"Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped...in a never-ending spiral of life and death."

— 2B in the Prologue

YoRHa No.2 Type B, or just 2B, is one of the protagonists of NieR:Automata. She is a YoRHa android created to battle the Machine lifeforms that have invaded the planet on behalf of the surviving humans. She served during the 14th Machine War.

2B is an all-purpose battle android, deployed as a member of the automated YoRHa infantry. She is equipped with a multitude of weapons for close quarters combat and can attack from range using the Pod support system.

Appearance

2B's most striking features are the standard-issue blindfold that obscures her eyes, and the notable references to YoRHa found on her dress. She stands at a height of 168 cm, including heels. Her hair is yellowish-white,^[2] and is set in a styled bob with slightly chopped ends. If not obscured by her blindfold, she possesses blue-gray eyes, as well as a beauty mark below the left side of her lips.

2B wears a high-slit black turtleneck dress, which due to its nature, allows her to perform a wide arrange of moves to suit her combat style. Her dress has a high collar, and an open cleavage obscured by a lace-patterned fabric that roughly bears the logo of YoRHa. It has puffed sleeves ending in mid-forearm in the form of crow feathers, which may signify death. Inside these sleeves seemingly are white fabric reaching down to dip sharply before her hands, which are covered with black gloves. Her dress also opens in the back, exposing 2B's shoulder blades down to the small space of her back. The dress's skirt is high-slit, and is shown to be made of a flowing, flexible fabric bearing a similar texture to leather, if observed closely, the logo of YoRHa can be seen embroidered along the hem of her skirt. For her footwear, she wears dark thigh-high garter stockings with black lining underneath thigh-high black leather boots equipped with heels.

Whenever 2B is in combat or self-destructs, her skirt can be damaged and/or removed completely, revealing that she wears a white leotard underneath. It is debatable if her white leotard is stitched to her remaining black blouse or she is wearing her blouse over her leotard.

Personality

2B is a blade of quiet determination. As a combat android, she does not encourage idle chatter on frivolous subjects and is generally reticent towards others. She also has high respect for the chain of command and rarely questions her orders, unlike 9S. In the English audio, 2B occasionally expresses a notably sarcastic wit in the face of certain situations.

Despite her stoic personality, 2B is actually a kind and emotional person—her cold behavior is nothing but something to keep her partner at an emotional distance as she is burdened by grief and guilt about her role—to kill the scanner 9S, rebooting his memories, whenever she learns too much about the truth of YoRHa and humanity. 2B is prone to letting her emotionless facade slip in certain situations. As she and 9S become closer, she becomes more sociable and willing to engage in conversation. For example, she humors 9S when he talks about taking her shopping after the war with the Machines has ended and even uses his preferred nickname of 'Nines', though she quickly takes it back. 2B. In the final battle against Adam, she expresses pure rage and raw hatred for the Machine Leader when she witnesses 9S's critical condition, swearing she would kill him.

2B also cares a great deal for her comrades, petting her Pod as though it were a pet and going so far as to find a picture of a flower for Operator 6O. She is also very respectful towards others' wishes; when she and 9S are searching for the memories of an android with amnesia via going to places, 9S wonders what's so important about them. 2B merely states that the memories are important to her (where she also exhibits thinly-veiled jealousy when 9S agrees to help her, accusing him of falling for her).

In numerous moments throughout her adventure, 2B expresses frustration and pain with her true role in relation to 9S, hating the cycle they are locked within in her mind. She becomes emotional at having a chance to finally save the 9S she knows from Engels' attack at the beginning of the game but later shows anger at learning that his memory after their initial rendezvous was lost. She also openly expressed sorrow when she was forced to kill 9S after he was infected with a logic virus in Ending A, crying after she took his life and expressing joy when it was revealed that he transferred his consciousness into a machine body to preserve his life.

