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NieR: Automata is a unique RPG. Developed by the eclectic Yoko Taro and Platinum Games, the game mixes genres and perspectives constantly while giving players a mature narrative that explores various philosophical themes regarding humanity, what makes life worth living, and what drives people to kill one another. The game is a beautiful marriage of Platinum Games’ action game expertise and Yoko Taro’s unconventional writing that delivers its story in a manner unique to video games. Of course, if you need more reason to play it than all of that, there is also a platinum trophy to earn.
Key Info Up Front
Genre:Â Action RPG
Difficulty:Â 4/10
Number of Playthroughs:Â 3 (not full playthroughs)
Time to Complete:Â Approximately 60 hours
Number of Trophies:Â 32
NieR: Automata Walkthrough
Before we take a look at the individual trophies you’ll be picking up throughout NieR: Automata, we need to take a more comprehensive look at how your playthrough will go. This is important not only to know what to expect before you start playing but also because the game’s structure is unconventional. So, by going through the process first, we’ll make sure you don’t miss anything or make the one decision that can reset your entire playthrough.
Step One: The First Playthrough
For your first playthrough, you can enjoy the game in whatever way is most enjoyable for you. There are no difficulty-related achievements, but I recommend you at least start on Normal. Both Hard and Easy are extreme difficulty adjustments that will either be too much or too little for most players, and you can change the difficulty at any time if Normal ends up not fitting for you. During this playthrough, you’ll likely pick up some of the miscellaneous trophies throughout this playthrough. Still, you should primarily focus on playing at your own pace and just enjoying the experience. You also will want to hoard as much money and upgrade materials as possible to make upcoming playthroughs and trophies a bit easier and do as many side missions as you can. Once you complete the game, you’ll be ready to move on to your second playthrough; make sure to save after the credits roll.
Trophies in this Step
- Resuscitated Body
- Vestiges of Prosperity
- It’s a Healthy Baby Boy!
- We Await Your Next Visit
- Creation and Insurrection
- The Mechanical Kingdom
- Ruler of the Deep
- Those Who Love Humans
- Iron Soul
- One Battle Ends
- The Circle of Death
- Cherish Our Resources
- First Errand
- Chip Collector
- Tools of the Trade
- Ruler of the Skies
- Harvest King
- Pod Hunter
- Desire Without Emotion
- Animal Rider
- A Round by the Pond
- What Are You Doing?
- Take a Look!
- Lunar Tear
Step Two: A Different Perspective
After you finish the first playthrough, you’ll be able to start your second by loading up the save from after the credits rolled. While this is technically your second playthrough, known as Route B, you play as a different character to see the story from another angle and gain access to some of their unique abilities. Again, during this playthrough, you’ll want to get as many crafting materials as you can and hold on to them while making sure to use the new abilities you have as much as possible and make sure to save after the credits.
Trophies in this Step
- A New Battle Begins
- Fighting’s Not My Thing
- A Scanner’s Power
- Machines vs. Machines
- Not That I Mind…
Step Three: But Wait, There’s More!
Once you load up the save again, you’ll start your third playthrough, Route C. This route continues the story and gives you access to another new character. This playthrough will also see you playing through Routes D and E, although those are mostly just endings. As you play through this route, you should make sure to use the new character’s unique abilities as much as possible. Towards the end, you will be presented with a massive choice. You can select either option since there’s a chapter select that you’ll use in the next step to get any of the trophies you still need to pick up. However, when playing the bullet-hell segment at the end of the game, do not select to help other players. Doing so will delete your save, meaning you will have to play through the entire game again to get any remaining trophies, effectively doubling the required playtime for the platinum. During this playthrough, you’ll also want to use all of your resources to upgrade your Pod and all of your weapons as much as possible.
Trophies in this Step
- Final Wish
- Treacherous Blade
- Farewell, Pascal
- Justice
- Crime and Punishment
- Leaving for the New World
- Beautiful World
- The Minds That Emerged
- The Mercenary
- Information Master
- Destruction is My Job
- Weapons Maniac
- The Power of Hate
Step Four: Chapter Select and Trophy Store
Finally, you’ll be using chapter selection to pick up any of the trophies you still need to get. If you want to speed this step up, beating the game will also unlock an in-game trophy store that you can use to purchase trophies with in-game currency. This will also allow you to play through any quests you missed previously, get any collectibles you didn’t find, and make opposite decisions to see how the story changes and get any related trophies.
