The choice between life or death- Sword Art Online

Surprisingly, my little thing about time travel had gotten a little more attention than I expected, so I figure I'll do another piece. If you have been following anime for the past 2 months or so, you'll undoubtedly have heard of "Sword Art Online", an anime about a Virtual Reality MMORPG that trapped 10,000 players, and the only way to escape is to clear the game.

The first two episodes managed to piqued my interest enough to read the light novel behind the anime. Allow me to jump on the bandwagon about how awesome this story is, but at the same time, allow me to say as well how poorly the anime adaptation has been so far. Each sidestory arc so far has been terribly rushed, almost to the point of F/SN the movie level. Unfortunate for those who watch anime only as the Light Novel is actually quite entertaining.

Now, onto the main point of this post: What if you were one of the 10k players trapped? What if you were trapped in a game you cannot exit, and the only way to escape is for at least one person to clear it? What would you do? What role will you play?

Before I go into what I'll do, I think it's best to illustrate the many different paths you can take:

1. The DPS "Clearer"

They aim to clear the game to free everyone, but are not reckless enough to do it alone like a certain "Black Swordsman". Players belonging to this category are akin to hardcore players from normal MMO. Efficiency in grinding, leveling, structured PvE is key. They join or form guilds with people that share their desire and passion, and together aim to escape/conquer the death game.

2. The Tank "Clearer" Type 1
Similar to the DPS, they desire to clear the game. However, they choose the path of being the one who shields their allies from danger. They walk into the boss room first, and look into the eyes of the unknown danger with shield in hand. They are the vanguard, they are the guardian of the ones aiming to clear the death game.

3. The Tank "Clearer" Type 2

Thanks to the rushed "Murder inside the safe zone" arc, we never got to see why this guy up there decided to be a tank. Instead of being a type 1 tank, these people are not donning a plate armor for others, but themselves. With shield in hand, and heavy armor on their chest, they wish to survive the fights, they hope that all the defense will save them from dying to the boss, and last until the game is cleared. Don't let that fool you, their cowardice is as much as their strength, as they wish to escape faster than anyone else, and will do whatever it takes to clear, given they survive.

3. The starter town dwellers
Contrasting the clearers, these people stay in the very first of town, away from any possible danger. They wish to survive until the end of the game. Under the protection of "The Army" they are out of harms way and will sit in town, or in hotels all day and wait for the clearers to beat the game.

4. The mid-level adventurers

They don't want to venture into the unknown because of the risk, but they wish to do more than sitting in town like the starter town dwellers. This group survives by outleveling the content already explored by the clearers. They take a relax pace in doing the content and enjoy the pleasantries along the way.

5. The supporters

Crafters, shopowners and information brokers are the ones that belong in this category. They may or may not be as proficient in combat as the clearers or even the mid-level adventurers, but they make up for it by providing goods, weapons, crystals and other essentials to make sure the clearers and adventurers can do their part, or at least survive. They are every bit as important to the people who 
fights.

6. The griefers (Orange players)

These are not concern about clearing, in fact, they enjoy being trapped in this game. They choose to lie, steal and mug their fellow players. They are criminals of the game. In SAO, they can do what they wanted without restrain of the real world.

7. The PKers (Red players)

The extremist of the griefers. They enjoy the game like the griefers, but will even kill other players to further their enjoyment. Serial killers of SAO, they will not hesitate to drop another's HP to zero, even knowing the other person will die IRL.

and finally~
8. The solo "Clearer"

They do most things alone, they wish to play alone, and will only party to conquer the floor boss. Each of them only have their own interest in mind. Playing with other players only slows them down. Even though playing alone means they will face much higher risk of death than the normal clearers, the reward is also higher. Some are daredevils that enjoy the thrill, while others like the "Black Swordsman" they are just bad with other people.
Many will think they are this type because Kirito falls into this type. Honestly though, stop lying to yourself, these type of players die off much easier than the rest of the clearer, and much face the danger all alone. Unless you can say proudly "I'm not afraid of death", you don't belong here.


For me, I will start off as a DPS clearer for sure. I'm a huge risk taker but playing alone will probably only get me killed, and I'm not exactly a deathseeker. If I'm trapped in such a game though I will wish to clear it, not for others, not for returning to the world, but to challenge myself to a best I could be. Once I have learned everything I could from those around me however, I will likely become a soloer, or at least one that partys less. With nothing to do aside from grinding in SAO, I will likely want to progress further even if those around me wish to rest. Eventually that mindset will likely lead me to soloing alone, but with that said I have no desire to go insane like Kirito, risking his life every time to level in barely known areas for highest xp/hr.

I like to be above the rest of the clearers in terms of level, and contribute the most in every floor boss battle, that may lead me to become a soloer, but that is the path I am willing to take. I may not become a reckless deathseeker like Kirito, but finishing second or third behind him isn't a bad thing.

Again..thanks to RC for the screencaps, stay classy readers, until next time!