NieR Collab



Debuting in the Untold Naraka patch about one year into the game's lifespan (estimated GL release June 2022), the NieR: Automata characters make up a potent Physical team. If you have ever played NieR: Automata, you'll notice the care and attention to detail that was put into making 2B, 9S, and A2 feel natural in Punishing: Gray Raven. Sprinting, PODs, even the hacking minigame — it's all here. Rather than being average like in many collabs, the NieR team shines in PGR; the devs are fans of NieR: Automata and PGR is inspired by it, after all.


 * -|NieR Team Gameplay=

The gameplay style of the NieR team is a little different than most, and each character's skills and weapons are absolutely loaded with extra effects — even without counting their Rank passives. This team can do a lot with very little, and the more you invest, the more you get out of them.

Why is A2's Signature Weapon so important?
One of its many effects is that it allows A2 to do a charged multi-hit attack after every dodge; simply hold down the basic attack button after dodging. The fun thing about this is that in spite of how it looks, each hit counts as a basic attack, and therefore it generates Orbs.

What makes A2 so good?

 * She functions as the main DPS of the NieR team in spite of being a Tank, which makes her extremely durable
 * Her Blue Orb skill is a somewhat ranged gravity-type attack that pulls enemies into its center from quite a long range
 * At SSS-Rank, her Blue Orb not only sucks enemies in, it also stuns them for a few seconds
 * All of the NieR characters can sprint at any time continuously for no cost, just like in NieR: Automata
 * A2 also has a glide that lasts a few seconds which pulls groups of enemies in behind her

Her Signature Move lets her enter Berserk Mode
 * Berserk Mode is similar to Kamui: Tenebrion's Dark Form in that it lasts even when A2 switches with another character
 * This grants her Super Armor, which prevents her from being stunned
 * Berserk Mode consumes her Shield, but the Shield can be restored either through her glide or through the use of 3-Ping attacks
 * Because of how easy it is to maintain this Shield, A2 should have few issues with survivability
 * In Berserk Mode, each 3-Ping also causes POD to fire off missles which inflict 20% defense down on enemies; with the full NieR team, this effect is doubled to 40%, even at S-Rank
 * At SSS-Rank, the base defense down inflicted by POD is 40%, and with the full NieR team, this is doubled to 80%
 * The last 20% defense down needed to achieve a full 100% can be gained from Catherine
 * At SS-Rank, POD will shoot missiles every 4 seconds, even when A2 is off-field, as long as she went into Berserk Mode before you swap characters
 * This means that the defense down caused by POD will persist infinitely while you are using 2B or 9S
 * In other words, at SSS-Rank, you can achieve 100% uptime on a 100% defense down debuff

Why is 9S significant?

 * When 9S activates his Core Passive, he reduces the character switching cooldown by 1 second, up to a total of 4 seconds
 * He does not need to generate Orbs by attacking; he gets them over time

What does an average battle using the NieR team look like?
Even at S-Rank:
 * You will be constantly swapping between characters
 * Lead with A2
 * Have A2 enter Berserk Mode as soon as possible
 * Switch to 2B and use all of her Orbs
 * Switch to 9S and reduce the cooldown of character swapping with his Core Passive
 * Switch back into A2, who will still be in Berserk Mode if she was in it when swapped out
 * Repeat


 * -|NieR Event=

This section features miscellaneous elements of the NieR event specifically.

What differences are there between the initial run and the re-run?
The re-run features every single thing the original run of the event features, with a few exceptions: you cannot farm A2 Shards in the event shop or acquire 9S for free from a login bonus.
 * In Untold Naraka, 2B will be added about halfway through the event, but in the re-run, she will be added to the gacha pool immediately
 * The pity carries over between Untold Naraka and the re-run
 * The story will need to be replayed during the re-run and timegates will still be present
 * In the event shop, A2's Shards and coating will be replaced with Item-BasicConstructRnDTicket.png Basic Construct R&D Tickets
 * In the re-run, all characters must be acquired via gacha and all coatings must be bought with Item-RainbowCard.png

Will Global get the NieR re-run?

