Genshin Impact Nilou Build Guide: Weapons, Artifact Sets, Roles, Constellations, and more

Last Updated on: 18th October 2022, 03:16 am

Nilou is a playable 5-star Hydro character in Genshin Impact.  While she is a popular dancer from the Zubayr Theater, she’s just like most girls her age outside her performance—smiling and friendly.

Nilou is such a good dancer that the merchant Dori even said she could earn so much Mora if only the dancer went with her on a tour all over Teyvat. However, Nilou appears to love the Zubayr Theater, causing Dori to remark that Nilou is too innocent to know her own worth.

This guide will discuss Nilou‘s talents, constellations, recommended roles, best weapons, artifact sets, and more! So, if you want to add this character to your team, feel free to read on.

Nilou’s Talents and Priority

Nilou is a great Hydro applicator whether on-field or off-field. On-field, her Elemental Skill allows her to deal Hydro DMG using her Normal Attacks (Note that these attacks are considered Elemental Skill in this state). If you decide to use her as an off-field Hydro applicator, the last step of her Elemental Skill (using Elemental Skill consecutively) creates an aura around the active character. This consistently applies the Wet status to enemies within its AoE.

Moreover, her Elemental Burst deals huge Hydro DMG that can apply the Wet status on enemies twice.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT: NILOU’S ASCENSION MATERIALS AND LOCATIONS

However, while Nilou can apply the Wet status pretty well and can, therefore, work like any other Hydro character in terms of triggering Elemental Reactions, maximizing her kit calls for a very niche team consisting of ONLY Hydro and Dendro characters.

For instance, her 1st Ascension Passive (Court of Dancing Petals) only works when there are only Hydro and Dendro characters in the team. This passive grants the party the Golden Chalice’s Bounty, which increases Elemental Mastery (EM) when these characters are hit by Dendro attacks (easily achieved by Bloom’s explosion). On the other hand, with this buff, the cores dropped by the Bloom reaction are Bountiful Cores. These cores explode faster and have larger AoE compared to regular Dendro Cores.

With these in mind, it is best for Nilou‘s Talents to be prioritized in the following order:

• 1st Priority – Elemental Skill
• 2nd Priority – Elemental Burst
• 3rd Priority – Normal Attack

For more details about her Talents, check out the table below:

Normal Attack – Dance of Samser	Normal Attack Performs up to 3 consecutive sword strikes. Charged Attack Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to perform a twirling slash. Plunging Attack Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact.
Elemental Skill – Dance of Haftkarsvar	Nilou will enter the Pirouette state, dealing Hydro DMG to nearby opponents based on her Max HP. While she is in the Pirouette state, Nilou’s Normal Attacks and Elemental Attacks will cause her to enter the Sword Dance and Whirling Steps stances, respectively, causing DMG she deals to be converted to Hydro DMG that cannot be overridden, and that is considered Elemental Skill DMG. In these stances, Nilou’s third dance step will end Pirouette, and has the following effects: – Sword Dance: unleashes a Luminous Illusion that deals Hydro DMG to opponents it touches and grants Nilou the Lunar Prayer effect. This effect converts Nilou’s Normal Attacks into Sword Dance techniques, and her final hit will unleash a Luminous Illusion. – Whirling Steps: Nilou unleashes a Whirling Water Wheel that deals AoE Hydro DMG and creates a Tranquility Aura that follows your active character around and applies Wet to opponents within its AoE. Nilou is unable to perform Charged Attacks when under the effect of Pirouette or Lunar Prayer. These effects will be removed once she leaves the field.
Elemental Burst – Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring	Begins the dance of faraway dreams and springs that hear, causing a Lotus of Distant Waters to bloom, dealing AoE Hydro DMG based on Nilou’s Max HP and applying the Lingering Aeon effect to all opponents hit. After an interval, opponents affected by Lingering Aeon will take Hydro DMG.
1st Ascension Passive – Court of Dancing Petals	When all characters in the party are all Dendro or Hydro, and there are at least one Dendro character and one Hydro character: The completion of the third dance step of Nilou’s Dance of Haftkarsvar will grant all nearby characters the Golden Chalice’s Bounty for 30s. Characters under the effect of Golden Chalice’s Bounty will increase the Elemental Mastery of all nearby characters by 100 for 10s whenever Dendro attacks hit them. Also, triggering the Bloom reaction will create Bountiful Cores instead of Dendro Cores. Such Cores will burst very quickly after being created and have larger AoEs. Bountiful Cores cannot trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon, and they share an upper numerical limit with Dendro Cores. Bountiful Core DMG is considered DMG dealt by Dendro Cores produced by Bloom. Should the party not meet the conditions for this Passive Talent, any existing Golden Chalice’s Bounty effects will be canceled.
4th Ascension Passive – Dreamy Dance of Aeons	Every 1,000 points of Nilou’s Max HP above 30,000 will cause the DMG dealt by Bountiful Cores created by characters affected by Golden Chalice’s Bounty to increase by 9%. The maximum increase in Bountiful Core DMG that can be achieved this way is 400%.
Utility Passive – White Jade Lotus	When Perfect Cooking is achieved on Food with Adventure-related effects, there is a 12% chance of obtaining double the product.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT CYNO BUILD GUIDE: WEAPONS, ARTIFACT SETS, ROLES, CONSTELLATIONS, AND MORE

