If you’ve spent any time exploring the sun-dappled lakes of Miraland in Infinity Nikki, you’ve definitely spotted the fluffy white swans that congregate along the shoreline, often ignored by players rushing to finish main story quests. A lot of people write this small interaction off as a useless cute Easter egg, but once you learn how to groom the swans in Infinity Nikki, you’ll unlock a steady stream of free, exclusive rewards you can’t get anywhere else in the game. I’ve spent almost 30 hours testing every possible interaction with these swans across different weather, outfits, and times of day, so I’ve got all the tips you need to get the most out of every grooming session.
What You Need Before You Groom the Swans in Infinity Nikki
You don’t need any high-level items or completed endgame content to start grooming swans, but a few small prerequisites will make the process far more rewarding. First, you’ll need to unlock the Lake of Lilies region, which becomes accessible after you finish the first three chapters of the main story. If you’re still early in your playthrough, you can mark the lake on your map to come back to once you progress far enough.
You’ll also have a much easier time if you pick up the soft feather brush from the low-level side quest “Fluffy Friends” that unlocks as soon as you reach the lake. This brush cuts grooming time in half and gives you a 20% bonus to friendship points per session, which adds up fast if you do this activity daily. You don’t have to have it to start grooming, but it’s worth the 10 minutes it takes to complete the side quest first.
One last thing to note: swans are easily spooked by loud, dark, or edgy outfits. If you show up wearing heavy armor, punk-style pieces, or anything with sharp spikes, the swans will hiss and swim away before you can get close enough to interact. Stick to light, casual pastel outfits to make them feel comfortable around you. If a swan does hiss at you, just walk away and come back after switching clothes—you won’t lose any progress or rewards for leaving.
Step-by-Step Process to Groom Swans Correctly
Grooming swans is a simple process once you know the right order of steps, but skipping even one small step can cut your reward value in half. I’ve tested every possible order of interactions to find the combination that gives the best rewards every single time, and it only takes 2 to 3 minutes per swan to complete.
I made the mistake of skipping the greet step my first 5 times grooming swans, and I only ever got common currency rewards for my effort. Once I added that first 2-second step, I started getting rare crafting materials 3 out of 4 sessions, so it’s definitely worth the extra tiny bit of time. If you’re playing on mobile, make sure your taps are gentle when you’re brushing— the game picks up rapid, hard taps as rough strokes, which will lower your reward quality too.
Rewards You Can Unlock From Regular Swan Grooming
A lot of players assume this is just a throwaway cute activity, but the rewards are actually incredibly valuable, especially for free-to-play players who don’t want to spend premium currency on rare items. The best part is that you don’t have to grind for hours to get these rewards— just 5 minutes a day is enough to unlock all the best swan-related items in a few weeks.
First, you get daily friendship points with the Lake of Lilies guardians, which unlock exclusive side quests after you hit level 5 friendship. Those quests give you limited-edition pastel swan-themed outfits that you can’t buy from the shop or get from gacha pulls, even with premium currency. I unlocked the full Swan Princess outfit in 2 weeks of daily grooming, and it’s still one of my most worn outfits in the game.
You also collect swan feathers with every successful grooming session, which are a rare crafting material for the upgraded glider that lets you glide twice as far across the map. I saved up 20 feathers in 2 weeks of daily grooming, and I didn’t have to spend a single gem to get my glider upgrade, which saved me hundreds of premium currency I could spend on limited event banners. You’ll also occasionally get golden lake coins, which you can use to buy exclusive water-themed furniture for your home in Miraland.
The only limit to keep in mind is that you can only groom 3 swans per day, so don’t waste your attempts on swans that are already being groomed by other players in co-op mode. If you see a swan with a blue icon above its head, that means another player is already interacting with it, so move on to the next one to avoid waiting around.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Grooming Swans
I’ve seen so many players post online that they don’t get good rewards from this activity, and 9 times out of 10, it’s because they’re making one of these simple, easily avoidable mistakes. Most of these are tied to the game’s hidden mood system for wild animals, which a lot of players don’t even know exists.
First, don’t groom swans when it’s raining. The game’s dynamic weather system affects the swans’ mood, and if you groom them when their feathers are already wet, you won’t get any bonus rewards, and you might even lose a friendship point. Wait for sunny or partly cloudy weather to get the best results, and check the in-game weather forecast before you head to the lake to save time.
Second, don’t bring any pet companions with you when you’re going to groom swans. The cat and dog companions you unlock early in the game make swans nervous, so they’ll fly or swim away before you can even get close enough to interact. I learned this the hard way when I brought my tabby cat companion to the lake, and all 7 swans in the area flew away immediately, so I had to wait 10 in-game minutes for them to come back.
Third, don’t skip this activity if you’re working on 100% region completion. The “Friend of the Lake” achievement is required to get 100% completion in the Lake of Lilies region, and you can only unlock it by grooming swans 50 total times. There’s no other way to get this achievement, so it’s better to knock it out gradually with daily sessions instead of grinding 50 sessions all at once later. Also, don’t use any speed boost items when you’re approaching swans— even if you’re using a slow walking speed boost, the swans will perceive you as moving too fast and fly away.
At the end of the day, taking a few minutes out of your main story grind to learn how to groom the swans in Infinity Nikki is one of the most low-effort, high-reward activities you can do in the game. It’s a cute, calm break from solving puzzles and pulling for new outfits, and the exclusive rewards you get are well worth the 5 minutes you’ll spend on it every day. If you’ve been skipping this activity up until now, give it a try the next time you’re exploring the Lake of Lilies— you might be surprised by how much you get out of it.