NieR: Automata's Permadeath Mechanics: Understanding and Recovering from Death
NieR: Automata, despite its seemingly straightforward gameplay, incorporates unforgiving rogue-like elements. Death carries significant consequences, potentially resulting in the permanent loss of valuable items and significant setbacks, especially in the late game. However, a recovery system offers a lifeline, allowing you to reclaim lost possessions before they vanish permanently. This guide details the death penalty and the body recovery process.
Death Penalty Explained
Upon death in NieR: Automata, you lose all experience points (XP) earned since your last save. More critically, you lose all currently equipped Plug-in Chips. While finding replacement chips is possible, some are rare and upgrading powerful ones requires significant investment. Respawning leaves your equipped chip slots empty, requiring re-equipping or selecting a preset.
The lost Plug-in Chips aren't lost forever. You have one chance to retrieve them by recovering your body. Failure to do so before dying again results in the permanent loss of those chips.
Recovering Your Body
After death, your immediate priority should be recovering your body. A blue body icon appears on the map, indicating its location. Interacting with this icon restores your Plug-in Chips. You then face a crucial choice:
Repair: This option doesn't restore lost XP, but transforms your old body into an AI companion that will assist you until it is destroyed.
Retrieve: This option restores the lost XP earned since your last save.
Regardless of your choice, you can re-equip your recovered Plug-in Chips, overriding your current setup. Alternatively, you can choose to simply add them back to your inventory.
