Nilou Best Builds and Artifacts

Nilou is a 5-Star Hydro Sword character released in Genshin Impact. Check out this Nilou build guide for her best builds, best Artifacts, best weapons, team comps, and talent priority!

Nilou

Story Quest

Nilou's Character Guides
Build Guide	Materials	Special Dish

Lotos Somno Chapter
To the Wise	Act 2	Act 3

Nilou Rating and Info

Character Information

Nilou
	Rating
	Rarity	★★★★★
	Element	Hydro
	Weapon	Sword
	Voice Actors	Dani Chambers (EN) Kanemoto Hisako (JP)

Tier List Rankings

Main DPS	Sub-DPS	Support	Exploration
-		-

Character Tier List | Best Characters

Nilou's Stats

Stat Calculations

Base Stat Calculations

	Stats indicated above are obtained from Nilou's base values. These numbers also exclude the character's equipped weapon, artifacts, talents, or other passive effects that are not innate to the character.
	All characters start with 5% CRIT Rate, 50% CRIT DMG, 100% Energy Recharge, 0 Elemental Mastery, 0% Healing Bonus, and 0% Elemental DMG bonus before any additional stats are applied. The table above includes such values.
	The Level 20 stats indicated for this character are calculated before their first ascension.

Character Stat Rankings

Nilou's Ascension and Talent Material Summary

All Ascension Materials Needed
Varunada Lazurite Sliver ×1 Varunada Lazurite Fragment ×9 Varunada Lazurite Chunk ×9 Varunada Lazurite Gemstone ×6 Mora ×420000 Fungal Spores ×18 Luminescent Pollen ×30 Crystalline Cyst Dust ×36 Padisarah ×168 Perpetual Caliber ×46
All Talent Materials Needed
Mora ×4957500 Crown of Insight ×3 Tears of the Calamitous God ×18 Fungal Spores ×18 Luminescent Pollen ×66 Crystalline Cyst Dust ×93 Teachings of Praxis ×9 Guide to Praxis ×63 Philosophies of Praxis ×114

Nilou's Strengths and Weaknesses

Nilou Best Builds

Nilou Sub-DPS Build for Off-Field

Best Weapon	Key of Khaj-Nisut
Replacement Weapons	1. Freedom-Sworn 2. The Dockhand's Assistant 3. Xiphos' Moonlight 4. Iron Sting (F2P Option)
Best Artifacts	Tenacity of the Millelith x2 Vourukasha's Glow x2
Artifact Main Stats	Sands: HP% or Energy Recharge
	Goblet: HP%
	Circlet: HP%
Artifact Substats	HP%, Energy Recharge, Flat HP, Elemental Mastery
Recommended Energy Recharge	±170% Energy Recharge
Sample Teams	Triple: Double:

This Nilou build focuses on her best role as a Sub-DPS who enables the creation of Bountiful Cores. You will want to stack HP% Main Stats and use a 2pc Tenacity of the Millelith set with a 2pc Vourukasha's Glow set to increase her Bountiful Core damage.

Nilou Main DPS Build for On-Field

Best Weapon	Key of Khaj-Nisut
Replacement Weapons	1. The Dockhand's Assistant 2. Sacrificial Sword 3. Xiphos' Moonlight 4. Iron Sting
Best Artifacts	Vourukasha's Glow x4 or Tenacity of the Millelith x2 Vourukasha's Glow x2
Artifact Main Stats	Sands: HP%
	Goblet: HP%
	Circlet: HP%
Artifact Substats	HP%, Elemental Mastery, Energy Recharge
Recommended Energy Recharge	±150% Energy Recharge
Sample Teams	On-Field:

Nilou can work as an on-field unit that can create Bountiful Cores by applying Hydro via her Sword Dance form. The Sacrificial Sword is a very good weapon here since it enables you to use both Elemental Skill forms for Nilou to maximize her Hydro application on enemies.

Nilou can take advantage of the Vourukasha's Glow 4pc effect due to self damage from her Bountiful cores. But you can also stick to the standard 2pc. HP%/HP% artifact set combo to reduce the amount of resin you need to farm!

Nilou's Talent Priority

Sub-DPS

Main DPS

It's important to note that while useful, highly investing in Nilou's talents is not necessary for increasing her main source of DMG, which are bountiful cores.

Elemental Burst should be prioritized if Nilou is played off-field while her Elemental Skill should be prioritized if she's on-field.