Story

Early Life

2B was deployed on January 7th, 11942, at 5:13 AM, Bunker Time.^[3] She was part of the new line of YoRHa Executioner androids, incorporating YoRHa Type A No.2's synthetic body and personal data into her design.^[4][5] As part of YoRHa, she's been indoctrinated to shut off her emotions and kill machine lifeforms with every roll-out and reformatting. She was given the designation of 2B as a cover by the Commander, who gave her orders to observe one of the new Scanner models in action during YoRHa's operations against the machines, with her model frequently being paired up with and produced in tandem with his.^[4][6]

2B's role was to ensure that 9S would not discover the true nature of Project YoRHa by executing him in case he dug too deep because of the natural curiosity programmed into him, without her knowing the truth herself. Over the course of hundreds of operations, 2B was forced to kill 9S and wipe his memory countless times, an act that she came to hate for the pain it caused her after bonding with him over that time.

In Memory Cage, she kills 9S for the first time at a desert temple by laying a Logic Virus trap for him in the hacking space, albeit struggling to shut down her emotions and clumsily killing him in a roundabout manner.

Up until Memory Thorn, she has learned from her mistakes and killed 9S more efficiently several times since then, once during their descent to Earth, another execution at the Sand Temple again, a few times at the Stone Temple, sometimes after their missions, and sometimes even before they even met. However, this time, she fell prey to a Logic Virus trap by Machine Lifeforms at the Stone Temple, having been caught off-guarded and dazed by the deja vu she was experiencing. After removing the virus, 9S confronts her and reveals he knows everything. 2B accepts it, and while smiling in resignation and acceptance, tells him to kill her. 9S kills himself instead, telling her he had fun and enjoyed all her times together, and makes her promise to always kill him so that they could meet each other again, which she reluctantly accepts.

In A Repeating Prayer, 2B has killed 9S several more times, breaking both of their hearts, 2B at having to kill him and 9S at having his precious memories of her stolen away each time. In another iteration, he self-destructs on his own, telling 2B once again he knows she was tasked to kill him but he only feels pain at having to make her suffer each time, and that it was his honor to fight alongside her and once again making her promise to kill him every time so that they could meet, their tragedies repeating.

In the NieR:Orchestra Concert 12020, during Operation Uranus, 2B and 9S are deployed to a large-scale machine lifeform base in the Pacific Ocean. 2B is infected with the Logic Virus, and wishing for 9S to warm her and disappear together, attacks him. Unable to bring himself to kill her, he hacks her and exchanges her infected memory areas with his own. Not understanding why she has to live instead and not wanting to have been saved, 2B watches 9S die again.

It is revealed in the NieR:Orchestra Concert 12018 that 2B has made contact with 9S 47 times before the events of the game. In Long Story Short and Beasts of Slaughter, it is also revealed that 2B has tasked to kill A2 several times in the past as 2E and, alongside 9S, has been killed by her numerous times as a result, without the pair remembering her.

In May 11942, she, alongside Operator 6O, asks G4 for his coordinates. She tells G4 about her designation as a Battler and that he is up for reassignment, not knowing the pain she is causing him with this information, and is dispatched with other standard YoRHa units to recover him along with other survivors of the M Squadron.

NieR:Automata

On March 10th, 11945, the 243rd descent operation begins. 2B, along with a squadron of other YoRHa units, is sent to the Abandoned Factory to eliminate a Goliath-class target. After becoming the only survivor of the assault, she meets up with her assigned Scanner, 9S, for the 48th time. The pair explore the factory and are unable to find their target until it comes to life on the outskirts of the building. A fight ensues and 9S is severely damaged in the process. After 2B makes her way to the top the briefly disabled Goliath, she finds a mortally wounded 9S and is briefly overcome with emotion in an attempt to save him. 9S implores her to leave him to finish the mission and 2B hesitantly complies. After the target is destroyed, 2B and 9S reunite, only for three more Engels machines to appear and attack them. Faced with overwhelming odds, the pair are forced to detonate their black boxes in order to destroy the Goliaths.

It is revealed that after detonating their black boxes, 2B's data was uploaded back to the Bunker and transferred to a new body, ensuring her survival. However, as there wasn't enough bandwidth and time, 9S only managed to send 2B's memories with his only intact up to the point of before meeting her. Realizing that 9S has forgotten her yet again, 2B clenches her fist in frustration.

