Console Equipment

Overview

Modules and Consoles form one of the three primary equipment systems in Neverness to Evernessalongside Arcs (weapons) and KongMu Gear (Disks and Drive Blocks). While KongMu Gear provides stat bonuses through six standard equipment slots, Console Equipment uses a spatial grid where players arrange shaped pieces in a Tetris-like puzzle to optimize their characters. Every playable character has their own Console grid, and filling it with the right combination of Modules and Cartridges is a core part of endgame character building.

Console Equipment consists of two component types: Modules and Cartridges. Modules are generic stat pieces that come in various geometric shapes and sizes. Cartridges are named, themed pieces that belong to specific sets and grant set bonuses when enough pieces from the same set are placed on the grid. Both types must be arranged to fit within the Console's available space, adding a layer of spatial strategy on top of traditional stat optimization.

The Console Grid

Each character's Console is a rectangular grid of cells. Modules and Cartridges occupy different shapes on this grid, similar to how blocks fit together in Tetris. Players drag and rotate pieces to fill as many cells as possible, because every filled cell contributes stats to the character. Empty cells are wasted potential.

The grid introduces a spatial puzzle element that sets NTE apart from other gacha RPGs. Simply collecting powerful individual pieces is not enough. A high-stat Cartridge that occupies an awkward shape might prevent you from fitting other critical pieces, forcing trade-offs between raw stats and spatial efficiency. Players who master the grid can squeeze significantly more value out of their Console than those who only chase individual piece quality.

The Console grid size may vary based on character level and progression. As characters grow stronger, their grid expands, allowing more pieces to be placed and enabling more complex loadout configurations.

Modules

Modules are the generic, stat-only half of Console Equipment alongside Cartridges. Each Module fills a fixed number of grid cells in a fixed shape and contributes flat ATK and HP plus four sub-stat rolls, with no set bonuses. Twelve Module shape variants are currently catalogued across three size classes: Type II (2 cells), Type III (3 cells), and Type IV (4 cells).

For the full mechanic, the 12-piece index, Type and rarity tables, shape families, the shared sub-stat pool, farming notes, and strategy for slotting Modules around a Cartridge set, see the dedicated Modules page.

Cartridges

Cartridges are the second half of Console Equipment alongside Modules. Every Cartridge piece belongs to a themed set, and equipping two or four pieces of the same set unlocks powerful Epic-tier and Legendary-tier bonuses that reshape how a character plays. Twelve Cartridge sets are currently catalogued, spanning every element and role in the roster.

For the full mechanic, the 12-set index, rarity tiers, farming notes, and strategy for matching a set to a character, see the dedicated Cartridges page.

Obtaining Modules and Cartridges

Console Equipment pieces are obtained through the same general endgame activities that yield other gear:

• Anomaly Dungeons: Repeatable endgame dungeons (solo or cooperative with 2 to 4 players) are one of the most efficient sources of Console Equipment. Higher difficulty tiers drop higher rarity pieces.

• Open-world enemies: Defeating Anomalies and bosses in the open world can drop Modules and Cartridges alongside other loot.

• Missions and commissions: Completing Anomaly Commissions and other repeatable content rewards equipment pieces.

• In-game stores: Certain shops in Hethereau sell Console Equipment. While store inventory may not always include endgame-quality pieces, it provides a baseline for characters who need immediate gearing.

Building Tips

• Plan your grid layout before placing pieces. Once you have a collection of Modules and Cartridges, lay out your Console grid on paper or mentally before committing. A well-planned arrangement can fit significantly more pieces than a haphazard approach.

• Prioritize Cartridge set bonuses. Cartridge set effects can be build-defining. Try to fit enough pieces from your target set to activate the bonus before filling remaining space with generic Modules.

• Use small Modules to fill gaps. Type II Modules (2 cells) are invaluable for plugging small holes in your grid that larger pieces cannot fill. Keep a stock of well-rolled Type II Modules for this purpose.

• Upgrade your best pieces. Focus enhancement resources on S-rarity Cartridges and Modules that you plan to use long-term. Avoid investing heavily in B-rarity pieces that will be replaced.

• Match Console builds to your KongMu sets. Your Console loadout should complement your Disk set bonuses. If your Disks focus on offensive stats, consider utility or defensive Cartridge sets on your Console, or double down on offense for a glass-cannon approach.

• Experiment with different layouts. Rearranging the same pieces in a different spatial configuration can sometimes fit an extra piece, yielding more total stats without any additional farming.

Available Stats

Modules and Cartridges can roll many of the same stat types found on KongMu Gear. The following stats have been observed on Console Equipment pieces:

Terminology Note

The full NTE equipment system is sometimes referred to collectively as KongMu in marketing materials, but within the game itself, KongMu specifically refers to the Disks and Drive Blocks system. Console Equipment (Modules and Cartridges) is a separate layer. Some community guides and translated sources use "KongMu" broadly to mean all equipment, which can cause confusion. This wiki treats them as two distinct systems:

• KongMu Gear = Disks (2 slots) + Drive Blocks (4 slots). Covered in the Disks and Drive Blocks article.

