Compared to the Hydra, the mount NDOORS Interactive introduced to Atlantica Online players last September that gave its owner an Attack Power boost of 340-440, a 140-point bonus to Strength and Dexterity, a 200-point increase in Vitality, and a cool 4,200-point hike in Defense, the APU ups the ante with the following stats:

APU: Minimum Level: 70, Attack Power: 350-450, Strength: +150, Dexterity: +150, Vitality: +210, Defense: 4500, Movement Speed Increase: +20 percent.

Powerful, yes, but the APU is so bulky that, personally, I’d have second thoughts about parading in a dungeon inside one. Just to give you an idea of how huge this monstrosity is, I took a screenshot of my character, Cooky, and her Armed Byzantine Elephant beside one:

Atlantica Online APU

Uncool.

If you still want to get one, though, hie off to the Atlantica Online item mall and grab the bauble called Machine Shrine’s Offering. This item mall box contains one of 18 item sets, including of course the APU.

I won’t go into much details of what these item sets are, as I have already detailed most in previous MMOtaku postings on Atlantica Online. Either view those or drop by the Atlantica Online homepage.

Of course, all items in Atlantica Online has a history, and the APU is no exception. Here’s a short background about the mount:

Machine Shrine’s Offering

As Da Vinci was rescued from the Goddess of the Machine Shrine, he emerged with a blueprint in hand. This blueprint detailed an ancient machine, created by an unknown race to battle the wild constructs of the Machine Shrine. Returned to his workshop, Da Vinci has recreated this powerful new weapon. He now offers you the APU, the latest mount to aid you in your quest for Atlantis.

Post from: MMOtaku

So for the past hour, I’ve been scanning the entire patch notes and have found a number of interesting changes. Of course, the most obvious and much-awaited change to Atlantica Online is the introduction of the Druid mercenary, which I featured yesterday. However, I failed to discuss the Druid’s skills and how you can recruit him into your team.

Atlantica Online introduces the latest mercenary: The Druid

Well, as Atlantica Online’s first A-Class mercenary, the Druid is armed with undoubtedly powerful magic, including Forest Prison, which conjures up tress to surround an enemy and prevent them from attacking your formation. Think of it as the Viking’s Freezing Axe or Ice-Ridge Axe but with an extra turn of stun for the main target.

What intrigues me more is the Druid’s two other skills: Beast’s Soul and Enraged Beast’s Soul. The first one is a buff skill that increases the attack power of mercenaries in your formation. The enraged form of the skill, on the other hand, is a combo magic skill that further increases attack power once the Spartan skill War Cry is cast on your team. The effect is you may not hit as much, but when you do hit, you hit hard.

To recruit the Druid into your Atlantica Online team, you need to start the recruitment quest by talking with Raging Wind, an NPC in the new map, Coyote’s Valley. Of course, there are restrictions, among which is the Level 100 requirement.

What makes recruiting and upgrading a Druid much more difficult is the fact that some of the quest items you need to complete the recruitment quest can only be obtained from the Coyote’s Valley dungeon, a new dungeon designed for Squads. Oh, yeah, the Squad System is also new. Under the system, you can form a squad composed of several parties to tackle a dungeon.

In the first squad dungeon, Coyote’s Valley, nine players (5+1 formation, meaning five mercenaries plus one main character each) are allowed to enter. These players must be at least Level 100, although the recommended level to complete the dungeon is 120.

To enter the dungeon, you need a Chief’s Ivory Horn, which can be obtained by exchanging items with the NPC Merchant Mercurius at the Rome Bazaar.

For more information about Squads and Squad Dungeons, check out the complete Atlantica Online patch notes for December 9th, 2009.

Another notable change in the rules of Atlantica Online is the one on formation restrictions. Prior to this patch, you can only have one of each type of C-Class mercenaries in your formation. Thanks to the new patch, you may now retain up to two Beast Trainers, Oracles and Janissaries in the same formation. Talk about power!

There are also changes to the three main characters. Swordsmen will receive less physical damage during competitions, while Spearmen’s attack power in competitions have been increased. The attack power of bow mains, meanwhile, have also been increased (as if bow mains don’t already deal too much damage).

