
Nilou Quick TL;DR Team Comp Guide
Nilou (she just wants to dance man…)

Element: Hydro
Weapon: Sword
Pros:
24/7 Hydro Procs | Insane self-buffs | Hyper-reaction buffer |
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Has HP% as hidden stat | Low CD’s and high durations | Massive AoE |
Extremely reliable as enabler | Extremely easy to gear/play | Not reliant on constellations |
Cons:
A1 and A4 passive useless unless in Hydro-Dendro | Messing up E choice lowers DPS massively | Shift/Dash provides no i-frames |
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Bountiful Cores cannot Burgeon/Hyperbloom | Dependent on Dendro Cores for DMG | Suffers against shields a lot |
PSA #1: I’ll clear the air by saying this first: Nilou is still very competitive to other Hydro enablers outside of Dendro-Hydro comps. However, you will be seriously stunting her maximum output by denying her Bountiful Core and her A4 Passive! Below is a team that, while limited, can seriously provide some AoE nukes.
Regarding replacement options, I’ll explain below as currently (in 3.1) the options are extremely limited!
Who to take (alternatives explained below!):

- Her E can reliably apply Dendro to multiple enemies twice
- Q is an incredible AoE Dendro field that can constantly apply Dendro that pairs well with Nilou’s Whirling Steps
- Can run 4x Deepwood Memories to further shred Dendro RES by 30%

- Dendro Traveler’s E is a quick and wide Dendro application. Great for quick swap
- Q is an extremely strong AoE Dendro that can constantly apply Dendro and has a long duration
- Traveler can run Sapwood Blade, which can drop a 120 EM buff for Nilou to pick up

- Kokomi’s E is an amazing heal and can constantly apply Wet to nearby enemies (must position near her E though)
- Q can be run as a technical “main DPS/burst DPS,” and can be used after the initial rotation for CD downtime
- Hydro Resonance also provides a 20% HP bonus, further boosting Nilou’s total DPS.
PSA #2: Currently in 3.1, this is the “standard” Nilou comp. The rotation is extremely simple:
- Collei E and Q to initiate
- Swap to Kokomi and place down E to trigger initial Bloom
- Swap to Dendro Traveler and place down Q, which will also spawn the Leaf buff from Sapwood Blade
- Swap to Nilou and quickly spam E 3x for Whirling Steps, which also grants Golden Chalice buff for Bountiful Cores and 100 EM
- Either stay on Nilou and proc Q OR can swap to Kokomi if you have her Burst
- Repeat 1 – 6
While most AoE comps struggle with 1) positioning and 2) single target nuking, this comp has zero problems with that due to the pure size of the area.
As long as you’re somewhat keen on your position (like not using your rotation when a Mitachurl charges etc…), you will be able to dish out insane damage from Bountiful Core explosions.
Collei’s fast Q Dendro procs + Nilou’s fast Whirling Steps aura Hydro procs provide instant Bountiful Cores for AoE. Traveler’s Q targets one at a time, which is great for solo-nuking as well.
Great flex slot alternatives:
- Tighnari – E is a taunt that’s great for grouping enemies. Tighnari’s passive allows him to quickly shoot 3 fully Charged Attacks in succession for DPS as well. Can be run as burst DPS for his Q.
- Barbara – E can continously heal and periodically apply Wet on heal pulses. Q is an amazing burst heal and can run 4x Ocean Hued for heal bubble pop.
- Mona – E can taunt and apply Wet to nearby foes. Q can also be triggered off Nilou’s Bountiful Core explosions, leading to massive damage
- Yelan/Xingiqu – Can technically be used to apply Hydro, but not the most reliant form. Good if you want to run Nilou as main DPS though.
- Ayato – Run as the main DPS slot, and swap to after the initial rotation (similar to how Kokomi’s Q would play). His E is great for constantly spawning Bountiful Cores once the Golden Chalice buff is activated.
I’LL SAY IT AGAIN: SHE STILL WORKS PERFECTLY FINE AS A HYDRO ENABLER FOR NON-DENDRO COMPS AS WELL!
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS BELOW! I’ll try my best to respond as I know some players may not have ANY of the characters mentioned.
Hope this helped. Bye.
Hello! Must have been a while since this is posted but I just got curious about a few things:
1. What 3H1D brings to the table when 2Dendro Reso is an amazing resonance.
2. Why do players still build high EM on Nilou’s teammates (Sac Frags Kokomi?) if she was supposed to fill her own niche in massive bloom damage? How is this different from simply running a bloom hydro driver with high EM by themselves?
3. How different is Bountiful Cores from Burgeon?
Thanks for the future answers!