With one of the key focuses of Scarlet Nexus being on the gameplay and combat encounters, the game is bound to have many systems and mechanics built around them. One of those systems is the game's SAS mechanic, which is tons of fun to use but can be complicated to wrap your head around or entirely understand.

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The SAS system in Scarlet Nexus essentially allows you to borrow your party member's ability traits and use them on enemies. These traits can be anything ranging from dealing lightning damage or going invisible and likely anything in-between. However, this mechanic is deep and has many different ways to interact with it, either through bonding with your party or purchasing the right skill in the Brain Map.

14 SAS Abilities

Yuito attacking an enemy with electricity in Scarlet Nexus

SAS is a way for you to borrow your party members' ability and mix it with your Psychokinesis attacks. SAS Abilities will also give you the upper hand in combat encounters, whether that comes from going invisible to have an enemy come out from hiding or using electricity on a monster that got drenched in water.

SAS allows you to change the tide of battle in your favor, especially if you're paying attention to your environment and enemy. Most often than not, you will be able to find containers of water or oil lying around that are throwable via your Psychokinesis, which allows you to follow up with the necessary SAS ability to deal devastating amounts of damage.

13 ELECTROKINESIS - Shiden Ritter

Shiden Ritter character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Electrokinesis is a devastating SAS skill in Scarlet Nexus. It has tons of potential during enemy encounters, especially against water-based enemies such as the Winery Chinery or the Bile Pools. Electrokinesis is viable in many ways, but its main draw is its ability to Shock enemies, leaving them temporarily paralyzed, allowing you to unleash unanswered attacks on them.

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  • Level 1 - Covers your weapon and objects controlled by Psychokinesis in electricity, increasing damage done and applying the Shock effect.
  • Level 2 - Casts electricity in a wide circle when performing a Back-step Attack while in SAS. - A vision of Shiden will occasionally block incoming attacks for you additionally.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision attack for Electrokineses, which has Shiden attack a wide area around you. - Recovery speed of the SAS also gets increased.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Shiden call out to help you. Answering him will have him perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Your time gets extended while using the Electrokinesis SAS. You are also immune to the Shock effect while the SAS is active.
  • Level 6 - Adds an Electric Flux Discharge on the third strike in an Aerial Weapon Combo Attack and stuns the enemy in the air briefly. Continuing the weapon combo will increase the damage output further.

12 PYROKINESIS - Hanabi Ichijo

Hanabi Ichijo character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Much like Electrokinesis, Pyrokinesis is a devastating offensive SAS that has lots of potential in enemy engagements. The Pyrokinesis SAS can cause enemies to Burn, which has them take consistent damage over a short period.

  • Level 1 - Covers your weapon and objects controlled by Psychokinesis in flame, increasing damage done and applying the Burn effect.
  • Level 2 - Changes your Charge Attack to a Flame Pillar, which has you swing your weapon at the enemy, creating an area of flame that extends towards the sky upon ending.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision attack for Pyrokinesis, which has Hanabi attack a wide area around you. - Recovery speed of the SAS also gets increased.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Hanabi call out to help you. Answering her will have her perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Your time gets extended while using the Pyrokinesis SAS. You are also immune to the Burn effect while the SAS is active.
  • Level 6 - Adds an Explosion of flame on the third strike in an Aerial Weapon Combo Attack and knocks the enemy back. Continuing the weapon combo will increase the damage output further.

11 HYPERVELOCITY - Arashi Spring

Arashi Spring character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Hypervelocity is one of the more unique SAS abilities in Scarlet Nexus. It allows you to speed around normal/slow-moving enemies and maintain pace with fast ones. In addition, Hypervelocity is excellent for closing the gap on foes or dealing tons of damage without having them react to it.

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  • Level 1 - You can move with the Hypervelocity SAS active, slowing time around you.
  • Level 2 - The recovery speed of the SAS gets increased, and a vision of Arashi has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision attack for Hypervelocity, which has Arashi attack a vast area in front of you with each strike.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Arashi call out to help you. Answering her will have her perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Your time gets extended while using the Hypervelocity SAS.
  • Level 6 - Landing successful Psychokinesis Follow-up Attacks while in the Hypervelocity SAS will charge its meter slightly.

10 DUPLICATION - Kyoka Eden

Kyoka Eden character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Duplication, much like Hypervelocity, is an incredibly unique SAS ability in Scarlet Nexus. Duplication is beneficial for many reasons, but its main draw is that it will eventually triple your damage output as it creates multiple clones of you.

