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[luxarific]

People getting frustrated with some of the early side quests... If you stop, please resume with the ones you get at the very end of the game. They are awesome!



Well, good luck to you sir

The most frustrating thing was probably getting the white moonflower. I still can't believe that's a bronze trophy. Subdued bracelets were also kind of a pain in the ass. Probably easier with the DLC now.

The only thing that's easier with the DLC is farming the Eagle's Egg (and possibly Pyrite and Damascus Steel). The shades you fight only drop health items, unfortunately.

 

[pancakesandsex]

The only thing that's easier with the DLC is farming the Eagle's Egg (and possibly Pyrite and Damascus Steel). The shades you fight only drop health items, unfortunately.

You can farm door 3 for rare items. They drop from the crates in the end phases.

 

[Basileus777]

You can farm door 3 for rare items. They drop from the crates in the end phases.

Yes, but only certain rare drops. The one's he lists are pretty much the only useful rare items the crates drop.

 

[matmanx1]

I'm not having any luck with Giant Eggs for my Phoenix weapon upgrades. Those only spawn in the gathering nodes in the Village right? I always get Medical Herbs or Berries. I'm 30 hours in, working on the "B" ending and I have exactly 1!! Giant Egg =(

DLC continues to be awesome though. I actually died in the third door because I got sort of complacent and wasn't blocking effectively. Does Damascus Steel drop in the DLC only or is it found in the full game also?

 

[luxarific]

Yes, but only certain rare drops. The one's he lists are pretty much the only useful rare items the crates drop.

They also drop crystal and amber, but I had about 5 of crystal and 30 of amber by the time I tried the DLC. What I really needed were Eagle's Eggs and this DLC was completely worth the 560 points it cost for the sole fact that it makes those damn eggs less of a pain to farm.

And I'm a she, not a he.

----

Finally got the white moonflower after 23 clock resets, bleagh. Now I just have to get through endings C and D and my speed run and I'll have 1000/1000. Re the Saito quote - is that an accurate translation? I wonder if he's talking about the demo (or the current DLC) instead of a new DLC package. If there is going to be another DLC drop, I think I'll hold off on my D playthrough or backup my saves to a usb key (assuming I can do that). I'd prefer to play any new DLC when my Nier is level 50 than level 5.

 

[luxarific]

I'm not having any luck with Giant Eggs for my Phoenix weapon upgrades. Those only spawn in the gathering nodes in the Village right? I always get Medical Herbs or Berries. I'm 30 hours in, working on the "B" ending and I have exactly 1!! Giant Egg =(

DLC continues to be awesome though. I actually died in the third door because I got sort of complacent and wasn't blocking effectively. Does Damascus Steel drop in the DLC only or is it found in the full game also?

EDIT: Never mind, I read that as 11. I only ever found Giant Eggs in the village. I always checked every little flash though, so I never had a problem finding enough of the Giant Eggs.

 

[Ridley327]

I'm not having any luck with Giant Eggs for my Phoenix weapon upgrades. Those only spawn in the gathering nodes in the Village right? I always get Medical Herbs or Berries. I'm 30 hours in, working on the "B" ending and I have exactly 1!! Giant Egg =(

DLC continues to be awesome though. I actually died in the third door because I got sort of complacent and wasn't blocking effectively. Does Damascus Steel drop in the DLC only or is it found in the full game also?

Damascus Steel can drop from boxes in B2 of the robot factory, but it's considerably rarer than Fluorite.

 

[luxarific]

Ending C:

Spoiler

I sort of wish they hadn't made Nier's affection for Kaine romantic in nature (the kiss or whatever it was at the end makes me think he did have romantic feelings for her). I imagine that scene feels a bit different with Replicant Nier. Gestalt Nier just seems old enough to be her grandfather and it's a bit eh.

.

 

[RpgN]

Stick with the game when it comes to the additional endings and it will get explained.

