Echoes of Aincrad takes place in the world of Sword Art Online, a game where the players are stuck, and the only way to log out of the game is to clear the 100 Floors. To make things more intense and chaotic, the Developer Kayaba has made sure that dying in the game results in dying in the real world as well, and that’s why each player is fighting for their life.
For more information about the game, please check out its official Steam page here.
Table of contents
Path To Marome
Marome is the second city of the Second Floor. Lisbeth offers to tag along on your journey to Marome. When you’re ready, head to the Terminal and start the Seeking Hope quest.
The quest description warns you that the enemy levels are locked at Level 40 for this quest, but if you’re around level 30, this quest shouldn’t prove to be too difficult if you have decent weapons.
To reach Marome, you should start the quest from the Western Primordial Sands warp point, if you have unlocked it during the previous quests.
As you progress through the region and arrive at the marked location, you’ll enter the area called the Grasslands of the Sacred Cow. Here, you’ll have to fight a boss.
The boss here is the Trembling Cow. Most of its moveset is similar to the Ox enemies that you’ve encountered early on. It can stomp the ground to deal damage in an area.
The boss has a total of three phases. In phase two, it will start to create dust whirlwinds in the area. If you come in contact with any of these dust devils, you’ll take damage.
In the third phase, the boss gets even more aggressive. It will keep charging from one end of the arena to the next, alongside all of the dust whirlwinds, and it gets very difficult to lock it down.
If you’ve got your ultimate or sword skills ready, the third phase would be the ideal time to throw them out.
Musou
After defeating the Trembling Cow, you’ll find Morome’s entrance shortly ahead. A cutscene will trigger, where the rest of the party will join you shortly.
However, a middle-aged man shows up out of nowhere with the Sacred Tree Brooch and challenges you to a fight. He says that if he wins, he’ll accompany you to the next Sanctuary.
You’ll most likely be lacking health restoration items after your battle against the Trembling Cow, and since you’ve yet to rest at warp point, this battle becomes a lot more challenging than it should be.
However, this is a scripted battle. You’re supposed to lose here. Once you’re defeated, it will complete the Seeking Hope quest.
Trees In The Sand
Accept the Trees in the Sand quest from the terminal. The party will then depart from Morome with Musoh to search for the Second Sanctuary.
When you reach the marked location, you’ll find a Cursed Shrewman boss here.
Cursed Shrewman has two phases, but it can be an incredibly tough boss to fight against. It is quite nimble and can easily avoid many slow attacks.
Furthermore, the boss can also teleport and then reappear instantly to grab you. If you get grabbed, you’ll be blinded.
The boss can also unleash red projectiles in the arena. If you come in contact with these red orbs, the instant death status effect will start building up on you.
If you get hit by more than one projectile and the Instant Death bar fills up, you’ll be exhausted on the spot and will have to redo the battle.
After defeating the boss, walk straight into the Sanctuary. You’ll find a warp point ahead. Interact with it to complete the quest.
The party will then return to town. You can start making preparations and accept the Que’s Sanctuary quest from the terminal once you’re ready.
Que’s Sanctuary
As you enter the Second Sanctuary, you’ll find an Elven Guard here as well. The guard will allow you to enter the Sanctuary.
You’ll then have to cross the dungeon section inside the Sanctuary. As you clear the dungeon section, you’ll enter the Hall of Protection. Here, you’ll have to fight the Cursed Shrewman boss once again.
The Trail of Daggers sequence is next. It’s a dungeon section. Once you’re on the other side of the dungeon section, you’ll find a resting point.
From the resting point, you’ll enter the Relic Hall of the Sanctuary. Keep walking, and here, you’ll find a Troll Ark Shaman boss.
As the battle begins, the entire party will be fighting against the boss and the Kobold enemies, but Musoh will be watching from a distance and refuse to participate in the fight.
For now, you’ll be on your own. This boss has a ton of HP and uses AOE spells to deal damage.
When the boss only has 30% HP left in the first phase, Musoh will step into the fight and will start to help your party out.
Since the boss battle has three phases, it will take a while to reduce its HP in the second phase due to its massive HP pool, and you’ll have to manage your own health restoration options as well. Furthermore, the boss will summon a clone during the battle, and you’ll have to deal with another, much weaker version of the boss.
