Getting around in Bandai Namco‘s lastest Sword Art Online: Integral Factor (ソードアート・オンライン インテグラル・ファクター) is not too tricky. There is in fact an English title for each page, but understanding what’s inside can be a bit of a fuss. Here in this article, we are going to explain the important parts!
This may be mentioned too many time, but still we feel like it is never said enough: You need VPN to play this game!
▍Main Menu
The main panels you will be using are the menu and action panel. Everything you need is found on the menu, while every action you want your character to do is on the action panel.
The attack button is replaced by an interaction button when you are near a person or an object.
▍Status
The most crucial thing you need to do in Status is changing your and your partner’s skill and gear. Since the way to change your skill/gear and the way to change your partners’ skill/gear are basically the same, we are going explain once only with an example of our own character.
Change your weapon and skill by tapping on them. Each weapon and skill has a cost. Please be careful with how many cost you have. Your changes are going to be wasted if they exceed the total cost. The same goes for setting up your defense.
The blue “holding hand” indicator means your partner’s weapon, and you can’t use it unless you take it off from her. Remember to press Confirm after every time you make changes, otherwise nothing will be saved.
What skill card you can use depends on what weapon you are equipped with. The red circle says the card type, such as sword, spear, shield, and so on. They can only be used on the weapons they are made for. A spear card can only be used on a spear. A shield card can only used on a shield. We are sure you know the drill by now.
When a card is not able to be used, it has a line in red written on it. Again, remember to press confirm to save your progress!
▍Item
Item has a few slots you don’t need to check usually. The Item slot is where you should focus on.
In Item, you can see what items you have and their quantity. Some of them are disposable.
Disposable items like the health potion below offer you two options. They are Register and Use. If you press Use, you use it right away.
If you press Register, a window pops up with four choices: Palette 1, Palette 2, Palette 3, and Palette 4. They are slots that your items can be stored in. If there is no number shown on the window and there is a long string of words instead, it means you have already put something in that slot.
This is VERY IMPORTANT: you should always put health items in these slots. They are actually the slots the Item button on the action panel contains. When you are low on health in a fierce battle, accessing potions in this button is the fastest way to save yourself.
The Present tab shows a list of presents available. Always press Get All to save time.
▍Quest
Don’t just wander off in the default maps and kill boars – it will eventually get boring. Always complete your main quest! New maps, dungeons and floors open as you proceed through main quests!
In the Quest panel, these few buttons allow you to check quests of all statuses.
The Main Quest is indicated on the mini map with a yellow indicator. Please check you map more often because it is useful to non Japanese readers. Even though you may not understand the quest detail written in Japanese, you can always head to the exact location where the yellow indicator is.
If the indicator is set near some NPCs and structures, what you have to do is to interact with them. If the indicator points to an open field, oh well, it’s usually killing time.
You can also look for side quests by checking out NPCs with exclamation marks above their heads. These marks are seen on the map as well.
▍Communication
Here you can get social with three options. The best thing about it is that you can even blacklist trolls!
In Friend Search, you can find your own ID. Besides looking for other friends with their IDs, you can also find players living nearby (well, as in real world).
If you prefer being in a squad, you can join a Party – something that resembles a guild. Under Party there are two options – Party Search and Form a Party.
You cannot join any parties as you wish. Some parties have their standards and you have to reach a certain level in order to get in. Some parties have no specification.
If you want to from your own squad, fill in the details below. Leave the password field blank in case you want to make the group public.
▍Shop
You can get your skill cards in Shop. The important thing to learn here is to distinguish between the 1 Gacha and the 10 Gacha Roll button.
▍Setting
Under the Setting panel, basically the only useful tab is Setting.
If your game can’t run smoothly, try change your setting here.
The Sound options are pretty easy to understand as they are all in English. The camera settings can be changed under Action.
Under Display there are a few more choices.
Last but not least, always remember to back up your account by binding it!
READ MORE:
• Sword Art Online: Integral Factor for mobile launches today
• Sword Art Online Integral Factor How-To: Bind Account
• Sega’s mobile fighting game based on light novel characters is in production