  • Level 1 - Creates a copy of the object used with your Psychokineses and makes it easier to break shells on enemies.
  • Level 2 - The recovery speed of the SAS gets increased, and a vision of Kyoka has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision attack for Duplication, which creates a duplicate version of yourself that attacks alongside you.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Kyoka call out to help you. Answering her will have her perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Your time gets extended while using the Duplication SAS, and you create an additional duplicate of yourself (2 copies total).
  • Level 6 - Duplicate an additional Psychokinesis object, letting you launch three total projectiles at an enemy at once.

9 INVISIBILITY - Kagero Donne

Kagero Donne character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

The Invisibility SAS is excellent for keeping the Saliva and Wither Santas out of their boxes and the Base Paws' weak spot exposed. This SAS is also helpful for getting behind enemies and backstabbing them for extra damage! Invisibility will allow you to vanish into thin air and become undetectable by most enemies in Scarlet Nexus.

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  • Level 1 - You can go invisible and perform a Backstab on enemies.
  • Level 2 - The recovery speed of the SAS gets increased, and a vision of Kagero has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision for Invisibility, which has Kagero charge foes down. You will also remain invisible for a short time after attacking.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Kagero call out to help you. Answering him will have him perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - You remain invisible for a longer duration.
  • Level 6 - You remain invisible for a longer duration after attacking. If Kagero is in your party, there is a chance you will automatically become invisible when your health drops below 30%.

8 SCLEROKINESIS - Gemma Garrison

Gemma Garrison character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Sclerokinesis is purely a defensive SAS and will shield you from any incoming damage. Sclerokinesis is viable when tons of enemies launch attacks at you or against bosses with hard-to-dodge attacks.

  • Level 1 - You harden yourself, becoming immune to incoming damage. With each hit taken, the effect will lessen.
  • Level 2 - The recovery speed of the SAS gets increased, and a vision of Gemma has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision for Sclerokinesis, which has Gemma break the enemy's shell. You will also be immune to status ailments.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Gemma call out to help you. Answering him will have him perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Duration of Sclerokinesis gets extended.
  • Level 6 - When attacked, there is a chance Sclerokinesis automatically activates for a moment, negating the damage. The chance of automatic activation gets increased if Gemma is in your party.

7 CLAIRVOYANCE - Tsugumi Nazar

Tsugumi Nazar character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Clairvoyance is an incredibly unique and helpful SAS ability as it enables you to see invisible enemies, allowing you to engage them on your terms. Clairvoyance is also an excellent SAS ability against shelled enemies.

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  • Level 1 - This allows you to see invisible enemies and execute Perfect Dodges more easily. You will also be able to follow up a Perfect Dodge with a Read Attack, which will do heavy damage to the enemy, knocking them down.
  • Level 2 - Hitting shelled enemies with a Read Attack will break their shell with one hit, and a vision of Tsugumi has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - After performing a Perfect Dodge, you can execute a Read Attack that significantly damages the enemy, knocking them prone. Enables the Combo Vision for Clairvoyance, which has Tsugumi attack the enemy from afar as she retreats.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Tsugumi call out to help you. Answering her will have her perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage. The recovery speed for Clairvoyance also gets increased.
  • Level 5 - Time spent using the Clairvoyance SAS gets increased.
  • Level 6 - Depletes the enemies' crush gauge faster and makes them always drop an item upon death.

6 PSYCHOKINESIS - Yuito Sumeragi/Kasane Randall

Yuito Sumeragi and Kasane Randal character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

Psychokinesis will be the primary ability for both of the main protagonists in Scarlet Nexus. This ability allows them to launch objects, use their weapons, and perform spectacular moves to devastate anything in their way. However, you will also get to unlock it as a SAS ability and do even more remarkable things with it!

  • Level 1 - This allows you to control every object around you at once and does not affect your Psychokineses gauge.
  • Level 2 - The recovery speed of the SAS gets increased, and a vision of Yuito/Kasane has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision for Psychokinesis, which has Yuito/Kasane blast any surrounding enemy away.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Yuito/Kasane call out to help you. Answering him/her will have him/her perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Time spent using the Psychokinesis SAS gets increased.
  • Level 6 - This allows you to control every object in a much larger area than before.

