Echoes of Aincrad tells the story of the players stuck in the world of Sword Art Online. After it is revealed that dying in the game results in dying in the real world, the player base is thrown into chaos and desperation. Each player is trying to survive, while some take the stand to fight for their lives and aim to clear the 100 Floors to end the game and be victorious.
For more information about the game, please visit its official Steam page here.
Table of contents
Ascending To The Second Floor
After Saayu’s passing, the party will decide to find Kirito and ask him if he knows more about the Swordsman of Salvation quest. However, Kirito has already reached the second floor after the raid.
Instead of using the warp point on the second floor, which was likely activated by Kirito, the party decides that they should ascend the Labyrinth and reach the second floor by themselves.
Head to the terminal and accept the Proof of Mettle quest. This will lead you to the Labyrinth. You’ll warp at the resting point, just before the entrance to the Labyrinth’s Bottom Chamber.
Go through the dungeon section. You’ll then arrive at a resting point. There’s a Kobold Champion boss battle ahead.
The Kobold Champion only has one phase. Defeat it and keep moving ahead. There will be a resting point after the boss arena.
You’ll then arrive in the middle section of the Labyrinth. Here, you’ll find another dungeon section.
After clearing the dungeon section, you’ll eventually arrive at the Floor’s Boss room, where the raid took place. However, it’s empty now.
There’s a resting point ahead. If you keep going, you’ll reach the Upper Middle section of the Labyrinth. This part is also a dungeon section and will be randomized. You’ll have to find the exit to proceed.
After clearing the dungeon section in the Upper Middle Chamber of the Labyrinth, you’ll arrive at the Crucible Chamber’s resting point.
Here, you’ll find the Ruin Kobold Chieftain boss. This boss has two phases and is more nimble than most other Kobold enemies.
There’s another dungeon section ahead of the boss arena. After you clear the next dungeon session, you’ll reach another boss arena, which looks empty at first sight.
If you open the gate, you’ll find the dungeon boss version of Illfang, the Kobold Lord. It is a slightly weaker version of the floor boss, but it is still quite challenging to defeat.
At the start of the battle, Illfang will be surrounded by two Elite Kobolds. You have to get rid of them quickly before you can focus on Illfang.
In the second phase, Illfang will throw away the shield and equip a sword. It will often start glowing green and will jump in the air to unleash a devastating attack. You have to stay on your toes to avoid these attacks.
In the third phase, Illfang starts to crawl on the ground. However, unlike your past battles against this boss, this time, it turns more aggressive. Illfang will keep thrashing and tackling you, even while it’s on the ground.
The Elite Kobold enemies make the fight even more difficult. You have to fight against them while avoiding Illfang’s tackles.
The best way is to let the boss thrash around, and once it calms down for a few seconds after the repeated attacks, you can deal some damage to it using sword skills and the partner’s ultimate skill.
Once you’ve defeated Illfang, you’ll be able to progress ahead. You’ll find a long set of stairs ahead. After you’re at the top, you’ll find yourself on the second floor. There’s a resting place nearby, which can be used to return to the town and complete the quest.
Urbus
After you’ve prepared for the journey ahead, use the terminal to arrive on the second floor. You’ll now have to find a way to reach Urbus, the main city on the second floor.
The second floor features an entirely different variety of enemies, and while it may take some time to get used to it, they’re not that strong if you’ve got upgraded weapons.
The path to the town is a long one. Keep unlocking the maps and then follow the paths to reach your destination.
After you reach the marked location, you’ll find a boss called Bulbous Bao. Bao-type enemies can turn into balls and jump on the ground, so be careful because their jumps can deal a ton of damage.
After you’ve defeated the boss, you’ll be able to walk to Urbus. Enter the town and activate the resting point there.
Shortly after the cutscene, the party will decide to head to the inn to gather more information about Kirito’s whereabouts.
When you reach the inn, you won’t find Kirito there, but there’s a familiar face. You’ll find Asuna inside the inn.
Talk to her, and a cutscene will be initiated where the party shares the details of the Swordsman of Salvation quest with Asuna. After hearing everything, Asuna tells the party that Kirito is out hunting a Trampling Ox to the east.
Trampling Ox
After you’ve talked with Asuna, head to the terminal. You’ll be able to initiate Part 1 of the Black Swordsman quest.
To get to the Ox, you’ll have to head east of the town. When you reach the quest location, you’ll find the Trampling Ox here, but not Kirito. Iori suggests taking on the boss since you’re there anyway.
After that, you’ll have to fight against the boss. It has two phases, and it often jumps in the air to stomp the ground, releasing a shockwave in the surrounding area.
After you’ve defeated the boss, Zash will arrive. During the cutscene, the party is attacked by another Trampling Ox, but Agil shows up to defeat it. Agil will then tell you that Kirito headed towards the plains to the west of Urbus.
Kirito, The Black Swordsman
You’ll then return to town to prepare. Once you’re ready, accept Part 2 of the Black Swordsman quest.
