Atlantica Online Guide

Viking - Summary

2008-12-15T21:42:00.002+08:00

Long-Term Strategy

In the long term, the Viking simply ends up being far too easy to kill to be worth keeping in your party. While the Viking's abilities are quite strong for a Class D mercenary, there are quite a few Class C mercenaries who have equal or stronger abilities, who bring better stats and survivability along with them, making the Viking a less than ideal choice for the later game.

However, as a main character choice, the Axeman is a very, very strong contender. You can bring those Viking/Axeman skills with you all the way into the late game, which really enhances the power of your party. The Axeman and Artilleryman are two of the most ideal mains in the game, when considering long-term strategy.

Vikings Summarized

From all of the evidence, the status of the Viking class in AO is pretty clear. While the Axeman is great as your main character for several very substantial reasons, the Viking as a hirable mercenary is not a good choice for the higher level game. Vikings are extremely helpful to have around in the early and mid-game, even indispensible, but by the mid-levels they begin to lose their luster, due to their extremly low Magic Defense and poor survivability.

I really believe that the spice of Atlantica Online is the dynamic nature of the strategy in the game, allowing for interesting decisions about which mercenaries to use, how to assemble your party and party formation, and how to go about decimating the opponent's party in PvP and PvE. It really is the thinker's MMORPG, and is a truly innovative game. If you're looking for more information, guides and tips on AO, Bright Hub is a great place to go to find it. Have fun on the battlefield, and enjoy your mercs!

Credits: PhilosophicalGamer

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Viking - Training

2008-12-15T21:40:00.002+08:00

Skills

When considering how to go about training your Viking's skills, the most fundamental question really is, "Am I training up a normal mercenary (a Viking), or am I training up my main character (an Axeman)?" There is a definite divide in terms of the best way to train up the skills of either of these classes.

For a Viking, the best choice really is to simply train up Freezing Axe as high as it can go. Some people do hold onto their Vikings beyond level 60, and if this is you, then it might be a good idea to train up a bit on Guard Dispel or perhaps Break Down or Deadly Strike, but in the long run you really are going to find that your Viking is simply dying way too quickly to magic attacks, and you'll end up ditching him for another more powerful class C mercenary. It's worth considering that there are no top winning PvP builds with Vikings in them.

There are however a ton of winning PvP builds with Axemen as the main character in them. Their high magic defense totally removes the great weakness of the Viking class, and you find yourself with a main character with the prized skill Freezing Axe, through the full duration of your playtime in Atlantica Online. If your main is an Axeman, the obvious skill to train on him would be Freezing Axe.

From there, there are some other important considerations about the Axeman class' skills.

First of all, the skill Break Down is unique to each of the class D melee mercenaries. No other class has this skill. And the Viking is perhaps the only of the three class D melee mercenaries worth having as your main. As regular mercs, none of the three are worth keeping around into the highest levels of AO, so having an Axeman main is a great opportunity to have the Break Down skill in the late game, and to combine it with Chaos Wind (a ranged merc skill) to produce the devastating spell Destructive Wind. It is reasonable to keep a Gunner or Artilleryman into the later stages of the game, particularly in the case of stun formation builds for the Artilleryman. So if you have an Axeman main, it's a viable option to train up Break Down.

The other two skills, Guard Dispel and Deadly Strike, are also worth training for their own reasons. Guard Dispel is highly powerful in PvP in Atlantica Online, as Holy Guard is indispensible in PvP, and Guard Dispel will cancel out Holy Guard on your enemy's units. Deadly Strike, on your main character, could spell the difference between victory and defeat in close matches where most of the mercenaries on both sides of the fight are already dead. In the long run though, training Guard Dispel is probably the surer bet, and having this spell into the higher levels is really a great asset to the strength of your team.

So, the best skills to train on an Axeman are probably Freezing Axe, Guard Dispel, and Break Down for stun builds with an Artilleryman in them. It is reasonable though to train up Deadly Strike alongside these skills.

Stats

You can only adjust the increase of stats so much, with the limited number of uses allowed for refund vials, but which stats should you seek to increase on Vikings and Axemen mains? The answer is to increase the stats which enhance the class' strengths.

For the Viking, it's may be best to raise his Strength and Vitality the most. With higher strength his standard attacks will do more damage to your enemies, and with higher Vitality he will have more survivability. Higher Dexterity will increase his ability to dodge slightly, and higher intelligence will make his Freezing Axe attacks more likely to hit and do slightly more damage. Really, every stat for the Viking is worth considering. We'll leave this one to personal preference.

For an Axeman main, the story is a little different. If your main dies in battle, the fight is lost, so his survivability is a much more important factor. It's recommendable to increase his Vitality first and foremost, followed perhaps by Intelligence and Dexterity. There is inconclusive evidence at this point as to whether Intelligence increases Magic Defense, and as to whether Dexterity increases dodge chance, but some evidence does point to these hypothesis. I'm willing to bet that these stats do add to defense, and if that's the case, then they're worth increasing on your Axeman main.

Another consideration is that some players have found that a character with higher Intelligence will receive stronger heals from Shamans and Oracles, adding as many as 40-100 points to the effect of their heals. This is an unusual game mechanic, but if it's there, it's worth considering in your stat increasing strategy.

Credits: PhilosophicalGamer

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Viking - Class Abilities/Magic

2008-12-15T21:38:00.002+08:00

The Viking has 3 skills which are common among each of the three class D melee mercenaries. These skills are as follows:

Guard Dispel - This spell can be cast on a single row of the opponent's formation. It essentially cancels out the spell Holy Guard which is on any of your opponent's units in that row. This allows your other mercs to use magical attacks on those mercs which previously had Holy Guard on them.

Deadly Strike - This spell can only be used when your mercenary is on the verge of death. It is a very highly damaging attack, targeted to a single enemy unit. Using this ability will tax your mercenary's action power both on the round in which it is used, and on the following round. It really is a last ditch sort of ability, but it deals out significant damage.

Break Down - This is an area-of-effect spell, targeting every unit in the enemy formation. It is one of the weaker AoE spells in the game. However, if it is used on a formation which has the ranged skill Chaos Wind in effect upon them, the spell Destructive Wind will activate. Destructive Wind is a high-damage area-of-effect, damage-over-time spell.

In addition to these 3 basic class D melee mercenary skills, the Viking has one skill which really defines the class' power:

Freezing Axe - This magical attack freezes all three of the units in a single rank of your opponent's formation, and applies a damage-over-time effect to them. It's a good idea to kill a unit in the front ranks of your opponent's formation, so that you can freeze the middle or back rank of your opponent, as any smart player will put their most vulnerable mercenaries further back, or the mercenaries with the most devastating abilities. This skill can very easily turn the tide of any battle, be it PvP or PvE.

Now that we have the basics on this unique class out of the way, lets move on to some in-depth analysis of the Viking class. When is the Viking worth keeping around for the length of your advancement in Atlantica Online? What is the best way to train your Viking's skills and stats? Which party formation builds is the Viking most suited for? And is the Viking (Axeman) really one of the best choices for your main character, and if so, why?

Credits: PhilosophicalGamer

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Viking - Stats & Equipment

2008-12-15T21:34:00.004+08:00

The Viking's stats are the biggest influence on the viability of the class in the long run. At the higher levels, his extemely poor Magic Defense ends up making him quite vulnerable to magic attacks. There are multiple class C mercenaries with powerful magic attacks which can hit any unit in the opposing formation in the late game of Atlantica Online, and once those mercenaries arrive on the scene, the Viking's lifespan tends to shorten significantly on the battlefield.

Some of the Viking's strengths are his high Strength stat, allowing for high-damage attacks, and his reasonably high Defense and Vitality. These stats allow the Viking to tank pretty decently in the first 40 or so levels of advancement, but by the mid-game there are several other mercenaries with much better stats for front-line positioning in your formation.

Strength: 330

Intelligence: 140

Dexterity: 110

Vitality: 310

Defense: 280

Magic Defense: 50

As far as equipment goes, it's a very good idea to give your Viking the best axe possible. The Viking attacks horizontally in Atlantica Online, hitting both your selected target and the targets on the sides of your target. If you've killed a unit in the front ranks of your opponent's formation, this can be a good way to hit targets which would otherwise be protected from physical attacks by units in the ranks in front of them. Additionally, the Viking's attacks are powerful, and using a better axe simply magnifies that power.

In terms of armor and accessories, It is recommendable to give the Viking equipment which increases his strength and his ability to stay in the fight for as long as possible. Items which increase Strength, Vitality, Defense, and Magic Defense are indispensible for this. The Viking's real power in most fights is his skill Freezing Axe. Because of the power of this skill, your opponent will probably choose the Viking as one of the first targets to take down, particularly in PvP. So it is a good idea to use equipment which boosts his defensive stats, to increase his survivability.