After having her boot sequence taken care of by 9S, the pair are sent to Earth in order to provide reconnaissance information and establish contact with the Resistance. During their endeavors, 2B and 9S notice how many of their machine lifeform enemies are docile, with some having begun to take on human traits. Seeing this visibly disturbs 2B, despite 9S's insistence that the machines don't have actual emotions. During their operations on the surface, 2B and 9S witness the birth of and fight Adam and Eve, two humanoid machines who were created by the machine network with the intent of discovering the secrets of humanity.

They also encounter Pascal, a pacifistic machine who leads a village of equally minded machine lifeforms, and A2, a deserter android who used to be a part of YoRHa many years ago.

In the concert story Lies, some time after meeting Pascal, she goes on a mission with 9S's Pod, 153, where she is ambushed by machines and Pod 153 who was hacked, and confronted by someone who poses as 6O, who torments her at having killed 9S multiple times.

Later, during an operation against the titanic machine Grün, 9S is blasted away by the ensuing explosion and separated from 2B. She searches for him desperately and her search eventually leads her to the Copied City. Adam lies in wait for her, explaining that he created the city in his attempts to understand humans. He also reveals that he has captured 9S, impaling him in a manner similar to crucifixion. Seeing this sends 2B into a rage, vowing to kill her machine adversary. In the ensuing battle, Adam tells her the truth about humanity's extinction, but in furious denial, she kills him, leaving Adam to die in a pool of his own blood.^[7] She frees 9S, carrying him out of the collapsing city with a promise to send him home.

After having 9S' body sent back to the Bunker, 2B meets with Pascal to see if there have been any other strange trends among the machines. In this time, she can't shake off Adam's words and wonders if androids and machines are more alike than she thought.^[8] She learns of another group of machines disconnected from the network were open to discussing a treaty and she travels with Pascal to the Abandoned Factory to meet them. It quickly becomes apparent that the machines there have become a cult and they turn aggressive on 2B and each other. With 9S's help hacking into other machines from the Bunker, 2B is able to escape. Upon returning to the Resistance Camp however, the machines in the area have gone berserk and begun eating the Resistance members. After 9S arrives in a flight unit to help dispatch a giant machine, 2B chases down Eve, the cause of the machine's behaviour from his grief for Adam. The battle is long and arduous, but 2B is finally able to stop the rampaging machines and kill Eve with a final stab of her sword.

Endings

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E

flowers for m[A]chines

At the end of Route A, 9S's body has become corrupted by the machine's logic virus while attempting to disconnect Eve from the network. Seeing no other choice as he is corrupted, 9S asks 2B to kill him out of mercy, reassuring her that his back up data at the Bunker can always be uploaded into a new body again. 2B protests, pointing out that although it's true, it comes at the cost of his personality and memories. However, with no other option and the risk it pose to the Bunker, she gives in and strangles 9S to death.

Holding 9S's corpse in her arms, 2B breaks down, crying that her time with 9S always ends like this. Suddenly, she notices that the pieces of machines around the battlefield are sending data transmissions, resonating with each other before she can destroy them. A large machine rises up and 9S's voice comes out, explaining that his personality was left in the machine network when he became corrupted and he was able to regenerate thanks to it. 2B expresses her relief that 9S survived and takes the offer of his hand. Route A ends with 9S holding 2B while she narrates:

"What is it that separates machines from androids like us? The machine has gained emotion...Consciousness. The final screams they summon on the edge of death...They still echo within me."

or not to [B]e

Route B's ending is identical to Route A, except this time the Red Girls appear to witness 2B strangling 9S to death. Instead of 2B, it is 9S who does his own narration.

meaningless [C]ode

With Adam and Eve destroyed and the machine network in chaos, the Commander orders a full scale invasion to finally end the war with the machines once and for all. 2B and 9S work as a guerilla unit, assisting other units in their fight against the machines. During the battle however, 2B is temporarily disabled by an EMP blast and has to be saved by 9S. To her horror though, 2B's squadmates suddenly turn on her, infected by the same logic virus that claimed 9S earlier. As she and 9S are overwhelmed by the YoRHa forces, the pair are forced to detonate their black boxes once again to escape.

