Databases & Collection Guide
Aincrad quietly keeps five separate registries on you — World, Item, Equipment, Monster and Character. They fill passively while you play, they gate six trophies, and the largest of them holds 177 entries that together cover almost the entire map. This guide covers what each database records, where entries hide, and how Key Stones close out the completion list.
World Database entries register the moment you enter a new area. Completion is a map problem, not a menu problem.
The Five Databases
Every registry tracks a different kind of contact with the world, and each one writes its entry at a different moment. Knowing which action commits the record is the whole trick — it turns completion from a grind into a set of small habits.
World Database
177 entriesRegisters: Places you enter
The biggest and slowest of the five. Every discrete area — field zone, town district, dungeon floor, optional cave — counts as its own entry, and it registers the instant you walk in. Completing it is effectively a map-completion checklist across both floors, which is why it carries the only 40G database trophy.
Walk into the area. No menu step, no interaction required.
Item Database
Consumables & materialsRegisters: Items you have held
Logs every consumable, crafting material, key item and quest object that has passed through your inventory. Buying one from the Item Seller counts, as does a single drop off a rare enemy — but the entry is written when the item enters your inventory, so grabbing one of everything matters more than stockpiling.
Obtain the item once. Selling it afterwards does not erase the entry.
Equipment Database
Weapons & armourRegisters: Gear you have owned
Separate from the Item Database and the reason the trophy list wants a variety of Swords, Rapiers, Daggers, Maces, Two-Handed Swords, Two-Handed Axes, Tops, Gloves, Bottoms and Shields. Crafting a blueprint at the Smithy registers the result, which makes the forge the cheapest way to fill gaps in a weapon class you do not actually play.
Own the piece once — loot, buy, or craft it at the Smithy.
Monster Database
Enemies defeatedRegisters: Enemies you have killed
Fills naturally through combat, with two catches. Elite variants of a base enemy are tracked as their own entries, and several enemies only spawn in specific weather, at night, or inside an Ark you can walk past. Fleeing an encounter registers nothing — the kill is what writes the record.
Defeat the enemy. Elite variants need a separate kill.
Character Database
NPCs metRegisters: People you have spoken to
The easiest to complete and the easiest to forget. Talking to a named NPC once registers them, which means the shopkeepers, innkeepers and side-quest givers you walk past in every town are free entries. Partners register when you recruit them, and several story-only characters register during cutscenes automatically.
Speak to the NPC once, or meet them in a cutscene.
The Monster Database overlaps heavily with field content — the enemies and elite variants guide lists which variants exist so you know what is still missing.
The World Database: All 177 Entries
There are 177 World Database entries in the launch build, spread across both floors. There is no collectible to pick up and no NPC to hand anything to — the entry writes itself when you enter the area. That makes the database a pure exploration audit, and it fails for exactly three reasons.
Both floors, no skipping
Completion spans the entire overworld, every town, and most dungeon interiors on Floor 1 and Floor 2. Clearing the story visits perhaps two thirds of that.
Shortcuts are the trap
A large share of entries sit past shortcuts in easy-to-miss spots. Leave one closed and the optional corner behind it never enters your total.
Speed is the enemy
Rushing a zone to its exit is the fastest way to lose entries. Inspect side paths and hidden corners before moving to the next area.
| Source | Feeds | What To Do | Miss Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| New field zone or town district | World | Registers on entry. Walking the boundary of a zone is enough — you do not need to clear it. | Low |
| Checkpoints | World + Map | Activating a checkpoint reveals the surrounding map and its points of interest, exposing sub-areas you would not otherwise find. | Low |
| Survey Flags | World | Scattered through towns and fields. Interacting registers world data directly and flags nearby points of interest. | Medium |
| Shortcuts & hidden passages | World | The single biggest source of missed entries. Many optional map corners are reachable only through an unlocked shortcut. | High |
| Sealed areas behind Arks | World + Monster | Clearing an Ark guardian drops the connected Sealing Barrier and opens zones that hold both area and enemy entries. | High |
| Smithy crafting | Equipment | Forging a blueprint registers the finished weapon or armour piece even if you never equip it. | Low |
| Item Seller stock | Item | Buying one of each consumable is the fastest legitimate way to fill the Item Database without farming. | Low |
| Elite enemy variants | Monster | Glowing or renamed versions of common enemies hold separate records and must be killed individually. | Medium |
Arks are the highest-value stop on this table because they unlock terrain rather than just revealing it — see the Arks & Sealing Barriers guide for how the barrier system gates the map.
Every Database Trophy
Nine of the game's 52 achievements are collection-driven. Six are database registries, two are map unlocks that move in step with the World Database, and one is the Key Stone set. Together they are worth 140 gamerscore and are the most commonly unfinished block on the way to Nameless Hero.
| Trophy | Value | Requirement | How To Clear It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Association Archivist | 10G | Collect 10 World Database entries | Unlocks on its own inside the first hour. Simply reaching the Town of Beginnings and its surroundings clears it. |
| Aincrad Professor | 40G | Collect a variety of World Database entries | The heavyweight. Aim for full map coverage across both floors — this is the trophy the 177-entry total exists for. |
| Pack Rat | 10G | Collect a variety of Item Database entries | Buy one of every consumable at the Item Seller rather than farming drops. Cheaper and faster than it looks. |
| Walking Armory | 10G | Collect a variety of Equipment Database entries | Craft blueprints you have no intention of using. A Steel Hammer you never equip still counts as a registered entry. |
| Monstrous Knowledge | 10G | Collect a variety of Monster Database entries | Stop skipping elite variants. The glowing versions of common enemies are separate records, not duplicates. |
| Walking Dictionary | 10G | Collect a variety of Character Database entries | Do a talk-to-everyone lap of each new town the first time you arrive. Two minutes per town clears this passively. |
| Prismatic Powerhouse | 40G | Obtain all Key Stones | Post-game only. Requires clearing every Warped Dungeon side quest — there is no shortcut and no alternate source. |
| 1st Floor Trailblazer | 10G | Unlock a variety of maps on the 1st Floor | Runs parallel to the World Database. Activating checkpoints is what reveals map data, so touch every one you pass. |
| 2nd Floor Pioneer | 10G | Unlock a variety of maps on the 2nd Floor | Same mechanic on Floor 2. The savanna and mountain ridge zones hide the checkpoints people most often skip. |
For the full 52-trophy picture including the 14 secret story unlocks, see the achievements and trophies guide.
