Background
Nilou is a 5-star character from the region of Sumeru. She first meets the Traveler when they enter Sumeru City during the Sabzeruz Festival. Nilou is currently a dancer for the Zubayr Theater and is known for her graceful and highly skilled dance performances. Her former teacher taught her everything and captivated Nilou with her dances when she was young.
Nilou is very polite to those around her and loves to help anyone she can. She is beloved by the citizens of Sumeru City for not only her dances but also for being a sweet and warm person. She cares deeply for the people of the Grand Bazaar and sees them as her own family. Nilou is also a firm believer in the Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Fun Fact: Nilou has a fondness for sweet foods.
Nilou Skill Talents
Nilou’s main use will be her elemental skill talent which gives two effects depending on the attack that was used for her third-step dance. Using her normal attack triggers a Hydro wave at the enemy while using her elemental skill to create a Hydro ring that will follow the character to apply Wet to the enemy. Nilou’s damage scales off her Max HP. Her strength lies in her ability to create Bountiful Cores instead of regular Dendro cores to deal increased Dendro DMG to the enemies. For team composition, she is super niche as she works best in teams that produce bloom reactions, and her ascension talent limits Dendro or Hydro characters on the team to benefit from its effects. However, she can also work in a Vaporize team.
Nilou’s normal attack, Dance of Samser, performs up to 3 strikes with her sword, with the third hit dealing the most damage. The charged attack allows Nilou to perform a twirling slash to deal damage to enemies in exchange for stamina. Her normal attack will often be overshadowed while under the use of Nilou’s elemental skill even if she is the Main DPS character. This is due to her elemental skill sword dance overtaking her normal attack talent.
Nilou’s elemental skill, Dance of Haftkarsvar, first deals Hydro DMG to nearby enemies and allows Nilou to enter the Pirouette state for 10 seconds. While in the Pirouette state, Nilou’s normal attack and elemental skill are converted into Hydro DMG that can not be overridden and is considered elemental skill damage. After three attacks, Nilou will end the Pirouette with a third dance step, which has two different effects depending on which talent was last used. A marker will display above her to indicate the number of steps she currently has.
If a normal attack is used as the third dance step, Nilou will trigger the Sword Dance and give her the Lunar Prayer effect. This unleashes a wave of Luminous Illusion that will deal Hydro DMG to enemies. In addition, Nilou’s normal attack is changed into Hydro DMG, with each additional 3rd attack launching Luminous Illusion. Lunar Prayer lasts for 8 seconds.
If her elemental skill is used as the third attack, then Whirling Steps is activated and creates a Whirling Water Wheel for 10 seconds. This applies a Tranquility Aura that follows around the active character and applies Hydro to enemies in its range every .5 seconds. However, it can only apply Hydro to the same target every 2 seconds. This effect is great for triggering reactions and producing the bloom reaction even when Nilou is off the field.
The usefulness of Nilou’s elemental skill will vary depending on if she is used as a Main DPS or sub-DPS. The Sword Dance is great for a Main DPS, with the Whirling Steps great for a sub DPS. The damage of both effects is scaled based on Nilou’s Max HP. Her skill has a long cooldown of 18 seconds, and she is unable to use charged attacks while under the Sword Dance and Pirouette effects. When combined with her ascension talents, Nilou’s elemental skill allows her to easily create the bloom reaction to deal large amounts of Dendro damage to the enemy. When all characters in the team are Dendro or Hydro, Nilou’s ascension talent also grants nearby characters the Golden Chalice’s Bounty when she completes the third step of her elemental skill.
Nilou’s elemental burst, Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring, creates a Lotus of Distant Waters to deal Hydro DMG to surrounding enemies based on her Max HP. All enemies damaged by her burst will have the Lingering Aeon effect applied to them, which will deal another blast of Hydro DMG after some time has passed. Nilou’s blast has an energy cost of 70 and has a cooldown of 18 seconds. Her burst will be useful for dealing quick blast of damage to the enemy and applying Hydro for bloom reactions.
In co-op, Nilou can work as a Main DPS or sub-DPS to deal Hydro DMG to enemies. However, her main niche is to create bloom reactions, which will result in many teams not working out for her only a team of Dendro and Hydro characters will trigger her ascension 1 talent. She will also want to be careful as her bloom reactions can deal damage to allies when they explode.
Nilou Passive Talents
Nilou’s passive talent gives her the chance to cook double the amount of dishes with adventure-related effects. Her ascension talents greatly boost the power of the Bloom reactions at the cost of having only Dendro and Hydro characters on the team.
Nilou’s passive talent, White Jade Lotus, allows her to receive double the amount of adventure-related foods when she is used to cook them. This talent is great for obtaining more dishes that reduce the stamina consumption of characters while they are climbing, swimming, or dashing. She shares a similar talent with Yun Jin.
