Beginner’s Guide#
NieR:Automata was developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix, launched February 23, 2017 on PS4, later on PC and Xbox One, with the Switch version arriving October 6, 2022; global sales passed 8 million in February 2024 (having earlier passed 5 and 7 million), with press scores of Metacritic 84 and OpenCritic 89 (per PCGamingWiki).
This page answers one question: starting from zero, in what order should you learn the game. First the edition differences, then what to practice on your first playthrough and which mechanics deserve priority, then the multi-route structure, the ending system and trophy gates, and finally the boundary of the two DLCs.
Editions and Platforms#
| Platform | Release date |
|---|---|
| PS4 | 2017-02-23 |
| PC | 2017-03-17 |
| Xbox One | 2018-06-26 |
| Switch (The End of YoRHa Edition) | 2022-10-06 |
The Switch version is titled NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition, ported by Virtuos and locked at 30fps: 1920x1080 in TV mode and 1280x720 in handheld mode. It supports HD Rumble and motion controls — you can dodge with a Joy-Con flick, and turn that off in settings if you prefer.
Two more Switch-version facts directly affect the purchase decision:
- From 2025-11-25, the Switch version gained backward compatibility through Switch 2 system update 21.0.1. Before that, it long carried an “unsupported: progress issues” label on Switch 2, with widespread crash and unbeatable-run reports.
- The Switch version has an exclusive free DLC, 6C2P4A118680823, containing outfits and Pod skins — see “DLC and Edition Content Boundaries” below.
The PC version merged all DLC except wallpapers into the main game depot in a 2021 update, so PC buyers don’t need to confirm DLC installation separately.
Starting Order: Route A Stars 2B#
The main story runs across Route A → Route B → Route C, with the first playthrough (Route A) told from 2B’s perspective. A newcomer’s goal is not to rush but to drill six basic controls into instinct — they only get more useful in the later routes, never obsolete.
Basic Controls Checklist#
| Control | Practice goal |
|---|---|
| Movement | The ruins are vertically rugged; build the habit of chaining dashes into movement to cut travel time noticeably |
| Dodge | Both melee sweeps and ranged barrages are answered with dodges; stabilize the “attack—dodge—attack again” rhythm before chasing damage |
| Light attack | Fast to start and easy to chain — the skeleton of every combo |
| Heavy attack | Higher single-hit power, best as a combo finisher |
| Weapon switch | The four weapon types can be swapped mid-combo (next section); practice rotating two weapons from your very first grunt fight |
| Pod support | Pod fire runs parallel to your melee combo; keeping the Pod shooting is a fundamental skill. Pods carry at most 3 skills — master one loadout first |
| Hacking | Runs as a mini-game; success can outright kill or cripple a target — practice it as a ranged execution |
The full combat system is broken down in the Combat Guide.
The Priority Mechanic: Mid-Combo Weapon Switching#
The game offers four weapon types: small swords, large swords, spears and combat bracers. The officially advertised selling point is mid-combo weapon switching — a combo need not use the same weapon start to finish; you can swap weapon types halfway through and keep attacking.
For a newcomer, this mechanic deserves to be learned before any other technique:
- It depends on no late-game unlock and is available from the early standard flow.
- The four weapon types differ in rhythm and move construction, and switching changes the combo paths — multiplying your usable combos several times over.
- Weapon growth and switching are independent: maxing any one weapon unlocks the silver trophy Tools of the Trade, and maxing all weapons unlocks the bronze Inorganic Blade — trophy progress comes along for free.
For move sets and upgrade paths, see the Weapons Guide.
Before Chips, Buy Memory#
Plug-in chips define your skill direction: combat chips for offense and defense, plus non-combat chips that change the HUD. The chip system has a precondition newcomers easily miss — the Memory capacity:
- Chips are limited by Memory capacity; how many you can equip is decided by Memory.
- Shops and merchants sell Memory, and Memory itself is a resource you must buy.