Nilou Best Artifacts

Best Artifacts Ranked

	Artifact	Artifact Bonuses
Best	Tenacity of the Millelith	2-PC: HP +20%
	Vourukasha's Glow	2-PC: HP +20%
2nd	Vourukasha's Glow	2-PC: HP +20% 4-PC: Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG will be increased by 10%. After the equipping character takes DMG, the aforementioned DMG Bonus is increased by 80% for 5s. This effect increase can have 5 stacks. The duration of each stack is counted independently. These effects can be triggered even when the equipping character is not on the field.
3rd	Tenacity of the Millelith	2-PC: HP +20%
	Gilded Dreams	2-PC: Elemental Mastery +80

In general, a 2pc. Tenacity of the Millelith and 2pc. Vourukasha's Glow should be Nilou's go-to Artifact sets for maximizing her Bountiful Core damage.

List of Artifacts and Set Bonuses

Nilou Best Weapons

Top 3 Nilou Weapons

	Weapon	Weapon Information
1st	Key of Khaj-Nisut	Base ATK: 542 Bonus Stat: HP 66.2% Skill Effect: HP increased by 20%. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, you gain the Grand Hymn effect for 20s. This effect increases the equipping character's Elemental Mastery by 0.12% of their Max HP. This effect can trigger once every 0.3s. Max 3 stacks. When this effect gains 3 stacks, or when the third stack's duration is refreshed, the Elemental Mastery of all nearby party members will be increased by 0.2% of the equipping character's max HP for 20s.
2nd	Freedom-Sworn	Base ATK: 608 Bonus Stat: Elemental Mastery 198 Skill Effect: Increases DMG by 10%. When characters with Freedom-Sworn trigger Elemental Reactions, they gain a Sigil of Rebellion (once every 0.5s). This triggers even if they aren't on the field. When you reach 2 Sigils, they will be consumed which grants nearby party members 20% ATK and 16% Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG for 12s. Once triggered, you gain no Sigils for 20s. The same buffs from the Millennial Movement series does not stack.
3rd	The Dockhand's Assistant	Base ATK: 510 Bonus Stat: HP 41.3% Skill Effect: When the wielder is healed or heals others, they will gain a Stoic's Symbol for 30s, max 3 Symbols. Upon Elemental Skill or Burst usage, consume all Symbols to get the Roused effect for 10s. For each Symbol consumed, gain 40 Elemental Mastery, and after 2s, restore 2 Energy per Symbol. The Roused effect can be triggered once every 15s, and Symbols can be gained even when the character is off-field.

HP Weapons are Best for Nilou

Any weapon that has HP% Bonus Stats will be very good for Nilou to increase her Bountiful Core DMG.

EM or ER Weapons are Second Best

Elemental Mastery or Energy Recharge Substat weapons are the second best type of weapons for Nilou. Elemental Mastery can be very useful for situations where she triggers a Bountiful Core reaction while Energy Recharge can be useful if you need Nilou to use her Elemental Burst off cooldown.

Best Free-to-Play Weapon for Nilou

Weapon	Weapon Information
Iron Sting	Base ATK: 510 Bonus Stat: Elemental Mastery 165 Skill Effect: Dealing Elemental DMG increases all DMG by 6% for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can occur once every 1s.

Iron Sting is a Great Option

The Iron sting is Nilou's Best F2P craftable weapon since it increases all of her damage thanks to its passive and Elemental Mastery, which will increase her Bountiful Core damage in the situations where she triggers them.

The Sapwood Blade can also be considered as a more supportive option and if you need ER. However, it has the same problems as having Elemental Mastery stats on Nilou in the sense that the passive will only be useful if she triggers a Bloom reaction.

All Recommended Weapons for Nilou

Recommended Weapons	How to Get
Key of Khaj-Nisut	Gacha
Freedom-Sworn	Gacha
The Dockhand's Assistant	Gacha
Xiphos' Moonlight	Gacha
Iron Sting	Crafted
Sapwood Blade	Crafted
Primordial Jade Cutter	Gacha
Favonius Sword	Gacha
Sacrificial Sword	Gacha

List of Swords

Nilou Best Teams

Nilou Double Hydro Team

Sub-DPS	Main-DPS	Sub-DPS	Support
Nilou	Nahida	Collei	Kokomi
Nilou	Nahida	Furina	Baizhu
Nilou	Nahida	Candace	Yaoyao

A double Hydro and double Dendro Team has the potential to make more Bountiful cores compared to the triple Hydro team. However ownership of Bountiful cores becomes more messy, making it mandatory for everyone to at least invest some stats into Elemental Mastery.

