NieR: Automata: Complete Walkthrough & Boss Guide
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🗺️ Main Story Walkthrough
Tick off each step as you go — your progress saves locally, no account needed.
You begin as 2B, a combat android deployed alongside 9S to neutralize Machine Lifeforms in a ruined future Earth. The opening is a forced scrolling shooter sequence aboard a flight unit before converting to third-person action at the Abandoned Factory. Defeat the tutorial machines, learn the Pod Support system and the dodge mechanic, then defeat the boss Marx inside the factory. Marx is a slow, predictable circular saw unit—dodge its sweeps and shoot constantly between attacks. Do not install too many passive chips early; save OS Chip slots for upgraded attack and defense chips found in the first open-world area.
After the Factory, 2B and 9S emerge into the open-world City Ruins. This is your first chance to explore freely, gather materials for weapon upgrades at the Resistance Camp, and interact with Devola and Popola—NPCs who offer side quests and upgrade materials. Proceed to the Flooded City to fight a second Engels encounter, then navigate to the underground Machine Village where a community of Machines living peacefully poses a moral question. Complete the Machine Village questline for extra EXP and unique dialogue that enriches Route C's storyline significantly.
The Desert Zone and Desert Camp unlock a new region with faster, whip-tail Machine variants and a sand-worm mini-boss. Follow the main quest markers to the access point for the Copied City, a surreal location Adam has built as a mirror of humanity. The boss encounter here is Adam's first full fight; he is a humanoid Machine with fast melee combos and bullet-hell ranged patterns. Equip a heavy weapon like the Spear for its ranged spinning attack and use Pod fire to chip away at him during long-range phases. Completing this fight triggers the emotional midpoint of Route A.
A philosophical chapter split between Pascal's pacifist Machine Village (northwest of City Ruins) and the haunted Amusement Park region. At Pascal's Village, complete side quests for extra upgrade materials and the Fragments of a Dream side story. The Amusement Park boss is a large Machine Goliath variant with a ferris-wheel arena gimmick. Before proceeding, upgrade your primary weapon to level 3 at Popola's shop using Pristine Cables and Beast Hides gathered in the desert. This investment carries into Route B where weapon levels transfer.
The final chapter of Route A sends 2B and 9S to the Orbital Elevator's base, a massive structure occupied by the most powerful Machine units. The route ends with the battle against Eve, Adam's twin, who has entered a grief-induced berserk state after Adam's death. Eve fights in multiple airborne phases, using spinning arm sweeps, aerial dives, and a large red energy sphere. Deplete his HP three times across phase transitions. After Eve's defeat, save your game to lock in Route B progress.
Route B replays the same world map and story beats as Route A but through 9S's perspective, revealing critical hidden context. 9S's core mechanic is Hacking: entering a hacking mini-game during combat deals massive burst damage and can instakill weaker enemies. You will also uncover classified YoRHa files throughout the route that reframe events seen in Route A. Complete all the hacking collectables in 9S's route to unlock the high-level OS Chip that significantly boosts critical hit rate for Route C.
Route C begins after the YoRHa server collapse, jumping between two playable characters: A2 (a rogue android) and 9S. A2 plays like 2B but can enter a self-destruct Berserk Mode that boosts attack at the cost of HP. 9S, now emotionally compromised, uses faster hacking sequences with harder timing windows. Both characters must reach the Tower—a massive Machine Lifeform structure—by independently progressing through their respective story arcs. Complete side quests at the Resistance Camp with both characters for Chips and EXP before entering the Tower.
Route E is the true ending sequence, requiring you to have completed endings C and D first. After the credits of Route C/D, a new sequence begins: a bullet-hell scrolling challenge where you fight through waves of projectiles representing the game's credits. This sequence cannot be paused and requires precise pattern recognition across multiple phases. Other players' data will assist you; allow or decline their help according to the narrative choice presented. Completing Route E permanently deletes your save file but unlocks a special message and the final canonical ending of the game.
⚔️ Boss Guides
Marx
Attack Patterns
Marx is a large circular saw Goliath-class Machine and the first true boss in NieR: Automata. It attacks with a horizontal buzzsaw sweep that arcs slowly across the arena and a frontal thrust that it then leaves planted in the ground while it recovers. After each attack it pauses for several seconds, creating a consistent opening window. It has no ranged attacks in Route A.
Strategy
Stay locked-on to Marx and maintain constant Pod shot fire during all movement phases. When Marx performs its buzzsaw sweep, dodge perpendicular and immediately rush its body for melee combos. The pause after the thrust is the longest and safest damage window—unload a full light-weapon combo before it recovers. Do not over-extend; Marx's limited attack variance makes patience the key. 9S's hacking mini-game in Route B reduces this fight to a single successful hack.
Engels
Attack Patterns
Engels is an enormous bipedal Goliath that uses long extending buzzsaw arms as its primary weapon. It appears in multiple encounters at ascending threat levels. Its attacks include horizontal swipes with the saw arms that travel across a wide area, a vertical press that creates a large circular danger zone, and in later encounters, a combined dual-arm press. At higher encounter levels it deploys additional Goliath support units.
