Hu Tao vs Yelan: Which character should you pull for in Genshin Impact 3.4?

Hu Tao and Yelan as shown in their teasers (Image via Genshin Impact)
Hu Tao and Yelan as shown in their teasers (Image via Genshin Impact)

With Genshin Impact 3.4 set to enter its second phase in just a week, players are already preparing for the arrival of two of the most powerful Liyue units in the game. The Pyro Polearm Hu Tao, alongside the Hydro Bow wielder Yelan, will be featured in their respective banners for the rest of the update, starting from February 7.

No matter how essential pulling is in a player's journey in-game, it comes at a hefty cost. As a result, most fans tend to focus on a single character per update or phase, as F2P players can only collect a fixed number of Primogems. The following article will help guide you towards the best character to pull for between Hu Tao and Yelan.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and relies solely on the writer's opinion.


Who should you pull for between Hu Tao and Yelan in Genshin Impact 3.4 second phase?

1) Role of each character

Before addressing who you should pull for, here are some details that you should know about both of these characters. Since Genshin Impact relies heavily upon synergies and elemental reactions, obtaining a particular type of unit that's currently missing from your party is usually the best option.

Yelan and Hu Tao (Image via Genshin Impact)
Yelan and Hu Tao (Image via Genshin Impact)

Because of this, you should sometimes ignore the more 'powerful' unit and pull for the more 'suitable' one.

The following points go into detail about each character's role in a party:

I) Yelan

Yelan is one of the newest characters in the game who can act as both a support and primary damage dealer. For the latter option, you'll require her signature weapon, Aqua Simulacra, or any other weapon that offers flat Attack Damage and Crit. For a F2P approach, players will have a decent support on their hands with this character.

Yelan's Elemental Skill (Image via Genshin Impact)
Yelan's Elemental Skill (Image via Genshin Impact)

Additionally, Yelan's Elemental Burst allows other DPS characters in the party to deal additional elemental reactions and damage, making her versatile in any line-up. Her Elemental Skill, on the other hand, can be used to deal Hydro burst damage to every combatant that's present on the field, and can also stun low-tier enemies.

Yelan's Burst works well with Raiden's normal attacks (Image via Genshin Impact)
Yelan's Burst works well with Raiden's normal attacks (Image via Genshin Impact)

If your party requires a 5-star Hydro elemental support that can dish out a great deal of damage as well, Yelan is definitely the option you're looking for. Some characters that pair well with Yelan are Nahida, Hu Tao, Ayaka, Yoimiya, Yanfei, Xiao, or any other character that deals damage based on Normal or Plunged attacks.

II) Hu Tao

Hu Tao is known for being one of the rarest characters in the game, due to her low number of appearances in reruns despite being an old character. Unlike Yelan, she's a complete damage dealer, regardless of the line-up that she's in. If your party needs a sustained Pyro damage dealer, Hu Tao is exactly what you want.

Hu Tao's Elemental Skill (Image via Genshin Impact)
Hu Tao's Elemental Skill (Image via Genshin Impact)

However, her constant uptime of damage needs to be managed with low HP, which can become quite risky in certain situations. Since you need her to be at low HP to deal the most damage, healing her for fear of death will reduce her effectiveness on the battlefield.


2) Who should you pick?

Yelan as shown in her teaser (Image via Genshin Impact)
Yelan as shown in her teaser (Image via Genshin Impact)

Since both these characters fulfill completely different roles for their teams, players should always pick a character solely based on their party requirements. If we have to choose the more potent one out of the two, the answer will be Yelan.

Her Elemental Skill, Burst, and passives make her one of the most powerful support characters in any line-up.

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