Nilou Triple Hydro Team

Sub-DPS	Main-DPS	Sub-DPS	Support
Nilou	Nahida	Yelan	Kokomi
Nilou	Alhaitham	Xingqiu	Barbara
Nilou	Kokomi	Xingqiu	Traveler (Dendro)

Nilou works great in a triple Hydro team with a single Dendro damage dealer. This ensures that all Bountiful cores comes from the Dendro unit, making it very easy to maximize Bountiful Core damage by simply equiping the Dendro unit with Triple EM Artifacts

Nilou On-Field

Main DPS	Sub-DPS	Sub-DPS	Support
Nilou	Traveler (Dendro)	Collei	Barbara

Nilou as a Main DPS will have her act as the primary enabler for applying Hydro on Enemies. It is best if Nilou uses a Sacrificial Sword as an on-field unit so that she can use her two Dance Forms to apply Hydro on enemies.

Once her Sword Dance form's duration has ended, you can swap to Barbara to keep applying Hydro on enemies.

Nilou Best Constellations

Recommended Constellations

C2 for an Amazing Debuff

Nilou's best constellation is The Starry Skies Their Flowers Rain, which is her second constellation. It's the best one to unlock if you plan on heavily investing in Dendro Core-focused teams. This provides a huge DPS increase for your Hydro and Dendro characters while also being very easy to trigger.

Constellation and Effects

Lotos Somno
	Nilous's Constellations
C1	Dance of the Waning Moon Dance of Haftkarsvar will be enhanced as follows: ·Luminous Illusion DMG is increased by 65%. ·The Tranquility Aura's duration is extended by 6s.
C2	The Starry Skies Their Flowers Rain After characters affected by the Golden Chalice's Bounty deal Hydro DMG to an opponent, that opponent's Hydro RES will be decreased by 35% for 10s. After a triggered Bloom reaction deals DMG to opponents, their Dendro RES will be decreased by 35% for 10s. You need to have unlocked the "Court of Dancing Petals" Talent."
C3	Beguiling Shadowstep Increases the Level of Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15."
C4	Fricative Pulse After the third dance step of Dance of Haftkarsvar's Pirouette hits opponents, Nilou will gain 15 Elemental Energy, and DMG from her Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring will be increased by 50% for 8s.
C5	Twirling Light Increases the Level of Dance of Haftkarsvar by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
C6	Frostbreaker's Melody For every 1,000 points of Max HP, Nilou's CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG will increase by 0.6% and 1.2% respectively. The maximum increase in CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG via this method is 30% and 60% respectively.

Nilou Talents and How to Use

Nilou Rotation

Off-Field Nilou

On-Field Nilou

Normal Attack

Elemental Skill

Hydro Infusion or Off-Field Application

Nilou's Elemental Skill deals AoE Hydro damage, converts her attacks to Hydro, and has two forms that can change depending on what you do after activating the Elemental Skill.

Sword Dance Form

If the third dance step from Dance of Haftkarsvar is a Normal Attack she will enter the Sword Dance form. This form converts all Normal Attacks into Hydro DMG and sends out a wave that deals Hydro DMG.

Whirling Steps Form

If Nilou uses her Elemental Skill again for her third dance step, she will enter the Whirling Steps form. During this form Nilou will twirl around, dealing AoE Hydro DMG. At the end of the attack, she will create a Tranquility Aura that applies the wet status around the enemies within the AoE.

Elemental Burst

Quick AoE Nuke

Nilou's Elemental Burst deals AoE Hydro damage and applies a special state on the opponents hit. This special state will detonate after a short time, dealing Hydro DMG.

Passive Talent 1

Bountiful Cores with Double Hydro and Dendro

The Golden Chalice's Bounty state will only be available if the entire party consists of only Dendro and Hydro characters. This state will trigger after the third hit from Dance of Haftkarsvar.

During this state, all characters will have increased Elemental Mastery and will create Bountiful cores instead of Dendro Cores when triggering the bloom reaction. Bountiful Cores are bigger, more powerful, and explode instantly.

Passive Talent 2

Passive Talent 3

Extra Adventure-Related Dishes

Nilou's Passive Talent gives her a certain chance of producing extra dishes when cooking recipes with Adventure-related Effects. Adventure-related effects include food that increases stamina or reduces cold buildup.

