Nilou is the latest 5-star character released in the second half of Genshin Impact Version 3.1. Her release has been awaited since the beginning of Version 3.0 Sumeru after players met her in the Sumeru Archon Quest Chapter- Acts I and II.
She’s a unique Hydro DPS with a highly restrictive playstyle but also rewarding within those limitations. As of now, she’s not too well-favoured by the Genshin community but with more Dendro characters on the way, she has the potential to be one of the strongest units in the game.
Nilou’s Viability in Genshin Impact 3.1
Nilou can only function and utilise her full potential in a double Dendro, double Hydro team. To be more clear, putting anything other than Hydro or Dendro elements on her team is detrimental to her. Nilou makes all Bloom Cores created by her party into Bountiful Cores which output more damage, have larger AoE and explode faster.
Her Bountiful Cores scale off of both EM and her HP. Thus her playstyle is limited and her teambuilding options are very restrictive. Her favourite Hydro teammates are Hydro catalyst healers like Barbara and Kokomi for their added use of increasing the survivability of the party since Bountiful Cores, just like Bloom Cores, also damage your active character.
In Version 3.1 Nilou is simply not a viable unit considering the plethora of characters we currently have access to. That said, her worth is said to increase exponentially as more Dendro and Hydro characters are released- especially from the Sumeru region. Nilou will only surely get better over time so in that regard it would be like making aan early investment should one decide to pull for her.
Players have already cleared the hardest Abyss Floors using Nilou and other F2P characters who are available to all. Even their weapons and talents are F2P-friendly. In that sense she’s also an economical long-lasting unit who will serve her value long after her character’s release. That said, her niche DPS potential is still not on par to compensate for her limiting playstyle and for that players aren’t sure if she’s worth it.
Our answer? Yes she is. Her niche playstyle encourages more versatile and fun teambuilding and DPS options. Over time as more Dendro characters are added to the roster, she has the potential to be a broken unit in the meta despite her limiting playstyle. Since players have adapted to Xiao’s selfish playstyle, we’re also sure Nilou’s restrictive gameplay will also soon have the same following.