People of Babylonia
Squads (Gray Ravens)
Command & Other Humans
Factions on Earth
Human Factions
Non-Human Factions
3rd Anniversary, Generation 2 Framesnote
A list of characters for Punishing: Gray Raven; those with their names in bold are playable. This page serve as an index for the game's various factions and character pages.
Warning: Punishing's Chinese servers were active before others, and thus have released more story and gameplay elements compared to international regions. As such, there will be spoilers aplenty, marked and unmarked. New players are advised to read at their own discretion, or avoid these pages entirely.
open/close all folders
Playable Character Tropes
Constructs (Omniframes) In General
- Ambiguous Robots: While Constructs are converted from humans and have their minds and appearance, their ability to transfer their minds between Frames, which themselves are heavily mechanized, makes it hard to see where the human ends and the augmentations begin.
- Body Backup Drive: Death is theoretically cheap, thanks to the Inver-Devices that allow them to pull their consciousness out of their bodies split-seconds before death. However, it is still possible to suffer a true death if the mind doesn't get out in time. It then becomes known that it is all a lie, all to preserve morale. This becomes one of the causes for the defections that become more common later on in the story.
- Brain Uploading: The M.I.N.D allows Constructs to keep their consciousness separate to their bodies, allowing them to easily slip between frames as necessary. The best example is when Vera switches between her Rozen and Garnet frames during The Last Spark, where the latter is actually dropped onto the operation site as an empty shell that Vera only needs a few minutes to enter.
- Child Soldier: Some of the playable constructs were converted as teens or younger. Lucia in particular was converted at such a young age that NPCs express open discomfort with it and Nikola admits that although he considers it necessary to the war effort, they're probably going to Hell for this.
- Damager, Healer, Tank: All the characters are broadly classified into Attack, "Armor" (Tank), and "Support" (Healer) roles. Later, the hybrid "Vanguard" and "Amplifier" classes were added.
- Horned Humanoid: Most first-generation Constructs have their Inver Devices shaped like horns.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: The alternate frames are usually canonical upgrades, with the characters keeping their new looks in-universe afterwards.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Commandant accrues some very strange recruits over the course of the game. While nominally the Gray Raven squad, members come from far and wide, including disavowed constructs, those from foreign armies and even oddballs that apparently just came in out of the rain.
- Retcon: The game originally strictly divided character classes into "Constructs" and "Transcendants" due to lore reasons, such as Transcendants being reserved for "Dead Zones", but as the cast expanded and began to include characters who were distinctly never human, the classes were retitled "Omniframes" and "Uniframes", making the distinction more arbitrary.
Transcendants (Uniframes) In General
- Character Select Forcing: Transcendant characters were introduced intended to be used in Dead Zone maps, which in lore have viral densities so high that normal constructs will not survive. While they can be used in normal maps, and normal constructs in Dead Zones, the mismatch saddled them with debuffs, encouraging players to use them where they were intended. This has become less applicable over time, as more maps and modes allows Transcendants as usual.
- Counter-Attack: Starting from Reveries With a Whale, Transcendants gained unique counter moves they could activate after dodging certain enemy attacks.
- Difficult, but Awesome: Transcendants waffle between this and Awesome, but Impractical. On paper, an individual Transcendant is a Lightning Bruiser, with insane damage output and mobility, but the reality is that they aren't team players: Before Reveries With a Whale, Transcendants couldn't be put on a unit with normal constructs, and furthermore do not even synergize with each other. As a result, attacking is the only thing they can do. The one measure of safety they all share is a passive that grants them temporary shields and a damage buff when a new Compositer is switched in. When paired with constructs, Transcendants received a 30% damage debuff for each construct in the team.
- Finishing Move: Reveries With a Whale began giving Transcendants unique execution animations they can perform on weakened enemies.
- Heinz Hybrid: Being a "Transcendant" means one is half-Ascendant, or 'stage one', as it were, by integrating the Punishing Virus, without connecting to a network.
- Retcon: The game originally strictly divided character classes into "Constructs" and "Transcendants" due to lore reasons, such as Transcendants being reserved for "Dead Zones", but as the Transcendant group began to include uninfected characters, the classes were retitled "Omniframes" and "Uniframes", making the distinction more arbitrary.
People of Babylonia
- Gray Ravensnote
- Squads
- Cerberus
- Strike Hawks
- Egrets
- Purifying Force
- World Government Association of Arts
- Dark Aries
- Engineering Force
- Other
- Command & Other Humansnote
Factions on Earth
- Human Factions
- Arctic Route Union and Forest Guards
- Akdilek Commercial Alliance
- Kowloong Chamber of Commerce
- Watanabe and the Forsaken
- Atlantis
- Non-Human Factions
- The Punishing Virus and the Corrupted
- The Ascendants
- The Church of Machina
- Nanami and friends
- Observers
Collaborations
In General
- Guest Fighter: What these characters essentially are, since they come from third-party crossover events.