Credits: PhilosophicalGamer

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Viking - Class Overview

2008-12-15T21:25:00.008+08:00

Vikings have an assortment of abilities which make them almost indispensible in the early-to-mid levels of Atlantica Online. While they are not as tough defensively as the Swordsman, they do have the ability to dish out some serious damage on their opponents with their standard attack, and they are a decent tank in their own right in the early levels. Their keystone ability however is the magical attack Freezing Axe, which applies both a multiple-round damage-over-time effect, as well as immobilizing the units in the row on which Freezing Axe is cast.

These abilities make the Viking a very good choice for your party in the early game, but ultimately the Viking's low magic defense causes him to be greatly outclassed by other mercenaries in the late game. Vikings are too easy to kill in the late game, but in the early-to-mid game they are a good addition to most any build.

The Axeman class is essentially the main character version of the Viking. If you choose for your main to be an Axeman, he will have the same abilities as the Viking, but with good magical defense. This makes for a very tough and dynamic main. Axemen and Artillerymen are currently the main character in almost every current winning build in high-end PvP.

Read the next post for Stats & Equipment

Credits: PhilosophicalGamer

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Crafting Guide

2008-11-17T20:18:00.006+08:00

There are a lot of things to think about when you start crafting items. You must think about the long term of your crafting ability. Things like, will I craft certain weapons? will I craft rings? What is most profitable crafting item to sell? And there are many more things to ask. I will try to simplify it for you though. Have you thought about your final formation? That may determine your your crafting desires. You can craft as many and whatever you want but focusing on 1-3 abilities is recommended. Before you start crafting these are the questions you need to think about when starting a crafting career. Obviously whatever lineup you have chosen will have in most cases multiple weapon types and most definitely armor types. At higher levels your gears are craft only so getting a high crafting level in what types of gears you need is a good idea!

Most Profitable Crafting Types!

Some of the more profitable types of crafting are RINGS and CRYSTALS especially early in the game. I have made millions selling rings and crystals for 20k and 100K+ respectfully. And it only really takes maybe 15-30 minutes to create a batch of 15 and either sold or enchanted for higher level and equip on your mercs or hero. If you are going to be a ring crafter its a great idea to be a crystal enchanter. You cannot enchant rings without certain crystals. And as far as I know crystals are very rare and I wonder if they even drop at all. So as you can see people have no choice but to buy at the market which equals you a ton of money!

Above picture is a skill trainer, once you get to the point where you can upgrade your skill will turn orange. You then can come to this trainer and upgrade your skills to the next level or several levels depending on how many points you have accumulated. The more levels you upgrade the higher level items that you can start crafting. Skill trainers only allow you to upgrade to level 10 where you will then have 2 other options to continue upgrading your craft level.

Learn from other players (recommended)

You can find crafters of higher levels on the community craft list or by shouts in game that are constantly being sent by others. You have the ability to teach skills to others also by shouting in the world chat also. High level crafters will get bonus points for teaching your crafting levels and you will also get points for teaching others also. This is a win win situation for everyone. When you find someone that you want to teach crafting or you want to learn crafting from you must be lower level than them. If this is the case then you can add them to friends list and they/you can click actions in the whisper window of your newly added friend and click actions--> share info. Then you can locate what you want to teach or the other person will find what you need to learn and then share the information with you.

Wandering Crafting NPC's (Last Resort)

There are wandering NPC's that you can learn skill levels from. You will have to pay money for each upgrade from them which becomes very inconvenient if you have a lot of levels that you need to upgrade to. Another inconvenience is that its very difficult to locate these NCP's much less the one that you need to find for your particular craft upgrade. If you are the highest level in the game for a certain area you are limited to upgrading your craft this way. But more often than not you will not be and you can upgrade free and easy from someones else's work. Once you hit level 10 go out there and start teaching crafting to gain points... use world chat as much as you can also, it only costs 1k gold so its cheap!

Credits: freetoplaymmorpgs.com

Mercenaries Stats Guide

2008-11-13T21:33:00.003+08:00

Sword Units

Swordsman
*Can be hired at level 1*
Str: 340
Dex: 240
Def: 400
Int: 130
Vit: 250
M.Def:125

Skills
Flame Sword : Damages 1 target for a good amount. Great for taking out front lines. Does more damage to those with low mDef.

Dark Seed: D.o.t. ***Combos with Hex of Darkness***

Deadly Strike : Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
The Swordsman is a great font line unit. They are designed to prevent a hole in your formation as long as possible, and deal lasting damage to a single unit.

Exorcist
*Can be hired at level 57*
Str: 290
Dex: 170
Def: 260
Int: 240
Vit: 240
M.Def:285

Skills
Mana Seal Prevents all oponent's staff units from using skills for one turn, applies small d.o.t.

Seal Staff Debuff's all oponent staff units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.

Mana Burn Damages up to 5 oponent's HP/MP

Speed Cast Gives extra AP, and heals, your staff units each turn.

Notes
The Exorcist is a very valuable tool for PvP, though not as effective in PvE due to the fact they miss alot. They will allow your monk to use Awakening twice in one turn much easier; allow you to heal more often; Offer a great permanent stun if used with an Archer's Silence skill properly (Given you have made a hole in your oponen't front line).

Lady Knight
*Can be hired at level 95*
Str: 370
Dex: 260
Def: 750
Int: 160
Vit: 280
M.Def:145

Skills
Light Slash Strong magic damage to a single unit. ***Combos with ORacle's Vortex***

Notes
Great front line unit. She has amazing defense and should be able to take quite a few blows. (Little more information available until obt)

Staff Units

Monk
*Can be hired at level 18*
Str: 190
Dex: 140
Def: 150
Int: 260
Vit: 160
M.Def:500

Skills
Protect OR Shield of Protection

Protect gives your main unit a defensive boost, and heals them, at the start of every turn.

Shield of Protection heals your main unit every time it is hit (though if hit with a combo, only healed on first attack)
***They are both passive skills, so only one skill can be learned. To obtain Shield of Protection you must use a skill reset book to get rid of Protect***

Holy Guard Casts on an entire row, negates all status effects currently on selected units, and prevents all skills from being cast on them (With the exception of Guard Dispell). ***Units under Holy Guard can still be stunned, and can not be healed***

Awakening Lowers the Combo counter by 1 (2 at higher levels) and heals units for a small amount. Affects up to 5 units.

Notes
Absolutely essential for PvP, and many will say for PvE. The ability to remove any negative effect on your units is a must, especially stun. They also are a key to keeping your main unit alive. Should not have a formation without one ^^.

Shaman
*Can be hired at level 10*
Str: 150
Dex: 130
Def: 180
Int: 230
Vit: 150
M.Def: 450

Skills
Blessing of Life A healing skill, affects one unit until the shaman is upgraded, than affects an entire row.

Hex of Darkness A d.o.t. skill, highly effective on units with low mDef. ***Combos with Swordsman's Dark Seed***

Brutal Will Makes an entire row uncontrollable, and deals very slight d.o.t. to them every turn (Own units). In exchange, their attack and combo rate are sharply raised.

Noble Sacrifice The Shaman Sacrifices their life to heal the rest of your units, the healing effect lasts an extra turn after the Shaman has fainted.

Notes
Its safe to say every formation needs a healer. Whether you have two (1 for healing, 1 for d.o.t./Noble Sac) or just a medic for bad times. Get one at level 10, praise her until you can get an Oracle.

Witch
*Can be hired at level 51*
Str: 120
Dex: 250
Def: 150
Int: 280
Vit: 180
M.Def:500

Skills
Mana Drain Unlike an Exorcists' Mana Burn, Mana recharge affects only 3 units and replenishes a Witch's own MP.

Mana Recharge Restores up to 3 friendly unit's MP

Meteor Strike A completely devistative AoE skill. This high damaging ability can take out an entire unit easily. Used only every 4 turns, it is more than worth the wait.

Mana Trap Can affect entire enemy formation. Each turn, for 2 turns, it will drain a very small amount of MP. ***Combo's if enemy casts Brutal will/Seth's will, they will get 200 damage instead*** (Almost useless skill, dont get it)

Notes
A wonderful unit! Any PvE formation should have one. She can completely change the tide in any battle.

Princess
*Can be hired at level 63*
Str: 150
Dex: 130
Def: 180
Int: 300
Vit: 180
M.Def:475

Skills
Princess' Order Increases your ranged unit's defense and heals them a small amount each turn.

Royal Signet Debuff's all oponent Gun units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.

Family Signet Debuff's all oponent Aarcher units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.

Imperial Signet Debuff's all oponent Cannon units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.

Notes
A decent unit. Ranged units are the powerhouse of damage in Atlantica, so keeping them alive is essential. She can help increase their life span, and that of your overall team by reducing your oponent's ranged unit damage.

