Echoes of Aincrad throws you right into the thick of things with a preset avatar, reminding players of the iconic Sword Art Online story where freedom of identity is initially stripped away. This design choice mirrors the in-game narrative, but it can catch newcomers off guard as they wait to step fully into their own customized hero. Understanding when you get to craft your own appearance and who you truly want to be matters not just for aesthetics, but to feel fully immersed in this sprawling ARPG world.
Character creation doesn9t open up immediately in Echoes of Aincrad. You’ll need to push through the introductory section until you complete the final prologue quest, Violet Fencer II . This quest caps off a detailed tutorial phase designed to introduce everything from navigating the environment to battling bosses, recruiting party members, and mastering dungeons. Expect to invest a solid chunk of time with the default character before you get the chance to personalize your avatar.
The timing to reach this milestone varies by player, but a typical playthrough lands you at Violet Fencer II roughly four hours into the game. That9s a fairly long wait, which helps build anticipation and sets the stage for your customized journey. But even finishing this step doesn9t mean you can dive immediately into your new character9s boots.
After creating your custom character, there9s an additional questline that must be completed before you take control of your personalized avatar. The Summons quest serves as a narrative bridge, where you travel from the starting spawn point to the Town of Beginnings. This journey takes roughly thirty minutes and introduces critical plot elements from the original light novel. Only upon arriving in town and progressing here does the game finally allow you to play as the character you created, marking the true start of your tailored adventure.
Before you can play as the custom character you created, you’ll need to complete one more questline. On the first day of Sword Art Online’s launch you’ll play through the quest Summons. This will take you about another half an hour to complete as you’ll need to travel from the spawn point to the Town of Beginnings. Once you’re finally in town, the plot of the original light novel will finally begin and you’ll be able to play through the rest of your game as your custom character!