NieR: Automata Become as Gods Beginner Tips

NieR: Automata - Become as Gods Edition is the Xbox and Windows download package of PlatinumGames’ action RPG, published by Square Enix. It contains the base game plus the 3C3C1D119440927 add-on, Grimoire Weiss Pod, Machine Mask Accessory, and Retro Red, Retro Grey, and Cardboard Pod skins.

Content warning: This edition is rated Mature 17+ for blood, partial nudity, strong language, and violence. This guide stays non-graphic and focuses on play.

Treat Become as Gods as a bundled edition, not a separate ruleset. The base combat, saving, Pods, chips, equipment, quests, and early difficulty habits matter first. The bundled colosseum challenges and costumes are better handled once the main game has opened up enough to support them.

Essential Tips

1. Understand the Package Before You Chase Extras

Become as Gods includes the base game and the 3C3C1D119440927 add-on, but the add-on is not an early tutorial track. Its rewards come through new subquests and three colosseum-style battle challenges. Some extras require main story progress, and some cannot be accessed during certain story moments.

Start by learning the base loop: reach new areas, unlock Access Points, practice evasion, use your Pod, upgrade your chips, and return to optional content when the game clearly gives you room. If a costume, colosseum door, or bonus item is unavailable, keep playing rather than assuming the package is broken.

2. Save Like There Is No Safety Net

NieR: Automata does not work like a forgiving autosave-heavy action game. Access Points are your anchors. When you find one, clear nearby machines if needed, interact with it, and use quick save whenever you are in range.

Make saving a habit after hard fights, before following a major objective marker, before experimenting with equipment, and before ending a session. The prologue is especially strict because normal terminal access is not available there, so play patiently and do not treat the opening as disposable.

3. Learn Evade Before Learning Combos

The combat system gives you light attacks, heavy attacks, weapon switching, Pod fire, Pod Programs, lock-on, item shortcuts, and evasion. That is a lot at once, so begin with the one habit that protects every build: evade first, punish second.

Watch how far your dodge moves you, how enemies recover after missing, and when a target gives you enough room to counterattack. Clean evasion makes every weapon pair easier to use. Greedy attacks make even simple machines dangerous.

4. Keep Pod Fire Active While You Move

Your Pod is not just a special move button. It can keep ranged pressure going while you dodge, cross a gap, approach flying enemies, or wait for a safer melee opening. This is one of the simplest ways to keep fights productive without standing still.

Use manual aim or lock-on depending on the fight. Lock-on can help with a single priority target, but free movement can be safer when machines surround you or the camera gets crowded.

5. Use Chips as Your First Real Build System

Plug-in Chips are the skill system. Chips affect HUD display, offense, defense, assistance, and other playstyle pieces, but every chip uses storage. Early on, storage space is often more valuable than a fancy idea you cannot fit.

Keep one simple general-purpose set with survival, useful display information, and a small damage or utility boost. Build specialized sets later, once you understand what the game is asking from combat, exploration, and character-specific sections.

6. Do Not Treat System Chips Like Junk

System chips control important interface pieces, and the OS Chip is not normal gear. Removing it kills you. Other display chips may look tempting to remove for extra space, but losing useful interface information can make the game harder to read.

If you want to free storage, change one thing at a time. Test the result near an Access Point, then restore anything that makes fights or navigation feel worse.

7. Upgrade the Tools You Actually Use

Become as Gods supports weapon improvement, Pod improvement, parts, items, and chips. You do not need a perfect long-term plan in the first hours. You need a setup that feels readable and keeps you alive.

Try different weapon pairings, then invest in the ones whose range and rhythm fit you. Pick up materials while traveling, check merchants when returning to camps, and upgrade steadily instead of hoarding everything for a build you have not tested.

8. Let Side Quests Teach the World

Side quests can reward progress, nudge you toward useful areas, and make the setting easier to understand. Take them seriously, but do not let every optional marker turn your first run into a checklist.

If a quest points you toward enemies that feel too strong, back away and return later. NieR: Automata is comfortable with delayed cleanup, and leaving a task open is often smarter than grinding against a fight you are not ready to handle.