Oracle
*Can be hired at level 76*
Str: 170
Dex: 150
Def: 250
Int: 250
Vit: 170
M.Def:500

Skills
Healing Blessing of Life on steroids.
Vortex An A.o.E Attack, can deal decent damage at high levels ***Combo's with Lady Knight's Light Slash***
Seth's Will Brutal will on steroids.

Notes
Until 76, you'll be kissing your Shaman's feet after some battles, however once you get an Oracle you can hand a pink slip to you Shamy and let her collect unemployment. Oracle's are amazing support units, absolutely no reason to not switch your shaman for one.

Axe Units

Viking
*Can be hired at level 20*
Str: 330
Dex: 110
Def: 280
Int: 140
Vit: 310
M.Def:-50

Skills
Freezing Axe Freezes target units (1 at first, an entire row after upgrade). Unlike Stun, the frozen units still generate AP each
turn. Freeze lasts for 2 turns, and at a high level it decreases their DEF/mDEF and Vit. Highly effective for disabling an oponent.

Deadly Strike Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
Vikings are actually mid line units. Though they have amazing health, their Def/mDef makes them run when a mouse passes by. Very useful at lower levels, but should be replaced after 50/60.

Beast Trainer
*Can be hired at level 44*
Str: 280
Dex: 170
Def: 800
Int: 160
Vit: 290
M.Def: 175

Skills
Beast Summon Summons creatures (Foxes default, Various others available through mob drops and market; which can be used at different
levels) that hit every enemy unit. Decent A.o.E. to finish creatures off.

Notes
Great, great, great unit. She has great defense, and attack to boot; and she combos fairly often. Though her skill is useful, it is almost always better to simply use her normal attack; unless many enemies are barely hanging on to their life.

Spear Units

Spearman
*Can be hired at level 1*
Str: 310
Dex: 210
Def: 330
Int: 120
Vit: 240
M.Def:-110

Skills
Lightning Spear Reduces up to 2 units (in a column) AP.

Deadly Strike Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
Spearman are fantastic units, and it may be suprising, but they are also designed to be mid line units. They can multiple enemies in a column, instead of a row, which is a very useful tool in PvP. Their Lightning Spear (some say it was bugged during cbt) is not effective in preventing a unit's turn if that unit has a decent AP regen. The only way to surely stop that turn from coming is using 2+ Lightning spears on the same unit in one turn.

Spartan (NOTE: Use Shield + Spear)
*Can be hired at level 100*
Str: 341
Dex: 220
Def: 363
Int: 122
Vit: 244
M.Def: 100

Skills
War Cry Debuffs entire enemy formation (Little information until obt)

Notes
Said to be the absolute best deffensive unit in the game once upgraded.

Gun Units

Gunner
*Can be hired at level 1*
Str: 150
Dex: 220
Def: 180
Int: 220
Vit: 170
M.Def:225

Skills
Wild Shot Deals very good damage to an entire column

[Deadly Shot Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
Absolutely fantastic unit for PvP. The ability to heavily damage a column instead of a row makes it very difficult for the oponent to recover from. They are also wonderful units to stun with, since their normal attack, which hardly misses, hits three at a time.

Inventor (NOTE: Can Use To Search Bots)
*Can be hired at level 84*
Str: 160
Dex: 240
Def: 200
Int: 275
Vit: 190
M.Def: 400

Skills
Summon Machine Similar to a Beast Trainer's Beast Summon, they can summon the aid of machines to damage your oponent. Unlike the
creatures a BT summons, the machines can be made by crafting; they can also be purchased on the market.

Notes
Great Gun Unit. Good Defense/mDef and very useful. (Little information until obt)

Janissary
*Can be hired at level 96*
Str: 157
Dex: 247
Def: 198
Int: 225
Vit: 173
M.Def: 225

Skills
Shooting Stance Damages a single unit very heavily.

Notes
Deals more damage than an Inventor. (Little information until obt)

Bow Units

Archer
*Can be hired at level 1*
Str: 160
Dex: 220
Def: 180
Int: 230
Vit: 140
M.Def:250

Skills
Silence Prevents an entire row from using skills for 2 turns; slight d.o.t.

Deadly Shot Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
The most useful unit for ending a fight quickly. They take the amazing damage of a swordsman and are able to strike any unit in the formation. A group of Archers can down a boss or oponent's main unit quite quickly. Their silence ability is also one of the most useful skills in the game.

Prophet
*Can be hired at level 70*
Str: 170
Dex: 210
Def: 200
Int: 240
Vit: 190
M.Def: 450

Skills
Concentrate Increases physical damage, accuracy, and slightly heals, your melee units every turn.
Shattered Sword Debuff's all oponent Sword units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.
Broken Spear Debuff's all oponent Spear units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.
Rusty Axe Debuff's all oponent Axe units, reducing their 'Normal Attack' damage; slight d.o.t.

Notes
She is a very useful unit that can help your frontline make a lasting impression before they bite the dust. She is also very useful in PvE, since most units fall under the category 'Sword/Spear/Axe', even if they dont use weapons. Not only that, but she's an archer XD, which means being able to hit your oponent's main unit every turn; a key to winning any battle.

Cannon Units

Artilleryman
*Can be hired at level 30*
Str: 200
Dex: 160
Def: 200
Int: 220
Vit: 210
M.Def:275

Skills
Deep Insight Reveals the HP of your oponents formation (First works as cross, than entire formation); slight d.o.t.
Deadly Shot Delivers very heavy damage to a single unit, however it requires alot of AP.

Notes
Very useful for stunning your oponent. Though their damage is quite small, they can hit up to 5 units, and d.o.t. an entire formation.

Cannoneer
*Can be hired at level 87*
Str: 230
Dex: 190
Def: 220
Int: 240
Vit: 225
M.Def: 280

Skills
Smoke Bomb (Unsure how many units this skill effects, assuming it works like Deep Insight) Lowers target's attack power and accuracy.

Notes
Much more powerful than an Artilleryman

Credits: Pantho from Atlantica Online Forum

Town Statistics Guide

2008-11-12T20:06:00.001+08:00

TAXATION

Monthly Income = Current population *16

That's it. Income is SOLELY based on population. Neither commerce nor industry contribute to income.

SATISFACTION

Satisfaction is the average of the 5 contributing factors (commerce, industry, culture, health, and security). The contributing factors are capped at 100.

The contributing factors for satisfaction are calculated by

(current point value)/(population/1,000)

EX: London has 209,135 population and 820/845 commerce

820/(209135/10000) = 39.2

FOOD

The two important factors with Food are Farms and Storage.

Every March and September, the Storage is filled to the limit of your farms.

Every month except March and September, food equal to (population/1,000) is removed from Storage

If there is not enough food at the start of a month, the city will not pay its taxes.

**There is no point having more farms than storage. You get no benefit.**
**If you demolish your warehouse, the current food is NOT destroyed, but no new food is added to the stockpile**

POPULATION

Population leaves town = 100 - satisfaction rate, but never less than 10.

Higher satisfaction rate means less people leave town and you have a better chance at increasing population.

Speculation - an immigrant is generated from your town every time an immigrant is generated/recruited to come to your town. (needs verification)

Speculation - the higher your satisfaction, the more likely an immigrant will be created with your town as the destination. (needs verification)

Speculation - immigrants appear to be generated in waves game-daily (every 48 minutes)

Credits: Turrosh from Atlantica Online Forum

Titles Guide

2008-11-06T21:17:00.000+08:00

Below are all the titles you can get (that I know of - I have no clue if there are hidden titles or some other way to get them).

The first four sets of titles are ones you can get from one of the women outside of Athens by doing quests - there are four of them. You can only do one quest from each woman at a time (for a total of four title quests going at once, one from each woman). When you finish a quest for them, you must go back and turn in the quest, at which point they will give you an item (it looks like an envelope). You have to right-click on and use the item and you will now be able to use that title.

The easiest way to get to these women if you're over level 20 but don't have the Athen's teleport information is to teleport to Rome using the button on the right of your screen that looks like an arch, then walk outside Rome and go to Athens. If you're under 20, you'll have to walk there. You can auto-walk to any of the four women by opening up the quest log and selecting them at the top of the log (Pandora, Klieo, Calliope, or Thalia) and then clicking on 'Auto-move to NPC'. Be careful - you may run into mobs so take care when auto-walking!

The last set of titles are only available by getting more fame points through Free League. The top few ranks are limited by a certain number of people who can have that title.

To choose your title, go to My Info -> Character and choose your title from the drop down menu of titles. You can switch your titles at any time, and it does not cost anything to do so.

There are some additional notes at the end.

Format is Title name - Quest requirements. A monster's name x a number means you have to kill that number of monsters.