Post from: MMOtaku

What makes the Druid’s entry to Atlantica Online exciting is the fact that he’s the only A-class mercenary, the highest classification for recruitable mercenaries in the game. To date, the best mercenaries a player can recruit in Atlantica Online are the B-class mercs: Spartan, Sailor and Elementalist.

Of course, Korea Atlantica Online got first dibs on the new Druid mercenary. Here’s a video of the Druid in action in the Free League:

Oh, and that lumbering hunk of virtual muscle and flesh isn’t the Druid. It’s actually his battle bear.

Atlantica Online Druid

At present, we’ve only seen one skill that the Atlantica Online Druid can use, Forest Prison, which ensnares a row of enemies with vines that drain AP. According to the teaser released by NDOORS on the official Atlantica Online site, the Druid can also buff a row to increase critical and multiple hit rates.

Hmmm, this makes me wonder how the Druid will work in conjunction with bonuses afforded by other Atlantica Online mercenaries like the Hwarang (increase ranged mercs’ attack power and combo rate), the Princess (auto heals ranged mercs and gives them bonuses to defense and accuracy) and the Prophet (auto heals melee mercs and gives them bonuses to attack power and accuracy).

The Druid will be introduced in the next patch for Atlantica Online. I’ll post the patch notes once they come out.

Post from: MMOtaku

In the blog, G1cannon has touched on a number of topics that may help Atlantica Online players better enjoy their experience in the game. I take special interest in his research on the recently introduced Jackpot License, which allows players to accumulate loot through the Item Obtaining Window for one day and eventually decide whether to acquire all the items or jackpot one particular item and get a larger quantity by sacrificing the other items.

In an example of how the Jackpot License can work for players, G1cannon showed images of the result of his “jackpoting” Giant Crystals, which are used to upgrade some mercenaries like the Beast Trainer, Exorcist and, recently, the Punisher. Here’s an excerpt from his posting:

The below (image of the accumulated items in the jackpot window) was achieved after a four-hour non-stop grinding in Gooznu World using two bewitched mobs 95 percent of the time in the second level of Goonzu (in the left downstairs area).

I also have data, thanks to BloodyProsty, that a very similar jackpot resulted in more than 35,000 crystals, so we understand that this was lucky to get a very high multiplier and the current one is either “normal” or low multiplier. (There is a hidden multiplier in jackpot).

The profit using today’s market prices I calculated is 617.13 million gold. So it’s very interesting. However, it’s not realistic to sell anywhere near this amount on the market at stable price, so taking half would be more realistic, around 300 million profit.

To give you a better idea, here are images of G1cannon’s before and after jackpot:

Atlantica Online: Giant Crystal Jackpot

Another point of interest is the Atlantica Online Item Analysis System, which gives players the opportunity to earn more crafting experience when they break down or dismantle an item. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with Atlantica Online and its features, let me explain.

In Atlantica Online, every time you dismantle equipment, you get crafting experience for that particular item. For example, if your Level 10 character breaks down a level 90 weapon, say a Dragon Heart Axe, he or she gets axe crafting experience, provided that the character has at least one level in that crafting category. You also get crafting materials from dismantling equipment, usually elements and element shards.

Under the Item Analysis System, you can analyze one item that your character can craft by using a Hammer. Doing this will bring up the Item Analysis Window that shows five cards with different multipliers. Of course, NDOORS Interactive, publisher of Atlantica Online, isn’t about to spoonfeed you with large bonuses. So muster up the courage to flip one of these five cards and suck it up if you don’t get a favorable multiplier. The lowest multiplier is x1 and the highest is x20.

Well, enough of my prattle. Hie off to G1cannon’s Atlantica Online Wisdom and help the guy build a good database on the game’s different systems by submitting screenshots of your own experiences with the Jackpot System, Item Analysis System and the Independent Mercenaries System.

Post from: MMOtaku

This time around NDOORS has unleashed the Hydra’s Wings through the box Iolaus’ Pride on the virtual world of Atlantica Online. Let’s go check out the bonuses afforded players who don these mighty decoration items:

Hydra’s Wings - Mininum Level: 70, Attack Power: 550-650, Vitality: + 100, Defense: 500

Three generations of Atlantica Online wings or decoration items: the Kitty Bag, the Hydra's Wings and the Infernal Lucifer's Wings

Last month, NDOORS released the equally powerful Argos Wings in Atlantica Online through the Relic of Pasiphae. I totally missed out on that one! The Argos Wings is almost as strong as the new set of wings, giving its bearer, who should be at least Level 70, 500-600 additional attack power, a 90-point boost to Vitality, and a 500-point increase in Defense.

