Is Hu Tao better than Raiden Shogun?

TLDR: Raiden Shogun is generally considered better in terms of versatility, future proofing, and team synergy. But Hu Tao can match or exceed Raiden‘s single target DPS when played optimally. Ultimately they excel in different roles so choose based on your account needs and playstyle preferences.

As a Genshin Impact player myself, I often get asked – who‘s the better pull between these two fan favorite 5-star characters? Let‘s dive deep and compare Hu Tao vs Raiden Shogun in terms of damage potential, best teams, character synergies, weapons, ease of use, and more.

An Overview of Hu Tao and Raiden Shogun

Hu Tao and Raiden Shogun are both hugely popular characters known for their explosive damage potential as on-field DPS carries.

Hu Tao is a Pyro polearm user from Liyue who condenses her life force into blazing hot pyro attacks. She transforms into a menacing stance during her skill, infusing her attacks with pyro based on her max HP. This gives her access to some of the highest charged attack damage in the game.

Raiden Shogun is the almighty Electro archon who unleashes her Musou no Hitotachi to devastate enemies with resolve-stacking slash attacks. During her 7s burst mode, she gains bonus electro damage based on her Energy Recharge. Her kit also provides excellent utility via energy restoration for the team.

Now let‘s analyze their strengths and weaknesses in detail across various factors:

Damage Potential

In terms of raw damage numbers, Hu Tao‘s potential to melt and vaporize her powerful charged attacks gives her an advantage in single target scenarios. Her skill infusion uptime gives her consistent pyro application for reactions.

Raiden Shogun on the other hand excels in AOE damage with her quick normal attacks during her high-damage burst mode. Her burst hits many small instances of damage that add up quickly against groups of enemies.

Based on simulations by KeqingMains, here are some damage per screenshot numbers for reference:

As you can see, Hu Tao‘s charged attack vapes can reach higher single target numbers compared to Raiden‘s individual strikes. But Raiden‘s AOE burst damage is on another level.

In sustained fights rather than isolated damage instances, according to Zajeff‘s calculations, a C0 Hu Tao with Homa can deal around 29k DPS over time. C2 Raiden with her signature weapon can deal around 25k DPS. Their potential damage is quite close, with Hu Tao edging out slightly on single target.

The verdict: Hu Tao wins for single target while Raiden wins for AOE scenarios. But both can dish out heavy damage when played well!

Best Teams

Due to her reliance on reactions, Hu Tao is mostly limited to Pyro focused teams like:

• Vaporize with Xingqiu
• Melt with Rosaria + Kaeya
• Overvape with Fischl + Beidou

Raiden Shogun on the other hand has more team building flexibility as an offensive support. Some great Raiden teams include:

• National Team with Xiangling, Xingqiu, Bennett
• Hypercarry with Sara, Kazuha, Bennett
• Aggravate with Dendro Traveler, Fischl, Zhongli

Based on Spiral Abyss usage rates, Raiden is used in more teams and fits into more top meta compositions. Her versatility makes her a valuable pull for your account.

Energy Needs

Hu Tao‘s low cost burst and almost non-existent energy requirements make her very self sufficient. She refunds enough energy during her skill downtime to fund her next rotation.

On the flip side, Raiden Shogun is heavily reliant on energy recharge to maximize her resolve stacks and burst damage. She needs around 200-300% ER from substats and weapon. This makes her more dependent on teammates generating particles for her.

Weapons

For weapons, Hu Tao‘s signature Staff of Homa is tailor made for her with both CRIT Damage and HP%. It‘s her undisputed best in slot for maximizing damage.

Raiden‘s signature Engulfing Lightning also provides an excellent ER and attack buff to boost her burst mode slashes. Alternatives like The Catch or Skyward Spine work great on her too.

Overall, their signature weapons are quite equal in power level and provide the biggest damage spike.

Ease of Use

In terms of playstyle, Hu Tao requires a good amount of skill to animation cancel her charged attacks and manage stamina properly. Keeping her health low to stay in her E skill‘s powered up state also takes practice.

Raiden Shogun is much more straightforward to play as a burst swap sub DPS. You simply build up her Resolve stacks and swap her in to unleash her high damage ult. Her attack combos are smooth and fluid without animation cancels needed.

Future Proofing

An important consideration is how future proof these characters are and how long they‘ll remain relevant.

Powercreep affects specialized main DPS characters like Hu Tao faster than broadly useful supports like Raiden. Hu Tao also faces stiff competition from other pyro DPS options.

Raiden Shogun‘s unique utility and universal team compatibility give her better long term value. She has remained a top tier pick ever since her launch over a year ago.

Conclusion

So in summary, while Hu Tao edges out Raiden in pure single target DPS, Raiden Shogun takes the lead in AOE damage, team flexibility, ease of use, and future proofing.

As your account friend, I suggest considering these key points when deciding on who to pull:

• Need specialized single target pyro DPS? Hu Tao is your girl.

• Want a universally strong sub DPS? Raiden Shogun is a great choice.

• Like quick swap bursting? Raiden enables those expensive rotations.

• Enjoy charged attack playstyle? Hu Tao is very satisfying.

• Have a pyro main DPS already? Consider Raiden to diversify your roster.

Either way, you can‘t go wrong with these two incredible characters! Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy wishing!