Details about Punishing: Gray Raven's upcoming collaboration with the hit video game NieR: Automata.
· Estimated GL Release: July 05 2022
· Obtainable Characters: 2B, 9S, A2
· Team Element: Physical (100%)
A Limited-Time Event
Debuting in the Untold Naraka patch in early July 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.
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.
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.
One of its many effects is that it allows A2 to do a charged multi-hit attack after every dodge that can also increase her shield gauge; simply hold down the basic attack button after dodging. Better yet, each hit counts as a basic attack and therefore generates Orbs.
What makes A2 so good?
A2 is a Tank-type character but functions as the main DPS of the NieR team. She deals high damage and is extremely durable.
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)
This means that the Physical DEF 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% Physical DEF down debuff
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
At SSS-Rank, each sword wave increases 2B's and 9S's Energy by 5, allowing them to use Signature Moves even more frequently (this passive also generates A2's shield gauge by 1% on each sword wave hit, prolonging A2's off-field Berserk Mode duration)
Why is 9S significant?
9S does not need to generate Orbs by attacking; he gets them passively over time
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 Signature Weapon also impacts this by additionally reducing 2B's and A2's next swap cooldown by 1 second, with no upper limit
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, as well as giving him even faster Signal Orb generation
What does an average battle using the NieR team look like?
Base S-Rank and Full Team Carry:
You will be constantly swapping between characters
To figure out which style works best for you, check out "What is the bare minimum requirement to make the NieR team powerful?" under the Meta Analysis tab.
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?
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
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: Garnet or Liv: Empyrea. Knowing these characters will be on the horizon at that point may affect your pull plans.
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
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
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
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 spent on a NieR banner will be rewarded 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.
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 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.
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.
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?
Yes, the NieR team is worth having even at base S-Rank — they are just as competitive as any other base S-Rank. 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
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 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.
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.
It is worth noting that while every other character will be obtainable in PGR forever, the NieR team is only available for a limited time. 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 for many F2P players. Even if it looks dire for your funds, please remember that she is a limited character.
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 make the most of 9S and A2.
Can you spend Phantom Pain Scars on Shards for NieR characters?
No. You are free to save your Phantom Pain Cage currency for other 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?
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.
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+
FOR THIS SECTION, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT PRICES AND/OR BUNDLES MAY CHANGE COMPLETELY FOR THE GLOBAL VERSION.
A2 Cheapest Total Cost: 358 RC and 31,500 BC
SSS from original run in Untold Naraka:10,500 BC for gacha pity, 358 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: 328 RC and 42,000 BC
SSS from original run in Untold Naraka: Login reward, 328 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: 328 RC and 52,500 BC
SSS from original run in Untold Naraka:31,500 BC for three gacha pities and 328 RC pack
SSS+ during re-run: Pull two copies via gacha using a maximum of 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.
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 most important character to invest in is A2. Despite being a Tank, A2 is the main damage dealer of the NieR Team.
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).
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
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. Note: skill and proper builds are also necessary for this; SSS-Ranking all three characters is not an instant win on its own.
What does the NieR team's future look like?
The Survival Lucem and the Addition of Liv: Solaeter
Notably, Liv: Empyrea 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 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
In summary, the NieR team will be one of the best squads for about 6 months after they are introduced. The NieR re-run will most likely be followed by The Surviving Lucem patch, which will power up the Fire Team. The War Zone rework happens after that, which weakens all Physical War Zone teams. Then in The Ark Beyond, off-element War Zone becomes bad and NieR shines in Physical stages once again.
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?
Ultimately, it is better not to compare them at all.
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: Empyrea in The Surviving Lucem). 2B and 9S can remain at S-Rank with 5★ weapons.
2B, 9S, and A2 will all receive their own alternate coatings. Lucia: Crimson Abyss may receive a Drakengard-inspired one as well.
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.
Please note that 2B's alternate coating, Revealing Outfit, is slightly different in PGR compared to its appearance in NieR: Automata. In both its CN and JP releases, parts of the outfit are torn and damaged, while other parts have more coverage (specifically around the bust and back of the underwear). Because this design direction was used for both the CN and JP releases, it's expected that this coating will remain this way for the Global release as well.
2B's appearance in PGR JP
Will Lucia: Crimson Abyss' Drakengard-inspired coating release during Untold Naraka?
Trends in other regions have made it difficult to be sure. There is a chance we will see the coating release either during the NieR patch or a patch soon after, but there is no guarantee.
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.