondstadt bard Venti.

Trivia

Hu Tao's name uses the Chinese characters for walnut, though her surname is explicitly Hu and her given name is Tao, making her uniquely framed among Liyue characters regarding surname presentation. Her culinary passive talent gives her a chance to produce a suspicious-quality dish when cooking, in-game lore humorously painting her as a notoriously poor cook alongside Amber. Her signature weapon, the Staff of Homa, perfectly mirrors her combat design by increasing maximum HP and converting low health into massive offensive power.