That's good to hear, I thought it was my lack of attention that I didn't get what the hell happened near the beginning. Very interesting and mysterious. I definitely see myself finishing the game at lease once. And I already missed a trophy where you need to kill the 2 bosses within minutes in the lost shrine. The game is encouraging you to play through it at least twice what with NG+, different endings, trophies etc. I'll probably play it a few times, the game definitely seems to be worth it so far, let's see if it can keep the pace high and interesting.

 

[Kuraine]

So, I just finished this game for the first time with Ending A and am extremely pleased. It baffles me almost how much negativity the thing gets from people that haven't played it. It's been an extremely satisfying play, if not a bit easy because of playing on Normal with a ridiculous weapon :lol Really really wanting to see the rest of the endings now, as clearly there's more to unfold!

Two questions for those in the know:

- From scattered non-spoilery discussions in the past few pages, am I to assume that all the endings are in sequence based on how many times you've NG+'d it? A, B, C, etc. -- For whatever reason I was assuming it was going to be similar to Shadow of Destiny where your decisions made some difference in the ending's tone, but that doesn't seem to be the case!

- Now that I've beaten the game once, is it safe to enjoy the DLC during my 2nd playthrough? I don't want to see things out of order, but if the DLC just supplements the existing material then I'm good~

 

[Basileus777]

Two questions for those in the know:

- From scattered non-spoilery discussions in the past few pages, am I to assume that all the endings are in sequence based on how many times you've NG+'d it? A, B, C, etc. -- For whatever reason I was assuming it was going to be similar to Shadow of Destiny where your decisions made some difference in the ending's tone, but that doesn't seem to be the case!

- Now that I've beaten the game once, is it safe to enjoy the DLC during my 2nd playthrough? I don't want to see things out of order, but if the DLC just supplements the existing material then I'm good~

You get ending B no matter what you do on your 2nd playthrough. On your 3rd playthrough if you have all 30 weapons in the game, you choose between endings C and D.

The DLC is safe to play anytime really. It isn't story heavy and what story it does give you is mostly about the connection between Drakengard and Nier.

 

[shintoki]

Got the game on Monday. Finally finished up BC2, and decided to move on.
Just did the prologue and really enjoyed it.

But the first major nuisance...No save anywhere.

 

[Freyjadour]

Ending C:

Spoiler

I sort of wish they hadn't made Nier's affection for Kaine romantic in nature (the kiss or whatever it was at the end makes me think he did have romantic feelings for her). I imagine that scene feels a bit different with Replicant Nier. Gestalt Nier just seems old enough to be her grandfather and it's a bit eh.

.

Spoiler

I don't think he's intended to be a grandfather. Emil mentions he looks "40 or so" at some point. I think the hair and face make him look much older than he really is.

 

[∀ Narayan]

That's good to hear, I thought it was my lack of attention that I didn't get what the hell happened near the beginning. Very interesting and mysterious. I definitely see myself finishing the game at lease once. And I already missed a trophy where you need to kill the 2 bosses within minutes in the lost shrine. The game is encouraging you to play through it at least twice what with NG+, different endings, trophies etc. I'll probably play it a few times, the game definitely seems to be worth it so far, let's see if it can keep the pace high and interesting.

Prepare for one Hell of a ride.

--

So, I'm making a White Moonflower. Good god, it's taking awhile - but consider me impressed with how far Cavia went with the gardening system. :lol

This game -- seriously, it's amazing. I will even go as far to say that it's my favorite game of this generation along with Uncharted 2. Last generation it was God Hand & Metal Gear Solid 3. I feel as though Nier is the God Hand of this generation.

But the first major nuisance...No save anywhere.

Really? I feel as though their placement is really well done.

 

[RpgN]

I'm not having any luck with Giant Eggs for my Phoenix weapon upgrades. Those only spawn in the gathering nodes in the Village right? I always get Medical Herbs or Berries. I'm 30 hours in, working on the "B" ending and I have exactly 1!! Giant Egg =(

I got one giant egg after playing 3 hours andf 17 minutes on the village 0_0 Are you sure it's that rare or did I get a little lucky early in the game?

