I made brief mention of the February update to style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Online in
my discussion of  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/65098" target="_blank">how
wimpy F2P launches hurt games last week. This time, I’ve
chosen to focus on the particulars of the February 18 update for style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica
and how NDOORS demonstrates a great understanding of how to grow a game
both in breadth and depth. F2P gaming will develop a better reputation
if more companies follow the examples given by NDOORS for adding
content that gives more options for its players on the way to the level
cap and more to do for those who have already gotten there.

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border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/62332"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 125px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/62332/preview">

Atantica has been growing since
launch.

Growing style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Out

NDOORS understands that a game needs to grow in breadth (out)
to
give players more things to do. It keeps new players very busy on the
way to the level cap, and it gives players already at the cap a reason
to play through the game again. The February 18 patch, which was more
like an expansion, contained a good boost to the content at all levels. style="font-style: italic;">

From
character creation,
the team added three new hairstyles: Long Wave, Afro and Rasta. I know
my wife, who is black, enjoys the new hairstyles because she wants her
avatar to resemble her as much as possible. Plus, it’s never a bad idea
to increase the number of choices players have in customizing their
characters.

Another new option at character creation is a new
leader class, the Musician. Armed with a guitar and light armor, the
Musician plays music to strike two enemies in a line. Its starter
spell, Ravaging Melody, debuffs enemies’ attack power, defense, and
health.

It now means something in Atlantica
when your leader is born thanks to the Birthday System. A birthday
notice mail will be sent fifteen, seven, and one day before (as well as
the day of) your main character’s birthday. You can travel to a special
NPC to receive a gift, and your leader and mercenaries automatically go
up one level on your main character’s birthday.

One major
enhancement for all levels that came with the patch is the requirement
to expend 50% Will to send mail to anyone not on your Friends or Guild
list prior to level 30. This drastically reduces gold spam in the game.
Will ordinarily is used to transfer knowledge (such as creature info or
a crafting skill) from one player to the next. It regenerates pretty
slowly to keep it from being overpowered. Since you can only add a
Friend to your list with her consent, the need to expend Will to send a
mail to a person deters spammers in a big way. Level 30 is a good
starter mark, too, because it takes ten to twenty hours of play to
reach level 30. Talk about improving the gameplay experience for
everyone!

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/62334"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 125px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/62334/preview">

Those who enjoy the fast-paced strategic
combat now have more to do.

Two other upgrades for all players worth noting is the
addition of bulk mail and the Trading Post system. Players can now send
mail in bulk to their Nations, Guilds, and Friends. Meanwhile, each
town's Trading Post sells and trades regional products, and the prices
fluctuate based on the products’ availability. This makes the world in
Atlantica feel very alive and dynamic.

Mid-level players have some new things to do in style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica,
now, too. The team added a new sub quest at level 65, and a new
collection quest at level 70 can net the player cool items. Finally, a
special NPC will allow players level 70+ to trade equipment upgraded to
+10 for the next tier of equipment upgraded to +7. This process
requires an Oriharukon Enhance stone, which is usually purchased in the
item mall, but spending real money is not required because the stone is
tradable in the game. These upgrades are a big boon to the player, but
the same result can be achieved through collecting the loot from mobs
and upgrading it one step at a time.

Growing style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica Up

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/62335"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 125px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/62335/preview">

If every F2P game was this good, P2P games
would become extinct.

Adding content that keeps players busy on the way to the cap
is
crucial, but NDOORS knows it needs to give those already at the cap new
challenges and adventures as well. In a very clever move, NDOORS has
managed to grow Altantica
in depth (up) in a way that also adds more breadth.

Since I first played Atlantica,
leader characters (the player’s avatar) were just beefed up versions of
the common mercenaries everyone has access to. Leaders used the same
spells and gear as their mercenary counterparts, so a leader swordsman
differed only from a  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/46954" target="_blank">mercenary
swordsman
in that he had slightly better attribute scores. All of that changed on
February 18 with the introduction of leader-specific spells, which are
gained via a quest at level 100. The spells are powerful, add new
levels of strategy, and give more importance to the common spells
already in place.