That yields a clear purchase order: early on, spend money on Memory to expand capacity before configuring chips. Without capacity, even great chips can’t be equipped; expand capacity first and every chip afterward has a slot waiting.
Chip effects and pairing are detailed in the Chips Guide.
The Pod: A Partner, Not an Accessory#
Pod 042 partners with 2B and Pod 153 with 9S, each with its own voice and role. Mechanically, remember three things:
- Each Pod carries at most 3 skills; slots are limited, so master one loadout before swapping.
- Pods can be upgraded with materials for attack, fire rate and more, unlocking charge attacks; funneling materials into your main Pod is the safe early play.
- Pod-related trophies have fixed gates: acquiring every Pod program unlocks the silver Weapons Maniac, maxing all Pods unlocks the silver Supreme Support Weapons, and finding every Pod unlocks the silver Pod Hunter.
Pod programs and upgrades are detailed in the Pod Guide.
Hacking and Berserk Mode#
- Hacking: a ranged attack delivered as a mini-game; success can outright kill or cripple a target. Your first hack unlocks the bronze Fighting’s Not My Thing, and 100 hack kills unlock the bronze A Scanner’s Power. 9S excels at hacking — on Route B, playing as 9S turns hacking from a support tool into the main way to fight.
- Berserk mode: a separately counted combat mechanic; 50 kills in berserk state unlock the bronze The Power of Hate.
The hacking mini-game and skills are detailed in the Hacking Guide.
The Multi-Playthrough Structure: A → B → C#
| Route | Content | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| Route A | The first playthrough, main story from 2B’s perspective | Ending A (flower for m{A}chines) |
| Route B | Replays the story on A’s save, adding hacking sequences from 9S’s perspective | Ending B (or not to {B}e) |
| Route C | The third playthrough opens a new story phase, ending in a choice between A2 and 9S | Choosing A2 gives Ending C (meaningless {C}ode); choosing 9S gives Ending D (chil{D}hood’s end) |
| Ending E | Unlocks after seeing Endings C and D; the finale is a bullet-hell mini-game | Ending E (the {E}nd of YoRHa) |
In other words, collecting the main endings takes at least three playthroughs, plus one special run for Ending E.
Save deletion warning: Ending E’s “delete save” is a real deletion — all progress and every weapon level vanish with it, by design; the game will not keep anything for you. In exchange, other players join your final bullet hell; on PSN you may also receive aid from other players if the barrage fails. Anyone planning to keep collecting or grinding trophies must back up their save using the platform’s backup function before attempting Ending E.
Route-by-route flow details: Route A, Route B and Route C.
The Ending System: 5 Main Endings Plus 21 Joke Endings#
The game has 26 endings in total: A-E as the five main endings, and twenty-one hidden or joke endings from F to Z. Three things newcomers should know in advance.
First, dialogue choices have zero effect on endings — officially confirmed. Don’t reload over “saying the wrong thing”; ending branches are decided by actions at key nodes, like choosing A2 or 9S in the final battle for C or D.
Second, most joke endings come from a single action at a specific moment. Examples with documented triggers, several of which newcomers stumble into early:
| Ending | Trigger |
|---|---|
| W | Let 2B be killed by the laser in the prologue |
| T | Remove your OS plug-in chip — don’t actually unequip the OS chip while tidying the chip menu |
| U | Self-destruct inside the Bunker |
| G | Leave the mission area the first time you control 9S |
| F | Let the timer expire instead of repairing 9S |
| J | Kill the first machine lifeform you meet on sight |
| K | Eat Jackass’s mackerel |
| O | Turn around and head back to the factory at the start of Route C |
Accidentally triggering a joke ending does not damage story progress; reload and continue as normal.
Third, collecting all 26 endings unlocks the developers’ thank-you message along with the trophy Transcendent Being. Triggers and flows for all 26 endings are in the Endings Guide.
