"What makes a good MMORPG?"

I've decided to devote a bit of my time and a few articles to exploring this. In my last few pieces, I wrote about character progression, followed by gameplay mechanics and combat, and in the one before I spoke of story and premise. Today I'll talk about my favorite aspect of any MMORPG: PvP!

I have a confession to make. As a self-described PvP enthusiast in all things MMORPG, I've never played what many consider to be the holy grail of world PvP: Dark Age of Camelot. Even worse, the reason I missed out on those golden days was that I was firmly entrenched in two very distinctly PvE heavy MMORPGs: Ragnarok Online (before War of Emperium) and then Final Fantasy XI. Still, in spite of my transgressions, I'd like to think that I've acquitted myself quite well by delving deep into almost every PvP-oriented game since: Defense of the Ancients, League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Bloodline Champions, Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, the short-lived Fury, Atlantica Online, Champions Online, Aion, Rift and World of Warcraft. In other words, I've seen most of what MMORPGs have to offer, so let's just get down to talking about what makes for a thriving PvP system.

Nexon became the North American publisher for Atlantica Online last month, and that certainly hasn't delayed the addition of new content to the game. The massive Three Kingdoms update will launch on April 26 and bring with it a new high level mercenary named General Guan Yu, new quests and dungeons, and the Expedition Team feature.

The new quests reflect the power struggles that occurred during the Three Kingdoms period in China. They will focus primarily on the Battle of Red Cliffs, a decisive battle that signified the end of the Han Dynasty and ultimately laid the foundation for the establishment of the Three Kingdoms: Wu, Wei, and Shu.

For more details, head over to the Atlantica Online site.

Starting March 22, Nexon will take on the publishing duties of Atlantica Online in North America. The service migration will result in the adoption of NX Cash as the currency for purchasing in-game items and add-ons via the Item Mall. Other new features will include an updated website, revamped forums, an overhauled PvP ranking page and more.

For more details on the service switch, check out the official FAQ. For example, players will still be able to log into the game using their Ndoors account through April 19. After that, it will be mandatory to convert your account to a Nexon ID.

In response to player feedback, the Atlantica Online team has removed stamina from the game. Stamina was a "fatigue" system that limited the amount of monsters you could kill, and this change takes that hurdle out of the free-to-play MMO.

“The Atlantica Online team really values the input and feedback we receive from our players”, Assistant Producer Eric Han said. “We’re constantly working to improve the mechanics of the game, and thanks to our active vocal community we are able to make enhancements that keep them engaged and excited to keep playing.”

In celebration of Atlantica Online's second anniversary, Ndoors Interactive has unveiled Carmilla the Vampire Countess, the game's first user-created mercenary! Players can use her to drain enemies' health and cause severe damage or to heal their allies while in battle.

Players can currently purchase Carmilla-themed items from the in-game store. To see Carmilla in action, check out the video after the jump.

Atlantica Online is celebrating its second year anniversary! Ndoors Interactive is excited to be entering the game's second year with over 3 million registered users. The company will be hosting several events throughout the month to celebrate Atlantica's milestone.

Players can look forward to a Grand Championship Giveaway in which anyone who participates on Sunday, October 31 will be qualified to win $50 worth of Gcoins and winners of the Championship will win $500 in Gcoins. Also, players will have the chance to earn 200 percent experience instead of the normal 150 every weekend until the end of October.

The team is also hosting a giveaway on Atlantica's Facebook page. Every weekend in October, the first 300 players to post their in-game name and server name on the Facebook page will recieve special prizes!

Happy Anniversary Atlantica Online!

NDOORS just kicked off its new Friendly Benefits Event in Atlantica Online, which gives players the opportunity to earn items and GCoins by inviting their friends to play the game. You will receive 700g coins for each referral, as well as prizes for the amount of friends you bring into the world of Atlantica Online. Here's what you'll get:

• 5 friends: 30 Day Blessing License
• 10 friends: School Uniform Outfit
• 20 friends: White Dragon Wings
• The most friends: an iPad!

Oh, your friends will also receive 700g coins, a 14-day Blessing License and a 14-day Warrior's Package. The last day to refer a friend is Oct. 28, so you have a little more than a month to point your friends toward Atlantica Online. There is one catch: you and your friends must be level 50 with an average mercenary level of 45 by Nov. 11 to be eligible for prizes. This means your friends actually have to play the game!

Fans of Atlantica Online may remember about a year ago when the AO team promised players that they were in the process of developing a new form of combat, where players could band together and move across expansive battlefields, reminiscent of gaming styles like Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea. For those of you who don't know, Atlantica Online currently employs a 9v9 "grid" sort of battle where players bring 8 mercenaries (plus their main character to make 9) into battle against other players in a similar setup.

Well all of that is about to change as Atlantica Online has just debuted their new "Troy" expansion website, which will include the introduction of that new tactical battle system! Players will be able to team up to take part in the battle for Troy, as well as wage large-scale war all across the continent of Africa. Perhaps the Spartan mercenary will play a significant role in this coming expansion, and players should be able to expect to see some new African / Troy themed mercenaries in the works. We'll keep you updated as the Atlantica Online team updates their website!

Another month, another slew of events for fans of Atlantica Online! For May, the Atlantica Online team has just released their event "agenda," so book your weekends off, it's time for AO! To kick things off, every weekend will see servers granted 150% bonus experience for their players, which has pretty much become standard for Atlantica Online. For their weekend specific events, however, it seems they have a new trick up their sleeve.

For Week 1, from May 1st to May 2nd, NDOORS is issuing the Arena Challenge! The player who wins the most amount of gold in a single bet in the Arena will receive 1x Sharp Opal Necklace +5! The prize will be delivered to the winner's mailbox in the following week.

For Week 2, from May 8th to May 9th, there will be a new event happening, called the Big Boss Bonanza! In this event, bosses have snuck into Atlantica and have disguised themselves as wandering mercenaries so as to trick players. On this particular weekend, players will need to find these wandering mercenaries and engage them in a fight if they want to get the awesome loot that drops from these fierce monsters.

For Week 3, from May 15th to May 16th, NDOORS will simply be giving away items every two hours in their Item Giveaway event. Simply remain logged in at specific times, and you'll instantly receive a plethora of neat items to help you in your adventures!

In Week 4, from May 22nd to May 23rd, the Atlantica Online team has really upped the ante in their monthly Pop Quiz event! This time around, players will have the chance to receive prizes like Prison Officer's Safes, Seal Phoenix's Equipment Boxes and even Giant Bear Tribal Rewards! In other words, get to studying Atlantica Online info hard, as the prizes are definitely worth it!

Finally, in Week 5, from May 29th to May 30th, what month of events wouldn't be right without our lovely Monster Invasions? That's right, Monster Invasions are back, and their rewards are bigger than ever! Just camp out in town on Saturday and Sunday at specific times, and be ready to claim as many monsters as possible to get the awesome loot that they drop! Good luck Atlanticans!

Fare thee well, Relic of Pasiphae! To keep up with their constantly evolving item mall, the team over at Atlantica Online has announced that their cash shop item, "Relic of Pasiphae" will be discontinued. This relic / box was the only box that had a chance of dropping Argos' Wings, or the rare version of these wings. In preparation of the discontinuation, however, the team has also announced that this box will be sold in the item mall for a whopping 10% off, right up until May 3rd!

So if you're a big fan of how these wings look, and you really can't bear to be the one without them on discontinuation day, now is your big chance to pick up a pair of these bad boys! Good luck!