NieR Collab
A Limited-Time Event
Debuting in the Untold Naraka patch in July 5 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. The PGR devs are fans of NieR, which is why the NieR team goes far and beyond the typical collab and really shines.
IMPORTANT!
Due to their nature as collab characters, 2B, 9S, and A2 — as well as their weapons — are available for a limited time only. If it follows the pattern of the CN release, they can only be obtained during Untold Naraka or during a ONE-TIME re-run.
Untold Naraka (NieR Patch) ALREADY COMPLETED IN GLOBAL:
July 5 2022 → August 15 2022
Evernight Beat (NieR Re-run) ALREADY COMPLETED IN GLOBAL:
December 22 2022 → January 18 2023
Quick Information
This section contains a brief summary of NieR collab details that are good to know. Scroll down to the FAQ section for more information. Characters
- 2B is acquired through gacha
- While her pity is 60 pulls as normal, there is a rebate on each 10-pull you do on NieR character banners; this works out at 10,500 BC/tickets spent in total, but you must prepare 11,250 BC/tickets for the final pull
- 9S and his alternate coating are acquired for free via login rewards
- A2 can be earned for free by getting her Shards from farming during the patch
- That said, if you plan to push her beyond S-Rank, you'll definitely want to pull her via gacha first so that those 50 Shards required to unlock her can be used to get her to SS-Rank immediately
- All of the NieR characters are comparable with other base S-Rank characters in terms of power and are not useless at S-Rank -- they're just extremely good at high Ranks
Gacha / Spending
- Collab banners do NOT share pity with regular banners (but do share a pity with collab re-run banners)
- The banners for both NieR characters and NieR weapons are limited to the duration of Untold Naraka (and Evernight Beat, the re-run patch)
- The currency used to pull for NieR characters and their weapons are Collab Construct R&D Tickets and Collab Weapon R&D Tickets respectively
- These can be acquired either through packs in the cash shop or by converting BC 1:1
- After the collab, these tickets will be converted into Event Construct R&D Tickets and Target Weapon R&D Tickets
- 2B's alternate coating is the only one that costs money on the first NieR collab run
- All of the characters' alternate coatings will cost RC RainbowCard in the re-run
- Each characters' 5★ weapon comes with them for free upon acquiring that character, but all 6★ weapons must be acquired through gacha
Misc
- The NieR team and standard Physical team serve very different purposes and aren't generally worth comparing; they're both good to have
Team Composition
The way the NieR team is used depends on how much you've invested into each character.
Full Team Rotation
Either at high investment (all characters at SSS-Rank or above with 6★ weapons) or at low investment (all characters at S-Rank with 5★ weapons), this composition can be used. In this setup, each character will take turns swapping onto the field.
A2 Solo Carry
This is the composition you'll usually use when A2 is at SSS-Rank with her 6★ weapon and both 2B and 9S are at S-Rank with 5★ weapons. A2 will be on the field at all times.
Philip II x4 / Lantern Festival: Reunion x2 OR Richelieu x2 (if no Lantern Festival: Reunion)
Should generally remain off-field.
Frequently Asked Questions
The gameplay style of the NieR team is a little different than most. Each character's skills and weapons are loaded with extra effects on top of their Rank passive abilities. 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?
- Leader Bonus Effect is doubled. A2 can enter Berserk Mode with 40% POD: Shield gauge, as well as gaining 10% Attack DMG increase. Press and hold the Basic Attack button within 2s of dodging to unleash an empowered attack, dealing 370% Physical DMG. Press the button again to unleash a follow-up attack, dealing 720% Physical DMG (DMG is scaled with Basic Attack skill level). All Yellow Orbs will be consumed to charge the lance, with each Yellow Orb dealing 100% Physical DMG (Up to 300%), and granting 3% POD: Shield. Consuming any amount of Yellow Orb for the charge grants an increased 10% Physical DMG for 15s.
What makes A2 so good?
- 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 (activated by holding down the dodge button) which pulls groups of enemies in behind her, charging her Shield gauge at the same time
An Amazing Blue Orb Skill
- Her Blue Orb skill is a ranged attack that pulls enemies into its center from quite far away
- A2 automatically uses a 3-Ping version of this attack upon switch-in
- At SSS-Rank, her Blue Orb not only sucks enemies in, it also stuns them for a few seconds
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 it's easy to maintain her Shield, A2 can endure a lot of damage
- In Berserk Mode, each 3-Ping also causes POD to fire off missiles which inflict 20% Physical DEF down on enemies; with the full NieR team, this effect is doubled to 40%, even at S-Rank
- At SSS-Rank, the base Physical DEF down inflicted by POD is 40%, and with the full NieR team, this is doubled to 80%
- The last 20% Physical DEF down needed to achieve a full 100% can be gained from Catherine
- At SS-Rank, POD will shoot missiles every 4 seconds as long as her Berserk Mode is active, even when A2 is off-field, as long as she went into Berserk Mode before you swap characters (Note: Berserk Mode can turn off even when she is off-field once her shield gauge is empty, so it is best to swap her out when the gauge is high)
- In other words, at SSS-Rank, you can achieve 100% uptime on a 100% Physical DEF down debuff
What does 2B do?
