After arriving in Hawaii you’ll find that this laid-back tourist hotspot has a seedy underbelly… but its golden reputation for friendliness isn’t entirely gilded. After meeting a weird lady named 
Kei you’ll be introduced to the world of Aloha Links via Substory 5 - Welcome to Hawaii, MFer; greet a fellow Aloha Links user and you’ll make a friend, and repeatedly do so and your friendship will increase until said friend becomes a buddy. You’ll gain various rewards for making friends and buddies via the Aloha Links app, but with 200 potential Aloha Links roaming around Honolulu, it’ll take a bit of hunting to find all these friends. Knowing where to look and how to befriend fellow Aloha Links users will help out immensely, and to that end this page will explain how Aloha Links work, including various types of Aloha Links users, how to increase your friendship with Aloha Links, where to look for Aloha Links users and what rewards you’ll gain for increasing your Aloha Links rank.
(1 of 2) Near the start of Chapter 3 you’ll complete Substory 5 - Welcome to Hawaii, MFer, which introduces you to the world of Aloha Links!
Near the start of Chapter 3 you’ll complete Substory 5 - Welcome to Hawaii, MFer, which introduces you to the world of Aloha Links! (left), The core concept is pretty simple - find potential Aloha Links friends by looking out for the emoji over their heads. You can befriend the most common type, Wanderers, by simply greeting them. (right)
How to Find and Befriend Aloha Links¶
As mentioned earlier, Aloha Links will unlock after you complete Substory 5 - Welcome to Hawaii, MFer, after which you’ll be able to start filling out your Aloha Links friends list. The core concept is simple enough - roam around Hawaii and look for NPCs with face emojis over their heads, which indicates said NPC is a potential Aloha-Link friend. Befriending these NPCs works in various ways, based on the character’s circumstances and… well, whether the potential Aloha-Link is an animal or a human (yes, we know humans are animals too - you know what we mean). As silly as it sounds, somehow parrots, cows, dogs and cats have all found ways to set up and update Aloha Links accounts. While there are no official names for the various types of Aloha Links users or the circumstances you’ll find them in, we’ve made up our own categories that broadly encompass all potential Aloha Links based on what you have to do in order to befriend them, as follows:
| Aloha-Link Type | How to Befriend |
|---|---|
| Wanderers | The most common Aloha-Link, you’ll just find them wandering around Honolulu. Press the  /  button to befriend them. |
| Performers | Similar to Wanderers, save they don’t… wander. Instead, they’ll be playing some sort of instrument or breathing fire - normal things people do on the sidewalk. Like Wanderers, befriend them by pressing / . |
| Victims | You’ll find these potential Aloha Links surrounded by thugs. Talk to the mob, beat up the baddies, and you’ll have a new friend. |
| Moocher | These Aloha Links stand around waiting for you to talk to them. When you do, they’ll ask you for something, bringing up a list of potential gifts. There are no wrong answers, but some are more “right” than others, meaning your friendship meter will improve more with certain gifts. In the long run it doesn’t matter - give them whatever. You may have to visit them multiple times to fill up their friendship meter. |
| Animals | Functionally the same as moochers, but they have an excuse - they’re animals. Give them something edible and you’ll have a new furry (or feathery) friend. |
| Vendors | Some store owners are Aloha Links, and you can buy their friendship by purchasing anything from them. Neither the number of items you buy nor their cost matters, so buy the cheapest thing. You’ll have to return multiple times to fill up their friendship meter. |
(1 of 5) In addition to Wanderer Aloha-Links, you can find Performers, who are similar, but stationary,
Simply put, you’re looking for NPCs with emojis over their heads, but knowing what their behaviors are and what sorts of critters can actually end up being Aloha Links can help you out. Unfortunately filling out the massive roster of 200 Aloha Links friends isn’t an easy task - Honolulu’s a big place and it’ll take a lot of running around to find them all. This is made even more tedious due to the ever-present bugbear in video games - RNG.
Some Aloha Links are stationary, like vendors, victims, moochers, and animals, while Wanderers tend to just be in a rough area. Unfortunately, aside from vendors, many Aloha Links, be they stationary or not, only have a chance to spawn. Even if you scour every inch of an area, a wanderer, performer, moocher, animal or victim may just not show up, and the only solution to this is to zone out and zone back in. Effectively you’ll need to run through an area many, many times to ensure you find everybody, and that’s just to befriend all possible Aloha Links! If you want to turn these friends into buddies, you’ll have to encounter them multiple times. Fortunately, once you find a stationary Aloha-Link you’ll know where to look on subsequent visits, although it is worth noting that wanderers and victims both seem to have spawn pools - you’ll almost always find wanderers randomly milling about and victims being accosted, but the exact NPC that spawns can vary.
(1 of 3) When you make a new friend or buddy, one of your Personality Traits will get a boost.
Aloha Links Rewards¶
Aloha Links aren’t complicated, despite all the RNG and the different “types” of Aloha Links friends that you have to look out for (see above). At the core you’re just looking for NPCs with emojis over their heads and doing what needs to be done to befriend said NPCs (again, see above). When you befriend an NPC they’ll be added to your Aloha Links catalog and you’ll usually gain some points towards a [Personality Trait]. Different Aloha-Link NPCs will give boosts to different personality traits, and the bonus you get for each friend is relatively small, but with 200 potential Aloha Links out there these can cumulatively constitute a fair number of points.
When you friend an Aloha-Link NPC, the emoji over their head will turn green, which makes them even easier to spot on repeated runs through areas. If you repeat the action that friended them in the first place (again, see the table above - different NPCs in different circumstances require different actions to be taken) you’ll fill their friendship meter. Wave at them again, give more gifts, beat up more baddies - whatever it takes. Repeat this and if you fill the friendship bar that Aloha-Link friend will become a buddy. Aloha-Link buddies have purple emojis over their heads, and you’ll gain further rewards when you make an Aloha-Link buddy - at the very least more personality traits, but some (victims, vendors, animals) may give you gifts, as well. These vary widely between Aloha Links, but often you’ll get some usable item like Divine Water, Jumbo 
Eggs, 
Infatuation Bombs, First Aid Kits, etc., while dogs will give you Silver Plates (these sell for $100 a pop). You won’t find anything great by finding Aloha Links - at least not from the Aloha Links themselves - but the personality traits makes it worth the effort.
If that’s not enough incentive - good news! - there’s more. If you return to Kei at 
Revolve after reaching certain Aloha Links friends thresholds, she’ll give you encouragement… and prizes. These rewards are as follows:
| Aloha Links Friends | Reward |
|---|---|
| 5 |  Fighter’s Binding |
| 15 |  Fighter’s Belt |
| 25 |  Punk Choker |
| 50 |  Ephemeral Longsword |
| 100 |  Dragon Boots |
| 200 | Dragon Kinagashi |
None of these rewards are game-breaking in the long-term, but some of these accessories, armor and weapons are very nice mid-level gear, especially considering you don’t have to do much to get them! As you explore Hawaii, be sure to look out for Aloha Links and reap the rewards!
While you’re out and about searching for new Aloha Links friends, considering busying yourself with the following activities:
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