How to Swap Weapons in Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad
In Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad, weapon swapping is intentionally restricted during normal gameplay: you can’t adjust your gear mid-mission or while you’re out exploring. Instead, players need to head back to town to change both their own loadouts and—if you know where to look—the equipment your partners use. Here’s how to do it.
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To swap gear in Echoes of Aincrad, you’ll use the chest inside the inn located in the Town of Beginnings. During missions, you’re locked out of equipment changes entirely, and the same goes while you’re roaming the world. If you want to switch weapons or armor, you must return to town first.
You gain access to your base—and with it, the ability to change your equipment—after finishing the tutorial mission. On your first return to the Town of Beginnings, the town’s NPC guide will point you toward the key areas, with the chest in the inn being one of them. From that point forward, you can revisit the location whenever you need to adjust your loadout.
Here’s the process players should follow:
- Continue through the main storyline until you reach the Town of Beginnings.
- Take Iori’s guidance to the inn. Go up to the second floor, then interact with the orb beside the bed to register the room.
- After checking in, interact with the orb once more and choose the “Equipment” option to adjust your weapon and armor.
In this menu, there are five equipment categories you can change: weapon, chest armor, leg armor, gloves, and shield. The shield has an extra restriction: it can only be equipped when your current weapon is a shortsword, rapier, or mace. If you’re using a greatsword, axe, or dagger, you won’t be able to equip a shield.
You can also receive equipment-swapping options through crafting and gear management at the Smithy. When you upgrade, purchase, or synthesize weapons and armor there, you may see a choice that lets you swap equipment. However, that flexibility is limited to items you’ve actually obtained through the Smithy’s services. In other words, this method doesn’t give you full freedom to swap any weapon or armor you already own from your inventory.
How to change partner weapons in Echoes of Aincrad
Beyond managing your own loadout, Echoes of Aincrad also lets you control which weapon your partner carries. In the Town of Beginnings, you can do this by selecting the “Partner” option at the chest.
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Partner weapons aren’t fully universal—each partner is restricted to specific weapon types. For instance, Iori is a shortsword specialist. So when you’re swapping his weapon, the selection will only include shortsword options that exist in your inventory.
