Everything we know about Nilou in Genshin Impact

[UHQBot]

More top Genshin Impact builds

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact Collei: Trainee ranger
Genshin Impact Tighnari: Forest watcher
Genshin Impact Heizou build: Brawling detective
Genshin Impact Klee build: Little red bomber
Genshin Impact Kazuha build: Anemo ronin

Nilou is one of the new Sumeru characters that appears in the Genshin Impact 3.0 update. This Hydro sword-user and dancer is a follower of Lesser Lord Kusanali, the Archon of Sumeru, and when you first meet her she'll be obsessed with trying to recreate the Dance of Sabzerus in honour of Kusanali's birthday. 

Not so surprising, then, that Nilou's abilities and talents seem to centre around dancing and switching between different stances to grant various effects. It's a little like how Childe can swap between his Hydro dual-blade melee stance and his bow, though it sounds a lot more complex. Considering her abilities also scale with max HP, she bears some similarities to Kokomi as well.

In this Genshin Impact Nilou guide, I'll talk through this new character's likely release date, abilities, constellations, and what ascension materials you'll want to farm in advance of her arrival.

Possible release date

What is the likely Nilou release date?

Nilou has already been previewed on the official Genshin Impact Twitter, and she also appears a lot during the 3.0 Archon quest, so it's extremely likely that she will arrive in version 3.1. Considering Cyno is also likely to arrive then, and is arguably a more popular incoming five-star, Nilou's banner should release in the second half, around October 25 if the duration remains the same. 

The dance of the lotus blooms, awakening from an ethereal dream.◆ Nilou◆ Dance of Lotuslight◆ Star of Zubayr Theater◆ Hydro◆ Lotos Somno#GenshinImpact #Nilou pic.twitter.com/eMwQkq0M1qAugust 22, 2022

See more

Abilities

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact Nilou abilities

As usual (thanks to Honey Hunter) we have a good idea of Nilou's abilities, constellations, and passive skills, though be aware that these will likely change and be tweaked before she launches:

Normal Attack: Dance of the Bowstring Moon

Normal	Perform up to three sword strikes
Charged	Consume stamina to perform a whirling slash
Plunging	Drop from mid-air to the ground dealing AoE damage

Elemental skill

Dance of the Seven Realms	Nilou enters the Pirouette state, dealing Hydro damage based on her max HP. When in Pirouette, normal and elemental attacks will make her enter the Sword Dance and Whirling Steps stances respectively, converting her damage into Hydro. In these stances, Nilou's third dance step will end Pirouette. Nilou is unable to use charged attacks when under the effect of Pirouette or Lunar Prayer.
Sword Dance	Fires a watery moon that deals Hydro damage to opponents and grants Nilou the Lunar Prayer. This effect converts normal attacks into Sword Dance techniques, with the final hit unleashing a watery moon.
Whirling Steps	Unleashes a water wheel that deals AoE Anemo damage and creates a Tranquillity effect that follows your character, applying wet to nearby enemies.

Elemental burst

Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring

Causes a Lotus of Distant Waters to bloom, dealing AoE Hydro damage based on Nilou's max HP, while applying the Lingering Aeon effect to those it hits. Opponents with Lingering Aeon will take Hydro damage periodically.

Passives

White Jade Lotus	There is a chance to gain double food when perfect cooking is achieved.
Court of Dancing Petals	If all party members are a mixture of Dendro and Hydro, Nilou's Dance of the Seven Realms grants the Golden Chalice's Bounty effect. This lasts for 30 seconds, and increases elemental mastery by 60 for ten seconds when hit by a Dendro attack. Triggering Bloom will also create Bountiful Cores instead of Dendro Cores. These have a larger AoE when bursting, but cannot trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon.
Dreamy Dance of Aeons	For every 1,000 points of HP above 30,000, damage dealt by Bountiful Cores will increase by 8%. The max increase possible via this is 300%.

Constellations

Dance of the Waning Moon	Dance of the Seven Realms gains 65% increased watery moon damage, and Tranquillity's duration is extended by six seconds.
The Starry Skies Their Flower Rain	When characters with Golden Chalice's Bounty deal Hydro damage, that opponent's Hydro resistance is decreased by 35% for ten seconds. When a Bloom reaction deals damage, their Dendro resistance is decreased by 35% for ten seconds. This constellation only functions if Court of Dancing Petals is unlocked.
Beguiling Shadowstep	Boosts Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring by three levels. Max upgrade is 15.
Fricative Pulse	When the third dance step of Dance of the Seven Realms hits opponents, Nilou gains 15 elemental energy. Damage from her Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring is also increased by 50% for eight seconds.
Twirling Light	Boosts Dance of the Seven Realms by three levels. Max upgrade is 15.
Frostbreaker's Melody	For every 1,000 points of HP, Nilou's crit rate and crit damage are increased 0.6% and 1.2% respectively. The max boost this way is 30% crit rate and 60% crit damage.

Ascension materials

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Nilou ascension materials

Character

If you want to prepare for Nilou's arrival and farm up some materials, you're going to need Varunada Lazurite from Hydro bosses and a new boss material called Perpetual Caliber, which seems to come from the Blightdrake boss that's apparently being added in version 3.1.  You'll also need some world materials from Sumeru:

• Padisarahs
• Fungal Spores

Padisarahs are flowers that can be found near Sumeru city and near Vanarana. You can see every location on the official Genshin Impact map. Fungal Spores, on the other hand, come from defeating the Floating Fungi you'll find all over Sumeru.

Talent

Here's what you'll need for Nilou's talents:

• Teachings of Praxis
• Fungal Spores
• Tears of the Calamitous God
• Crown of Insight

The Teachings of Praxis and their higher rarity variants come from the new Steeple of Ignorance Domain on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fungal Spores are from Floating Fungi of different world levels. 

Tears of the Calamitous God are a drop from the Guardian of Eternity weekly boss, or can be crafted from her other drops with Dream Solvent (another drop from weekly bosses). Finally, a Crown of Insight can come from upgrading the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine with Crimson Agate, the Lumenstone Adjuvant gadget in the Chasm, the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, or from certain seasonal events.

View the full article