 * The CN version got the NieR re-run during Evernight Beat
 * The TW version got the NieR re-run earlier during Inscription of Labyrinth due to controversy

More than likely, Global will get the re-run several months after Untold Naraka. We should have a more concrete idea of when the re-run will occur when the JP version gets theirs. See Patches for a list of estimated patch release dates.

Regardless of when the re-run falls, it will occur right before a major character drops: either Vera: Flare or Liv: Solaeter. Knowing these characters will be on the horizon at that point may effect your pull plans.

How does the free Shard system work? Does it return in the re-run?
Untold Naraka:
 * When you evolve a NieR character to SS-Rank, you receive a bonus of 30 Shards for that character
 * When evolving a NieR character to SSS-Rank, you receive a bonus of 60 Shards for that character

NieR Re-run:
 * Pulling a single NieR character from gacha rewards you with 30 additional bonus Shards
 * This works up to three times for each NieR character

What kind of Tickets are used to pull NieR characters via gacha?
The NieR characters require special NieR Tickets; this means that Event Construct R&D Tickets will NOT work on NieR banners, but BC can still be converted into these special NieR Tickets.

What kind of Tickets are used to pull NieR weapons via gacha?
The NieR weapons require special NieR Tickets; this means that Target Weapon R&D Tickets will NOT work on NieR banners, but BC can still be converted into these special NieR Tickets.


 * Like all other 6★ weapons, the targeted NieR weapon has an 80% chance of being the weapon you pity
 * The other two possible 6★ weapons on each NieR weapon banner belongs to the other two NieR characters, however

Why does it cost less Item-BlackCard.png to pull for NieR characters than other characters?
Although each NieR character still has a pity of 60 pulls and technically costs the usual 15,000 BC when converting them directly, each 10-pull done on a NieR banner will award you with a bonus of 750 special NieR Tickets. If you have to go to pity for a character, this will mean you save 4,500 BC/NieR Tickets and technically only spend 10,500 BC/NieR Tickets.

This also occurs during the re-run, and the pity count carries over from Untold Naraka as well.

Note: This bonus does NOT apply to NieR weapons.

What will happen with leftover NieR Tickets after the event?
Don't worry, they will be converted to regular tickets when the event ends.


 * The NieR tickets used for characters will be converted into Item-EventConstructRnDTicket.png Event Construct R&D Tickets
 * The NieR tickets used for weapons will be converted into Item-TargetWeaponRnDTicket.png Target Weapon R&D Tickets

How do I obtain each character's weapon?

 * 5★ NieR weapons are automatically obtained once you acquire the relevant character
 * 6★ NieR weapons are obtained via gacha, but only during Untold Naraka and the re-run patch

What special packs are available to purchase for Item-RainbowCard.png in the Shop?
It's impossible to give a definitive answer as different versions of the game may have different packs. That said, there will more than likely be options to purchase Shards for each character in the Shop.


 * -|F2P Concerns=

If you are a true Free-to-Play player, you may have seen an upcoming patch that contains three S-Rank characters preceded by a different S-Rank character and started to worry. While all three NieR characters are S-Rank, they do not come with an S-Rank price tag.

Are 2B, 9S, and A2 free?
Untold Naraka:
 * 9S is free from an event login reward
 * A2 is free, but must be farmed and claimed before the event shop closes
 * 2B can only be acquired through gacha, but isn't available until the second half of the event

Re-run:
 * All characters must be obtained via gacha

Worth noting is that the currency used to get the free A2 copy is also used for materials and her own coating, which returns later on in the re-run, but costs RC.

I'm F2P — Is the NieR Team worth it at S-Rank?
The NieR team absolutely competes with all other S-Ranks. Keep expectations grounded; you generally won't be topping the charts with base S-Ranks since the competition will inevitably be using SSS+ Rank characters, but that by no means infers that any given character is bad at S-Rank. S-Rank characters are great at clearing content, and the NieR team is no different.