The Hydra’s Wings may have only been released two days ago, but you can already see dozens of player characters who have them. In my guild, the Guardians of Atlantica Online’s Delphi server, there are two players, Demonic and Kentinguy, who are fortunate enough to get the wings from the random box that is Iolaus’ Pride. Actually, I consider Demonic luckier because he got the unique Invincible Hydra’s Wings instead of the run-of-the-mill Hydra’s Wings.

For those who don’t get these pair of wings on their first try, don’t fret, as Ioalus’ Pride drops not only Hydra’s Wings but also mounts, scrolls and jewels.

Here’s a rundown of the stuff you can get from opening Ioalus’ Pride:

• 1 Invincible Hydra’s Wings
• 1 Hydra’s Wings
• 1 Armed Mount Box containing armed versions of either the Byzantine Elephant, the Volcanic Raptor or the Snow Tiger
• 1 Ancient Skill Book Box containing either 10 Ancient Skill Books or 50 Jewels of your choice (whether Dragon, Giant, Redemption or Phoenix)
• 1 Ancient Skill Book (Merc. Only) Box containing either 10 Ancient Skill Books (Merc. Only) or 50 Jewels of your choice
• 1 Secret Vial of Amnesia Box containing either 1 Secret Vial of Amnesia or 50 Jewels of your choice
• 1 Scret Vial of Potential Box containing either 60 Secret Vial of Potential or 50 Jewels of your choice
• 1 Growth Vial Box with your choice of 100 Growth Vials or 50 of any of the various jewels

Actually there’s a lot more, but it’s soooo difficult to list them all down. If you must have the entire list, hie off to the official Atlantica Online website.

Post from: MMOtaku

Atlantica Online Dark Mercury Rider

So sad, especially for players who haven’t had the chance to own any of the items offered by these boxes. I for one have been craving to own a Cute Bunny Hat and Costume, and a Mercury Rider, but the chance of getting these at moderate in-game gold prices seem slim. Yes, inflation is taking a hold on the economy of several servers of Atlantica Online.

Why remove items from the Atlantica Online cash shop? NDOORS has given this explanation:

In an effort to wrap up the year, we will be discontinuing items in our Item Mall in order to make space for our new items.

This month, we will be taking down an item each week on Monday at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Also on Mondays we will be announcing which item will then be discontinued for the week.

I don’t get the logic of removing items that players still enjoy. I mean, a few weeks ago, NDOORS introduced via a patch the Costume Book, which allows players to store costume items and gain points from them that can, in turn, be used to trade for equipment boxes. Atlantica Online also has a mount book that works in a similar fashion. So by removing boxes that contain costumes and mounts, NDOORS is effectively limiting the number of costumes and mounts in circulation.

What gives?

Okay, I’m sure NDOORS has a plan. They are promising to put new items in the Item Mall that hopefully contain costumes and mounts. At the rate prices of these items are rising, only those players who can afford to purchase Gcoins, Atlantica Online’s Item Mall currency, will be able to afford filling up the Costume and Mount Books.

Post from: MMOtaku

For one, it’s one of the best holidays to launch events. I just wish that online game developers and publishers would come up with better gimmicks than simple bash-this-monster-and-get-this-item or open-this-box-and-get-a-random-item-that-is-totally-useless events. I mean, come on, guys! Fire up those neurons and produce something fun!

Like what, you ask? Okay, here’s an example. I’m currently playing Atlantica Online, and as part of the game’s Halloween events, publisher NDOORS Interactive asks players to purchase 13 candies from NPCs (which takes forever in game terms, by the way), craft them into a candy bag, and submit it to another NPC in exchange for a flying broom.

Here’s what the broom looks like on my Atlantica Online character:

Atlantica Online character on Halloween event flying broom

Cool, eh? Indeed, it’s a visual spectacle. But that’s as far as its use goes. It gives only minimal bonuses to stats, something like +5 to all attributes and a 10-percent boost to movement. So why not use it for some other event, like a race.