- Permanently Missable Content: Once their events are over, you can no longer acquire more of them.
NieR: Automata
A2 (YoRHa Type A No. 2)
Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa (Japanese)
YoRHa Armor-type Android
Profile
- Psychological Age: Unknown
- Vital Fluid Type: Unknown
- Activation Date: Unknown
- Service Time: Unknown
- Weight: 139.2kg
- Height: 168cm
Guest starring from NieR: Automata, this abandoned Type A model is a prototype YoRHa android designed for close-quarters combat.
A2's frame is A2. Her weapon class in this game is spears, with her representative weapon from NieR: Automata being the Type-4O Lance.
- Advertised Extra: While the YoRHa characters are fully functional playable characters, they never appear in the Untold Naraka story itself, and only have a few plotless cutscenes and a boss fight against Machiavelli that is only referred to as "recovered data".
- Attack Drone: She comes with a Pod from her home game, which is used for certain attacks and can also attack independently of the player.
- The Berserker: With a buff that eats health and shields, the latter of which is regenerated by attacking, A2 encourages a relentless offense to outpace her own health drain.
- Cast From HP: Like in her home game, her Berserk mode drains her health until it reaches a certain threshold, or is deactivated manually. It feeds off any shield-type health first, as described below, incentivizing its use.
- Guest Fighter: This marks her first appearance outside NieR: Automata in a game not personally overseen by Yoko Taro. Many of her moves are taken straight from her original game, including more obscure techniques like her sliding dash.
- Inspiration Nod: The official trailer for the Untold Naraka event associates her with Alpha, both of whom are predecessors of their respective game's mascot characters, and wander the world pursuing initially hidden agendas.
- Mythology Gag: Her unlockable alternate costume is a copy of the older Brother Nier's outfit from the very first NieR game, which was also her DLC costume in Automata, making this a double-layered reference.
- Regenerating Shield, Static Health: Befitting her Armor-class, a major component of her gameplay is buffering her health with additional blue "shield" health, which builds up with various attacks. As her Berserk Mode depletes this health first, the two mechanics together form the crux of her gameplay style.
- Set Bonus: Her team buffs only affect other YoRHa characters, encouraging them to be used together.
- Shaped Like Itself: Unlike other characters, A2's frame is simply named after herself.
- Weapons That Suck: One of her special attacks is based on the A140: Gravity Pod program, which creates a vortex that can pull several enemies together.
9S (YoRHa No. 9 Type S)
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (Japanese)
YoRHa Support-type Android
Profile
- Psychological Age: Unknown
- Vital Fluid Type: Unknown
- Activation Date: January 30
- Service Time: Unknown
- Weight: 129.9kg
- Height: 160cm
Guest starring from NieR: Automata, 9S possesses combat abilities, but this android is specifically designed for investigation. As a member of YoRHa, his primary skill is collecting data through hacking.
9S's frame is 9S.
- Actor Allusion: The official trailer for the Untold Naraka event associates him with Chang Yu, who is voiced by the same actor in Japan.
- Advertised Extra: While the YoRHa characters are fully functional playable characters, they never appear in the Untold Naraka story itself, and only have a few plotless cutscenes and a boss fight against Machiavelli that is only referred to as "recovered data".
- Attack Drone: He comes with several Pods from his home game, which he uses for his special attacks and can also attack independently of the player.
- Combat Medic: As a Support character, he can heal other teammates using his A080: Wave skill, and he is equally handy with his sword and offensive hacking powers.
- Guest Fighter: This marks his first appearance outside NieR: Automata in a game not personally overseen by Yoko Taro. Many of his moves are taken straight from his original game, such as the his Pod-based special attacks.
- Hacking Minigame: The form 9S's Limit Break takes, which recreates the Bullet Hell style gameplay from Automata to deal damage when successfully completed.
- Mythology Gag: His unlockable alternate costume is a copy of the younger Brother Nier's outfit from the very first NieR game, which was also his DLC costume in Automata, making this a double-layered reference.
- Set Bonus: His team buffs only affect other YoRHa characters, encouraging them to be used together.
- Shaped Like Itself: Unlike other characters, 9S's frame is simply named after himself.
- Time Stands Still: His A110: Slow skill creates a sphere that both damages and slows down any enemy caught in its range.
2B (YoRHa No. 2 Type B)
Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese)
YoRHa Attack-type Android
Profile
Guest starring from NieR: Automata, 2B is a general purpose combat android affiliated with YoRHa. She combats machines with her swords in close quarters, while utilizing the Pod support system when at range. - Psychological Age: Unknown
- Vital Fluid Type: Unknown
- Activation Date: Unknown
- Service Time: Unknown
- Weight: 148.8kg
- Height: 168cm
2B's frame is 2B.
