Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
RoyalScion
May 16, 2009


Atlantica Online is a F2P korean MMO formerly run by NDoors, but taken over by Nexon a few years back. It takes place in a crazy world in which you explore everything from the Taj Mahal to the desolate wasteland of America. A new update was recently released that introduced a new starting area, as well as two new main character classes, so now is one of the best times to join up and starting playing, whether you be a newgoon or a grizzled veteran.

Goons are present on the Sikyon server, as GoonSquad. You must apply to the guild through a guild office located in any town, GS is #234. Current officers are Ataran and Debacle.

PvE

As with most MMOs, the focus of Atlantica is the combat, in which you and your team of mercenaries exchange blows with enemy groups of monsters in a rapid-fire turn-based system. In addition to this system, a few years back a TBS system was added, similar to the gameplay of Fire Emblem or Advance Wars.

Your team is made up of a number of unique classes, which have different skills, stats, and weapons. However, many of them require quests to recruit, and are available at the following levels:

1 - Sword, Spear, Gunner, Archer, Shaman
18 - Monk
20 - Viking
30 - Artilleryman
44 - Beast Trainer
50 - Sheriff ($), Tarkan ($), Vampire ($), Taoist ($) (Cash shop mercenaries), Puppeteer
51 - Witch
57 - Exorcist
63 - Princess
70 - Prophet
76 - Oracle
84 - Inventor (You must have a level 10 Princess to complete this quest)
87 - Cannoneer
95 - Lady Knight
96 - Janissary
100 - Spartan, Elementalist, Minstrel, Druid, Empress, Pirate, Valkyrie, Warlord, Dark Archer (Archer upgrade), Northern Viking (Viking upgrade)
102 - Punisher
110 - Champion, General
112 - Hwarang
140 - Sorceress
145 - Gigas
150 - Patriot, Centaur Archer

Note that these are the quest levels, not necessarily the earliest level you can get them at, if you're willing to spend the cash. For example, you can get a Champion/Sorceress at 100 if you buy the summon orb off the market.

I recommend getting a shaman and a monk as soon as possible, but the rest can be filled in as you desire. A tough front line is advised, so swordsmen are a good choice as well.

However, your main character is undoubtedly the focus of your team; if it falls, the rest of your team crumbles as well. Any main character is useable in PvE, although I would recommend either staff or musician, as they are the least gear-dependent. The two new main classes, battlemage and swordmaster are generally more robust than the original classes (Atlantian vs. Descendant of Atlantis), and are also a good choice. One thing to consider is that the Atlantian starter areas are much more well-populated than the Descendant of Atlantis starting areas, and you level much faster in the former.

PvP

There are two main types of PvP in this game, Colosseum League, and Free League. The former equalizes all level and gear differences, although you are still affected by level-dependent mercenary recruitment. The latter is somewhat gear and level dependent, but that generally only means something at the highest levels of play.

Despite being a korean MMO, PvP is fairly competitive at the higher levels, and is decently profitable for all. You are assigned a division level based on your current main character level, as well as your current PvP performance.

Getting Started

You can download the game here. I suggest running the game in windowed mode; it causes less problems. If you're having performance problems, turn off shadows, they're extremely poorly coded and bog down my i7 920/HD7870. UNINSTALL PANDO MEDIA BOOSTER AFTER FINISHING THE INSTALL.

But, Nexon!

Yeah, Nexon is a pretty bad company. The main thing that happened from transitioning Ndoors to Nexon is that the latter is more willing to sell power, putting some extremely high-tier equipment in gamble boxes; don't let that dissuade you too much, it's not much of an issue until level 130+.

FAQ

I heard leveling was really slow after 95, has that changed?

It's still much slower than leveling before 95, but with the addition of TBS, it goes much more quickly.

Beginner Tips

Open commodity boxes you get from early mobs in order to get skill books and growth vials for your mercenaries.

Monks have a skill choice to make: Shield of Protection or Protect; the former is generally more useful for ranged/staff mains, while the latter is generally used on melee mains.

The most important upgrades are weapon and chest armor, so buy those two if you don't have sufficient cash to upgrade all equipment.

Long distance parties are great for exp early, ask in guild chat for one.

Auto-move is very useful, but be careful, as sometimes it can walk you into mobs. This isn't an issue in lower level areas, but will become one later.

Monk passive magic shouldn't be maxed early on, unless you like quaffing mana pots after every fight.

Melee mercs cannot hit flying units with normal attacks (you can still use spells on them), so make sure you have some ranged mercs in your formation.

General Mercenary Rundown

Swordsman: Your basic and best tank for quite some time, uses sword and shield; his lone magic spell, Flame Sword, is useful against mobs that have high def and/or are flying. Dark Seed? I don't know what Dark Seed is.

Spearman: Does more damage than the swordsman, and hits two in a column if they are adjacent. Lightning spear does damage and drains AP in a full column. However, not a great tank due to lower vit and lack of shield.

Shaman: Your first and only healer until around level 70; Hex of Darkness is terrible and shouldn't be leveled. Max blessing of life first, then brutal will. The former heals allies, while the latter increases attack, action power, and combo rate while decreasing defense, causing minor damage, and losing direct control of the character(s) affected.

Viking: Quasi-tank with low action power, and bad magic defense, but has good health and is your only axe merc until level 44. Freezing Ax lets you freeze enemies for two turns, preventing them from taking any action.

Monk: Caster which can shield allies from magic using Holy Guard, remove combo count from mercs using Awakening, and aids in keeping your main alive using either Protect or Shield of Protection.

Gunner: The first and only gun mercenary for quite some time. Wild Shot, their only spell, is semi-mediocre, so generally just give a good gun and go to town.

Archer: Largely useless for PvE, as bows are terrible for PvE and bosses become immune to silence later. Okay for PvP.

Artilleryman: The first cannon mercenary, generally useful for Deep Insight (full formation defense reduction, plus minor damage). Generally cannons aren't that useful in PvE in my opinion due to their low damage.

Beast Trainer: Axe mercenary with decent action power, and a full formation nuke that does medium damage. More durable than viking because of better magic defense, but less utility.

Sheriff: Excellent cash shop gun mercenary that has an extremely good passive spell. Other skills are mediocre and aren't worth leveling. All cash shop mercs cost 20-28b gold if bought off the market. That doesn't include upgrade crystals or skill books.

Vampire: Largely used in PvP, but is relatively unique in having a good column heal. Dusk Elegy is a column nuke that drains life and lowers magic defense. Also has a life-drain passive that applies to basic attacks, and allows it to do good damage despite using an instrument weapon.

Tarkan: Axe mercenary that is a solo wrecking ball; can break out of the effects of freezing and other CC, can self-berserk, and has a passive that causes hits to do additional cleave damage and lower defense.

