The Sword Art Online series may be about characters entering virtual reality MMORPGs, but in the latest real-world game, Sword Art Online: Alicization Loris , it’s unclear how to play multiplayer with real people.
Previous games in the series have also been a bit confusing in terms of where they sit with the story of the light novel, manga and anime series. Here, though, you’ll see a more faithful fit of the source material. You play the role of the main protagonist, Kirito, after he wakes up in a new location, the Underworld, with no memory of who he is. Nor is there any memory of how to use the online features.
How to unlock multiplayer
From the very beginning of the game, you will be able to see that you have multiplayer options in the party menu, however they will not be accessible until you have completed chapter one of the story.
It’s a pretty long first chapter, however, and can take up to 20 hours to actually complete. Only after starting the second chapter will you be able to access the party menu and start playing with friends.
How to play Sword Art Online online
After the party menu and online options are available, you can join other online players in several ways. Can:
- Search by mission
- Join an online instance by choosing which mission you want to pursue.
- Look for friends
- Join the missions that players on your friends list have set up.
- Search by online ID
- Join the missions that specific online players have created.
- Quick match
- Quickly join an online instance for any mission you have access to.
You can also set your mission to recruit for. From the recruiting menu, you can choose which mission you want to recruit for, although players can only join you if they’ve unlocked that mission (and you can only join missions you’ve unlocked). From here you can make it open to anyone or password protected so only friends can join.
Once you’ve started matchmaking, it’s just a matter of waiting for other players to join. After throwing a party, you can go off and complete the mission you’ve decided to do, or explore and complete any side missions along the way. Four people can join your party and each can bring an AI companion with them. There’s no reason not to, so go ahead and throw a big old party to go to the Underworld together!