Prepare for one Hell of a ride.

Looking forward to this ride and liked the second playthrough. I found my first word and just read that I could have my own far and go fishing, nice

 

[Zengar]

You get ending B no matter what you do on your 2nd playthrough. On your 3rd playthrough if you have all 30 weapons in the game, you choose between endings C and D.

The DLC is safe to play anytime really. It isn't story heavy and what story it does give you is mostly about the connection between Drakengard and Nier.

Since I don't plan to buy the DLC, could you spoil me about the connection between Drakengard and this game? Thanks.

 

[V_Arnold]

The simple fact that the guy who is your narrator in Defense Grid was made into the Grimoire Weiss's VA makes this game audio-wise the best in the year so far.

If not the whole generation. THIS is style.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

Well I've broke open the seal on my copy this weekend and played for a few hours up to when you first visit Seafront. So far I'm quite enjoying the game, the atmosphere is nice, the banter between Nier and Weiss is amusing and the boss fights were really enjoyable.

I've got one big issue with the game though, on a 4:3 CRT TV the text is completely unreadable on the PS3 version which means I have to turn the wonderful music right down so the voices are loud and clear. It's partly down to PS3 games not having a 4:3 mode like most 360 games, but Cavia still could have increased the text size when running on a CRT TV.

 

[iammeiam]

People who called NG+ depressing weren't kidding. I'm pretty sure I'm going to hate myself after finishing off the

Spoiler

Junk Heap

section.

A lot of this I probably should have seen coming. Nier was way, way too into the whole

Spoiler

"I don't care if they're hurting anyone or not, ALL. SHADES. MUST. DIE."

thing.

I continue to be impressed by the writing in the text sections, and at this point am starting to think you shouldn't have gotten an end credits roll after Ending A since NG+ provides so much more story.

 

[luxarific]

Since I don't plan to buy the DLC, could you spoil me about the connection between Drakengard and this game? Thanks.

Watch this Drakengard ending (there's something after the credits too, just like in Nier :lol). The DLC just makes clear

Spoiler

that the disease was brought to this world by Caim and his dragon. The three weapons you get in the DLC are all explicitly linked to Caim and Angelus (one even glows and casts off sparks).

Of course the real reason to get the DLC is that it makes getting Eagle's Eggs less of a pain in the ass.

 

[Ridley327]

It makes farming a lot easier for the other rare drops you can find there, too. It's pretty win-win since you can just fall over the edge of the final bridge and leave the dream without having to beat the remaining two rooms.

 

[Sacha]

Woohoo, got my Platinum ! I don't know if the drop rates went up with the DLC, but getting subdued bracelets and metal piercings was easy. Didn't take me more than 2 hours to get two of each. All in all, getting the Platinum for Nier is way less tedious than for FFXIII.

But now I don't have a reason to play the game anymore. More DLC, please !

Spoiler

and a sequel.

 

[Windom Earle]

People seem to have problems with the eggs *g

My tips for eagle eggs (without DLC):
Go to the aerie, save your game. Walk to the platform in the middle of the bridge, turn around, face the area where you got the story related egg and do a double jump.
If the spawn is there, check it out, if not just reload. (Walking distance can also be reduced by jumping down)

Giant eggs:
From my experience, the giant eggs ONLY spawn under the tree directly in front of the save point in the village. Check the spot, load your save...

On a side note, why does the op never post in his own thread? :lol

 

[D2M15]

From my experience, the giant eggs ONLY spawn under the tree directly in front of the save point in the village. Check the spot, load your save...

I usually found them them under the tree on the hill overlooking the eastern gate, where the lovers are/were. Might be worth hitting both spots.

I'm just about psyched up for my B playthrough after doing a bunch of breezy, no-emotion-involved games, but my heart's still heavy from last time.

Spoiler

"How many rules are there for things to shout in battle before you die?"

 

[matmanx1]

I actually found my first Giant Egg under the tree to the left of the Northern Plains exit and a 2nd one (today!) at the tree closest to the Village save point so I think it can randomly spawn at any of the Village gather spots.

