NieR Automata: Dark Apocalypse - Hints and Predictions

[Cilia]

Yoko Taro took a liking to it and now 2P is canon.

It helps that 2P is actually a plausible name for a YoRHa unit.

[Erendis]

It is dwarves after all.

[AxHell]

So about the trailer: We all agree that 2P was fighting 9S right?

[Cilia]

So about the trailer: We all agree that 2P was fighting 9S right?

Going on the golden blade and hair color... most likely candidate.

We still have very little context though; other than the link to the dwarves of Kholusia being confirmed, we don't really know anything about what's going on with the raids, so I'd argue that's jumping the gun. (Just a little.)

[Crushnight]

well given what 2B's hidden mission was, that figure could be 2P's version of it

[ObsidianFire]

I'll be shocked if it's not 9S. The sword has the exact same look Cruel Oath does, she's fighting someone with black clothes and white hair and they're shorter then 2P. Unless something super screwy is going on (and to be fair, it is a Yoko Taro cross over, so it totally could be) it's most likly 9S. Which throws us for a nice contrast with NieR if 9S and 2P start out as enemies...

[Cilia]

It is probably 9S, or the XIV version of him... but we have no context regarding that yet, so even if it is (and that's no guarantee, however likely) the significance of that is unknown. Not only has Return to Ivalice shown they can adapt and graft on bits of other worlds, but this is Yoko Taro, one of the few true auteurs of the video game world... and he's more interested in evoking an emotional response from the audience than telling a cohesive story, so who knows what's going on.

In retrospect it was kind of obvious the dwarves were involved though. The duo who appear to be most integral to the upcoming story use a black / white color scheme, mirroring Grimories Nero and Weiss from NieR and Pods 153 and 042 (belonging to 9S and 2B respectively) from Automata.

This probably rules out the connection to Vauthry and Mt. Gulg, but if there's anything connecting the Ancients to it remains to be seen...

[Cilia]

So, major spoilers for the Copied Factory ahoy!

Bosses are a powerful variant of a machine, a new machine named Hobbes (in the grand tradition of naming key machines after famous philosophers), the famous Goliath-class Engels, and 9S in a flight unit hijacking a quadrupedal machine tank for extra firepower.

Nothing is really explained as to what's going on - you get into (or are forced into) the excavation tunnel, save 2P along with the dwarven twins, and then go down into the Copied Factory to quell the threat 2P says the machines present. 2P and 9S end up being put out of commission at the end, and not much else happens.

However, more things happen afterwards...

After clearing the instance, you're given free reign to explore an instanced version of the Copied Factory with the dwarven twins seeking some sort of "key" mentioned by 2P before she went offline. You find a bunch of junk they believe will suffice, along with a damaged pod that is going to take six months to analyze said junk.

While exploring, you also find a number of data logs:

Unidentified Expedition Log [1/2/3]
-Survey of local terrain continues. Ecosystem in this area appears to have adapted to extended drought - dry climate conditions must have been present for some time. Investigation of a murky spring did reveal aquatic life, though of an unusual sort. / Survey of local terrain continues. Current location is particularly verdant, likely owing to the plethora of freshwater springs. Peculiar that two so markedly distinct biomes should exist in such proximity. / Survey of local terrain still continues, though with no discoveries of particular note, Or perhaps I've grown tired of searching. Still, it's better to be stuck in the middle of nowhere than on the front lines.

Memory of a Damaged Machine
-Oh brother, where art thou? It's dark. I'm alone. All alone and lonely. I want friends. Don't stop me. I'll kill you. I need friends...

Machine Research Report [1/2]
-The machines' primary objective seems to be nothing more than "kill enemy." What's troubling, though, is that their auto-evolution systems have begun to build a private network. / The machines' network has evolved o the point where paradoxes no longer present an obstacle, allowing for diversity among individuals. They may continue to incorporate whatever data is within reach - someday, the world in its entirety.

Weapon Fragment Data [1/2/3/4]
-The blade is in motion, once-gleaming white drenched red. A blow to halt the twin gears life and death, its impetus long forgotten. / Our world never doubted. Only closed its eyes, the better to turn unburdened. / In that world we once knew, sharp and shattered, a single spark of memory grows to a flame. It shines upon the lost, and at last we understand. / Rue not what has come to be, nor lay down your arms while life still rises amidst ruin. The blade demands this vow, this virtue.

Tattered Flyer
-Thanks for [...] by! [...]'s is a thriving chain of [... ...]cluding swords that match the regional features and squads of [...]

If I missed any logs, someone please let me know.

There is also an extra room that can only be entered during the instanced exploration; during the duty the doors in are shut. Said room is full of nonfunctional (likely dead) copies of 2B.

Before setting out on your exploration, you're forced to choose between going with Konogg (the male dwarf in black) or Anogg (the female dwarf in white); the former does not trust 2P, while the latter does. Other than your companion for that quest and a little bit of writing in the journal, there is no discernible difference in outcomes at the moment.

Observation:

While everything seems fine at the outset, once you reach the climax and ending areas, the factory seems to be falling apart as if from Primordial Light contamination or the humanity-dooming White Chlorination Syndrome from the original NieR.

[ObsidianFire]

Oh good, I'm not the only person who's first reaction to seeing "snow" in the factory at the end was "Oh shit, that had better not turn out to be salt."

This probably doesn't have anything to do with NieR, but the problem the Scions are facing with being stuck on the 1st Shard is the exact same problem humanity faces in NieR: Replicant/Gestalt. They are souls out of their bodies and their souls are deteriorating as a result...

There's also what is probably a Drakengard Easter Egg in the NieR raid as well... https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...l_boss_bug_is/

[Gula]

It is dwarves after all.

[smug intensifies]