Nier: Syren

"The World is Bound to Change"
NieR: Syren, codenamed NieR: New Project 2  is an action-adventure/role-playing game released in November 2020. It is a prequel to the original NieR, taking place before the Watcher attack and the Black Scrawl pandemic. This time, as Automata focuses more on machines and the meaning of existence, Syren will focus on mythological beasts and evolution; the evolution and struggle of man's soul.
The main logo is "NieR: Syren" except the "dot" in "i" is replaced with an Egyptian "ra" symbol.
Yoko Taro, founding the Drakengard Team in November 2017, later adapted the Morandal Engine for work on their game to ensure that the game can have improved action and gameplay.
The game got a positive reception, focusing more on the combat improvements and continuation of new ideas into the NieR franchise. 
==Plot==
"It's not the same sight we see every day. Every day I wake up, something is waiting for us to do. There's not a whole lot around us to see, but I do already know, the world is bound to change..."
In the study of ancient magic, Daras, a champion sorcerer plans to learn more about ancient magic and its way of evolution. Daras will fight against the mythological beasts including imps, lamias, golems, demons, etc. during his search. Teaming up with a human Devola and Popola, he begins his journey across the land to search for the rituals and the way of the world.
===Prologue===
"The world is bound to change. Every so often, I go on this task every day, but there's something I feel about it. It's not the same as we do every day, but as we look around us, there's something I want to talk about."
Daras, a champion sorcerer, is sent to go on a mission to hunt down a target, a wilderness beast known as the Asmodian, in the forest of Sina. Upon investigating, he notices that the predators seem to be evolving. Wielding only a sword and a cube he was gifted with known as the Magi, he uses its blaster to fight against the predators.
Upon reaching the target, known as the Asmodian, he notices that the beast has evolved from demons, which they have never fought before. After Daras executes the Asmodian, it vanishes by smoke as it faints to the ground, as if it's actually a demon trap. Seeing this, Daras is then surrounded by various demons he has never seen before. Taking advantage of that, he was teleported back to the Magi Realm thanks to the Goddess's carings on the Magi, as they weren't ready to face that new evil yet.
===Magi Realm===
"The world has gone under a dark sector. We are ultimately working to take care of the demons and destroy all of the Dark Sectors. This is why you, the Magi forces, exist." 
Daras had returned to the Magi Realm, the Magi, codenamed Magi Faust. Daras is ordered on his next mission; to challenge the demons and cleanse the world of all evil, so they can put an end to the so-called Dark Sectors. Daras returns to the earth with another sorcerer named Rahab, with another Magi codenamed "Noel" to meet up with the town known as the Light Sector to recon. 
===Eye on the Magi===
Daras and Rahab are ordered another mission by the Commander to search for the missing Asmodian. However, returning to where the Asmodian was during Dara's solo mission, the Asmodian was missing. Magi Faust says that there might be some sort of demon energy that is trying to take advantage of Daras's new powers. Noel sees this as their "new threat to be aware of" meaning even though Daras and Rahab are powerful sorcerers, the enemy would try and rebuild their own powers as well.
A mysterious humanoid demon codenamed the Stygian engravings jumps down, and then challenges the two to a fight. Daras and Rahab defeat the warrior, but he then explodes into black smoke. Daras and Rahab leave the area and tell the Commander about their report.
===Lulu and Rin===
Daras is sent alone on another mission; to meet up with two soldiers named Lulu and Rin. In the caverns down below, Daras, with his lantern searches around, and hears talking that is supposed to be Lulu and Rin. However, after going there he sees that the Lulu and Rin, are decoys created by the demons.
Another humanoid demon codenamed the Seeker, jumps down and engages Daras in a fight. She tells Daras what their role is; warriors who have a purpose to serve for and fight for, and the demons' purpose is to change the world and shuffle them around; giving them a fight.
The Seeker explodes into black smoke, similar to how the Stygian did. However, the Seeker left the ring behind, which is going to be meaningful for the Magi spirits later.
===Teaming with Joshua===
Daras is sent on another mission, this time he has to team up with an agent named Joshua. On his search for the Asmodians' power, he comes across what resembles to be one of the Magi soldiers, however, after coming closer it appears to be a trap by one of the demon forces as well. Daras and Joshua fight them off and find some clues relating to the Demons there. 
