The experience players have withScarlet Nexusdepends on their approach to the combat mechanics. Once mastered,Scarlet Nexusis fairly undemanding. However, those who simply treat this game like an averagehack-and-slash titlemay find themselves in a hairy situation, especially during the later game.
RELATED:Scarlet Nexus: Things Everyone Missed In The Story
Those who master the combat mechanics ofthis JRPG titlewill really feel the enjoyment this game offers. There are a ton of enemies to face, ranging from superpowered humans to massive alien creatures known as Others. For the player to defeat these enemies effectively, they’ll need to learn a couple of pro tips to utilize while playing.
Updated Jun 12, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Scarlet Nexus has been out for a while now, and theJRPG was even added to Xbox Game Passat the end of September 2021. A new IP, Bandai Namco’s title was a pleasant surprise, delivering a long story along with fluid and engaging gameplay. Scarlet Nexus is not the hardest game out there, but it can be challenging until someone grows familiar with all of its mechanics. With the end of the year approaching, people looking to catch up with the 2021 releases they missed might find themselves taking on this JRPG, and they should keep a few tips in mind when jumping into Scarlet Nexus. The game is worth it, especially for fans of action RPGs such as the Tales series.
12Unlock The Concurrent SAS Activation Skills
Inthe game’s Brain Maptree menu, the player can find two different versions of theConcurrent SAS Activation skill upgrade. Without these skills, the player can only use one SAS ability at once. Unlocking one will allow them to use two, and unlocking the second and last one will allow them to use up tofour abilities at the same time.
This will make the player much morepowerful in combat. They can mix and match different SAS abilities to enhance effectiveness. This will also allow them to be more creative, and find the abilities that best suit every situation.
There are four ways of gathering various kinds ofitems and plug-insinScarlet Nexus:finding them from the world, earning them as rewards from side quests, or going to the game’s merchant and either buying them or exchanging them.
Finding them in the world and earning them from side quests can come naturally as the player progresses through the game. For the merchant, however, it will serve the player better toexchange itemsinstead of just purchasing them. This way, they’ll be able to save up their money for Jellies or for other items they may need to purchase later on.
10Increase Bond Level
This game has a “bond” mechanic, which dictates the player’s relationship with the other members of their party. Aside from uncovering more about each character’s backgrounds and desires, thebond level will also make the companions more active in combatand their abilities more powerful.
RELATED:Awesome Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Scarlet Nexus
Increasing a character’s bond level is straightforward. During every standby phase, the player is given the chance to doBond Episodeswith certain characters. Participating in these will increase a character’s bond level. They can also give characters gifts, which are exchanged from the merchant.
9Do Not Ignore Presents
Along with Bond Episodes,Yuito and Kasane will need to buy Presents for their teammates if they would like to maximize their friendships. Each character’s Bond Level can be increased six times, and there will not be enough episodes to reach that point.
Gifts will not produce rewards instantly, as a lot of them are required to increase a character’s Bond Level. During each standby phase, head to thestore’s Exchange page and collect as many Presents as possible. Most players should have the necessary materials to create Presents permitting they are completing side quests and doing some exploration during missions.
When it comes to gifts, characters can have three reactions to them:Accepts,Likes, andFavorite. Naturally, prioritize the second two as those impact the Bond Level far more than accepted gifts.
8Balance Melee Attacks & Psycho-Kinetic Abilities
For the player to be as effective as they can be, they need to know how to balance their melee attacks and theirpsycho-kinetic abilitieseffectively. There are instances that call for the use of the player’s powerful weapon, while others require them to be more liberal with their powers.
The game ultimately forces the player toutilize both of these combat elements. While the player’s psychokinesis is more powerful than a melee attack, the latter is also needed to replenish the power gauge needed to perform the former.
7Know The Enemies' Weak Points
Every Other-type enemy in this game has a weak point the player can exploit. Thankfully, these weaknesses are very easy to spot. They are usuallyhighlighted by their glowand take up considerable space in an enemy’s body.
The player can exploit these weak points by attacking them with their weapon or by hurling an object at it using psychokinesis. Attacking these enough will cause an opponent tostagger, giving the player a chance to perform a powerful Brain Crush.
6Prioritize Certain Brain Map Skills
Every skill found in the game’s Brain Map menu comes with its own usefulness. However, the Brain Points needed to unlock them only come each time a player levels up. With this in mind, the player shouldprioritize the skillsthat are arguably better and more useful than the others.
These are some of the Brain Map skills the player shouldprioritize early on:
5Do The Side Quests
The side quests in this title aren’t as story-extensive as the player would expect out of this genre. What they do present, however, are series of tasks that are very easy to do. They also net incredible rewards at completion.
RELATED:Mistakes Everyone Makes While Playing Scarlet Nexus
These quests are marked by adiamond-shaped pin on the minimap. Whenever the player sees this, they should head up to it to trigger the quest. More often than not, the player will be able to complete these quests as they progress through the game, defeating certain types of enemies using various abilities.
4Lock On To Your Target
Locking on to a target is something a lot of players already do in a lot ofthird-person action games. However, because of the nature of the game’s camera movement and attack tracking, locking on to an enemy is a handier tip than ever inScarlet Nexus.
The player should make it a habit tolock on to the enemy they wish to fight firstwhenever a combat encounter arises. This way, every single melee and psychokinesis attack will have a higher chance of landing.
3Assess Which Characters To Include In The Party
While the player has the option to choose between four abilities at the beginning and nine at the end,only two party members are allowed to join the playerin the actual gameplay. These characters are the ones who will actually fight alongside the player and revive them when they’re down.
The characters the player should have in their party are theones who own the SAS abilities they use the most. Whenever the player uses a SAS ability belonging to someone in the party, that ability will last longer.