Trophies in this Step
- Inorganic Blade
- Supreme Support Weapons
- Naughty Children
- Transcendent Being
NieR: Automata Trophies
Resuscitated Body
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Vestiges of Prosperity
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
It’s a Healthy Baby Boy!
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
We Await Your Next Visit
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Creation and Insurrection
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
The Mechanical Kingdom
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Ruler of the Deep
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Those Who Love Humans
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Iron Soul
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
One Battle Ends
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
A New Battle Begins
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Final Wish
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Treacherous Blade
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Farewell, Pascal
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Justice
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Crime and Punishment
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Leaving for the New World
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Beautiful World
Rarity:Â Silver
Description: You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
The Minds That Emerged
Rarity:Â Gold
Description: You will unlock this trophy as you play the story naturally.
Tips: There will be a conversation with Pods at the end of your final playthrough. Make sure you say Yes to both things they ask of you to do a bullet hell segment against the credits. A reminder that when you play through the bullet hell section during the credits, do not select to help other players after you finish it.
The Circle of Death
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for collecting your body after you die.
Tips:Â When you die, your body will be left behind with all your equipment and experience. You have to collect the body before a timer runs out or dies again when you respawn. Otherwise, you will lose everything on it. You will likely do this a few times throughout your playthrough.
Cherish Our Resources
Rarity:Â Silver
Description: This trophy is for collecting the dead bodies of 100 other players.
Tips:Â As you journey through the game, you will come across the bodies of players who died in that area in their own game. When you find one, you have the option of doing nothing with it or praying by it to give that player a boost in their own game. Then, you can either retrieve the body for a temporary buff or revive it to have it fight for you. For this trophy, you need to retrieve it and get the quick buff, and you should come across plenty of bodies during your playthroughs, so just make sure you grab each one you come across.
First Errand
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: This trophy is for finishing your first side quest.
The Mercenary
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for completing 80% of the quests in the game.
Tips:Â Side quests are easy to find as they are marked with a red square on your map. Once you complete each side quest, it also carries over to all playthroughs, so you don’t have to worry about repeating them. However, you need to finish any quests you start in a playthrough before that playthrough is over. Otherwise, you will have to start it all over again in the next playthrough. There also is a lot of variety between the quests, so while this trophy will take some time, the gameplay will be mixed up enough to keep things fresh.
Information Master
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for finding 80% of the archives.
Tips:Â You will get the vast majority of the archives during your second and third playthrough, so don’t worry if you find very few during your first run of the game. They particularly tend to be found in locked chests that can only be opened with the hacking ability you’ll get in your second playthrough. If you have a hard time finding enough, you can equip an item finder chip to place markers on your map when you get near them.
Destruction is My Job
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for unlocking 80% of the unit data.
Tips:Â Unit data is information about each enemy type you will fight during your playthroughs. You will likely get this trophy during your playthrough and shouldn’t take any extra effort if you’re doing a decent number of side quests along the way.
Chip Collector
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: This trophy is for collecting 80% of the available chips.
Tips:Â Finding 80% of the chips in the game is much easier to do than it may sound, and you will likely get this trophy naturally and possibly even in your first playthrough.
Weapons Maniac
Rarity:Â Silver
Description: This trophy is for fully unlocking every program for your Pod.
Tips:Â Pod programs are earned either as side quest rewards or purchased from multiple vendors you’ll find in the game. You likely won’t get this trophy until your third playthrough, but make sure to buy any you come across, even if you don’t intend to use it.
Tools of the Trade
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for upgrading a weapon to the max level.
Tips:Â See Inorganic Blade below.
Inorganic Blade
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for upgrading every weapon to the max level.
Tips:Â The maximum level for a weapon is level 4. To upgrade a weapon, you have to take it to a vendor with the required resources and pay them to improve it. However, regular weapon vendors can only upgrade a weapon to level 3. To get them to level 4, you have to find the hidden blacksmith named Masamune in the Forest Castle area. As long as you horde crafting materials and money, you should be able to upgrade all of them without too much extra grinding. A list of each weapon and where to find them is below.