Taoist: Spear mercenary used largely for PvP; important skills are vital seal, which lowers action power and seals attacks/magic, and the two passives, one of which increases individual damage and causes AP drain on attack, while the other increases attack and combo rate of all spear-type mercenaries in your party.

Witch: Staff mercenary useful mostly from 50-low 100s due to Meteor Storm, a full formation high-damage AoE. Also the only flying mercenary, but has terrible hit points, and Meteor Storm has a 4 turn recharge, so it's generally only useful against reinforcing enemy mobs.

Exorcist: PvP centric sword merc that has Speed Cast, which increases action power of friendly staff mercs, and mana seal, which seals magic of all staff enemies in a formation. Mana burn is largely mediocre, but is the only way for it to damage flying units. Has mediocre damage and tanking ability otherwise.

Princess: Arguably the worst mercenary in the game, can restore HP and give defense buff to ranged mercs passively, and has active spells that weaken enemy ranged units. Don't use this.

Prophet: Bow mercenary used largely for concentrate, which restores health and increases attack of melee mercs passively. Otherwise, has mediocre damage/durability, along with some minor spells that reduce damage of enemy melee mercs.

Oracle: Pretty much a better Shaman, and should be put into the formation ASAP in place of it.

Inventor: A mediocre gun mercenary; can summon rather useless machines, and also has low gun damage.

Cannoneer: I don't like cannon mercs, otherwise a stronger Artilleryman that has a full formation low damage spell that decreases accuracy.

Lady Knight: Pretty much a better swordsman, replaces Flame Sword with Light Slash, which hits two in a column rather than one.

Janissary: Excellent gun mercenary that pretty much exists to use Shooting Stance and blast things even harder.

Spartan: Spear and shield mercenary that has good tanking ability, along with high damage. Has passive that raises damage/accuracy/critical of all spear mercs in formation, as well as War Cry, which lowers enemy combo rate; invaluable against bosses.

Pirate: Dual sword mercenary that has highest single target damage in the game due to Toxic Sword passive which adds damage and causes action power drain poison. Other two spells are mediocre and not really worth using, although Crimson Blade should be invested in so it can hit flying units.

Elementalist: Staff mercenary whose spells are only usable against melee enemies (which is the majority of PvE); Blazing Earth deals large damage, while Freezing Atmosphere does damage, lowers accuracy, and seals magic.

Minstrel: Instrument mercenary that is mediocre. Ugh. Mediocre spells, mediocre damage; salvation is a column heal/magic cleanse that also removes friendly spells. Most mobs in PvE aren't guns/cannons, so most of the healing is wasted, and vampire heals columns more effectively in PvP.

Druid: Axe mercenary that is pretty much a better Viking in every way. Also gains Beast Soul, a row spell that increases damage, combo rate, accuracy and critical.

Empress: PvP centric merc that is a combination of Monk and Archer, has the magic shield of the former and the silence of the latter. Highest damage out of bow mercs, until next patch comes out.

Valkyrie: Sword mercenary that can raise action power of friendly mercs, seal enemy attacks, and has a passive that allows additional combo count to be applied in one attack. Excellent tank.

Warlord: Dual sword mercenary that can increase power of main character; mediocre otherwise, just use a pirate.

Dark Archer/Norther Viking: Upgraded versions of the base classes that pretty much have better stats and slightly upgraded spells. Otherwise play pretty much the same.

Punisher: Saw mercenary that has an awakening type spell, a generic AoE, and can seal instruments or something; Mediocre tank due to his bad magic defense.

Champion: Best tank in the game, and excellent debuffer against bosses. Uses swords/shields.

General: Hit things with spears all the time; has generic AoE, can lower damage of enemy ranged mercenaries, and has his own version of deadly strike (deadly strike sucks). Unbuffed has highest spear damage, but Spartan wins out overall due to his passive.

Hwarang: Bow mercenary that increases damage and combo rate of all ranged mercenaries in the formation; also can suicide to boost those even further.

Sorceress: A better witch; has passive that allows basic attacks to deal extra damage and seal magic, full formation AoE that lowers defense and damage, and a better version of meteor storm that combos with the aforementioned AoE that does massive damage. Also has a row spell that dispels all magic, friendly or enemy.

Gigas: Cannon merc that shoots things for all the damages. Has generic AoE, the only full formation heal skill, and a passive that increases damage/combo rate.

Puppeteer: Event-only mercenary that can change her turn into that of another mercenary, even if they don't have enough action power to act during the turn, and removes stun. Also can sacrifice allies to boost her own attack abilities.

Patriot: Shoot things with guns, has a row awakening + damage spread, and a formation atk/def buff. Also becomes super-saiyan below 50% health.

Centaur Archer: Shoot things with a bow for tons of damage, to sum it up briefly.


Links

http://www.atlantica-db.com/ Good database on mercenaries, items, pretty much anything. Also has details on upcoming content.
http://secretsofatlantica.wordpress.com/ Tips and guides on a number of TBS mission; no longer updated.
http://archatlantica.com/ Active site on TBS guides and PVP.

Other opinions on mercenaries below.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

RoyalScion
May 16, 2009
Mercenary Guide, v1 by Niton

Ratings:

- F: This is a bad unit. The only reason you'd use it in PvE is to level it for TBS or PvP.
- D: This is a subpar unit. You don't really want to be using it, but there are times or reasons why you might.
- C: This is an okay unit. There's no shame in using these units, but you really want to replace them with a B or A merc that fills their role.
- B: This is a good unit. It's not as necessary as A-rank mercs, but you won't be disappointed by using a B level merc all the way to the top.
- A: This is a unit that is very strong or the best at its role, and something that every player should have or at least seriously consider.
- S: This is a unit that is a Vampire. Because seriously, what the heck.

Swordsman: The basic tank. You can't actually progress in the game without recruiting one, but he's really pretty solid. Uses sword and shield, with one level ~100 exception if you're still using him. Is actually usable well into the 100s as a Descendant Staffmain or with a Shaman.

- Flame Sword is a decently powerful (if unexciting) single target nuke which deals Piercing (defense-ignoring) damage.
- Dark Seed is the foundation of the most devastating combo magic in the game, Hell Flame.
- Deadly Strike: nobody cares about Deadly Strike.

Rating: B

Spearman: Pretty bad damage-dealer melee. Spears are actually a great weapon type nowadays, but he's the worst tank of the 3 starter melee mercs, so his utility is very limited. By the time you can fit him into your roster without putting your back row at risk, better spear mercs like Spartan are easily available.

- Lightning Spear deals lightning damage to a column and reduces AP. It's not a bad skill, but its damage doesn't come anywhere near making up for the fact that you have a Spearman.
- Deadly Strike: Seriously, nobody cares about Deadly Strike.

