The game is set in an alternate history Earth, with the game map consisting of large parts of the northern hemisphere. The setting is fantasy-themed with elements of steampunk.
Gameplay
In addition to their battle skills, all players may pursue a number of different crafting abilities.
The game design puts strong emphasis on the concept of guilds. Guilds can control the various towns on the game map. Strong guilds can found nations and wage war on one another.
Battle in Atlantica Online is rather unusual for the genre as it is turn-based. Representations of hostile parties wander around the landscape; if a player touches such a representation, his/her party and the enemy party are transferred to a separate battlefield similar in fashion to battles in console role playing games and remain there until the battle is resolved. The battle system also features a time limit for a player to make their move, assuring that there won't be any type of player griefing during player vs player combat.
Currently there are no known IP blocking restrictions on the U.S. version of Atlantica Online, as it acts as the international server outside of its prospective distribution partners. This unrestricted access has resulted in international users from other geographical locations outside the Unites States to be able to play on the U.S. based servers.
Mercenaries
After beginning the game players can recruit up to 18 mercenaries to join them in their travels. Users can have up to 8 mercenaries fight alongside in battle, and shuffle their lineup as the situation calls for. Mercenaries, like your hero, advance in both level and rank as they get stronger. Currently there are 30 different mercenaries that fall under 4 different classes and styles.Melee Mercenary attacks your opponents at close range. Melee mercenaries have high HP and Defense, and average Action Power. Ranged Mercenary attacks your opponents from a distance. Ranged mercenaries generally have low HP and high Action Power. Magic Mercenary uses magic to attack opponents. Magic mercenaries typically rely on their spells, which are stronger than their basic abilities. Artillery Meercenary inflicts splash damage on your enemies. Due to Artillery Mercenaries' accuracy and wide range, they can be very effective at stunning your opponents.
Melee Range Magic Artillery D - Class Swordsman Archer Shaman Artilleryman
Spearman Gunner Monk
Viking
C - Class Beast Trainer Inventor Witch Cannoneer
Exorcist Janissary Princess
Lady Knight Hwarang Prophet
Punisher Minstrel Oracle
B - Class Spartan Empress Elementalist
Pirate Sheriff Vampire
A - Class Druid
Champion
Traditional battle
The game's traditional battle system is unusual for its genre in that it uses a turn-based system.When a player character and an enemy character come into contact with each other on the game map, both parties are transported into a miniature instance where the battle takes place. During battle other players's group and other monster groups may join in to a maximum of three groups on each side.
In battle, the characters of each party are positioned on a 3x3 grid. The positioning of each mercenary and the main character is determined by the player outside of battle. However, it is possible to modify the positioning by moving the characters around during his/her turn.
During a monster/player group's turn, up to five of the group members may perform an action.
Tactical Battle System
The Tactical Battle System (TBS) is the most recent evolution of Atlantica’s Turn-Based Combat and it gives players the ability to form squads with their friends and guild mates to fight in large scale battles with dozens of characters per side. A single side can have as many as nine players in a Trojan War battle, and up to four characters under each player’s control, In order to triumph players have to manage elements such as special units, weather, terrain, obstacles, fires, traps, NPC’s and more.Player versus player
The game features several kinds of PvP combat:- Challenge: Players can challenge anyone to a duel, but must wager at the minimum 100 gold. The winner will receive the prize.
- Free League: Organized leagues, scheduled throughout the day, with in-game coins called Atlantis coins/coin shards to be won. For this type of PvP, a ladder is present and Fame can be earned to increase one's Rank.
- Colosseum League: A modified version of Free League that limits the effectiveness of levels and gear to provide a different PvP experience.
- Weekly Championship: These are held 2 times on Saturday. Reward for first place is a 7 days duration Ghost Rider and 30 Platinum Atlantis Coins.
- Grand Championship: This tournament is held twice a week on Sunday and is a bridge between all the servers, where players are able to take part in the Grand Championship. First place for winning the Grand Championship is the Barbarian Lord's Black Tiger and 45 Platinum Atlantis Coins.
- War: Wars can be declared from one nation to another. Currently this is the only way to have PvP combat in greater scale than 1v1. The max however, is 3v3 per battle. During war pk battles, the normal bonus for other 3 methods of PvP does not apply. If a player loses a fight in the war, they will drop one of their equipment items.
Player versus environment
Mobs either roam around freely in designated areas of the world map or in dungeons. The majority of the dungeons are open dungeons accessible by all players of sufficient level. They are primarily used for completing the main quest line.The game also features several kinds of instanced and timed PvE dungeons. If successful, players receive rewards in addition to the loot they obtained.