Nilou Ascension and Talent Materials

Nilou Ascension Materials

Lv.20→Lv.40	Varunada Lazurite Sliver ×1 Mora ×20,000 Fungal Spores ×3 Padisarah ×3
Lv.40→Lv.50	Varunada Lazurite Fragment ×3 Mora ×40,000 Fungal Spores ×15 Padisarah ×10 Perpetual Caliber ×2
Lv.50→Lv.60	Varunada Lazurite Fragment ×6 Mora ×60,000 Luminescent Pollen ×12 Padisarah ×20 Perpetual Caliber ×4
Lv.60→Lv.70	Varunada Lazurite Chunk ×3 Mora ×80,000 Luminescent Pollen ×18 Padisarah ×30 Perpetual Caliber ×8
Lv.70→Lv.80	Varunada Lazurite Chunk ×6 Mora ×100,000 Crystalline Cyst Dust ×12 Padisarah ×45 Perpetual Caliber ×12
Lv.80→Lv.90	Varunada Lazurite Gemstone ×6 Mora ×120,000 Crystalline Cyst Dust ×24 Padisarah ×60 Perpetual Caliber ×20

Nilou Talent Level-Up Materials

Daily Domain Drops	Enemy Drops	Weekly Boss Drops
Wed/Sat/Sun Teachings of Praxis	Floating Fungi Fungal Spores	Raiden Shogun Challenge Reward Tears of the Calamitous God
Guide to Praxis	Luminescent Pollen
Philosophies of Praxis	Crystalline Cyst Dust

Talent Materials per Level

How to Get Nilou

Pull from the Version 4.8 Phase 1 Banners

Banner Status	Active

Nilou will be available on a rerun banner during Phase 1 of Version 4.8, running from July 17, 2024 to August 6, 2024. Running alongside her will be Navia's rerun banner!

The upcoming rated up 4-stars for this banner are Ningguang, Kirara, and Kaveh!

Genshin Impact 4.8 Banners and Characters

Related Wish Banner Guides

Click to view a Banner Guide!
Nilou Banner	Wish Sim	All Wishes

Nilou's In-Game Information

Who is Nilou?

Nilou is a 5-star Hydro character from Sumeru who uses a Sword as her weapon. You first meet Nilou during Chapter 3: Act 1 Archon quest, where she eventually plays a key role in unlocking Sumeru's mysteries!

Nilou Character Profile

Nation	Sumeru
Title	The Star of Zubayr Theater
Vision	Hydro
Gender	Female
Race	Human
Height	Medium
Affiliation	Zubayr Theater
Constellation	Lotos Somno
Birthday	December 3
Special Dish	Swirling Steps
Skins & Namecards	Outfit: Neither Flower Nor Mist Namecard: Lotus Dance
Furnishing	Coalesced Brilliance & Of Twirling Dances Unfettered

Nilou Release Date

Genshin Impact Version 3.1 Phase 2
Release Date	October 14, 2022

Released in Version 3.1 Phase 2

Nilou was officially released as a playable character during the second phase of Version 3.1 on October 14, 2022.

Check out all the other content that came out in this update here:

3.1 Livestream Recap and Special Program Summary

Nilou Voicelines

Thoughts About Nilou

Character	In-Game Thoughts
Alhaitham	The strengths and weaknesses of a performing artist are quite clear. Nilou Knows how to play to her strengths, which enables her to live a happy and simple life.
Collei	She seems a little absent-minded. If she ever comes to perform around Gandharva Ville, I'm worried she'll end up wandering off into the forest and getting lost... So I'll have to watch out for her, as a responsible forest ranger trainee should.
Cyno	I can sense her enthusiasm and passion for dancing - it has become an integral part of her being. I hope that she will always be able to use the art she loves to bring happiness to other people.
Dehya	Now that the whole saga with the Akademiya's over, I guess she can finally dance as much as she wants. She offered me some of her face powder last time I saw her, but in this line of work, it'd be wasted on me, so I told her to give it to Candace instead. Hmm... I wonder how she's liking it? I need to go check. sometime...
Dori	She's a good dancer, but definitely not making the most of her time by staying in Sumeru... I mean, it's a complete waste of her talent. If I took her on tour across all Teyvat, do you have any idea how much Mora I'd rake in?
Faruzan	I remember her; she's a courteous girl. I've only been to the Grand Bazaar a few times, but she's already remembered my name and face, and she's even tried to get the others to stop arguing with me. She really gets it! All youngsters should be more like her.
Kaveh	Nilou's talent as a dancer is indisputable. Zubayr Theater really lucked out when they recruited her. I've heard that she has a great personality too — she always smiles and says encouraging things to her audience when she's performing. Once I can find some time, I'll have to catch one of her shows.
Nahida	I once borrowed someone else's body to ask her if she'd mind allowing Lesser Lord Kusanali to watch her dance... Actually, I had already watched her lots of times before in secret, but I wanted to attend her dance at the Sabzeruz Festival properly, in person, as a sign of respect. Anyway, it turned out that she gently declined the offer... I was a little sad about that.
Sethos	I usually can't stay still for more than a few minutes, but Zubayr Theater is one place I don't mind just standing and watching while Nilou dances on the stage. It's a rare skill to be able to bring people such a sense of peace.