- All of 2B's Orb attacks grant her super armor
- At SS-Rank, she gains the following passive: When 2B, 9S or A2 activates Signature Move, 9S and A2's Critical Rate increases by 10% and 2B's Critical Rate increases by 25% for 12 seconds
- This 25% increase in CRIT is added to 2B's Signature Move the moment she uses it, turning her Signature Move into a nuke
- Striking enemies with her Yellow Orb will reduce their ATK by 60% for 12 seconds
- 2B automatically uses a 3-Ping version of this attack upon switch-in
- When she enters her Core Passive, 2B's basic attacks, Yellow Orb skills, and Red Orb skills gain sword waves
Why is 9S significant?
- 9S does not need to generate Orbs by attacking; he gets them passively over time when he is on-field
- S-Rank/SS-Rank: While he doesn't generate Orbs off-field, his Orbs do regenerate during his QTE as he then counts as being on-field -- two Orbs per QTE (one at 0s, one at 2.5s)
- Each time 9S activates his Core Passive, he reduces his own next swap cooldown by 1 second, up to a total of 4 seconds
- His SS-Rank passive allows his Blue Orb skill and QTE to give a Physical DMG increase of 10% for 8 seconds to 2B and A2
- SSS-Rank further increases this to 20% for 12 seconds, allows him to generate Orbs off-field, and improves his Signal Orb generation from one every 2.5s to one every 1.5s
What does an average battle using the NieR team look like?
- You will be constantly swapping between characters
- Leader + Starter: 2B
- Have A2 enter Berserk Mode as soon as possible
- Switch to 9S and use all of his Orbs and Core Passive
- Switch to 2B and use all of her Orbs (and Signature Move if applicable for SS-Rank 2B's effect to trigger)
- Switch back into A2, who will still be in Berserk Mode if she was in it when swapped out
- Repeat
A2 Carry:
This section features miscellaneous elements of the NieR event specifically. DISCLAIMER: The Global version may receive changes to the event that make it completely different, so please keep that in mind.
What differences are there between the initial run and the re-run?
- 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 Basic Construct R&D Tickets
- In the re-run, all characters must be acquired via gacha and all coatings must be bought with Rainbow Card
Will Global get the NieR re-run?
The Global re-run takes place during the Evernight Beat patch.
- 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
- The JP version got the NieR re-run later during Reveries With A Whale
How does the free Shard system work? Does it return in the re-run?
- 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
Evernight Beat 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 collab tickets; this means that Event Construct R&D Tickets will NOT work on NieR banners, but BC can still be converted into these collab tickets.
Collab Construct R&D Tickets are used to pull for 2B, 9S, and A2 via gacha
- Any excess will be converted to Event Construct R&D Tickets after the collab is over
What kind of Tickets are used to pull NieR weapons via gacha?
The NieR weapons require special collab tickets; this means that Target Weapon R&D Tickets will NOT work on NieR banners, but BC can still be converted into these collab tickets.
- Like all other 6★ weapons, the targeted NieR weapon has an 80% chance of being the weapon you pity
- However, the other two possible 6★ weapons on each NieR weapon banner belong to the other two NieR characters, meaning you are guaranteed a 6★ NieR weapon at pity, even if it is not your targeted one
Collab Weapon R&D Tickets are used to pull for NieR weapons via gacha
- Any excess will be converted to Target Weapon R&D Tickets after the collab is over
Why does it cost less BC to pull for NieR characters than other characters?
This also occurs during the re-run, and the pity count carries over from Untold Naraka as well.
What will happen with leftover collab tickets after the event?
- Collab Construct R&D Tickets will be converted into Event Construct R&D Tickets
- Collab Weapon R&D Tickets will be converted into 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 (Evernight Beat)
What special packs are available to purchase for RC in the Shop?
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?
- 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
Evernight Beat Re-run:
- All characters must be obtained via gacha
I'm F2P — Is the NieR Team worth it at S-Rank?
- 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
- The total price of all three S-Rank NieR characters is only 10,500 BC even if you hit pity for 2B, as long as you earn 9S and A2 for free during Untold Naraka
- A very solid team for new players
- 2B is extremely necessary for the other two to be good, so please think of her as a must-have for the team
- Since she is only available for a limited time, pulling 2B is recommended for collection purposes (and to empower the rest of the team)
- Long-term F2P players are more likely to have enough BC to get A2's 6★ weapon
- The NieR team remains a strong pick in Physical War Zone, Babel Tower, and Norman Revival Plan 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
Since I'm F2P, should I skip any characters to obtain 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.
Can I skip 2B and just use A2 and 9S, since those two are free?
Can you spend Phantom Pain Scars on Shards for NieR characters?
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 cheapest way get A2 to SSS-Rank?
Untold Naraka Sources of Shards:
- 299 RC Bundle: 30 A2 Shards
- 28 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 10,500 BC acquiring a copy of A2 from gacha (for every 10-pull you do on a NieR banner, you receive 750 Collab Construct R&D 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 327 RC in total 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?