 * Base S-Rank NieR team with 5★ weapons is stronger or at least just as formidable as any base S-Rank team of the same level/investment
 * They will all come with their 5★ weapons upon acquisition
 * Assuming you are able to acquire 9S and A2 from the event, then after pulling 2B, you will find yourself with a decent squad for the price of only up to Item-BlackCard.png,500 BC
 * A very solid team for new players
 * It is good to get 2B for collection purposes
 * If you are a day 1 F2P player, you may be comfortable grabbing A2's 6★ weapon
 * If you're both F2P and invested in the meta, you may want to look forward at this point and not over-invest in the NieR team (but again, grabbing 2B should be fine)
 * The NieR team remains a strong pick in Physical War Zone, Babel Tower, and Norman War even after the arrival of future characters and various reworks
 * This team remains great for casual players because A2 is so powerful and difficult to kill
 * In PGR, the more teams you have for Babel Tower and other content, the better.

Don't count them out for being S-Rank. There are no useless S-Rank characters. That said, 2B is extremely necessary for the other two to be good, so please think of her as a must-have for the team.

Since I'm F2P, should I skip any characters to obtain 2B?
2B costs 45 rolls at maximum (10,500 BC) to obtain, and getting the required BC will be simple in Untold Naraka as it falls around the anniversary of the game. There should be no need to skip any characters. That said, it might be very tight for pure F2P players, but do your best to get 2B.

Even if you can only dedicate a certain amount of BC during Untold Naraka, the re-run banner carries over the Untold Naraka banner pity. In addition, the re-run should also offer you 30 Shards of any character you acquire through gacha banners, which would net you an instant SS-Rank 2B. If worst comes to worst, you may want to consider rolling for 2B as much as you can in Untold Naraka and then finishing your pity during the re-run if you didn't get her.

All that said, it is worth noting that while every other character will be obtainable in PGR forever, the NieR team is very temporary. Please factor that into your considerations.

Can I skip 2B and just use A2 and 9S, since those two are free?
See above; 2B should be obtainable.

Without 2B, both A2 and 9S are significantly weaker as their passive buffs will be cut in half. The NieR team functions much better as a full set. That said, you may need to split them in some scenarios, such as Babel Tower, to take advantage of A2's capabilities as a solo character; you may even mix her with characters like Rosetta: Rigor. Most of the time, however, they function as a team. Consider 2B a must-have if you want to enjoy this team.

Can you spend Item-PhantomPainScar.png Phantom Pain Scars on Shards for NieR characters?
No. You are free to save your Phantom Pain Cage currency for other characters.


 * -|Spender Tips=

The NieR team has a much smaller price tag than any other S-Rank in the game. This isn't to say that they are cheap by any means, but they are certainly more affordable for the average spender. This is largely due to gacha bonuses and all the Shard packs being sold in the Shop.

What is the bare minimum requirement to make the NieR team powerful?
The most important character to invest in is A2. Despite being a Tank, A2 is the main damage dealer of the NieR Team.

The priority for strengthening the NieR team therefore is as follows:
 * A2's 6★ weapon > A2 at SS-Rank > A2 at SSS-Rank
 * 9S at SS-Rank is more valuable than 2B at SS-Rank
 * 9S's weapon is not that valuable
 * 2B's valuable evolutions are SSS-Rank and SSS+ Rank; until then, she is just a normal character and not the mighty Signature Move user that people enjoy using

The following will make A2 herself quite powerful, which is decent on a tight budget:
 * SSS-Rank A2 with her 6★ weapon, Weapon-Type4OLanceKai-Icon.png-4O Lance Kai
 * S-Rank 2B
 * S-Rank 9S

What is the cheapest way get A2 to SSS-Rank?
FOR THIS SECTION, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT PRICES AND/OR BUNDLES MAY CHANGE COMPLETELY FOR THE GLOBAL VERSION.

