Nier Replicant ver. 122474487139… is out today, and if you’ve played the original, you’ll know that there are a lot of side quests in the game that could take up a lot of your time. You can choose to skip these entirely, but where’s the fun in that? Here’s a guide to get you started on the first few quests of Nier Replicant as efficiently as possible so you can move on to be a lean mean questing machine later in the game.

Read our Nier Replicant ver. 122474487139… Review

*Information below may contain mild spoilers.

Quests appear right after you begin your first mission straight after the Barren Temple. This is where Nier Replicant becomes quite similar to Nier Automata, where you receive full access to your menu screen and the ability to save right around the first hour mark, basically when all the prologues have been finished. Later on you could farm and fish, and maybe even hook a shark, but we’ll tackle the ever important side quests first!

While yes, you start off quite small, don’t underestimate some of these fetch quests. Some of them may seem trivial, but if you give the time and effort for it, it really sets you up to be “financially independent” in the long run, as one of the best weapons in the game will be available for purchase later on.

Clear The Library Quests First

Before you even get the tutorial notification about quests, you can actually get started and finish with some of the Library Fetch Quests for some easy coin. Return to Popola after your main story cutscene and accept the Herbal Remedies quest. You probably have five or more Medicinal Herbs on you at that point, so that’s an easy 1000 gold.

Then head to the third floor of the library to accept the Book Smarts from one of the library staff. It involves returning two books to their appropriate spot. The first book is behind the trophy room opposite of Popola’s office, where a ladder is perched at. The second book is on the ground floor near two gossiping kids. You’ll get another 500 gold with this.

Collect Some Quests In Town

Once you exit the Library, you’ll finally receive the tutorial notice about Quests, but you’ve done a couple already making you an expert in the field! Head downtown and accept all the quests in the area. Make sure you get the The Lost Eggs, Boar Hunt, Old Fashioned Home Cooking, and the other two fetch quests you probably won’t finish any time soon. And use that newly earned coin to buy some maps, especially Map to the Aerie. You’ll need that later.

Clean Up Before Heading Off

To make it easy for you, here is where you can find the chicken egg to finish The Lost Eggs quest (see photo above). While you’re in the area, accept the Gatekeeper’s Errand and head back downtown to collect on your The Lost Eggs reward and head to where the Blacksmith is, talk to his wife and finish the Gatekeeper’s Errand. When you head out, absolutely do not accept the Fragile Delivery quest, unless you’re trying to set a masochistic record of making your life so much more difficult for yourself.

Head to Aerie and Take Out The Boar

When you go to Aerie, make sure you collect 10 pieces of mutton along the way (for Old Fashioned Home Cooking) by killing the sheep around the area and finish up the story mission there. Once completed, you’ll probably be strong enough to be able to take a few charge attacks from the Wild Boar.

Defeating the Boar is relatively easy. Wait for it to charge at you, get out of the way and it’ll hit a boulder behind you. Hit away until it’s dead, rinse and repeat. Have some herbs ready to heal and maybe it’ll be wise to use a Defense Drop to mitigate damage. Also it’s good to have a Dark Lance ready just in case the porker is a lot closer to dodge, it’ll interrupt its charge attack.

Handle With Care

When you return to town, collect on the Old Fashioned Home Cooking and the Boar Hunt. The quest giver for the Boar Hunt quest will let you know that now you can ride the boar for a fast-ish travel between Aerie and your town.

NOW you can accept the Fragile Delivery. Ride the boar and charge to Aerie, just take care you don’t hit any boulders along the way. When you reach Aerie, the area will be free of Shades giving you a free pass to deliver your package without it breaking. You’ll earn 1,500 gold for your trouble. Doesn’t that sound easy as opposed to running back and forth the whole way?

Nier Replicant ver. 122474487139… is now available on the PS4, Xbox One, and the PC.