Tell us about the changes to competition rankings. How will these impact players?

In the past, we've had complaints from players in higher divisions who would go up against opponents ten to twenty levels higher than them. Especially at these higher levels, gear tends to increase in power dramatically, resulting in fights that were perceived as unfair. These changes will help to limit the number of mismatched battles like this in Free League.

Can you talk about why changes were made to the health system for the Coliseum?

In its previous incarnation, certain formations, particularly archer-based snipe formations, were disproportionately powerful. By increasing character health and averaging out the number of attack characters are likely to make per move, we're hoping to even out the playing field for different strategies.

What new skills are available to character classes? Can you outline a few of the updates?

We've added two new skills to the game: Sundered Power Saw for the Prophet, and Tribal Signet for the Princess. These two mercenaries specialize in weapon-based debuffs, and until now they have been unable to affect power saw and instrument-using characters. These two skills fill that gap, allowing Prophets to debuff Maniacs and Punishers, and Princesses to debuff Musicians and Minstrels.

How has the fishing system changed?

The biggest change would have to be the addition of Shining Bait, which will allow players to fish Sunken Treasure containing various useful items. In addition, we've streamlined much of the fishing interface, making it easier to use.

What are your plans for Atlantica going into 2010?

Some of the features we will be presenting to our players include: new mercenaries, Realm vs. Realm Battles, and new Dungeons. In the near future we will be releasing the mercenaries Himiko and Valkyrie. We are looking to release about 4 new mercenaries this year, so stay tuned to find out which other mercenaries will be released. Coming this Spring, players will be able to expand their battle prowess by participating in a large scale Realm vs. Realm battle on our Titan server. Last but not least we are looking into creating some new Dungeons for our players to experience. As you can see we have a lot on our plate for 2010 and can't wait until we are able to share it with everyone.

What are the key elements to game play in Atlantica that sets it apart from other MMOs?

The main draw to our game has been our unique gameplay. While most MMOs give players to power to control only 1 character, our game gives players the ability to control up to 9 characters. This type of battle system is a new look at how players view MMOs and it is this fresh look at how we set ourselves apart from the rest.

How do you see players reacting to the end game content, what areas do you think can be improved?

Since we are always expanding the game, it's something of a misnomer to call it "end game content." As far as our high-level content goes, however, our players have requested more community-based activities, such as our various instanced dungeons.

Tell us how you are working with the community to improve on the game overall.

Currently, we have been working to be more transparent with our players, and raising visibility with our community. We have been receiving feedback and suggestions from our players that we are looking to address in the upcoming patches and fixes. We wish to continue working with our community, and are looking at more ways to communicate with our players. We are looking forward to this year will be looking at ways to efficiently address player concerns.