Few remakes have been able to improve their source material as impressively as Nier Replicant has. What was a cult classic carried by its story and presentation is now firmly one of the best action RPGs in the genre thanks to incredible combat & some light (but impactful) narrative tweaks. As excellent as Nier Replicant is, however, the game didn’t quite fix its worst problem: all the grinding necessary for 100% completion.
Side quests in Nier take the Xenoblade approach – in that, they help flesh out the world building through meaningful character interactions and glimpses into the daily lives of NPCs, but they’re otherwise fairly mundane and at their worst downright tedious. Nier Replicant’s approach to finding items isn’t exactly player friendly, either.
Outside of shops, the only way to find items in Nier Replicant is to either harvest them in the field or earn them as a drop from an enemy. Natural Rubber is a hard to come by material in Nier Replicant, but it can be purchased in at least one shop – making a Seafront side quest simpler. That said, Natural Rubber might be too expensive for how early in the game players can purchase it.
Updated on June 23, 2021 by Renan Fontes: To say that 100%ing Nier Replicant is a commitment would be the understatement of the century. This is an RPG that demands grinding on an almost unreasonable level, challenging a player's patience to a breaking point. Low drop rates are commonplace in Nier Replicant and there's only so much that can be done (from equipping the right Words to raising the difficulty) to make an item like Natural Rubber easily accessible.
Finding Natural Rubber
Although it’s not exactly advised due to how uncommon they are, it is possible to find Natural Rubber in the wild at harvesting points. Harvesting points glow gold in the overworld and have the chance of dropping an item depending on rarity. Each harvest point has their own RNG set tied to their environment, as well, meaning certain materials can only be found in certain locations.
Unfortunately, Natural Rubber can only be found in the Northern or Southern Plains, both of which feature multiple common items that supersede Natural Rubber in terms of drop RNG. While not technically rare, Natural Rubber is uncommon enough where you’ll only ever find it by chance. It’s always worth foraging a harvesting point when you see one – a good rule of thumb when looking for any material – but trying to find Natural Rubber naturally will take an obscene amount of time.
Buying Natural Rubber
For those who don’t want to go to the effort of grinding for Natural Rubber the old fashioned way, the material can be purchased at a Seafront store for 700 Gold per item. At least 5 Natural Rubber are needed for side quests in the game, so someone who has no Natural Rubber will need to drop 3,500 Gold.
Natural Rubber is available to purchase as soon as you reach Seafront, which also means bulk buying will be out of your price range for a while. An easy way to grind quick money is to kill the Giant Spiders outside of the Manor leading to Seafront. They drop Giant Spider Silk and Rainbow Spider Silk which fetch a fine price when sold (and aren’t needed for any side quests). There are also harvest points along the way that might yield Natural Rubber.
The New Merchant In Town
The New Merchant in Town is a relatively early game Seafront side quest where Nier helps out a local man in stocking up his shop. The new merchant asks Nier to get him 10 Wool, 10 Goat Hides, and 5 Natural Rubber. Wool is dropped from Sheep which can be found in large numbers in the Northern Plains. Goat Hides are a rare drop from Goats (also found in the Northern Plains), but they’re more quickly farmed at the Eastern Road.
For Natural Rubber, just make sure to stick to the Manor method. You’ll earn enough money to buy the Natural Rubber, saving you some precious grinding time and RNG frustration. Once all the materials have been collected, head back to the merchant and deliver the items. Now leave Seafront, come back, and speak to him again to net your 10,000 Gold reward. The new merchant's side quest chain is later picked up in Part 2 with Learning a Trade.
Upgrading Faith
Since the vast majority of One-Handed Swords are obtained during Part 1, very few of the weapons stack up in comparison to Two-Handed Swords and Spears come Part 2. That said, Faith stands out as one of the best weapons in the game. Faith is unlocked by completing every Deathdream sequence in the Forest of Myth during Part 1 or purchased in The Aerie in Part 2 for 18,000 Gold.
While you'll need to grind for Titanium Alloy to fully upgrade the weapon, Faith only requires a single Natural Rubber during its upgrade chain. At Lv 4, Faith is a heavy hitter that buffs magic and will keep you comfortably killing enemies up to the end of your first playthrough.