Aincrad Guide is an independent editorial project. It is not affiliated with Bandai Namco Entertainment, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, or the Sword Art Online rights holders.
What we publish
We publish mechanics explanations, buying guidance, progression routes, platform details, and partner-combat advice when there is a practical player question to answer. Each article is built around the action a player needs to take—not around rewording a source page or extending a keyword template.
Research and evidence
- Official product pages, announcements, patch notes, store listings, and reproducible in-game observations are the preferred evidence for factual claims.
- Wikis, forum posts, community guides, and auto-generated video transcripts are discovery inputs. They can identify a question or claim to investigate, but their wording is never publication copy.
- When a source does not establish an exact detail, the guide labels the uncertainty and tells readers what to verify in their own game or store region.
Original writing standard
Writers create a fresh outline from an evidence list and the player task. Useful original value can include a decision table, a preparation list, a failure-state explanation, an annotated screenshot, a comparison, or a recommendation with explicit trade-offs. We do not publish sentence-by-sentence paraphrases, bulk keyword pages, or unverified claims presented as fact.
Updates and corrections
Version-sensitive pages are reviewed when official updates, platform listings, or repeatable in-game evidence change. Readers who spot an issue should send the page URL, the disputed statement, and an official or reproducible source. Material corrections are reflected in the page's updated date and explanatory wording where useful.
Advertising independence
Advertising, if introduced, does not decide a guide's conclusion or source selection. Editorial content must remain distinguishable from advertising, and ads must not obstruct the main answer, gameplay steps, or page controls.