Waking up on the Bunker, 2B meets with 9S and the pair rush to inform the Commander of what has happened. The Commander, however, doesn't trust them and orders the other YoRHa to detain both 2B and 9S on suspicion of being infected themselves. Before the order is carried out, the other androids are suddenly revealed to be infected as well. 2B is forced to cut down her own allies, learning from 9S that the reason she and him and not infected was due to 9S suspending their data sync earlier after having encountered a glitch. As she helps 9S and the Commander escape the exploding Bunker, the Commander stops them when they reach the flight units. She reveals she too is infected, having been synced up with the server like everyone else. 2B implores her to come with them, but is ordered off the Bunker as it begins to explode.

As she and 9S escape in flight units to the surface, other YoRHa flight units attack them. 2B takes control of 9S' control systems, sending his flight unit somewhere safe as her own is outnumbered and shot down. She records a message for 9S before she crashes and discovers that she has also been infected by the logic virus. 2B stumbles her way through the city ruins, her body slowly shutting down and unable to fight. As more YoRHa ground troops surround her, 2B is saved by A2's intervention. Despite this, 2B knows she is doomed since the Bunker is gone with no back up. She bestows her sword and her memories to A2 in her final moments, imploring her fellow android to take care of the future and everyone else. A2 then impales 2B out of mercy, just as 9S arrives to witness her death.

It is later revealed that 2B instructed Pod 042 to accompany and assist A2 in her journey as her final order, as well as appearing in her memories. She also makes numerous appearances during 9S' journey, both in his memories and as machine-constructed copies designed to kill him. 9S also uncovers her message for him, in which she says her memories with him were like "pure light."

Before the final battle against each other, A2 reveals 2B's real designation is YoRHa No.2 Type E (Executioner). She also mentions her role involving 9S, explaining how she is responsible for eliminating other androids that get curious enough to discover YoRHa's secret. She also suggests that 9S has been subconsciously aware of 2B's real identity all this time, prompting him to demand she shut up.

chil[D]hood's end

Route D's path is identical to Route C's except for the end choice between A2 and 9S. If 9S is chosen, he is almost beaten by A2 in combat until 2B's voice distracts her and makes her hesitate in taking the final blow. 9S seizes his chance and impales her, but accidentally falls on 2B's sword in the process, killing them both.

the [E]nd of YoRHa

After achieving Route D's ending, Pods 042 and 153 begin their demanded protocol of deleting all data relating to Project YoRHa with the death of all remaining units. If the player chooses to confirm the Pods request of checking for data noise in the credits stream, Pod 042 halts the deletion request, refusing to continue. Because of their experiences with the androids, the Pods have gained their own free will and determination. They admit they wanted all of the androids to survive as much as the player did.

If the player succeeds in beating the end credits bullet hell, the Pods rebuild 2B along with 9S and A2 with all their past memories intact, hopeful that the androids can now forge their own path in life with the war against the machines brought to an end.

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a

2B experiences largely the same events in her anime counterpart. In the anime, in the past, 2B and 9S met a red hooded Type E model who hinted at 2B's true nature. In the present, 2B meets Lily, who mistakes her for A2 and tells her her past. In a side story, on a mission without 9S, she describes sceneries for 6O who doesn't get to see such sights due to her role, and she takes pictures of sceneries and a sea shell to show to 9S, before reprimanding herself for showing emotions. She and 9S later visit the Flooded City where she and 9S find a Lunar Tear, in which she takes off her visor and boots, and they frolic together in the water, until 9S is kidnapped and she discovers Adam's room full of paintings of her and 9S. With the room directing her to the Copied City, she fights Adam, who reveals to her that humans are extinct, much to her denial. Adam also creates silicon-carbon copies of 9S to psychologically torment her. She ends up killing Eve instead of Adam in the Copied City, and then Adam in the City Ruins afterwards. The rest proceeds as the game until the anime ends with a rebooted and alive 2B happily reuniting with 9S.

