While you'll do most of the intense combat using your chosen sword skills and weapons, Echoes of Aincrad lets you choose a partner whenever you leave the main city, each with unique abilities and perks that will help you improve your battle strategy.
However, not all partners in Echoes of Aincrad are created equal, and you may need to switch between missions frequently depending on your play style and goals. Get everyone ready and ready to be there as partners in Echoes of Aincrad whenever you need them!
wiseman
Best used for: Status ailments and early crowd control.
|
weapon type |
mace |
|
combo skill |
Tri Stampede: Deals great damage to one enemy. This damage increases when the enemy is dazed. |
|
Support Skills |
Dissonant Resonance: Deals damage to enemies in range and applies Dazed stacks. |
In Echoes of Aincrad, you'll learn how to use items to inflict status ailments on enemies, and eventually you'll discover weapons that grant status ailments when used in normal combat as well, but Wyzeman is a great way to experiment with status ailments early on.
The combination of him and his powerful mace and his own shield means serious business when bringing him onto the battlefield, allowing him to easily inflict the Dazed status on enemies, potentially leaving them confused and stunned at the most critical moments. He can follow up with a combo skill after causing daze, which deals more damage to the afflicted enemy. Keeping your SP high makes you a great crowd control partner!
Jash
Best for: High Vitality Tank Builds
|
weapon type |
two handed sword |
|
combo skill |
Twin Ignition: Inflicts great damage to nearby enemies. Zash and your characters lose a certain amount of HP each time. |
|
Support Skills |
Diversion: Temporarily grants a barrier to Zash and the character and increases attack power. The lower the target's HP, the higher the ATK increase. |
On the first floor you'll have to choose between Iori, Wyzeman, and Argo, but Zash is the first partner you unlock once you enter Urbano on the second floor. It's worth exploring together, especially if you've built a character for Vitality that's perfect for any tank player.
His combo skill costs both of you a significant portion of their HP when used, but deals impressive damage to all nearby enemies, making Zash a good skill to use for crowd control as well. He gives a fairly impressive boost with Exhilaration, giving both of them a massive boost to their attack stats that can easily complete the most difficult boss battles.
Asuna
Best for: SP supplementation
|
weapon type |
rapier |
|
combo skill |
Spirit Shot: Deals medium damage to one enemy. Consumes 50% of the character's SP to inflict additional damage based on attack power. The damage increases as more SP is consumed, and when it exceeds a certain amount, the damage of the next sword skill also increases. |
|
Support Skills |
lightning: Deals damage to all enemies around Asuna. Also recovers SP of nearby friendly characters. |
Once you reach the second floor, Asuna can be your first partner to unlock through a series of side quests that will help you join your party in Echoes of Aincrad, and it's worth making the effort to bring her on, as you'll find out once you join her in the three side missions you'll need to do to unlock her.
Her combo skills can be a bit risky to use if you don't have a good way to replenish SP, but her support skills do just that, so bringing Asuna is a great way to ensure your character can make the most of her powerful sword skills. Thankfully, Spirit Shot deals more damage the more SP you spend, so it's best used when it's fully up anyway, as it can do impressive damage to a single enemy, like in a boss fight.
Argyll
Best for: Keeping enemies at bay in mafia battles
|
weapon type |
two handed ax |
|
combo skill |
Crowd Attack: Deals medium damage to nearby enemies, and the damage increases as the number of enemies in range increases. |
|
Support Skills |
mockery: Causes enemies around Agil to target him. Afterwards, Agil's focus gauge will remain fully charged for a period of time. |
You can encounter Agil early on in the story during the main quest on the second floor of Echoes of Aincrad, and after completing a series of side quests to unlock him as your partner, he is one of the better partners in the game when it comes to overall crowd control on the battlefield.
Not only does Agil's combo skill provide an extra damage percentage with each hit, but his support skill is one of the best ways to take a breather in combat. Will you need to heal, or will it take a while for your best ability to run out of its cooldown timer? Have Agil use taunt and watch as enemies flock to him and slaughter the battleaxe.
Klein
Best for: Late game buffs and bosses.
|
weapon type |
knife |
|
combo skill |
Fangs of Riot: Deals great damage to one enemy, but temporarily reduces the defense of both Klein and the character. |
|
Support Skills |
Reinforced bellows: You become temporarily invincible, and your and Klein's ATK and DEF increase. (This support skill is activated automatically only when HP falls below a certain amount.) |
Another partner who appears quite late in the game, Klein makes a great partner in Echoes of Aincrad. This is especially true if you play the game on higher difficulty settings. Another character that requires you to complete a few side quests before joining, Klein is a good choice for boss fights.
Being able to become invincible at a very critical moment during a boss fight when your HP reaches a critical level can easily give you the edge you need to finish the fight strong, making Bolstering Bellow one of the better partner support skills in Echoes of Aincrad. Not only does it buy you time to attack, but more importantly, it buys you time to heal. Riot Fangs are a nice bonus and you can land a powerful finishing blow during this time, so give Klein a good sword and involve him in late-game fights.
Kirito
Best for: Full DPS
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weapon type |
knife |
|
combo skill |
Stream Edge: Continuous attacks inflict significant damage to a single enemy and recover a certain amount of SP. |
|
Support Skills |
receiver: Attacks all enemies within a certain range in rapid succession, and kills mobs when HP is below a certain level. |
If you're looking for a no-frills partner who delivers dazzling damage output when engaging in battle alongside you, series protagonist Kirito is your guy. He will unlock on the second floor and easily annihilate the many tough fights you will face there.
His combo skill, Stream Edge, replenishes some SP, but since Kirito is a strong DPS partner, you're unlikely to use Kirito primarily for that purpose, especially in boss battles where you get a good sword. Strikers also play a very valuable role in mafia battles. This is because you can easily one-shot a group if your HP is low. It's great for exploration, but it's even better against bosses that never stop calling for reinforcements.
argo
Best used for: Exploration and analysis
|
weapon type |
dagger |
|
combo skill |
Gemini Moon: Deals medium damage to a single enemy and knocks back enemies hit for damage. |
|
Support Skills |
analyze: Reveals enemies through walls in surrounding areas and allows players to detect trapped crates for a short period of time. When attacking an enemy target with analysis, additional damage is inflicted based on attack power. |
It's definitely recommended to set up a safe zone in each map section of Echoes of Aincrad to reveal the entire map, but Argo is a great workaround for doing this as he can scan the area as you move, giving you important information before you move on.
She can find and describe many things, such as enemies to target and fight for experience points, enemies that can sneak around cautiously if you're low on HP, treasure chests waiting to be opened and looted for loot, and more. You'll still need a map for navigation and for other rewards or battles she doesn't cover (such as the Ark and its rewards), but Argo is great for exploring new areas.
Iori
Best for: Continuous HP replenishment
|
weapon type |
knife |
|
combo skill |
Twin Hugs: With Iori's help, deals medium damage to nearby enemies. The more HP, the higher the damage. |
|
Support Skills |
Healing Circle: Creates a zone where the HP of friendly characters gradually recovers over a certain period of time. |
Although she's the first partner you get in the long prologue of Echoes of Aincrad, Iori is a great partner throughout the game, and we found ourselves using her quite a bit both in regular gameplay and in the death game mode. She has a great ability to stay healthy over the long term.
Her healing circle ability is one of the most valuable partner skills in the game, available as soon as you start playing, and gives you constant access to the powerful green circle she casts, allowing her to heal you every second you stand in its light. This is a great way to save potions and healing crystals between fights, but you can also cast them. while Through battle, you can lure enemies and recover your health while fighting!