Key Stones: The Post-Game Set
Key Stones are the one completion track that cannot be started early. They are gated entirely behind the post-game, they come from a single source, and Prismatic Powerhouse — a 40G trophy — asks for all of them.
When they unlock
After the main storyKey Stones do not exist during the campaign. They appear only once the credits have rolled and the post-game opens.
Where they come from
Warped Dungeon questsEach post-game Warped Dungeon side quest awards one Key Stone on completion. One dungeon cleared equals one stone.
How they scale
Level 60 to 150Warped Dungeons span roughly Level 60 through 150. The higher the dungeon level, the stronger the Key Stone inside.
How many you equip
Three at a timeKey Stones slot into your build like a third layer alongside gear and EX-Mods, and each one grants a different buff.
What completes the set
Every post-game questPrismatic Powerhouse requires all of them, which means clearing the entire post-game side quest list — no drops, no purchases.
The dungeons that award them are covered in the Warped Dungeon guide, and the post-game unlock order in the post-game and New Game Plus guide.
Rules the Game Never Spells Out
Five behaviours that decide whether your database totals climb passively or stall at eighty percent.
- ◆Nothing here is permanently missable. The world stays open after the credits and the post-game is where most players finish their databases. The cost of deferring is time, not access — but a cleanup run across both floors is measured in hours.
- ◆Registration is entry-based, not clear-based. You do not have to defeat anything in an area for it to count. Stepping across the boundary is the trigger, which means a careful sprint through a hostile zone still banks the entry.
- ◆Checkpoints reveal, shortcuts unlock. These are different systems that people conflate. A checkpoint draws the surrounding map and its points of interest; a shortcut physically opens a route. Revealing an area on the map does not register it.
- ◆Crafting counts as owning. The Equipment Database does not care whether you ever equipped the piece. Forging blueprints at the Smithy for weapon classes you never touch is the cheapest route to Walking Armory.
- ◆Database work pays into Cardinal Rank. Exploration feeds your Cardinal Rank, which in turn gates weapon upgrade ceilings. Filling the World Database is not a side activity divorced from power — it is part of the progression curve.
Six Ways Players Lose Entries
None of these produce a warning. The databases fill silently, so a bad habit only surfaces when you open the menu after the credits and find a number well short of 177.
| Mistake | Why It Happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Selling a unique item before it registers | Auto-sell and bulk-clear habits carried over from other RPGs | The entry is written when the item enters your inventory, so a single copy is safe to sell — but confirm it appeared in the Item Database before clearing quest-adjacent objects. |
| Sprinting to the objective marker | The minimap draws a clean line and the side paths look like scenery | Sweep the edges of a zone before taking the exit. Most missed World Database entries are one dead-end away from the critical path. |
| Leaving shortcuts unopened | A shortcut you can already bypass feels redundant | Open every one you find. Shortcuts are the connective tissue to optional corners, and a locked one silently removes its area from your total. |
| Skipping elite variants | They hit harder for the same experience as the base enemy | Kill each variant once. Monstrous Knowledge counts them separately, and elite drops feed the Item Database at the same time. |
| Never talking to shopkeepers | The shop UI opens without a conversation | Speak to each named NPC once per town on arrival. The Character Database is the cheapest of the five and people leave it at half. |
| Saving all database work for post-game | The map stays open after the credits, so it feels safe to defer | It is safe, but expensive. A talk-and-touch habit while you play costs minutes; a dedicated cleanup run across both floors costs hours. |
Finish the Collection
Databases fill from exploration, combat and crafting at once — the same three loops that carry the rest of your progression.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many World Database entries are there?
177 across both launch floors. Completing them covers effectively the entire map — the whole overworld, every town, and most dungeon interiors. Entries register automatically when you enter a new area, so there is no menu step and nothing to hand in.
What are the five databases?
World (places entered), Item (consumables and materials held), Equipment (weapons and armour owned), Monster (enemies defeated) and Character (NPCs met). All five fill passively as you play, and six trophies are attached to them.
Why am I missing World Database entries?
Usually unopened shortcuts. Many entries sit behind one-way passages that lead into optional corners of the map, so a shortcut you never unlocked silently removes its area from your total. The second cause is running a straight line to the objective and skipping side paths.
What are Key Stones and when do they unlock?
Post-game equipment modifiers, unavailable until you clear the main story. Each Warped Dungeon side quest awards one, the dungeons run from roughly Level 60 to 150, and higher dungeons yield stronger stones. You can equip three at a time and each grants a different buff.
Are database entries missable?
No. The world stays open after the credits, so areas, enemies and NPCs can all be mopped up in the post-game. The real risk is efficiency — a cleanup run across both floors takes hours, while registering as you go costs minutes per town.
What is the fastest way to fill the Equipment Database?
Craft at the Smithy. The database records ownership, not use, so forging blueprints for weapon classes you never play still registers each piece. Combined with buying one of every consumable from the Item Seller, it clears Walking Armory and Pack Rat without any farming.