Appearances

YoRHa No.2 Type B appears in the following episodes of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a:

• Episode 1, or not to [B]e (appears)
• Episode 2, city e[S]cape (appears)
• Episode 3, break ti[M]e (appears)
• Episode 4, a mountain too [H]igh (appears)
• Episode 5, mave[R]ick (appears)
• Episode 6, [L]one wolf (appears)
• Episode 7, [Q]uestionable actions (appears)
• Episode 8, aji wo [K]utta? (appears)
• Episode 9, hun[G]ry for knowledge (appears)
• Episode 10, over[Z]ealous (appears)
• Episode 11, head[Y] battle (appears)
• Episode 12, flowers for m[A]chines (appears)
• Episode 13, reckless bra[V]ery (appears)
• Episode 14, mission [F]ailed (appears)
• Episode 15, no [I] in team (appears)
• Episode 16, broken [W]ings (appears)
• Episode 18, chil[D]hood's end (flashback)
• Episode 20, deb[U]nked (cameo)
• Episode 21, [N]o man's village (flashback)
• Episode 23, meaningless [C]ode (voice only)
• Episode 24, the [E]nd of YoRHa (appears)

Voices from the Verge

During Voices from the Verge, in a concert story set when the Tower emerges after 2B's death, 2B and Pod 153 find themselves in another Copied City, where they meet a young Shadowlord who is trying to scavenge for food and has lived there for some time since before he momentarily got separated from his sister Yonah. They help him search for her while they fight off machine lifeforms. They meet up with A2, Pod 042, and a clone of Emil who found Yonah, with A2 displaying shock at 2B being alive. Pod 153 is hacked and it's revealed the Machine Network created this space as one of their many attempts to imitate humanity, that this is a world of memories. That's when 2B, the Shadowlord, and Yonah realize they're just data constructs and have already died, while the other characters are all consciousness data of people that are still alive but were forcibly brought into this space, with 9S amongst them. The "dead" decide to help those that are still alive escape this cyberspace, the escape route being located in a Church, which is guarded by machine lifeforms that are shaped like Shades. 2B sacrifices herself getting 9S's and everyone else's consciousness data out, with her thanking 9S for all the memories. Everyone alive manages to escape but do not retain their memories of this experience.

In a different concert story, in a similar timeline and cyberspace but without Yonah this time, 9S, Pods 042 and 153, Emil, and A2 fight the Shadowlord, with Emil and Mama wanting to save him. 2B saves them from the Shadowlord, proclaiming that the dead should take care of the dead and defeats him. 2B expresses regret upon learning the truth of humanity too late after dying and says her final farewells to 9S, A2, Emil, and the Pods. Mama reveals that she is here to guide the dead 2B and Shadowlord to a different cyberspace, in which they find peace.

The Memories of Puppets

During the NieR Music Concert: The Memories of Puppets, according to the Automata Concert Script 5 "Farewell" the epilogue for Route E's ending, it is revealed that 2B and 9S are already completely reconstructed by Pod 042 and Pod 153. 2B is able to be rebooted normally but 9S is unable to be reactivated. 9S's memory has become corrupt along with the data unable to be recovered. 2B decides to search a way to reboot 9S properly.

After some time, Jackass is mailing 2B about her finding a hint to repair 9S's memory storage in the collapsed Ark's Tower. In the collapsed Ark's Tower 2B is able to retrieve the remnant machine lifeforms' communication protocol. She uncovers a recording from 9S who left a message to her saying he didn't get on the Ark, contemplating on their existences as soldiers, before thanking her for giving his life meaning. In the scriptbook ending, she is unable to reboot 9S and remains fixed in place eternally. In the concert ending, 2B with the Pods' help is able to successfully wake up 9S with his complete memory, tearfully reuniting with him.

NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024

During the events of the NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [ the end of data ], following the concert ending of Farewell, 9S arrives sometime after 2B repairs him. Since the Bunker is destroyed, they are unable to source additional replacement parts, and the Resistance is also unable to help as their parts are incompatible with YoRHa androids. The two set off, heading for transporters in the hope that they might contain materials for use. However, they only find strange images, memories of the old world.