Constellations and Effects

Since she is currently the only character that has a Bloom-specific kit, Nilou is the best unit for Bloom teams. Her second constellation (C2) in these teams can greatly buff the team’s damage as it decreases the enemies’ Hydro and Dendro RES.

Of course, if you have C2, this means that you also have C1. This constellation is also great whether you choose to give Nilou more field time or use her as an off-field Hydro applicator.

If you’re new to the game, Constellations are acquired when you get another character copy.

LEVEL	NAME	EFFECT
1	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.
2	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.
3	Beguiling Shadowstep	Increases the Level of Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
4	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.
5	Twirling Light	Increases the Level of Dance of Haftkarsvar by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
6	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.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT DORI BUILD GUIDE: WEAPONS, ARTIFACT SETS, ROLES, TALENTS, CONSTELLATIONS, AND MORE

Recommended Roles and Teams for Nilou

Nilou can work as your Bloom DPS or as a more conventional Hydro DPS. However, with her kit in mind, she shines more as a Bloom DPS character in a team that strictly consists of Hydro and Dendro units.

The only downside is that there are not many Dendro character options at the moment. Since Tighnari is designed as a Dendro DPS character, he won’t be a great inclusion for a team with Nilou as the Bloom DPS unit. This leaves Collei and the Dendro Traveler as your only options for the Dendro slot/s.

BOUNTIFUL CORE BLOOM TEAM

While you can have a 3:1 ratio for Hydro and Dendro characters in this team, we highly recommend that you go for a 2:2 ratio, meaning you should include two (2) Hydro units and two (2) Dendro units in your team. This team composition will unlock the Hydro Elemental Resonance, which increases your team’s HP (which means more Hydro DMG output from Nilou). On the other hand, the Dendro Elemental Resonance will also be unlocked, which increases your team’s EM. This means more damage output from the Bountiful Core explosions.

Moreover, with this ratio, you’ll have an easier time recharging your energy for both Hydro and Dendro units.

• In this team, Nilou will take most of the field time and focus more on the Sword Dance from her Elemental Skill, not the off-field Hydro aura. This way, she can consistently deal Hydro damage and trigger Bloom with the help of your off-field Dendro applicators.
• As mentioned earlier, Collei and the Dendro Traveler are the only Dendro options for this team. Both are good off-field Dendro applicators and EM buffers.
• Lastly, it is a must that you include a Hydro healer like Kokomi or Barbara. Healing is vital in a Bloom Team, as the Bountiful Cores will deal some damage to your active character as well. As of writing, there are no Dendro healers or Hydro shielders, so the best options are the two. Moreover, their healing scales with HP, so their healing will be more effective with the Hydro Resonance.

READ MORE: GENSHIN IMPACT CANDACE BUILD GUIDE: WEAPONS, ARTIFACT SETS, ROLES, CONSTELLATIONS, AND MORE

Recommended Weapons for Nilou

Nilou’s BiS (best-in-slot) weapon is her signature weapon called Key of Khaj-Nisut. However, if you don’t have this 5-star weapon, we have other recommendations for you, including 4-star ones. Check out our insights for each weapon below the table for more information.

