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Nilou is the latest 5* addition in the growing catalog of playable characters in Genshin Impact. She is designed to be played in a particular way that exploits her strong Bloom Reaction and Elemental Mastery buffs. Therefore, the HP scaling and Elementary Mastery bonus effects weapons work wonders when wielded by Nilou.
Now Read: Genshin Impact 3.3 Banners – Release Date, Leaks, New Characters and Weapons
We have curated a list of the 7 best weapons you should use on Nilou to realize the full potential of her Bloom build.
Festering Desire 7/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +510
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: Energy Recharge +45.9%
- Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 16% and Elemental Skill CRIT Rate by 6%.
The very first weapon on our list is the Festering Desire sword. It enhances the Hydro Elemental skill of Nilou, which is one of her primary strengths. Its bonus stat also provides an Energy Recharge of 45.9%, which is excellent since Nilou needs 70 Energy for her Elemental Burst.
The only downside to using Festering Desire is that it was a Limited Edition weapon released during version 1.2 of Genshin Impact. So, if you don’t already own one, you won’t be able to obtain one. However, the next weapon is an even better alternative to Festering Desire.
Iron Sting 6/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +510
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: Elemental Mastery +165
- Dealing Elemental DMG increases all DMG by 6% for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can only occur once every 1s.
Since Nilou is a Hydro element character, we focus on weapons that complement her Elemental Mastery. So, Iron Sting is a great free-to-play sword in this regard.
The Elemental Mastery bonus of 165 is helpful if she’s the one who triggers the Bloom Reaction. Therefore, we wouldn’t recommend it for an off-field Nilou build. In that case, you are much better off with the Sapwood Blade, ranked a little higher on our list.
Freedom-Sworn 5/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +608
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: Elemental Mastery +198
- Increases DMG by 10%. When the character wielding this weapon triggers Elemental Reactions, they gain a Sigil of Rebellion. When you possess 2 Sigils of Rebellion, all nearby members will obtain “Millennial Movement: Song of Resistance” for 12s increasing Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG by 16% and ATK by 20%
Next up, we have the first 5* weapon pick for Nilou. It provides the highest attack and elemental mastery to Nilou among all weapons on this list. Its low rank on our list is attributed to the fact that Nilou is not a strong choice for a DPS Support character currently.
With that said, Freedom-Sworn is a viable pick for Elemental Mastery and Millennial Movement that buffs your team’s Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks. Although, keep in mind that, generally, such a percentage-based buff isn’t as relevant in a Nilou team as the Elemental Mastery.
On a lighter note, the Freedom-Sworn nicely enhances Nilou’s aesthetics when she’s wielding it.
Sapwood Blade 4/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +565
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: Energy Recharge +30.6%
- After triggering Burning, Quicken, Aggravate, Spread, Bloom, Hyperbloom, or Burgeon, a Leaf of Consciousness will be created around the character for a maximum of 10s. When picked up, the Leaf will grant the character 60 Elemental Mastery for 12s. Only 1 Leaf can be generated this way every 20s. This effect can still be triggered if the character is not on the field. The Leaf of Consciousness effect cannot stack.
Now let’s talk about the best free-to-play option for Nilou, the 4* weapon Sapwood Blade. It has one of the highest base attack damage on this list and provides a 30.6% Energy Recharge bonus stat which is useful for Nilou’s burst.
This passive effect gives birth to the Leaf of Consciousness that grants a 60 Elemental Mastery for 12 seconds. This effect can trigger even when Nilou is not on the field. We recommend you switch to a Dendro character whenever the passive effect procs to trigger the Blood Reaction. The Leaf generated from the reaction will be useless to the particular character you switch to.
Primordial Jade Cutter 3/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +542
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: CRIT Rate +44.1%
- HP increased by 20%. Additionally, provides an ATK Bonus based on 1.2% of the wielder’s Max HP.
If you are going for a Field DPS build, rather than a traditional Bloom Support build with Nilou, the Jade Cutter would be the best choice of weapon. It helps boost the Crit Rate and other stats of Nilou to increase her damage output.
Jade Cutter further grants a 1.2% attack bonus based on the maximum HP of the wielder. Given the fact that Nilou has a ginormous health pool of 15184 (2nd highest among all playable characters), you will definitely get a bang for your buck.
Favonius Sword 2/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +454
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: Energy Recharge +61.3%
- CRIT hits have a 60% chance to generate a small amount of Elemental Particles, which will regenerate 6 Energy for the character. Can only occur once every 12s.
The Favonius Sword is a great Support option for Nilou due to its enormous boost in Energy Recharge. Each time you perform a Crit attack with Nilou, there’s a high chance of providing Energy to your entire team using this sword.
Even if your Bloom Bot Nilou build is not focused on Energy Recharge. The effect of granting Energy Recharges to your team is highly relevant, especially if you have high Energy cost Support characters in your party. That’s why we have ranked Favonius Sword higher than some of the 5* weapons on our list.
Key Of Khaj-Nisut 1/7
- Lvl. 90 Base ATK: Attack +542
- Lvl. 90 Bonus Stat: HP +66.2%
- HP increased by 20%. When an Elemental Skill hits opponents, you gain the Grand Hymn effect for 20s increasing the wielder’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, the Elemental Mastery of all nearby party members will be increased by 0.2% of the wielder’s max HP for 20s.
Lastly, the best weapon for Nilou by far, not to anyone’s surprise, is her signature weapon Key of Khaj-Nisut. It gives Nilou 66.2% HP on its stat and an additional 20% on its passive effect, while also buffing your team’s Elemental Mastery based on your HP.
Nilou is a pretty unique character who scales with HP, so for Nilou specifically, you definitely want the Key in your bag due to the tons of HP boosts it provides. Remember, as much as you boost your HP, you equally enable the Elemental Mastery of your party members because of the Grand Hymn effect, which can be stacked up to 3 times.
If you plan to use Nilou as your primary Support, you need to obtain the Key by investing in its Weapon Banner.
Final Thoughts
The weapon choices on Nilou, which maximize her kit’s potential, are fairly limited. In general, there aren’t a lot of Hyrdo Swords that directly boost HP. That’s why we have recommended some alternatives to optimize the Elemental and Crit DMG. With these weapons, we hope now you are appropriately equipped to gracefully dance with Nilou in the vast world of Teyvat.