Rating: D+

Gunner: The basic gun mercenary. Guns are really good, but Gunner isn't all that great. She effectively has no skills, and you can easily get to the level of the other Gun mercs without using her.

- Wild Shot does random damage in a column. It does piercing damage, but it's not very good.
- Deadly Shot: Nobody cares about Deadly Shot, either.

Rating: C+

Archer: The basic Bow mercenary. Bows generally aren't very good weapons when carried by non-mains, and she's fully replaced by one of the best mercenaries in the game at level 100. Dark Archer is interesting, but not much better.

- Silence.. silences. It also has a very small Attack/Defense debuff in PvE.
- Deadly Shot: Really.
- Multi Arrow is cross-shaped light AoE damage that adds a combo count. It's almost like you're using a cannon merc! DARK ARCHER ONLY

Rating: D

Shaman: The only direct healer you get until the mid-70s, the Shaman should be picked up at level 5 and only dropped once you have a better healer to replace her.

- Blessing of Life is Shaman's bread and butter skill, a line heal that turns into a Cross + resurrect heal in TBS. It scales badly with skill levels, though.
- Brutal Will is the first in a set of massive buffs which cause loss of control in exchange for stat boosts in PvE / PvP, but just provide a massive buff to Crit and Combo rate in TBS.
- Hex of Darkness is not a good magic when used by itself, but when cast on top of Dark Seed it creates Hell Flame, an extremely powerful combination magic. Only level if you have a Swordsman with Dark Seed.
- Noble Sacrifice is not really good. It kills your shaman and gives a large heal and defense boost to the rest of your team. A PvP-focused shaman might get this to 50, but it's not particularly exciting or useful. Also, Staff Main can learn this for some reason.

Rating: B+

Viking: Big, mostly naked, brick of HP. Takes way more magic damage than other frontliners, slightly less physical damage, and has a very powerful attack type compared to Swordsman. Becomes Northern Viking after a level 100 upgrade quest. First acquired at level 10 (Atlantis Main) or 20 (Descendant Main) through a Viking Summon Marble.

- Freezing Axe: a full-line CC effect with a slight Defense and Magic Defense debuff. Along with the Druid variant, it's one of the most powerful/important spells in the game for both PvE and PvP.
- Deadly Strike: STOP ASKING ME ABOUT DEADLY STRIKE.
- Ice Ridge Axe: A juiced up version of Freezing Axe with higher damage and larger debuffs. NORTHERN VIKING ONLY

Rating:B

Monk: The best D-rank merc by a country mile. Is largely replaced by Goddess, but she costs tens of billions of gold. Awakening and Holy Guard are near essential for PvP and have a lot of PvE application. First available at level 18.

- Awakening and all of its variants are the most important skills in the game, since they're used to reduce Stun Counters and clear the Stun (purple circle above head) status. You only need level 11 of this skill for PvE/PvP and 21 for TBS, because of maximum combo before stun, but levelling it offers a larger heal boost than Holy Guard.
- Holy Guard is a very strong skill, dispelling and preventing all magic (offensive and defensive) for 2 turns after being cast. It's a 1-point wonder, though, since the Dispel portion never changes. Lowers Defense by 2k in PvP.
- Protect heals your main for a static amount (twice the listed value) at the start of every turn and applies a constant Defense boost. It's also usually worse than Shield of Protection.
- Shield of Protection heals your main every time it's physically attacked. It only heals once per attacker, and the Defense boost is smaller, but it's far better against burst and incidental hits.

Rating: A-

Artilleryman: Has a good weapon type, although the type is way better on Gigas/CannonM. Artilleryman would be amazing if he was anything but a D-Grade merc. Unfortunately, he's a D-grade mercenary, so his stats are pretty awful. Despite that, he can still be solid thanks to weapon type + an amazing spell! First acquirable at level 30 (20-ish if you're an Atlantean).

- Deep Insight is a full formation light DoT with a huge -defense effect. It's actually really powerful, and if you're using an Artilleryman it never really falls out of use.
- Deadly Shot: Deadly Strike and Deadly Shot are abilities which drain your action power to minimum to inflict a larger hit when you're below 50% health. They're not good.

Rating: B-

Beast Trainer: Very tanky front line merc with great stats for C grade. Has no skills. ROARING ATTACK. She's worth picking up at 44 and using all the way to 100, where there are much better options, although she's amazing until then. First obtainable at level 44.

- Beast Summon claims to do things, but I don't think it actually does anything except take 15 seconds to animate. Probably the worst skill in the game.

Rating: B+

Witch: Staff mercenary with horrible stats and a gigantic gently caress-off nuke which is the basis of TBS for 50 levels. Flies, so she's immune to melee attacks in PvE and PvP, but not TBS. Possibly the worst mercenary in the game outside of TBS. First available at level 51.

- Mana Drain used to be good for PvP, but it's considered bad manner in ABFL. Decent if unexciting for PvE, since you'd rather be using your spell charges elsewhere. Really good against certain bosses.
- Mana Recharge is actually pretty good for longer fights, allowing you to recharge a unit's mana without using their AP/turn. But, aside from mana drain bosses, Witches aren't really good in protracted fights to begin with.
- Mana Trap: uhhhh...... it can dispel Seth's Will? Moving on, then.
- Meteor Storm is the bread and butter of Witch. When maxed, it'll end most encounters pre-95 when you cast it, and it's capable of one-shotting most TBS mobs up until Ali 115, as well.

Rating: A+ (TBS) / F (Other things)

Exorcist: The first of a cycle of PvP-centric mercenaries, the Exorcist is a sword mercenary that's all about buffing your own Staff mercenaries and debuffing enemy Staff users. His abilities are really solid, but he's hampered by lack of an offhand item and low-ish stats for a Sword mercenary. He's not recommended for PvE, but can be immensely powerful in PvP. First available at level 57.

- Mana Seal: The main reason to use Exorcist in PvP, Mana Seal is a Silence effect that targets all staff users. If you need to silence a third-row staff, Mana Seal is basically your only option.
- Mana Burn burns Mana. See also: Mana Drain, except you don't get mana back.
- Seal Staff reduces Staff attack power and deals decent damage. Only really exists to finish a cycle. Deals decent Piercing damage in PvP, but I don't know when you'd ever want to use it over Mana Seal's silence effect.
- Speed Cast heals all of your Staff mercenaries and gives them bonus AP at the start of every turn. The best reason to use Exorcist in PvE and very strong in PvP, it can make all the difference against AP drain effects.

Rating: A (PVP) / D- (Other things)

Princess: The second in the cycle of PvP mercs, the Princess is a staff-type mercenary that buffs and debuffs Ranged mercs. Usually horrible for PvE, because she's a staff merc with situational abilities. She's way better in PvP, though, especially when Cannon or Gun mercs are strong. When you cast any of her Signets on a target affected by Smoke Bomb, it will trigger the combination magic Bomb Attack! First available at level 63.

