Small Swords | Nier Automata Wiki

Best Small Swords in NieR Automata

• Virtuous Contract - a great starter weapon you will receive at the beginning of the game. It increases your attack speed and with the Holy Blessing, it will also increase your attack power when your heath is full.
• Type-3 Sword - a small sword perfect for beginners, it's an outdated YoRHa blade but proves to be effective in combat. It increases the player's defense and adds an explosion after successfully completing a combo.
• Engine Blade - this sword is a crossover weapon from Final Fantasy XV, a flashy magical sword, equipping this will make the player's dodge animation similar to Noctis' phase dodge from FFXV, the damage numbers also changes its effects to Final Fantasy font. This weapon can easily stagger opponents with the Stun Up ability.
• Faith - a small sword you can only acquire after your third playthrough of the game. It increases your attack speed and with the Bullet Absorb, it can restore your health if you hit an incoming projectile with a melee attack.
• Ancient Overlord - a strong small sword said to be wielded by a tyrant who killed his own people. It doesn't offer much base damage, but it does have a greater critical hit chance, and with the Bullet Rupture ability, hitting an incoming projectile with this sword will create a shockwave, useful when fighting groups of enemies.

Weapons Overview in NieR Automata

There are four different types of Weapons in NieR Automata, Small Swords, Large Swords, Spears, and Combat Bracers. You can obtain different weapons in different ways, by purchasing them through shops, finding them in different chests, and completing different quests. Each weapon type has a different type of attack speed and damage output, and each weapon is unique that it offers a different set of special abilities. All weapons that you obtain in the game can be used by all the playable characters.

Each weapon can be upgraded up to Level 4 which is the max upgrade for any type of weapon. Upgrading a weapon increases the damage and opens up abilities that will make the weapon even more powerful in combat. In most locations, you can only upgrade a weapon up to Level 3, you will need to find Masamune, located in the Castle of the Forest Zone in order to upgrade your weapons to Level 4.

Defeating enemies is key in gathering money to purchase materials and upgrade your weapons. At the start of the game, there are robots roaming around near the resistance camp that you can take out easily. As you progress through the game, the level of enemies will increase, and defeating enemies is vital in progressing through the game.

In combat, melee isn't the only way to deal damage to your opponent. You can always use your Pods, these are small robots that follow you and provide assistance to you while in combat by using projectiles for opponents that are not within your melee range. These pods can also help you in extending your combos. There are enemies that are hard to reach with your melee attacks, and these pods can also help in staggering your opponents.