===The Demons===
Daras aims to fight off the demon forces that are approaching the Magi forces.
===Emil Revisited===
Daras is sent on another mission with Rahab, but a masked man awaits him on the other side...
===The Great Escape===
Daras and Rahab escape the explosion that blew up the shrine, but they are on the run from the Asmodians.
===Confrontation===
Daras and Rahab get into a showdown with one of the major Asmodians, but this is only the beginning of things...
===The Turnaround===
Daras and Rahab, after making a blow against the Asmodians, decide to launch an attack against the remaining army of Asmodians, but...
===The Standoff===
Daras is killed by a traitor Magi named Garrel, who believes that Daras intended to evolve toward power within the Asmodians...
===Dazzled and Dazed===
Rahab is blown away by a runaway Asmodian. After seeing that Daras was killed, Rahab later evolves her emotions to be more agitated. 
===Lost in Valhalla===
Another soldier fighting against the Asmodians, named Desdemona stops Rahab in her footsteps in trying to kill the Magi forces. 
===Out of the Shadows===
Desdemona, Garrel, and Rahab get into a fight. Eventually, they start to evolve towards grudges against each other, but someone mysterious is tracking them...
===Magi at the Gates of Hell===
The three end up at the dark purgatories created by the Asmodian forces. However, they confront what they could make out to be a re-formed Daras...
===Order Up!===
The three are later joined up by Devola and Popola for Magi repairs. However, they have to hunt down the new parasites; new weapons that the Asmodians have been creating...
===Last Light===
Night falls, and the blood moon casts over the lands. The three have to hurry to survive a new onslaught of Asmodian forces.
===Apocalyptic Storm===
A red thunderstorm casts, and the reformed body of Daras awakens under the name of Zotac, born from thousands of souls that were released from the monsters. In the meantime, Rahab and the others have to race to Solace Mountain to resolve this issue.
===The Drift===
An earthquake occurs which causes others to separate from each other. While racing through the area, Devola and Popola reach their limits and are unable to continue on.
===The Chasm===
The three reach the chasm and see Solace Mountain, where the red thunderstorms are ringing. While at it, a gigantic phoenix Asmodian is lately re-used as a way of transportation.
===Sky Scraper===
The three race to the top of the mountain while fighting against Asmodians, while in the meantime Zotac is also doing the same thing as well.
===Epilogue===
After nearly killing Zotac, Rahab uses her Magi to re-incarnate him, Zotac changes his mind and instead will go after the last Asmodian via another Asmodian dragon that has evolved as well. 
===The End===
After the explosion against the Asmodian, the Magi forces disband because they do not need protection against the evils anymore...
===Characters===
The game stars a new hero named Daras, along with a weapon known as a Magi which is a magic cube. Daras is a champion sorcerer who seeks to find out the truth behind himself and his pact with the Magi. There are five playable characters, each with their own abilities and only playable in certain chapters.
====Playable Characters====
Character Name	Description 	Abilities	L3+R3 Skill
Daras 	A sorcerer sent to hunt down targets. Unknowingly, he does not know that he is part of others instead of just himself. 	
*Dual-wielding
*Can summon war cries	War Cry
Rahab 	An agent sent to assist Daras. She undertakes the major goals in her own solitary fashion. 	
*Single-wielding
*Can call Magi Scarabs	None
Garrel 	An elder sorcerer. He wants to seek out the major evolutions behind the monsters. 	
*Single-wielding
*Can use Shields	Panic Strike (60 mana)
Desdemona 	An amazon warrior that survived an outcast attack. As the only survivor, she seeks revenge on the monsters as well. 	
*Dual-wielding
*Can berserk to speed up.	Berserk Mode (250 mana, 30 seconds)
Zotac 	An bloodless reincarnation of the monsters' souls that were killed. Brandishing a reincarnation of Daras's deceased body, he seeks to finish the job.	
