Every healing method in SAO: Hollow Realization explained. Stop dying because you did not know how to recover HP.
Healing Methods
There are multiple ways to restore HP in combat and out. Knowing when to use each one is the difference between surviving a tough fight and staring at a game over screen.
• HP Potions -- Your basic healing consumable. Buy from item shops or find them as drops. They restore a portion of your HP instantly when used. Assign them to your skill palette/battle items for quick access during combat. Always carry these.
• SP Potions -- Restore your Skill Points gauge, not HP directly, but having SP lets you use defensive skills or switch to healing abilities.
• Healing Sword Skills -- Some weapon trees have healing or regeneration skills. Rapier and Dagger trees in particular have self-heal abilities.
• Party Member Heals -- Asuna and certain other allies will automatically use healing skills on you when your HP drops. This is the most reliable form of in-combat healing if you have a support ally in your party.
• Battle Skills (Heal) -- You can unlock dedicated healing battle skills from skill trees that restore your own HP and sometimes nearby party members.
• Natural Regeneration -- Out of combat, your HP regenerates slowly over time. SP regenerates faster than HP. Resting at an inn or certain safe zones speeds this up to full instantly.
• Revival Items -- If you or an ally gets knocked out, revival items can bring them back during combat. Carry at least one or two for emergencies.
Player Tip: Assign HP potions to an easily accessible button on your palette. When you are taking heavy damage, you do not want to scroll through menus looking for a potion. Have it one button press away at all times.
Status Ailment Recovery
Healing HP is only half the battle. Status ailments can be just as deadly:
• Poison -- Deals continuous damage over time. Cured with Antidote or certain healing skills. Do not ignore poison -- it WILL kill you if you leave it ticking during a boss fight.
• Paralysis/Stun -- Prevents you from acting for a duration. Wears off on its own, but being stunned during a boss's big attack means you take the full hit.
• Curse/Seal -- Prevents use of skills or items temporarily. You just have to wait it out or use a specific recovery item.
Reviving Fallen Allies
When a party member's HP drops to zero, they are knocked out and collapse on the ground. You have a window of time to revive them by running over to them and using the revive command (or a revival item). If you do not reach them in time, they are unavailable for the rest of the fight.
Conversely, if YOU get knocked out, a high-affinity party member may run over to revive you. This is why building affinity with allies matters -- it can literally save your life.