• Console Equipment = Modules + Cartridges arranged on a spatial grid. Covered in this article.

Console as Gear Metaphor

Unlike most role-playing games, NTE does not equip characters with traditional armor slots for helmet, chest, gloves, and footwear. Every playable character instead carries a single handheld game console, and that console is the gear. All defensive and offensive bonuses that would normally be spread across multiple armor pieces are consolidated into what the character does with the console screen.

This framing is consistent with the studio's supernatural-city presentation of Hethereau. Rather than layering plate and cloth on each squad member, players think about which console a character is holding, which game is loaded, and which shaped pieces are stacked on the screen. The metaphor also explains why the equipment UI looks like a retro portable device rather than a paper-doll character sheet.

Cartridges as Main Gear

Within the console metaphor, the Cartridge is the main gear piece. Each cartridge is a themed build anchor and carries both a 2-piece and a 4-piece set bonus on its description screen. A character's build identity is first and foremost determined by which cartridge is slotted, because the cartridge dictates which set effects the rest of the loadout is trying to satisfy.

The cartridge alone, however, is only the declaration. Inserting it into the console does not immediately activate its 2-piece or 4-piece bonuses. Those bonuses are gated behind the Tetris-shape slotting described below, which is what separates a blank cartridge slot from a fully activated build.

Slot Layout and Set-Bonus Activation

Each console has a fixed grid on its screen where shaped pieces are placed. To activate a cartridge's 2-piece bonus, the character must fill a specific subset of slots on the screen with the required Tetris-shaped pieces in the correct pattern. Continuing to fill more slots in the specified layout unlocks the 4-piece bonus. The cartridge provides the rule sheet; the pieces provide the proof.

This means set-bonus activation is mechanical and visual at the same time. A player can look at the console screen and instantly see whether a build is complete by checking whether the required pattern is filled. It also pushes build-crafting to interact with the rest of the game's systems: combat kits, ultimates, and elemental reactions all assume the matching set is online, so planning the slot layout is part of preparing for harder content.

Preference Slots (2-Block vs 3-Block)

Once the cartridge's required pattern is satisfied, the console still has empty slots left over. Those slots are filled with what the UI calls preference pieces. Every character has a preferred piece shape listed on their equipment page, and that preference dictates which pieces to stuff into the leftover cells to earn additional bonuses.

The two preferences confirmed in the beta are 2-block pieces and 3-block pieces. Some characters benefit from stacking 2-block pieces, others benefit from 3-block pieces, and the UI highlights the preferred shape next to the character name. Ignoring a character's preferred shape still fills the grid, but it leaves the preference bonus unused, so most builds try to reserve a full cartridge's worth of preferred-shape pieces in storage for each character.

Preference pieces stack multiplicatively with the cartridge set bonuses, which is why a fully optimized console has two visible layers: the mandatory pattern that unlocks the cartridge set, and the stacked preferred shapes that top up the build in whatever cells remain.

Rabbit Hole Source and Rarity Tiers

Tetris-shaped pieces are not found as open-world drops in the way cartridges are. They are pulled from the Rabbit Hole game mode, which consumes stamina per attempt and returns pieces of escalating rarity by difficulty. Easy difficulty rolls a random blue-rarity piece, while Medium and Hard unlock the ability to choose exactly which purple or gold piece you want before the pull resolves.

The selection mechanic is a significant quality-of-life feature. Because Medium and Hard let the player pick the shape and substat line before spending stamina, players can target the specific pieces their cartridge set and preference slots need rather than rolling blind. Blue-rarity Easy pulls remain useful for early gearing and for filling the grid on characters not yet ready for Hard.

Because Rabbit Hole costs stamina, gearing multiple characters to gold-rarity builds is a pacing problem as well as a resource problem. Most players focus stamina on one character's console at a time until the 4-piece cartridge bonus is active, then rotate to the next squad member.

Substat Transparency

Both cartridges and the Tetris pieces display every substat up front, before any upgrade investment is committed. There are no blind rolls where the player has to gamble resources to reveal hidden lines. What you see on the piece tooltip at drop time is what the piece will keep.

This transparency changes the upgrade loop. Since substats are visible, players can immediately decide whether a freshly pulled piece is worth feeding upgrade resources or should be held in reserve. Low-roll pieces can be discarded without regret, and high-roll pieces can be upgraded confidently because their final ceiling is already on the tooltip. The result is far less resource waste than systems that randomize substats at upgrade milestones.

In-Game Build Guide

The equipment interface includes a built-in build guide that surfaces, for each character, the recommended cartridge, the recommended piece combinations for the leftover preference slots, the recommended substat priorities, and the recommended Arc. The guide acts as a sensible default for new players who do not yet want to dive into spreadsheet theorycraft.

The guide is also useful as a sanity check for experienced players planning around a character's Esper Cycle passive, because the recommended cartridge and Arc combinations reflect the kit the designers built the character around. Following the guide exactly is not required, and players optimizing for a specific team composition often deviate, but the in-game recommendation is a trustworthy starting point and doubles as a reference when farming priorities are unclear.