*Fixed weapon; Naamah
*Does not use a Magi.	Bloodlust (a buff that requires you to keep fighting to survive)
==Gameplay==
The game plays more like the NieR games, as Gestalt/Replicant uses a Grimoire, Automata uses a Pod, Syren will have Daras (the main character) use a tool known as the Magi, a magic cube that serves and protects as the owner's support. 
The combat is the same as Automata, with the following enhancements:
*Elements: Water, fire, earth, thunder. Each element has its own stylish effects. For example, fire lets you summon flaming slashes. Water lets you cast freezing particles, Earth lets you summon heavy strikes, and Thunder casts thunderbolts on your enemies if you strike at them. Each enemy in the late game has elements, so use the right element! Fire has damage over time, ice allows you to delay your enemy's attacks, thunder has you stun the enemies and disarm them, and Earth allows you to break heavy defenses.
*Magi: The Magi is an upgraded version of the Pod with custom jewels known as Crests. Crests are special mods for your Magi weapons, either to apply elements, increase damage, or are specific to the weapon itself.
**Combinations: Magi special attacks are known as Miracles, where you can call upon giant magic blasts to damage your enemy. You can also customize them to be fluid to your combat style. One new system is combinations, where if you combine both Miracles, you get a Nexus. Nexuses cost more magic but are much stronger.
**Customization: You can now paint the Magi Cube through a hexagram-like color palette, giving them a much more dynamic fashion. You can customize your sorcerer uniforms through various paint jobs and badges that you can obtain. You can also get certain paint jobs that have patterns instead of colors.
*Weapons: Aside from swords, spears, and punches, there are chakram, hammers, and glaives. Chakrams are throwable ranged weapons. Hammers are slower and do blunt damage which is best on solid/rock enemies. Glaives are like spears but have blades on both sides. 
*Skill Trees: There's now a skill tree where you can upgrade your stats, combos, your Magi. You can unlock time-distorting dodges and parries as well in the combat tree.
*Customization: Daras can equip 1 armor, 5 rings, 1 necklace, 2 relics, and 2 weapon sets with 2 weapons each. Rings boost various stats, Necklaces boost all stats greatly, while relics give special enhancements to Daras.
*Critical Strikes: Daras can hold breath, and scan the enemy for any critical points. Time stops, and if there are critical points, Daras can make a precise critical strike for 2.5x the normal damage which is effective against armored enemies.
*Ship: You can travel around in a ship later on in a full-on open-world style. 
*HUD: HUD can be customized to suit your needs. You can adjust the map alignment, turn the HUD off for blind runs, and remove the text indicating your level.
*Difficulties: Aside from the four main difficulties, there's an option where you can now play without any experience gain, meaning the enemy level is fixed to level 1 and neither of your enemies/player has any level. A fifth difficulty called "Spartan" can be unlocked, which unlike the other difficulties is always bound to a save file instead of the options, where it renders the game at the same "Hard" curve, but the player and the enemy's stats are fixed, and the enemies are much more aggressive, meaning the only thing you unlock when leveling up is skill points.
*R3+L3 Skill: Each character has an independent skill, whether it be using special moves that cost mana such as panic attacks or speed-up buffs.
The body system from Automata returns as you can revive dead sorcerers or retrieve them to gain some gold and a temporary buff. 
Save points are represented by idols of the Goddess that the Magi use as their usurper.
===Magi===
Weapon Name 	Description 	Firerate (b for shots) 	How to Unlock 	Compatible Mods (only 2 can be installed)
Magic Missile	Shoots magic missiles 	9b/s 	Starting weapon 	
*Ricochet
*Double
*Piercing
*Shrapnel
Bouncer 	Shoots earth diamonds that bounce off enemies 	7b/s 	Buy it from the Wiseman 	
*Double
*Homing
*Piercing
Seeker 	Shoots a pack of missiles (4 to 10) to seek the enemy 	1b/s 	Defeat the Air Champion. 	