So what's with the room

Spoiler

across the hall from Popola's in the Library with all the Shade Trophies in it?

? Is it ever explained in any of the endings? As it is it's creepy and weird.

2 more weapons to go and I'll have all of them. Then I'm going to get my B ending and restart on C which will be really quick because I won't have any quests to do. Working on Ending B is making me sad though.

Spoiler

Poor wolves!, poor shades! Tyrann is horrible!

 

[Basileus777]

So what's with the room

Spoiler

across the hall from Popola's in the Library with all the Shade Trophies in it?

? Is it ever explained in any of the endings? As it is it's creepy and weird.

Spoiler

I'd imagine it's some way of tracking your progress, as Popola is guiding you along in order to find the sealed verses and later get the Shadowlord his body back.

 

[pancakesandsex]

Got the last 2 endings. Gonna hold off on farming or a replay for a bit. Hoping there is some more dlc on the way to bring me back in.

 

[luxarific]

Got the last 2 endings. Gonna hold off on farming or a replay for a bit. Hoping there is some more dlc on the way to bring me back in.

Did you copy your saves to a USB key to avoid

Spoiler

losing them when you watched the D ending

? I want to do this, but I'm worried I might corrupt something when I try to reload an earlier save after I've seen every ending and the game has

Spoiler

erased on my saves on the hard drive

.

 

[Basileus777]

Did you copy your saves to a USB key to avoid

Spoiler

losing them when you watched the D ending

? I want to do this, but I'm worried I might corrupt something when I try to reload an earlier save after I've seen every ending and the game has

Spoiler

erased on my saves on the hard drive

.

Backing them up works fine. The only issue I had with it is until I restored it to my old system data, the game wouldn't let me use the DLC costumes (or unlock them again).

 

[luxarific]

Backing them up works fine. The only issue I had with it is until I restored it to my old system data, the game wouldn't let me use the DLC costumes (or unlock them again).

Thanks for responding - so once you restored both the system data and the game saves from your backup, you could access the DLC costumes again?

I really want to see

Spoiler

Ending D, but I don't want to start out from scratch if there's going to be new DLC. Even though I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too, I can't help but admire how the game really exacts a price for the final ending. Typical Cavia. :lol

.

 

[Basileus777]

Thanks for responding - so once you restored both the system data and the game saves from your backup, you could access the DLC costumes again?

Yep, everything worked fine.

 

[luxarific]

Yep, everything worked fine.

Thanks. Now I just need to find a good 16 GB key.

 

[DualShadow]

Picked this up on the weekend and played the shit out of it. Really enjoying it, there are so many quests to do its good to have the variety.

It's also good not have to worry about your party.

Fishing is ok once you figure out how it really works.

I think i'm about half way through since i just got out of

Spoiler

The haunted manor

Also is it worth to get the DLC now or later in the game? post game?

 

[∀ Narayan]

I'm amazed at how technically sound this game is. 45 hours in (I'm still on my first play-through.) and I haven't encountered one game breaking glitch or anything out of the ordinary.

 

[luxarific]

For people who've gone through all the endings: what was your final word count percentage? At about 73 hours (A/B/C completed and I don't intend to play through an entire new game+ to get my D ending, just reload my final save), I'm only up to 85%. Was going to go for 100%, but even with the 30% item drop word equipped, the word drop rate fell precipitously. E.g., I tried running through the fortuneteller sequence several times, which initially got me about 2 words per run, but at level 49, I went through it three times without getting a single new word.

 

[∀ Narayan]

One more quest and I'll be at 100%. I never thought this game would end up being as addictive as it is. Plus, there's the DLC and the final moments of the game to go through. What a nice game to finish up before Red Dead Redemption comes out.