9. Do Not Force Fights That Outpace You

If a machine barely takes damage or punishes every approach, the game may be telling you to come back after more upgrades, cleaner chip planning, or route progress.

Do not force every fight just because you can reach it. Save, explore a safer path, pick up materials, upgrade chips or weapons, and return when the matchup and your habits both look better.

10. Save the Colosseums for Later

The bundled 3C3C1D119440927 content adds three battle-challenge locations and cosmetic rewards tied to its subquests. That makes it attractive, but it is not the first thing a new player should optimize around.

Handle the main systems first. Once you understand character movement, saving, Access Points, chips, Pods, and weapon sets, the colosseum structure will make more sense and the rewards will feel like extras rather than distractions.

Combat and Movement

Use melee and Pod pressure together. A safe beginner pattern is to open with Pod fire, move into melee when an enemy commits, evade out when the group starts to close, then resume ranged pressure while you reset. This keeps you active without asking you to memorize long strings immediately.

Weapon switching is worth practicing early. If one pair feels too slow, too short, or too awkward against a flying or crowded target, change the set before deciding you are stuck. The game expects you to adapt, and different weapon rhythms can make the same encounter feel very different.

Lock-on should serve the room. Use it to stabilize one target or keep Pod fire focused. Drop it when you need wider awareness, especially in groups. The best camera is the one that lets you see the next threat before it hits you.

Pods, Chips, and Upgrades

Pods give you ranged attacks, traversal help, and active abilities through Pod Programs. Use those tools regularly. A beginner mistake is saving every special option for a perfect moment, then taking damage while the tool sits unused.

Chip storage is the upgrade that makes all other planning easier. More room lets you keep essential display information, a survival option, and a damage or utility option at the same time. Use Optimize when your chip grid gets messy, but still read what the setup actually equipped.

Auto chips belong to Easy mode, so do not build general habits around them unless you are intentionally using that mode. If you are changing difficulty for comfort, that is fine. Just understand which parts of your setup are difficulty-specific.

Saving, Exploration, and DLC

When you enter a new area, look for the nearest Access Point. It may be disguised as a vending machine, and machines may be guarding it. Unlocking it gives you a safer base for quick saves, transport, and messages.

Explore with a practical loop: unlock the terminal, pick up visible materials, check merchants or camps, try nearby side content, then push the main objective. This rhythm gives you more upgrade options without turning the whole game into a grind.

For Become as Gods extras, remember the package distinction. The included colosseums, costumes, Pod skins, and accessory items sit on top of the base game. They are worthwhile package features, but they do not change the core advice: survive the opening, save often, learn evade timing, build simple chip sets, and upgrade tools you actually use.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not rely on autosave - unlock Access Points and quick save whenever the game allows it.
2. Do not rush the prologue - normal terminal saving is limited at the start, so careless play can cost time.
3. Do not mash attacks in crowds - evade, reposition, then counter when the opening is clear.
4. Do not forget Pod fire - ranged pressure keeps fights moving while you dodge or approach.
5. Do not leave Pod abilities idle - active Pod tools can help with pressure and space.
6. Do not remove the OS Chip - it is not ordinary equipment, and removing it kills you.
7. Do not strip HUD chips blindly - losing key display information can make combat and navigation harder.
8. Do not chase DLC rewards first - learn the base systems before focusing on colosseum challenges.
9. Do not force bad matchups - leave, upgrade, and return when the fight is more reasonable.
10. Do not assume every bundled item is immediate - some extras require story progress or the right moment.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Scope	Treat Become as Gods as the base game plus bundled extras
Saving	Unlock Access Points and quick save every time you can
Combat	Learn evade timing before chasing long combos
Pods	Keep Pod fire active while moving and resetting fights
Chips	Buy storage and keep early sets simple
Upgrades	Improve weapons and Pods you actually enjoy using
Exploration	Return later when a quest or fight outpaces you
DLC	Save colosseum goals until the core loop feels comfortable