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
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
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:

1. Collei E and Q to initiate
2. Swap to Kokomi and place down E to trigger initial Bloom
3. Swap to Dendro Traveler and place down Q, which will also spawn the Leaf buff from Sapwood Blade
4. Swap to Nilou and quickly spam E 3x for Whirling Steps, which also grants Golden Chalice buff for Bountiful Cores and 100 EM
5. Either stay on Nilou and proc Q OR can swap to Kokomi if you have her Burst
6. 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.