Guilds can be asked to field a representative to participate in a race around the virtual world of Atlantica Online on the clutter-free Titan Server, from Sapporo to Vancouver, with a game moderator at different check points. I know it’s a difficult undertaking, but it’s the kind of event that gets loins fired up and the spirit of camaraderie and friendly competition alive.

Heck, even the cities featured in Atlantica Online can be egged on to participate by providing trivia about them for players to answer before moving on with the race, or something like that.

See what a little imagination coupled with real-world smarts can come up with?

View from the front of an Atlantica Online character on a Halloween event flying broom

Post from: MMOtaku

For starters, all characters above level 20 and is logged on at 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time will receive a special gift. What this gift is, we still don’t know. It better be “special”!

Happy Birthday, Atlantica Online!

Well, if the gift doesn’t cut it, there’s always the 200-percent experience point bonus time for the entire first week of November. So break out those mercenaries you’ve been keeping in the merc rooms and put them to work on finishing quests that you’ve missed.

Still not enough to sate your hunger? Hmmm, maybe a mouthful of Delicious Chocolate Cakes and Fresh Strawberry Cakes will fill you up. On November 7th-8th and 21st-22nd, Atlantica Online will again be threatened by a monster invasion, and yes, it’s from these mobs that you’ll get your just desserts (pun intended!).

(Note to NDOORS: You may want to spice things up a little by adding a bit of background story to why these monsters are frequenting our cities and towns. It is, after all, an MMORPG. What happened to the “role-playing” element?)

If that is still insufficient, you’ll have the chance to prove your mettle against the game moderators in the already-monthly affair that is the GM Battles. The twist is, this time around, all players on a server gets five Fresh Strawberry Cakes when a player wins against a GM.

For the rest of the rewards, head on over to the Atlantica Online website. It’s almost 6 p.m. PDT and I’ve got to log in my character.

Post from: MMOtaku

As I write this, NDOORS Interactive, publisher of the hit strategy massively multiplayer online game, has just announced that the maintenance, which began at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on October 22nd, requires two more hours to complete. More waiting!

Fortunately for NDOORS, we Atlantica Online players are a patient bunch, but they shouldn’t push their luck. It is also good that they have already released the latest patch notes.

Frank Reade, the Punisher of Atlantica Online. Image courtesy of NDOORS Interactive.

The most notable new feature is the introduction of the Punisher, a saw-wielding mercenary. Yeah, now that Minstrel you recruited after the previous Atlantica Online patch can make use of her Seal Power Saw skill—that is, if your Nina Paganini can survive long enough to face The Punisher Frank Reade.

No, Frank Reade is not the Atlantica Online version of that other famous punisher Frank Castle but rather of the hero in a series of Steampunk novels. According to Wikipedia, the first of these novels, Frank Reade and His Steam Man of the Plains, was written by Harry Enton and serialized in the Frank Tousey juvenile magazine Boys of New York, February 28th through April 24th, 1876. The novels revolved around Frank Reade’s adventures with his inventions, various robot-like mechanisms powered by steam.

Check out the Punisher in action in this video of Atlantica Online Korea’s Titan League:

Bah, enough of the Punisher and the history lesson. Let’s go back to discussing what else is new with Atlantica Online’s latest patch.

Here are some of the good features I’m dying to check out:

Atlantica Diary. It’s basically a to-do style list of daily activities. Through the diary, you may check the latest news about Atlantica Onlien, some historical facts, and increase the daily limit for some activities like Free League participation bonus experience and equipment analysis.

Title System Improvement. No longer will you lose the effects of Title Buffs because of disconnection. The title will also remain active when transitioning from any of the six servers—Delphi, Macedon, Mycanae, Thebes, Argos, Sikyon—to Titan. If that isn’t enough, you may be interested in acquiring the four new titles that have been added to Calliope and Kleio’s lists.

Better Rewards For Active Fishers. Thanks to the new update, you may now get more bang out of every fishing point with the addition of Fragment of Divine, Phoenix’s Feather and Depraved Seed in the list of items you can exchange with Fishing Points. The downside is, they’re probably expensive.

