Atlantica Online Class Guide - Viking

Vikings have an assortment of abilities which make them almost indispensible in the early-to-mid levels of Atlantica Online. While they are not as tough defensively as the Swordsman, they do have the ability to dish out some serious damage on their opponents with their standard attack, and they are a decent tank in their own right in the early levels. Their keystone ability however is the magical attack Freezing Axe, which applies both a multiple-round damage-over-time effect, as well as immobilizing the units in the row on which Freezing Axe is cast.

These abilities make the Viking a very good choice for your party in the early game, but ultimately the Viking's low magic defense causes him to be greatly outclassed by other mercenaries in the late game. Vikings are too easy to kill in the late game, but in the early-to-mid game they are a good addition to most any build.

The Axeman class is essentially the main character version of the Viking. If you choose for your main to be an Axeman, he will have the same abilities as the Viking, but with good magical defense. This makes for a very tough and dynamic main. Axemen and Artillerymen are currently the main character in almost every current winning build in high-end PvP.

The Viking's stats are the biggest influence on the viability of the class in the long run. At the higher levels, his extemely poor Magic Defense ends up making him quite vulnerable to magic attacks. There are multiple class C mercenaries with powerful magic attacks which can hit any unit in the opposing formation in the late game of Atlantica Online, and once those mercenaries arrive on the scene, the Viking's lifespan tends to shorten significantly on the battlefield.

Some of the Viking's strengths are his high Strength stat, allowing for high-damage attacks, and his reasonably high Defense and Vitality. These stats allow the Viking to tank pretty decently in the first 40 or so levels of advancement, but by the mid-game there are several other mercenaries with much better stats for front-line positioning in your formation.

• Strength: 330
• Intelligence: 140
• Dexterity: 110
• Vitality: 310
• Defense: 280
• Magic Defense: 50

As far as equipment goes, it's a very good idea to give your Viking the best axe possible. The Viking attacks horizontally in Atlantica Online, hitting both your selected target and the targets on the sides of your target. If you've killed a unit in the front ranks of your opponent's formation, this can be a good way to hit targets which would otherwise be protected from physical attacks by units in the ranks in front of them. Additionally, the Viking's attacks are powerful, and using a better axe simply magnifies that power.

In terms of armor and accessories, It is recommendable to give the Viking equipment which increases his strength and his ability to stay in the fight for as long as possible. Items which increase Strength, Vitality, Defense, and Magic Defense are indispensible for this. The Viking's real power in most fights is his skill Freezing Axe. Because of the power of this skill, your opponent will probably choose the Viking as one of the first targets to take down, particularly in PvP. So it is a good idea to use equipment which boosts his defensive stats, to increase his survivability.

The Viking has 3 skills which are common among each of the three class D melee mercenaries. These skills are as follows:

• Guard Dispel - This spell can be cast on a single row of the opponent's formation. It essentially cancels out the spell Holy Guard which is on any of your opponent's units in that row. This allows your other mercs to use magical attacks on those mercs which previously had Holy Guard on them.

• Deadly Strike - This spell can only be used when your mercenary is on the verge of death. It is a very highly damaging attack, targeted to a single enemy unit. Using this ability will tax your mercenary's action power both on the round in which it is used, and on the following round. It really is a last ditch sort of ability, but it deals out significant damage.

• Break Down - This is an area-of-effect spell, targeting every unit in the enemy formation. It is one of the weaker AoE spells in the game. However, if it is used on a formation which has the ranged skill Chaos Wind in effect upon them, the spell Destructive Wind will activate. Destructive Wind is a high-damage area-of-effect, damage-over-time spell.

In addition to these 3 basic class D melee mercenary skills, the Viking has one skill which really defines the class' power:

• Freezing Axe - This magical attack freezes all three of the units in a single rank of your opponent's formation, and applies a damage-over-time effect to them. It's a good idea to kill a unit in the front ranks of your opponent's formation, so that you can freeze the middle or back rank of your opponent, as any smart player will put their most vulnerable mercenaries further back, or the mercenaries with the most devastating abilities. This skill can very easily turn the tide of any battle, be it PvP or PvE.

Now that we have the basics on this unique class out of the way, lets move on to some in-depth analysis of the Viking class. When is the Viking worth keeping around for the length of your advancement in Atlantica Online? What is the best way to train your Viking's skills and stats? Which party formation builds is the Viking most suited for? And is the Viking (Axeman) really one of the best choices for your main character, and if so, why?