PvP

Version history: alpha
*clean up*
*addition of merc tables for reference*

This will be a pseudo-guide for a budding tactician who wants to win in FL.

Motivation for this came from my own experience in FL, and how i hate cookie-cutters, and that play style is the most important factor in deciding/using a formation. I will never say a formation sucks, or its lacking, because even if you used a formation like Sharingan's, SarahPheonix's, LH's, Xargrr's, etc, you can still lose, unless you know how to maximize its power.

First off, why do we FL? Fame. And Fortune. Simple. We need fame to get into dungeons (although a very small amount) and fortune. Money. Not just money, but items as well. These items are usually potions, enhance boxes, and more potions. You also get exp books for participating/observing, and craft books, AND on the rare occasion, gear drops (from fallen enemies) which are very very very rare. Also, every 10 fights you get a box, which randomly gives you scrolls that help you along the way.

First of all, before you decide on what mercs to bring and use when you decide to pvp, is you must know what objective your formation is supposed to achieve. Stun pressure? Stun period? Lockdown? Devastation? AOE? Snipe/Spike? When you have this in mind, you'll know what mercs you need to bring along.

By bringing 2 of a certain merc, i believe you'll be more efficient in achieving your formation's objective. E.G. 2 swords improves front line tanking greatly, 2 spears improves stun/lock formations, 2 axes improves lockdown formations, 2 archers improve sniping considerably, and so on.

Also note that future C-class mercs are upgrades to already existing D-class mercs.

It is also important to note positions of mercs in the party. Obviously support mercs (shaman, oracle, monk) should be in the back, away from silence, but you wouldn't want to put your monk in the same column as your main. Why? You'll be an easy target for gunners/cannons, who will hit you and your monk in the same column, and for another reason which i'll explain later. (see C "Potions and Skills")

Under construction

On a final note, remember, Always play a formation you enjoy playing. This helps you avoid frustration when you lose, and on the flipside, helps you improve on the holes you find in your own formation. (thanks to Razlath for pointing this out :) )

So when you've decided what to bring along, test it, and don't forget the power of rotation. This means moving mercs around, switching positions to disrupt stuns (and preventing them too) and other aoe, even spiking.

Scenario:
If one merc in the front line is taking more damage than the rest, and you feel a freeze axe coming up, rotate that merc to the back, put a fresh merc up front to tank, while said merc is taking a breather. In dealing with stuns, if your monk is out of AP, rotating can prevent combo 3 from ever occurring. Suppose you have a column under combo-2, but your monk is unfortunately sealed. Fan out the 3 mercs so by the next turn, your opponent can only stun 1 merc.

AP Management
You're given a maximum of 5 activations per turn, but you can turn that into 9 (if you have the AP). Guarding costs 50 AP, but increases def on the next round and passes the activation to another merc (with at least 100 ap). This allows you to do more with a few individuals. And helps you store AP as well as raise defense. See this great guide, AP Management for further reference.

Scenario:
A swordsman is a great example for this. With a stun build, you want your guns firing ever turn, to pressure the enemy and force him into the defensive. A swordsman in such a build is not too important, and is only a wall. When he receives an activation, rotate him (if needed) then GUARD! Give the AP back to the guns or other mercs so they can keep the pressure on. Then when things get hairy, watch the same swordsman flame sword twice. :p

This also works if you want to use Seth's Will to the max. Let your line store AP through guarding, drop the Seth and watch the heads roll.

One very important potion you should learn to use is the Stimulant. It is a main only potion, but can break stun builds if used properly. This is why you don't want your main in the same column as your monk. If they both get combo-2 you might lose them both. But separated, your monk can keep you from being stunned, and you can recover via Stimulant. Remember it should be used for emergencies only.

Proper Stimulant Usage
Stimulants only work when you have a merc under the dreaded pink circle. It works like a life potion, you activate it, and a menu will pop-up asking you to select a merc. Mind you, that merc has to be stunned first. This is INSTANT. Whoopee!

Don't be afraid to use potions. When rotating an injured tanker to the back, give him a potion and keep that vital heal where its best used (in a row). Potions are great when you have the opportunity to use them because they won't cost skill cool down, nor mana. Remember using a potion consumes the activation of the merc.

Skills and skill breakdowns go hand in hand with objectives of your formation. You want to put enough in a skill to make it work without fail (Holy Guard to 11, Awakening to 11, Mana Seal to 11, etc) and dump points in one to maximize benefit (Ravaging Melody, Concentrate, Flame Sword, Lightning Spear, Deadly Strike, etc). It all depends on what your formation is supposed to be doing.