As for the dreadful features of the new Atlantica Online patch:

Reduction in Free League Auto-Battle Rewards. The question is, “Why?” I know that NDOORS is pushing players to enjoy Free League by playing manual, but why put in an auto-battle feature if you’re going to treat it differently? Are auto-battle Free League players so inferior to those duking it out in manual? To be totally honest, I’d rather see a reduction in Battle Points and Fame rather than a blow to what one earns in ABFL.

Clothes Book. Hey, it’s a novel idea, that of allowing players to keep all costumes in a nifty book and earn Collection Points from them, but it’s driving the prices of Costumes and Hair Accessories up. Of course, this hike in prices in the two item mall items is pushing the prices of other stuff through the roof. Have you ever heard of the saying “The strong gets stronger and the weak gets weaker”?

Battle Point Cost of Pointry Items. All I can say is, “Ouch!” Warrior’s Sign for 100 points? Merc. Room License (7 days) for 1,000 points? Come on! I just bought 10 Merc. Room Licenses yesterday and it cost me 8,000 points, and now you’re telling me that I’ll have to dish out 10,000 Battle Points next time I want to open my mercenary rooms? You guys at NDOORS realize, of course, that this will drive the price of permanent Merc. Room Licenses up, right?

I guess what I’m trying to say with my rants against some features is the more you make it hard for some players to earn Atlantica Online gold, the harder it will be for them to play. The farther you push prices of item mall stuff like costumes and licenses, the fewer the players that can afford them, both through hard-earned real-world cash and in-game gold.

For a complete list of the changes, check out the Atlantica Online website for the patch notes.

Post from: MMOtaku

Although the odds are stacked against me in my bid to participate in the Atlantica Online Titan League, I’m willing to keep an open mind. It’s gonna take a lot of resources, the kind that can move mountains, to set up a mercenary build and arming characters just to get in the competition.

Let’s take a closer look at the factors that make or break an Atlantica Online player’s resolve in entering and coming out on top of the Titan League:

Atlantica Online Titan League competition

Build. In Atlantica Online’s unique player-versus-player system, a player has control over one main character and eight mercenaries, each with his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses. One key to staying in top form is by having a good build. The type of main character you have usually dictates which build to master. Staff mains usually go for the area-of-effect build, making heavy use of mercenaries that have AOE spells, such as the Beast Tamer with her Beast Summon Skill and the Witch with her Meteor Storm. Bow mains, on the other hand, are real fans of the snipe build, choosing to fight beside Dark Archers, Prophets and Hwarangs.

Level. In any massively multiplayer online role-playing games, the level of your character plays a critical role in ensuring victory in any situation, be it player-versus-environment or player-versus-player. Although character level is not the be-all-end-all solution to winning, it certainly gives you an upper hand in terms of hit points and other attributes. Of course, it also pays to maintain maximum might for your team with the use of Growth Vials and skill books.

Equipment. The effect of over-upgraded weapons and other equipment in the Free League is still highly debated, but its effect on player morale can’t be disputed. Seeing weapons with auras being wielded by the enemy makes you feel inferior when the best you can do is getting your equipment upgraded enough to emit only a weak glow. It has the opposite effect on the player who has the big guns, giving him a morale boost that may push him to perform better.

Character Skills. The higher the skill level, the higher the damage and the longer their effects last. To fight on a level playing field with the masters, you need to boost the skills of your main character and all eight mercenaries. Scrimping on skill books is a no-no if you want to win.

Strategy. Of course, all these—from build to level, from equipment to character skills—mean nothing if you don’t know how to use your team by maximizing the use of each character and exploiting the enemy’s weakness. What skill do you cast first? Which enemy mercenary do you take down at the soonest possible time? These are just some of the questions that race through a player’s mind when fighting in the Atlantica Online Free League.

Fast Hands and Keen Eyes. These go hand in hand with strategy. Knowing how to move accounts for nothing if you can’t move fast enough and if you’re not observant. Slow hands make you miss turns. Tired eyes make you miss important stun counters and spell effects. Remember that you only have a maximum of thirty seconds to act. Getting delayed for a few seconds may spell disaster for your quest for glory in Atlantica Online’s Titan League.

Well, there you have it, some of the elements that make a good Atlantica Online Free League player. If you have something to add, feel free to post a comment.

Many thanks to Atlantica Online Delphi Server’s Sazanality for the video.

Post from: MMOtaku