Note: this guide was initially written and published by Lecaros on Atlantica Online Players. Updated until May 2009, it remains interesting and useful for beginners.

Hello and greetings to all.

This is my second guide, and I hope it will prove useful to the Atlantica community
This guide focuses on AP and actions management in battle, and will cover up other additional things along the way.
I will also update the "List of Actions and Their AP Cost" section from time to time.
I also hope that the tips and info from this guide will help you guys and gals battle better (both PvE and PvP) =)

p/s: I'm trying to simplify this guide to the best of my ability so that readers can easily understand the guide. Edits will be from time to time. Also, I'm not playing Atlantica while writing this guide due to the old age of my laptop. There will be some flaws and shorts of information. Sorry in advance.

*INTRODUCTION TO AP (ACTION POWER)*

While many players just go around whack-and-hack-and-slash in battle, it is important to know that Action Power (or AP for short) is not something you just easily use without thinking or planning beforehand. Atlantica is a Turn-Based Strategy game, which means one who has better knowledge, tactics, planning and is more accustomed to his/her own formation, can perform better than his opponent.

p/s: Not boasting, but in Free League but I've beaten some lvl 90-ish when I was at lvl 70-ish. They had poor tactics and management, therefore I had the upper hand  =x

Information on Action Power (AP) :

• AP is used to perform any action, ranging from Defending to casting skills
  
• AP is regenerated each turn. However, stunned characters DO NOT regenerate AP.
  
• ONLY 5 'green circles' will appear each turn. The 5 'green circles' will first go to the characters with HIGHEST Action Power (AP).
  
• Minimum AP required to act is 100. More about this will be covered in other sections.
  
• Passive skills (Protect, Shield of Protection, Speed Cast, Concentrate, Princess' Order, Mana Shield, etc.) do not require AP to be casted. They are casted automatically at the beginning of each of your turn. However they are not casted if the caster is  silenced/freezed/stunned.

It is a good thing to always keep an eye on how many AP your characters have left. This is crucial for planning your tactics for the next turn. The last thing you'll want to happen to you is a 'GOGOGO MANA SEAL! EH? WTH? WHY CANT I SEAL HIM? SHIT, MY EXO HAS 40 AP ONLY!' scenario.Figures.

*AP INCREASE AND DECREASE*

Naturally, every character will regenerate AP at the beginning of each of the player's turn. Contrary to most players' belief, being frozen (by Freezing Axe or Ice Ridge Axe) DO NOT stop AP regeneration of the frozen characters. Stun is the only thing that stops AP regeneration.

AP regeneration varies according to which class the character is. Archer, Lady Knight and Witch has the highest AP regen in the game so far. Note that AP regen is not a fixed value, but instead in a fixed range of values.

Here's a list of AP regeneration per turn;

• Swordsman : 70~90
  
• Lady Knight : 75~95
  
• Exorcist : 70~90
  
• Sailor : 75~90
  
• Spearman : 70~80
  
• Spartan : 70~80
  
• Archer : 60~110
  
• Prophet : 65~95
  
• Gunner : 65~95
  
• Inventor : 65~85
  
• Janissary : 65~95
  
• Artilleryman : 55~100
  
• Cannoneer : 67~90
  
• Shaman : 45~70
  
• Oracle : 70~90
  
• Monk : 45~75
  
• Witch : 45~125
  
• Princess : 55~95
  
• Elementalist :
  
• Viking : 70~90
  
• Beast Trainer : 60~85

Notes (Muwing):

• You can find right and updated values in the Mercenary's & Main Character's pages, including the vacancies' ones.
• AP regeneration can increase with the upgrade (usually at the "Hero" level).

Note: Lightning Spear and Toxic Sword eats away AP. AP drain builds (for PvP) are nice, but needs proper planning and tactics. And lots of training to pull it off effectively. Always remember that there are no perfect/imba skills or characters in Atlantica. Everything has their pros and cons. Everything can counter something and be countered. Simply spamming Lightning Spear to eat away the opponent's AP won't do any good. It is laughable. No offense.

There are also some skills which increases AP regen (gives AP, to be exact) like Brutal Will, Seth's Will and Speed Cast. Speed Cast is the best one for sure

*VACANCIES (EMPTY SLOTS)*

Vacancy, the one that you can check at the in-game Mercenary Info tab actually means the AP regen bonus that merc will have when there are empty slots in your formation.

Example :
Witch has a Vacancy value of 17. Main character is lvl 60. My formation has room for 9 characters. However, I disabled (at the Formation tab) 2 of my mercs. Now the formation is occupied by 7 characters, with 2 vacancies. Therefore, every turn in battle, the Witch will regenerate 34 more AP each turn (17x2 vacancies = 34)

I will also put in the Vacancy values for each character from time to time. They will placed at the *AP INCREASE AND DECREASE SECTION* above.

*This knowledge is useful for Auto-Battle Free League. You won't need Exorcist and Monk since the AI programming of the game can never outmatch humans' abilities to plan and think.  In most Auto-Battle Free League fights, having 7 or 8 mercs is better than 9 due to the AP regeneration bonus provided by the vacancy. More mercs in Auto-Battle = more basic attacks. Monks and Exorcists do not specialise in basic attacks.

*LIST OF ACTIONS AND THEIR AP COST*

//still under development

Here's a list of all the battle actions so far :
*note that the AP values listed are the amount that the action CONSUMES. A skill which consumes 150 AP can still be casted even if you have 120 AP. You only need 100 AP to act. Your AP will become -30 after that. (120-150 = -30)

0 AP :
Wait (F), All Wait (~). Note : Wait does NOT switch a 'green circle' to another character. The 'green circle' is used.

