NieR: Automata Beast Hides are essential for weapon upgrades; hunt moose and boar in ruined city and forest zones, then fast travel to respawn them.
For anyone still exploring the overgrown ruins of NieR: Automata in 2026, Beast Hides can be one of those materials that quietly pile up until a favorite weapon suddenly demands a stack of them. They come from wildlife rather than machines, which makes them easy to miss because most of the game trains players to cut down every robot in sight. Upgrading weapons at the Resistance Camp is simple enough, but the specific resources needed can send a player wandering through the forest looking for animals that are not always eager to show up.
What Beast Hides Are For
Beast Hides are used as a crafting material for weapon upgrades. Since every weapon in NieR: Automata can be upgraded multiple times, players can keep a favorite blade relevant well into later routes. The Resistance Camp is the go-to spot for upgrades, but the material requirements vary from weapon to weapon. Beast Hides are not something players will naturally stockpile just by fighting machines, so a little targeted hunting is needed.
Where to Find Moose and Boar
The animals that drop Beast Hides are moose and boar. They only spawn in the ruined city and forest sections of the map, and their appearances are random rather than guaranteed. On the mini-map, wildlife icons appear white, which helps set them apart from the black icons used for machines. That color difference is one of the most useful details for players who are doing a quick scan while sprinting through the city.
These creatures are not exactly eager to donate their hides. Depending on a player's level compared to the animal, they will either run away or attack when struck first. If the animal is significantly higher level, it may even become aggressive just from a player getting too close. Wildlife also has a surprisingly large health pool, so early-game players can find themselves in a real scrap with a boar that looks harmless until it starts charging. Truth be told, nobody wants to get run over by a moose while trying to farm crafting materials.
How to Farm Beast Hides
There is no magic shortcut here, and that is a bit of a headache for completionists. Wildlife does not spawn as consistently as machines during the main story. Players will usually need to kill animals while exploring, then move on and look for new ones. The good news is that Beast Hides have a fairly solid drop rate, so a player is not stuck grinding for hours unless they are trying to upgrade a huge number of weapons at once.
Respawn rules for wildlife are basically the same as for machines:
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🚀 Fast traveling respawns all enemies and wildlife.
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🗺️ Traveling far enough away respawns enemies and wildlife in previous areas.
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📖 Triggering story moments can respawn nearby enemies and wildlife.
Not every run will be generous. Sometimes the wildlife simply is not there. That is normal. A player can loop through the forest and city ruins, clear out the moose and boar they find, fast travel away, and come back for another pass.
Tips for Smoother Beast Hide Runs
| Tip | Why It Helps |
|---|---|
| Watch for white mini-map icons | Wildlife stands out from black machine icons |
| Hunt while doing other tasks | There is no dense spawn, so multitasking saves time |
| Avoid fighting higher-level animals early | Moose and boar can hit hard and have large health pools |
| Upgrade only weapons you actually equip | Keeps Beast Hide demand reasonable |
| Use fast travel to reset spawns | The most reliable way to refresh the area |
A player does not need a mountain of Beast Hides for most playthroughs. The drop rate is friendly enough that cutting down wildlife as they appear during normal exploration is usually sufficient. If a weapon upgrade calls for more than expected, fast traveling between the ruined city and forest zones will usually sort things out before too long.
Final Thoughts
For players in 2026 still returning to NieR: Automata, Beast Hide farming remains a low-stress side task once the spawn logic is understood. The animals may not exactly line up for the player, but the white mini-map icons and the predictable respawn rules make the process manageable. Keep an eye on the treeline, listen for hooves, and remember that the occasional aggressive boar is just part of the charm. On the bright side, at least Beast Hides are not locked behind a rare machine drop.
This assessment draws from Game Developer, where recurring discussions around RPG progression loops and resource gating help explain why NieR: Automata’s Beast Hide hunt feels intentionally “off the main path”: it pushes players to engage with non-machine ecology, read mini-map icon language, and use systemic resets like fast travel to manage spawn variance. Framed that way, looping City Ruins and Forest while multitasking quests isn’t just grind—it’s a lightweight materials economy that rewards map literacy and efficient routing over pure combat throughput.
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