 

[IrishNinja]

oh, GAF. you (and a friend, plus Fahey's rather praising review on Kotaku) got me to give this one a try, and im quite pleased so far. graphics might "look like but" (sorry, i only read the 1st page of this thread) but does anyone else get a ICO/SOtC, Ueda-esque feel from them? granted, im quite early on - just finished the first plot quest or so - but between the art style and music, its really refreshing so far. playing a bit like Sword of the Berserk doesn't hurt, either.

quick question: i know there's time-based achievements for beating bosses, but do i gotta worry about making save files or doing/not doing certain things at any point to get the desirable ending(s)? hoping to solve this as spoiler-free before i get too far, appreciate the help.
also, somewhat related: if its possible any fans missed it, the recent thread about Joystiq's non-review of this game was a hilarious calling-out for the bullshit reviewer who promptly ran off & cried on a podcast. good times.

 

[Sacha]

Also is it worth to get the DLC now or later in the game? post game?

I'd recommend doing it on your second playthrough. Judging from where you are in the game, I think you won't be able to finish the DLC, as the last levels can be challenging. And story-wise, I also think it's better to do it on your second playthrough.

quick question: i know there's time-based achievements for beating bosses, but do i gotta worry about making save files or doing/not doing certain things at any point to get the desirable ending(s)? hoping to solve this as spoiler-free before i get too far, appreciate the help.

The only thing you have to do is collect all the weapons to get ending C/D on your third playthrough. I think there is no missable weapon, but make sure you break all the crates you come across nonetheless.

 

[Clear]

@IrishNinja

Don't worry about the time achievements for bosses. You'll be able to get them easily when you're ready to do so - most likely on your way to ending C. You could get them sooner but honestly you'll probably spoil the experience if you try.

Endings are fixed in sequence so first time you'll always get A, second-time always B. After that, if you have all the weapons you can choose C or D. Just bear in mind if you pick D your saves will get deleted (!)

Also I don't think you can't miss anything critical to the Trophy/achievements as far as I'm aware, even if you skip every optional quest in the first half of the game. But at least get the Boar tusk to be on the safe side.

Enjoy the game and the story

 

[lljride]

Beat the game and got Endings A and B over the weekend. Holy shit you guys were right about the game getting better as it goes along, some of the stuff that was thrown out there in NG+ is mindblowing. And I still have 2 more to go! Can't wait to see how

Spoiler

depressing

everything turns out.

Major Ending B spoilers, Ending C/D speculation:

Spoiler

Poor Emil, like the only innocent character in the whole game just keeps getting fucked over. Loved to see him come back after the credits of Ending B, but I'm sure that line about how he hopes Kaine and Nier don't kill each other will wind up being foreshadowing and everyone will be worse off than when they started (and I'll feel terrible and love every minute of it).

Going for trophies in my Ending C run, but I have a question about the 1,000,000 gold trophy. I know I'm going to need raw materials too, so is there a best run that'll kill those two birds with one stone or is it still more efficient to do the flower trick for money? I did buy the DLC but I haven't really tried it out yet.

 

[Sacha]

Going for trophies in my Ending C run, but I have a question about the 1,000,000 gold trophy. I know I'm going to need raw materials too, so is there a best run that'll kill those two birds with one stone or is it still more efficient to do the flower trick for money? I did buy the DLC but I haven't really tried it out yet.

I had around 300k when I started gathering materials for the trophies. To get some of them more easily and 1M gold, I just did the last five rooms of the DLC over and over again. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to do it each time, and you get 50k and materials like Pyrites, Moldavites, Titanium Alloys, Eagle Eggs. I think it's the best way to go to get materials and money at the same time.

 

[Kuraine]

I'm amazed at how technically sound this game is. 45 hours in (I'm still on my first play-through.) and I haven't encountered one game breaking glitch or anything out of the ordinary.

I was playing on Hard to show the game to my friend, and the first quest to kill sheep made me realize just how resilient everything is on that difficulty. Fighting sheep involved hitting em a few times, chasing until they ran into a wall, and finishing em off. Except... one time, the sheep just ran into the cliff wall :lol Not game-breaking, but kind of hilarious.