They traverse cities and deserts, leaving the nearby Machine lifeforms alone. As they travel, 2B realizes that her black box is damaged and failing, likely from when A2 killed her to prevent her from fully succumbing to the logic virus. 9S independently figures this out as well, but keeps quiet and continues with 2B in the hopes of finding repairs. As they access more transporters, they realize that the memories create a cipher planted by an unknown party, leading to a secret YoRHa facility known as "Eden." Eden houses the latest research and technology, and potentially the key to saving 2B.

As they approach Eden, they find that it is an alien ship over 3 kilometers long. They enter, seeing patterns pulse on the walls as if they were alive. They soon encounter what look like trees, but are actually aliens, speared to the walls and floor in a macabre display. At the end of their path lies another transporter but this time, it opens to reveal a ruined city of old, colored stark white.

2B and 9S enter, and are assaulted by a multitude of Machine lifeforms. After they defeat the horde, they wander further into the city. Many buildings are collapsed, but the ones still standing have no roofs, resembling gravestones. Transporters mark their progress, with more memories of the old world referencing Project Gestalt, White Chlorination Syndrome, Yonah, and The Red Dragon. They do not know the meaning behind the words, but hear them regardless. The path grows narrower, and narrower, until it ends at a circular door. The door opens to reveal...the Bunker.

This copy Bunker only somewhat resembles the original. It is in disarray, with cables snaking throughout it almost like a forest of wires. 2B and 9S follow deeper into the forest, and note additional heavy damage from claws and teeth. They soon encounter their source: more memories of the old world, but in the form of Shades. These memories are from Louise, the powerful artificial Gestalt who yearned to be human, yet was rejected and met with tragedy.

The two soon enter a hangar, containing a plaster replica of a Flight Unit with cables snaking into it. A voice emanates from the unit, saying, "Repent. Repent for your sins." The cables twist into a colossus implied to resemble the massive Shade known as Jack, all the while as it cries "Repent" and Machine lifeforms emerge to attack.

When the pair overcome the onslaught, they arrive at what appears to be a church. On the ground are the bodies of machine lifeforms, and further in, the corpses of YoRHa androids. The dead androids surround a large cracked black orb in the center of the chapel, possibly a power source for the surrounding alien ship. 2B and 9S realize that the androids created this area as a place of worship and faith in their last hours. 9S remarks that they likely will not find repairs for 2B here, and 2B thinks of how her last moments would be in a warm place like this, as her black box finally gives out and she collapses.

9S rushes to her but is powerless. He wonders why he was not taken instead of her, and questions if this is some kind of punishment. He curses—and prays.

The black boxes of the dead androids rise, and fragment into points of light. These lights form a halo around 2B, and enter her black box, fixing it. The black orb finally crumbles into a pile of rubble on the ground. They do not truly understand what occurred, but 2B surmises that since black boxes were derived from Machine lifeform cores, perhaps they activated a protocol that healed her. Nevertheless, the two continue on, vowing to survive and embrace the world they live in.

NieR Reincarnation

Though 2B does not appear in the main story of NieR Reincarnation, a data copy of her leaked into the Bunker's virtual space and informs 10H of YoRHa's destruction, and in her ramblings, expresses her regrets about 9S.

Gameplay

Playable Character

2B is the most balanced of the three characters, with a slight bias towards offensive functions.