Her ascension 1 talent, Court of Dancing Petals, grants all nearby characters the Golden Chalice’s Bounty for 30 seconds after Nilou triggers the third step of her elemental skill. This effect will only occur if the team consists of only Dendro and Hydro characters. The Golden Chalice’s Bounty boosts the Elemental Mastery of the character when they are hit by a Dendro attack, and triggering Bloom reactions will create Bountiful Cores instead of the regular Dendro Cores when the Hydro element meets Dendro. The Bountiful Cores can not be triggered by other elements, will explode in a wider range, and immediately after it is produced. The explosion of the Bountiful Cores is considered Bloom damage.
Nilou’s ascension 1 talent upgrades the Bloom reaction to deal more damage, but only works in a Dendro and Hydro team. The elemental mastery buff is easily triggered as the explosions will deal Dendro DMG to characters within its range, which is a double edge sword as you will be dealing increased Dendro DMG to enemies while also damaging yourself. The activation requirement of this talent also limits its usefulness in other team compositions that does not trigger Bloom.
Her fourth ascension talent, Dreamy Dance of Aeons, increases the damage of the Bountiful Cores by 9% for every 1,000 points above 30,000 HP that Nilou processes. The maximum gain is 400%, which is difficult to achieve and would require a Max HP of about 74,000 HP. In comparison, having a Max HP of 50,000 would only provide Nilou 180% boost from this talent. This talent raises the damage her Bountiful Cores can produce from the explosion and works great in any Bloom team.
Nilou gains a Max HP bonus based on her ascension rank.
White Jade Lotus
Unlocked Automatically
When Perfect Cooking is achieved on Food with Adventure-related effects, there is a 12% chance to obtain double the product.
Court of Dancing Petals
Unlocked at Ascension 1
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 they are hit by Dendro attacks. Also, triggering the Bloom reaction will create Bountiful Cores instead of Dendro Cores.
Such Cores will burst very quickly after being created, and they 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.
Dreamy Dance of Aeons
Unlocked at Ascension 4
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%.
Nilou Constellations
Nilou’s constellations mainly enhance the power and usefulness of her elemental skill either by debuffing the enemies’ defenses or powering up her elemental burst after using her elemental skill.
At C1: Dance of the Waning Moon, Nilou’s elemental skill’s normal attack effect from her third step is increased while the elemental skill’s third step has its duration increased.
C2: The Starry Skies Their Flowers Rain decreases the enemies’ Hydro defenses after a character affected by Golden Chalice’s Bounty deals Hydro DMG to them. After the Bloom reaction deals damage to them, their Dendro defenses are also decreased. This constellation debuffs the enemies’ Hydro or Dendro defenses depending on if a Hydro attack or Bloom reaction deals damage to them. Both can also be triggered easily with a Bloom team, allowing Nilou to support the team and herself by lowering the defenses of the enemy.
C4: Fricative Pulse provides Nilou with elemental energy and increased burst damage after the third step of her elemental skill Pirouette hits an enemy. This constellation provides energy for her burst and increases its overall damage.
C6: Frostbreaker’s Melody gives Nilou extra Crit Rate and Crit DMG based on the amount of Max HP she has. Bloom damage does not deal critical damage to the enemy, so this constellation will only aid in Nilou’s personal damage, which is great for a Main DPS Nilou build.
| Constellation Levels | Effects |
|---|---|
| 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 | Increase 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. |
Recommended Builds
Main DPS
Nilou’s elemental skill thirs step has a sword dance form that converts her normal attack into Hydro DMG and unleashes a wave of Hydro damage every third attack. This allows Nilou to be on the on-field to deal damage and trigger the bloom reaction. For this build, you will want to level up her elemental skill and burst talent.
Nilou’s ascension talent to create the Bountiful Cores only work in a team that consists of Dendro and Hydro characters. This currently limits her team composition due to the lack of variety in Dendro character released. The Dendro Traveler has a powerful Dendro wide field burst that has different effects depending on the element that it first interacts with. Hydro will increase the attack speed of its lamp. Yelan will deal passive Hydro DMG alongside Nilou and can be replaced with Xingqiu or another Dendro character like Collei. Kokomi will be the team’s healer to restore the damage your team takes from bloom damage.
The best 5-star weapons for Nilou are the Key of Khaj-Nisut or the Primordial Jade Cutter. The Key of Khaj-Nisut raises Nilou’s HP, while also increasing her EM based on her Max HP stat. The 5-star Primordial Jade Cutter also works great for Nilou since its passive skill boosts Max HP and grants an ATK bonus based on her Max HP. Its Crit Rate will help Nilou’s personal damage, but the Bloom reaction cannot deal critical damage. Any 5-star weapon will work for a Main DPS Nilou.
