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. Due to their nature as collab characters, 2B, 9S, and A2 — as well as their weapons — are available for a limited time only. They can only be obtained during Untold Naraka or during their single re-run in one of the patches following that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question #11
Will Global get the NieR re-run?
The CN version got the NieR re-run during Evernight Beat
More than likely, Global will get the re-run a few 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.
Question #12
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
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
Question #14
What special packs are available to purchase for RC 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.
Question #15
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.
Question #16
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.
Question #17
Why does it cost less BC 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.
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.
Question #02
I'm F2P — Is the NieR Team worth it at S-Rank?
For players who begin PGR close to the start of the NieR event:
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 10,500 BC
They will all come with their 5★ weapons upon acquisition
It may be a fun beginner team, but they will fall off quickly compared to other characters
For veteran players:
F2P Nier team (all S-Rank with 5★ weapons) is an underwhelming composition in general
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
In PGR, the more teams you have for Babel Tower and other content, the better, so the NieR team has that going for them regardless of rank. That said, there are some events in the far future that the NieR team is not allowed to participate in, so keep that in mind.
Question #03
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.
Question #04
Can I skip 2B and just use A2 and 9S, since those two are free?
Without 2B, both A2 and 9S are significantly weaker as their passive buffs will be halved [MENTION SPECIFICS]. 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: Arctic. Most of the time, however, they function as a team.
Question #13
Can you spend Phantom Pain Scars on Shards for NieR characters?
No.
Question #05
What is the bare minimum requirement to make the NieR team powerful?
This will make A2 herself quite powerful, which is decent on a tight budget:
The most important character to invest in is A2. Ensuring she gets to SSS-Rank and gets her 6★ weapon before anything else will benefit you the most. Despite being a Tank, A2 is the main damage dealer of the NieR Team, but the others can be switched in occasionally as well if they are at least SS-Rank with their 6★ weapons.
Question #06
What is the cheapest way get A2 to SSS-Rank?
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.
Spend up to 10,500 BC acquiring an extra copy of A2 from gacha (for every 10-pull you do on a NieR banner, you receive 750 NieR-specific event Tickets)
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:
Question #07
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
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 already gotten some JP-specific versions of coatings, so there is no reason to believe her default outfit will be censored.
However, even in the JP version, 2B's alternate coating, Revealing Outfit, was edited when compared with NieR: Automata, so please expect that to remain altered.
RC in the Shop?
