Genshin Impact Nilou Guide, Builds, and Backstory
Name: Nilou
Vision: Hydro
Birthday: 3 December
Constellation: Lotos Somno
Titles: Dance of Lotuslight, Star of Zubayr Theater
Nilou is an interesting character because she has a specific party composition that she favors in Genshin Impact. Although it limits the party members you can use with her, some combinations can let the damage go through the roof.
Dance of Haftkarsvar, her E skill, lets Nilou enter the Pirouette state. This ends after a three-hit combo, changing into one of two modes depending on the last hit. If you use a Normal attack, she enters the Sword Dance mode. Under its effects, all her attacks are infused with Hydro which cannot be overwritten. Her third hit is a Luminous Illusion, a wave of water that damages anything in its path. Attacks during this state are considered Elemental Skill DMG.
If you end Pirouette with an E skill, Nilou gets Whirling Steps instead. There will be a blast of Hydro DMG, and the active character gains a Tranquility Aura that applies the Wet status to enemies in range.
Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring is her Burst. It simply deals AoE Hydro DMG upon cast. After an interval, affected enemies take another blast of Hydro DMG.
All abilities have damage that scales off of her HP. The higher her HP, the more damage she can deal.
Her first ascension passive makes things more interesting. If the party consists of only Dendro and Hydro characters with at least one of each, Nilou’s E skill grants the Golden Chalice’s Bounty buff to allies.
While it is active, Bloom reactions generate Bountiful Cores instead of the usual Dendro Cores. The former cannot be used to create Hyperbloom or Burgeon reactions and have a faster detonation time and larger AoE. Also, if characters are hit by Dendro DMG, they get boosted Elemental Mastery for 10 seconds.
Due to relying mainly on EM for Bloom reactions, her skills don’t need to be leveled for her to become viable. This makes her cheaper than most characters to build. However, you’re still limited to a handful of party members that could maximize her abilities.
Table of Contents
Genshin Nilou Builds and Artifacts
Considering her abilities, builds depend on whether you want to use her as an on-field DPS or a Bountiful Core factory. For the former, you want a balance between Crit stats and HP for the best offense. In contrast, the latter needs more EM and HP.
You can use Heart of Depth, Tenacity of the Millelith, and the new Nymph’s Dream sets for an on-field Nilou. Bloom factory builds include EM sets (Wanderer’s Troupe, Gilded Dreams) and Tenacity. 2-set Noblesse Oblige is also an option for those who want more bang for her Burst. You can also use the new Vourukasha’s Glow set for even more HP bonuses.
Some players have used Deepwood Memories on her if the other Dendro characters aren’t using the set. However, other options are always better, so it’s a last resort. The Flower of Paradise Lost might seem a good, but it works best with the character who triggers the reaction. Depending on how you use Nilou, you might not be using it efficiently. Also, you lose out on HP bonuses when equipping it on her.
On-Field DPS
Main Stats: HP%, Hydro DMG Bonus, Crit Rate/DMG
Substats: Crit DMG/Rate, HP, Elemental Mastery, ATK
Bloom/Bountiful Core Factory
Main Stats: 3x HP or with Energy Recharge timepiece
Substats: HP, EM
Genshin Nilou Recommended Weapons
Although it doesn’t fit her aesthetic, her signature weapon is the Key of Khaj-Nisut. It provides a hefty HP bonus, especially when fully leveled and refined. Other recommended weapons depend on her role.
On-Field DPS
- Primordial Jade Cutter
- Haran Geppaku Futsu
- Festering Desire
- Harbinger of Dawn
- Cool Steel
Bloom Factory
- Freedom-Sworn
- Xiphos’ Moonlight
- Iron Sting
- Sapwood Blade
General Use
- Favonius Sword
- Sacrificial Sword
Additional Notes on Team Composition
Since she needs to be accompanied by Hydro and Dendro characters, you can use a limited number. Also, you need to fit in one healer, as Dendro and Bountiful Cores damage your allies too. Before Yaoyao was introduced, the healer had to be Barbara or Kokomi. Considering one of those is a five-star, some players were stuck with Barbara.
With Yaoyao, she at least provides another alternative and more opportunities for Bloom reactions. However, having at least two Hydro characters is beneficial due to the added HP Elemental Resonance provides. With Nilou as one, it could be any other Hydro character. This limits you to an even distribution (2 Hydro, 2 Dendro) or Hydro heavy (3 Hydro, 1 Dendro) parties.
By version 3.6, the available characters for this kind of party are (other than Nilou):
Dendro
- Alhaitham (5*)
- Tighnari (5*)
- Nahida (5*)
- Baizhu (5*)
- Dendro Traveler
- Yaoyao (4*)
- Collei (4*)
- Kaveh (4*)
Hydro
- Ayato (5*)
- Kokomi (5*)
- Mona (5*)
- Yelan (5*)
- Tartaglia/Childe (5*)
- Xingqiu (4*)
- Barbara (4*)
- Candace (4*)
Also, a new character, Kirara, has been announced for version 3.7. She’s a Dendro user from Inazuma, which qualifies her for the first category. However, not much else is known about her skills and abilities. Her suitability for this team is still up in the air.
