Scarlet Nexus may not be the most difficult game out there, but it certainly has its fair share of interesting and challenging encounters. The various Others in the game are towering, brutish, and powerful. On top of that, the player will also have to deal with powerful OSF soldiers as they progress through this JRPG title's main campaign.
In Scarlet Nexus, the player will have a handful of tools in their arsenal to deal with these encounters, and among these are the plug-ins. The player can equip as many as three plug-ins per character. If they want their characters to be as powerful as they can be, players need to use the best plug-ins Scarlet Nexus has to offer.
Updated November 15, 2021 by Mark Sammut: Bandai Namco's Scarlet Nexus should not be missed. The action RPG has an engaging story, likable characters, an interesting setting, and fun gameplay. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass, so any Xbox owner fond of JRPGs should try to find the time to give this game a whirl, especially since 2021 is now winding down in terms of new releases. Scarlet Nexus offers players a decent selection of ways to customize their playable characters and their Companions through plug-ins, but which ones should be prioritized? A few more of the best plug-ins in Scarlet Nexus have been added to the article.
15 Body Enhance: Evade
Outside of plug-ins that directly increase the user's stats, most options provide minor but helpful improvements to combat. The Body Enhance: Evade plug-in is not a game-changer or a must-own item, but it will make a noticeable difference for players who are either struggling to master the dodge mechanic or maintain a combo.
This plug-in makes dodges more stable so that Yuito and Kasane can transition from a dodge into an attack without facing the risk that their move will be interrupted. Although certainly a useful plug-in, there are better options than Body Enhance: Evade for Scarlet Nexus' main characters.
14 Health Total Status Up Or Emergency Limit Break
These two plug-ins are dependent on the flow of battle, so their utility is situational.
- Health Total Status Up provides a 5% boost to the user's power, attack, and defense when their HP is still full.
- Emergency Limit Break enhances the user's power, attack, and defense by 10% when their HP is under 30%.
Scarlet Nexus isn't the most difficult JRPG out there, but enemies hit hard and fast. Consequently, Yuito, Kasane, or any of the OSF's members could find themselves stripped of most of their health in the blink of an eye. In such situations, Emergency Limit Break could be just the lift players need to survive the enemy's onslaught and heal up.
Health Total Status Up is less important as an item and will only make a difference to those who have already grown familiar with the game's combat system.
13 Increased Survival Rate
The Increased Survival Rate plug-in increases the player's health and defense by 10%. It is a very useful add-on that ensures survivability, and when paired with Forcefield and Health plug-ins, will make the player an absolute tank.
Unfortunately, this plug-in is restricted to some players since it is a DLC item. Not every single player of Scarlet Nexus has the chance to equip this item, which is a shame considering its usefulness.
12 Body Enhance: Attack
The Body Enhance: Attack plug-in ensures that players are able to complete a combo chain despite being damaged. The plug-in's purpose is to increase the player's stability whenever doing attacks. That way, whenever they're attacked in the middle of an attack animation, their movement won't be interrupted.
This is a perfect plug-in for those who enjoy mashing the attack button. This is a strategy players can employ in Scarlet Nexus effectively, so long as there is a balance with other mechanics as well, such as dashing and the use of powers.
11 Brain Drive Accelerate
When Brain Drive is activated in Scarlet Nexus, the player becomes more powerful. They can perform more psychokinetic attacks before the power gauge depletes, and their movement rate is increased.
Brain Drive automatically activates when its gauge fills up. To make this bar fill up faster, they can equip the Brain Drive Accelerate plug-in. This item will increase the rate at which the drive gauge fills up by over 5%.
10 Forcefield Mk: VI
The Forcefield Mk: VI plug-in increases the player's defense by 50. According to its description, this high-grade plug-in does this by wrapping the player's body with an invisible barrier.