- Actor Allusion: The official trailer for the Untold Naraka event associates her with Lucia, who is voiced by the same actor in Japan.
- Adaptational Modesty: 2B's infamous leotard is toned down in the CN version, being cut low on the hip, which keeps her waist generously covered. The JPN version, meanwhile, uses the original design.
- Advertised Extra: While the YoRHa characters are fully functional playable characters, they never appear in the Untold Naraka story itself, and only have a few plotless cutscenes and a boss fight against Machiavelli that is only referred to as "recovered data".
- Attack Drone: Like the others she comes with an independently attacking Pod, though its presence is downplayed since most of her skills focus on her swordfighting
- Blade Spam: Her yellow skill imitates the R020: Mirage Pod program from her original game, which lets her unleash a sphere of rapid slashes around her.
- Dual Wielding: Her weapons of choice are Virtuous Contract and Virtuous Treaty, which she switches between depending on the attack she is using.
- Guest Fighter: She originally hails from NieR: Automata. Many of her moves and animations are taken straight from the game, including her infamous dress-destroying self-destruct move.
- Sword Beam: Using a three yellow orb combo will temporarily let her unleash projectiles with her normal attacks, similar to what happens if a player equipped the Shock Wave chip in NieR: Automata.
- Mythology Gag: Her unlockable alternate costume is a copy of Kaine's outfit from the very first NieR game, which was also her DLC costume in Automata, making this a double-layered reference.
- Set Bonus: Her team buffs only affect other YoRHa characters, encouraging them to be used together.
- Shaped Like Itself: Unlike other characters, 2B's frame is simply named after herself.
Black★Rock Shooter
Black★Rock Shooter (B★RS)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese)
Unknown Attack-type Construct
Profile
- Psychological Age: Unknown
- Vital Fluid Type: Unknown
- Activation Date: Unknown
- Service Time: Unknown
- Weight: Unknown
- Height: Unknown
Guest starring from Black★Rock Shooter, this mysterious girl is armed with a huge gun and a blue flame that burns in her left eye. Leave your mark on countless worlds.
Black★Rock Shooter's frame is BRS.
- The Dreaded: The simulacra consider her a demon and a living natural disaster, to the point where some would rather run and hide than merely exist in her presence.
- Guest Fighter: She hails from the Black Rock Shooter franchise.
- Inspiration Nod: Blazing Simulacrum puts her side by side with Alpha's Crimson Weave variation, since the latter resembles an opposing counterpart, blue flaming eye and all. Even her Core Passive gimmick plays like Alpha's in reverse, with her Blue Orbs being locked away, while Alpha's are the default.
- Mechanically Unusual Fighter: BRS is not like Lamia or Crimson Weave Alpha in that she's locked out of a Signal Orb color until certain conditions are fulfilled, she can't manually ping her Blue Orbs at all. Instead, she has a whole bunch of follow-ups for basically all of her attacks, as well as a mini-Signature attack she has to use before her real Signature, which then expends her Blue Orbs (which are stored in a separate row from her Red and Yellow Orbs) to boost its damage. BRS' game plan essentially boils down to constantly 3-pinging her Red and Yellow Orbs to build up as many Blue Orbs as possible, before then unleashing her Signature for massive amounts of burst damage that even surpass some S-ranks.
- Morph Weapon: She can expend a small amount of Signature energy to transform her ★ Black Rock Cannon into a BFS form, a reference to a similar stunt she pulled in the OVA.
- Mythology Gag: Many of her animations and poses
reference moments from the 2010 OVA and the 2012 anime. - Parts Unknown: BRS is the first playable character to have completely obscured data. Even her height and weight aren't listed.
- Playing with Fire: Her damage type is skewed towards 100% Fire.
- Red Baron: She is known as "the pitch-black demon" amongst the simulacra of the Corridor.
- Revisiting the Roots: Most collaborations with Black Rock Shooter tend to use the spin-off continuities, such as Black★★Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall. But with P:GR, B★RS uses the rendition originally drawn by huke, which was last used in the OVA and anime a decade ago (and even then, the anime's version has a visibly altered design). Even getting Kana Hanazawa to voice the character hearkens back to the very first adaptation.
- Shaped Like Itself: Downplayed compared to the NieR: Automata characters, but the name of her frame is simply the acronym of her own name minus the star... which isn't even always used in it anyway.
- Sword and Gun: Like in the original continuity, B★RS uses the "★ Black Rock Cannon", which comes as a set with the Black Blade. When fighting she switches between the two during her combo strings with ease.