Nilou's Thoughts About Others

Character	In-Game Thoughts
Collei	About Collei She sometimes comes to watch my performances. She's a really hard-working Trainee Forest Ranger. One time, she warned me about getting lost. What did she mean by that? It's not like I've gotten lost before...
Cyno	About Cyno I don't really like interacting with people from the Akademiya because they don't view the arts too kindly. I often wonder what they do when they're bored... Huh, Cyno plays Genius Invokation TCG? I can't believe it...
Dehya	About Dehya It's hard to believe that so many things have happened recently... I wanted to pick out a good present for Dehya and Dunyarzad, but I just can't make up my mind. Everyone at the Grand Bazaar has given me many suggestions, but if I took them all, it'd be too much... What should I do...
Dori	About Dori The big-spending merchant Dori has watched me dance before. I remember that she talked with Mr. Zubayr once, and then never came back. Did something happen? ...Huh? She wanted me to go on tour around Teyvat? No way, Mr. Zubayr definitely would've refused for me! ...Ahh, please tell me he has...
Kaveh	About Kaveh I heard he was the one who built the magnificent Palace of Alcazarzaray. He must have had a wonderful time making such a masterpiece, like when I'm in the middle of dance practice. Just thinking about dancing for everyone gives me so much happiness and motivation.
Nahida	About Lesser Lord Kusanali The people of the Greater Bazaar love Lesser Lord Kusanali. I'd love to hear her thoughts on my Dance of Sabzeruz... Oh, no, no, forget it... If she were in the right audience, I'd stage fright...
Tighnari	About Tighnari I hear he's a really talented botanist. He must be good at telling apart mushrooms. At least, he would never have to worry about eating a poisonous one... I'm so jealous.

Quests with Nilou

Quests with Nilou
Chapter 3 Act I	Chapter 3 Act II
Nilou Story Quest Guide

Genshin Impact Character Guides

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List of All Characters

Characters by Element
Pyro	Anemo	Electro	Hydro
Dendro	Geo	Cryo

Playable Characters

All Playable Characters
Faruzan	Heizou	Jean	Kazuha
Lynette	Sayu	Sucrose	Traveler (Anemo)
Venti	Wanderer	Xianyun	Xiao
Aloy	Ayaka	Charlotte	Chongyun
Diona	Eula	Freminet	Ganyu
Kaeya	Layla	Mika	Qiqi
Rosaria	Shenhe	Wriothesley	Alhaitham
Baizhu	Collei	Kaveh	Kirara
Nahida	Tighnari	Traveler (Dendro)	Yaoyao
Beidou	Clorinde	Cyno	Dori
Fischl	Keqing	Lisa	Raiden
Razor	Sara	Sethos	Shinobu
Traveler (Electro)	Yae Miko	Albedo	Chiori
Gorou	Itto	Navia	Ningguang
Noelle	Traveler (Geo)	Yun Jin	Zhongli
Ayato	Barbara	Candace	Furina
Kokomi	Mona	Neuvillette	Nilou
Sigewinne	Tartaglia	Traveler (Hydro)	Xingqiu
Yelan	Amber	Arlecchino	Bennett
Chevreuse	Dehya	Diluc	Gaming
Hu Tao	Klee	Lyney	Thoma
Xiangling	Xinyan	Yanfei	Yoimiya

Upcoming Characters

All Upcoming Characters
Alice	Capitano	Chasca	Citlali
Columbina	Dainsleif	Dottore	Emilie
Iansan	Kachina	Kinich	Mavuika
Mualani	Ororon	Pantalone	Pierro
Pulcinella	Sandrone	Skirk	Tsaritsa
Varka	Xilonen

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