In Untold Naraka, there are some bundles in the Shop that go a long way to mitigating the cost of getting A2 to SSS-Rank.

Untold Naraka Sources of Shards:
 * Item-RainbowCard.png 328 RC Bundle: 30 A2 Shards
 * Item-RainbowCard.png 30 RC Bundle: 10 A2 Shards
 * Event Shop (Free): 50 A2 Shards
 * As a part of the event, when you evolve a NieR character to SS-Rank, you receive 30 Shards for the evolved character as a bonus

With that in mind, follow these steps to get SSS-Rank A2:


 * Spend up to Item-BlackCard.png,500 BC acquiring a copy of A2 from gacha (for every 10-pull you do on a NieR banner, you receive 750 NieR-specific event Tickets)
 * IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PULL HER FROM GACHA FIRST; OTHERWISE SHE TAKES 50 SHARDS TO UNLOCK AND IT WILL COST YOU EXTRA
 * Spend 358 RC on the two A2 Shard bundles in the cash shop
 * Earn the 50 A2 Shards from the Untold Naraka event shop
 * Evolve A2 to SS-Rank, which will reward you with an additional 30 Shards
 * You should now have the required amount of Shards to evolve A2 to SSS-Rank

As a reminder, here are the RC prices in the Global version:



What is the cheapest way to SSS+ the NieR team?
Although it's still expensive to get the NieR team to SSS+ Rank, it is significantly cheaper than maxing out other characters due to the bundles that appear in the shop and other bonuses. The cheapest way to SSS+ Rank all three characters is to take advantage of both Untold Naraka and the re-run patch.

A2:
 * Use the SSS-Rank A2 method from the above question during Untold Naraka; you should have 60 Shards leftover and will need only 120 more Shards to get A2 to SSS+ Rank
 * During the re-run, acquire two copies of A2 via gacha to get 60 Shards, and receive an additional 60 Shards as a bonus

2B and 9S:
 * During Untold Naraka, get both of them to SSS-Rank via gacha
 * With 60 Shards leftover for both, acquire two copies of 2B and 9S via gacha to get 60 Shards, and receive an additional 60 Shards as a bonus for each

The monetary cost of SSS+: 2B: 328 RC and 52,500 BC (SSS from original run using 328 rc pack, and 31,500 bc, so 2 pity rolls during rerun using 42,000 bc)
 * A2: 358 RC and 31,500 BC (SSS from original run using 358 rc packs and 10,500 bc and the free 50 event shop shards, so 2 pity pulls during rerun using 21,000 bc)
 * 9S: 328 RC and 42,000 BC (SSS from original run by login reward, 328 rc pack, and 21,000 bc, so 2 pity rolls during rerun using 21,000 bc)

Please keep in mind that the SSS+ NieR team is not necessary for most players and is only something you should consider if you love NieR: Automata dearly or are a completionist.


 * -|Meta Analysis=

The NieR team's ability is extremely subjective and will come down to a variety of factors — their Rank, their weapons, their Memories, and even your own gameplay ability.

What is the NieR team's main role?
War Zone:
 * The NieR team has a strong performance in Physical War Zone
 * It is even strong in off-element War Zone to begin with, but future changes make it fall off
 * This is why, due to the weakness of the Fire team, it's common to hear about the NieR team being used in the Fire stages of War Zone in particular
 * SSS-Rank A2 with her Signature Weapon is enough for Fire War Zone before the Fire team's revival (the debut of Liv: Solaeter in The Survival Lucem)

Babel Tower:
 * The NieR team is always strong here
 * A2 has extremely good survivability
 * The NieR team is not necessary here, however, as any veteran player can max Babel Tower even without the NieR Team

Phantom Pain Cage: Ultimate Zone
 * Phantom Pain Cage Ultimate bosses are divided into "Gen 1" and "Gen 2" bosses
 * The NieR team does amazingly well against Gen 1 bosses but horrible against Gen 2 (stat-related reasons)