Pandora

Sea King's Guardian - Crab Warrior x 1000
Cubbie - Fire Bear x 2000
Sticky - Starved Snail x 2000
Anteater - Worker Ant x 2000
Tamer - Cerberus x 3000
In Sheep's Clothing - Crazy Sheep x 3000
Flowery - Red Carnivorous Plant x 5000
Puppeteer - Alloy Doll Magician x 5000
Mechanic - Unfinished Machine x 5000
Insect Collector - Queen Wasp x 5000
Archaeologist - Cursed Mummy x 350
Ghostbuster - Kakemaru x 350
Exiled Nobleman - Iron Doll Magician x 10000
Young Princess - Desert Fox x 10000
Hunter - Cannibal Deer x 10000
Flower Snake - Hanahebi x 10000
King of Darkness - Prison Tyrant x 25000
Corrupt - White Knight x 9999
Deathproof - Use Mandragora x 444
Smelling Stale - Use Green Mold x 777
Treasure Hunter - Use Ornate Treasure Map x 500
Bookworm - Exchange books with NPC Goncourt x 25000
Santa Claus - Give a gift to beginner x 1000
Demonologist - Use any scroll x 9999
Linguistic Genius - Persuade Resident x 20982

Kleio

Fishing Maniac - Try Fishing x 30000
Philanthropist - Give a gift to a beginner x 50
Gourmet - Use Steak x 500
Gambler - Exchange any item box with NPC De Mere x 9999
Shinobi - Shadow Ninja x 5000
Mutant - White Crocodile x 5000
Total Newbie - Evil Sky Spirit x 50
Smelling Flowery - Use Chardin's Perfume x 5
Heroic Soldier - Cursed Soldier x 888
Jeweler - Raise Ring skill to level 71
Performer - Raise Action skill to level 71
Chef - Craft Fish Stew x 10
Executive Chef - Raise Food skill to level 91
Cursed Swordsman - Cursed Sword Muramasa x 1
Astrologer - Lucky Wood Piece x 5

Thalia

Kind - Provider help and earn credit x 50
Fartman - Use Barley Bimbimbap x 500
Forgotten - Use Secret Vial for Memory Loss x 1
Motivated - Share Monster Info x 150
Blessed - Use Father's Holy Water x 1
Curious - Strange Rock Shard x 1

Calliope

Holy Knight - Revelation: Honor x 500
Assassin - Revelation: Death x 500
Priest - Revelation: Chastity x 500
Alchemist - Revelation: Truth x 500
Bard - Revelation: Luck x 500
Potion Addict - Use Healing Potion [Low] x 1000
Smelling Fishy - Mackerel Pike x 1000
Hand of God - Enhance any item to [10] Grade
Monster Expert - Share Monster Info x 100
Berserker - Win a Battle with Power Up x 100
Greedy - Mercenary's Steel Box x 100
Strategist - Victory with more than 2 Mercenaries in unavailable status x 1000
Destroyer - Dismantle Destroyer's Sword x 500
Energizer - Use Eel x 500

Free League Titles

Soldier - Fame 10-199
Scout - Fame 200-499
Guard - Fame 500-999
Royal Guard - Fame 1,000-1,999
Safeguard - Fame 2,000-4,999
Warrior - Fame 5,000-9,999
Knight - Fame more than 10,000
Sergeant - Fame more than 20,000, Top 50
Lieutenant - Fame more than 20,000, Top 30
Captain - Fame more than 20,000, Top 15
Colonel - Fame more than 20,000, Top 5
General - Fame more than 20,000, Top 1

Notes:

The Revelations: Noun items are apparently not in the game yet - or at least, no one's found them.

When there's just an item with a number, it means you have to turn those items into the NPC and you will lose them. However, you can buy them from the market instead of getting them yourselves if you so desire.

Some of the items are under Skills -> Crafting -> Quests.

When you have to do something that can fail (fishing for the Fishing Maniac title, gambling equipment boxes for the Gambler title), it only counts if you succeed. For the gambling of boxes, each box you get back (even if it's multiple boxes at once) counts as one success.

Some of these may require you to re-do quests by using Secret of Time licenses - available on the market or by crafting licenses.

The Hand of God quest is for enhancing an item to grade 10, not enchanting an item to grade 10. That means you need to speak to Vulcanus in Rome and use enhance stones, not enchant stones. (See a guide on enhancing and enchanting for more details about this). THIS MEANS DO NOT MAKE TWO +9 ITEMS AND THEN ENCHANT THEM TOGETHER OR YOU WILL REGRET IT!!

If you're doing the Demonologist title quest, do it early, before you hit 31, if you can. Scrolls are much cheaper at that level. (<- Is still working on it at level 60 and rather regrets it). Also, getting a bonus scroll in PVP does not count towards your limit.

There's a rumor (not confirmed by me, sorry) that the mercenary steel boxes for the Greedy quest are only given by the wandering mercenaries you have to spend a lot of money on to get them to join your party (like most monks) - more than the 20k most mercenaries require.

Winning a battle with at least two mercenaries in the unavailable status for the Strategist title means going to the formation window and unchecking one of the boxes for two of your mercenaries so they are 'ghosted out' during the battle and you can't use them. It does not mean the mercenary has to be unconscious.

Persuading residents for the Linguistic Genius title means convincing the wandering residents to go to your town. You get a certain number of people for each of the wandering residents you convince - usually between 50 and 200 people. You cannot do this quest unless your guild owns a town.

Currently, with the servers occasionally going down at random times, there's a strange bug where if you haven't completed a quest yet, you lose the things you had counted towards the completion for a certain period of time - it's almost a roll-back, but only for quests. These quests are affected by it, so be warned. You do NOT lose items, however.

I believe that's all. Please let me know if there's anything unclear or confusing!

Credits: Kiena from Atlantica Online Forum

Enchanting and Enhancing Guide

2008-11-05T20:27:00.001+08:00

Today, we'll discuss Enchanting and Enhancing, two important features in Atlantica. Through these two selections, one is able to enchant or enhance an item to make it more potent and helps cut down on the need to frequently upgrade gear.

First, we'll talk about "Enchanting"

Enchanting takes place when one has two items of the same quality (note, quality used in this context means the "plus" on it, being either a normal 0, +1, +2, all the way up to +10) and some weapon, armor, or accessory enchant stones. Enchanting is a very easy thing to do; you simply right click on the stones in your inventory and a pop-up window will display three empty slots. One is the item, the second is the sacrificial item, and the third is the needed materials, or in this case enchanting stones (weapons, armor, or accessory again). When all items are obtained, you can click the "auto" button on the pop-up window and it'll throw in the enchantable items and fix the materials needed to enchant it (in this case, we'll use spirit armor so we need armor enchant stones) in the window. Also, if you feel like doing it by hand, you can select the items, although auto is there so we can be a little lazy

By clicking "Enchant" it will bring a progress meter up showing you the item enchanting, and when it finishes it brings up a message saying it has been enchanted into a (+X) where x is the number of the "plussed" item. Two normal pieces will enchant into a +1. Two +1's will enchant into a +2 - so on and so forth all the way to the maximum of +10. There is a nifty feature built in, that will sometimes produce a greater result then what you expect. By this, I mean you can potentially enchant two +0's into a +2 and beyond instantly. I myself have did this one time and got a +4 Dark Knight's axe from two normal Dark Knight's Axes and got a server message (it was cool!) So there's always something to cross your fingers about.

However, the stones needed to enchant it will always remain one ahead of what the item you're plussing is. Enchanting two normals requires 1 stone, enchanting two +1's will require 2 stones, enchanting two +3's will require 4 stones, and so on and so forth. Enchanting never fails from what I gather, and I've never see it fail personally, so I doubt it can. This is the most common method in Atlantica to obtain better items. When you "enchant" something, it melds some of the items stats together to produce a higher quality item. Also remember, use corresponding stones, weapons for weapons, armor for armor, accessory for rings.

Think of enchanting like fusing items - they grow in potency, but they don't compound exponentially (meaning two +1's into a +2 won't do double the damage) but it will amp up the damage noticeably, as well as stat bonuses, evasion ratings, and defense (such as on armor). I recommend enchanting over buying whole new sets, as constantly gearing into +0's (normal items) doesn't always make it worth spending the money - just keep compounding on the armor. Heck, some of my frontline tanks at 62 are using +8 rakshasa stuff (level 25). Enchanting is very handy for this!

Next, we'll talk about Enhancing.

Enhancing is different from Enchanting insofar as you do not need an equivalent sacrificial item to enchant it, but with enhancing comes a 50% risk (I've heard it was lessened, but I'm skeptical) of failing and breaking the item. Enhancing comes from Vulcanus in Rome's Bazaar district - but the stones you need to Enhance are different, and are even called so (weapon enhance stone, armor enhance stone, accessory enhance stone). Note that if you do not have Rome's map information, there golden arches on the right hand side of the screen denoting Rome's districts - Plaza, Bazaar, etc. Vulcanus is in the bazaar, hang a right after you teleport in.

