Asuna

INFORMATION

FROM:

SWORD ART ONLINE

RACE:

UNDINE

WEAPONS:

RAPIER
MACE
BOW

MAIN ELEMENT:

ROLE:

HEALER

UNLOCK:

Available from EP01

~RAPIER~

Show/Hide Rapier Sword Skills

	NAME	SKILL DESCRIPTION
	Lotus Vengeance	Asuna’s OSS. Inspired by Black Lotus. Drops into a defensive stance and counters incoming attacks with a spinning thrust. Only activates upon receiving damage during start-up of attack (Projectiles & magic do not count). COOLDOWN:* 10
	Mother’s Rosario	Asuna’s OSS & identical to Yuuki’s. Unleashes 10 strikes focused on a point. Has 3 points of forward movement making it harder to miss than in Lost Song. COOLDOWN: 30
	Stinger	Rushing attack. Dash forward and thrusts the rapier at a point, damaging enemies in path. COOLDOWN: 3
	And Leap	Combo attack. 2 Quick thrusts followed by a large spinning leap to the left. COOLDOWN: 3
	Fake Step	Invul attack. Takes a halfstep back to dodge attacks and then steps forward with two swift horizontal swipes. The start-up has some invulnerability. COOLDOWN: 3
	Quadruple Pain	Combo attack. 4 short range cascading thrusts. COOLDOWN: 10
	Sonic Impulse	Projectile attack. Propels a diagonal shockwave at the target. COOLDOWN: 10
	Pierce Territory	Area of Effect attack. Thrusts the rapier upward generating a barrier around the user that damages enemies within its vicinity. COOLDOWN: 10
	Shooting Star	Power attack. Thrusts the rapier at a point, making a small explosion on impact. COOLDOWN: 15
	Star Splash	Combo attack. Swift 8-hit combo of cascading thrusts. COOLDOWN: 30

~MACE~

Show/Hide Mace Sword Skills

	NAME	SKILL DESCRIPTION
	Rage Blow	Combo attack. 3 consecutive bashes. COOLDOWN: 3
	Power Strike	Area of Effect attack. Hits the ground to generate a small explosion damaging enemies in area. COOLDOWN: 3
	Assault Dive	Rushing attack. Leaps forward to deliver one blow. Actual attack is rather small. COOLDOWN: 3
	Forward Bunt	Rushing attack. Steps forward and bunts with the mace. Then performs a single backhand swing. The charging portion of the attack has some Guard Point. COOLDOWN: 10
	Spirit Bomber	Area of Effect attack. Gathers energy in the mace and then strikes the ground, creating a large explosion which damages enemies in vicinity. COOLDOWN: 10
	Riot Smash	Combo attack. Furious combo of 6 consecutive bashes. COOLDOWN: 10
	Break Blast	Projectile attack. Strikes the ground to plant a mine which detonates within a couple of seconds upon completing the skill. COOLDOWN: 10
	Adamantium Breaker	Power attack. Smashes the ground to bring fourth a cluster bomb which tears up enemies in the area. COOLDOWN: 15
	Valiant Rush	Combo attack. Brings up a thick barrier while stepping in with 5 consecutive heavy swings. The barrier does not provide invul, but it does give Super Armor. COOLDOWN: 30

~BOW~

Show/Hide Bow Sword Skills

	NAME	SKILL DESCRIPTION
	Wide Shot	Area of Effect attack. Simultaneously shoots 5 arrows in horizontal array. COOLDOWN: 3
	Hail Bullet	Multi-projectile attack. Fires 3 homing arrows that track a target. COOLDOWN: 3
	Retrieve Arrow	Projectile attack. Shoots a very long range arrow. Low chance Bind. COOLDOWN: 10
	Vault Shot	Dodging attack. Performs a side-flip and fires 3 arrows while upside down. COOLDOWN: 10
	Stardust Exa	Area of Effect attack. Steps back and fires a rain of arrows above a target. COOLDOWN: 10
	Sparkle Shot	Targeting attack. Holding down the button lets you multi-lock targets. Release to fire arrows at all locked on targets in quick succession. COOLDOWN: 10
	Multiple Chaser	Multi-projectile attack. Fires a barrage of homing arrows at a target. COOLDOWN: 15
	Strike Nova	Projectile attack. Shoots a powerful beam of light at the target. COOLDOWN: 30