Also available to players level 100+ is a new
leader class, the Maniac, and a new mercenary, the elementalist. The
power saw-wielding Maniac can attack enemies in a row and uses Maniac’s
Storm Blast magic to deliver heavy damage while lowering enemies’
might. The elementalist is a caster mercenary that uses an AoE skill
called Freezing Atmosphere to damage all enemies and debuff their
defense and accuracy.

Other new high level content includes the
Lost Saqqaq Tribe quest for level 98+ plus players and the Jiuzhaigou
Ghost Town quest series for players level 115+. New guild and raid
content consists of Alcatraz Prison, the Valley of Oblivion, and the
Sealed Tower of Darkness.

Parting Thoughts

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/62336"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 125px;" alt=""
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The new leader spells add more strategy to
the game while making leader characters feel special.

I haven’t covered all of the details of the February 18 patch
to Atlantica,
but it should be clear that it contained enough content to qualify as
an expansion for a lot of P2P games. Not only that, the development
team did a terrific job of adding something for characters of all
levels. The Musician class is a fun twist on ranged combat, and the
Maniac rewards players for reaching level 100 with a new powerful
leader class. The addition of leader-specific spells as a quest series
at level 100 is a brilliant way to give high level players something to
aim for. It feels akin to epic quest in  style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38"
target="_blank">EverQuest
to me, but I have not tried the quests yet to see if they are as
difficult as those in EQ. Finally, several new systems improve the
already high quality of the game. The Will cost below level 30 for
sending mail to “strangers” has all but eliminated gold spam via mail
for me without limiting my ability to play the game. The Trading Post
system making the world livelier and allows players who enjoy it to
move commodities to raise a fortune.

Other developers would do well to look at the steps NDOORS has
taken
since its game launched to keep it fresh and exciting while growing it
at a manageable rate. If you haven’t tried style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica yet, do
it soon. It costs you nothing to try, and you might just be surprised
at how good a F2P game can be.

Have you tried Atlantica href="mailto:mailto:%[email protected]">Email
your thoughts or post them href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=41530"
target="_blank">in our forums!

The Top Ten

Continue
to page two to see Ralsu's
latest Top Ten list. 

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/31549"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 250px; height: 160px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/31549/preview">

Looking ahead, I am trying to learn more about style="font-style: italic;">Free Realms. I also
have a report on Ether
Saga Online
coming up. I am pouring a lot of my time into style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica because I
will be generating some new player guides soon. Even so, I want to
spend some time with the Pioneers
of Iria
content in Mabinogi.
My initial impressions are that itt’s another great example of how to
grow a game. On that note, my thanks go out to the Nexon America team
for setting me up with an account to access the new content faster. I
play every game that I can in this Top Ten list, but that spreads me
very thin at times. Saving me the time to level up to see everything is
a big help, and I appreciate the way the style="font-style: italic;">Atlantica and style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi teams
offer me press accounts with no strings attached. Neither group has
given the slightest hint that it is trying to “buy” opinion. Thanks,
guys!


cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
colspan="3" rowspan="1"> style="color: white; font-weight: bold;">Top Ten
Free-to-Play Games

March 16, 2009 style="text-align: center; width: 75px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;">Rank style="text-align: center; width: 105px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;"> style="width: 334px; background-color: rgb(114, 105, 62); font-weight: bold; color: white;">Game

1


Last
week: 1
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/38580"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/38580/preview"> style="width: 334px; vertical-align: top;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Atlantica Online - ( href="http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/" target="_blank">http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/)

NDOORS



Atlantica
is a squad-based fantasy strategy game that breaks the mold. Players
can control up to nine characters at once in fast-paced turn-based
combat. A lot of the systems in Atlantica
are different from the standard fare on the market.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1303">Atlantica
    Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/49577">Ten
    Ton Hammer Review

style="font-weight: bold;">

2


Last
week: 2
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/65242"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65242/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Mabinogi - ( target="_blank" href="http://mabinogi.nexon.net/">http://mabinogi.nexon.net)

NEXON



Mabinogi
provides so many things to do that it earns its self-appointed moniker
of “A Fantasy Life.” Players can farm, play music, hunt, craft, go to
school and more in this fantasy land. In style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi, combat is
not the only way to advance.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856">Mabonogi
    Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/31450">Ten
    Ton Hammer Review

