Nier Replicant Endings guide: how to get every ending, spoiler-free
Nier Replicant originally had four endings, but the newly remastered version of the game now has five endings. As in many of the games that are part of this greater Draken-Nier universe, the endings aren't just alternate finales - in many ways, they build upon each other to tell a wider story. As such, it's important to see Nier Replicant's multiple endings by replaying some of the game multiple times to see everything.
This is Nier, and so naturally things aren't always exactly as they seem. Nier Replicant (and on the last generation, Gestalt) do play out similarly to what fnas might be familiar with from Nier Automata’s multiple endings in some ways - but in others, they’re far different.
This guide exists to help you to get Endings A, B, C, D, and the all-new, remaster-exclusive Ending E. We keep it as spoiler free as possible, so you can know what to do, but not spoil the content of each ending.
How to unlock all 5 Endings in Nier Replicant (spoiler-free)
Nier Replicant has five endings in total - four from the original game, and one new for the remastered version. In real terms, you'll want to see these endings in their chronological order, as lettered - Ending A first, then B, and so on and so forth.
This sequential order is followed naturally for the most part - though there will be a handful of choices along the way, and you’ll need to collect all 33 weapons (including the 3 DLC weapons, now available from the book in your house) to trigger certain content and ultimately see the later endings.
Here’s how it breaks down - keeping it as spoiler-free as possible, but it will naturally contain some vague spoilers:
- Ending A
- Ending B
- Ending C
- Ending D (the original canon ending, leading to Automata)
- Ending E (all-new for NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139, which also leads to Automata)
Ending A:
To see this ending, just play through Nier Replicant in a linear fashion. The first time you play through, you’ll always get Ending A. After clearing Ending A, you can make a post-game save, which will be required to reach Ending B and beyond.
The number of side quests you complete etc has no effect on this, but keep in mind that you’ll never see the early phases of the game ever again, so you’ll want to make sure to complete certain things as soon as possible. About that:
A note about Nier Replicant’s Point of No Return
The earlier half of Nier Replicant, where you play as a slightly younger version of the protagonist, is only visited once: as part of the run to Ending A. Subsequent ending runs will start you at the onset of the second half of the game.
As a result, you’ll want to make sure you complete as many side quests as possible and certainly get all weapons available in the first half of the game before continuing to the second part, and then Ending A.
For the record, the point of no return is when you’re asked to get Vapor Moss, which is available right in your home Village, near the water wheel. If you continue the main quest at this point, the story will be on rails until the second half begins. Consider tackling side content and grabbing weapons before or at this point. The moment you pick up the Vapor Moss, that’s it.
From this point forward, all gear, experience, character level, money, and non-key items carry over from one play through to the next. But we do advise you to see as much of the first half of the game before progressing. In terms of side quests, 50% on the counter in the side quest menu is the point at which there’s nothing more to see in the first half.
Ending B:
Load up your complete save from after seeing Ending A. It will start you off in the second half of Nier Replicant’s story, with the slightly older protagonist after the time skip. As noted above, you won't return to the younger time.
You’ll replay the second half of the game, but get more context, new scenes, and additional story reveals as you work through the narrative - not just at the end, but all the way throughout the play-through. Completing the game again on this save gives you Ending B, where you can again save for a clear file.
Ending C:
Load up the completed save file after Ending B. You’ll again start in the second half of the game. To get ending C, you must get all 30 weapons. Don’t panic about the first half of the game - all of the weapons you need are available in the second half of the game, even those that you can optionally pick up or miss out on during the first half.
Weapons carry over from save to save, so you’ll just have to mop up the ones you’re missing, which you can use our Nier Replicant Weapons guide to do. Then, continue playing to reach the final stages of the game, where there’s a choice.
You’ll beat the character that was the final boss of Ending B, but then have to fight another character. You’ll be given the choice to kill or save that character. Choose to kill them in order to see Ending C.
If you want to make getting Ending D easier, you should create a save file shortly before the final boss.
Ending D, the original canon 'Best Ending':
This is the same as Ending C. To get to this, load up a late-stage save on the way to Ending C, or an Ending C clear file; the latter will start you off in the second half of Nier Replicant. With all 30 weapons in hand, head to the final boss. Now, instead of killing that character as in Ending C, choose to spare them - which carries a cost. This cost is important, so read on:
By choosing to save that character, you’ll complete the game again and see Ending D. This is Nier’s original canon ending, and is the ending that Nier Automata follows - it’s set thousands of years later. However, the cost for this ending is your save file - which gets deleted.
To be clear, once you complete Ending D, your related save files will be deleted, and the character name you used can never be used again, even on a new file. There’s a twist on this in the remaster, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 - more on that in the Ending E section below.
As well as starting from an Ending C clear file, as mentioned you can reach this ending by just loading a late stage save from before you saw Ending C, then making the opposite choice. The only difference between C and D is made when you make that final choice at the very end of the game.
Ending E, all-new for the remaster:
This is the big one - Ending E is an all-new ending in the Nier Replicant Remaster, which is available on modern consoles. It has some interesting new additions to the Nier series lore.
To see Ending E, you’ll need to first complete Ending D - which of course deletes all of your saved data. At this point, start a new game from the beginning; you’ll need to use a different player name, as your previous choice will be disallowed. Now just play the early stages of the game again. You’ll have to play the first couple of hours, until the large boss in The Aerie where you first properly team up with Kaine. You can safely skip all cutscenes before this boss - but after this point, the story will diverge significantly.
The all-new content presented from here will take under two hours, and is a linear progression that leads directly to Ending E, with interesting repercussions for the wider Nier lore, before credits roll one last time.
Once the credits are over, you will be able to restore one of your old Ending D save files - though just one, the final save you made before heading to the final boss. When you load this save, if you head back into the world you’ll be able to pick up a new, exclusive, and powerful weapon - the best in the game - from the shack near the Aerie.
At this point you're free to explore the world and mop up any remaining side quests, farm for the Lunar Tear, upgrade every weapon to the max, or even defeat the Ending C/D final boss once again in order to start the cycle anew. This is also how you replay the Ending E content, should you wish to. Unlike its sequel, Nier Replicant doesn’t have any ‘joke’ endings - so that’s it!