~OFFENSIVE MAGIC SKILLS~

Show/Hide Offensive Magic Skills

	NAME	DESCRIPTION
	Ice Bullet	Fires a small icicle at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Freeze Lance	Drops multiple frost shards upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Absolute Zero	Fires a large Ice Beam at a target. Power increases with skill level.
	Wind Cutter	Fires a small gust of wind at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Tornado Cannon	Summons multiple whirlwinds upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Sling Stone	Fires small rocks at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Rock Blast	Drops boulders upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Dark Sphere	Fires a small ball of darkness at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Void Distortion	Drops large dark clusters upon an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Lightning Arrow	Fires multiple spears of light at an enemy. Power & number of consecutive shots increases with skill level.
	Holy Lance	Fires a beam of light to pierce an enemy. Power increases with skill level.
	Divine Ray	Calls down a ray of light from the heavens to damage an area surrounding a target. Power increases with skill level.
	Bifrest Resonance	Summons 6 balls of each element and sends them at the target. Lock-on possible. Power increases with skill level. *This skill was added in version 2.00

~HEALING & BUFFS~

Show/Hide Healing & Buffs

	NAME	DESCRIPTION
	First Aid	Recover own HP. Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Heal	Recover Party HP. Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Refresh	Greatly Recover Party HP. Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Resurrection	Brings allies back from dead (Within Range) Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Revive	Allows the user to come back from the dead. One use per cast. Amount recovered is increased with skill level
	Cure	Recovers Party Status ailments. Range & types of ailments cured increases with skill level.
	Stamina Boost	Decreases amount of Stamina used. Amount recovered is increased with skill level
	Regenerate	Slowly regenerates player HP over a period of time. Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Mana Regenerate	Increases rate of player MP regeneration. Amount recovered is increased with skill level.
	Magia	Increases Party Magical Power by 30% (Including Healing Magic). Duration is increased with skill level.
	Resist Aqua	Increases Party Ice Resistance by 33% Duration increases with skill level.
	Resist Holy	Increases Party Holy Resistance by 33%. Duration increases with skill level.
	Enhance Aqua	Increases Party Ice Based Damage by 30%. Duration increases with skill level.
	Bind	Inflict Bind status on enemy. Cast time is reduced with skill level.

~PASSIVE SKILLS~

Show/Hide Passive Skills

NAME	DESCRIPTION
The Art of Rapier	Allows the user to equip Rapiers and use its respective Sword Skills.
The Art of Mace	Allows the user to equip Maces and use its respective Sword Skills.
The Art of Bow	Allows the user to equip Bow and use its respective Sword Skills.
Increase Ice Attack	Increases damage of Ice based attacks by 10%.
Increase Ice Resistance	Reduces damage received from Ice based attacks by 20%.
Increase MP	Increases Max MP by 10%.
Increase Magical Defense	Decrease amount of damage received by magical attacks by 10%.
Increased Magical Attack	Increases power of magic attacks by 10%.
Fast Cast	Decreases the casting time of Magic skills by 10%.
Increase Status Ailment Recovery	Increases the rate of recovery from bad statuses by 20%.
Stamina Saver	Reduces the cost of stamina based actions by 20%.
Switch Boost	Increases the power of Switch by 10%.
Cooldown Time Decrease	Decreases the cooldown time of Sword Skills & Special Moves by 10%.
Skill Connect Boost	Increases power of Skill Connect by 10%.
Increase Ice Attack+	Increases damage of Ice based attacks by 20%.
Fast Cast+	Decreases the casting time of Magic skills by 20%.
Increase MP+	Increases Max MP by 30%.
Increase Ice Resistance+	Reduces damage received from Ice based attacks by 36%
Increase Physical Defense	Decrease amount of damage received by physical attacks by 10%.
Increase Magical Defense+	Decrease amount of damage received by magical attacks by 20%.
[Lv1000] Increased Magical Attack+	Increases power of magic attacks by 20%.
[Lv1050] Increase Step Invul Duration	Increases the amount of invulnerability time during a step.
[Lv1100] Increased Guard Efficiency	Reduces the amount of stamina used when guarding attacks.
[Lv1200] Switch Boost+	Increases the power of Switch by 20%.
Increase Rapier Damage	Increases damage of Rapier by 10%.
Increase Mace Damage	Increases damage of Mace by 10%.
Increase Bow Damage	Increases damage of Bow by 10%.
Rapier Master	A title given to those who have mastered the art of Rapier. Increases damage of Rapier by 50%.
Mace Master	A title given to those who have mastered the art of Mace. Increases damage of Mace by 50%.
Bow Master	A title given to those who have mastered the art of Bow. Increases damage of Bow by 50%.

