Grinding and farming are second nature when it comes to the RPG genre, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be excessive in execution. Most RPGs struggle finding the right balance when it comes to any form of grinding – from Final Fantasy to Dark Souls – but Nier Replicant does an especially poor job when it comes to drop rate. While it doesn’t take too much effort to farm everything you need in the grand scheme of things, Nier Replicant’s drop rates are so rare that most players are bound to lose their patience sooner rather than later.
Between side quests and all the weapons that need to be upgraded multiple times for 100% completion, Nier Replicant does not make finding items like Complex Machines easy for the player. Complex Machines aren’t necessary for side quests, but a total of eight are needed to upgrade weapons in Nier Replicant. Unfortunately, there’s no easy or reliable way to find Complex Machines since they can’t be harvested in the wild or purchased. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to mitigate the grind, though. The average player won’t net 8 Complex Machines in a single playthrough, but they can with the right amount of work.
Updated on June 23, 2021 by Renan Fontes: The Nier franchise is no stranger to grinding, something Automata fans know well, but Replicant pushes things to the extreme. So much as finding one Complex Machine, let alone eight, can be a headache and a half. The grind is worth it, however, as the material is used to upgrade some of the strongest weapons in Nier Replicant. For anyone struggling with combat or so much as thinking about tackling Hard mode, Complex Machines are a must.
Boss Shade Drops
The only enemies that drop Complex Machines in Nier Replicant are Boss Shades and they aren’t exactly commonly found. While a Boss Shade will randomly spawn in the Southern Plains, this isn’t a fast method of farming for Complex Machines, especially since there’s only a chance the Boss Shade will actually drop a Complex Machine to begin with. More importantly, fighting Boss Shades in the Southern Plains is extremely dangerous early on and requires near perfect parrying and dodging. Sealed Verses also help in taking down the Shade from afar, as do consumable buffs.
For anyone at the very end of the game, two Boss Shades can be found inside of the Lost Shrine outside of the Shadowlord's Castle, albeit only after all Key Fragments have been found. The Forest of Myth side quest “The Magical Stone” can be replayed multiple times and always ends with a fight against a Boss Shade, arguably making it the most reliable grinding spot. Make sure to equip Mah- variant Words to buff your drop rate and to push the difficulty to Hard if you’re a high enough level to still kill enemies quickly.
Barren Temple Strategy
Two side quests actually trigger Boss Shades inside of the Barren Temple, allowing savvy players to do some clever grinding. The quests "A Shade Entombed" and "Distributing the Sleep of Kings" are only available right before the final dungeon, so make sure to check out Facade before heading to the Shadowlord. Find any room inside of the Barren Temple that has a Boss Shade and make note of the gameplay restriction.
Always kill the Boss Shade first, pick up the item drop, and then intentionally fail the room (using a Sealed Verse in a no magic room, for instance) to respawn all the enemies inside. This process can be repeated indefinitely so long as the room itself isn't cleared. This is the single fastest way to grind for Complex Machines (and other Machine items) in the game, so take advantage of this fact while either side quest is active.
Weapon Upgrades
Complex Machines aren’t exchanged in any side quests, but eight are needed to fully upgrade five different weapons – all of which reasonably powerful in their own right. The following weapons are upgraded with Complex Machines:
- Beastbain | One-Handed Sword (2)
- Beastcurse | Spear (2)
- Beastlord | Two-Handed Sword (2)
- Captain’s Holy Spear | Spear (1)
- Phoenix Sword | Two-Handed Sword (1)
Once you’ve nabbed more than eight Complex Machines, feel free to start selling them off. As for the weapons themselves, the Beast series weapons are some of the strongest Nier can equip, with Beastlord in particular dealing an obscene amount of damage once fully upgraded. Phoenix Sword is also a standout, juggling both speed and offense, attributes that the weapon shares with the Captain's Holy Spear.