The first thing that you may realize is that, in this world, you play the role of a troop leader, in charge of a possible eight other mercenaries. But do not fret! You have plenty of time to decide your strategy, whatever the case.
There are eight possible weapon types to choose from when you first begin, they are:
- Sword - Only able to hit one enemy, but the sword also comes with a shield and heavy armor, and it possesses the highest defense of all of the other classes. The sword's main skill is Flame Sword. It can hit only one enemy of course, but it does tons of damage!
- Spear - Able to hit two enemies in a column, the spear is able to equip heavy armor, and the spear does huge amounts of damage. The spear's main skill is Lightning Spear. It can hit up to three enemies in a column, draining their Action Power! (Check below for information about AP)
- Axe - Able to hit three enemies in a row, the axe is one mean mamajama. The axe comes with heavy armor as well, but lacks in skill defense. The axe's main skill is Freezing Axe. It can put an entire row of enemies on ice, blocking them from movement for up to two turns.
- Gun - Able to hit three enemies in a column, the gun is the choice for many players who want to add a bit more stun to their gun. (Stun information is also located below.) Only able to equip light armor, defense is not your strong suit. The gun's main skill is called Wild Shot. It is almost like a basic attack, but does a lot more damage to all three enemies in a column.
- Bow - Able to hit only one enemy, the bow is the choice for many players who like to pinpoint damage to a certain enemy. While only equipping light armor, the bow does not specialize in defense, as much as it specializes in offense. The bows' main skill is called Silence. Having trouble because the enemy keeps casting magic on you? Well worry no more. Silence can take care of that for you, blocking any skills from being cast to all enemies in a row.
- Cannon - Able to hit up to five enemies in a cross formation (+), the cannon is a favorite among many stun builds. The cannon doesn't defend much against enemy attacks, with its Light Armor, but watch out when it casts its skill! The cannons' main skill is called Deep Insight. It does damage over time (DoT) and it can lower all enemies' defense!
- Staff - Only able to hit one enemy, the staff is definitely not the choice for melee damage. With the ability to only wear magic armor (Robes), its place is in the back of your formation, pummeling enemies from afar! The staff has an arsenal of skills to use, but its beginning skill is Blessing of Life. Healing all of your mercenaries across any row you choose. But if healing isn't your main concern, maybe Evanescent Scud might tickle your fancy. With its ability to hit all enemies with tremendous power, it is not a skill to be taken lightly!
- Instrument - Able to hit two enemies in a row, the instrument is a new addition to the line of weapons able to be used, to pummel your opponents. Crafted after the mystical "Bard", the musician can wield a guitar, and attack all enemies with it's oddly powerful "Ravaging Melody" All of musicians' skills are considered DoT's with status effects included! So if you enjoy watching your enemies crumble with the sounds of a rockin' guitar, this would be your choice!"
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Now that we have covered all of the weapon types, let's talk about the fundamentals of Atlantica Online.
First, let's talk about skills. Many of your skills (located in the bottom right of your battle screen) can be used with the "QWERT" keys. But whichever skill is closest to the Q key, you can right click to use it!
There are three types of skills as well: Passive, Offensive, and Defensive. Offensive skills you can use on enemies, Defensive Skills you use on your own team, and Passive... they just sit there and do what they do.
All skills can be leveled up to acquire even more damage, but you can only have as many skill levels in all of your combined skills as your total level. Example: Your character is level 52, you can have one skill level 28, and the other level 24.
That is pretty much everything about skills... You will find out which ones work for you as you play.
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Next, let's talk about battle effects:
There are many skills and such that can be used in battle to turn the tide.
There are: Stun, Damage Over Time, Negative Attribute, Action Point Drain, Skill Blockers and Movement Blockers.
There is even a skill that can keep the enemy from using abilities on certain mercenaries, called Holy Guard.
Out of all of the skills, each mercenary has their own arsenal. As I said earlier, the more you play, the more you will get a feel for which skills you like more.
Stun - If you hit an enemy at least once, in the course of three turns in a row, they become stunned. They do not gain AP, and they cannot move. The only way to break the combo is to use the monk's Awakening, not attack an enemy for one turn, or becoming stunned and waiting three turns for it to wear off.
Damage Over Time - Most damage over time skills come with extra effects such as -DEF, or it can come in Freezing axe and Silence. Having a DoT on your mercenaries is never a good thing, and the only thing that can dispel them is either using Holy Guard, a monk's skill, or waiting until it wears off. Different DoT's last for different amounts of time, but if you can dispel it early, then it would be advisable to do so.
All other effects - Freezing Axe, Silence etc. All do different things, but they can all be dispelled with Holy Guard.
Now that we have covered almost all of the skill basics, let's move on to moving your mercenaries:
Action Points (AP) - Ahh, action points, the lifeline of your mercenaries. Typically you cannot use a mercenary if they do not have at least 100 AP. But in some cases, like if you have only one mercenary left, you can use them with less. Each turn you regain some AP on all of your mercenaries, but you cannot use more than five mercenaries in one turn. Having said that, if you want to use a mercenary that was not selected at the start of the turn, you can guard a mercenary, and switch to a mercenary that has at least 100 AP.
And as I said before, if your mercenary is stunned, they cannot regain AP until they are un-stunned.
That is pretty much everything about battle that I can tell you for now. As you explore more of the world, you will realize that every situation can change drastically, depending on what you decide to do.
With a maximum level of 120, you have plenty of time to figure things out.