*Double
*Thunderbolt
*Ricochet
*Shrapnel
*Cluster
Laser 	Shoots an laser that pierces enemies  	Constant fire 	Dig up a buried cube 	
*Double
*Ricochet
*Thunderbolt
Charge Rifle 	Shoots a chargeable thunderbolt at enemies 	Charge-up to 5/2.5 seconds	Get it from a rogue sorcerer 	
*Double
*Shrapnel
*Cluster
Spread Shot 	Shoots spread shots (3 to 15). Faster than the Seeker, but has no homing capabilities.	5b/s 	Dig up a buried cube 	
*Homing
*Ricochet
*Double
*Shrapnel
Mag Launcher 	Shoots homing grenades that explode over time 	4b/s 	Complete the quest "Cubic Bomber"	
*Double
*Shrapnel
*Cluster
Tesla Cairos 	Shoots lightning-fast lightning bolts 	14b/s 	Defeat Zeus, the Dark Lord. 	
*Homing
*Shrapnel
*Cluster
*Thunderbolt
*Ricochet
====Miracles====
These cost 100 to 300 mana. You can only hold a maximum of 300 mana.
Miracle Name 	Description 	Cost 	Damage Formula
Starfall 	Shoots starfall missiles at your enemies 	100 mana 	250%x5
Meteor Shower 	Summon magical meteors 	300 mana 	150%x15
Evil Eddy 	Shoot a slow-moving orb that pierces and then explodes. 	300 mana 	111%x22
Paladin's Hammer	Mark an area, and then summon a giant golden hammer to damage your enemies within the area	200 mana 	780%
Power Bomb 	Shoots out geysers of earth to destroy your enemies 	250 mana 	330%x4
Magical Force 	Shoots a minigun of magic arrows. (Hold down the button to keep firing) 	100+ mana	100%xy
Lunatic Force 	Shoots a giant magic orb to explode ice upon its victims 	200 mana 	350%x3
Glory 	Casts a shield that doubles armor and regenerates over time. 	200 	D*2
Super Sword 	Summons a giant weapon clone to upgrade your range. 	300 	R*2
Athena's Sword 	Increases attack power by 50%. Can be stacked up to 3 times. 	150 	A*1.5
Holy Beam 	Shoots a holy beam of light (beam goes forward, not from top down) 	100 	70%x12
Poison Blast 	Unleashes a bomb that casts poison on the enemies. 	100 	300% (75%x10 for poison)
Flame Blast 	Unleashes a bomb that casts flame on the enemies 	100 	770%
Ice Blast 	Unleashes a bomb that casts ice on the enemies 	100 	680%
Thunder Blast 	Unleashes a bomb that casts thunder on the enemies 	100 	980%
=====Nexuses=====
Nexus Name 	Description 	Cost	Combination 	Damage Formula
Paladin's Fury 	Summon a giant hammer that pulls the enemies in, and crushes them with a holy slam. 	300 	Starfall+Paladin	
Icicle Shower 	Summon a swarm of homing icicles to damage your enemy 	300 	Meteor+Lunatic 	
Chain Lightning 	Summon electric spheres that chain-link into enemies 	300+	Magical+Starfall	
Star's Wrath 	Shoots several starfall lasers that hit the enemy. 	250 	Starfall+Meteor 	
Thorn Shield 	Summon a regenerating shield that starfalls the enemies that combos you for double damage. 	300 	Starfall+Glory 	
Genesis 	Summon the goddess Cygnus to beam down 12 holy lasers to destroy your enemies. (Lasers always lock-on enemies)	300 	Holy+Meteor 	
Magi Climax 	Summon the Magi Blade to double your damage and increase your range as well as add more hits. 	300 	Super+Athena 	
Judgment Day 	Summon a hexagram which executes enemies around you 	300 	Holy+Paladin 	
Blast Bomb 	Throw a cluster bomb that unleashes large-scale explosions 	250 	Flame+Ice 	
Radioactive Bomb	Throw a cluster bomb that unleashes radioactive waves 	250 	Flame+Thunder 	
Corrosive Bomb 	Throw a cluster bomb that unleashes corrosive fear 	250 	Thunder+Poison 	
Magnetic Bomb 	Throw a cluster bomb that unleashes death upon machines 	250 	Thunder+Ice 	
Homing Cluster 	Throw a cluster bomb that shoots homing clusters at the enemies 	200 	Flame+Starfall 	
Holy Cutter 	Shoot a piercing laser to destroy your enemies. 	300 	Holy+Eddy 	
Kaiser Striker 	Shoot down dark plasma meteors. 	300 	Meteor+Eddy 	
===Weapons===
(TBA)
====Elite Weapons====
Those are more powerful weapons then the regular weapons (higher stats, and a bonus skill in each of them) Note that sealed crests are a blacklist of crests that can be used on those weapons.
