Best Nilou Genshin Impact build: Artifacts, weapons, more

Nilou is a 5-star Hydro unit who dances for the Zubayr Theater in Genshin Impact. Here’s everything you need to know about effectively building her.

Nilou excels at being a team’s sub-DPS and consistently shines at the top of Genshin Impact’s tier list for that category. Introduced in version 3.1, Nilou is one of the many characters that players encounter in the Sumeru region.

In combat, Nilou has the ability to transform Dendro Cores into Bountiful Cores, which have a higher explosion radius than the standard form. However, the damage from the Bountiful Core’s explosions requires a team healer to recover from the impact.

If you’re looking to build Nilou, keep reading for our recommended Artifacts, weapons, and more.

Contents

• Nilou abilities in Genshin Impact
• Nilou Constellations in Genshin Impact
• Best Nilou Artifacts in Genshin Impact
• Best Nilou weapons in Genshin Impact
• Nilou Talent Level-up and Ascension Materials
• Best Nilou team comp in Genshin Impact

Nilou abilities in Genshin Impact

HoYoverse

Normal Attack: Dance of Samser

• Normal Attack: Perform up to 3 consecutive 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 Kaftkarsvar

Enters Pirouette state, dealing Hydro DMG to nearby opponents based on Nilou’s 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 overriden and that is considered elemental skill DMG.

In these stances, Nilou’s third dance step will end the 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 or exits these states.

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.

Nilou Constellations in Genshin Impact

If you’re lucky enough to pull multiple copies of Nilou, here’s what buffs you will be granted from her Constellations:

• Level One – 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.
• Level Two – 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.
• Level Three – Beguiling Shadowstep: Increases the Level of Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• Level Four – 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.
• Level Five – Twirling Light: Increases the Level of Dance of Haftkarsvar by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15.
• Level Six – 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.

Best Nilou Artifacts in Genshin Impact

The best artifact set for Nilou is a combination of 2-piece Tenacity of the Millelith and 2-piece Vourukasha’s Glow. We recommend running this due to the double HP +20% set bonus, which is a stat you’ll want to focus on when building Nilou.

Alternatively, you could run the 4-piece Vourukasha’s Glow if you want to keep Nilou on the field as a Main DPS. The 4-piece bonus will increase Nilou’s Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst DMG by 10%, even when Nilou is not in use.

Artifact	Set Bonuses
Tenacity of the Millelith	2-piece: HP +20% 4-piece: When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, the ATK of all nearby party members is increased by 20% and their Shield Strength is increased by 30% for 3s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. This effect can still be triggered even when the character who is using this artifact set is not on the field.
Vourukasha’s Glow	2-piece:  HP +20% 4-piece: 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.

Best Nilou weapons in Genshin Impact

The Key of Khaj-Nisut is by far the best weapon for Nilou due to the HP bonus effect and the sword’s skill increasing HP by 20%. After hitting an opponent with an Elemental Skill, this weapon will improve Nilou’s Elemental Mastery by 0.12% of her Max HP at a max of three stacks.

Another sword option is the Freedom-Sworn, which will increase Nilou’s DMG by 10% in addition to buffing her teammates’ ATK. Following an Elemental Reaction, the Freedom-Sworn will also increase characters’ Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack by 16% for 12 seconds.

If you don’t have either 5-star weapon, we recommend running The Dockhand’s Assistant to improve Nilou’s Elemental Mastery and restore her energy.

Weapon	Details
Key of Khaj-Nisut	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.
Freedom-Sworn	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.
The Dockhand’s Assistant	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.

Nilou Talent Level-up and Ascension Materials

Here are what materials you’ll need to level up Nilou’s Talents:

Nilou Talent level-up materials
Talent level-up materials	Teachings of Praxis x9	Guide to Praxis x63	Philosophies of Praxis x114
Common Ascension Materials	Fungal Spores x18	Luminescent Pollen x66	Crystalline Cyst Dust x93
Weekly Boss Material	Tears of the Calamitous God x18

Likewise, here are the resources you’ll need to gather to fully ascend Nilou:

Ascension Level	Mora	Materials
1	20000	Varunada Lazurite Silver x1		Fungal Spores x3	Padisarah x3
2	40000	Varunada Lazurite Fragment x3	Perpetual Caliber x2	Fungal Spores x15	Padisarah x10
3	60000	Varunada Lazurite Fragment x6	Perpetual Caliber x4	Luminescent Pollen x12	Padisarah x20
4	80000	Varunada Lazurite Chunk x3	Perpetual Caliber x8	Luminescent Pollen x18	Padisarah x30
5	100000	Varunada Lazurite Chunk x6	Perpetual Caliber x12	Crystalline Cyst Dust x12	Padisarah x45
6	120000	Varunada Lazurite Gemstone x6	Perpetual Caliber x20	Crystalline Cyst Dust x24	Padisarah x60

Best Nilou team comp in Genshin Impact

We highly recommend running Nilou alongside other Hydro characters with a single Dendro user. Therefore, Nilou should act as the team sub-DPS with Nahida as the Main DPS, Xingqiu as another sub-DPS, and Kokomi as the party’s healer. You could also replace Xingqiu with Yelan if you wish to do so.

Alternatively, you could run with two Hydro and two Dendro characters if you want to use Yaoyao or Collei instead of Yelan or Xingqiu.

That’s everything you need to know about effectively building Nilou in Genshin Impact. In the meantime, check out our other build guides below:

Best Ayaka build | Best Childe build | Best Diluc build | Best Eula build | Best Ganyu build | Best Heizou build | Best Hu Tao build | Best Itto build | Best Kazuha build | Best Keqing build | Best Klee build | Best Qiqi build | Best Raiden Shogun build | Best Shenhe build | Best Yoimiya build