A step-by-step walkthrough of your first 60 minutes in SAO: Hollow Realization. Don't miss these critical early steps.
The Opening Sequence
The game opens with a cutscene showing Kirito logging into Ainground and receiving a cryptic message. You then meet Premiere in what appears to be a distorted version of the Town of Beginnings. She is confused, has no memory, and the world around her appears to be glitching. This sequence is mostly linear -- just follow the prompts and enjoy the story.
Important: Do NOT skip dialogue scenes. The conversation choices you make throughout the game build affinity with NPCs. Higher affinity means party members use Switch more often, come to your aid when you are in danger, and unlock character-specific side content later in the game.
Arriving in Town
After the opening scenes, you gain control in the main town. The starting town is your hub for the early game. Here is what to do before heading out:
• Talk to the marked NPCs. Asuna is near the fountain in the central plaza. Speaking with her advances the early story and unlocks her as a party member. You will also encounter other familiar faces like Lisbeth, Silica, and Sinon as you explore.
• Visit the blacksmith (Lisbeth's shop). Your starter gear is functional but check its durability. You can also see what upgrade materials are available, though I would not spend much on upgrades this early.
• Open the menu and equip your skills. This is the #1 mistake new players make. You start with skill points spent but the actual skills are NOT on your active palette. Go to Skills, select your weapon tree, and assign the sword skills and battle skills you have unlocked to your button layout. If you skip this, you will literally be unable to use any special abilities.
• Buy consumables. Head to the item shop and buy at least 10-15 HP Potions. Also pick up a few SP Potions -- these restore your skill gauge during combat, letting you use sword skills more frequently.
• Activate the town teleport stone. The large blue crystal near the center of town is your fast travel anchor. Walk into it to activate it permanently.
Player Tip: If you find yourself in combat without any skills showing up on your HUD, you forgot to equip them. Open the menu, go to Skills, and manually assign them. This catches everyone at least once.
Your First Battles
The fields immediately outside town contain low-level enemies: Wild Boars, Forest Wasps, and Slimes. These are deliberately easy and exist for you to learn the controls.
Take this opportunity to practice:
• Your normal attack chain -- don't just mash the button, watch your character's animation and learn the rhythm of your weapon's combo.
• Using a sword skill at the end of a normal attack string to see how skill chaining works.
• Perfect Guard against boar charges. The boar will paw the ground briefly before charging -- this is your tell. Block right as it begins to move forward.
• Dodge rolling against wasp projectile attacks. Time your roll to pass through the projectile during your i-frames.
• Opening your skill palette mid-fight to get comfortable with button placement without looking at the controller/keyboard.
Preparing for the First Dungeon
Not far from the starting fields is your first dungeon. Before going in:
• Spend some time grinding in the fields until you feel comfortable with your weapon moveset. You do not need to be high level, but you should be landing Perfect Guards consistently.
• Activate the field teleport stone right outside the dungeon entrance. This is crucial -- if you die inside, you respawn here instead of all the way back in town.
• Repair your gear at the blacksmith if you have been fighting for a while. Broken gear means drastically reduced damage output.
• Top off your potion supply.
• Consider bringing a party member. Asuna joins early and provides extra damage plus healing support. Having allies also means you can practice Switch combos.
Player Tip: Death is not a huge penalty in this game. You respawn at the last activated teleport stone with some durability loss but no EXP or item penalty. That said, dying repeatedly because you went in unprepared wastes time and Col on repairs. Take the extra two minutes to prepare.