Weapon Name 	Type 	Attack 	Description 	Special Ability 	Sealed Crests
Revengeance Rapier	Small Sword 	1200 - 1575	A rapier once used by a warrior who wanted to conquer their goals back. 	Shoots a magic rapier, and if that rapier strikes it aftershocks back. (Shockwaves not affected) 	n/a
Faerie Zweihander 	Large Sword 	1400 - 1755	An legendary sword found in an ancient faerie's pond. The owner tried to defend a village of faeries with it from the Titans.	The large sword sucks magic from enemies, and summons spirit fairies to shield you. 	n/a
Daybreak Lance 	Spear 	1330 - 1600	An lance that was said to be shined during the solar eclipse that changed everything. 	Spear will zap enemies with golden thunder. Thunder can chain-link enemies and bounce back. 	Any element crest. 
Kaiser Gauntlets 	Combat Bracers	1100 - 1450	They say that a warrior used this to master his fighting skill. 	Always Fire element. Double speed and splash explosions the enemy 	Any element crest or speed crest
Cygnus Glaive 	Glaive 	1430-1950 	The Glaive from Cygnus, the Goddess. Said to have sealed demons. 	Charge-up heavy attacks summon a phantom Cygnus which slashes everything in its way. 	n/a
Aernasis Hammer 	Hammer 	1550-2100 	An hammer once belonged to a beautiful crusader who was killed during an ambitious stand-off. 	Hammer strikes 50% faster. Heavy attacks have a holy hexagram that throws enemies in the air and damages them	n/a
Soul Metamorpher 	Chakram 	1110-1500 	An chakram forged by an anonymous blacksmith that is said to steal the soul from its victim. 	Chakram damage absorbs mana and health from enemies.  	n/a
Naamah 	Small Sword 	1400 - 1900	An sword that was said to be forged from the souls of the deceased monsters. 	Sword has the capability to transform into a "Zotac Blade" which is a giant sword extension. 	Zotac-only weapon.
===Relics===
Relic Name 	Description
Speed talisman 	Doubles your speed
Winged Boots 	Lets you double jump
Hades's Hook 	Lets you climb on rock walls
Gravity Boots 	Let's you walk on metal walls
Jet Boots 	Let's you rocket dash toward enemies
Hover Boots 	Lets you hover over pitfalls for a limited time. Best used in low-gravity areas.
Ankou Shield 	Let's you block against lasers and bullets
Gold Scarab 	Must be used to pick locks to open certain doors.
Time Transistor	Reverse time to what the place was
Iron Boots 	Must be used to plunge down underwater.
===Crests===
The crests exclusive to all weapons including the Magi boost mana gain efficiency, drop rate, or add elements to it. Only one elemental crest can be added to a weapon. A * means this is elemental. A + means this can be leveled up to 5.
Crest Name 	Description
Mana Booster+ 	Increases mana gain efficency by 10%-50%
Critical Up+ 	Increases critical rate by 5%-25%
Stun Up+ 	Chance of stunning enemies 5%-25%
Endurance Up+ 	Increases armor by 10%-50%
EXP Up+ 	Increases EXP gain by 6%-30%
Drop Up+ 	Increases item drop rate by 20%-100%
Auto-Collect 	Automatically pick up items.
Fire Jewel* 	Adds fire element
Water Jewel* 	Adds water element
Earth Jewel* 	Adds earth element
Thunder Jewel*	Adds thunder element
====Weapon-Specific Crests====
Crest Name 	Description
Shockwave 	Shoots a sonic shockwave when attacking
Bullet Absorb 	Striking bullets regenerates your health
Phantom Blast 	Attacks additional shadow strikes
Range Up 	Increases melee range by 50%
Attack Speed Up	Increases attack speed by 50%.