Couple questions:

- I tried for a while but couldn't for the life of me figure out how to use the DLC costumes once they had been unlocked. Doesn't seem to be a very intuitive UI option or in-house option anywhere. Halp?

- I'm currently at 90% weapon completion on my 2nd run, and I'm fairly certain I've bought every purchasable one. Are the remaining ones likely to be in elusive crates (I thought I smashed most of em on my first time through) or from the remaining quests I've yet to complete? Probably not easy to estimate, but there aren't many weapon lists to compare against.

 

[Jugendstil]

Stupid question, but how do I access the DLC? I bought it, but isn't it supposed to show up as a book in Nier's house? I'm not seeing it. Do I have to beat the game first?

I'm still on my first playthrough. I know I should just finish the game, but I can't ignore the quests... it kills me to see the list of uncompleted ones, aside from the pink moonflower one. I'm not touching that.

 

[Sacha]

Couple questions:

- I tried for a while but couldn't for the life of me figure out how to use the DLC costumes once they had been unlocked. Doesn't seem to be a very intuitive UI option or in-house option anywhere. Halp?

- I'm currently at 90% weapon completion on my 2nd run, and I'm fairly certain I've bought every purchasable one. Are the remaining ones likely to be in elusive crates (I thought I smashed most of em on my first time through) or from the remaining quests I've yet to complete? Probably not easy to estimate, but there aren't many weapon lists to compare against.

For the DLC costumes, you have to choose them in the option menu on the title screen. You can't change them after loading a save, unfortunately.

For the weapons, they are in crates or through quests, yes. I think there are three quests to get weapons : the one from the king of Facade himself, the one from the woman in the Forest of Myth, and the one from the weapons dealer in Nier's village (something with a treasure map and all).

 

[Kuraine]

For the DLC costumes, you have to choose them in the option menu on the title screen. You can't change them after loading a save, unfortunately.

For the weapons, they are in crates or through quests, yes. I think there are three quests to get weapons : the one from the king of Facade himself, the one from the woman in the Forest of Myth, and the one from the weapons dealer in Nier's village (something with a treasure map and all).

Thanks! Yeah, I've only completed 1 of those three quests, so that would explain that Sadly I was nearly finished with both of those before beating the game my first time... Gotta start from scratch on NG+, including the damn goat hides. Boo.

 

[Sacha]

Stupid question, but how do I access the DLC? I bought it, but isn't it supposed to show up as a book in Nier's house? I'm not seeing it. Do I have to beat the game first?

I'm still on my first playthrough. I know I should just finish the game, but I can't ignore the quests... it kills me to see the list of uncompleted ones, aside from the pink moonflower one. I'm not touching that.

I don't know if you have to beat the game first (I don't think so), but it shows up in Nier's house, yes. The book is supposed to be just between the entry and Nier's bed. (Stupid question, but : did you install the DLC after downloading it ?)

The pink moonflower quest isn't hard, there's just some reloading and clock changing involved.

 

[luxarific]

The pink moonflower quest isn't hard, there's just some reloading and clock changing involved.

Unless you're unlucky like me and have to reset the clock 25 times before getting one.

 

[drtomoe123]

I'm about 5 hours into the game right now and just finished the first fishing quest...but I've been completely blown away by how good this game is. One of my co-workers kept complaining that it felt like a chore when he played this game...but it's really drawing me in. The music is beautiful, the art is beautiful, and even the little things like the journal entries in the loading screen adds a lot to the narrative. Hell, even the dub is great.

Hell, I even teared up a bit when

Spoiler

I had to tell the kids that their mom was dead

.

I really can't wait to play more of this.

 

[Sacha]

Unless you're unlucky like me and have to reset the clock 25 times before getting one.

Haha, it's all just luck in the end, yeah... I got the white moonflower on my first try.

 

[Dead]

After having played the game, that joystiq tantrum video is even more hilarious. I failed to catch the Shaman fish 3 times in a row, so the game just automatically caught it for me :lol

The game is ass ugly graphics wise, but I'm really digging it. Great characters and voicing, cool atmosphere and GREAT music as well.