Highlights
- Key Takeaways:
- NieR: Automata is a highly regarded action RPG that explores philosophical questions about life.
- The game offers a variety of weapons, each with different damage values and skills.
- Certain weapon-ability combinations work well and there are unique weapons that deserve attention.
NieR: Automata is a fantastic action RPG and is often considered to be one of the best games of the last decade. It delves into philosophical questions of what it means to be alive. As the characters ponder these questions, it's your job as the player to make whatever threats come your way less alive than your androids, by force usually. To that end, you have your choice of 40 weapons split between four different weapon types.
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Each weapon has different damage values and skills assigned to it. Some belong to a family of weapons, sharing the same skills and motifs through the types, while others are unique. What you use can come down to preference, but there are some weapon-ability combinations that work very well, as well as unique weapons that deserve your attention.
10 Type-3 Fists
While most combat bracers offer you speed, the Type-3 Fists will make you a bruiser, slugging it out with your enemies despite the risks of damage. These brutal-looking weapons work best when you add perk chips that reduce your risk of staggering; you can attack without interruption. The gauntlets themselves support this style with a defense boost.
Getting through your combos with the Type-3 Bracer is essential. Every time you finish a combo using the fists, you cause an explosion on your target, dealing more damage to it, and enemies unfortunate to be close by. It's great against bosses, especially combined with overclock chips that slow time after a perfect dodge.
9 Fang Of The Twins
The Fang of the Twins is a large sword found relatively early in NieR: Automata, in the desert housing complex. You’re sent there on a mission anyway, so it's not out of your way to pick this up. In your hands, you have a weapon with solid damage that excels at keeping you safe from ranged enemies.
While its base damage isn’t normally the highest, the Fang Of The Twins is one of the few weapons that can get critical hits innately. Since crits multiply your damage, a critical hit from a large sword tends to make your foes disappear. On the defensive side, The Fang Of The Twins causes enemy bullets to rupture when you hit them, destroying other bullets near them as well. A swing from the fang is great for countering enemy bosses that try to overwhelm you with ranged attacks.
8 Machine Heads
Machine weapons for the most part fall below average when compared to other weapons. Their damage is lackluster compared to most others, and their trait before level four is only a shop discount. Most of them are outclassed, but the Machine Heads you can equip as gauntlets break this trend.
Unlike the other machine weapons, their damage is on par, if not greater than some other fists at level four. Their final ability, Machine Brand, also increases your attack power as you take down enemies. Given the opportunity, these heads can become the best fists you have access to.
7 Phoenix Dagger
The Phoenix Dagger is the weapon to use if your play style enjoys high risks and regenerating health from your enemies. While it's a small weapon, it boasts higher than average damage among small swords, and a consistent damage range. The dagger is part of a set that shares its abilities with a large sword and a spear.
Of the three, the dagger makes the best use of its abilities. As an already fast weapon, the attack speed boost helps it get through most of its combo before you need to move. With higher speed, and the multi-hit nature of small sword attacks means you have more chances to recover HP with every hit.
6 Beastcurse
Spears in NieR: Automata focus on dealing high single-target damage at a decent speed and decent staggering chance. Their biggest downside is their narrower attack patterns. The Beastcurse spear’s traits directly address that weakness.
All Beast family weapons gain the ability of Beast’s roar, which adds a claw-like visual effect to your hits while giving them a greater hitbox. That change makes Beastcurse the spear with the widest attack range, making it able to take on groups without sacrificing its high damage. It also grants you a boost to your defense just in case an enemy does sneak a hit on you.
5 Virtuous Treaty
2B’s starting sword has to be reclaimed from the factory area after the tutorial. It's not a long walk from the starting area, and it's worth it to get one of the best swords out there. Large swords have wide sweeping attacks with high damage, so getting your hands on one for free, and one you can upgrade easily, should be your first move.
Like all virtuous weapons, Virtuous Treaty swings faster than any other large sword. It's great for dealing with groups that try to surround you, or doing a combo attack with a light sword, as the animation will finish faster and deal full damage. Its ability to do more damage while you’re unharmed pushes it even higher as a weapon.
4 Virtuous Contract
As 2B’s starting weapon, Virtuous Contract is a well-rounded weapon with average damage. The great thing about this weapon is that it's very easy to upgrade. As your starting weapon, it’s guaranteed to be in your hands for a while as you get used to Nier’s combat and world. The materials you gather in that time are likely to end up making Virtuous Contract better.
When it's upgraded, Virtuous Contract starts to rise above its peers. All weapons in the Virtuous family gain traits that increase their attack speed and damage when your health is full. The speed is great for making up the damage difference between this sword and its higher-damage peers, but the second trait, Holy Blessing, is great on higher difficulties. On Very Hard, you die if you take even a single health, so your health is always full, or you’re dead.
3 Type-4O Blade
Large swords usually work best as your heavy weapon, as their slow speed doesn’t lend well to light attacks. You keep them on your back until you’re dealing with a big enemy you need to stagger or a group of small enemies you want to take out all at once. In this role, the Type-4O Blade has the perfect traits.
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As it’s upgraded, The 4O Blade increases its stun value, a great boost against large enemies. The second trait gained by the blade causes it to store energy while not in use. As you use your swift weapons to remain mobile, the blade charges up for higher power the moment you break it out. It's great for countering after a perfect dodge to take advantage of your precision.
2 Demon’s Cry
The Demon’s Cry combat bracers have the highest possible damage of all fist weapons, but they also come with the lowest minimum damage as well. This can make their damage somewhat inconsistent. You’re not really going to notice that with these gauntlets though, especially since these bracers increase their attack speed as you improve them.
These bracers are sealed in the amusement park, and you need to hack them open, so you have to wait until at least route B to get them. They are worth rushing for; the level four ability causes enemies to explode when you destroy them. Combat bracers are best at dealing with single targets quickly, so a pair of gauntlets that also gives you crowd control is quite useful.
1 Spear Of The Usurper
The Spear Of The Usurper is a unique weapon, with great abilities and high damage. As it’s not part of a set, no other weapon has access to its abilities, so it's worth seeking it out. To get it you must complete a quest acquired late in route A called Heritage of the Past.
The spear has the second-highest damage threshold of all the spears before you even take its abilities into account. Starting at level two, the spear can innately deal critical damage, multiplying its already deadly damage against your poor target. The more interesting ability is Turncoat. Hits from the Spear Of The Usurper have a chance to dominate an enemy and turn them to your side.
