Scarlet Nexus has many mechanics and systems at play in its brain punk universe, with the bulk of them focusing on the game's core gameplay and enemy encounters. However, even outside of Scarlet Nexus' exhilarating combat are surprisingly deep and exciting systems that funnel back into the game's core focus but deliver more story and character beats in the process.
Scarlet Nexus has more than what meets the eye, especially at first glance, and has tons of depth to everything it offers. Additionally, the game can be a tad bit overwhelming, at least in the initial stretch of things. Fortunately, the systems and mechanics in Scarlet Nexus are more than manageable and can open up into something truly incredible.
10 Exchange Materials For Better Weapons
As you explore the world of Scarlet Nexus, you will naturally pick up items and materials that can later get traded in for other goods at the shop. However, exchanging materials isn't touched on much and can get missed entirely, so it is essential to understand how this system works.
Throughout Scarlet Nexus, there will be shops where you can purchase Consumables, sell items, and accept your bonuses for pre-orders, playing the beta, etc. Additionally, there will also be an "Exchange" tab, which you will use to trade in the rare materials and items you collect for better things, such as weapons.
For weapons, specifically, you will be able to upgrade to an "Improved" version of the weapon you currently have and even upgrade to an entirely new and better one. So long as you have the right resources. The same goes for the rest of your party, too, as you will also be able to upgrade their weapons in the same manner. Furthermore, weapons will also become purchasable directly from the shop later in the game but will have to get upgraded through this process.
9 Bond With Your Party
Throughout your journey in Scarlet Nexus, you will come across many "Standby Phases," which allows you to catch up with your party and other characters in the world. During the Standby Phase, you will be able to give gifts to your teammates and build up your bond with them.
Building a stronger bond with your teammates will unlock perks for their specific ability, which will benefit you greatly in combat when using the SAS system to borrow your party's traits. The Standby Phase is the only time you will be able to bond with your party, so do not waste it.
Additionally, obtaining Gifts for your teammates is done through exploration, the Exchange system (as detailed above), or by doing the various missions present in the game (described below). Finally, always bond with your party when the opportunity arises, as some conversations can go away due to story progression and scenarios.
8 Do Quests
At various points throughout your playthrough, you will be able to explore towns and districts that will have many civilians and guards out and about. More often than naught, some people will have Quests for you to take up and reward you for completing them. Quests will get marked on your mini-map and above the quest giver's head as a white diamond.
Quests get handled a bit differently in Scarlet Nexus than what you see in other games but are essential nonetheless. Every Quest will get turned in via the Story tab in your menu, and this is also where you will see the details of the quest and select one as your "Primary Quest."
Furthermore, Quests are essentially challenges for you to complete, which will reward you with various things such as weapons, currency, gifts, consumables, and more. Quests can range from killing a specific enemy with a particular SAS ability to defeating enemies in mid-air. Some Quests can be incredibly challenging, so make sure you prepare yourself properly before attempting them!
7 Explore
Exploration is a vital part of Scarlet Nexus and will be how you interact with practically everything in the game. Exploring the world of Scarlet Nexus goes hand-in-hand with getting new weapons, growing your party's bond, gathering resources and materials, and obtaining consumables/items.
The Exchange system mentioned above makes exploring less of an "optional" choice and feels much more mandatory. Exploring will often lead to rare materials, more challenging enemy encounters, and even hidden areas that contain tons of things to find and fight. It will more than likely lead to something important! So any time you can go off the beaten path in Scarlet Nexus, do it.
6 Plug-ins
The Plug-in system in Scarlet Nexus essentially allows you to add perks to your character, which will help them out with enemy encounters or even leveling up. The Plug-in system extends beyond the main character, too, as every party member also has access to them.
Plug-ins can range from minor to substantial buffs and offer more health, resistance to shock, increased exp rates, and more.
You will start with one Plug-in slot but will have the choice of expanding up to two additional spaces (3 total) via the Brain Map system. Additionally, your teammates Plug-in spaces get upgraded by gifting them upgrade slots during Standby Phases. Finally, you will need a Plug-In Parallelization Program, which is obtainable through the shop's exchange method.
5 Brain Map/Brain Points
The Brain Map acts as Scarlet Nexus' skill tree and will allow you to purchase abilities with Brain Points, unlocked by leveling up, completing story missions, and doing Quests. The Brain Map will allow you to shape the gameplay to your style and is quite dense with lots to unlock! Here, you will be able to unlock traits such as double jumping, using two SAS traits concurrently, air dashing, and much more.
While there are many options to choose from here, we recommend going with the Double Jump and Air Dash skills first, as they will allow you to access secret areas and move around more freely in and out of combat.
4 Brain Messages
In a much similar vein to bonding with your party and giving them gifts, there will be many moments in Scarlet Nexus where you can reply to texts and bond with characters outside of your party, which is equally as important.
Every time you are in the Standby Phase, you should check and respond to your Brain Messages and start every Bond Episode available.
Bond Episodes are solely dependent on where you have progressed in the story, making them kind of urgent to do as there is a chance they will go away. Checking your Brain Messages is as simple as opening the menu and tabbing over to the Libray section. These episodes will help flesh out the world and story and deepen your Bond Level with the corresponding character.
3 Experiment With SAS
The SAS mechanic in Scarlet Nexus is incredibly deep and fun to experiment with as there are seemingly endless possibilities to the kinds of chaos you can unleash with it. Obtaining the Concurrent SAS Activation skill from the Brain Map is highly recommended as it will open the door for tons of attack combinations and tricks.
SAS, as mentioned earlier, essentially allows you to borrow your party's traits, allowing you to go invisible, deal shock damage, etc. Pairing these traits with each other has endless possibilities and should be experimented with any chance you get. Becoming impervious to incoming enemy attacks while also wielding weapons engulfed in flames will always feel and look incredible.
Furthermore, SAS also has its use outside of enemy encounters! While exploring, there will be many instances where you can use the Shock SAS to power an electric door to open it or phase through a fence with the Teleportation SAS. Those are just a couple of examples, but there are many other cool ways you can interact with the environment to access secret areas!
2 Dealing With Status Ailments
There are many elements in play at any given moment in Scarlet Nexus, so it is essential to familiarize yourself with the environments, enemy types, and so on. Status Ailments will hinder you in many ways and put you at significant risk of receiving tons of damage and potentially dying.
To deal with Status Ailments, you will be able to fit you and your teammates with Plug-ins that will give you more resistance to things such as fire, shock, confusion, and more. However, if you end up receiving more than what your resistance can handle, you will still get inflicted with the ailment. Players will then have to resort to using a Normalization Tablet to remove the effects.
Every Status Ailment you encounter will get stored in the menu under the Library's "Help" tab, which is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with each effect to help avoid or use them to your liking vis the SAS mechanic.
1 Selecting Your Party
There will be several moments in Scarlet Nexus where you will have more than four members of your team present for a mission, making it an option to swap characters in and out at your will. Additionally, this allows you to examine their SAS potential and hand-pick those that will benefit the most together and in the environment.
You can select your party using these steps:
- Go to the SAS tab in the menu
- hover over who you want to disengage from combat
- click on the right stick (R3/RS)
From there, you will be able to fill in the available spot with another teammate. This will be useful for unlocking hidden areas with specific SAS abilities, dealing with enemy encounters that are weak to specific ailments, and much more.
Picking the most optimal party will be crucial in some parts of Scarlet Nexus, so don't settle for something that won't work!