The "it will require always 1 extra stone ahead of what you're enchanting" rule still applies here, so enhancing to a +1 takes 2 stones, +2 takes 3, etc. Be forewarned that the breaking percentage I've experienced like mentioned is close to 50%, if not a little under. I probably just have crappy luck; but I've managed to break more things then enhance. What I do sometimes is "Enchant" it to a +whatever so it doesn't fail, and then when it hits what I want it to (usually +4 to +5) I go to vulcanus and try my hand at enhancing it to the next level. I never chain enhance, because one time I tried and it backfired on me horribly - then again, like I said I might have bad luck. Also, the same thing that applies for enchanting applies to enhancing - you can get an unexpected result. My friends have enhanced to a +3 before with a normal item and boy was I jealous

But, with enhancing comes the thought of not needing an exact copy of "quality" and type of item to enhance. This is why people love Vulcanus, because he allows you to try it with only one item. It's a really pick your poison type thing; spend a little more cash and be positive, or risk it all to hit it big without dropping dough on more items

I've had a lot of my mentees ask me to write a guide here so they can check it out, so by popular demand I decided to a small write-up.

**Credited to Muiramir, he added ALL of this and thanks are due! Here's the skinny:

* In the current game (Open Beta), there is a more significant jump between Spirit and Sea items than for many of the other levels; the rate of increase (slope) for Spirit is also fairly weak. It is probably more effective to hold off heavy enchanting until you are past Spirit.

* On average in the mid-range at least, a level X item from normal boxes at +Y tends to be *very roughly* equivalent to a Level X+10 item from normal boxes at +Y-1. For example, the average damage output from a Level 15 Deep Sea Bow +2, a Level 25 Ogre Bow +1, and a Level 35 Assassin's Bow +0 are about the same. I recommend looking up exact stats, but as a rough guide it is useful to plan your purchases and enchanting. If you keep good notes, you will realize that the increases do follow a series of formula, and you can predict quite accurately the stats for items you haven't seen yet.

* Once you get past the Beginner Enchant stones (and boxes), the cost for the stones becomes important. Currently, a (Beg) box seems to be running around 800, while an (Int) box seems to be running around 8,000; this is a pretty harsh factor of 10 increase. Consider that a +10 item not only requires 1,024 base +0 items, but 2,036 stones. I expect the cost of the higher boxes / stones may go down some as the game matures, but how much is an open question. In combination with the above, this leads to it generally being more effective to keep enchanting the items just before the break. A +4 Ogre Bow is more effective in every way than a +2 Assassin's Bow, but usually cheaper to buy or make, and you can start using it ten levels sooner.

* Partly to counter the above, higher bonus items have additional limitations. At some point (around +5 for low-midrange items at least), they start having a Durability stat, which gradually goes down with use to represent wear and tear. Note that using enchanting to combine items not only usually increases the max Durability, but resets it to the (new) max. Items you buy at the market may not have full Durability left, buyer beware. The various Repair stones can be used to restore I believe, but I've not experimented with that; at lower levels it's usually more effective to just enchant it to the next level.

* At even higher levels (+7 or so), items you enchant will be "sealed", with the numbers in red when you mouse over them. In this state, they can be sold, traded, etc. but not used. Equipping the item will give a prompt about breaking the seal; once you do so, you can use it, but no longer sell, trade, etc. I believe that enchanting again to the next level will re-seal, but I'm not sure about all cases.

* At the max enchantment of +10, you no longer have to worry about Durability.

* In addition to all of the above, there are currently PvP limitations on max bonus. I believe this is currently +4. If you are really serious about PvP, you will probably end up spending significantly more money to keep upgrading your team's equipment to +4 of whatever your current level's equipment is. Still, do the numbers; try and upgrade the items that give you the most effectiveness for your gold first.

If I missed anything you guys feel needs added, please post here with comments! Thanks!

Happy hunting!

Credits: Shimus_Darkraven from Atlantica Online Forum

Guarding Guide

2008-11-05T20:26:00.001+08:00

As many might have noticed, you are able to shift turns to other people in your party if their AP (Action Points, the Green Number by their feet) is over 100. Due to how the multi-mercenary system works in this game, you're allowed to have a total of 9 mercenaries at any given point (supposing you're over level 50). In this game, your first turn you can control 1 mercenary. The following turn, 3. The next turn, and for every turn thereafter, you can control a random 5 people. These conditions aside, allow me to remain on topic and explain how guarding is just an effective strategy as playing the right moves.

As you may have noticed, some mercenaries are "Greyed" out, meaning they weren't randomly selected the turn to do anything. Just because they are "Greyed" out does not mean you can't use them - this is a common misconception. If their AP is on/over 100, you can effectively "Guard" out of a "Green" mercenaries turn to turn another Mercenary from "Grey" to "Green," enabling you to use them. From what I've noticed and from personal experience Guarding not only benefits because you switch to another mercenary you want to use, but the other mercenary is in a "Guarded" stance, allowing extra defense and making them take less damage from direct hits.

Allow me to give a visual of what I have stated:

Merc A (98 ap)----Merc B (120 AP)----Merc C (101 AP)
Merc D (159 AP)----Merc E (88 AP)----Merc F (115 AP)
Merc G (-28 AP)----Merc H (133 AP)----Merc I (180 AP)

Taking into consideration the "5 Mercenaries" a turn rule, let us assume they gave us control of B, C, D, F, and H. However, since Mercenary I has the AP needed to move and/or use magic, you could guard on any one of the aforemention mercenaries to shift their turn to Mercenary I. For the sake of Arguement, let us say we guarded on Merc F. It transfered his turn (not his AP mind you, people get confused on this part) to Mercenary I because he had the needed AP to act, in effect "Greying" out Merc F, and "Greening" Merc I.

This can be applied to any mercenary over 100 AP, like I stated. So lets assume Merc I, who we'll say is a healer, needs to heal Merc A because he is damaged, but he didn't get randomly selected this time (even though his AP is over 100) - this does't mean Merc A has to die. Oh no! Not at all. Simply guard on either B, C, D, F, or H -thus "Greening" Merc I and allowing you to use the heal spell on poor Merc A.

Also, please keep in mind you cannot re-guard a turn back to a guarded character - Unless after guarding they still have 100 or more AP. Guarding itself takes 50 AP!

In my opinion, guarding right, and using the [D] key to move your guys around in battle is as important as your formation and how you attack the other person. This tends to be more true in PVP, because you're fighting another human element who also knows these tricks of the trade - and they will use them, a lot.

I hope this helps out the few still curious about how this all happens. Happy Hunting, and remember - Being Smart in battle is key to victory.

*Edit - Even I'm human, and make mistakes. Cynic is correct in saying the highest 5 AP mercs get selected every turn, and that you will always "Green" down the line of Ap. If two mercs have 200 each, and you guard on one, it'll go to the other 200 AP merc before it goes to a 190 merc. Keep this in mind!

**Edit: E-sildur was nice enough to contribute that you cannot re-guard back to a "willed" character, be it Brutal Will or Seth's will. The willed characters need to be selected at the beginning of the turn to be usable. Trying to guard to them will only end in failure. Thanks for this addition! Nice to know information.

Credits: Shimus_Darkraven from Atlantica Online Forum

Beginner Guide

2008-11-05T20:22:00.000+08:00

Hero Selection:
Make sure your hero fits your play style. While having a front line Hero is fun. It can be dangerous to. If the hero dies it doesn't matter how many of your merc's are still alive. The battle is over if he/she dies. I honestly recommend either Axe Man (Frozen Axe is so helpful) or one of the middle or back row classes. i.e Gunner or Archer.

Mercenary Selection:
Make sure your intended merc lay out fits your play style. By level 50 you will have a full group, you plus 8 merc's. You are pretty much stuck with using normal merc's until you get higher in level. (Viking at 20, Monk 30, Beast Trainer 44, etc etc). Some things to consider when planning your group. Shamans Heal. When upgraded *All Mercs get their first upgrade at level 20* their Heal goes from being single target to Line Heal. Meaning It will heal all the people on that line (Right and Left not Up and Down). Monks are in a sense your Support Buffer. They can't heal, but they can remove nasty things like Stun, Poison, DoT's. They also get a nice spell called Protection. That automatically goes off at the start of your turn each round as long as he is alive and has mana. It heals your Hero and buffs his defense. Also it doesn't matter which row your Monk and Hero are in. It will hit him regardless. The merc's you get later on are more defined and suited to specific task (Lady Knight, Princess, Prophet, Oracle, etc).

Skill Raising:
As tempting as it may be to try to teach your Hero and Merc's every skill available to them. (Some skills are Hero only) It's not a really good idea for two reasons. 1) Mana. In the cast of the Monks protection spell. That is auto cast at the start of your turn. The higher in level it is the more mana it eats. Meaning you'll be sitting alot or chugging alot of MP potions. 2) Deluded Characters. You get 1 skill point per level. Teaching and raising skills causes them all to be rather weak. As you are spreading points between skills instead of focusing it into one. So where as my Swordsman lvl 40 Flame Sword is doing 480 dmg. Your Swordsman lvl 28 Flame Sword is doing 200 dmg. Because you dumped the rest of your points into DarkSeed and Guard Dispel. Stay Focused, and plan ahead. The books to remove skills points are EXPENSIVE, and they only remove one point at time.