• Primary Attack - Basic light attack, does less damage, but is faster and has a higher combo potential. The precise nature of the attack depends on the equipped primary weapon: large weapons equipped as primary will still be slow. Holding down and releasing light attack will perform a stronger short attack combo.
• Heavy Attack - Basic heavy attack, does more damage, but is slower and has shorter combos. A heavy attack can be inserted as a finisher at any point in a light attack combo, with the type of heavy attack depending on the equipped primary and secondary weapons. Jumping and then immediately pressing heavy attack will perform a launcher move, with the precise move depending on the selected secondary weapon. Holding the heavy attack button with a spear or large sword set as the heavy attack weapon will charge a powerful attack, which has two levels, the second of which will have an extended attack if it connects. The latter is enhanced by "Charge Attack" plug-in chips.
• Aerial Attack - Primary attacks in the air will keep 2B in the air as long as the combo lasts, which varies depending on the selected primary weapon, while using a heavy attack will result in powerful downward strike. The power of the latter is enhanced by "Down-Attack Up" plug-in chips.
• Pod Shot - Fires the ranged weapon of the currently selected Pod. The missile launcher Pod must have the button held for it to lock on before launching. Upgraded Pods go through multiple phases as they fire, and have effects associated with releasing the button after firing for a while.
• Pod Program - Hold to charge the selected Pod Program, and release to fire: with the Pod Scanner, hold to scan. With most Pod Programs, if the player has multiple Pods, holding for a long period will cause the additional Pods to appear and create a more powerful effect, with the nature of the effect depending on the selected program. The recharge time of a multi-Pod attack will be correspondingly increased. Firing a Pod shot will cancel a charged Pod Program. A Pod Program will generally fail to fire if the button is released while 2B is taking damage or during the invincible frames of her evade animation. Holding the Pod Program button prevents 2B from gripping the Pod to slow her descent in mid-air.
• Jump moves - 2B can evade in mid-air (see below) and jump a second time in mid air: if she falls off a ledge rather than jumping, she can perform two jumps in the air. Holding the jump button causes 2B to grip onto the Pod to slow her descent. She also has two mid-air special moves: the first is a quick twirl which gains a small amount of additional height, which is performed by pressing light or heavy attack while gripping the Pod. Note that performing this move removes 2B's ability to grip the Pod unless she performs one of her other air moves afterwards. The second move has 2B use the Pod to slingshot herself forward, functioning like a second air evade: this is performed by pressing jump and Pod shot at the same time while in mid-air. Combining these moves is essential to reach some objects in the game.
• Evade - Allows for a dash in whatever direction the movement control is pressed, defaulting to backwards if no direction is pressed. If the direction is held, after a short while 2B will start sprinting: holding also increases the speed at which 2B climbs ladders. Can also be performed in the air: a longer jump can be achieved by dashing off a platform and then again in mid-air. This dash move has invincible frames and can be used to avoid enemy attacks: the distance travelled and the number of invincible frames can be increased using "Evade Range Up" plug-in chips. The distance travelled with such a chip equipped can be controlled: holding evade will result in the full-length dash, while just a tap will result in a shorter one. Tapping a cardinal direction and pressing evade and light attack at the same time results in a special dodge and attack animation where a rotating blade is left at 2B's previous location.
• Perfect Evade - Evading just before an attack connects will cause a special evasion animation of 2B breaking into multiple hologram-like copies: if the player then quickly presses primary attack, heavy attack or pod shot, a powerful counter-attack will be performed.
• Counter - Timing an attack to strike the enemy's weapon or fist as they swing will deflect their attack and allow a counter-attack in the same manner as after a Perfect Evade. In addition, if a "Counter" plug-in chip is equipped, the player can perform the same move by tilting the movement stick in the direction an enemy attack is coming from just as it connects.
• Self Destruct - 2B has the ability to self destruct, dealing immense damage to herself and those around her. This requires holding the self-destruct button until the completion of a short on-screen countdown. It does not actually kill her unless the player is in the Bunker, in which case self-destructing triggers Ending U. The base damage it deals to enemies is equal to 2B's current HP, though this is still level-scaled. After self-destructing, 2B will be left with 1HP and be unable to perform most actions for a short period while she reboots her systems, though the Pod attacks function normally.
• Taunt - Rapidly flashing the Pod's light close to enemies will temporarily enrage them, causing them to both deal and receive more damage: this enraged state is shown by the enemy's head(s) glowing orange-red, and the enemy emitting a blast of steam as the effect starts. An enemy remains taunted for 15 seconds, after which they return to normal: re-taunting them resets the timer, though there is no visible indication of this. The amount of damage dealt and received can be enhanced with "Taunt Up" plug-in chips.
• Finisher - Pressing the action button on a downed or otherwise disabled enemy will perform a randomly-selected attack animation that does a fair amount of damage if it connects. This attack may fail to connect properly if, for example, the launcher finisher is randomly selected on an enemy that cannot be launched.