- Princess' Order is a passive defense boost, accuracy boost and heal for all of your ranged mercs. It's amazing in PvP, and surprisingly useful in PvE.
- Family Signet reduces the attack of enemy bows. It takes a huge chunk out of anything that's not a BowM, and affects them decently as well. Despite that, it's the second-worst of the Signets.
- Imperial Signet reduces the attack of enemy cannons. It's probably the most powerful of the Signets when it's good, because Cannons naturally do way less damage than the other weapon types.
- Royal Signet reduces the attack of enemy guns. Either this or Imperial are the best signet, depending on what the PvP meta looks like. Against Sheriff + Patriot in particular, this is very strong.
- Tribal Signet reduces the attack of enemy instruments. Because instrument attacks aren't the main draw of instrument mercs, this is Princess' worst skill, and the one it should ignore.

Rating: B+ (PVP) / F (Other things)

Prophet: The last merc in the cycle of PvP mercs, Prophet is a bow-type mercenary that buffs and debuffs melee mercs. She's way better in PvE than the other 2, but worse in PvP due to Elementalist being a better melee debuffer. Far more useful for melee mains who can take advantage of her passive. First available at level 70.

- Concentrate is a passive attack boost, accuracy boost and heal for all of your melee mercs. If you're a melee main, it's one of the best passives in the game, because the accuracy effectively removes your chance to miss.
- Shattered Sword: Reduces the attack of enemy swords. Also reduces the defense of enemy swords in PvP. Very good against Battle Sword and Pirate, and pretty good in PvE.
- Rusty Axe: Reduces the attack of enemy axes. Also reduces the defense of enemy axes in PvP. Very good against Tarkan and Druid, and probably the most useful of the debuffs in PvE.
- Broken Spear: Reduces the attack of enemy spears. Also reduces the defense of enemy spears in PvP. Good against Spear Main and Taoist, and decent in PvE.
- Sundered Power Saw: Reduces the attack of enemy power saws. Also reduces the defense of enemy power saws in PvP. Not very good. Would recommend skipping, even though Maniac and Puppeteer are good in PvP. Useless in PvE.

Rating: B+ (Melee Main) / C (Other mains)

Oracle: Shaman, but better. One of the few "purely better" classes in the game, and a mainstay even at 150. Game-defining in TBS. Trades the powerful Hell Flame combination magic for the less powerful Divine Slash combo magic with Lady Knight. Is actually worse in PvP than Shaman. First available at level 76.

- Healing is just a better Blessing of Life. It scales better though, and Vortex is less useful, so it's a higher priority to max out.
- Vortex is a better Hex of Darkness, with the caveat of being part of a different combo. It's not bad, but it's also not good, since you'll never really have the time to use it in TBS.
- Seth's Will is a better Brutal Will. It's a class-defining ability, and combined with powerful physical attackers, it's the main force behind TBS after level 115.

Rating: A+ (TBS) / C+ (Other things)

Inventor: A gun-type mercenary that hasn't been good in a very long time. His Summon Machine skill used to be incredibly powerful, but it's fallen by the wayside after continued nerfs and more use of Holy Guard. He is pretty tanky for a ranged merc, though. He only has one skill, Summon Machine, but the skill has a 3 of variants depending on your equipped Machine. First available at level 84.

- Summon Search Robot: It's a search robot! That takes time and a tiny bit of money to use. Not really worth it.
- Summon Catapult: A summoned, unattackable unit which attacks every few turns with an untargetable, cross-shaped attack.
- Summon Ballista: A summoned, unattackable unit which attacks every few turns with an untargetable, column-shaped attack. Deals higher damage than Summon Catapult.

Rating: D-

Cannoneer: A middle-tier mercenary which uses a cannon. Less exciting than Artilleryman with a worse debuff, but has better stats and the potential for the Bomb Attack combination magic. First recruitable at level 87.

- Smoke Bomb deals light damage and significantly reduces the accuracy of the enemy formation. It's not that exciting, but it used to see light play in PvP.

Rating: C-

Lady Knight: The Swordsman replacement. Has a worse variety of skills, although her one skill is very strong and triggers your combination magic, Divine Slash. The best tank outside of A-rank mercenaries. First available at level 95.

- Light Slash deals a large amount of semi-random piercing damage to the first target in a column, and around half that to the target behind it. When cast on top of Vortex, it instead casts Divine Slash, which deals around twice the damage Light Slash does if Vortex is at the proper level.

Rating: B+

Janissary: Strong gun merc which is arguably the best TBS ranged merc thanks to the power of Shooting Stance, though Gigas might change this. Not very good in PvP for the same reason, but somewhere between viable and ideal for TBS even at 150.

- Shooting Stance is a temporary self-buff that provides a huge boost to Attack and Accuracy. It's very strong, especially when combined with other force multipliers like Seth's Will.

Rating: A

Druid: The axe merc. If you're going to use an axe merc (and you really should), you'll use a druid. He's a souped up viking with an extra, amazing ability. A powerhouse in PVP and very powerful in both PvE and TBS. Is 80% bear by volume. First available at level 100.

- Forest Prison is the upgraded version of Freezing Axe. It trades the defense debuff for a large AP drain effect, making it more powerful than Freezing Axe in PvP and a force to be reckoned with in PvE.
- Beast's Soul is a high-powered buff spell that greatly increases the attack, critical chance, accuracy and multi-hit rate of affected units. It's most well known for stacking with Seth's Will, allowing you to spike even high-level PvE bosses with a row of units.

Rating: A+

Elementalist: A strange but very powerful staff mercenary. Only has 2 abilities, which can only target melee, but they're some of the most powerful abilities in the game. PvP all-star, but more than capable of holding her own in PvE. First available at level 100.

- Freezing Atmosphere is a debuff which lowers the defense and accuracy of all enemy melee units, as well as silencing them. It's her premier ability, and one of the few ways to silence a third-row unit. Even with the restriction in targets, it's incredibly powerful.
- Blazing Earth is a debuff which lowers the vitality and attack of all enemy melee units. It doesn't have an additional effect, but its cooldown is low and the effect is very powerful when cast on full HP units.

Rating: A-

Empress: A bow mercenary that's widely considered the most powerful, she's an enormous upgrade from the Archer with an additional ability that cements her usefulness. With her combination of Silence and Holy Guard, she's one of the most powerful mercenaries you can have in PvP. First available at level 100.

- Empress' Blessing is Holy Guard with a different name. Much like the Monk's, it's a very powerful ability that you'll want to have some form of. Reduces defense by 1,200 in PvP.
- Empress' Curse is an improved Silence. It has a cooldown and duration of 3 turns, so you can layer the silence effect on a row if you need to.