Getting Around:
Make sure you stop in every town you run across. You only need to enter a town/area/dungeon floor once to get it's map info. If you get an NPC telling you to kill mobs on the first floor of a dungeon. Before you go running back to him when its done. Take the time to hit the other area's of that dungeon. That way when he does send you back instead of running you can just teleport to the start of that floor of the dungeon. This is very important for towns as well. As you'll be covering alot of ground as you level later on.

Money:
As long as you are doing your quest you should be fine in the beginning for money. If you don't intend on being a crafter right off the bat. Sell your goods below what the fixed price is for materials in Market. Is another good way to make cash. You really want to try to have a nice nest egg of cash in bank before 35. As that's usually when most people start to feel the pinch of having to buy armor/weapons for all their mercs. Later on crafting and betting on fights at the arena is a good way to make money. Also instead of betting you could join the competition. Nice way to earn titles and rewards. At level 40 a win was worth about 200,000 while a lost only netted me 15,000 to 20,000.

Monster Info:
When killing monsters for a long enough time you learn more about them. This is Monster Info and it has 3 stages. Each stage increase the damage you do and decreases the amount of damage the mob does. It also helps in getting better materials and items off mobs. It's random though. Sometimes you'll get all 3 stages fast, other times not so fast. Good thing is you can have someone teach you the parts if they know them. Even with mobs you've never ran across.

Stats:
In your travels you'll come across Growth Vials. These help you raise stats at the cost of Bonus Points (you get bonus points as you level). There are 3 types of Growth Vials like most things in game. They are broken down into Beginner, Intermediate , and Advanced. It's in your best interest to buy and use them whenever you can. Growth Vials raise a random stat each use. With beginning being able to be used up to a maximum of 150 bonus points at which point you need the higher level Growth Vials. Believe me when I say, not bothering to use these on your Hero and Merc's whenever you can. Will just make your life tougher down the road. My advice is use all of them on hero first as to get him to cap for that type of vial first. As when the hero dies it's instant game over. So a stronger more durable hero is always nice. Once that's done. I would start with the front line merc's you have as usually they'll be taking the most beating. You won't encounter flying or any real dangerous long range enemies till post 25/30ish. Which gives you plenty of time to pump those stats.

Grouping/Partying:
Don't be afraid to group. It's actual quite beneficial. Game doesn't really penalized you for it, in fact it's quite the opposite. Killing while party of a group generates Skill books worth 100 xp when used. You can also turn in 20 of these books (+2000 gold) to have it turned into a 1000 xp book. I know sounds like a bad deal, but it really isn't. I'll explain in a bit under "Will". Partying also also you to share info easier (Like Monster Info), and generally makes quest easier to do. As all players in the party (As long as they are in same fight) will get credit towards the quest if they are both on it. So even if it's a quest that needs an item pick up like Fox Ears. Don't hesitate to group. You'll both get credit for it. You can also teleport directly to a group member (provided you have enough Will), also if they are in a dungeon you are required to have the map for it.

Will:
Will is a special bar that sits at top of screen. It refills slowly and is one rather important thing to keep track of. Will allows you to teleport to locations you already have the map info for. You also need it for teleporting to party members, sending gifts, Sharing Monster Info, using EXP Skill Books, certain foods that replenish HP and MP need will to eat. It regenerates rather slowly so don't be wasteful about it. It's also used for sweet talking NPC's into staying at your town.

Guard:
Guard is probably one of the most useful things for long combats or when facing off against a group of flyers when you are mostly melee. Before I jump into it. Let me point out that at most you allowed to use up to 5 of your mercs during any one turn. So you go into a fight with flyers and your melee are the only ones able to move for that turn. Use Guard, it will transfer that merc/hero's turn to someone else that is waiting. Who the turn goes to is based on AP (Action Points) so if your guy was sitting at -38 at the start of your turn because he attacked last round and got hit by an AP draining attack from enemy. Don't count on guard giving him the chance to attack that round.

Flying Enemies:
If your group is melee heavy these will be your worse nightmare. Flying enemies can not be hit directly by melee attacks, this also includes the Artillery Merc's normal cannon attack. They can be hit by Melee Skills, they can also be hit by Long Range and Magic Default attacks (Gunner, Archer, Monk, Shaman, etc). The other thing to take notice of is that if the front line is made up flying units, but there are land mobs behind it. You don't have to get rid of the flying mob to hit the land mob behind it. Sadly this also holds true for your group as well. A flying mob can directly fly over your front line to hit any units you have in back. Currently there are no flying mercs or hero's for players. You will be facing flying mobs in your travels so it's something to consider when putting your ideal merc lay out together. Having too many melee and not enough long range and/or casters will cause the fight to drag out. Skills have turn cool downs and MP requirements which puts a melee group at disadvantage against flyers. As the longer you take the more you increase the chance that another mob group will join in the fight against you.

Adds:
It's not uncommon to be fighting and have another group pop up during the battle to attack you. Even though the fights are instanced your body still remains in the world. So any mob that touches you will enter the fight as well. This will happen alot in densely packed area's. When this happens here is something to consider. Dying in Atlantica online results in a lost of some money and some xp. Merc's do not lose xp from dying. Only the hero's does. Retreating from a fight is the same as dying meaning gold and xp lost just as if you died. So sometimes even if another group jumps in, it's better to weigh the situation and keep fighting. Retreating from a fight can only be done after two turns has went by and happens instantly. If you can at the very least keep your hero alive it's best to keep fighting. Even if you think he/she might die, it's still best to keep fighting. As your mercs and hero gain xp per hit during fights. So even though your hero might die and lose xp. Your merc's won't. At worse when a merc dies you just have to waste a Life Potion rez-ing him. (Beginner Life Potions are cheap usually if bought from player)

Brutal Will and You:
One of the best spells a Shaman has isn't even her heal. It's a spell called Brutal Will. Which boost your attack and increases your chance to strike multiple times during that character combat turn. Normally your Hero/Merc after you tell him to attack something will hit the mob between 1 to 4 times (it's pretty random). Brutal Will boost your chance to get those lovely 3 and 4 hits. Which will absolutely destroy most mobs. Currently I use it on my Middle Row. Which consist of my SpearMan, Gunner, and Archer. While I lose control of them for the 4 rounds they are under the effect of Brutal Will. Their damage goes up, and they pop enemies 3 and 4 times on a regular. Which is great. As Archers can hit any mob on any line and have very good damage. SpearMan are capable of hitting the initial target plus one mob behind it for pretty good damage. Gunner the same as SpearMan except she'll hit all 3 mobs in the row for pretty good damage. It has its benefits for Melee, Ranged, and Casters. It has it's draw backs though. It continuously eats life while your people are under it's effects, and like I said you lose control of them for the 4 rounds it last. Which means you can't make use of their skills. It's still generally worth the trade off.

Holy Guard and You:
Holy Guard is the Monk skill that pretty much makes you resistance to magic. Sounds good right? Well it has it's good points. Example, if someone has cast a bunch of nasty things on someone you need off. One cast of Holy Guard will remove all the negative effects and place an effect on you making you immune to magic. I know you are saying that sounds too good to be true, what's the catch? Well the catch is... NO magic works on you. Not even your own Shamans, Oracle, or Exorcist Healing magic. So it's one of those skills that's very useful, but more harmful if mis-used. Hero's can be taught a skill for dispelling it. Also of note like the Shamans heal after she upgrades to next level of her class. It becomes a line effect.

Frozen Axe and You:
Frozen Axe is one of the best skills in game. It's one of the reason I highly recommend making your Hero an Axe user or at the very least getting two Vikings in your group as soon as you can. Frozen Axe at first only hits one target after Class upgrade it will evolve into a line skill. So down to the basic what does it do. Basically it has 3 parts. 1) Initial Damage - which isn't anything to write home about 2) Freeze component - If it lands it will instantly freeze the target locking them from doing any for 1 turn and also damaging them when it breaks 3) Stun - Yep even after the Frozen Status breaks after the first turn is up, anything that was frozen will be stunned for one additional turn. Higher Levels increase how long the Freeze last for (I've never seen it last more then 3 turns). The stun remains at 1 turn though. The Freeze effect can be dispelled by Holy Guard which also prevents you from being stunned when the freeze breaks. VERY useful skill later on and during boss fights. Even though it's a line effect it you don't have to target the middle mob/person (incase you are pvping) to get the entire line. Targeting the person to the right or left or right will have same effect as if you had targeted the center.