This plug-in suits characters that have naturally low health and defense, such as Hanabi and Tsugumi. It gives them more chances of survivability on the field. The player can also choose to equip this plug-in on either Yuito or Kasane, whichever one they're playing as.
9 Emergency Invulnerability Field
The Emergency Invulnerability Field plug-in grants the player temporary invincibility. After the player receives damage, the plug-in will activate an emergency defense mechanism that will make the player invulnerable for a few seconds.
This plug-in is a great way for the player to properly pace themselves after being hit with an attack. Other than that, they can also simply power through, since this plug-in's effect will last for a couple of seconds before deteriorating.
8 Health Boost: VI
A very straightforward plug-in, the Health Boost: VI will give the player an additional 300 points in health. It is the greatest health boost item in the game, and is the perfect companion for characters that have naturally low health.
Paying attention to HP is a skill every gamer has mastered at this point. In Scarlet Nexus, however, the player won't always be able to pay attention to the HP bar of the other characters. This plug-in can help remedy this issue.
7 SAS Recovery Support MK 3
The SAS Recovery Support MK 3 plug-in provides a 15% bonus on the player's SAS gauge recovery. Because of the nature of its effect, this plug-in is only applicable to the playable characters, Kasane or Yuito.
The SAS Ability system in Scarlet Nexus is one of the best aspects of the game. It is something the player will constantly have to use while fighting various opponents. This plug-in will help the player use them more by decreasing the cooldown.
6 Assault Vision Enhancer
As part of Scarlet Nexus' 1.04 update, a batch of plug-ins were added to the game, and they rank among its best. However, they can only be acquired through the Item Shop's Exchange option and most will not be accessible to players until very late in their playthrough.
Assault Vision Enhancer enhances a Companion's coordinate attack by 15%, which is not a small amount considering how often vision attacks begin to trigger in the second half of the campaign.
5 Revive Accelerator
Another 1.04 plug-in, this item does exactly what it advertises in its name. It speeds up Yuito and Kasane's attempts to revive their fallen Companions by 50%. This is an absolute (and literal) lifesaver during boss battles as enemies seldom provide players with the space to execute a lengthy revival.
On Scarlet Nexus' standard difficulty, Companions don't get knocked out in battles that often, but this plug-in will make a difference in New Game +.
4 Sp. Weapon ATK Enhancer
The most enticing plug-in added as part of Scarlet Nexus' 1.04 update, this attachment increases heavy attack damage and PK gauge regeneration by 10%.
It turns the already powerful character into even more formidable beasts in battle, allowing them to make shorter work of some of the more tedious boss encounters in Scarlet Nexus. Combo Vision Enhancer is also a solid option as it increases a combo vision attack damage by 50%.
3 Special Bonus Contract
The Special Bonus Contract plug-in will allow the player to become overpowered a little bit faster. It grants the player a 5% increase in EXP and money gained when defeating enemies.
With this incredible plug-in, the player will be able to level up faster and gain more money to spend on useful items. Unfortunately, this item is also a DLC add-on, which means not every player has the chance to use this plug-in unless they're willing to dish out extra bucks.
2 Power Enhance: VI
Those who want their power attacks to pack an extra punch can make use of this incredible item. The Power Enhance: VI plug-in is the best version of its type. It increases the player's power rating by 35.
If the player has enough in-game money, every character in the party should equip the Power Enhance: V plug-in. It makes sure every party member is capable of fighting for themselves, and it takes a significant weight off the player's shoulders in terms of combat encounters.
1 SAS Application Assist
The game encourages its players to take advantage of the SAS ability mechanic, and the SAS Application Assist plug-in is the game's way of helping the player embrace it. This plug-in will increase the powers of the SAS abilities by 5%. On top of that, it also increases its effect time.
This plug-in will help the SAS become much more effective in combat. Pairing this with the Concurrent SAS Activation skill, which allows the player to use four abilities at once, will really give the player a sense of being super-powered.
Scarlet Nexus is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.