Rating: A+ (PVP) / B (PvE)

Minstrel: The first instrument mercenary. Pales in comparison to Vampire, but so does everything else. Is additionally hampered by being the only healer that can't resurrect in TBS. Actually a pretty solid unit if you can't afford a Vampire, but Vampire is way better if she's in your price range. First available at level 100.

- Salvation is a column heal with a wide heal range. It also removes all buffs and debuffs from the affected characters. It's occasionally amazing and usually at least okay, though Maniac particularly doesn't get along well with it.
- Hallucination is a single-target stun with a heavy dot component that can target the first two rows. If you don't need her healing, you can apply pressure by stunning a priority target.
- Seal Power Saw is an enormous attack and magic defense debuff with a silence component, but it only targets Power Saws. It's a very strong counter to Rin and neuters the effectiveness of Maniac pretty badly, but is useless in PvE.

Rating: C+

Pirate: A sword-type mercenary with the highest damage potential of all mercenaries, because she equips a sword in each hand! Her Toxic Sword skill is very powerful as well. Being sword-type, she can be limited at times, but she's one of the best Sword mercenaries. Very squishy and shouldn't be on the front lines. First available at level 100.

- Toxic Sword is a decent sized nuke and AP reduction. It's her premier skill, because it increases her already high burst damage even further.
- Marauder's Edge boosts the attack and multi-hit rate of all sword mercs in your formation. It's good even if Pirate is your only Sword merc.
- Crimson Blade is a column nuke with an interesting property - you can center it on the first or second unit in the column, dealing max damage to them and reduced damage to the other targets. Combined with Weapon Rend, this can do a surprising amount of damage in Free League, and it's absolutely devastating in Coliseum League. Can be cast twice on the same turn if you have the AP / cooldowns.
- Blood Vengeance is a skill that damages one of your mercs at random to inflict damage on an enemy merc. It's not very good because of its double-edged properties, and Crimson Blade should be used in its place.

Rating: A-

Spartan: A really tanky spear-type mercenary who uses the unique weapon combination of Spear + Shield. Surprisingly powerful, but very expensive to skill up for a B-Rank mercenary thanks to the limited availability of Sparta! books. First available at level 100.

- War Cry is a debuff that massively reduces enemy multi-hit rate. In PvP, it's a very powerful effect, but it's fallen to the wayside in recent times because Spartan isn't as strong as he once was. When cast on Beast's Soul, it turns it into Enraged Beast's Soul, which is a stronger version of Beast's Soul. So don't do that.
- Sparta is an aura that increases the attack, accuracy and critical chance of all spear mercenaries in your formation. Like Marauder's Edge, it's powerful even if the Spartan is your only spear.

Rating: B+

Valkyrie: One of the Big Two sword mercenaries, along with Champion. She's pretty tanky with a good set of abilities, and she has the highest base AP gains in the game. She's nowhere near as tanky as most people think, though, and she's replacable in both PvE and PvP formations because of her weapon type. First available at level 100.

- Quickening increases AP gain for units in a cross shape, and increases Speed in TBS. Actually very powerful in PvP, but her weakest PvE skill. Lasts for a really long time at max rank.
- Odin's Chain deals damage in a column and seals enemy units, preventing them from using physical attacks for the duration. It doesn't last that long, but it's an incredibly powerful effect for removing pressure. It even deals good damage!
- Valhalla's Sword is a proc that deals decent damage and instantly adds Combo 3 / Stun to the target. It's very powerful, and even though it's unreliable, it makes attacking with Valkyrie much better than with most other sword mercs.

Rating: A-

Punisher is the basic Power Saw type mercenary. He's capable of a lot of damage and has Awakening, but his low defenses keep him from being all that useful. First available at level 102.

- Sacrificial Awakening is just Awakening, except a Power Saw class has it. The most interesting thing about it is that Maniac can obtain it at level 120, which is a pretty big pickup for a main character. Like Awakening, it only needs to be 21 for the maximum useful effect.
- Power Saw Raid is a full-formation light AoE. It's okay, and you'll have the points to spare to get it, but it's nothing exciting and requires you not using other spells for a few turns.
- Broken Arrows is a debuff that reduces the vitality and attack of enemy bow-type units and seals their magic. It's good against Empress, but not particularly great overall.

Rating: C-

Champion: Better known as Odysseus or Ody, Champion is the strongest tank in the game. His power comes from his set of support abilities, so the fact that he's a Sword mercenary actually helps him rather than hurts him. First available at level 110.

- Weapon Rend is a cross-shaped debuff that reduces enemies' accuracy, multi-hit, and crit rates. It also increases the damage of all sword magic on affected targets by 35%. Probably the most powerful debuff in the game, because it works on everything and has a huge effect.
- Shield Bash is a single-target stun which inflicts a large amount of piercing damage, as well as massively lowering the target's defense. The defense debuff and damage work on bosses, but you won't get the stun. Very strong in PvP, both for the damage and the stun.
- Athena's Protection is a passive aura which heals and significantly increases the defense of Sword type mercenaries. Like most other auras of its type, it's good even with just the one merc.

Rating: A

General: Also known as Guan Yu, Champion is a spear mercenary with a powerful anti-ranged ability. He's fallen out of favor because he doesn't do anything particularly well, which is bad for a mercenary with his kind of price tag. Has great defensive stats, but due to a lack of shield he's actually squishier than Spartan. First available at level 110.

- Green Dragon's Rage is Guan Yu's defining skill, reducing the Vitality and attack of all enemy ranged mercenaries while applying a decently powerful DoT effect. If you're using Guan Yu, you're using him for this.
- Green Dragon Glaive is a decently powerful full-formation AoE. You'll generally prefer Green Dragon's Rage, but this can be very strong in Free League to push 2 mercs over the edge at once.
- Green Dragon Strike is an interesting skill which deals incredible damage at an enormous AP cost when Guan Yu is below 50%. In combination with Puppeteer, this can be very strong, but it's usually not very good because of its crazy AP cost. It's good when you know he's about to die, though.

Rating: B-

Hwarang is a bow-type mercenary with very high spike damage potential and an interesting anti-Vampire trick. He also has the highest recruit level of all mercenaries, at 112! First available at level 112.

- Hwarang's Aura greatly increases the attack and multi-hit rate of ranged mercenaries in your formation. It's a very strong ability because so many commonly used mercenaries are ranged.
- Hwarang's Fury allows the Hwarang to sacrifice himself to give a huge boost to Attack to the rest of your formation. Since it costs an action (and a Hwarang), it's not very good, but it does affect melee and magic units.
- Seal Instrument is a very powerful ability against Instrument mercenaries. Not only does it seal their magic, but it also heavily drains their AP, lowers their attack, and deals a decent amount of damage! If you're trying to spike down a Vampire, this is the ability that will let you do that.

