Hydro sword support whose third skill step can enable Bountiful Cores, but only with a party made entirely of Hydro and Dendro characters that includes at least one of each. Consider Nilou when you want this restricted Bloom setup and can build around its special cores.
Released Oct 14, 2022
Nilou’s skill offers two distinct dance endings: Sword Dance gives her a Hydro-infused attack mode, while Whirling Steps creates a following aura that applies Wet. Completing the third step grants Golden Chalice’s Bounty only under her party-element condition; the effect changes Bloom or Lunar-Bloom cores into Bountiful Cores.
ElementHydroWeaponSwordRarity5
Nilou GUIDE
Understand Nilou
Useful when…
Enable Bountiful Cores in a party containing only Hydro and Dendro characters, with both elements represented.
Choose Sword Dance for Nilou’s follow-up Hydro attacks or Whirling Steps for a Hydro aura that follows the active character.
Increase Bountiful Core damage through her Max HP passive when the party condition is met.
What does her skill do?
Dance of Haftkarsvar enters Pirouette and deals nearby Hydro damage based on Nilou’s Max HP. During Pirouette, normal attacks lead into Sword Dance and the skill button leads into Whirling Steps; their damage becomes Hydro and is considered Elemental Skill damage. The third dance step ends Pirouette. Sword Dance releases a Luminous Illusion and grants Lunar Prayer, which converts Nilou’s normal attacks into Sword Dance techniques; the final normal hit releases another Luminous Illusion. Whirling Steps releases a water wheel and creates a 12-second Tranquility Aura that follows the active character and applies Wet to nearby opponents. Nilou cannot use charged attacks during Pirouette or Lunar Prayer, and these effects end when she leaves the field.
When does she create Bountiful Cores?
Court of Dancing Petals requires every party member to be Hydro or Dendro and at least one character of each element. Completing the skill’s third dance step then grants nearby characters Golden Chalice’s Bounty for 30 seconds. While active, a character hit by a Dendro attack grants nearby characters 100 Elemental Mastery for 10 seconds. Bloom or Lunar-Bloom creates Bountiful Cores instead of Dendro Cores. These cores burst very quickly and have larger areas, but cannot trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon; they also share an upper numerical limit with Dendro Cores. If the party stops meeting the Hydro-and-Dendro-only condition, existing Golden Chalice’s Bounty is canceled.
What does Max HP investment change?
For each 1,000 Max HP above 30,000, Nilou’s passive increases damage dealt by Bountiful Cores created by characters affected by Golden Chalice’s Bounty by 9%, up to 400%. Her skill and burst also scale from Max HP: the skill’s dance damage is HP-based, and Dance of Abzendegi deals area Hydro damage followed by delayed Hydro damage. This makes Max HP particularly relevant when using her core-focused passive, while the core effect itself still requires the party and skill conditions. Ascension uses Padisarah and Perpetual Caliber at the listed stages; talent examples use Praxis books and fungal materials. Talent level 9-to-10 examples include Tears of the Calamitous God and a Crown of Insight.
What limits the build?
Her defining core effect shuts off if even one party member is not Hydro or Dendro, or if either element is absent. Bountiful Cores cannot be redirected into Hyperbloom or Burgeon, so they do not support those reactions. Choosing the third dance step also matters: Sword Dance and Whirling Steps produce different follow-up effects. Her cooking passive can grant double Adventure-effect food on a perfect cook with a 12% chance; this utility does not depend on the combat party condition. Comparison entries name other Hydro characters but do not provide their abilities, so they do not establish alternatives for Nilou’s specific core conversion.
Limitations and tradeoffs
Bountiful Cores require a strict party-element condition and cancel if it stops being met.
Bountiful Cores cannot trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon.
Her skill’s two third-step choices have different practical effects, and leaving the field removes Pirouette and Lunar Prayer.
Common mistakes to avoid
Adding a non-Hydro or non-Dendro character and expecting Golden Chalice’s Bounty to remain active.
Assuming Bountiful Cores can trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon.
Choosing a dance-step ending without accounting for whether you want Nilou’s follow-up attacks or the roaming Wet aura.
Effects and reference details
Dance of Samser · Normal attack
Normal Attack Performs up to 3 consecutive sword 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.
Purchased talent coefficients at level 1 and 1. These are individual skill values; they do not represent total build damage.
Effect
Level 1
Level 1
1-Hit DMG
50.3%
50.3%
2-Hit DMG
45.4%
45.4%
3-Hit DMG
70.4%
70.4%
Charged Attack DMG
50.2%+54.4%
50.2%+54.4%
Charged Attack Stamina Cost
20.0
20.0
Plunge DMG
63.9%
63.9%
Low/High Plunge DMG
128%/160%
128%/160%
Dance of Haftkarsvar · Elemental skill
Enters the 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 Skill 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 overridden and that is considered Elemental Skill DMG.
In these stances, Nilou's third dance step will end Pirouette, and has the following effects based on the type of said dance step: ·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.
Purchased talent coefficients at level 1 and 1. These are individual skill values; they do not represent total build damage.
Effect
Level 1
Level 1
Skill DMG
3.34% Max HP
3.34% Max HP
Sword Dance/Whirling Steps 1-Hit DMG
4.55%/3.26% Max HP
4.55%/3.26% Max HP
Sword Dance/Whirling Steps 2-Hit DMG
5.14%/3.96% Max HP
5.14%/3.96% Max HP
Luminous Illusion/Water Wheel DMG
7.17%/5.06% Max HP
7.17%/5.06% Max HP
Pirouette Duration
10.0s
10.0s
Lunar Prayer Duration
8.0s
8.0s
Tranquility Aura Duration
12.0s
12.0s
CD
18.0s
18.0s
Dance of Abzendegi: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring · Elemental burst
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.
Purchased talent coefficients at level 1 and 1. These are individual skill values; they do not represent total build damage.
Effect
Level 1
Level 1
Skill DMG
18.4% Max HP
18.4% Max HP
Lingering Aeon DMG
22.5% Max HP
22.5% Max HP
CD
18.0s
18.0s
Energy Cost
70
70
Court of Dancing Petals
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 or Lunar-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 Ascension Talent, any existing Golden Chalice's Bounty effects will be canceled.
Dreamy Dance of Aeons
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%.
White Jade Lotus
When Perfect Cooking is achieved on Food with Adventure-related effects, there is a 12% chance to obtain double the product.
