Things to Do First in NieR: Automata - NieR Automata Guide - IGN (2024)

This page contains helpful information if you've just begun playing and haven't completed your first playthrough of Nier: Automata. Before you can be stylish in the game's combat, you need to learn a few basic tips that will form the foundation of all your combat and exploration needs.

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Although these tips are most useful to first time players, they can benefit just about everyone. If you have more tips everyone should know, feel free to add to the listing below on this wiki guide!

Understanding the Controls

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Nier: Automata plays very similar to most hack & slash action games, with attacks mapped to the face buttons of the controller. Movement is set to the analogue left stick and camera to the right stick, allowing you to seamlessly move around while executing attacks against enemies and other actions on screen.

Take a moment when you begin playing to get a feel for the controls before rushing into combat. This way when you become faced with a large group of enemies or a boss fight, you can quickly and easily move around the battlefield and defend yourself against attacks. If you can't stay mobile or quickly react to what is happening, you can and will take heavy damage.

Learn to Dodge Enemy Attacks - The Art of Evading

Dodging attacks and counterattacking is the bread & butter of every action game. When you dodge an attack, you have a brief period where you can attack enemies and deliver heavy damage. Enemy attacks you dodge will cause a momentary freeze in time, signifying you've timed your dodge correctly.

Dodging is done with the right trigger button. It is a vital part of combat and will allow you to dispatch most enemies without taking damage. The earlier you learn how to dodge any attack, the easier most scenarios will be. Dodging attacks is essential in boss fights where you need to captialize on a small window to deal damage against the foes you encounter.

In later encounters of the game, evading and counterattacking is almost mandatory to fight boss characters. Some boss fights have you facing incredibly tricky sections where many projectiles or unstoppable attacks are thrown your way, so timing your dodges and evading damage are key to being victorious. If you have trouble getting the timing right, try dodging some of the weaker enemies in the beginning areas of the game, where the damage you receive isn't as threatening for messing up your dodges.

Defeat Weak Enemies for Money and EXP

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Destroying weak enemies is very important for gathering easy money (G currency) and EXP. At the start of the game, you'll find many robot enemies roaming around the ruins near the Resistance Camp that can be easily defeated. Taking the time to destroy them whenever you travel in between areas of the map will help you obtain extra EXP to level up, as well as money and materials to purchase and upgrade weapons.

As you progress the story, the level of nearby enemies increases, as well as their strength and the rewards they yield. No matter what point you are in the story, defeating all enemies is vital to your progression. You need all of the EXP you can get to level up and open up the use of stronger weapons. Money can be used to purchase items for extra health and stat boost when you need, as well as weapons and upgrades that are incredibly useful.

Use Your Pod While Fighting

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You will always have a Pod at your side during the game. The Pod has the ability to fire secondary weapons at enemies while you're using melee attacks in battle. Holding the right shoulder button will fire your secondary weapon as you move around and fight.

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Some enemies are harder to reach with standard attacks, but can be heavily damaged or staggered by your Pod. When in battle, hold down the fire button for your Pod while fighting and you can dispatch most enemies real fast. This can also be helpful in most boss encounters where you can't damage the boss with your melee attacks.

You can lock onto an enemy with the left trigger to have the camera and your Pod focus on one specific enemy. However, the aim for your Pod's firing accuracy will get worse the longer you hold down the button. On the other hand, your Pod's accuracy will not diminish if you aren't locked onto an enemy. Use this to your advantage when fighting enemies from a distance.

Buying and Upgrading Weapons

After the first few early quests from the Shop Keeper in the Resistance Camp, you be able to purchase new weapons and upgrade your current ones. Purchasing new weapons costs money, while upgrading costs money and materials you find from defeating enemies. You can complete the Shop Keeper's quest when you first enter the Resistance Camp and collect materials from enemies just outside the camp.

You don't need to waste all of your money on buying every weapon, but it's good to purchase a new heavy weapon when you first open up the shop. The Beastlord heavy sword has the most attack power at the start, but only allows you so many hits in a combo. Your other option is the Beastbane which has less attack power, but enables you to deliver more hits within a given combo. Depending on what you want to prioritize, one of these two will be your best option at the start of the game.

Later on, you will obtain better weapons that will make your starting weapons obsolete. You can upgrade the weapons you own through the Shop Keeper after you collect enough money and materials by defeating enemies. Upgrading weapons is helpful, but you don't want to do so right away at the start when you can just as easily obtain a better weapon shortly after. Save your materials to upgrade weapons you find later for even better stat boosts as you progress in the story.

Buy and Install Helpful System Chips

When you gain the ability to purchase new chips at the Resistance Camp, you can purchase additional System Chips that open up extra information to your HUD and Map. Some chips are extremely useful early in the game, such as opening the ability to place markers on your map for Access Points and save areas, or display health and ability information for you and your Pod. These kinds of System chips are highly recommended you obtain as early as possible.

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However, there are some chips that don't really offer much depsite their high price tag. Chips that show Fishing Spots on your map, display soundwaves on your screen, or auto-hiding the HUD itself in certain situations won't be worth spending the money on at first. You can always purchase them later when you have enough funds, but when you first begin playing it might not be such a good idea.

Look at the description for each chip you see in at the Shop Keeper before you purchase blindly. Knowing which chips to spend money on will save you funds in the long run, and prevent you from wasting your money on something that isn't useful at that moment.

Open Access Points

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When you are able to freely explore the area outside the Resistance Camp, you should activate any and all Access Points on the map. Each of these access points, which look like vending machines, enable you to quickly fast travel between different areas you have previously visited. This will significantly cut down the time it takes for you to reach different areas while completing quests. Activating these access points also marks off key areas nearby on your map, including nearby groups of enemies.

When you reach a new area, immediately look for the nearest access point if you haven't found one yet. From the access point you can quick save, travel between areas (including the Bunker hub area), look at your Inbox messages, and even play Hacking Arcade mini-games you have previously access beforehand.

Fishing For Easy Cash

In almost any area where you can find water, you can use your Pod to fish. Most of the time, you'll catch a fish or sea creature that you can sell to any Shop for a very good amount of money. Earlier in the game, you can do this within the central area just outside of the Resistance Camp. If you fish enough, you can gather up a number of fish to sell for enough cash to purchase upgrades or new weapons and chips.

Later in the game as you progress the story, more areas open up for you to fish. The types of fish and sea life you can catch will also sell for higher amounts of money at Shops. Within the Flooded City, you can even obtain an extra Pod (Pod B) by fishing in the open water area on the side of the map.