Partner System
Partners are a confirmed part of Echoes of Aincrad's combat system. This page explains what official sources say about partner types, their skills, and the two tactical modes available during combat — no tier ranking or best-partner recommendation is made here.
What Is a Partner?
Partners are AI-controlled companions who fight alongside you in combat encounters. The official guide confirms that partners are a core part of the game design and are available from the demo onwards. However, the total number of partners available in the full game is not published in official sources at this time.
Partner Fighting Styles
Partners fight alongside you using their own action set. How partner behaviour changes based on your build, weapon type, or progression is not described in the official guide.
Combination Skills
The official guide confirms that partners have Combination Skills. These are coordinated attacks or abilities that trigger between you and your partner. The official source establishes that Combination Skills exist but does not publish:
- Specific Combination Skill names or descriptions
- How to trigger or unlock Combination Skills
- Whether Combination Skills scale with your stats, partner level, or weapon type
- How many Combination Skills each partner has
Support Skills
Partners have Support Skills. The official guide confirms that Support Skills can include:
Healing
Partners can provide healing support during combat encounters.
Offensive Buffs
Partners can apply offensive buffs that increase your damage output.
Defensive Buffs
Partners can apply defensive buffs that increase your survivability.
The official source confirms that Support Skills exist and lists these three categories. Specific partner-skill assignments, activation conditions, durations, and cooldowns are not published in official sources.
Switch Mode and Free Mode
Combat includes a Switch system used to alternate actions and chain attacks with the partner. The official guide describes two distinct modes:
Switch Mode
Draws enemy focus with the partner. In Switch Mode, enemies target the partner, creating openings for you to attack. Swapping aggro is the core tactical purpose of this mode.
When you switch, your partner draws threat — the guide records this confirmed effect without publishing detailed tactics, target-priority rules, or boss-use recommendations.
Free Mode
Focuses enemies together. Both you and your partner engage the same targets simultaneously. Official sources describe Switch Mode as drawing enemy focus with the partner, and Free Mode as focusing enemies together. The guide does not publish detailed tactics, target-priority rules, or boss-use recommendations.
The official source confirms both modes exist but does not describe switch cooldowns, how switching interacts with Stamina or SP, or how partner AI behaviour differs between modes. See the Combat System page for confirmed combat-action details.
Cardinal Rank and Partners
The official guide says partner abilities respond to Cardinal Rank. This means as your Cardinal Rank increases, your partner's capabilities — including Combination Skills and Support Skills — may grow or unlock. The specific rank thresholds or partner-ability scaling is not published in official sources.
See the Build System page for the confirmed description of Cardinal Rank and its effects across the game.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many partners can I have in Echoes of Aincrad?
The official guide confirms that partners exist and have distinct fighting styles, but the total number of partners available in the full game is not published in official sources at this time.
What is the difference between Switch Mode and Free Mode?
Switch Mode draws enemy focus with the partner, letting you attack from a different angle while the partner holds aggro. Free Mode focuses enemies together — both you and your partner attack the same target simultaneously. See the Combat System page for the confirmed combat context.
Do partners have tier lists or best partners?
No tier list or best-partner ranking is published on this site. Official sources confirm partners have distinct fighting styles, Combination Skills, and Support Skills (healing, offensive buffs, defensive buffs), but individual partner rankings or comparisons are not in the official guide and would require verified gameplay data to confirm.
How do I unlock more partner abilities?
Official sources confirm that partner abilities respond to Cardinal Rank. The specific rank thresholds or how ability potency scales with rank is not published. Cardinal Rank also affects merchant availability, smithy access, monster difficulty, and item drops — see the Build System page.
What This Page Does Not Cover
- Partner tier list or best-partner rankings
- Individual partner names, move sets, or preferred weapon types
- Specific Combination Skill names, activation methods, or damage values
- Specific Support Skill durations, cooldowns, or potency values
- Switch cooldown timers or Stamina/SP costs for switching
- Route-specific or quest-specific partner AI behaviour
- Partner progression, bonding, or affection mechanics
- How partner AI prioritises targets or responds to player actions