Kaveh seems to be an excellent teammate. He can detonate any Dendro Cores created when the Golden Chalice’s Bounty buff isn’t active. Consider that Xingqiu‘s Rain Swords can apply Hydro to nearby enemies, something Yelan can’t do despite their similar Bursts. Also, he can heal quite a bit through his passive and provide some damage mitigation.
Nahida is among the best Nilou party members, as the tiny Archon has a plethora of buffs that can help. Also, her E skill has a unique trigger from Dendro and Bountiful Cores, making this a logical decision.
Your composition would depend on who is available in your roster and how you want to use Nilou. An on-field DPS Nilou would fight against similar characters such as Childe, Alhaitham, Ayato, or Tighnari. However, they would have great synergy with a sub-DPS or support Nilou.
Genshin Impact Nilou Backstory
Nilou, the Star of the Zubayr Theater, started with humble beginnings. She was not gifted with an intellect for the Akademiya, nor was she particularly ambitious for anything else. She had a happy childhood with her parents who only wanted a stable life for her.
However, one trait started when she was young: her ability to stem conflict and soothe emotions. Every time her parents would argue, her thoughtful mediation never allowed grudges and harm to linger around the little family. It was something that came in handy later in life.
Nilou was eight when she met her dance teacher. It was at a Sabzeruz Festival, and the Knight of Flowers had just given her some candy. With her hands full of sweets, she came across the newly built theater in the Grand Bazaar. Before, all performances were done by foreigners on a temporary stage.
There, she saw her teacher dancing, and she thought it was like a thousand flowers blooming on the stage despite none being there. Unconsciously, she dropped her sweets and danced along. Nilou came to when the dance ended and apologized to the audience members who made room for her movements. Then her teacher elegantly stepped down from the stage, picked up her Yalda Candies, and asked, “Would you like to join me in a future dance?”
Under the teacher’s tutelage, Nilou blossomed into Zubayr Theater’s most adored star. For her part, she became very aware of the importance of body language. This, and her natural inclination to mediate and soothe emotions, became the foundation of her brand of ‘body movement therapy.’
It allows her to dampen Mr. Zubayr’s rage when all the other members walk on eggshells around him. Her therapy also somehow works with Sumpter Beasts, as Mr. Afshin would attest. Though it might look childish, funny, or crazy to an onlooker, Nilou’s strategy and gentle voice can soothe even the most irritated people (and beasts).
Along with her inherent kindness and soothing nature, Nilou’s brand of body movement therapy lets her get along with people. Everybody knows her in the Grand Bazaar, which she treats as her family. In turn, they also think of her in similar ways. For her, her parents belong to her small family, and the Grand Bazaar is her big family.
Although she can mediate and help other people in their decision-making, when it comes to herself, she finds herself wavering in indecision. What does she want to eat? Tachin sounds good, but so are Pita Pockets. Oh, and that person’s holding a Potato Boat! Otherwise, the topic could be travel. If she were to go on a trip, are the windmills of Mondstadt better than the bustling harbor in Liyue?
Nilou is just waiting for a friend to offer to share a meal or assure her that the places she wants to go are safe. If someone came up to her saying those words, she would make a graceful gesture of thanks and revel in the joy of solving a problem that had long plagued her.
Genshin Impact How Nilou Got Her Vision
Nilou’s dance teacher instilled in her the ‘meaning’ of dance. Although she doesn’t have the mind of an Akademiya scholar, she practiced with all her heart. She did her best to follow in her teacher’s footsteps. It all paid off on her first solo performance.
She became immersed in her dance. She thought of the beauty of nature and how she could express that through her movements. A slight breeze blowing through a lake shining in the moonlight. A single rose blooming. The feeling of stroking the tail feathers of a Dusk Bird. Those were just a few beautiful things she wanted to show.
The audience heaved a collective sigh of awe when the curtains closed. Nilou sat heavily on a chair, where she found her Hydro Vision on her waist. She realized her version of the meaning of dance: to become beauty and convey it along with the value of art.
The author’s current theory about Hydro Vision users is that they want to protect something. While the story above doesn’t explicitly say anything about that, Nilou’s dedication to preserving art (in general) is implied. She danced underground (literally) to keep the arts in the information-saturated and academically-focused version of Sumeru. Her dances are also a way to preserve beauty in the audience’s hearts.
That’s it for Nilou! She’s a bit of a niche character because of the strict party requirements, but she can be fun to play. It’s also nice that she doesn’t need too much investment to make her Spiral Abyss viable if you want to put her in a reactive party.