3


Last
week: 3
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/36886"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/36886/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Runes of Magic -
( href="http://www.runesofmagic.com/">www.runesofmagic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Frogster



Runes of Magic
is a traditional fantasy game that uses a Dual Class system to inject a
little strategy into character planning and a lot of flexibility into
grouping. RoM has all of the features gamers want in a
subscription-based game, but they’ll enjoy them for free here.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1234">Runes
    of Magic Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51449">Preview

style="font-weight: bold;">

4


Last
week: 4
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/33602"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/33602/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Dungeon Runners -
( target="_blank">http://www.dungeonrunners.com style="font-weight: bold;">) NCSoft



Dungeon Runners
is a hack and slash fantasy game that infuses every aspect of gameplay
with humor. DR makes fun of other games, the genre, and even itself.
This is the perfect game for a player looking to blow off steam after a
rough day at work.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/110">Dungeon
    Runners Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/8411">Ten
    Ton Hammer Review

5


Last
week: 5
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/34626"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/34626/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Requiem: Bloodymare - ( href="http://www.playrequiem.com" target="_blank">www.playrequiem.com)

Gravity Interactive



Requiem: Bloodymare
is a horror-themed game that blends the traditional elements of MMOGs
with the visceral feel of a gore film. style="font-style: italic;">Requiem is worth a
look because of its fresh take on setting in MMOGs.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/769">Requiem
    Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/29030">Preview style="font-weight: bold;">

style="font-weight: bold;">

6


Last
week: 6
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/64767"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/64767/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Neo Steam -
( target="_blank">http://neosteam.atlusonline.com style="font-weight: bold;">) Atlus Online



Neo Steam
is a steampunk
game set in a world where warring factions compete for a limited supply
of the resource Neo Steam. It was above average in most categories
during closed beta for the US, but it had multiple translation
problems. Atlus Online should iron out the kinks.
  • target="_blank">Neo Steam Portal
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/33243">Preview

7


Last
week: 7
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47950/preview"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/47950/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Warrior Epic -
( href="http://warriorepic.com/">http://warriorepic.com style="font-weight: bold;">)
Possibility Space



Warrior
Epic
is ready to begin the next round of closed beta soon.
It provides a fantasy hack and slash dungeon crawler experience with
some very innovative features, including the ability to choose
different character classes for each dungeon and a Warrior Hall that
grows with the player.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/691">Warrior
    Epic Portal
  • Preview (coming soon!)

8


Last
week: 8
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/32333"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/32333/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Dream of Mirror Online - ( target="_blank" href="http://domo.aeriagames.com/">http://domo.aeriagames.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Aeria Games &
Entertainment



Dream of Mirror
Online
puts the player in the starring role of a classic
Chinese myth. The eastern-based lore provides a refreshing twist on
MMOGs, and the multi-class system makes character development in this
fantasy game fun.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/997">DOMO
    Portal
  • target="_blank">Ten Ton Hammer Review

9


Last
week: 9
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/63895"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/63895/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Free Realms -
( target="_blank">www.freerealms.com style="font-weight: bold;">) Sony Online Entertainment



Free Realms
is a a 3D fantasy
world designed to encourage exploration and support casual play. With
graphics similar to WoW and all the gameplay of a standard MMOG, style="font-style: italic;">Free Realms could
appeal to adults. Its many minigames and events are designed to please
teens.
  • href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/287"
    target="_blank">Free Realms Portal
  • Preview (coming soon!)

10


Last
week: 10
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/49892"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 100px; height: 100px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/49892/preview"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;"> style="font-weight: bold;">Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine - ( href="http://megaten.aeriagames.com/" target="_blank">http://megaten.aeriagames.com style="font-weight: bold;">)

Aeria
Games &
Entertainment



Shin
Megami Tensei: Imagine Online
brings the popular RPG to
life in the MMOG sphere. Players can use friendly persuasion or
aggressive coercion to get demons to fight by their side. The dark
subject matter and modern setting of the game is a welcome contrast to
the enchanted glens filled with pixies we often find in MMOGs. style="font-weight: bold;">
  • href="http://tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1751">Megaten
    Portal
  • target="_blank">Preview



About
This List


Please refer to the Top
Ten
Free-to-Play Games Portal
to find out how to get a game you
make or like on this list.



To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Atlantica Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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