When you reach the location, you’ll find a boss called Thousand Spears Spine. This boss can be a challenge as it can shoot its spikes, which remain stuck on the ground. These spines explode after a short while, so you’ll have to keep your distance.
The boss has three phases. After you’ve defeated it twice, all of the spikes on its back will be broken. However, the boss will now be able to dig under the ground.
Keep an eye on the boss’s cursor while it’s underground. While it’s on the surface, try to dish out as much damage as possible using sword skills.
After defeating the boss, you’ll meet Zash. He’ll tell you that Kirito might still be nearby. Keep following the quest marker from here.
You’ll then find Kirito inside a cave, talking to another person. You won’t be able to enter the area unless all of the dialogues of your party have been exhausted, so let them talk and proceed once they stop.
A New Friend
As you enter the area, this will initiate a long cutscene. During the cutscene, Kirito will tell you that he’s unable to help you and has no information about the quest, but if he finds something, he’ll be sure to tell Argo.
The party will then return to town. However, there’s a player here called Stina. Stina will approach the party, and she also has the Sacred Tree Brooch.
Once the cutscene is over, you’ll have to head to the smithy in Urbus. You’ll find Iori here.
After talking with Iori, you’ll have to head to the terminal to leave for the High Elven Ruins to find more about the Swordsman of Salvation quest.
First Sanctuary
The High Elven Ruins that you have to visit for this quest are located to the north of the western badlands near Urbus.
If you’ve activated the Eastern Trochhi Grasslands or the Central Wilderness warp points from the Black Swordsman quest, you can warp there to speed things up.
The path to the Sanctuary is filled with tough enemies and trolls, a new type of enemy. Trolls aren’t too challenging to deal with, but the Elite ones often cloak themselves in a barrier of wind and leaves, which makes approaching them a difficult task.
After you reach the quest location, you’ll have to fight against a Troll boss as well.
The Troll Leader boss has two phases. Once you’ve brought it down, proceed to the Sanctuary. The quest to find the Elven Ruins will be complete, and you’ll have to accept the next quest to continue the story.
When you return to the Sanctuary, the party will find an Elven Guard. The guard will welcome the party and ask them to complete the trial by defeating the guardian that remains within.
As you progress, you’ll enter the dungeon section of the Sanctuary. Here, you’ll find red roots connecting each section to the next. Strike these roots down with your sword to open the path forward.
Once you clear the dungeon section, you’ll enter the Hall of Protection. There will be a resting place here. Just ahead of that, you’ll find the boss room.
In the boss arena, you’ll have to fight against three Golems. The main boss here is the Sentry Golem, and it will be glowing blue at the start of battle.
Once you’ve defeated all three golems, you’ll be able to progress ahead. There will be another resting place here. Shortly after, a cutscene will trigger where Zash will find a new path.
You’ll then enter the Path of Conviction. At the start of the area, you’ll only be able to walk while the party is talking. Once they’re done talking, you’ll be able to proceed.
There’s another dungeon section ahead. After you clear the dungeon section and rest, you’ll find yourself in the Relic Hall ahead. You’ll also find the Tyrant Golem boss in the arena near the resting point.
The Tyrant Golem has three phases. It uses a variety of AOE attacks that can lock you down quickly. The best way to fight against this boss is to remain close to its legs.
You’ll still have to watch out for the lasers, but you’ll still be able to avoid most of its attacks.
After you’ve defeated the boss, go deeper into the Sanctuary. You’ll find the Legendary One-Handed Sword inside.
As you take the sword, the location of the second Sanctuary will be revealed to the party. The party will be teleported to the entrance shortly. Approach the Elf Guard, and he’ll disappear after fulfilling his duty.
A young boy called Pucci will appear. He’ll ask you to show him the Legendary Sword, and he’ll share some lore about it.
Once the conversation with Pucci has ended, the Legend of the High Elves quest will end, and the party will be able to return to town.
Nightmare
As you return to town, a tremor will strike. You will be teleported to the Darkness once again. However, this time, you’ll have the Legendary Sword in your hands.
Even with the Legendary Sword, you won’t be able to deal much damage to the masked enemies in the void, so you’ll have to chase the light once again.
Once you approach the light, the nightmare will be over. This will trigger a cutscene where Argo arrives to inquire about the quest.
You’ll also see Stella in a cutscene. Once that’s done, you’ll find the party looking for anyone else with the brooch in Urbus Bazaar. There will be a girl here, near the Smithy. You’ll have to talk to her.
When you talk to the girl, she’ll refuse to help you with the quest and will throw away her brooch. You’ll then meet Lisbeth, who offers to guide you to Marome, which is near the location of the Second Sanctuary.
You’ll then see a cutscene where a sinister-looking man is picking up the brooch from the ground.
This concludes Part 4 of the walkthrough for Echoes of Aincrad.
If you’re looking for more walkthroughs for the game, please visit its main hub here. You may also like the following pages:
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Fahad Suleman is an avid fan of fighting games who spends most of his time writing walkthroughs and reviews for cozy indie titles or mashing around in Tekken. If he’s not writing or playing any games, you’ll often find him watching historical videos on YouTube for hours.