Swordsman - Good HP, High Defense, Shield Wearer, Heavy Armor Wearer, Single Target Default Attack (If your Hero is Swordsman you can teach him skills for hitting more then one enemy like Break Down)
Axe Man - Good HP, Above Average Defense, Heavy Armor Wearer, Line Default Attack
Spear Man - Above Average HP, Above Average Defense, Heavy Armor Wearer, Row Default Attack (2 mobs max)
Gunner - Average HP, Below Average Defense, Light Armor Wearer, Row Default Attack (3 mobs max)
Archer - Average HP, Below Average Defense, Light Armor Wearer, Default Attack can hit any 1 Mob on any Line or Row without restriction
Artillery - Average HP, Below Average Defense, Light Armor Wearer, Default Attack Cross (Mob to Front, Back, Left, and Right will also be hit)
Shaman - Average HP, Below Average Defense, Cloth Wearer, Default Attack Single Target
Monk - Average HP, Below Average Defense, Cloth Wearer, Default Attack Single Target
Viking - Same as Axe Man but slightly better damage and less magic defense (Magic hurts them alot)
Beast Trainer - Same as Axe Man

Defense Order: Swordsman > Axe Man > Spear Man/Viking
Magic Defense Order: Swordsman > Axe Man/Spear Man > Viking
Melee Attack Damage: Axe/Viking hit more targets then Spear Man, but the Swordsman can do more damage per hit but only to one target

Defense Order: Gunner/Archer > Shaman/Monk
Magic Defense: Monk/Shaman > Gunner/Archer
Ranged Attack Damage: Archer does more damage then Gunner, but Gunner hits multiple targets. Monk and Shaman damage is generally comparable to each other and on par with Archers when well equipped.
Yes I'm leaving Artillery Man out, because honestly they stink lol.

Archers - Best at Mage Killing. They get Silence from the start, which later becomes line effect after Class Upgrade.

Gunner - Best at killing Fliers, and do ranged damage over multiple enemies. Wild Shot (Starting Skill) they begin with and it's rather good on damage. Not to mention Gunners are only slightly slower then archers in AP restoring.

Swords Man - Best at Front Line Tanking. They can take the damage, and with a high Flame Sword Skill (Starting Skill) dish it out nicely to. They also have better HP then the other starting classes.

Axe Man - Best at Secondary Front Line Tanking and Dealing Destory an enemies front line. With their ability to use Frozen Axe and attack all 3 units on a line, you can see why I love them.

Viking - See Axe Man. Though they have less Magic Defense then Axe Man, they have more HP. I actually prefer them over Axe Man for front line destruction.

Spear Man - Best as a Middle Line melee DPS. Starts with Lightning Spear a very good skill as it's does damage and destroy some of the AP by the mobs hit with it. They work out pretty well on the front line early on, but later in game they just get beaten to death too easily for them to stay front line.

Shaman - Best at Healing. They also have that lovely skill Brutal Will which you can pick up later, but they begin with Blessing of Life. They can also pick up a nice little DoT spell called Hex of Darkness. While the damage isn't that great, it's an alternative to just having her heal all the time, and it does hit up to two targets in a row, and has pretty decent (not great) damage with a few upgrades. As nice as Brutal Will is though I do recommend keeping Blessing of Life higher, and not pumping Brutal Will so much. Higher Blessing of Life gives you more HP Healed on use, and you'll need that later on.

Monk - Best at Remove Negative Effects. Their starting skill is the really useful Protection spell which auto cast at start of every round and buffs your Hero's Defense and heals him a little. Later on they can grab Awakening for getting rid of stuns, and Holy Guard for getting rid of bad magics and giving them temporary invincibility to magic (including helpful ones lol)

Artillery Man - Best at being useless. Ok jokes aside, I've never really found this a useful class. Their starting skill is Deep Insight which does minimal damage but allows you to see your opponents (anyone hit by it) HP. Which isn't that great when you consider there are scrolls in game that do that. They also do little damage because of the amount of mobs that can be hit with their default attack. They also require you to buy cannon balls which while not costly is annoying (Same applies to Archer having to buy arrows, but they are useful at least. Gunners do not have to buy bullets)

Credits: Triton from Atlantica Online Forum

Swordman

2008-11-05T20:02:00.000+08:00

The swordsman is a Rank D, or beginner level, frontline fighter that can deal heavy damage to a single enemy. The swordsman's starting magic, Flame Sword, deals damage and debuffs the target's vitality to lower its maximum hit points.

Official Description
Swordsmen are the only character who can use a shield. And their high defense and HP set them apart.

Do you want to protect your team from the enemy's attack? Swordsmen can serve as a powerful shield that protects your mercenaries.

However, they have weak attack power for a melee fighter and can only strike one enemy at a time.

Attack Type
The swordsman can hit any front line target that is not flying. Despite the official description, the swordsman seems to produce high damage attacks.

Flame Sword is a magic attack that deals damage and reduces the target's vitality. The result should be an enemy that cannot regain its original full hit points for the duration of the spell. Flame Sword lasts one turn and requires two turns before it can be used again, so it is impossible to keep an enemy's vitality debuffed with just one swordsman.

Other spells the swordsman can learn include Guard Dispel, Deadly Strike, Dark Seed, and Break Down. Guard Dispel removes the Holy Guard buff from the first row of the enemy squad. Deadly Strike allows a swordsman near death to trade a super powerful attack in this round for his turn the next round. Dark Seed causes damage over time and can combine with Hex of Darkness to create the Hell Flame combo attack. Break Down damages all enemies with an earthquake. If cast on an enemy effected by Chaos Wind, Break Down triggers the Destructive Wind combo attack.

Attributes and Upgrades
The swordsman starts with the highest strength (STR), dexterity (DEX) and defense (DEF) of all Rank D ranged fighters. Players can upgrade him at level 20, 50, 80, and 100 with Ashen Cyrstals. As he progresses, the swordsman will continue to have the highest STR and DEF among his rank D ranged peers, but the spearman has only slightly lower attributes while possessing the ability to damage two enemies in a column. Additionally, players may find that spears add more damage than swords.

The high DEF and vitality (VIT) of the swordsman makes him the ideal front row fighter. He can soak up hits with his high defense and hit points to keep your frail rear units safe.
Statistics (not including equipment or Growth Vials)

The Flame Sword spell hits an enemy hard and drains its vitality.

Strategy
The choice to hire a swordsman is a decision to create a "tank" on the front row to take damage for the squad. Their high DEF and HP mitigate a lot of damage that could cripple your party, but be prepared to heal them when they get hit by magic as they rank in the bottom three in magic defense (MAG DEF) among rank D mercenaries.

Choosing sword as your class for your main character ensures that your leader will have high HP and a good chance to survive. It also means your leader will likely be on the front row where he will get hit often. The benefit of being a swordsman seems to even out with the deficit.

Having more than one swordsman in a squad provides a firm front defense but lowers the damage capabilities of the squad overall as other front line fighters can damage more foes or hit harder. The key to overcoming the lower damage output of single attacks with more than one swordsman is to learn to trigger combo attacks by using the right skills.

As Rank C units become available, the player gains access to lady knights, the next tier of tanks. Lady knights outshine swordsmen in every attribute, so they make fine upgrades. The lady knight also sports better magic attacks than the swordsman, meaning that a swordsman upgraded to sword warrior might be better than a base lady knight in attributes until you upgrade her, but the lady knight is the clear choice overall.

Credits: Ralsu from TenTonHammer

Spearman

2008-11-05T20:01:00.000+08:00

The spearman is a Rank D, or beginner level, melee fighter that instantly makes any squad stronger. The spearman's primary starting magic, Lightning Spear, deals physical damage and reduces the target's action points.

Official Description
Spearmen are melee mercenaries with great attack power who have mastered the art of the long spear.

They can strike two opponents at once with their spears, so you might consider a spearman if you want a strong offensive character.

They also have relatively high HP, but for a frontline fighter they have relatively mediocre defense.

Attack Type
The spearman attacks up to two enemies in the same column at once with his spear. His attacks are not as strong as those of the viking or swordsman, but the ability to hit two foes at once makes him a lethal fore.

Lightning Spear deals damage while reducing the action points of the target. This can cause the enemy to miss a turn if it is low enough on action points. Lightning Spear requires two turns before it can be used again.

Anther spearman spell is Deadly Strike, which allows the spearman to deal more damage as his HP gets lower. Players can find books to unlock these more advanced spells.

Attributes and Upgrades
Except for atrocious magic (MAG) and magic defense (MAG DEF) scores, all of the spearman's attributes fall somewhere in the middle among Rank D mercenaries. Players can upgrade him at level 20, 50, 80, and 100 with Ashen Jewels. As he progresses, the spearman develops the second highest defense (DEF) among his rank D peers, and the rest of his attributes keep him competitive with the viking and swordsman for spot in the squad.

The high DEF of the spearman means he can mitigate some of the physical blows dealt to him, but his poor MAG DEF and middle-range HP means that magic attacks will make short work of him.

Lightning Spear deals damage and reduces the target's action points.

