NieR: Automata has a lot of different weapons in each weapon type for players to try out throughout the various playthroughs of the game. Each weapon can be upgraded multiple times, helping make your favorite weapons viable for longer and even letting you take most weapons throughout the entire game if you want.

Upgrading weapons can be done anytime at the Resistance Camp, though it will require specific resources depending on the weapon you want to upgrade. One crafting material players won't naturally get but will need a good bit of is Beast Hides; here's how to get and farm them easily.

nier-automata-death-penalty-explained
NieR: Automata - Death Penalty Explained

Dying in NieR: Automata can be catastrophic if you don't recover your body; here's what may happen and how to recover your body so it doesn't.

How To Get Beast Hides In NieR: Automata

Beast Hides can be potential drops when you kill wildlife such as moose and boar. These animals will randomly spawn in specific sections of the map, and for the most part, will avoid the player and nearby robots. Animals are easily noticed on the mini-map as their icons appear white, as opposed to machines' black icons. There is no simple way to farm wildlife, as they won't spawn as much as machines, and you'll have to know where to look for them.

Moose and boar will only spawn in the ruined city and forest sections of the world. Depending on your level compared to the animal, they will either run away or attack you when you attack them first. If the animal is much higher than you, there's a chance it will get aggressive just if you get too close. Wildlife also has fairly high health pools, so fighting those of a higher level or right around your level early into the game can actually be fairly challenging.

Using Animal Bait can try to coax wildlife to get closer to you and make killing them easier.

Since animals won't continuously spawn as enemies during the main story, you'll have to kill them while exploring and then look for new ones. Wildlife and machines have similar respawn requirements:

  • Fast traveling respawns all enemies and wildlife.
  • Traveling far enough away respawns enemies and wildlife in previous areas.
  • Triggering story moments can respawn nearby enemies and wildlife.

No matter where you're at in the game, there is no simple way of farming for Beast Hides easily. Simply cut down all the wildlife you encounter as you run through the forest and city ruins and you'll usually have all that you need. Beast Hides have a fairly good drop rate, so as long as you're not trying to upgrade more weapons than you can equip at once you'll also never need too many Beast Hides at once.

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NieR: Automata Tag Page Cover Art
NieR: Automata
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10 /10
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Released
March 7, 2017
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
M for Mature: Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Platinum Games
Publisher(s)
Square Enix
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Franchise
NieR
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch
Genre(s)
Action RPG
How Long To Beat
22 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty