Quest

Spoiler Alert: This article or section contains details about plotlines not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you wish to be spoiled.

A Quest (クエスト, Kuesuto^?) is an Non-Player Character (NPC)-initiated event that typically leads to a reward after fulfilling a series of set conditions. Certain quests are given via a bulletin board, instead of an NPC.^[1]^[2]

Quest Types[]

In general, quests in Sword Art Online can be broadly categorised into four types: Collection, Elimination, Escort, and Errand quests. Collection (収集系, Shūshū-kei^?) type quests primarily require players to gather materials in the Outer Field. Elimination (討伐系, Toubatsu-kei^?) type quests involve defeating specific monsters. Escort (護衛系, Goei-kei^?) type quests necessitate escorting an NPC to a specified area, guarding them along the way. The final Errand (お使い系, Otsukai-kei^?) type is a miscellaneous class of quests with abundance of variations. Most of these types of quests involve delivering or retrieving specific items. On the other hand, the Errand classification also includes Search Quests (捜索クエスト, Sousaku Kuesuto^?) and Investigation Quests (調査クエスト, Chousa Kuesuto^?), some of which can be so elaborate that they even lead from a simple search to a Floor Boss fight.^[3]

Initiation and Progress[]

Initiation of an NPC-given quest begins by interacting with NPCs that have a gold «!» symbol above them. Usually, a phrase like "Is something troubling you?" is used to accept a quest from an NPC, though this is not the only possible variant and it's not applicable to all quests.^[4] Certain quests might also require certain conditions to be met, like accepting an offer for a cup of water, before the quest can be accepted.^[4] After a quest is initiated, the respective NPC's gold «!» will change into a «?», denoting a quest in progress; however, the quest will not progress unless the quest giver's entire speech, which tends to be rather long during certain quests, is heard.^[5]^[4] Certain quests have side-objectives that need to be completed before the final objective becomes available. All currently available objectives are displayed as golden «!» on the map,^[6] while the final objective that is currently unavailable is displayed as a grey «!» on the map.^[7] Once a quest is accepted, the quest appears in the player's quest log with information on the current progress of the quest.

Repeatability[]

In Sword Art Online, most quests can be completed repeatedly. However, most such quests have a "cooldown time" after the quest is completed before it becomes available again. Certain quests, usually the ones offering high-value rewards, can only be completed once.^[5]

In some quests, instance maps would be generated, so that different players could accept the same quest without either party hindering the other.^[8]

Quest Generation[]

The Cardinal System in Sword Art Online and ALfheim Online comes with a feature called «Automatic Quest Generation Function». With this feature, the Cardinal System automatically collects folklore and legends of the world, adapts it for the game and continues to generate infinite amounts of quests using proper names and story patterns. These quests can also lead to an "end of the world" event or one that greatly changes the terrain of the world, as the Cardinal System was given authority to change the world of Aincrad to its discretion, seeing as the world was meant to be destroyed in the end anyway. This feature has usually been disabled in ALfheim, but if activated from the management side, the Cardinal System seems to retain the authority of changing the world to its discretion without even getting permission from the management team. Examples of such quests are «The Holy Sword of the Ice Palace» quest in ALO and the «Witch of the West and the Three Treasures» quest in SAO.

Due to this feature, just those known SAO quests in the quest database of the information shop exceed 10,000 by the time the 75^th Floor is reached.^[1]^[2]

Known Quests[]

Sword Art Online[]

