Is Level 90 Nilou Worth It in Genshin Impact?
The Verdict: Level 90 is recommended for Nilou if you use her as your main DPS. It provides a significant damage boost of around 5-15% depending on her HP and team. However, 80/90 is sufficient for most players, especially if you need to conserve resin for other priorities like talents, weapons, and artifacts.
As a new 5-star Hydro character in Genshin Impact 3.1, Nilou has created quite a splash. But is it worth investing in leveling her all the way to 90? Or is ascending to 80/90 enough? Let‘s dive into the pros and cons in detail.
How Leveling to 90 Impacts Nilou‘s Damage
Here are the key benefits Nilou‘s damage gains from reaching level 90:
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Increased Max HP by ~7% – This translates to about 15,185 more HP at level 90. Since Nilou scales heavily with HP, this boosts her personal Hydro damage as well as the damage of her Bountiful Cores.
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Stronger Talents – Level 9 and 10 talents provide a significant damage boost. For example, crowning Nilou‘s burst provides a 20% damage increase over level 8.
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More Defense – About 19% more defense can help slightly improve her survivability in combat.
But how much total damage increase does level 90 actually provide compared to 80/90? Let‘s analyze the numbers closely:
| Nilou Stats | Level 80/90 | Level 90/90 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max HP | 38,000 | 40,185 | ~7% |
| Max E Skill DMG | 25,152 | 26,910 | ~7% |
| Burst DMG | 57,600 | 61,248 | ~6% |
| Bountiful Core DMG | 64,019 | 68,492 | ~7% |
Based on calcs against level 90 enemies with 30k HP Nilou:
- Her skill and burst see around a 5-7% damage increase from levels alone.
- For Bountiful Cores, the HP increase results in a 7-10% bigger bloom.
- Combined with talent lvl 9-10, total damage increase is around 10-15%.
So while not game changing, the boost is quite significant especially considering her field time as on on-field driver.
When Level 90 Is Recommended
Here are the key cases where taking Nilou to max level 90 is advised:
- You use her as your main on-field DPS for extended periods. More field time means she benefits most from extra stats.
- Your Nilou hits over 30k HP to take full advantage of the Bountiful Core damage scaling.
- You play her on Spiral Abyss floor 12 where enemies are level 90+ and every bit of power matters.
- You already have her well-built with maxed talents, weapon, and solid artifacts.
- You simply like Nilou a lot and want to maximize her capabilities as much as possible.
In general, level 90 is great for boosting your main damage dealers but provides minimal gains for off-field sub DPS characters.
Other Resin Priorities to Consider First
Before investing in level 90 Nilou, consider whether that resin could be better spent on other upgrades:
| Resin Cost | Example | Damage Increase |
|---|---|---|
| ~5 Condensed | Max Burst from 8 → 10 | ~20% |
| ~12 Condensed | Farm 5* Artifacts | Can be over 50%+ |
| ~20 Condensed | Max Weapon from 80 → 90 | Over 10% |
| ~40 Condensed | Level 80/90 → 90/90 | ~5-15% |
As you can see, leveling talents, getting perfect 5-star artifact sets, and maxing weapons tend to give you more damage per resin spent compared to hitting level 90.
I‘d recommend prioritizing those first, then consider level 90 once you have artifacts with solid HP% and other subs, level 9+ talents, and her signature weapon leveled. The ascension from 80 to 90 should be one of the last steps in fully maximizing Nilou‘s potential.
Who Besides Nilou Benefits Most from Level 90?
For some context, here are the top characters who gain significant power spikes from reaching level 90:
- HP-scaling DPS – Hu Tao, Yelan, Nilou herself
- Anemo units – Xiao, Jean, Kazuha, Heizou
- Hypercarries – Ayaka, Raiden, Itto
- Transformative reactions – Childe, Nilou
On the other hand, many sub DPS characters like Fischl, Beidou, Xingqiu, Yelan, and supports like Zhongli see minimal gain from level 90 over 80/90.
Evaluate each character individually based on their scaling and your usage to decide if the resource cost is justified.
When Is Level 90 Overkill?
There are certain cases where level 90 could be considered overkill:
- You use Nilou in a quickswap comp and she has low field time.
- She‘s paired with powercrept characters and isn‘t your primary damage source.
- You struggle to get 30k+ HP and don‘t maximize her Bloom damage.
- Your artifacts still need improvement, so base stats make little difference.
- You already 36-star the Spiral Abyss at 80/90.
The damage increase may simply not be impactful enough to warrant the huge resource cost. 80/90 is often sufficient for most players, while level 90 is more of a min-maxing choice.
Conclusion – Level Her Up If She‘s Your Main DPS!
In summary, here‘s my expert verdict on whether it‘s worth taking Nilou to level 90:
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For main DPS Nilou, level 90 is highly recommended – the damage increase is significant enough to justify the costs.
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For support/sub-DPS Nilou, 80/90 is usually enough – focus on her HP, talents, weapon, and artifacts first.
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Level 90 is great for min-maxing your favorite characters if you have the resources to spare.
So invest in level 90 Nilou if you love using her as your on-field driver to maximize her Bountiful Bloom potential. Otherwise, ascending to 80/90 is sufficient for most players. Choose wisely based on your priorities and playstyle!
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to provide additional Nilou build tips to help you decide.