Strategy
The buzzsaw extension limbs are the exploitable weak points—target them with sustained Pod fire to deal bonus damage and temporarily disable the arm attacks. During arm swipes, dodge away from the direction of travel (not perpendicular). For the vertical press attack, the shadow telegraph on the ground marks the safe zones clearly; move to the edge immediately. In the Route B encounter, 9S's hacking ability can be used to briefly take control of Engels and deal significant self-damage.
Adam (Copied City)
Attack Patterns
Adam fights as a humanoid Machine in the Copied City with surprising speed and elegance. He performs rapid sword-like arm combos up close, fires dense bullet-hell patterns of energy spheres in all directions during ranged phases, and can briefly teleport to reset positioning. When his HP drops below 50% he adds a sustained forward energy beam and increases bullet density significantly. The arena is flat and enclosed, giving limited room to maneuver during bullet phases.
Strategy
Use the Spear weapon type for its ranged Charge Attack during bullet-hell phases—the spinning projectile covers distance while you manage bullets. Equip the Volt Pod Program to interrupt his melee combos when he rushes in. During close-range phases, prioritize dodging backward rather than sideways as his arm combo sweeps laterally. After each melee combo Adam pauses for one second—use this window for a two to three hit response before backing off. The fight resets his bullet-hell pattern after each HP threshold, so learn the first-phase pattern thoroughly.
Eve
Attack Patterns
Eve is a grief-maddened berserk android-machine hybrid who fights 2B at the Orbital Elevator in Route A's climax. Phase one is primarily ground-based with heavy arm sweeps and an armored debris spin that he uses as both offense and defense. In phase two he takes to the air, leaping between elevated platforms and throwing a massive red energy sphere that must be destroyed with Pod fire before it hits. Phase three combines both modes with increased movement speed and tighter bullet patterns from surrounding machine drones.
Strategy
In phase one, target the arms—breaking them before the phase transition reduces the hitbox of the ground sweeps. In the airborne phase, destroy the red energy sphere with sustained Pod fire immediately; failing to destroy it deals massive damage. Follow Eve onto upper platforms to maintain melee pressure; fighting from lower ground means being hit by falling debris. The Overclock Chip (bullet-time on dodge) is extremely useful for phase three's dense bullet-and-attack combinations. In Route B, 9S can hack Eve mid-fight for a massive damage burst at each HP threshold.
Grun
Attack Patterns
Grun is an enormous oceanic Goliath-class Machine encountered in a multi-phase aerial assault sequence. The fight is divided into several distinct phases where Grun surfaces from the water and exposes EMP cores along its body. Its attacks include massive sweeping water jets from its dorsal vents, a full-body roll that creates enormous waves, and machine-projectile barrages from its underbelly launchers.
Strategy
This encounter is semi-scripted with flight unit controls. Aim Pod fire at the glowing EMP cores whenever they are exposed—these are the only targetable weak points and are time-limited before Grun submerges. Move aggressively toward each surfaced core despite the sweeping water attacks; the window to deal damage is narrow. The water waves have large clear telegraph animations—gain altitude to clear them. Pod Program: Hammer can stagger Grun's surfacing animation briefly, granting extra time on the exposed cores. After clearing all core phases, a cutscene ends the encounter.
Hegel
Attack Patterns
Hegel is a spider-type Machine boss made of nine separable sections. In its whole form it fires coordinated bullet spreads from multiple nodes and performs a ground slam that sends shockwaves in all cardinal directions. When damaged sufficiently it splits into nine individual mobile sections that orbit and fire independently, each with its own HP pool. Each section fires in unsynchronized patterns, creating overlapping bullet-hell grids that are far harder to navigate than the whole form.
Strategy
The Pod Program Slow is the single most important item for this fight; it reduces bullet speed, making the nine-section phase survivable. Engage each individual section one at a time from maximum safe range and destroy them sequentially rather than spreading damage across all nine. Do not allow all nine sections to be active and firing simultaneously—the combined bullet output is nearly impossible to dodge without Slow. The Spear weapon's charge attack can catch two or three sections in a line for efficient multi-target damage. Keep moving in wide circles between each section engagement to avoid synchronized fire patterns.
A2 vs. 9S (Route C/D Climax)
Attack Patterns
The climactic confrontation between A2 and 9S is a character mirror fight. Playing as A2, 9S attacks with fast chain combos, a dash-through lunge, and a hacking pulse that temporarily disables A2's attack and dodge. Playing as 9S, A2 uses heavy launchers, Berserk Mode damage-boosted swings that trade her HP, and a Pod barrage. Both phases are emotionally charged and narratively significant.
Strategy
As A2: activate Berserk Mode only when 9S is recovering from a combo, as the HP drain is severe if you take hits while berserk. Dodge the hacking pulse by rolling out of its range the moment 9S raises his arm. As 9S: hack A2 immediately at the start of each damage phase to interrupt Berserk Mode before it charges—successful hacks deal large burst damage and reset her attack pattern. In both cases the fight ends at a scripted HP threshold; you cannot fully defeat the opposing character, so focus on clean play rather than all-out aggression.