In the third phase, the troll will start to crawl on the ground. It will lunge from one end of the arena to the other.
Note that the boss can now shoot a laser out of the place where its leg was cut. The laser deals immense damage, but it’s linear. If you can manage to get on its back during the laser attack, you’ll be able to deal a ton of damage to the boss.
After you’ve defeated the Troll Ark Shaman, enter the next chamber, and you’ll find the Legendary Weapon. It will be a dagger this time.
The party will then return to the Sanctuary’s entrance. The guard will be relieved of their duty now that you’ve obtained the weapon.
Pucci will also show up to share the lore about the Legendary Weapon. During the cutscene, Musoh will join the party permanently, and the party will decide to head to Taran to find the Third Sanctuary.
Taran
Taran is located southwest of Marome. If you’ve activated the Central Wilderness warp point, you can teleport there, as the path to the objective from there is quite straightforward.
As you reach the marked location on the map, you’ll find a Thunderhorn Ox boss here.
The boss can summon lightning bolts on the ground, so watch where you step. It can also inflict Paralyze with some of its attacks.
Once you’ve defeated the boss, you’ll find the entrance to Taran ahead. When you get there, activate the warp point inside Taran to complete the quest.
Search For Lara
As you arrive in Taran, you’ll find Argo here. Argo will tell you that Lara, an idol, has been hiding from her stalkers somewhere in the area, and you have to find and protect her.
The party decides to help her out. You’ll have to head out with Iori to look for Lara in the southwestern forest.
Once you’re ready, start Part 1 of The Diva quest. You’ll have to get to the southwestern area from Taran.
As you approach the quest location, you’ll have to fight against a Storm Hornet boss.
The Storm Hornet boss can create dust whirlwinds in the arena and can also shoot projectiles. In the third and final phase, the Storm Hornet can unleash an attack of dust and wind that covers the entire boss arena.
Stay at a distance and try to avoid the whirlwinds by using dodges and other movement options. Once the whirlwinds have calmed down, you can approach the boss and continue your offense.
After defeating the boss, you’ll have to walk straight into the cave and find the warp point there to complete Part 1 of The Diva quest.
You’ll then return to the town to make preparations. Once you’re ready, embark on Part 2 of The Diva quest.
The Diva
As you enter the cave, you’ll shortly find yourself in a dungeon section. Clear the dungeon section, and you’ll find a resting point.
You’ll find Musoh, Stina, and Zash in front of a few players. These players were stalkers, and Musoh took care of them. There’s a boss arena ahead.
As you enter the boss arena, you’ll have to fight against a Troll Reaver, but there’s another Elite Troll enemy in the arena.
You’ll have to fight against both of them. Make sure you’ve got healing items, as well as items to nullify the Burning status effect, as the boss can easily inflict Burning on you.
The boss only has one phase, so you can win against it quickly. After defeating it, keep moving deeper into the cave.
There will be a resting point leading to another dungeon section. Keep progressing deeper into the forest cave.
After you clear the dungeon section, you’ll be able to enter the Demi-Human Lair: Bottom part of the forest cave.
Here, when you arrive, you’ll find Lara fighting against a Ruin Kobold King. Similar to the Troll Fire Reaver, the Ruin Kobold King can also inflict Burning quite easily.
The Ruin Kobold King can teleport across the arena and can also summon lesser Kobold enemies. However, you’ll have Iori and Lara fighting alongside you in the battle.
Additionally, the Ruin Kobold King can also summon multiple projectiles around it. These projectiles inflict the Frozen status effect on you. Dodge at the precise timing to avoid these attacks.
This boss has a total of three phases. After the first two phases, the boss will abandon its staff and will start relying on hand-to-hand combat.
It will often jump into the air to unleash a devastating AOE attack. It can also turn itself into a whirlwind, traveling across the arena while spinning around. You won’t be able to get close to it, so let it finish its attacks first before approaching it.
After you’ve defeated the boss, the quest will be completed, and you’ll return to Taran with Lara. In the inn, Lara will tell you that she had seen a boy with white hair and purple clothing.