For 4-star weapons, the preferred choice is the Sacrificial Sword since it has a chance to reset the cooldown of Nilou’s elemental skill allowing both dance forms to be used. Its passive raises Energy Recharge. Other good weapons are Festering Desire, Iron Sting, or Amenoma Kageuchi. The Iron Sting is a note-worthy choice as its passive raises all of Nilou’s damage after hitting an enemy with elemental damage. The Favonius Sword is decent on Nilou, but requires a high critical chance to work. Bloom also doesn’t deal critical hits, so it will only work if Nilou lands the critical hit herself. In the early game, the Cool Steel is a good option to boost Nilou’s damage against enemies affected by Hydro.
Nilou’s recommended artifact set is the 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and Gilded Dreams for extra energy recharge and Max HP. A 2-piece Heart of Depth and Tenacity of the Millelith can also be used for more Hydro DMG Bonus.
Arifact stats for Nilou:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP%
- Circlet: HP%
In the sub-stats look for HP, Energy Recharge, and Elemental Mastery.
Nilou Sub DPS Build
Nilou’s elemental skill Whirling Steps summons a ring that will apply Hydro to nearby enemies. Nilou’s main niche is her ability to create Bountiful Cores for the bloom reaction with the help of her ascension skill. Bountiful Cores produce more bloom damage and explode immediately. You will want to level up mainly her elemental skill and burst. Her normal attack will not be necessary as her elemental skill will be her main use. As a sub-DPS, Nilou will use her elemental skill ring to apply Hydro to enemies for the bloom reaction and switch to your Main DPS to deal damage with their regular attack.
Both the Dendro Traveler and Collei will aide in applying Dendro to enemies and have field bursts with a wide range. Only one of them will need the Deepwood Memories artifact set to decrease the Dendro defenses of enemies. Your last teammate should be a Hydro healer like Kokomi or Barbara as the Bloom reaction will deal damage to characters that are near its explosion. Kokomi will also act as a Main DPS for this build with Nilou operating more of a sub-DPS with her elemental ring and triggering her elemental burst.
Nilou’s recommend weapon is the Key of Khaj-Nisut due to its Max HP passive. Its skill further raises her Max HP and provides the Grand Hymn effect when her elemental skill hits an enemy. This effect boosts Nilou’s elemental mastery based on her Max HP and when 3 stacks of it are gained, all nearby party members has their own EM increased based on Nilou’s Max HP. This weapon works perfectly with Nilou to increase her reaction damage and Max HP. Another good weapon for a sub-DPS Nilou is the Freedom-Sworn. This weapon raises Elemental Mastery and provides a normal attack boost and attack buff to the team when all 4 stacks are gained.
For 4-star weapon, you will want to use a weapon that has EM as its passive to increase the power of her elemental reaction damage. The Xiphos’ Moonlight provides additional energy recharge based on how much elemental mastery she has. This weapon also provides 30% of that buff to nearby party members when its triggers, allowing Nilou to support her team with energy regeneration. The effects will trigger every 10 seconds and the buff will last for 12 seconds. Another great option for Nilou is the 4-star craftable weapon, Iron Sting, which has a passive in EM and grants her increased damage when she deals elemental damage. The Sapwood Blade is also suitable for Nilou as triggering a Dendro reaction summons a leaf that will grant the character that picks it up an elemental mastery bonus for 12 seconds. Like the previous build, other weapons like the Sacrificial Sword and Festering Desire will work for Nilou.
Nilou’s recommended artifact set is the same as the first build. A 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and Gilded Dreams boosts her Max HP and Elemental Mastery.
Arifact stats for Nilou:
- Sands: HP%
- Goblet: HP%
- Circlet: HP%
In the sub-stats look for HP, Energy Recharge, and Elemental Mastery. Bloom can not deal critical damage, so EM is more important as most of Nilou’s damage will come from the bloom reaction.
Recommended Party Members
(Dendro)
Traveler’s burst can spread Dendro to enemies and has a wide range. Applying Dendro to it also increases his burst’s AoE.
Yelan can deal passive Hydro damage with her burst while she is off the field. She works great with Nilou to deal extra Hydro damage to the enemy.
Kokomi can heal the team while also dealing damage to the enemy.
Collei will help trigger the bloom reaction with her wide field burst.
Barbara can heal the team from the bloom explosion and also apply Hydro to enemies to trigger the bloom reaction.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Upgrades bloom reaction to deal increased damage | Bloom upgrade only works on a Hydro and Dendro team |
| Elemental skill allows her to be a Main DPS or Sub-DPS | Bloom deals damage to nearby characters |
| Max HP boosts the damage of her skill and burst. | Long elemental skill cooldown |
Conclusion
Nilou’s abilities allow her to produce upgraded Dendro cores when Dendro meets the Hydro element. This allows her to excel in bloom teams by increasing its reaction damage. However, her ascension talent only works if only Hydro or Dendro characters are present on the team. This will limit her team composition and the team members she can have in the party.
What do you think of Nilou? Is there anything I missed? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach out through our Twitter or my Discord handle Seyfrid#2589.
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The Informal Gamer 