Nier Replicant Beginner Tips & Tricks

Nier Replicant is the predecessor to 2017’s critically acclaimed Nier: Automata, and while the stories are almost completely separate, this upgraded version of the game does feature new content that helps to connect both games. If you’re new to this particular entry, here are some Nier Replicant beginner tips to help get you started.

Do All the Side Quests

Nier Replicant Beginner Tips

I’ll be upfront with you: The side quests in Nier Replicant aren’t very good. They’re mostly boring fetch quests, with only a few that actually have interesting side stories for you to follow.

That being said, they are a very good source of income and materials, especially when you’re just getting started.

Once you finish the prologue, we recommend taking on the Boar Hunt and Shopping List quests in the village in particular. Boar Hunt will give you the ability to ride boars in the open-world, which lets you get around faster. Shopping List and its subsequent quest will unlock farming, which is time-consuming but also very lucrative.

You don’t have to do every side quest in the game, but we’d recommend taking on as many as you can when you come across them. You’ll need money anyway for purchasing weapons and upgrades, so just grab them as you go.

Get Into Farming Early

Nier Replicant Beginner Tips

Speaking of money, there’s no easy way to just grind for money in Nier Replicant. The best way to earn money is to either farm the spiders outside Emil’s Mansion for the rare Rainbow Spider Silk drop, or start farming.

Because item drop rates are kind of inconsistent, we recommend farming even if it’s a bit inconsistent as well.

Oncce you complete the first two side quests for the florist in the village, you’ll unlock three plots of land outside your house that can be used for farming. From here, you can plant seeds, water them, and then harvest them when they’re ready. Make sure to check on your crops whenever you get back to the village, as they can wilt if you leave them alone without water for too long.

Seeds can be bought from merchants in the different settlements, and we recommend getting beans, eggplants, wheat, and rice for the best and most lucrative yields.

Buy All the Weapons

Nier Replicant Beginner Tips

If you’re even remotely familiar with Yoko Taro’s games, you’ll probably already know that Nier Replicant also features multiple endings that will require you to play through the game a few times.

One of the requirements for seeing the true ending is to get all of the weapons available in the game.

We’ve got a handy guide for collecting all weapons over here if you ever get stuck and need some help, but when you’re just getting started in the game, make sure to purchase all the weapons you see when talking to merchants. Some of these weapons won’t be available in the second half of the game, so make sure you buy them all up when you can.

Make Use of Quick-Switching

Nier Replicant Beginner Tips

This is a big tip that I wish I would’ve made use of earlier in the game.

Nier Replicant features various weapon types as well as items you can use in combat. However, more likely than not, you’ll spend most of your time going into the menu, selecting Grimoire Weiss, going to the Items tab, and then using your items from there. The same goes for changing weapons as well.

That said, there actually is a quick-switch feature with the d-pad, which makes using items and changing weapons much more convenient and efficient. By pressing up on the d-pad, you can bring up a list of all your available items instantly. You can select an item to use, then go right back to the action.

Left, right, and down on the d-pad will bring up your weapons list, allowing you to change weapons even in the middle of combat, which is very handy.

And those are our Nier Replicant beginner tips for players who are just getting started in the game. Be sure to search for Twinfinite or check our guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.