Before the 2.3 updates of Genshin Impact, here are some things that you should consider before pulling on Tartaglia or Hu Tao's banner. I will be discussing both character banners available in the newest update, as well as the weapon banners. For those who have already obtained either Childe or Hu Tao, I will look at the constellations and their benefits for each character.
Tartaglia
Childe is definitely a strong DPS character that can deal consistent damage with his unique melee weapon style and bow normal attacks. Paired with a good Sub-DPS Pyro character such as Xiangling (or perhaps Thoma once he is released), he shreds Spiral Abyss and domain runs with Vaporise reactions. Used with Qiqi or Rosaria, he can also freeze enemies for a more defensive playstyle.
Despite this being his third banner run, I would definitely recommend Childe if you enjoy his playstyle and quick swapping team members in your party. If you would like more information on how to build Childe, you can read my previous guide here.
When it comes to his constellations, there have been many debates on whether a C6 is required to see his full potential. As someone who owns C0 Childe and uses him consistently in the Spiral Abyss, I would say that constellations are definitely not necessary. For low-spenders who find his long cooldown particularly challenging and obstructive to his kit, you can go for a C1 constellation that decreases the cooldown by 20%. Although C6 completely resets his elemental skill cooldown, I would not recommend cashing to that extent on his banner as it's not a worthy investment.
Overall, Tartaglia is a great DPS that is growing increasingly popular with more quick swap teams and is rather easy to build well.
Polar Star
Along with Tartaglia's banner, there is the Polar Star weapon banner. The CRIT Rate sub-stat that increases up to 33.1% at Level 90 shows that this is Childe's signature weapon. Childe needs to be built with a high CRIT Rate as you want to CRIT with each melee slash that you hit. The passive of this weapon increases elemental skill and burst damage by 12% at Refinement Rank 1. After a Normal ATK/Charged ATK/Elemental Skill/Burst hits an enemy, it increases ATK by up to 48% with 4 stacks.
Although this is definitely Childe's signature weapon (even with its colour scheme), it is clear that this bow has great potential on many other bow users since the passive is rather generic and all DPS characters benefit from a good CRIT Rate. If you are not interested in obtaining Childe or have already obtained him, you might want to try the weapon banner instead as there is great potential in the Polar Star for current and future bow characters.
However, it is also important to note that Childe has F2P friendly weapons such as the Rust, a 4-star bow that increases normal attack and decreases charged attack damage. Though a 4-star weapon will always pale in comparison to a 5 star, the Rust can still deal good damage. For more information on weapons to use on Childe, you can refer to my Tartaglia guide linked above in his section.
Hu Tao
Hu Tao and Ganyu have been dubbed some of the best DPS characters in Genshin Impact by the Chinese Genshin community, with their high DMG numbers and usefulness in Spiral Abyss. As someone who was lucky enough to obtain Hu Tao in her previous banner, I would definitely recommend her. Though her kit might be rather confusing with the need for a high maximum HP and simultaneously needing to keep her HP low, she is a great investment. Using Hu Tao with Xingqiu grants continuous Vaporise reactions with each charged attack during her elemental skill, taking out enemies easily even on high floors of the Abyss.
If you would like to learn more about how to build Hu Tao, you can read my previous guide here.
Hu Tao's C1 is definitely a big level-up, considering that charged attacks using her elemental skill are the basis of her playstyle. Since charged attacks apply a "Blood Blossom" to enemies hit, similar to Childe's mark, it deals greater damage. This, coupled with the 0 stamina cost for charged attacks, is a game-changer. If you already own Hu Tao, you should consider obtaining a C1 to fully enjoy Hu Tao's playstyle.
Overall, Hu Tao/C1 Hu Tao is an investment that you will not regret.
Staff of Homa
The Staff of Homa broke the record for highest spending on the original weapon banner and no other weapon released after has compared to its sales. Being Hu Tao's signature weapon, it has a CRIT DMG substat that goes up to 66.2% at Level 90, a high base ATK of 608 and increased HP by 20% as a passive. Additionally, it increases ATK by 0.8% based on the wielder's maximum HP, which increases by another 1% when Hu Tao has less than half of her HP. Doing the math, this would give a 1.8% of base HP (typically 35,000), buffing ATK by 630.
If you already have Hu Tao, obtaining a Staff of Homa would be the best option to upgrade your Hu Tao's damage. However, do note that Hu Tao can also use other weapons such as Blackcliff Pole, Deathmatch, or even Dragon's Bane and Hu Tao is still a strong contender without her signature weapon. Although this weapon is rather tailored to Hu Tao's kit, it would still work well on other polearm characters due to its ATK and passive.
Conclusion
It is difficult to decide between meta and characters that you enjoy playing, especially if you are an F2P player with limited primogems. Staff of Homa is an amazing weapon if you already have Hu Tao, the Polar Star seems promising for many bow characters and Hu Tao has been receiving love from the community for her high damage numbers. Ultimately, it is your choice to decide which characters, constellations or weapons you would like to obtain.
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