Most likely when you ask for a skill build, people will almost always give you a breakdown when the merc is already lvl 120. Exorcist is a merc that alot people ask about skill builds, and all too often people reply with "max this, max that, only this many in this". It doesn't help at all, when your exo is only 50 and you want to FL with him (or pve for that matter).

Combos occur when two to three (2-3) skills are cast on the same mercenary, usually the enemy's. Some combos can do so much as multiply the damage of the regular skill by 2-3, and some create more potent DoT's. Most combos require a skill to be cast before the next skill can be applied. This will be explained below.

Note:The potential damage/effect of a skill is determined by the lowest level of the skill its composed of. Using Hell Flame, a level 60 Hex of Darkness & a level 40 Dark Seed will produce a level 40 Hell Flame

Hell Flame
Composition: Hex of Darkness (Shaman) + Dark Seed (Swordsman)
Hell Flame triggers when either one of the spells is cast on top of the other. Both are DoT's in nature that reduce vitality, and deal damage every turn. Hell Flame takes both and amplifies the damage. Duration lasts as long as Hex or DS lasts. When one of the skills wear off, the skill Hell Flame fizzles as well.

Destructive Wind
Composition: Chaos Wind (Ranged Main only) + Breakdown (Melee Main only)
This particularly potent combo activates when Break Down is cast on top of Chaos Wind. Only works this way. This skill doubles the damage of Chaos Wind. However, it would require a party of both a ranged and melee main. You would never see this in FL unless Ndoors implements a party pvp, but this can be done in regular PK activities such as King's Judgement.

Divine Slash
Composition: Vortex (Oracle) + Light Slash (Lady Knight)
more to follow.

With all this in mind, and once practiced, you will notice that you'll be winning more often. These are the same base strategies all good players used, and through experience comes perfection.

So you applied to FL. What's next? Keep in mind 2 things.
1.) The objective of your formation
2.) Don't be afraid to lose!

It's now time to fight.

Take a good look. Take a very good look at the enemy's formation. If you see 2 archers, then know he will be sniping. See 2 arty? 2 gunners? Get ready to avoid stuns. See a wall of swordsman? 2 monks? 3 spears? 4 axes? Whatever they bring, don't be intimidated. As more mercs of one kind creates holes from where they lack.

Scenario:
I fought an axe main, with 3 vikings. **** i thought. Its going to be a bash fest on my frontline (lockdown). But one inherent weakness of vikings are their mdef. In this case, with my stun build. I turned from stunning, to stun pressure, and using more magic on his vikings than trying to stun his formation. Why? My frontline would be locked down by freezing axes, and will be chopped up. No matter what he had behind the vikings, they wouldn't be able to kill me before the vikings fell to magic. I won that fight.

Knowing what the enemy formation is gives you an idea what he plans to do with it, and this helps you already counter exactly that. And don't ever think your formation is lacking, because if you built yours through having an objective, you'll find a way to deal with it.

But first, lets go over the basics.

D1: The role of Scrolls! thanks to Kopanda!
Scrolls have a nasty tendency to turn the outcome of a battle in a heartbeat. No kidding.

Random Scrolls a.k.a "B" Scrolls Thanks to Lvl3Prinny for correcting me
It's a "bonus" scroll for you to hit, and whichever one of your mercs hits it will start casting a random scroll. You can hit it with physical attacks, magic, aoe, it doesn't matter. Whichever one of your mercs hits the scroll first will begin casting.

Random Scrolls (B scrolls)
Scroll of Dark Forces - Hex in a nutshell, but hits the entire party!
Scroll of Judgement - Boom! This a 1k dmg nuke. Very rare to get though.
Scroll of Mana Piercing - Apparently this scroll affects both parties. MDef is greatly reduced on the whole party
Scroll of Awakening - Awakening gets cast on the whole party
Scroll of Silence - Entire party gets silenced
Scroll of Purification - Removes all spells (dots, debuffs) cast on party not to be confused with dispel
Scroll of Confusion - Randomly swaps 2 mercs while stunning them (pink circle)
Scroll of Dispel - Removes all spells (seth, brutal will, buffs) cast on opposing party

(let me know if i missed out on some)

D2: Ticking Time Bomb
This will kill you, if you're not careful. And that's an understatment

In every fight, there's a time limit placed on the match. 10 minutes. You have 10 minutes to defeat your enemy, or else the game will. Its just the way it works. However this can be used to your advantage.

If you've ever dragged a fight on in FL, you'll notice you'll take damage every round. After dealing heavy damage to your enemy's mercenaries, you can let the timer kill them off, while you focus your efforts on the others.

Some formations, particularly a DMF, rely on this timer. This is effectively stalling, using up the whole 30 seconds per turn to "speed up" the game clock. If you use a form that's defensive in nature, this timer becomes your friend.