Norman War:
 * An important (future) game mode that is made much easier in Physical stages with the NieR team
 * Comparatively, a Physical team with SS-Rank Lucia: Crimson Abyss and SS-Rank Rosetta: Rigor feels a lot more painful

On release, SSS-Rank NieR team (all three characters at SSS-Rank) can basically do every single War Zone stage regardless of element as well as a majority of Phantom Pain Cage: Ultimate Zone fights. These won't give you peak scores, but it should be good enough to retain Hero in War Zone and 1% ranking in Phantom Pain Cage, which will secure you the highest rewards. Note: skill and proper builds are also necessary for this; SSS-Ranking all three characters is not an instant win on its own.

I want a little look into the future state of things so that I can decide how much I want to invest in the NieR team.
The Survival Lucem and the Addition of Liv: Solaeter


 * About six months after Untold Naraka, Liv: Solaeter releases in The Survival Lucem
 * Notably, Liv: Solaeter makes the Fire team good, which removes the need to bring NieR to Fire War Zone

Recitative de Fantasia's Rework of War Zone


 * During the patch Recitative de Fantasia, there is a huge, stat-related War Zone rework; this greatly impacts all Physical characters and severely weakens them in off-element War Zone stages
 * Emphasis: ALL Physical characters are hurt by these changes
 * Physical becomes the worst team in War Zone at this point and the easiest zone to go off-element on
 * As of Her Last Bow in CN, equal investment Fire team scores similar (and even higher) compared to equal investment NieR team, but that is very far into the future and a result of great new additions to the Fire team (Roland: Theatrical Flame, Liv: Solaeter, Nanami: Remote Star)

The NieR re-run will more than likely fall just before The Survival Lucem, the patch where Liv: Solaeter debuts, and immediately after that patch, the War Zone rework patch occurs.

Is the NieR team restricted from use in certain content?
The NieR team cannot be used in Guild content. Minor, but worth noting.

How does the NieR team compare with the other Physical team?
The Physical team featuring Lucia: Crimson Abyss and Rosetta: Rigor has extremely high burst damage. They do not have the consistent, non-stop DPS that the NieR team has when compared Rank for Rank. In a drawn-out fight, NieR wins out. When it comes to extremely fast and high damage, the other Physical team wins.

It is important to emphasize that different teams have different strengths.

Regardless of which way opinions swing on this matter, it is a fact that having more characters is better in PGR. There are many gameplay modes where having multiple teams is important, and you will often find yourself wishing you had even more characters. You will likely find yourself using both the standard Physical team as well as the NieR team.

At what Rank does the NieR team become better in Fire War Zone than the Fire team?
SSS-Rank A2 with her 6★ Weapon is enough for Fire War Zone before the Fire team's revival (the debut of Liv: Solaeter in The Survival Lucem). 2B and 9S can remain at S-Rank with 5★ weapons.


 * -|Coatings=

How do I get each NieR character's coatings?
Untold Naraka:
 * 2B's Revealing Outfit: Item-RainbowCard.png RC
 * A2's Destroyer Outfit: 3000 currency in the event shop (free)
 * 9S's Young Man Outfit: 14-Day login reward (free)

Re-run:
 * 2B's Revealing Outfit: Item-RainbowCard.png RC
 * A2's Destroyer Outfit: Item-RainbowCard.png RC
 * 9S's Young Man Outfit: Item-RainbowCard.png RC

If you miss the free coatings the first time around, your only option will be to pay for them during the re-run.

2B was censored in the CN version — will she be censored in Global?
While 2B's underwear was changed to be less risqué in CN, it was not censored in the JP version. Global has historically followed suit with the JP version's coatings, so there is no reason to believe that 2B's default outfit will be censored in Global.

However, even in the JP version, 2B's alternate coating, Revealing Outfit, is different when compared with its appearance in NieR: Automata; cutouts around the bust section and underwear are filled in with material, while other parts of the outfit are torn away and damaged. Please expect that to remain altered in Global.

2B's appearance in PGR JP