5 TELEPORTATION - Luka Travers

Luka Travers character portrait in Scarlet Nexus

The Teleportation SAS will allow you to close in wide gaps between you and the enemy with an attack and get you out of a pinch just as quickly. You will also get to pull out quick and devastating attack combos with this SAS!

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  • Level 1 - This allows you to teleport in front of you. If an enemy is in range, you will be able to teleport directly to them with an attack.
  • Level 2 - This allows you to teleport in mid-air with the same rules as above. Also, a vision of Luka has a chance of blocking incoming attacks for you.
  • Level 3 - Enables the Combo Vision attack for Teleportation, which has Luka launch the enemy in the air and attack it repeatedly with his hammer. The recovery speed of the SAS also gets increased.
  • Level 4 - Breaking an enemy's guard will occasionally have Luka call out to help you. Answering him will have him perform a Special Attack, dealing severe damage.
  • Level 5 - Time spent using the Teleportation SAS gets increased.
  • Level 6 - This changes your Charge Attack to a Charge Teleportation Attack, which allows you to teleport to an enemy from great range with a powerful attack.

4 Party Bonds

Kasane reaching bond level 2 with Kagero in Scarlet Nexus

Increasing the bond between you and your teammates is crucial in Scarlet Nexus. It will unlock new perks and abilities for when you access SAS (see SAS Abilities above for every upgrade).

Between missions, you will often be in the Standby Phase. The Standby Phase is where you and your teammates get to take a breather, relax, and talk to one another. During this time, you can strengthen your bond with each team member by talking to them or giving them gifts.

There are six total bond levels for each character in your squad, so try not to ignore anyone during the Standby Phase as it will take quite a while to max everyone out. Bonding with your fellow teammates will make you stronger in battle and grant you new, devastating abilities.

3 Concurrent SAS

Kasane turning invisible and emitting electricity from her attacks due to Concurrent SAS in Scarlet Nexus

When you first start Scarlet Nexus, you will be limited to only one SAS activation at a time, sparing you from mixing multiple SAS abilities at once to get the upper hand on the enemy. Fortunately, with the Concurrent SAS Activation skills within the Brain Map, you will be able to have four SAS abilities active at once, which is chaotic in the best way imaginable.

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Having the ability to activate four SAS abilities at once will make you as close to unstoppable as you can be and allow you to draw out the true potential of your squad. Going invisible and sneaking up on an enemy with an electrified weapon while also having two clones of you parroting your movement is beyond absurd but in all the right ways.

Unlocking the Concurrent SAS perks in the Brain Map is essential, even if it will take quite some time and effort. Being able to pull off over-the-top team compositions and mixing their SAS abilities is a sight to behold.

2 Party Selection

Kasane walking towards the camera with her squad in Scarlet Nexus

After a specific point in Scarlet Nexus' story, you will have access to all nine of the game's SAS abilities, allowing you to mix and match them as you please. However, there is one caveat: you can't use Electrokinesis and Pyrokinesis simultaneously. Besides that? You are free to use every ability with one another.

Additionally, you will only be able to have four SAS abilities equipped at a time, so don't just bring anyone. The SAS system is incredibly flexible and deep, allowing you to create some deadly team compositions that will give you the upper hand in battle.

Knowing the area's enemy types, the enemy weaknesses, and more should all play a huge factor before jumping into a fight. Fortunately, for the most part, you will be able to switch teammates on the fly if someone isn't entirely cutting it for the situation!

1 Environmental SAS

A laser gate blocking the door on the left and the Hypervelocity SAS slowing it down on the right, allowing the team to pass through it in Scarlet Nexus

Some SAS abilities are helpful outside of enemy encounters and will give you access to hidden areas, rare items, and more. For example, there will be many opportunities where you will be able to use your teammate's SAS to open or pass through a door or closed gate.

However, some of these abilities may not be available to you from the start, as you will acquire more teammates as you progress through the story. So, if you see an item on the other side of a door and have no way of reaching it, fret not. You will be able to later.

ELECTROKINESIS - Can power generators to open automatic doors/wall panels.

HYPERVELOCITY - Can slow down laser sensors/disable laser barriers, making it possible to pass through security doors.

TELEPORTATION - This allows you to teleport past fences and chain-linked gates/doors.

PYROKINESIS - This allows you to melt ice walls instantly.

PSYCHOKINESIS - Can pull down drawbridges and break ice walls by launching projectiles into them.

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