Enemy

2B herself does not appear as an actual boss in the story, instead at the Tower, multiple copies of 2B of unknown origin (likely made by the Machine lifeforms) appear to fight 9S with Virtuous Contract and Virtuous Treaty.

Quotes

• "Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle...and wonder if we'll ever get the chance to kill him." - 2B's first words and narration in Nier: Automata
• "The machines don't have feelings. You said it yourself." - 2B's response to 9S's observation on Machine lifeforms
• "Stop complaining." - 2B to 9S on a mission
• "Roger that Nine...ze." - 2B almost using 9S's nickname
• To 9S in Amnesia side-quest:
  • "Well, aren't we generous?"
  • "All this help for no personal gain? I know she's pretty, but-"
  • "...Whatever."
• To Adam:
  • "You know nothing about humanity!"
  • "You son of a... I'll kill you!"
• "9S... Come on. Let's go home." -After Adam battle
• "It always... ends like this..." - 2B's grief over 9S
• "Oh... Nines..." 2B's last words in Route C
• 2B at the end of Route A; "What is it that separates machines from androids like us? The machines have grown emotions. ...Consciousness. The final screams they summoned on the edge of their death... They still echo within me."
• 2B's Last message to 9S Route C in the wreckage of her flight unit: "This is YoRHa unit 2B...If anyone is listening to this, there's something I need you to do. If you ever meet up with YoRHa unit 9S...I want him...I mean...I'm sorry. Please just give him the following message: 9S...the time I was able to spend with you...It was like memories of pure light. Thank you...Nine...s..."
• 2B's last message to A2 in route C: "Take care... of 9S."

Trivia

• During the settings menu tutorial, 2B has a chance to tell 9S that "there is something calming" about his voice, flustering him greatly.
• When A2 is disabled by an EMP attack in the desert, she begins to experience some of 2B's memories from her sword. A brief interaction with the Commander can be heard, claiming they would usually refer to 2B as something else. This hints at her real designation of 2E.
• Like with the other androids, 2B was designed by Akihiko Yoshida.
• The large sword that 2B wields in official artwork, the Beastlord, is one of the signature weapons used by the original protagonist of NieR. Interestingly, in any hacking sequence where one of the female character models is used instead of the usual pointer, the large sword on their back will always be the Beastlord.
• According to the Nier:Automata Guide Book, 2B's three-sizes are B: 84cm; W:56cm; H:88cm. Her height is 168cm (including heels). Her weight is 148.8kg.
• Whenever 2B self-destructs while she is the player character, her skirt is removed entirely, exposing her leotard: however, if the player character is 9S, self-destructing only switches her to a skirt with a torn-out front seen after some boss fights. Her skirt will return to normal after transporting or viewing certain cutscenes, and can be manually repaired, prevented from changing states or removed permanently if the player owns the "Dress Module" key item sold in Emil's store.
• 2B's name is a reference to the famous "to be, or not to be" speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet, signifying the existential questions at the heart of the game's narrative.
• 2B (or a character resembling her) makes a minor cameo in the first issue of SINoALICE's comic adaptation. She is one of the TV news hosts of "2B Channel."
• In the second ending song of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, "Hai to Inori," 2B has a flower in her right eye similar to Zero from Drakengard 3. She also performs a dance similar to her in the game's Branch D.
• During episode 9 of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, in the fight between Adam and 2B, Adam makes a copy of 2B's sword, Virtuous Contract.
• Similar to the game, in NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, 2B for the majority of combat uses Virtuous Contract. However, she also uses other weapons in specific episodes:
  • During episode 10, when cornered by Factory Machines, 2B uses the Machine Spear.
  • In episode 11, 2B uses Virtuous Treaty during her battle against Adam as well as when she was being assaulted by a small group of Enhanced Machines.
• It's revealed in the NieR:Orchestra Concert 12018 that 2B has made contact with 9S 48 times by the start of NieR:Automata.
• Fio's "Mechanical Girl" costume in NieR Reincarnation is based on 2B.

Other Appearances

Gallery

References

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