Hu Tao is aging like wine
I know there are currently two other main pyro DPS that outdamage her in most scenarios, but it doesn't mean she got "weak". On contrary! She seems to age like wine on this game!
Her first strongest team was Double Geo, with Zhongli, Albedo and Xinqqiu: Back then it was one of the (if not THE ONE) strongest teams available, since she profited from the very strong double geo ressonance + Albedo's huge EM buff and personal damage (probably the best off-field damager back then) + Zhong's strong shield and RES Shred. Hu Tao couldn't fully benefit from Crimson Witch, but it was indeed a great artifact choice for her.
In Inazuma, we got SW set, that became a more flexible option, resin efficient and even stronger in most scenarios, since her gameplay doesn't rely so much on her Burst.
Then, a major revamp on Double Hydro ressonance, alongside Yelan's release, just when Albedo was starting to get outshined in the game. She now had free +25% HP bonus, better Hydro off-field application, free onfield damage buff (increasing from 35% to 50% over time) and a off-field damager that was overally very strong.
Fontaine brought us Furina. Despite requiring a healer (making her kit kinda anti-synergic with Hu Tao's), she brought so many buffs and off-field damage contribution that made it a worthy deal, specially with Furina's constellations. Bennet's healing started to be welcome instead of a problem. Few banners later, the game even gave us Xianyun, enabling a surprisingly strong plunge attacks gameplay that skyrocketed her damage, specially on C0 (yes, the Hu Xiao existis, and it can hurt you). Marecheusse Hunter was also an amazing addition, quickly becoming one of her strongest sets, when paired with Furina.
And there came Natlan, bringing forth Xilonen: Despite Scroll's buff not being too reliable on buffing pyro, it helped a lot on team's off-field damage. Xilonen's kit also allowed her to benefit from "Kazuha-like" res shred, without any rotation problems and a longer duration. On top of that, Xilonen is also a healer, and can be played alongside Furina, just as Xianyun.
When Natlan's curtains were almost closing... Hoyo gave us a gift named Citlali: Scroll's buff suffered from the same problems (at least on the first team rotation), but, at C0, she already was pair with Zhongli's RES Shred, while enabling some melts (specially against freezable enemies). Her weapon was a great constant DMG% buff. And she could be played again without a healer, fully benefiting from her in-built low HP buffs. Her C1 was a mini-Shenhe and her C2 was the best thing that happened to a Hu Tao main since this game's release. Not to mention how broken her C6 is...
The best part of all this is that Xilonen, Xianyun, Furina and Citlali gave Hu Tao something her early design suffered from: Vertical investment potential. Since she's an old character, Hoyo didn't gave much love on her Constellations, that are pretty lackluster. Yes C1 is amazing, but only because it fixes a fault on her C0 kit. Even her C6 is much more for showcasing than for practical uses.
I'm glad that our naughty butterfly remains flying for so long, and reaching higher and higher peaks!