E: Know thy Enemy

The following are typical formations you will face when in PVP, every formation is unique but you can get an idea from a couple of key mercenaries. First off though, I'll start with a common build you might see people using.

E1: The Dual Monk Formation a.k.a DMF
Yes, its the formation everybody's talking about. But get it into your head, its not all that is hyped up to be. If you watch the recent titan match between Sharingan vs HP99999, you'll see how a SMF (single monk formation) can deal with 2.

I won't discuss how you can beat it, because it might force you to change your formations. NO! Rather, will discuss the objective of the DMF, and what they intend to do, and some weaknesses they inherently possess (as a matter of fact, they barely have any).

DMF's main objective is not to kill you, but to survive till the end-match DoT's kills you.
When taking a 2nd monk, you're effectively reducing the damage you can dish out. And thus, you become more defensive. This is a stalling build. Sometimes, they win on account of points.

This is a DMF i'd likely use, feel free to change the formation around.
Based of the formation, i have 2 bows. These 2 bows i will use to snipe one of your mercs, ideally a soft one, maybe your soft monk, or even your exo (your only weapon against me).
While i go to work on that, my 2 monks will be busy casting holy guard, awakening, nullifying anything you can throw at me.
Review
*My objective isn't to kill you, but get enough points/let the dots kill you.
*I will Holy Guard faster than you can drop your AOE on me.
*My 2-3 Awakenings will make your stun build fail.
*My Spartan will war cry, My NVik will stop your line, My Exo will seal.

Sounds tough? It is, but its not impossible. This formation is not the deadliest, but even deadlier DMF's have the same weakness: when one monk goes down, the formation falls. Easier said than done. But that's a hint you can design your builds to deal with. When you design your formations, you now have something in mind so you'll be better prepared to deal with them.

-end part 1-

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Ok guys, if you anything you'd like to add, or if you want to help me complete this guide, just pm me, or leave a comment. As it is i could use some help as well. For those of you that FL a bit, i could use some formations you see, so i can analyze them better. I want this guide to be a reference for all of you that want to PVP or be better. Knowing is half the battle, execution is the other half. For know, i'm working on the first. Please, tell me your stories, formations, comments. I'll try and make the guide as quantifiable and precise as possible. Everything and anything I can use to make this guide better. :) I'll also be keeping an eye on Titan finals for analysis.

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.

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*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.

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*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) 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 :
• Spearman : 70~80
• Spartan :
• Archer : 60~110
• Prophet : 65~95
• Gunner : 65~95
• Inventor : 65~85
• Janissary :
• 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

Note: I'm not sure about main characters. But my guess is that they are exactly the same as the mercenaries that represent them, meaning Bow Main's AP regen is like that of an Archer's, and etc. I still have no info about AP regen of Musician Main and Maniac Main though =(

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 Will and Speed Cast. Speed Cast is the best one for sure ;)

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*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.

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*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,

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*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.

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

Feedbacks, opinions, comments and corrections are much welcomed =)

Hello and greetings to all.

For the past few days, I've been testing out some things in battle to confirm my theory of Skill Cooldowns in Battle.
Now I pretty much have figured out how it actually works, and have decided to submit my findings here. This guide contains explanations and examples to elaborate why some skills can be used twice in a turn, why some other cannot ; also on why no skill except Awakening can be used on the 1st turn. I'm sure there are players who can profit from this knowledge, especially those who PvP and Free League a lot. Hope this guide will be helpful to ya! :)

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 made in the future.

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*HOW SKILL COOLDOWN WORKS (THE COUNTER SYSTEM)*

• On every player turn, every character (mercenaries and main character) will gain 1 'counter' (i call them counters). The counter is not shown anywhere, it is just data that is stored in the game data cache.
• Every character's counters is of their own only. They do not affect the counters of other characters.
• A character's counter is shared by all of his skills. More details on the *DELAYING* section below.
• Here's the interesting part. 'Skill of cooldown : X' actually means that you need to accumulate X counters first before you can use the skill. In other words, X counter is used to launch the skill.
• Also, basic attacks do not consume counters. Only skills do.

Example:

Skill : Flame Sword
Cooldown : 2 turns

Simply put, on your first turn, Flame Sword cant be used yet. This is because your characters only have 1 counters on them. Flame Sword has a cooldown of 2 turns, which means it needs 2 counters before it can be used. After you have used the Flame Sword skill, 2 counters will be consumed.

Detailed example :

> (2nd turn of player X)
Player X's Swordman uses Flame Sword on an opponent
~Counter Calculation:
(2)* - (2)** = (0)

(2)* = 2 counters have been accumulated, since it is now the 2nd turn.
(2)** = 2 counters is consumed, because Flame Sword's cooldown is 2 turns, in actuality it consumes 2 counters.