Floor	English Name	Japanese Name	Description	Reward(s)	Ref
1	«Secret Medicine of the Forest»^{[† 1]}	森の秘薬 (Mori no Hiyaku)	Obtain a rare drop from a flowerhead Little Nepenthes.	«Anneal Blade»	^[4]
1	«The Lost Calf» (beta test) «The Heifer Strikes Back» (official release)	迷子の仔牛 (Maigo no Koushi) 逆襲の雌牛 (Gyakushū no Meushi)	Escort a cow to find its missing calf in a prairie to the east of the farm in Horunka Village. The quest was renamed in the official release of the game and now features a surprise encounter with swamp kobolds.	A basket with two pieces of bread and a jar of sour cream (5 uses)	^[9]^[10]^[11]
2	Martial Arts quest	N/A	Break a demonic rock with one's bare hands.	«Martial Arts» Extra Skill	^[12]
3	Guild formation quest	N/A		Guild creation	^[13]^[14]
3-9	«Elf War»	エルフ戦争 (Erufu Sensou)	A campaign quest that consists of a large number of quests spanning the 3-9th Floors. Player can choose to either aid the Forest Elves or the Dark Elves.	Various	^[15]
4	«Shipwright of Yore»	昔日(せきじつ)の船匠(せんしょう) (Sekijitsu no Senshou)	A multi-stage quest that involves building a boat for freely travelling on the 4th Floor. The final stage of the quest ties in with Elf War campaign quest on the 4th Floor.	A chosen design and size gondola	^[16]
4	«Laketop Fortress»	湖上の城塞 (Kojou no Jousai)	The continuation of the Shipwright of Yore quest for the Dark Elf side of the Elf War campaign. The quest involves defending Yofel Castle from an invasion of Forest Elves.	Two chosen Yofilis's family heirlooms.^{[† 2]}	^[19]
5	«Little Lost Jenny»	迷子のジェニー (Maigo no Jenī)	Find a girl's missing pet.	Unknown	^[18]
5	«The Tasteless Collector»	悪趣味な収集家 (Akushumina Shūshūka)	Find a certain type of relic.	Unknown	^[18]
5	«Thirty-Year Lament»	三十年の嘆(なげ)き (Sanjū Nen no Nageki)	Resolve an issue with a lamenting spirit.	Unknown	^[20]
6	«Curse of Stachion»	スタキオンの呪(のろ)い	Locate and retrieve a missing golden cube.		^[21]
6	Meditation Extra Skill Quest	N/A	Unknown	«Meditation» Extra Skill	^[12]
9	Dark Elf Queen's Quest	N/A	Unknown	Queen's Knightsword	^[22]
22	«Witch of the West and the Three Treasures»	西の魔女と三つの宝 (Nishi no Majo to Mittsu no Takara)	Defeat the Witch and save Dorothy. Includes 3 optional side-objectives to obtain the «Scarecrow»'s brain, the «Tin»'s heart and the «Lion»'s courage, but these quests aren't necessary for the completion of the main quest. The 3 NPCs accompany the players throughout the quest. The quest is based on the Wizard of Oz.	Ability to purchase Forest House K4	^[7]
30	Ogre Slaughter Quest	N/A	A slaughter quest to kill ogres wearing strange masks. Repeatable once per week.	Unknown	^[23]^[2]
55	Frost Dragon Quest	N/A	Confronting X'rphan the White Wyrm.	Secret reward: Crystallite Ingot	^[5]
Unknown	«Angel's Ring»		Surpass trials set by a holy angel. One of the parts includes fighting a giant fluffy demonic monster type bunny with wings.	Ring of Angel's Whisper	^[24]
Various	Alignment Recovery Quest	アライメント回復クエスト	A trial given by NPC travellers or wanderers in the wilderness that can be occasionally encountered when a player's cursor is orange. The difficulty and length of the quest depends on the severity of the player's crime.	Reverting the player's orange cursor back to green.	^[25]

ALfheim Online[]

«Angel's Ring»^{[† 3]}
Beast God Slaughter quest
«Deep Sea Plunderers»
«Guardians of the World Tree» - 1st Grand Quest
«The Holy Sword of the Ice Palace»

Notes[]

↑ Translated as Herbs of the Forest or Forest Elixir by Yen Press.
↑ Known possible rewards include «Earring of Ripples»^[17], «Prancing Boots»^[17], and «Sword of Eventide»^[18]
↑ Imported from Sword Art Online with a change in difficulty

