SAOFD: Irregular Boss Raids Begin After 38 Hours of Maintenance
Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream players had an unusually long wait before taking on the promised Irregular Boss Raids originally scheduled for October 22, 2026. Although the details weren’t given, an emergency maintenance period was announced by Japan’s Sword Art Online Video Game X profile just after 5:00am PT on October 21, 2026.
【#SAOFD メンテナンスのお知らせ】 下記の日程でメンテナンスを実施いたします。 <日程> 2026/10/21 順次開始 〜 ※終了日時は未定です メンテナンス中はオンラインモードをプレイすることができませんので、あらかじめご了承ください。 お客様にはご不便、ご迷惑をおかけいたしますが、何卒ご理解とご協力のほどよろしくお願いいたします。
— ソードアート・オンライン ゲーム公式情報 (@sao_gameinfo) October 21, 2026
Service would not resume until after 7:00pm the following day – an amount of time that seriously cut into more than a few dedicated players’ plans to begin grinding out boss raids with friends.
The emergency maintenance almost certainly had to do with the widespread PHP exploit that’s been shutting down websites and online games around the world, meaning that this was not just some mishap but instead likely a rather vital security update needed to ensure the ongoing integrity of the game.
Glad all that’s over now, though, and we can get back to raiding!
New “Irregular Boss Gauntlet” launches
One of the reasons so many players were waiting at the edge of their seats was to take part in the new Irregular Boss Gauntlet originally planned for October 22, 2026.
With An Incarnate of the Radius Extreme Boss Raid rotating out, Irregular Boss Gauntlets are the next big challenge for experienced players. And I really do mean experienced: you’ll need to be no less than level 150 to take part in these battles, although the recommended level is 170.
Despite their high level requirements, I beat my first Irregular Boss Gauntlet in one go. They’re considerably easier than the latest Extreme Boss Raid, although it does help I have much more experience with the Boss Gauntlet battle patterns, as well as the fact I had a full 20 player team alongside me, eager to get back into battle after more than 24-hours off the game.
The Storm Griffin is the first boss you’ll face in this new challenge. Its Attack Type is Electric, and its Weakness is to Wind.
Despite how fearsome Dorz’l the Chaos Drake Origin is, I typically find the Griffin to be a bit trickier to battle, maybe because it is more mobile. Dorz’l has a Fire attack type, and a weakness to Water.
Both, however, are much stronger than the regular Boss Gauntlet monsters, and even their minions can be a handful to take out, so watch out!
Manage to slay the monsters and you might even collect these two special stamps!
While several Celebration events and a special drop event are also ongoing, I’m a little surprised not to see anything special for Kirito and Asuna’s wedding anniversary. Otherwise, I’ll be having a ton of fun grinding out these Irregular Boss Gauntlets over the next several days!
