How to patch XCIs or NSPs for lower firmware (and how to add update files or DLCs to them)
Doing it manually with NSC_Builder (for example for mounting XCIs in SXOS)
How to patch XCIs or NSPs for a lower firmware:
- Download latest master release of NSCB from https://github.com/julesontheroad/NSC_BUILDER (click the green
Code
button and thenDownload ZIP
. Executable and the rest are located inside thepy
folder).
Since this is the Python version, you should first get the latest version from https://www.python.org/downloads/ and then runinstall-dependencies.bat
after unpacking NSCB. - After that's all done, get yourself
prod.keys
by dumping them with Lockpick_RCM from https://github.com/shchmue/Lockpick_RCM/releases (or get it directly from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c-LlpSAGZb3BA2yA8rem6HzsjCU9VJZO/view?usp=sharing) and rename it tokeys.txt
, place the file in theztools
folder of NSCB. - Open NSCB.exe, first type in
0
and pressReturn
, followed by4
andReturn
afterwards. Let it update. After that go back to the main menu with entering1
, thene
. - Enter
1
again. Drag your desired XCI or regular NSPs onto the window, pressReturn
followed by entering1
again. - Enter either
1
or2
to initiate the process with either a NSP file or with a XCI file as result, then1
to enable patching. Afterwards, choose your desired keygeneration (it is recommended to enter11
for SXOS users or others running firmware 11.0.1 or lower). - After the process is (successfully) completed, either enter
1
or press theX
button to close the window (or go back to main menu with0
) and you will find the patched XCI or NSP inside the "NSCB_output" folder, located inside the unpacked NSC_Builder folder. - (Extra step: if the program outputs a
.xc0
instead of a.xci
file, go back to main menu, enter0
, then2
, then9
and finally1
. After that repeat the process from step 4.)
How to add update or DLC files to a (patched) XCI or NSP file:
- Complete above steps until you completed step 3. Instead of
1
you enter2
now (given you are back the main menu). - Besides the base XCI or NSP (or the patched XCI or NSP (containing updates already)), also drag the latest update NSP or DLCs onto the window and press
Return
. Enter1
afterwards. - Enter either
1
or2
to initiate the process with either a NSP file or with a XCI file as result (it's best to choose the same format as the source of your base), then1
to enable patching. Afterwards, choose your desired keygeneration but it is recommended to enter11
(for SXOS users) and then enter1
to merge everything into one file when it asks you to decide. - After the process is (successfully) completed, either enter
1
or press theX
button to close the window (or go back to main menu with0
) and you will find the patched multi-content XCI or NSP inside the "NSCB_output" folder, located inside the unpacked NSC_Builder folder.
Letting installers patch the games for you (not suitable for mounting)
All you need to do for that, is to use any installer besides Awoo (outdated) or SX Installer (outdated aswell and does not work on Atmosphere).
Inside the installer settings, find an option called "Bypass minimum firmware required by titles" or something similar and enable it.
However, most if not all installers have it enabled by default already. DBI for example does and got no option for it anyway. Nevertheless this may not work everytime, for example not for running 11.0 and wanting to play most 13.0+ games, but for running 13.0.0 and wanting to play games that require 13.2.1 (or even higher) it should work. A prominent counter-example is TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, where the base game works below firmware 14.0.0, but the update requires it as minimum to start. Generally speaking more and more games require 14.0.0+.