- Independent: These can be completed solo or in up to a party of 3, and require a certain level to enter. Rewards include various equipment.
- Guild: These are completed with a member's guild. Difficulty varies depending on the dungeon. Completion rewards also vary and are directly sent to the guild leader.
- Nation: These are currently the most difficult dungeons to complete since difficulty of the mobs necessitates several parties of high level players, also requiring a lot of organization prior and coordination during the dungeon. Teams are often organized by level and assigned specific roles such as "heavy offense" or defense. Completion of these dungeons are announced to the entire server. Completion rewards are directly sent to the nation leader, and include rare and thus expensive items.
- Squad: These include the Coyote Valley and the Haunted Tatami dungeons. Rewards scale according to the number of monsters killed within a set period of time.
- Training Center: Training Centers are completed by guilds. They consist of dozens of timed rounds against progressively more difficult mobs. Based on their performance, guilds are rated and given Training Center points for completing Training Centers.
Setting
The world of Atlantica Online features real world locations mixed with mythological and fantasy elements. Countries like Germany and China are represented, with cities like Munich, Moscow, and Sapporo being featured as cities where one can visit. Though the locations on the map feature climates similar to their real world counterparts, the architecture is often a generic recreation of well known structure types, such as the cities in Eastern Europe and Japan. Rome also takes on a big role as a real world location, resembling the ancient city of Rome as is well known from its period of conquest as the Roman Empire. Any player above level 20 can instantly teleport to Rome with the necessary percentage of Will available. While in Rome players can check out the Bazaar, store items at a warehouse, and fight in PvP competitions held daily and weekly. There are also a few NPC's available only in Rome.The locations are based on real world locations, but are often geographically out of place and heavily altered for effect. Most of the civilizations represented are anachronistic—Rome is set in the Holy Roman Empire, while Great Britain is independent, the Ottoman Empire reigns in Turkey, Southeast Asia resembles ancient Indian kingdoms before Western colonization and Islamic influence, and North America is caught up in the Industrial Revolution.
On December 18, 2008, the North American continent was added, which features New York as a new explorable city and the United States and Mexico as explorable countries. These contain a few dungeons, but greatly expand the map in Atlantica. Developers have also mentioned the possibility of adding the continents of the Southern Hemisphere, excluding Antarctica.
Content Updates
Atlantica's publisher and developer, NDOORS Interactive, regularly releases new content updates. For the most part, the International servers have received updates approximately one to one-and-a-half months after the Korean servers. Additionally, while Korean servers receive many, smaller updates, NDOORS usually combines the updates into fewer, but larger releases for the International servers. Updates usually include adding new dungeons, quests, NPCs, skills, mercenaries, outfits, equipment, mounts, and community features while also adjusting the existing game experience such as improving PvP balance and the rate of obtaining experience points.Troy
Implemented on August 17th, 2010, Troy is a series of “missions” following the format of the Tactical Battle System (TBS), introduced in the same patch. In each mission, a group of six to nine players (each commanding between two and four characters) complete tasks given to them by the Greek champion Odysseus. Taken together, the 14 missions tell the tale of the rise and fall of Troy via the Trojan War. By completing these missions, players are able to recruit Odysseus as a mercenary and receive an upgrade at level 130, allowing them to advance beyond that level.My Home
On August 17th, Atlantica Online, along with their Troy update, introduced My Home. This unique function allows players to purchase a home from a variety of styles and colors. Once players become homeowners they can store mercenaries, increase their inventory space and gain experience for their mercenaries. Mercenaries can be hired to work as chefs and artisans in their households. These employees hold conversations, cook meals, and craft items at the player’s command. Players also have the option to throw parties for their friends and fellow guild members to receive buffs. In addition to these features the front yard can serve as a resource for gardening, mining, harvesting and lumbering.Game Developer's Conference 2009
At the Game Developers Conference 2009 on March 26, NDOORS announced several major content updates to arrive in 2009.Reception
Reception of Atlantica Online has been highly positive, receiving a number of awards in 2008. The game is acclaimed for its innovative turn-based battle system and its integration with community features. Danny Gourley of Ten Ton Hammerpraised its gameplay, stating "it requires gamers to think a little instead of just mashing buttons" . It has been selected as an official game for the Game and Game World Championship for two years in a row (2008, 2009).Other unique features that are often praised include its mercenary system, beginner/mentor system, and auto-move.
Ever since its release, it is consistently rated by members of various MMO website portals, such as GameOgre.com
, MMOsite.comand MMORPG.com, as one of the top MMO games. At MMORPG.com, it has been consistently rated as the best F2P/microtransaction MMO.
Awards
- "Best Fantasy MMORPG of 2009", MMOHut