====Magi-Specific Crests====
These are crests exclusive to the Magi weapons. A * means all Magi weapons can take it. The "Compatible Mods" was for crests that affect the weapon through its combat style, not its stats. Only Mastery affects the Nexuses and Miracles. A Magi can take 2 weapon mods, 1 stat booster, and 1 elemental crest.
Crest Name 	Description
Ricochet 	Allows attacks to bounce off walls and enemies
Piercing 	Allows attacks to pierce enemies. Ricochet would still bounce.
Homing 	Allows attacks to seek the enemy.
Double 	Allows attacks to come in two shots.
Thunderbolt 	Allows attacks to aftershock with the power of thunder.
Shrapnel 	Allows attacks to explode with fragments. Spread Shot also gets a tightened spread so it's more like a battle shotgun.
Cluster 	Allows attacks to unleash clusters after being shot.
Magi Speed 	Increases firerate by 50%. (maximum is double speed with rings or other equips)
Magi Mastery*	Increases damage by 50%.  (maximum additional damage is 150% with items)
==Endings==
There will be 50 endings from I to L indicated in Roman numerals. I to VII being the true endings, and the latter being the "joke" endings.
Upon getting ending VII, the ending allows you to add your message to the players, and have the option of sacrificing your save data to help out another player and be added to the high scores list and leaderboards for all of the other players on the game to see.
==Achievements==
Achievement Name	Description 	Rank
The End 	Thank you for playing. 	Platinum
Ending Service 	Find an ending for the first time. 	Bronze
First Deal 	Clear an sidequest for the first time 	Bronze
Weapon Master 	Find all weapons  	Silver
Magi Master 	Find all Magi weapons 	Silver
Ending Master 	Find all endings 	Gold
Loremaster 	Upgrade all weapons 	Silver
Service Agent 	Clear all sidequests 	Silver
Rad Gunner 	Kill 1 boss using only Magi fire 	Bronze
Geared Up 	Equip a full set of equipment 	Bronze
Explorer 	Explore the entire map of the world. 	Silver
Journal Master 	Collect all archives, readables and novels. 	Silver
Blade Master 	Learn all secret Blade moves. 	Silver
Nexus Master 	Learn all the Nexuses. 	Silver
Gotta Go Fast 	Reach maximum speed. 	Bronze
Fish Master 	Find all the fishes. 	Silver
Boss Master 	Clear the Boss Rush. 	Gold
Spartan Warrior 	Clear the game on Spartan Mode. 	Gold
Super Sorcerer 	Find the strongest armor in the game. 	Bronze
Journey's End 	Get the true ending, and destroy the credits with your cube fire	Gold
==Reception==
NieR Syren has gotten a positive reception so far, while praise for its customization and combat improvements. It got 80s on Metacritic and an 8/10 on IGN and GameSpot.
On Miiverse, popular posts include:
*Fanart of the NieR series (crossover between series)
*Weapon reviews and Magi reviews 
*Secrets and endings
*Sacrificing their data to be added to the high scores (which later led to an unbreakable record where a hardcore American player got the high score for beating the game straight on Very Hard and then sacrificing their data, with a total playtime of 5:42:35 in one sitting)
*Weapon lore and theories
*"We interrupt NieR to bring you Drakengard!" (The final boss is where you have to ride on a dragon that uses the Magi weapons) 
===NieR Ultima===
Yoko Taro plans to add another sequel to NieR to end it all; NieR Ultima, meaning the ultimate sacrifice to restart all life.
NieR Ultima takes place in 100,666 AD, where meteors had been crushing the earth's atmosphere, leaving nothing but craters and a dead wasteland. However, what forms from the meteor is a new angelic lifeform known as Helion, meaning the being of the sun. One Helion unit, known as Isaiah, must roam the land to find out why he exists, and his purpose to serve in the dead Earth.
==Trivia==
*The Super Sword effects are inspired by Bayonetta's Wicked Weaves.
*The Magi Climax is based on Bayonetta's Umbran Climax.
*Although NieR is set in the future, NieR Syren instead goes in reverse to tie in with historical myths.
==Sub-pages==
Nier: Syren/Weapons
Nier: Syren/World
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