Summary
A recent leak in theGenshin Impactcommunity claims that not only will Hu Tao receive a premium outfit for the upcoming Lantern Rite, but she will also be the next character to have a second Story Quest. While an argument could be made thatGenshin Impactmakes fewer skins than most players would like, the cadence of release for alternate outfits has largely been consistent. Within a single year, there are two windows for character skins to appear inGenshin Impact: the Lantern Rite for Liyue characters and the Summer Event for everyone else.
AsGenshin Impactapproaches the Lantern Rite in 2025, the community has begun to speculate about the possible candidates to receive a premium skin. The previous beneficiaries were Shenhe and Ganyu in Version 4.4, who have not featured on the Event Banners in over 500 days. In addition to the Cryo pair, Version 4.4 also released an alternate outfit forXingqiu inGenshin Impact, allowing players to obtain it for free for a limited time. Needless to say, there is no pattern to the characters handpicked by HoYoverse for the Lantern Rite outfits beyond being from Liyue.
According to aleak shared by Seele Leaks via NGA, the Lantern Rite in 2025 will feature an alternate skin for Hu Tao. As a rather popularGenshin Impactcharacterfrom Liyue, Hu Tao receiving a premium outfit would make a lot of sense. Recent characters such as Xianyun, Furina, and Chiori have only further increased Hu Tao’s value, as her selection of viable teammates has never been this diverse. The leak also claims that Hu Tao will receive a second Story Quest, likely in the sameGenshin Impactupdate as her skin.
Will Hu Tao Receive a New Skin in Genshin Impact Version 5.3?
The Lantern Rite in 2025 is set to take place during the second half of Version 5.3. Assuming the leak ends up being true, Hu Tao’s alternate outfit should debut in Version 5.3. Even though Hu Tao was recently featured on the Event Banners in Version 5.1, Shenhe and Ganyu have perfectly illustrated how unimportant banner appearances are when it comes toalternate skins inGenshin Impact. While it remains to be seen if the developers will release yet another blue outfit, it could be argued that a “blue flames” theme would match well with Hu Tao and her ties to Wuwang Hill.
Genshin Impactwill debut Citlaliand Mavuika in Version 5.3, and as such, will already have two Story Quests allocated for the update. Adding a third one for Hu Tao would seem excessive, especially for a patch that is guaranteed to feature the finale to Natlan’s Archon Quest, as well as an extensive Flagship Event centered around the Lantern Rite. Players will likely find out more information about the Lantern Rite and its alternate outfits after the launch of Version 5.2 on June 29, 2025.