Trophy Planning: The Makeup of 48 Trophies#
| Rarity | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | 1 | Final Words, granted automatically upon completion |
| Gold | 2 | The Minds That Emerged (finish the final credits) and Transcendent Being (all endings) |
| Silver | 13 | Includes the A, B, 9S and A2 ending trophies plus multiple collection gates |
| Bronze | 32 | Includes the eight area completion trophies and many behavior counters |
Defeating Emil unlocks the trophy Naughty Children; Emil also runs a shop, and first using Emil’s shop unlocks the bronze Come Take a Look!.
The early-planning gates worth knowing are all fixed values:
| Trophy | Gate | Rarity |
|---|---|---|
| Cherish Our Resources | Collect 100 corpses | Silver |
| Mercenary | Complete 80% of quests | Silver |
| Information Master | Collect 80% of archives | Silver |
| Desire Without Emotion | Hold 100,000 G | Silver |
| Machines vs. Machines | Kill 50 machine lifeforms remotely | Silver |
| Ruler of the Skies | Kill 255 enemies in flight units | Silver |
| Harvest King | Harvest 10 hidden gathering points | Silver |
| Animal Rider | Ride any animal for 5 km | Silver |
| Chip Collector | Collect 80% of plug-in chips | Bronze |
| A Round by the Pond | Catch 20 fish species | Bronze |
| A Scanner’s Power | 100 hack kills | Bronze |
| The Power of Hate | 50 berserk kills | Bronze |
One frequently misreported entry deserves a flag: the bronze trophy Wait! Don’t Kill Me! counts killing 10 friendly machine lifeforms, not generic kills — the trophy’s own name is the joke about that act. Any guide phrasing it as “kill 10 machine lifeforms” is a misreport.
Several more bronze trophies bind to specific states or places: visiting the Lunar Tear area unlocks Lunar Tear, gazing at space from the Bunker unlocks Resuscitated Body, and first controlling A2 unlocks Treacherous Blade; Not That I Mind… asks for 1 hour of play as 9S in a certain state, and What Are You Doing? asks you to discover 2B’s secret 10 times.
The complete list of 48 trophies is in the Trophy Guide.
Collection Systems at a Glance#
Collectibles map one-to-one onto trophy gates; three things cover the early game:
- Corpses are the most widespread collectible; collecting 100 unlocks the silver Cherish Our Resources.
- Hidden gathering points yield upgrade materials, and 10 harvests unlock the silver Harvest King; the same materials upgrade weapons and Pods, so gather as you pass rather than stockpiling for later.
- Emil’s shop and the Lunar Tear area are the two special locations: the former unlocks the bronze Come Take a Look! on first use, the latter the bronze Lunar Tear on first visit.
Fishing is a separate collection line: 20 species unlock the bronze A Round by the Pond — spots and catches in the Fishing Guide.
DLC and Edition Content Boundaries#
The game has two similarly-named DLCs with entirely separate content; newcomers easily conflate them.
3C3C1D119440927: The Paid Arena DLC on All Platforms#
- Released 2017-05-02 (Steam 2017-05-03) at 1,500 yen, 96 yuan on Steam CN.
- Its core is three arenas, located in the Flooded City, the Desert Zone and the Forest Zone — not the amusement park.
- Each arena carries 6 difficulty stages plus a top EX stage; only after clearing the 6 non-EX stages does the DLC’s ending event play; clearing all three arenas plays the ending film beneath the amusement park ruins as the DLC’s closing event.
| Arena | Location and entry condition | S-rank reward |
|---|---|---|
| Desert Arena | Desert Zone | A2’s outfit (Destroyer’s Outfit, modeled on young Nier — “the outfit of the man who destroyed the world”) |
| Gambler’s Arena | Flooded City; guarded by Resistance members demanding a 1,000 G bribe for entry | 2B’s outfit (Revealing Outfit, modeled on Kainé — “the revealing woman’s outfit”) |
| Forest Zone Arena | The gym behind the waterfall in the Forest Zone; only 9S may enter | 9S’s outfit (Young Man’s Outfit, modeled on boy Nier — “the modest boy’s outfit”) |
All three outfits reference characters from the previous game, NieR Replicant; the officials never published Chinese names for them, so this page keeps the English names — don’t trust unofficial translations of unknown origin.