Rating: B-

:10bux: :siren: Super Expensive Mercenary Zone :siren: :10bux:

Everything in this section costs tens of billions of gold (or its equivalent in NX) to get up and running. Most of them are worth it, but a couple aren't.

COMING SOON BECAUSE HOLY gently caress THAT TOOK A LONG TIME.

Big_D
Feb 10, 2009
To see such wonders as otters with blades on their backs, camels that shoot cannonballs from their humps, and Henry Ford's robot factory, just:

1) Download the client
2) Create an account/character
3) Post your character's name in this thread
4) Go to any town, and sign up for the guild through the Guild Office button--we're GoonSquad (#233).
5) Wait. The process is a little clunky, and requires both an officer (we're only allowed 2, and both are usually on in the evenings) and the recruit to be logged in at the same time. Also, your guild request is lost when you log out--just sign up again when you log back in, and we'll get you in soon enough.
6) Profit. Seriously. We shower new goons with gold. Unless they're spies, of course.

enahs
Jan 1, 2010

Grow up.
I'm giving this another shot as Sielen. Hopefully they added more stuff to do after 100 that didn't require paying tons of real life money.

DemonTrigger
May 30, 2011

I'M MAKIN' IT GP RAIN

This new event is completely bonkers by the way. Between everyone recieving free Dark Pegasus stuff just for being logged in, to the event chests which, for me at Level 125, drop Supreme Evil Boxes at a decent rate, as well as other nice goodies. And not to mention the 200% EXP/Attack/Defense/Workload, plus the experience pinata Acongs right outside of our town.

Big_D
Feb 10, 2009
The July 4th event, for the first time in a few years, does not involve TBS AT Fields or invasions.

Instead, it's a walk in the park. Well, a park overrun by monsters that adjust to your level. Normal-type fights, not skirmish; it's a bit like Goonzu.

If you missed out on all of the ambrosia and waters of life from the earlier events, now's your chance to stock up, as both drop plentifully. The primary drop, however, is a new type of redeemable ticket that can buy you all kinds of goodies, including a new tank mount that's even better than the Atlantis Mars Bike that they gave away for free a few months ago (the tank can also be upgraded to a rare mount by using an IM-only gamble box). The basic tank cannot be traded, but the rare version can, and it's currently going for 60B-70B gold for any IMers out there fond of gambling. You can also easily obtain a Patriot merc for the first time since his introduction event last year.

Alas, there is no loitering or camping allowed in the park; if you log in for an hour a day, you earn a ticket that lets you into the park for an hour.

Also, the next Atlantica Day is 7/6; bonus everything, Atlantica Day coupons, etc.

Oh, and finally, there was an inter-server competition recently; our server won, which gave us a nice buff for a week. It also gave all characters (above 80?) 3 free keys to the Honey Jar dungeon, so you can potentially run it up to 9 times.

pixaal
Jan 8, 2004

All ice cream is now for all beings, no matter how many legs.


Big_D posted:

The July 4th event, for the first time in a few years, does not involve TBS AT Fields or invasions.

Instead, it's a walk in the park. Well, a park overrun by monsters that adjust to your level. Normal-type fights, not skirmish; it's a bit like Goonzu.

If you missed out on all of the ambrosia and waters of life from the earlier events, now's your chance to stock up, as both drop plentifully. The primary drop, however, is a new type of redeemable ticket that can buy you all kinds of goodies, including a new tank mount that's even better than the Atlantis Mars Bike that they gave away for free a few months ago (the tank can also be upgraded to a rare mount by using an IM-only gamble box). The basic tank cannot be traded, but the rare version can, and it's currently going for 60B-70B gold for any IMers out there fond of gambling. You can also easily obtain a Patriot merc for the first time since his introduction event last year.

Alas, there is no loitering or camping allowed in the park; if you log in for an hour a day, you earn a ticket that lets you into the park for an hour.

Also, the next Atlantica Day is 7/6; bonus everything, Atlantica Day coupons, etc.

Oh, and finally, there was an inter-server competition recently; our server won, which gave us a nice buff for a week. It also gave all characters (above 80?) 3 free keys to the Honey Jar dungeon, so you can potentially run it up to 9 times.

I might have to take a break from working on my project to come and play again. Free mercs are always nice.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
How many coupons are people seeing from an average daily session in the park?

Edit:

Oh my, that tank is awesome!

Atm it looks like you get tons more flyers the higher level you are, at least according to the thread I'm reading on the AO forum but jfc, the whiners in there. This looks like one of the best events they've ever done and there are still people complaining about it.

Anyone between 80-100ish had a go yet?

Fazana fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Jul 6, 2013

DangerDan
May 31, 2011

FULTON: The Freshmaker
The only complaint I'd have about the event so far is that the mobs hit kind of hard if you don't go after the Militia specifically. That and they tend to camp the entrance so you can immediately get jumped by three groups after you load in.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Atlas Ore at 58m per, jfc... $10 = 5.8b gold, madness!

Farting around on a level 36 cannon this morning that has the Attila from the barely promoted event a few weeks ago. From what I've read at least that was promoted a little, the Vampire event when completely unremarked upon on the MMORPG site :v:

Wonder if I can level it up in time to get the Patriot + Tank... Challenge accepted!

Would Goonsquad take me in? I left last time on my old character because I thought I wanted to do raiding etc but I was wrong >.< This time I'll just be a casual PVE-er sharing time between this and Eve. CannonM + Tarkan + Patriot if I can manage it would be a nice solid start to a form! Charname is SnowJoke.

Edit: VVV Ouch >.<

Fazana fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Jul 6, 2013

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

Fazana posted:

Anyone between 80-100ish had a go yet?

I am level 96 and I got the poo poo kicked out of me, because apparently it's a Shadow Dungeon and that fact isn't mentioned anywhere on the website.

Cheap Trick fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Jul 6, 2013

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

Okay, after some research and a run which I just finished and netted me 110 Freedom Flyers, lower-levelled or crappily-geared players like me will need the following:

1 x Perimeter License
12 x Bewitching License
Some Water of Life (you may get some in the Atlantica Day boxes)

Go into System -> Settings -> Graphics, change "Normal Avatars" to "Use Simplified Character" and "Battling Avatars" to "Omit Character Output". This will cut down on lag significantly.

When you zone into the dungeon, head straight to the north-east corner and once you're there, pop 2 of the Bewitching Licenses (remembering that they each last 10 minutes) and the Perimeter License.

Engage any mob that isn't called Scary Power Saw Mister, Scary Power Saw Lady, or The Ultimate Jerk. They are bosses and may wreck your poo poo.

Every 10 minute you'll get a warning that your party has been disbanded; that's your cue to use 2 more Bewitching Licenses.