Weapon | Location |
Beastbane | Purchased from the weapons trader at the Resistance Camp during Route A or B. |
Engine Blade | Found in the Abandoned Factory during Route A, C, or D. |
Faith | Located in the Flooded City Resource Unit during Route C or D. |
Type-4O Sword | Completion reward for the side quest Find a Present during Route A. |
Type-3 Sword | Purchased from Popola and Devola’s shop during Route A, C, or D. |
Ancient Overlord | Purchased from the Weapons Trader at the Resistance Camp during Route A or B. |
Virtuous Contract | 2 B’s default weapon in Route A. |
Cruel Oath | 9S’s default weapon in Route B. |
YoRHa-issue Blade | Completion reward for the side quest 11 B’s Memento during Route A. |
Phoenix Dagger | Found in a chest. To reach the chest, go to the hanging bridge that leads to the shopping mall area. Go right along the cliffs until you can drop down to an elevator. Take the elevator down and go left to the waterfall. |
Machine Sword | Purchased from the Weapons Trader in Pascal’s Village during Route A or B. |
Iron Pipe | Found by fishing in the sewers during Route A, B, or C. |
Cypress Stick | Found in a chest. To reach the chest, go to the area in front of the Castle. Go up the fallen pillar by the wooden gate and platform across the area until you reach the chest. |
Supreme Support Weapons
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for upgrading every one of your Pods to the highest level.
Tips:Â Pods can be upgraded to level 4 in a way similar to weapons. However, some of the necessary materials are not purchasable, meaning you’ll have to get them by completing side quests or from enemy drops. If you do side quests as you come across them and hoard materials, however, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem upgrading the three Pods to the max level.
Fighting’s Not My Thing
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â You will unlock this trophy naturally during your second playthrough.
A Scanner’s Power
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for destroying 100 enemies by hacking.
Tips:Â To get this trophy, you’ll want to use 9S hacking ability as much as possible during your second playthrough. As long as you use it frequently, you should get this no problem.
Machines vs. Machines
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for destroying 50 enemies with remote control.
Tips:Â To take control of a robot, you have to hack it when it isn’t aware of you. Then, you can use it to attack other robots. Do this until you kill 50 enemies this way, and you’ll get this trophy quickly.
The Power of Hate
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for destroying 50 enemies with berserk mode.
Tips:Â You will get the berserk ability during your third playthrough, so just make sure to use it as much as possible to quickly get this trophy out of the way.
Ruler of the Skies
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for killing 255 enemies with a flight unit.
Tips:Â You will use a flight unit to do air combat throughout the story, so you should get this trophy naturally.
Harvest King
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for harvesting at a hidden harvest point 10 times.
Tips:Â To find hidden harvest points, you have to use the scanability you get for your Pod to locate the points and then harvest from them. Once you get the ability, use it as you run around the map, and you’ll get this one pretty quick.
Pod Hunter
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: This trophy is for finding all three Pod types.
Tips:Â You will start the game with the Gatling Gun Pod, leaving you to find the Homing Missiles and Laser Beam Pods as you play. During your first playthrough, the Homing Missiles Pod can be found in the desert and is marked with a red square on your map. The Laser Beam Pod is gotten by fishing in the open water.
Desire Without Emotion
Rarity:Â Silver
Description:Â This trophy is for hoarding 100,000 G.
Animal Rider
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for riding an animal for a total of 5 kilometers.
Tips:Â To ride an animal, you must first purchase animal bait. Then, place the bait in front of natural animals like a boar or a moose. Once it is eating the bait, you can walk up to it and mount it. Then, ride the animal around until the trophy unlocks, which should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
A Round by the Pond
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for catching 20 different kinds of fish.
Tips:Â There are 41 types of fish throughout the game, so you should be able to get this trophy without much effort if you stop to fish in any body of water you come across once you get the ability to fish.
Wait! Don’t Kill Me!
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for killing ten friendly machines.
What Are You Doing?
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description: This trophy aims the camera to look under 2 B’s dress ten times.
Not That I Mind…
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for playing as 9S without pants for an hour.
Tips: To get 9S out of his pants, you have to make him self-destruct. Then, he will come back with very low health and without his pants on. You can either put him somewhere safe and wait out the hour or just play generally until the trophy unlocks.
Take a Look!
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy uses Emil’s shop for the first time.