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+
- A2 Cheapest Total Cost: 327 RC and 31,500 BC
- SSS from original run in Untold Naraka: 10,500 BC for gacha pity, 327 RC packs, and the free 50 event shop Shards
- SSS+ during re-run: Pull two copies via gacha using a maximum of 21,000 BC
- 9S Cheapest Total Cost: 299 RC and 42,000 BC
- SSS from original run in Untold Naraka: Login reward, 299 RC pack, and 21,000 BC for two gacha pities
- SSS+ during re-run: Pull two copies via gacha using a maximum of 21,000 BC
- 2B Cheapest Total Cost: 299 RC and 52,500 BC
- SSS from original run in Untold Naraka: 31,500 BC for three gacha pities and 299 RC pack
- SSS+ during re-run: Pull two copies via gacha using a maximum of 21,000 BC
The NieR team's effectiveness is 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 bare minimum requirement to make the NieR team powerful?
The following is a guideline of what ranks and weapons you can add to strengthen the NieR team, with #1 being the weakest and #6 being the strongest. Each number assumes you also have what was mentioned in the previous number (for example, #3 assumes you have #2's SSS-Rank A2 with 6★ weapon, in addition to SS-Rank 9S).
- Base NieR:
All S-Rank with 5★ weapons - A2 Solo Carry:
SSS-Rank A2 with 6★ weapon - A2 Solo Carry (Enhanced):
SS-Rank 9S (Blue Orb/QTE gives Physical DMG increase by 10% for 8 seconds to A2/2B) - Full Team Rotation:
9S 6★ weapon and up to SSS-Rank 2B with her 6★ weapon - Full Team Rotation (Enhanced):
SSS-Rank 9S - Full Team Rotation (Ultimate):
SSS+ Rank A2 and SSS+ Rank 2B (and SSS+ Rank 9S if possible)
What is the NieR team's main role?
- The NieR team has a strong performance in Physical War Zone
- On release, they are even strong in off-element (non-Physical) War Zone
- Up until the debut of Liv: Empyrea in The Surviving Lucem, the NieR team is often stronger than Fire teams in the Fire stages of War Zone
- SSS-Rank A2 with her Signature Weapon is enough for Fire War Zone before the Fire team's revival
- While other future characters handle off-element and even Physical War Zone for a few patches in the future, The Ark Beyond patch re-balances the game mode to discourage the use of off-element teams, and the NieR team becomes the go-to for Physical War Zone once again
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 Revival Plan
- Norman Revival Plan is 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 can feel a lot less pleasant to use
What does the NieR team's future look like?
- About six months after Untold Naraka, Liv: Empyrea releases in The Surviving Lucem
- Notably, Liv: Empyrea makes the Fire team good, which removes the need to bring NieR to Fire War Zone
Recitativo di Fantasia's Rework of War Zone
- During the patch Recitativo di 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: Flambeau, Liv: Empyrea, Nanami: Starfarer)
The Ark Beyond's Rework of War Zone
- Once again War Zone sees some changes that impact the NieR team; this time, the change makes characters of the appropriate element get a significant damage boost
- In essence, this discourages the use of off-element War Zone runs
- As a result, the NieR team becomes a great choice in Physical War Zone
Is the NieR team restricted from use in certain content?
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.
At what Rank does the NieR team become better in Fire War Zone than the Fire team?
2B, 9S, and A2 will all receive their own alternate coatings. Lucia: Crimson Abyss may receive a Drakengard-inspired one as well.
How do I get each NieR character's coatings?
- 2B's Revealing Outfit: 68 RC
- A2's Destroyer Outfit: 3000 currency in the event shop (free)
- 9S's Young Man's Outfit: 14-Day login reward (free)
Evernight Beat Re-run:
- 2B's Revealing Outfit: 68 RC
- A2's Destroyer Outfit: 68 RC
- 9S's Young Man's Outfit: 68 RC
2B was censored in the CN version — will she be censored in Global?
Please note that 2B's alternate coating, Revealing Outfit, is slightly different in PGR compared to its appearance in NieR: Automata. In all version of PGR, parts of the outfit are torn and damaged, while other parts have more coverage (specifically around the bust and back of the underwear). This design direction remains in the Global version.
Will Lucia: Crimson Abyss' Drakengard-inspired coating release during Untold Naraka?
- In CN, this coating for Lucia: Crimson Abyss released during Untold Naraka
- In TW, the coating released during Echo Aria instead
- In JP, the coating has yet to be released at all
In both CN and TW, this coating was obtained through a coating gacha. Players could choose to either spend 10,000 BC or 328 RC in order to obtain special red coating gacha tickets. These tickets could in turn be used on the coating banner.
While the 10,000 BC option will allow even F2P players to participate, the 328 RC option is a significantly better deal for those willing to spend.
Without seeing them in action, it's difficult to appreciate the NieR team to the fullest. This section contains various YouTube videos to help show them off.
COMPREHENSIVE PGR x NIER COLLAB GUIDE
— Rexlent
A2 and Nier Pull Guide in 11 Minutes
— Spider 2B
5 Minute Guide to 9S
— Spider 2B