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The Day Before
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Volume 8, Calibur, Part 3
↑ Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 5
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Volume 8, First Day
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 Volume 2, Warmth of the Heart, Part 2
↑ The Day Before Part 4
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 The Day Before Part 6
↑ Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 2
↑ The Next Day, Part 2
↑ The Next Day, Part 4
↑ Progressive Volume 1, Aria of a Starless Night, Part 4
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1 Progressive Volume 1, The Reason for the Whiskers
↑ Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 3
↑ Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 4
↑ Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 1
↑ Progressive Volume 3, Barcarolle of Froth, Part 3
↑ ^17.0 ^17.1 Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 5
↑ ^18.0 ^18.1 ^18.2 Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 3
↑ Progressive Volume 3, Barcarolle of Froth, Part 6
↑ Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 4
↑ Progressive Volume 5, Canon of the Golden Rule, Part 4
↑ Volume 10, Chapter 4, Part 3
↑ The Day Before Part 5
↑ The Fourteenth Autumn
↑ Progressive Volume 5, Canon of the Golden Rule, Part 5

Navigation[]

Duels, Quests and Events Navigation Bar

SAO	Angel's Ring - Christmas Event - Cows' Counter Attack - Dark Elf Queen's quest - Elf War Campaign quest - Frost dragon quest - Guild Formation quest - Karma Recovery quest - Martial Arts quest - Meditation Extra Skill quest - Ogre Slaughter quest - Secret Medicine of the Forest - Witch of the West and the Three Treasures
ALO	Angel's Ring - Beast God Slaughter quest‎ - Deep Sea Plunderers - Guardians of the World Tree - The Holy Sword of the Ice Palace - Ragnarök Event - Sisters on the Summer Beach
GGO	Bullet of Bullets - Squad Jam - Untouchable!
Alicization	Four Empires Unity Tournament - Norlangarth North Area Swordsmanship Competition - Norlangarth North Empire Swordsmanship Tournament

[9] Translated as Herbs of the Forest or Forest Elixir by Yen Press.

[20] Known possible rewards include «Earring of Ripples»^[17], «Prancing Boots»^[17], and «Sword of Eventide»^[18]

[28] Imported from Sword Art Online with a change in difficulty

[TDB-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The Day Before

[V8CaliburP3-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Volume 8, Calibur, Part 3

[PV7RhapsodyP5-3] Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 5

[V8FD-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Volume 8, First Day

[V2WotHP2-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 Volume 2, Warmth of the Heart, Part 2

[TDBp4-6] The Day Before Part 4

[TDBp6-7] 7.0 ^7.1 The Day Before Part 6

[PV2ConcertoP2-8] Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 2

[TNDp2-10] The Next Day, Part 2

[TNDp4-11] The Next Day, Part 4

[PV1AriaP4-12] Progressive Volume 1, Aria of a Starless Night, Part 4

[PV1I-13] 12.0 ^12.1 Progressive Volume 1, The Reason for the Whiskers

[PV2ConcertoP3-14] Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 3

[PV2ConcertoP4-15] Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 4

[PV2ConcertoP1-16] Progressive Volume 2, Concerto of Black and White, Part 1

[PV3BarcarolleP3-17] Progressive Volume 3, Barcarolle of Froth, Part 3

[PV4ScherzoP5-18] 17.0 ^17.1 Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 5

[PV4ScherzoP3-19] 18.0 ^18.1 ^18.2 Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 3

[PV3BarcarolleP6-21] Progressive Volume 3, Barcarolle of Froth, Part 6

[PV4ScherzoP4-22] Progressive Volume 4, Scherzo of Deep Night, Part 4

[PV5CanonP4-23] Progressive Volume 5, Canon of the Golden Rule, Part 4

[V10C4P3-24] Volume 10, Chapter 4, Part 3

[TDBp5-25] The Day Before Part 5

[TFA-26] The Fourteenth Autumn

[PV5CanonP5-27] Progressive Volume 5, Canon of the Golden Rule, Part 5

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