~HOW TO PLAY ASUNA~

This section is written as an more in-depth extension to the AW & SAO Character Overview post and is meant to be used hand in hand with the General Leveling Guide. The purpose of this How-To-Play is to offer players of all levels a skeleton plan which enables them to build their characters up to their full potential. With that being said, it is indeed recommended that you do follow the steps described here.

-Important Skills-

Magia
Enhance Aqua
Heal
Refresh
Revive
Cure
Resurrection
Regenerate
Regenerate Mana
Resist Holy
Resist Aqua

-Weapon Selection-

Asuna has 3 very fun weapons to pick from. Her Rapier has two valueable OSSs which make her have the strongest Rapier in the game. She is also very effective at Healing if she uses a bow since she can survey the battle from far. But if you want to make Asuna as strong as possible, you should play her on Mace. It’s worth nothing that Asuna is a dedicated healer so she will still be weak even if you play her on Mace.

Asuna’s element is Ice, so if you are able to give her a Max Attack; Half Element Weapon with ~10% Ice or a Half Attack; Max Element Weapon with ~20% Ice, she will become somewhat strong. In most cases, higher base attack is better than elemental attack unless you are willing to switch weapons for each boss weakness.

**For more information on the overall Weapon Building process, consult the Weapon Building Guide.

**For some tips on how to select the appropriate Accessories for your character, consult the Selecting Equipment guide.

-Element Etiquette-

Asuna gets Enhance Ice. Ice is a really good element as a lot of key bosses in the game are weak to it. There are also very few bosses that Resist Ice. Keep in mind that only one Element can be active at a time and buffing Ice will in fact overwrite whatever element is currently active.

Elemental Buffs are important because they increase damage by +30%. If a monster is weak to the element, this damage gets multiplied by 2 making you do +60% damage if you use the correct Element.

On the other hand, if a monster resists an element, the bonus damage can drop to +3%. This is indeed better than nothing but this fact means that buffing the Elemental Weakness of the boss is the most important – even more important than buffing the elemental strengths of the party members.

When to use Enhance Ice:

When the Boss is weak to Ice
When no other Element is active and the team isn’t able to buff any other Element.

If someone has used an element that is not Ice, but the boss is weak to it, Do not, by any means buff over it with Ice. Your character will do more damage with a foreign element as opposed to an Element that the boss resists.

If you do not know which bosses are weak to what elements, you can have a look at the Elemental Weakness Spreadsheets I have made on the Boss Guides page.

-Using Asuna-

Asuna is a dedicated Healer. As such, she has all the tools to keep her party members alive. Healers are an indispensable existence in any team so make sure you play Asuna how she was intended to be played.

When a quest or boss fight starts:

Cast Magia.
- If monster is weak to Ice, cast Enhance Ice. (Refer to Elemental Etiquette section)
- If monster’s strength is Ice, case Resist Ice.
- If monster’s strength is Holy, cast Resist Holy.
Cast Revive & Whichever Regeneration buffs you want.
Move in for Combat, but keep an eye on your teammates (Refer to Healing section below)

On the SAO Sword Skills & Weapon Breakdowns page I have written some basic combat guidelines for all the respective weapons in the game. If you feel like you are using a weapon incorrectly or just want some pointers, I would advise you to have a look at that page.

It is Asuna’s responsibility to make sure that the team is alive. This is indeed an important job but she also has to make she that she doesn’t get killed herself. That’s why its a good look to cast Revive when a quest starts or when you just died.

For Asuna, healing teammates comes before dealing damage. therefore her focus is more on surveying the battle as opposed to being in it.

