With a new game+ feature built into the core gameplay, you can’t experience all of Nier: Automata in just one playthrough of the main storyline. The Heritage Of The Past quest, for instance, only becomes available during your second playthrough.
This quest tasks 9S with finding four different relics in the Desert Zone and returning them to a researcher trying to learn about humanity’s far past.
Frustrated players have been roaming far and wide from where the relics actually reside in a fruitless journey to wrap up this side quest. The relics actually aren’t all that far apart from the Desert Center and the trick is just knowing which specific maps segment to search, which we cover below.
Heritage Of The Past Walkthrough
To start the Heritage Of The Past quest, travel to the Desert Zone and go all the way to the western edge from the entrance point, where you’ll find a researcher standing in some ruins. Talk to him and agree to bring back any relics you come across in the desert.
For each of the first three relics returned to the researcher, you will gain:
- 5,000 G
- 100 XP
- 1 item (Tech Manual, Amber, Torn Book)
Starting Heritage Of The Past
Go into the skill screen for 9S and change his pod to equip the scanner, which will let you know when a relic is nearby.
The closer you get to an old world artifact, the faster the scanner pod’s pinging will become, and when you are right next to the relic, the pod will emit a holographic cone and let you know what you have discovered.
Leave the researcher and follow the pinging to the first relic: an Aged Stick relic found in a small segment of stone ruins surrounded by the armless exploder bots. The ruins are near the Desert Center access point.
Aged Stick Relic
For the next relic, head west from the Desert Center towards the Desert Housing area and be sure to have the scanner pod equipped. Near some large rocks you’ll discover the Filthy Mask relic lying on the ground.
Filthy Mask Location
For the third relic, we’re heading a little ways from the Desert Center and east of the researcher. The Commandment Slab is hiding out in the desert floor and not near any particular landmarks or large rock formations, so just follow the pings near the area shown on the map below until it appears.
Commandment Slab Location
The fourth and final relic is a Statue Of A Girl found in the sand by some more stone ruins.
After grabbing this relic, a group of both flying and land-based robots will appear to fight you, after which the scanner explains you’ve just discovered a bunch of bots based on hold human Western movies. Predictably, 9S isn’t pleased about war and murder being used for entertainment purposes.
Having problems finding the last statue relic? It won’t always show up if you still have the previous relics in your possession. Turn in the previous three relics first and the final one should now appear in the appropriate location.
Statue Of A Girl Relic Location
Now just turn in the Statue Of A Girl to the researcher to complete the quest and gain your final Heritage Of The Past rewards:
- Thick Dictionary X 3
- 10,000 G
- 750 XP
- Weapon: Spear of the Usurper
More Nier: Automata Guides
That’s it! You’ve now completed this side quest where 9S and 2B learn a little something about ancient human culture. Looking for help with other areas of the game? Be sure to check out our other Nier walkthroughs:
- Using Nier: Automata’s save system
- Nier: Automata endings guide
- YoRHa Betrayers side quest walkthrough