You'll be drowning in Ambrosia before long so you might as well use one after every fight. The Water of Life is because you may lose multiple mercs, especially if enemy reinforcements break through the Perimeter License.

Edit: Also before heading in, make sure you have at least 3 Jackpot slots empty for boxes and Enchant Stones you'll pick up during your run.

Cheap Trick fucked around with this message at 13:43 on Jul 6, 2013

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
If you are in an LDP today you get double XP, yes DOUBLE. Do eeeeet!

Edit: To clarify, I don't mean you get double the bonus once the fight has finished, you get double xp for the actual fighting.

Applied on "Snowjoke" Crashed at one point and forgot that removes the application >.<

Fazana fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Jul 6, 2013

Pukefist
Feb 2, 2011
Applied as Buttertroll. Clickin dem munstas.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Oh my, hadn't looked up how much Attila books are until last night. 450m at I skill :suicide: I presume they are cash shop only if being sold at that looney price?

I bought just one Unstoppable book as I've heard that's enough for Attila to be trap immune in TBS. At least Tarkan's Will is at 60 for burst damage against everything \o/

Just got into the 70s and really enjoying it again. I've used auto-distro xp since the mid 30s and it's done a great job of keeping everyone bunched. My core team of 6 have 5 within half a level of each other including my CannonM and Attila is lagging behind by about 5 levels and gradually getting further behind due to the xp penalty. Without that autodistro option the main would have been in the 80s with everyone else in the 40s/50s or so from the nutso weekend bonuses :v:

Edit:

Got to 75 but Maph1 is impossible for a CannonM to do the squad version at this level, you move waaay too slowly which leaves the witch as the only damage source out front, as soon as you get mobs too quickly for each recharge of meteor it's game over! I failed twice before giving up and running it in wuss solo mode and pocketing the much more meagre xp.

Fazana fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jul 8, 2013

RoyalScion
May 16, 2009

Fazana posted:

Oh my, hadn't looked up how much Attila books are until last night. 450m at I skill :suicide: I presume they are cash shop only if being sold at that looney price?

I bought just one Unstoppable book as I've heard that's enough for Attila to be trap immune in TBS. At least Tarkan's Will is at 60 for burst damage against everything \o/

Just got into the 70s and really enjoying it again. I've used auto-distro xp since the mid 30s and it's done a great job of keeping everyone bunched. My core team of 6 have 5 within half a level of each other including my CannonM and Attila is lagging behind by about 5 levels and gradually getting further behind due to the xp penalty. Without that autodistro option the main would have been in the 80s with everyone else in the 40s/50s or so from the nutso weekend bonuses :v:

Edit:

Got to 75 but Maph1 is impossible for a CannonM to do the squad version at this level, you move waaay too slowly which leaves the witch as the only damage source out front, as soon as you get mobs too quickly for each recharge of meteor it's game over! I failed twice before giving up and running it in wuss solo mode and pocketing the much more meagre xp.

Bunch of merc books are cash-shop/IM only, besides atlas: Rin, Warlord, Sheriff/Vampire/Attila/Jeon. Finally back from interviews, so back to afkgrinding. Also can you promote me already Ataran? Unless you don't want guild points from crafting...

RoyalScion fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Jul 9, 2013

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

Fazana posted:

Just got into the 70s and really enjoying it again. I've used auto-distro xp since the mid 30s and it's done a great job of keeping everyone bunched. My core team of 6 have 5 within half a level of each other including my CannonM and Attila is lagging behind by about 5 levels and gradually getting further behind due to the xp penalty. Without that autodistro option the main would have been in the 80s with everyone else in the 40s/50s or so from the nutso weekend bonuses :v:

XP auto-distro is a godsend, gently caress babysitting lower-level units to make sure they get the last hit.

I got enough flyers for a Tank and cubed it into the rare mount. :getin:

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Nice one on the tank upgrade!

If you can afford it then run, don't walk, RUN to buy a 30 day Mino Statue if you have a house to stick it in. It procs like crazy in skirmishes and will easily pay for itself with increased killing time and xp gain etc!

Someone in the nation said if you wait until Thursday or Friday night they are much cheaper as people have gone raiding and stocked up on them.

Edit : Thank you for the Atlas for skills tip btw, I had totally forgotten about that and could have saved 300m on that skill if I had known. 450m book or 2x60m atlas, doh :v:

Fazana fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Jul 9, 2013

Dark_Tzitzimine
Oct 9, 2012

by R. Guyovich
I don't know if you could help me guys.

I recently bought a 10 bucks prepaid card for this, but since I'm in Mexico I only found GoCash cards (I believe that for you guys it would be the Ultimate Game Card)available. But when I try to reedem it on Nexon's website it tells me that the nip isn't correct.

I've tried the support link that the system gives but it ask me to register and always that I try, it show a system error message and lock me out. So any ideas about waht I could do or am I screwed?

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
New event search robot, look into his eyes and feel his anger! Or something. Apparently you can have both this and the standard license lootbot up at the same time.



Edit: For the chap above, sorry no idea, hopefully one of the US players can help.

Aegy
Jun 2, 2006
Resident Lurker
Man, this is such a good game. I may stop by sometime soon again.

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

Fazana posted:

New event search robot, look into his eyes and feel his anger! Or something. Apparently you can have both this and the standard license lootbot up at the same time.



I though that search bot comes from the login bonus. How come you have one when five days haven't elapsed yet?

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor

Cheap Trick posted:

I though that search bot comes from the login bonus. How come you have one when five days haven't elapsed yet?

Picture is from the Korean version I believe.

Got my Patriot but holy moly they were not kidding on how just plain unfriendly Freedom Park is to lower levels. There were times when I was stuck in a loop where I didn't even have time to open the inventory screen and hit WOL etc to res dead mercs before the moronic bewitching AI had plunged the two so called helper groups into a fresh battle.

Once at least five of my team are 100+ and kitted out in the set of freezing gear I have waiting for them I'll go in again as I want both the mount and deco but also ALL the books, just 1140 or so flyers to go. At 27 more days that's less than 50 a day, np right? :v:

RoyalScion
May 16, 2009

Fazana posted:

Picture is from the Korean version I believe.

Got my Patriot but holy moly they were not kidding on how just plain unfriendly Freedom Park is to lower levels. There were times when I was stuck in a loop where I didn't even have time to open the inventory screen and hit WOL etc to res dead mercs before the moronic bewitching AI had plunged the two so called helper groups into a fresh battle.

Once at least five of my team are 100+ and kitted out in the set of freezing gear I have waiting for them I'll go in again as I want both the mount and deco but also ALL the books, just 1140 or so flyers to go. At 27 more days that's less than 50 a day, np right? :v:

Well, at least you get 6 per day for free.

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

I won't say that the method I posted earlier is fool-proof - mobs can still break through Perimeter License, and today I suffered at least 2 TPKs - but I'm consistently getting about 100 flyers per day.

