NieR: Automata Death Penalty: What It Means

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• Death Penalty In NieR: Automata Explained

• Recovering Your Body In NieR: Automata

NieR: Automata may not seem like it at first glance, but it incorporates strict rogue-like mechanics that can significantly impact your progress if you die at the wrong moment. Dying can result in the permanent loss of items you've spent hours finding and upgrading, potentially setting back your late-game progress.

However, all hope is not lost immediately upon death. You have an opportunity to recover what you've lost before it disappears forever. Here's a detailed explanation of what happens when you die and how to recover your body to minimize permanent damage.

Death Penalty In NieR: Automata Explained

Dying in NieR: Automata means you'll lose any XP gained since your last save, as well as all currently equipped Plug-In Chips. While you can always find more Plug-In Chips and recreate your previous loadout, some chips are rare and can be expensive to upgrade. Upon respawning, your equipped Plug-In Chip set will be empty, requiring you to either equip a new loadout or select from your other presets.

The good news is that the Plug-In Chips lost upon death aren't gone permanently. You have one life to return to your point of death and recover those chips, and potentially the XP as well. If you die again before recovering your body, all chips from the original preset will be lost forever.

Recovering Your Body In NieR: Automata

After respawning, your primary and immediate goal should be to recover your body. A small blue body icon will appear on your map, indicating the location of your body. You can select this icon to set a tracker to its location. When you reach your body, simply interact with it to retrieve all your Plug-In Chips. At this point, you'll have two options for what to do with your body:

• Repair: You won't recover your lost XP, but your old body will transform into an AI companion that will follow you until it's destroyed.

• Retrieve: This option allows you to recover the XP you lost since your last save.

Regardless of the option you choose, you'll have the chance to equip your old Plug-In Chips exactly as they were before, overriding your current setup. Alternatively, you can choose not to equip them immediately, and the recovered chips will be added back to your inventory.