Remember that when players die in battle, they are revived without any buffs. Recasting buffs when teammates die is a good idea and makes you a wonderful teammate. Of course, in some cases when a player dies non-stop its a waste of time to recast buffs (>.<)

-Healing Guide for Undine-

If you don’t have the correct mindset for healing, it can become a chore and potentially put you into a place where you become a player who either completely focuses on healing or a player that completely neglects healing. Because of this I put together a mini-guide to allow you to heal efficiently with only a small amount of rules.

Golden Rule: Always keep Magia & Revive on

Magia is the teams lifeline since it increases Healing Magic by 30%. Revive is the healer’s lifelines because if the healer dies, all is lot. These two buffs take precedence over everything. Even over healing other players. But because they both last 3min at full level. you have tons of time to heal people.

During the course of a typical battle, all players who are attacking a boss are doing so using Skill Connect Combos. This means that you should assume that everyone will get hit by every single attack that the boss will do. If you think of it like that, it becomes easy to see into the future of the battle in terms of which teammates will need healing and exactly how much. Because of this, it helps if you know your teammates as well as the attack strength of the boss. But all of that comes from playing the game so don’t worry about it so much.

How to go about Healing:

Use the player with the lowest HP at any given time as your reference. Note that this can change in the blink of an eye so you constantly have to be watching everyone’s HP bar.

When player’s HP drops to 75%
- Do nothing. Only heal at if all teammates are at 75%.
When player’s HP drops around 50%
- Use “Heal” skill.
When Player’s HP drops below 30%
- Use “Refresh” skill.
When player’s HP drops below 10%
- Try to use “Refresh” but be ready to cancel the skill at any time because they may die.
When player is dead
- If possible, never revive dead players with “Resurrection”. This skill has a long cast time and can only be used when you are within close range of their corpse. This means that you have to put yourself in a dangerous place to heal them. Healing Items have infinite range so just calmly use one from safety and then use “Heal”.
- In Sudden Quests and in the Mugen Dungeon, healing items don’t work on teammates. The only way to revive dead players is with Resurrection. That skill has a long cast time and a limited range so make sure you are careful when you use it.
When entire party is dead
- Calm down. First makes sure that you have Revive on. If not, cast it while flying. After this, fly to the altitude limit or drop to the ground and use a Healing Item to revive your teammates. After this you can use “Refresh” and say “Leave it to me!” to let your teammates know that you are reliable.
- In Sudden Quests and in the Mugen Dungeon, healing items don’t work on teammates. If your party gets wiped out with you as the sole survivor tread carefully and priorities your own survival over resurrecting teammates. If you die now, its all over. Carefully make you way to your dead teammates and use the Resurrection skill on them. Since you are the only one left alive, understand that every monster in the vicinity will be looking straight at you so you need to look for openings to cast Resurrection. If you are playing with a diverse party, prioritize Resurrecting the other Healers in the party as they can help you the most in a situation like this.
When a player has a Bad Status Ailment
- If you have the time, move close to them and use “Cure”. This has a low priority on the list of things to do, but it is still an important part of Healing.

Things to look out for:

Always keep an eye on your MP.
Magic Down & Curse drastically reduce healing
Always cast healing spells in a safe place.
Don’t run out of healing items
If a player in the team is too weak for the mission that you are doing and they die constantly, ignore them.
Revive doesn’t give a warning when it wears off. Just have a look at your status to make sure you have that Blue Feather on.
If you safely dodge one of a bosses hard-to-dodge attacks, start casting a Healing spell. Chances are high that your teammates didn’t dodge it.
When working with another competent healer on healing duty, don’t use Refresh at all. If both of you are using Heal, it will be more than sufficient.

-BK’s Opinion on Asuna-

This character its fun. All of her weapon are fun and the Undine gets a lot of nice Magic Skills and buffs. The problem I have is that its hard to play Asuna as anything other than a Healer. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you play with a group of really good players, no one really gets hit. And if they do get hit, they heal themselves right away. This means that Healers become less and less in demand as you get better at the game.

In my books, Asuna is second to Sachi as best Healer in the game. This is mainly because Sumeragi is more of an attacker in my mind and Sachi gets ‘Song of Healing’ which gives the party rapid HP/MP regeneration. The Pooka race also has more MP than an Undine like Asuna which means that Sachi could potentially chain cast more Refreshes than Asuna.

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