Some people in my pubbie nation claim that's chump change, but then they're high level and geared to the teeth with Phoenix Dragon God Super Champion gear. The best I have is one piece of +3 Conqueror.

As far as I know, :911: FREEDOM PARK :911: Tickets don't have a cooldown, unlike Honey Jar Keys, so one possible strategy is to bank them away and then use them on weekends when there's bonus XP.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Yeah I did 2 in a row yesterday to get the last I needed for the Patriot. Corn was selling enchant scrolls for 20m today so I've stocked up on a few for when I crack on with it properly.

Patriot is up to 96 and is pretty good already, post 100 with an officer shotty and he should be really nice. Add to that a ton more passive buff books and boom!

Fazana fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Jul 13, 2013

Largepotato
Jan 18, 2007

Spurd.
I love Nexon support.

Took them 6 weeks to respond and just ask for more info. I updated ticket the next day and still waiting for a response 4 weeks later.

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

Fazana posted:

Patriot is up to 96 and is pretty good already, post 100 with an officer shotty and he should be really nice. Add to that a ton more passive buff books and boom!

I'd like to get Patriot but I don't know what I'd have him replace.

My current line-up is:
Viking - Lady Knight - Tarkan
Artilleryman - Sheriff - Vampire
Oracle - Battlemage Main - Monk

RoyalScion
May 16, 2009
Get rid of the artilleryman? Unfortunately cannons are pretty poo poo in PvE except for Cannon Main and maaaaaaaaaybe Gigas, due to their low attack power and scaling.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
I'm biased because I love Arti and his DI but in that line up I'd ditch the monk as the Patriot has a form of awaken and Monk is very situational nowadays as it is. I have no experience with a Vamp so I don't know what her damage is like but if it's any good then move the Arti to where the monk was and shove the Patriot middle left and there's a nice damage row for Seth.

Seriously, Deep Insight is awesome.

Just keep monk in your house and level up every 2 hours or whatever to keep him somewhat relevant if you want to. I've not used one at all on my last few characters.

Cheap Trick
Jan 4, 2007

I like Deep Insight too much to shelve my Artilleryman!

Fazana posted:

the Patriot has a form of awaken

Welp seeya Monk.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Another 5 hour maint today but it's also adding yet another event? Will they be able to resist adding a fishing event? They are doing okay atm so maybe something finally made the suits realise they needed to do something to keep people playing!

So much money to be made in Freedom Park, the enchant stones sell for a ton and I have more than enough boxes to choke donkeys with, pretty nice it drops Nix gear from 105+

ButterTroll came and went in a flash, did you change class or just decide it wasn't for you?

Cowboybot
Sep 27, 2007
On a steel horse I ride
I missed this game, and now I feel like it's too late to get back in, what with my current gameload (Steam saaaaaale!!)

If only there were robot mercenaries...

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
There is? Well one anyway :v:

Servers are screwed up bigtime this morning, just dumped everyone off for the third time so giving up for now.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Now would be a really good time to stock up on the A class merc crystals/jewels. They added in a 100m gold box that has a chance to drop a necro summon as well as a rich bastards event a la VIP titles and one of the drops is the top end crystals/jewels.

As of right now crystals are 4.5m and jewels are 20m, that's a crazy price crash. I've grabbed enough to upgrade up to 120 a future merc. Will probably bite the bullet and sort out the 130 upgrades for Gigas and Patriot as well, thats 160 multisouljewels between them >.<

Impala is currently top of Sikyons donaters table with 117b. Yup, 117 BILLION...

Fazana fucked around with this message at 12:01 on Aug 16, 2013

Big_D
Feb 10, 2009
It looks like a lot of folks are taking a break. It's not just us; judging by market prices, every server is experiencing a slump. This is fairly normal, and happens a few times a year, particularly when school semesters start.

Normally, it isn't a huge issue; we just coast by until folks get their higher priorities taken care of and trickle back in. However, this time is a little different; I'm about to be out for three weeks, starting next weekend, myself. I will be able to get in and cover half of GAP most days, but not every day, and that's a problem.

I'd like to ask for folks with level 100+ characters to try to log in for 5 minutes each day, and check GAP from the Guild Office button in any town. It needs to max out at the full 2,000 points each day, and each character can earn a maximum of 1,000 points each day--so, at a minimum, it takes two characters (which can be a main and an alt) to keep our GAP topped off. If we're not at the maximum, please spend a few minutes and bang at least your personal 1,000-point limit out. A single Lapur fight in centaur-land will get you the individual maximum of 1000 GAP pretty easily, and is the fastest method, if you can beat them; 2-3 FL wins (assuming the other guy isn't afk) will usually work, as well. Whichever way you choose to do it works, just as long as we get the points. Just make sure that you don't have a personal craft going, because the devs coded GAP in such a way that you don't earn any points at all while you have a personal or house craft active.

The stakes are pretty high, here. If we don't max our GAP almost every day, we aren't allowed to bid on our town; which means that anybody can come in and bid on it, and we can't do anything to stop them. We can afford to miss at most 1 single day out of every 15; missing a second means no bidding until that first day "falls off" of the GAP counter 15 days later.

Please let me know here or in-game if you think you can check in most days and top off our GAP. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes if you have the gear to fight the Lapurs, or 10 to run to a skirmish dungeon and fight a couple battles there.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
I'll try and get on every day on Snowjoke to do my diary stuff etc from tomorrow, I'm 123 iirc.

I burned out a bit rushing to get the good stuff from the previous event but I love the form I have and gear etc so I'm not quitting by any means, just not logging in as much until I'm ready to grind again.

Tbh the Atlantica day works against them quite a bit, it is so crazy good in every possible aspect it really demotivates you into doing bugger all on a random weekday with no server buffs etc.

Does the Atlantica day run midnight PST to midnight or 6am PST reset to reset as far as GAP goes?

Big_D
Feb 10, 2009
GAP resets at midnight Pacific.

Fazana
Mar 5, 2011

Dancing Elephant
Instructor
Done the last couple of days.

Whole nation is dead/afk it seems, not seen any chat at all for two days and got no response when I put something in there. Even global chat is quiet compared to usual.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Big_D
Feb 10, 2009
It's across all servers, I think; I've never seen market prices behave quite like this.

I think it's just a combination of a normal quiet period (schools starting back) together with people being worn out from several big events in a row. The current event isn't really much to write home about; if you really feel like grinding, it'll do, but the rewards don't compare to what we've been seeing for the last few months.

I saw you pop in on chat; thanks for checking in. I think you and Deb wound up getting GAP today. Whatever you guys can do while I'm out will be great; I'll try to get on when I can, but I'm pretty sure that there will be some days that I don't make it into the game.

  • Locked thread