Tips:Â Emil can be found in the City Ruins area after finishing the Forest Castle chapter. Once he appears, just find him, hit him with an attack to make him stop, and then talk to him to access his store.
Naughty Children
Rarity:Â Gold
Description:Â This trophy is for killing Emil.
Tips:Â Emil is a secret boss at the end of the game that you can fight during your second or third playthrough. Before you attempt to fight him, make sure that you are at least level 80, but the closer you are to level 99, the easier time you’ll have fighting him. Then, after you’ve accessed his store once, he will give you a hint as to where he lives. This gives you access to a Sewer Pip in the northwest part of the City Ruins. Go there and use the elevator to get to his residence. Go there and steal his mask. Then, talk to him and use his shop again, upon which he will mention putting his valuables in a locked chest since people have been stealing from him. Go back to his residence and hack the locked chest to steal from him again. Then, as you leave, he will attack you and put you into the boss fight.
Transcendent Being
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for witnessing every possible ending.
Tips:Â There are 26 possible endings that you’ll have to unlock for this trophy. Luckily, all of them after ending E are much tinier pieces that are unlocked by meeting certain conditions, and your save file will get a stamp for each ending you have achieved to help you keep track of them. Most of these endings are from failing specific interactions, but you can get them by using Chapter Select to make it easier. Just read ending Y before playing, as it is technically missable. How to get each end is listed below.
Ending | How to Unlock |
A | Completed by playing through the story. |
B | |
C | |
D | |
E | |
F | This ending is achieved by failing to repair your system after 9S gets knocked onto his back by Engels. |
G | Walk to the crane and abandon the mission at the start of your second playthrough. |
H | When you get the order to intercept the Goliath’s attack on the city, instead, walk from Pascal’s Village to the Amusement Park to abandon the mission. |
I | Defeat the boss in the Copied City and then leave 9S. |
J | Kill any machines within the Factory. |
K | After getting the e-mail titled Jackass: Fish, speak to commander at the Desert Camp to get a Mackerel. Eat the fish. |
L | Exit the Resistance Camp while it is being attacked. |
M | Don’t go to Pascal’s Village when attacked, and you are playing as A2. Instead, go to the back of the Resistance Camp. |
N | Kill all of the machines in Pascal’s Village. |
O | Don’t go to the City Ruins when leaving the Factory. Instead, turn around and head back to the Factory. |
P | Allow 2B to die from the virus. |
Q | Don’t go to 2 B’s near the commercial facility; instead, go to the desert area. |
R | Go berserk during your third playthrough in the room with Pascal and the children. |
S | When you attempt to get into the Tower, abandon Popola and Devola after they try protecting you. |
T | Remove your OS chip in your inventory. |
U | Use your self-destruct while in the Bunker. |
V | When you attempt to get into the Tower, fight alongside Popola and Devola instead of hacking. |
W | Die during the prologue. |
X | When the game switches to controlling A2 as 2B is infected with the virus, run away instead of helping her. |
Y | Allow Emil to self-destruct at the end of the boss fight during the quest Emill’s Determination. |
Z | Kill Pascal after you save him outside of the Resistance Camp. |
Lunar Tear
Rarity:Â Bronze
Description:Â This trophy is for visiting the place of memories.
Tips:Â After Emil starts roaming around in the City Ruins area, talk to him and go back to the Commercial Facility. Find a Lunar Tear on the ground next to a tree in the area and play through the side quest it gives you.
Conclusion
NieR: Automata is a unique experience that offers thrilling combat mechanics and a fascinating story. Getting its platinum trophy is also a fun challenge that doesn’t require too much grinding and has a ton of variety to keep the experience from getting old. There is tons going on, from riding animals to fishing and slaying hordes of machines. What’s not to love?
FAQs
Question: Is NieR: Automata hard?
Answer: The Hard and Very Hard difficulties can be very punishing, so you shouldn’t select those until at least your second or third playthrough. However, the Normal difficulty is very manageable, and if that’s too hard for your tastes, there is also an Easy difficulty setting.
Question: Does NieR: Automata still have performance issues on PC?
Answer: The PC version of NieR: Automata has received patches to fix the performance issues at launch, but there are still some common issues with that version.
Question: Do I need to play any other games before NieR: Automata?
Answer: No, NieR: Automata builds on the setting and story of other games in the series, but it can be understood entirely without playing those other titles.