NieR Automata: Difficulty levels NieR Automata guide, tips
Last update: 02 August 2021
On this page of the guide to NieR Automata you will learn what difficulty levels are available in the game, and how big are the differences between them. Aditionally, you will learn what difficulty level we recommend and how to change the previously selected one.
List of difficulty levels
NieR Automata features four difficulty levels. Unlike many other similar productions, in this case the differences between these levels are very large and they affect much more than just the effectiveness of your attacks.
- Easy - choose this one only if you don't understand the fighting mechanics at all and surviving most of the fights is a challenge for you. Interestingly enough, this level not only weakens the enemies, but it also provides many features that make the game easier e.g. auto-attacks or auto-evades. This topic is described in more detail in the Cheats section.
- The Normal difficulty level is our recommended choice for your first playthrough. It shouldn't make you die a lot, but it also forces you to show some skill in combat. This level also allows you to use the Lock-on system, which is especially useful for long-range attacks.
- The Hard difficulty level makes all fights more challenging - enemies are more durable and deliver more effective attacks that are harder to avoid. This level and the next one don't allow using the Lock-on.
- Very Hard makes the game extremely challenging, and you definitely shouldn't choose it for your first playthrough. On this level, you will die from a single hit. This forces you to play very cautiously and use the Pod more often, but even then it's very easy to die, e.g. because of the restricted fighting area. Dying is unfortunately very troublesome in this game, and each death will feel painful because of it.
Changing the settings
The difficulty level choice you make at the start of the game is not final. You can change it freely as you progress through the campaign, and it's definitely worth doing if you discover that the game is too easy or too difficult for you.
You have to pause the game, go to the Game tab in the options and find the Difficulty settings on the list.