Use the Map
NieR: Automata’s map isn’t the easiest thing to read, but once you figure out how it works, it becomes an incredibly useful tool to have around. The cool thing about the map is that it’s basically a 3D model of the in-game world, which means that you can pinpoint locations quite easily.
Before you can use the map efficiently, however, you need to activate access points around the world to unlock the satellite feed. Access points look kind of like vending machines, and you’ll need them in order to fast travel and save your game. Once you activate an access point, you’ll unlock new area info on your map.
Now for the map, you can use the right stick to rotate it, and even check the elevation of your quest markers. This means that you no longer have to suffer through the frustration of seemingly being at the right spot to activate the quest, but unable to find the actual NPC that gives it to you. By shifting the map to look at it from the horizontal view instead of a top-down one, you can get the rough location and verticality of the quest marker itself.