The party immediately thinks that it’s Cal. However, he’s not responding to any messages from Iori. Lara then asks if anyone had seen such a guy among her fans gathered inside the inn. A little girl named Silica reveals that she has seen a person who fits Lara’s description.
The Search For Cal
The party will then decide to leave and search for Cal in the forest ruins. Silica offers to come with you as well. Leave from the main terminal after accepting the Violet Footsteps quest.
If you’ve activated the Shifting Greenway: Entry Path warp point, you should warp there immediately to save some time.
When you reach the marked location, you’ll find a Mountain Range Bao boss here. Since it’s a Bao-type enemy, it can bounce around during the battle, and you should try to avoid its bouncing attacks as they deal a lot of damage.
After defeating the boss, you’ll find the entrance to Cati’s Sanctuary shortly ahead. Enter the Sanctuary and activate the warp point inside it to complete the quest.
Cati’s Sanctuary
As you enter the Third Sanctuary, you’ll find the Elven Guard inside. The guard will tell you that a man with white hair and purple clothing had entered the Sanctuary a little while ago.
Similar to the other Sanctuaries, you’ll first have to clear a dungeon section. After that, you’ll arrive in the Hall of Protection. Here, you’ll find the Defender Golem boss.
At the start of the battle, the fight goes similarly to the other Golem enemies you’ve fought so far. However, once you’ve taken out a chunk of its HP, the boss will summon four floating blue structures around it, and a few diamond-shaped structures on the ground.
You will not be able to deal any damage to the boss now. First, you have to strike and destroy the blue structures surrounding the boss. You should also try to get rid of the diamonds on the ground. These diamonds will be shooting projectiles periodically, and if left unattended, they’ll unleash a powerful blast in a while.
Once the first phase is over, a man with white hair and purple clothing will join you in the battle, but it’s not Cal.
You’ll have to repeat the strategy as the boss will keep summoning those structures throughout the fight. It can also stun-lock you quite easily, so make sure to avoid getting cornered against the boss arena’s walls during the battle.
After you’ve defeated the boss, the white-haired boy will deal the finishing blow. After that, the boy will leave the arena. Before leaving, he’ll tell your party that his name is Arne, not Cal.
There’s another dungeon sequence ahead from here. Clear the area, and you’ll find a resting point leading to the Relic Hall.
When you reach the boss arena, you’ll find your friends and Arne fighting against a Grand Orbweaver boss.
The boss summons yellow orbs in the arena, which can then explode on contact. If they remain in the arena for a while, they’ll hatch into smaller bug enemies. They aren’t strong, but their numbers can easily overwhelm your party.
In the third phase, the boss will summon a giant pillar and use it to damage you. You’ll have to dodge with great precision to avoid it. However, you can also simply tank this attack if you’ve got healing items.
After you’ve defeated the boss, you’ll find out Arne has already gone deeper into the Sanctuary. Follow him, and you’ll find out that he has already taken the next Legendary Weapon, a greatsword.
Since Arne has taken the weapon, the party doesn’t know the location of the Fourth Sanctuary. The party will then be teleported to the entrance. It will turn out that Arne refused to show the weapon to Pucci as well.
Cal’s Whereabouts And The Party’s Plans For The Future
After the unsuccessful attempt at retrieving the Legendary Weapon from Cati’s Sanctuary, the party will return to the Town of Beginnings.
Here, you have to walk to the Monument of Life and search for Cal’s name on it. When you type the name, it will be revealed that Cal has already passed away.
After finding out Cal’s status, the party will then decide what to do about the fourth Sanctuary. Iori will suggest that she and the player had raided an Elven Ruin in the Beta, and it might be connected to the Sanctuaries.
Once the cutscene is over, you’ll have to find Iori near the town square. This will initiate a story cutscene. After the cutscene, you’ll have to return to the first floor.
This concludes Part 5 of the walkthrough for Echoes of Aincrad.
If you’re looking for more walkthroughs, please visit the game’s main hub here. You may also like the following pages:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Dead Weight – Walkthrough And Guides Hub
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulu – Beginner Tips & Tricks
- Denshattack! – The Ultimate Guide For Everything
- Moss: The Forgotten Relic – Walkthrough Hub
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.
