You can change your gender in Neverness to Everness by completing the "In The Reflection" side quest in Bridge Crossings, which unlocks the Switch Appraiser feature in the settings menu for your character, Esper Zero. This is not available at the start. You must reach a specific story milestone first, and your first hour has better things to do than chasing it.
The early-game priority queue in NTE is simple: follow Prologue II until you unlock the scooter, complete "Good Business, Better Treasure," then rest at the dormitory. The scooter unlock is your soft gate for exploration, side content, and quality-of-life features like the Switch Appraiser. Attempting to sequence-break by hunting for the mirror anomaly before the scooter unlock wastes time—the NPCs on Hankaku Street will not spawn.
First-Hour Priority Chain
Progression in NTE front-loads its tutorials into the prologue, and the game does not let you skip them. Resisting this wastes more time than leaning in. The critical path:
- Finish Prologue II. The scooter you receive here is the mechanism that unlocks fast travel between districts and triggers NPC spawns for secondary content.
- Complete "Good Business, Better Treasure." This is the specific story beat that activates the "In The Reflection" questline.
- Rest at the dormitory. If the quest NPCs are not appearing after the prologue, resting reloads the area state and forces the spawn.
Do not grind side activities before this point. The game’s progression system gates both your available activities and your reward ceilings behind main-story checkpoints. Early exploration is useful for map familiarity, but expecting meaningful progression rewards before the scooter is a mistake.
How to Unlock the Switch Appraiser
Once "Good Business, Better Treasure" is complete, fast-travel to Bridge Crossings and head to the fountain area on Hankaku Street. Two NPCs—the Excited Girl and Exasperated Girl—will be discussing rumors about a mirror that supposedly shows the future. Overhearing this conversation starts "In The Reflection."
The quest itself involves investigating a mirror anomaly through a short chain of objectives:
- The Vintage Shop’s Mirror — initial investigation near the quest trigger point.
- Not a Mirror — a redirect that rules out a false lead.
- Could It Be a Collectible? — a secondary check before the actual target.
- Owner of the Washbasin — the final objective that resolves the anomaly.
Completing the quest unlocks the Switch Appraiser. From that point, you can open the settings menu and change Esper Zero’s gender at any time, with no cost or cooldown. There is no wrong choice here—the feature exists specifically because NTE treats character presentation as a persistent preference, not a locked stat.
Beginner Mistakes That Cost Time
The most common early-game error is treating NTE like an open-world sandbox from minute one. It is not. The prologue is a guided sequence, and deviating from it before the scooter unlock yields no mechanical advantage.
Searching for the mirror too early. Players who hear about the Switch Appraiser before starting will sometimes wander Bridge Crossings looking for the NPCs. They will not be there. The quest is hardcoded to spawn only after "Good Business, Better Treasure."
Ignoring the dormitory rest mechanic. Area spawns in NTE sometimes require a rest cycle to refresh. If you have completed the prerequisite quest and the NPCs are still missing, rest at the dormitory and return. This is not a bug.
Over-investing in early loadouts. Before you have access to the full progression loop, min-maxing gear or abilities is wasted effort. The game’s early upgrades are quickly outpaced by mid-prologue rewards. Save your optimization energy for after the core systems are fully unlocked.
What to Do After the Switch Appraiser
Once you have the ability to customize Esper Zero’s gender at will, the immediate next step is returning to the main story. The prologue is still your highest-yield use of time—it unlocks combat depth, companion systems, and additional districts that the scooter alone cannot reach.
Side content like fishing becomes more rewarding after the prologue as well. The activities are available earlier, but their reward structures scale with story progression. Fishing before you have unlocked the relevant upgrade currency is strictly for enjoyment, not efficiency.
FAQ
Can you change your gender at the start of Neverness to Everness?
No. The Switch Appraiser is locked behind the "In The Reflection" side quest, which requires completing Prologue II and the "Good Business, Better Treasure" mission first.
Where is the mirror in the In The Reflection quest?
The quest starts near the fountain on Hankaku Street in Bridge Crossings. The actual mirror investigation moves through multiple objectives—the Vintage Shop’s mirror, a false lead, a collectible check, and finally the Owner of the Washbasin.
Can you change gender more than once?
Yes. The Switch Appraiser in the settings menu has no cooldown or cost. You can change Esper Zero’s gender whenever you want after unlocking it.
What if the quest NPCs are not spawning?
Confirm you have completed "Good Business, Better Treasure" in Prologue II. If you have, rest at the dormitory and return to Hankaku Street. The Excited Girl and Exasperated Girl should spawn after the area refreshes.