WEAPON	DETAILS
Key of Khaj-Nisut (5 stars)	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 44 – 542 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): HP 14.4% – 66.2% Base 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.
Primordial Jade Cutter (5 stars)	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 44 – 542 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): CRIT Rate 9.6% – 44.1% Base Skill Effect: HP increased by 20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 1.2% of the wielder’s Max HP.
Xiphos’ Moonlight (4 stars)	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 42 – 510 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): Elemental Mastery 36 – 165 Base Skill Effect: The following effect will trigger every 10s: The equipping character will gain 0.036% Energy Recharge for each point of Elemental Mastery they possess for 12s, with nearby party members gaining 30% of this buff for the same duration. Multiple instances of this weapon can allow this buff to stack. This effect will still trigger even if the character is not on the field.
Iron Sting (4 stars)	Base ATK (Lv 1 -90): 42 – 510 Base Bonus Stat (Lv 1 -90): Elemental Mastery 36 – 165 Base Skill Effect: Dealing Elemental DMG increases all DMG by 6% for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can only occur once every 1s.

Key of Khaj-Nisut

Since Nilou’s Elemental Skill and Burst scale with HP, the huge HP bonus stat from this weapon will definitely contribute a lot to her Hydro damage potential and Bloom damage (with 4th ascension passive). This weapon can also increase her own and her team’s EM. This increases the damage from her Bountiful Cores’ explosion. Learn more about the Key of Khaj-Nisut here.

Primordial Jade Cutter

If you don’t have the Key of Khaj-Nisut but have the Primordial Jade Cutter sitting in your inventory, you can use this as Nilou‘s weapon instead. Just like Nilou’s BiS, this weapon focuses on the HP stat, making it another great 5-star weapon option for the HP-scaling 5-star character.

Xiphos’ Moonlight

This sword is one of the 4-star weapons that can benefit Nilou. Her Bountiful Core explosions will deal better damage with its EM bonus stat. Moreover, since it’s only natural to build Nilou with a decent EM, this weapon converts a portion of that EM into Energy Recharge (ER) for herself and the party. This is great news if you don’t have a good ER stat for Nilou’s relatively high Elemental Burst cost (70 energy). However, as of writing, this can only be obtained from the weapon banner that features the Key of Khaj-Nisut. Learn more about Xiphos’ Moonlight here.

Iron Sting

Among all the weapons in this list, Iron Sting is the most free-to-play friendly, as you can easily have this forged or crafted. However, this doesn’t make it less of an option for Nilou. This sword provides as much EM as Xiphos’ Moonlight. While Iron Sting doesn’t have the ER capabilities of Xiphos’ Moonlight, its passive effect can provide a damage bonus increase for the 5-star character.

Recommended Artifact Sets and Stat Priority for Nilou

Below are our recommended artifact sets for Nilou:

ARTIFACT SET	EFFECTS
– Tenacity of the Millelith x2 – Gilded Dreams or Wanderer’s Troupe x2	– HP +20% – Elemental Mastery +80
Gilded Dreams x4	– Elemental Mastery +80 – Within 8s of triggering an Elemental Reaction, the character equipping this will obtain buffs based on the Elemental Type of the other party members, ATK is increased by 14% for each party member whose Elemental Type is the same as the equipping character, and Elemental Mastery is increased by 50 for every party member with a different Elemental Type. Each of the aforementioned buffs will count up to 3 characters. This effect can be triggered once every 8s. The character who equips this can still trigger its effects when not on the field.

Increasing both Nilou’s HP and EM are your priority to deal optimal damage. This can be achieved by having Tenacity of the Millelith x2 and Gilded Dreams or Wanderer’s Troupe x2. However, you can go for a full Gilded Dreams set if you have the right stats for your Gilded Dreams artifact pieces.

Speaking of the right stats, we recommend the following:

• Sands – HP% or Energy Recharge (aim for around 160-200% ER if you want to use her Burst every rotation)
• Goblet – HP%
• Circlet – HP%

As for the substats, we recommend that you prioritize HP, followed by EM. ER’s priority depends on how much you currently have. While having some CRIT is good for her Hydro DMG, this is a low-priority stat for Nilou in a Bloom team since Bountiful Cores do not CRIT. Bountiful Cores’ explosion damage only depends on her level, EM, and HP over 30,000 (4th ascension passive).

Genshin Impact is an action role-playing game developed by miHoyo, also known as HoYoverse. The game is available on PC, PS4, PS5, iOS, and Android, while a release on Nintendo Switch is currently in the works.