In NieR:Automata, plug-in chips drastically affect your character. Exponentially higher attack, defense, and speed are just some of the many possible benefits of using chips.

There are five categories of chips: system, attack, defense, support, and hacking. The system chips are necessities that you get at the start of the game (i.e. EXP gauge, mini map, etc.), so I will not be including any of those in this list.

This list strays away from the basic chips (obviously a 500% attack boost is dope, but I don’t need to tell you that). I’ve tried to compile a list of chips that you may not have thought are useful.

5. Overclock (Support)

There are frequent battles in NieR where the combat can be overwhelming. All you want is a break, or at least a couple of seconds to gather yourself. with the Overclock chip, you can do just that. This chip gives me peace of mind in-between blasting machines.

♦ Slow down time for 0.8-5.5 seconds after a Perfect Evade.

Beautifully done 2B.

4. Anti-Chain Damage (Defense)

Especially on Hard and Very Hard mode, anything more than one attack’s worth of damage can spell the end for our dear android. The anti-chain damage chip has saved me so many countless times.  In fact, I began to forget that enemies even had the ability to combo attack after using this chip for a while. This is ESSENTIAL.

♦ Turn invisible after taking damage for 0.5-6 seconds.

This saw will hit you...a lot.

3. Auto-Collect Items (Support)

Enemies drop a lot of items, most of which are actually very useful for weapon/pod upgrades. So, it makes sense that a chip that makes collecting items easier would be one of the best to equip. It will save you a lot of time by not having to run over and hold down a button to collect the item, and it will make the game flow even better than it already does.

♦ Being near items sends them to your inventory.

Does it look like she has time to stop and pick up an item?

2. Shockwave (Attack)

When it comes to fighting large hordes of machine lifeforms, the shockwave plug-in chip is a MUST. It gives each of your strikes a huge attack radius and also makes destroying projectiles a breeze. When paired with a weapon like Ancient Overlord, which causes enemy projectiles to explode when struck, shockwave makes you into a killing machine (literally).

♦ Adds a SWEET shockwave to attacks, any from weak to strong.

Show your dominance with one swing of the sword.

1. Deadly Heal (Defense)

When playing the game on either Normal or Hard, this chip is a game changer. When faced with large hordes of enemies, you’ll most definitely walk into a few enemy attacks. This chip makes that okay! In most combat situations, there are weak enemies that are easy to kill and don’t do a lot of damage to you. My advice; save those enemies until the end. When you follow this strategy, and have the deadly heal plug-in chip, you can use these little machines as your personal health bank. Sick? Yeah. Awesome? OH yeah.

♦ Recover 5-100% of your HP for each enemy defeated.

Gotta recover some HP after being diced by that mechanical axe.

Things you should check out on gamersdecide.com

•  NieR:Automata's Top 5 Weapons And How to Obtain Them 

•  Is NieR:Automata Good? Is it Even Worth it?

•  The 26 Endings of NieR Automata. The Incentive for Replayability