A Genshin Impact fan has pointed out a fun detail about Hu Tao's involvement with the animated trailer for this year's Lantern Rite, calling back to the character's debut. Since her introduction to the HoYoverse RPG two years ago during Version 1.3, Hu Tao has been a fan-favorite character featuring in multiple Liyue events. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's director has been highly sought after as one of the game's most powerful Pyro characters. Now, Hu Tao has made a fun appearance in the Lantern Rite trailer.
Genshin Impact's ongoing Lantern Rite has seen players return to Liyue for the annual festival with a variety of quests and events to enjoy. This year's Lantern Rite features four mini-games for players to try out including traversal and combat challenges as well as the unique "Paper Theater" mini-game. Liyue's cast of characters has also been a focus with fan favorites Xiao, Hu Tao, and Yelan receiving re-runs alongside the newly released Yaoyao. Now, with Hu Tao returning as a part of the newest Lantern Rite, fans have noticed a cute detail in the trailer.
Reddit user OMG536 pointed out the special detail included as a part of Hu Tao's involvement in the Lantern Rite trailer. Early on in the trailer, Hu Tao is shown enjoying the festival with a group composed of Xiangling, Xingqiu, and Chongyun. The Genshin fan quickly noticed that the group of characters traversing the Liyue streets with Hu Tao were the same four-star characters featured on Hu Tao's launch banner in Version 1.3. The animated trailer features a variety of characters from all four of Genshin Impact's currently available regions.
While the trailer shows Hu Tao with her original banner companions, the character's newest re-run will feature a mostly different supporting cast. Xingqiu will be the lone returning character from Hu Tao's original banner, with the Hydro Sword user boasting strong synergy with Hu Tao's Normal Attack-focused playstyle. Joining Hu Tao and Yelan instead will be a pair of iconic members of Liyue's cast, the Qixing's leader Ningguang and the pirate captain Beidou. Hu Tao's re-run is set to begin next week on February 7.
Hu Tao's re-run will give players another chance to pick up one of Genshin Impact's most powerful DPS characters when she returns next week. Hu Tao has been a particularly popular choice for team compositions focused around the Vaporize reaction, providing fast attacks and high damage output. Hu Tao's re-run will also be the first chance for players to acquire the powerful Polearm user in over a year, with her last re-run coming in November 2021. The second half of Version 3.4 is set to feature the return of one of Genshin Impact's most powerful and most popular characters.
Genshin Impact is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and mobile devices. A Switch version is in development.