As players make their way through Scarlet Nexus, they will join forces with a variety of unique companions. These allies can provide a great deal of assistance in battle, and they become even more helpful if a player puts some time into raising their bond levels with them. One way to go about increasing bond levels in Scarlet Nexus is to give the companions gifts, and this guide will provide full details on this mechanic.
To start, the most common way to obtain gifts in Scarlet Nexus is to purchase them from the Presents section of the shop. This section can be found under the Exchange tab, and indeed players will need to trade-in some designated materials in order to obtain gifts from it. Notably, fans can also earn presents through the completion of various side quests, though they are not a particularly consistent source for these items.
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With this foundation laid, it is now possible to talk about how to determine which presents should be purchased from the shop, and that is quite an easy thing to do. Quite simply, Scarlet Nexus players should highlight an available gift and look at the ally portraits that appear at the bottom-right corner. These portraits indicate the various companions' opinions of the selected present, and here is how that breaks down:
- Grey Portrait: Will not accept present.
- Colorful Portrait: Will accept present.
- Portrait with Small Pink Heart: Likes present.
- Portrait with Big Red Heart: Loves present.
As some fans are sure to expect, the opinion that an ally has of a present is directly connected to the bond level increase that comes from giving it to them. It is thus recommended that players focus on matching up gifts to Scarlet Nexus companions that really love the item, as doing so will lead to the biggest bond level increases. That is not to say that giving a companion a gift that they do not adore is worthless, but it will not have as great of an impact.
Once a fan has acquired a gift and determined the companion that it will go to, the final step is to give it to them. That is done by visiting the Hideout, which is unlocked during Standby Phase 2 of Scarlet Nexus, and interacting with the ally of interest. This action will initiate a dialogue with the companion, and players simply need to select "Gifts" and pass along the item.
Scarlet Nexus is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.