NieR Automata: Hacking Guide NieR Automata guide, tips

Last update: 05 August 2021

This page of the guide to NieR Automata contains key information about hacking. You will learn what to do if the enemy hacks your character, how to unlock the hacking enemies and selected devices, how to complete hacking mini-games and what you can do after a successful hack.

• Hacked by another character - how to protect yourself?
• Hacking mini-game - general information
• Hacking - how to unlock?
• Successful hacking - rewards and available options
• Hacking-related chips

Hacked by another character - how to protect yourself?

When you play through the game for the first time (i.e. when you complete Route A as 2B), you will not be able to use the hacking option. You will experience hacking only as a threat - some enemies will try to hack you. You will encounter this issue for the first time most likely during the main boss fight in the Amusement Park.

The game doesn't end if you get hacked but rahter forces you to play the mini-game described below, and of you fail that game, you may take damage.

In order to prevent the enemies from hacking you, you must avoid the yellow circles and large shock waves, because only when you come into contact with them will the mini-game start.

Hacking mini-game - general information

The hacking mini-game works very similar regardless of whether you are being hacked, or you want to hack someone else. You must control the cursor-shaped icon and fire (R1).

In the mini-game, you can't evade, but you can hit the orange bullets flying in your direction and destroy them as you go. Unfortunately, some enemy objects in this mini-game are shooting purple bullets that can't be destroyed and the only solution is to avoid them.

Your main tasks in the mini-game are:

1. Destroying the black blocks and other objects (white blocks, on the other hand, can be used as cover),
2. Destroying black balls - in most mini-games, this will be possible only after you destroy the remaining black objects, so that the ball will lose its cover.

The mini-game comes in several difficulty levels. The more elite is the opponent attacking or attacked by you, the more challenging can the mini-game be. Additional difficulties may be:

1. The presence of more than one ball - in this case, completing the mini-game forces you to destroy all black balls on the board.
2. The ball shooting back at you- it can be continuous, rotating, homing or generally difficult to avoid - move from side to side a lot and stop only for a few moments behind cover.
3. Fire from other enemy objects - it's good to deal with them first to avoid getting hit,
4. The presence of "armored" enemy objects - you have to attack them from behind, which will be a bit easier because they rotate slowly,
5. An obstacle course - this variant of the mini-game forces you to quickly destroy the blocks on your way to the finish line.

You can lose the mini-game if:

1. enemy bullets hit you too many times and you will take too much damage,
2. you won't fit in the time limit - this means that in most mini-games, you can't play too conservatively, because you might run out of time to destroy all black balls.

Failing the mini-game doesn't mean you will lose the whole fight. You can get hit by another enemy wave or you can try to hack the same opponent again. Therefore, remember that you can approach the mini-games related to the same enemy more than once, but the game might look slightly different each time (e.g. the balls will be in different places, or you will have to destroy different obstacles).

Hacking - how to unlock?

Hacking be done by 9S, who is the second playable character of the game. As a reminder, you will only take direct control of this character once you have advanced to Route B.

9S is able to hack:

1. Opponents - they must be within attack range, and it's best to lock the camera on the enemy you want to hack before doing so.
2. Selected devices from the environment (e.g. doors)
3. Closed chests - they already appeared as you played through Route A, but were not available for 2B; they often contain a very valuable loot (e.g. unique weapons or rare crafting components)

Hacking is initiated by holding the triangle, that is, the button that in the case of 2B was used to activate heavy attacks. The more elite the hacked enemy is, the more time will it take for 9S to load the hacking mini-game. You need to keep this in mind, because taking damage when you initiate hacking can stop it.

Successful hacking - rewards and available options

If the hacking attempt was successful, you can:

1. Cause the enemy to explode or take heavy damage - hacking is also available during fights with the elite (eg. gold) opponents and selected bosses, so you can weaken these types of very strong enemies a lot more effectively.
2. Open a door, activate a device, open a chest, etc.
3. Get XP - the more difficult the hacked opponent, the more experience points you will get.

In some situations a successful hacking of an enemy may also give you a list of things to do - example shown in the picture. Available options include:

1) Detonate - This is an identical variant to the default hacking finale, so the enemy will self-destruct or take serious damage as a result of the detonation.

2) Subjugate - This option will make the hacked opponent start to fight on your side, wich can make the battle a lot easier also by distracting the attention of some of the enemies from your character. You may have more than one ally at a time and if possible, it is worth using this option on stronger opponents so that they can do better during fights.

3) Remote Control - You can. personally take control over a hacked opponent. It works best if you hacked a strong opponent which will allow you to effectively attack other enemies. Depending on the type of hacked machine, moving around and availability of ranged and hand-to-hand attacks may look different. You can end te remote control prematurely or fight until the controlled machine is defeated by one of the opponents.

Hacking-related chips

During the game, you can facilitate hacking and increase its effectiveness by collecting and installing chips from the Hacking group. Examples of chips associated with hacking are:

1. Hijack Boost - it makes the remote-controlled machines more powerful,
2. Stun - the hacked machines can be stunned and can stun other enemies nearby,
3. Combust - successful hacking can set the attacked machine on fire for a few seconds,
4. Heal Drops Up - hacked enemies can leave energy used for regeneration more often.