Square Enix's Nier Replicant has just released, offering players a remaster/remake hybrid of the original Nier from 2010. However, this time around, we get to step into the role of the younger version of the protagonist rather than the Papa Nier that western players received last time.
Whether you played the original or not, there's something new for everyone in Replicant as additional content has been added. If you're just getting started, we've put together a few beginner tips to help you out and ensure you make the most of your first playthrough.
10 Gather Everything
As you play, you'll notice little glowing spots in the environment. These are gathering spots that can be harvested to collect various items, and they respawn over time too.
Materials are super important in Nier, not only for quests but for all of the weapon upgrades too, so make sure you collect everything you see as you go along to save you additional farming in the long run.
9 Kill Everything
Killing all shades and enemies (including the more docile animals such as goats, sheep, and deer) is also important in the gathering of raw materials. You'll need their dropped items in the long run anyway for quests and upgrades, so as you travel around, make sure you slay everything in your path.
This is also important for leveling up and learning words. As there are accolades tied to completing quests, upgrading weapons, and collecting words, if you're wanting to fully complete the game, we recommend some general farming as you go.
8 Be Careful What You Sell
Some of the raw materials you find are worth quite a lot of gold and you might be tempted to sell them — but don't. As previously mentioned, you'll be needing most of these materials for upgrades and quests, so don't sell them all straight away as you'll just have to farm them again.
If you want to sell items for gold, stick to items such as fish or flowers/vegetables that you have cultivated as they are worth a decent amount and are not important for weapon upgrades. We have a guide on which items are safe to sell right here.
7 You Can Find Hidden Tutorials
There are hidden tutorials scattered throughout the game waiting to be found. While you'll unlock tutorials naturally as you play and perform specific actions, there are even more tutorials to be found hidden in breakable crates.
Make sure that you break any crates that you find in all areas you visit as you never know when one will contain a secret tutorial.
6 Remember To Use Word Edit
As you progress through the game, you will learn different words from defeating enemies. These words can be assigned to weapons, magic, and martial arts in the main menu to strengthen your attacks or add special effects.
If you're not too sure on what you should be equipping where to get the best results, then there is a handy "Equip best words" option that you can use to get the job done rather easily.
5 Use Orders to Control Allies and Animals
An often-overlooked feature is the "Orders" function. This can be accessed from your main menu and can be used on both animals and allies.
When in the field, using this on animals will make wildlife come running towards you, which is super helpful when killing 100 sheep for the "The Sheep Whisperer" accolade. Additionally, once you have a boar mount, using the order to call animals will make it appear beside you.
You can also use this function to control what your allies do in battle, whether they are going all out, staying on the defensive, or targeting whatever you are attacking.
4 Buy Maps In Every Town You Visit
You'll be given some maps automatically as part of the storyline, but be sure to pick up any other maps you need from the various vendors in different towns to make exploration of the game a whole lot easier.
The map vendors are always marked on the map with the little medicine vial symbol and will offer maps of the current area/areas in the immediate vicinity.
3 Optional Quests Are Important
Side quests are super important and you should aim to complete as many as possible, if not all, as soon as you are able to. Not only are they a good way to earn some gold, but they unlock important features such as cultivating plants, weapons, can improve your fishing skill, and more.
It's best to complete quests as they appear, as many quests will become locked out once you enter into Part 2 of Nier Replicant. Additionally, your home village has a repeatable mutton quest that rewards you with 1,500 gold each time. A nice little earner for those just starting out.
2 Cultivating Plants Uses Real-Time
Cultivating plants is an important part of Nier Replicant as it is one of the best ways to make gold. It's also the only way to obtain a Lunar Tear flower and the "Legendary Gardener" achievement/trophy that goes with it.
However, growing plants and veggies in your little patch beside your home use real-world time, so it's not the quickest of processes. You can change your system settings somewhat to expedite the process, but it's not as easy to do as it was in the original version of the game. To make the most out of gardening, ensure you've always got plants growing.
1 Download the Free DLC
Everybody loves freebies and fortunately for Nier fans, Square Enix is offering some free DLC in the form of the "4 Yorha" costume and weapon pack.
This DLC allows you to dress the protagonist (both boy and adult versions) up as Yorha Type S, whereas Kaine can be dressed as Yorha Type B or Yorha Type A. The weapons included in the DLC are not simply cosmetics but are fully usable.