The DLC also adds hair-color items, accessories and masks, plus the amazarashi collaboration track “Inochi ni Fusawashii”. Its most famous easter egg is the hidden boss duo of two company presidents: Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda (modeled on his Final Fantasy XV pre-launch event appearance) and PlatinumGames president Kenichi Sato.
6C2P4A118680823: The Switch-Exclusive Free DLC#
Free on eShop for The End of YoRHa Edition owners only; contents are 6 outfits, 4 accessories and 2 Pod skins:
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Outfits (6) | 2P Replica for 2B, 9P Replica for 9S, P2 Replica for A2, YoRHa Uniform 1 (for 2B), YoRHa Uniform 2 (for 9S), YoRHa Uniform Prototype (for A2) |
| Pod skins (2) | Mama for Pod 042, Transporter (Carrier) for Pod 153 |
| Accessories (4) | White fox mask, black fox mask, moonlit pendant, withered flower pendant |
These cosmetics are usable the moment you reach the Bunker at the start — no story progress required.
Don’t Mistake Crossovers for Base-Game Content#
Gravity Rush 2 shipped a free crossover in mid-April 2017 letting its protagonist Kat wear 2B’s outfit — the crossover happens in that other game and has no link to your save here.
Full details on both DLCs are in the DLC Guide.
Newcomer Q&A#
Q: Do dialogue choices change the ending?
A: No. The officials have stated dialogue choices have no effect on endings; branches are decided by actions at key nodes, like choosing A2 or 9S in the final battle for Ending C or D.
Q: Is the Ending E save deletion real? Can it be undone?
A: It is real. Completing Ending E deletes all progress and every weapon level; in exchange, other players join your final bullet hell, and on PSN you can receive aid if the barrage fails. To keep collecting or grinding afterward, your only route is a save you backed up yourself beforehand.
Q: What do you get for all 26 endings?
A: The developers’ thank-you message, plus the trophy Transcendent Being.
Q: Switch vs. PC vs. PS4 — how to choose?
A: Depends on the use case. The Switch version (The End of YoRHa Edition) is ported by Virtuos at a locked 30fps (1920x1080 TV, 1280x720 handheld), supports motion dodging, and carries the exclusive free DLC 6C2P4A118680823; from 2025-11-25 it runs on Switch 2 via system update 21.0.1. PS4 and PC are the original platforms, and the PC version merged all DLC except wallpapers into the main depot in 2021.
Q: Where should early money and materials go?
A: Buy Memory to expand chip capacity first, then configure chips; funnel materials into your main Pod’s attack and fire rate to unlock charge attacks; on weapons, keep two favorites upgraded in rotation to support mid-combo switching.
Q: I triggered a joke ending by accident — is my story progress gone?
A: No. Joke endings are just alternate cutscene branches; reload and continue. Only Ending E actually deletes your save.
Q: What must be replayed across playthroughs?
A: Route B replays the story on A’s save with 9S-perspective hacking added; Route C is a new story phase; most of the other 21 joke endings take only a single specified action at the right node.
Site Guide Index for This Hub#
- Route A / Route B / Route C: route-by-route flow details.
- Endings Guide: triggers for all 26 endings.
- Weapons Guide: move sets and upgrades for the four weapon types.
- Chips Guide: chip effects and Memory capacity planning.
- Pod Guide: Pod programs, skills and upgrades.
- Hacking Guide: the hacking mini-game and skills.
- Trophy Guide: the complete list of 48 trophies.
- DLC Guide: both DLCs’ contents and entry conditions.