Strategy
Spearmen are available as mercenaries from level one, and their Lightning Spear ability could make them useful into the mid levels. Spearmen start out with high enough DEF to earn a spot in the front row. Be careful to heal them as soon as possible when hit by magic because their low MAG DEF is their weakness.

Players will find the value of a spearman in his attacks, which hit two enemies in a column. Stacking Lightning Spear attacks on a boss can cause it to miss a turn while still doing damage.

In the beginner levels, two spearmen and a swordsman make a formidable front line. While one Lightning Spear attack might not make a foe miss its turn, two well-timed Lightning Spear attacks can do the trick. Two spearmen can chain Lightning Spear on alternating turns since the skill requires a cool down of two rounds.

As Rank C units become available, the player gains access beast trainers. Beast trainers are slower and not quite as strong, but they have slightly better DEF and MAG DEF. The big difference is the beast trainer's ability to summon a pack of animals to damage all foes. The decision between the spearman and beast trainer is a tough call to make.

Credits: Ralsu from TenTonHammer

Shaman

2008-11-05T19:57:00.000+08:00

The shaman is a Rank D, or beginner level, magic fighter that starts out extremely weak. The shaman's primary starting magic, Blessing of Life, heals the target allied unit in combat.

Official Description
These shamans were offered to the gods as children. Their HP and attack power are too low to be useful in a fight, but their exclusive healing spell, Blessing of Life, makes them invaluable as healers.

Protect her well and your other mercenaries won't have to worry about getting injured while fighting.

Attack Type
The shaman attacks with a blast of magic that acts as a ranged attack but that can not attack foes on the back row unless no enemies are in front of them. Her attacks are weak, and her staff is more useful for its boost to her intelligence.

Blessing of Life is a magic spell that heals the target allied unit. Blessing of Life requires two turns before it can be used again.

Other shaman spells include Brutal Will, which makes an allied unit go berserk and start attacking independently but at higher damage, and Noble Sacrifice, which kills the shaman to heal all allied units. Players can find books to unlock these more advanced spells.

Attributes and Upgrades
The shaman starts with the second highest magic defense (MAG DEF) and intelligence (INT) of all Rank D ranged fighters. Players can upgrade her at level 20, 50, 80, and 100 with Ashen Jewels. As she progresses, the shaman develops the second highest defense (DEF) among her rank D peers, but her vitality (VIT) is the worst. Only the monk and viking have lower dexterity (DEX).

The high MAG DEF of the shaman means she can survive magic blasts that would cause major harm to other units. Her terrible DEX means she won't be dodging many attacks, so it is vital to upgrade her for the extra DEF to compensate for her low HP.

The Blessing of Life spell can be used to heal a heavy hitter unit so that it can focus on attacking.

Strategy
Unless players choose an shaman as their main character, they won't be able to get them until level 10. Shamans should never be in the front row because of their poor DEX and low HP. Be careful to keep a unit in front of them so that they are not exposed to any melee attacks. Their high MAG DEF can help them survive magic attacks, but be prepared to heal them when they get hit by any kind of attack.

The real value of a shaman lies in her magic, as she allows hard hitting units to keep attacking instead of drinking healing potions in battle and losing a turn.

The number of shamans a squad should carry is a careful balancing act. Too few, and players won't be able to keep their units healty in battle. Too many and they squad doesn't kill fast enough, which results in taking more damage and needing all the heals the shamans can give. In the early going, one shaman should be enough.

As Rank C units become available, the player gains access to oracles. Oracles are better in every attribute compared to shamans, and they have magics that can heal groups of allied units An upgrading shaman will have higher survivability than a beginner level oracle, but the oracle will soon overtake her in every way.

Credits: Ralsu from TenTonHammer

Artilleryman

2008-11-05T19:55:00.000+08:00

The artilleryman is a Rank D, or beginner level, ranged fighter that can damage several enemies in one attack with his hand held cannon. The artilleryman's starting magic, Deep Insight, reveals the remaining health of enemies in battle, allowing players to develop better strategies.

Official Description
Filling the air with gunpowder, the artilleryman can hit any target, along with those enemies unfortunate enough to be standing adjacent to the artilleryman's quarry.

Their cannon has high accuracy but low attack power. Although they're long range mercenaries, they have high HP.

Attack Type
The artilleryman can hit as many as four targets in a T formation. That is, his cannon blasts hit the target, the enemy behind the target, and one enemy on each side of the target. The ability to damage multiple enemies at once makes up for the low attack power of the artilleryman's cannons.

Deep Insight is a magic spell that deals a normal attack and reveals the HP of the targets of the blast. This skill is useful for determining which unit should attack which target next and prevents wasting the attack of a unit that is stronger than needed. Deep Insight lasts for two turns and requires two turns of cool down.

Attributes and Upgrades
The artilleryman starts with the highest strength (STR), vitality (VIT), defense (DEF), and magic defense (MAG DEF) of all Rank D ranged fighters. Players can upgrade him at level 20, 50, 80, and 100 with Ashen Jewels. As he progresses, the artilleryman will continue to have the highest STR among his rank D ranged peers, but his weapons will do less damage than those of an archer.

The high VIT and MAG DEF of the artilleryman are important because his average DEX means he cannot dodge many attacks. Additionally, the growth curve for the artilleryman's DEF is slow, meaning the Hero Napolean unit has the lowest DEF of any Rank D unit--even the magical units.

Deep Insight performs a regular attack and reveals how much HP enemies have left.

Strategy
Unless players choose an artilleryman as their main character, they won't be able to get them very early. Before level 20, players should be able to place artillerymen in the second row and even leave them exposed without much concern. After level 20 upgrades, the monsters the player faces and the other units available make the artilleryman a defensive liability. At that point, he must be behind at least one other unit if not on the back row for his safety.

Though their attacks are weaker than other ranged units on individual targets, the artilleryman's ability to damage a whole row in one attack should not be dismissed. Players can open with the artilleryman's attack and then finish with melee characters, If the artilleryman falls behind in XP, players can just proceed in the reverse order, letting the artilleryman get several kills (and higher XP) in one shot.

Having an entire row of artillerymen is not a horrible idea when fighting multiple enemies at once. However, an archer is a better choice of ranged fighters for single tough targets, such as bosses.

As Rank C units become available, the player gains access to cannoneers. In the end, cannoneers are slightly better than artillerymen and can stun enemies, but players may find that an upgraded artilleryman still has use and that the Deep Insight skill has value in some fights.

Credits: Ralsu from TenTonHammer

Archer

2008-11-05T19:51:00.001+08:00

The archer is a Rank D, or beginner level, ranged fighter that can deal heavy damage to a single enemy. The archer's starting magic, Silence, prevents enemies from casting spells for a short time.

Official Description
With their eagle-like vision, archers can hit any given target in the enemy ranks.

They can only attack one opponent at a time, but they deliver serious damage from a long distance.

They're agile and have a high chance of dodging attacks, but they have relatively low HP and defense.

Attack Type
The can hit any one target on the battle field with her bow. The high damage rating of her weapons means she will be able to cause major harm to the target the player chooses.

Silence is a magic spell stops the target from casting spells for a short while. Thus, the player is forced to choose between dealing heavy damage in the hopes of killing the foe or casting Silence to prevent allied units from taking spell damage. Silence lasts two turns and requires three turns before it can be used again, so it is impossible to keep an enemy from casting spells with just one archer.

Attributes and Upgrades
The archer starts with the highest dexterity (DEX) and intelligence (INT) of all Rank D ranged fighters. Players can upgrade her at level 20, 50, 80, and 100 with Ashen Jewels. As she progresses, the archer will continue to have the highest DEX among her rank D ranged peers, but her powerful weapons will do more damage than those of an artilleryman or gunner.

The high DEX of the archer allow her to dodge many attacks. It is important that she dodge as many as possible because her defense is only better than the artilleryman's among Rank D units. Her VIT is the worst among non-magical Rank D units, meaning her HP are low, too.

The Silence spell prevents an enemy from casting spells for short time.

Strategy
Archers should never be in the front row because of their poor defense and low HP. Be careful to keep a unit in front of them so that they are not exposed to any melee attacks. Their high DEX can help them dodge less accurate ranged attacks, but be prepared to heal them when they get hit by any kind of attack.

The real value of an archer lies in her strong attacks, as she can often wipe out an enemy with lower defense in one attack. Also, her Silence spell can keep pesky enemy casters from hurting allied units.

Having more than one archer can pay off against single tough targets, such as bosses, but they are not the most efficient against multiple foes. Usually, one archer is plenty for a squad.

As Rank C units become available, the player gains access to prophets, a sort of ranged/caster hybrid. They are not exactly apples to apples, but prophets end up better in every attribute except DEX, and they have magics that can take some of the punch out of enemy magic as well. The archer's Silence spell is very versatile, but the tougher prophets make the better choice at higher levels.

Credits: Ralsu from TenTonHammer