50 AP :
Search (S), Search All (X), Guard (G), Using Items (Scrolls and Potions), Switch Position (D). Note : Switch position uses 50 AP of BOTH characters who swapped positions.

75 AP :
Awakening,

100 AP :
Basic Attack (left click, or A), Mana Trap,

120 AP :
Flame Sword, Mana Drain, Mana Recharge, Storm Blast,

125 AP :
Dark Seed,

150 AP :
Wild Shot, Deep Insight, Freezing Axe, Ice Ridge, Lightning Spear, Healing, Blessing of Life, Chaos Wind, Guard Dispel, Hex of Darkness, Evanesence Scud, Holy Guard, Smoke Bomb, Light Slash, Beast Summon, Multi Arrow, Brutal Will, Seth Will, Vortex, Chainsaw Blade, Freezing Atmosphere, Silence, War Cry, Toxic Sword,

175 AP :
Mana Seal, Summon Invention,

200 AP :
Requiem, Flame Blow,

250 AP :
Blood Vengeance,

500 AP :
Meteor Strike,

600 AP :
Deadly Strike, Deadly Shot,

1000 AP :
Noble Sacrifice,

*ACTION MANAGEMENT*

Just as how important AP management is, Action management is also significant and should be practiced. There are a few things which you need to know :

• There are AT MOST 5 'green circles' at the BEGINNING of your turn. Which means only 5 actions can be made per turn, NOT including passive skills.
  
• Only 5 actions can be made. You need to plan ahead and act wisely.
  
• The number of 'green circles' can go lower than 5, to a minimum of 0. Factors leading to this are stun, freeze or low AP.
  
• The first 5 'green circles' will go to the 5 characters with the highest AP at the beginning of your turn.
  
• The 'green circles' can be moved from a character to another character by Guarding (G). The 'green circle' will go to the next character with highest AP.
  
• 100 AP is the minimum requirement for a character to be able to move, and/or receive a 'green circle' from another character.
  
• On the 1st turn, only one character with highest AP can move. He/she cannot switch the 'green circle' to another character.
  
• A character can move 2 times, given that he/she still has 100 AP after doing the first action, AND another 'green circle' has to be directed to him/her.
  
• Maximum AP any character can have at any time is 299. Which means no character can act more than 2 times.

*note : the 'green circles' are indicators showing which character is able to move. The 'green circle' is present at the character's feet.
*advanced info : at the turn when Freezing Axe or Ice Ridge breaks, the characters who were frozen DO NOT give 'green circles' even though they have 299 AP.

Moving on, let's take a look at some example situations where the 'green circle' can go lower than 5.

Example 1:

frozen - frozen - frozen
stunned - stunned - stunned
normal - normal - normal

In the above situation, there are only 3 'green circles', not 5. The frozen row and stunned row will not provide any 'green circles'.
Only 3 characters (the normal ones) can move this turn.

Example 2:

frozen - frozen - frozen and stunned
low AP - normal - stunned
low AP - normal - stunned

note: low AP means having less than 100 AP at the beginning of the turn

This situation is even worse that the one in Example 1. Only 2 'green circles' are available, meaning only the 2 normal characters can act this turn. The 'frozen and stunned' character is at a huge loss. He/she cannot move AND will not regenerate AP at the same time.

Example 3:

frozen - frozen - dead
stunned - low AP -dead
stunned - low AP - dead

This situation is EVEN worse that the one in Example 2. Notice that NO ONE can provide green circle at the beginning of the turn. Your WHOLE team cannot move, therefore this particular turn of yours is WASTED. No one can move, and it's the worst case scenario.  


*Guarding*

Guarding is a tactical move which is SHOULD be made at the right moment and situation. If the characters that you do not plan to move this turn get the 'green circle', just press G (hotkey for Guard)
Guarding lets the 'green circle' of that character to move to another character, as well as increasing PHYSICAL DEFENSE for that turn.
You have at most 9 characters, but only 5 'green circles' are available. Plan wisely.

*Also, in PvP, make full use of your near-death mercenaries. Let's say your Beast Trainer will be dead next turn and you are very sure of it. The Beast Trainer has 220 AP and can cast Beast Summon. Your turn just started and you have 5 'green circles' available. Now, what would be the best way to maximize her damage output before she dies?

1 : Double Attack (Attack, then Attack)
Make her attack, and then direct another 'green circle' to her. Make her attack again. (100+100 AP= 200 AP) This is effective if the opponent gives a nice opening for a double axe whack!  A row of (staff main - monk - shaman) would be the best whack target!

2 : Attack, then Beast Summon.
Remember that Beast Summon costs 150 AP. If you cast Beast Summon first, only 70 AP will remain. The Beast Trainer can no longer act. But, if you make her attack first, Beast Summon after that (100+150 AP = 250 AP) is a better alternative. Note that Beast Summon CONSUME 150 AP, but after the attack, you still have 120 AP. You can act again. Beast Summon is possible. Epic win =D

Likewise, don't make your Swordsman go 'Deeeeaaaadly Strikeeeee !!!', and only after that you realize 'Shit, I still have 2 'counters' left. I could have casted Flame Sword first, then Deadly Strike'. Plan ahead.


Practice to take knowledge of your skills' AP cost and the AP regen value of your characters. A skill which costs 200 AP would delay you for a turn or two before you can move again.



I guess that is all for now. I will still make edits and changes in the future, so stay alert :p