Therefore, after using Flame Sword on the 2nd turn, Player X's Swordman need to wait for 2 more turns (2 more counters) before he can use Flame Sword again.

Another example :
> (3rd turn of player Y)
Player Y's Swordman uses Flame Sword on an opponent. The Swordman did not use any skill during the 1st and 2nd turn.
~Counter Calculation:
(3) - (2) = (1)

After using the Flame Sword, the Swordman can use it again next turn! this is because after using Flame Sword, he has 1 more counter. On Player Y's next turn, the Swordman will now have 2 counters and can use Flame Sword again.

The Counter System theory can explain why all skills cannot be used during the 1st turn, except for Awakening. Awakening is the only skill with 1 turn cooldown. Other skills have cooldowns of 2 turns and above.

Edit : Deadly Strike and Deadly Shot also have cooldown of 1 turn and can be used on the 1st turn, though they are not usable during that time since you'll always be at full health anyways. With the exception of that character being low-health beforehand (pve).
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*DELAYING*

One important thing to remember is that the counters of a character is SHARED by ALL of his/her skills. This means that by using a skill, the other skills is delayed. "Also, the MAXIMUM COUNTERS A CHARACTER CAN HAVE AT ONE TIME IS 4 ONLY".

Example and elaboration :

Weltall (Staff Main)
Skills:

• Evanescent Scud (3 turns cooldown)
• Flame Blow (4 turns cooldown)
• Blessing of Life (2 turns cooldown)

>(now is the 6th turn)

Let's say Weltall has 4 counters on him. He hasn't use any skill yet. He can use any of the 3 skills now, since he has enough counters.
If Weltall casts Blessing of Life, then;
(4) - (2) = (2)
Therefore, after casting Blessing of Life, the cooldown now becomes:

• Evanescent Scud (1 turn)
• Flame Blow (2 turns)
• Blessing of Life (0 turn)

Evanescent Scud can be casted on the next turn, while Flame Blow can be casted on the turn after that (only if no other skill was used)
The counters will then be consumed and become 0 again.
Thus, the cooldown now becomes:

• Evanescent Scud (3 turns)
• Flame Blow (4 turns)
• Blessing of Life (2 turns)

*GENERAL MISCONCEPTION OF SKILL DELAYING*

Most Atlantica players often get the wrong idea of skill delaying, given the fact that the game developers only wrote down what the skill cooldowns are, but not how they work.

After a character has used/casted a skill, how long you have to wait depends on how many counters you have left, and how many counters will your next skill consume.

General Misconception :

Most players share the same idea, that a Witch's Mana Drain will greatly delay her Meteor Strike. "After you cast a skill, you will need to wait for 4 more turns before you can cast a Meteor Strike".
This is only true, if the Witch had 2 counters before she casted the Mana Drain.

In Truth :

After a Witch has casted Mana Drain, you do not necessarily need to wait for 4 more turns before you can cast a Meteor Strike.
Let's say the Witch had 4 counters beforehand, and use Mana Drain (2 turns cooldown, meaning it will consume 2 counters)

(4) - (2) = (2) ---> 2 more turns before Meteor Strike can be used

If you select your witch, you will notice that the cooldown of Meteor Strike has become 2 turns. This is simple enough, as it means that 2 more counters are needed (Meteor Strike's cooldown is 4 turns; it will consume 4 counters)

Again, the result will vary depending on the counters the Witch had beforehand.

(3) - (2) = (1) ---> 3 more turns before Meteor Strike can be used

(2) - (2) = (0) ---> 4 more turns before Meteor Strike can be used

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*DOUBLE CASTING A SINGLE SKILL IN ONE TURN*

In the above example, notice that the cooldown of Blessing of Life has become 0 turn. This means Blessing of Life can be used again that turn! (conditions : Weltall has at least 100 ap after casting the first Blessing of Life, another 'green circle' is directed to Weltall)
This is because :
(4) - (2) = (2)

after casting the first Blessing of Life, there is enough counters to cast another Blessing of Life.

From this example and theory, I found out that ONLY skills with cooldown of 2 or lower turns can be casted/used twice in 1 turn.
(passive skill not included)
Study the below :

(4) - (1) = (3)
(4) - (2) = (2)
(4) - (3) = (1) --> the skill with the 3 turn cooldown CANNOT be casted again, because there is not enough counter to cast it again.
(4) - (4) = (0) --> the skill with the 4 turn cooldown CANNOT be casted again, because there is not enough counter to cast it again.

You don't necessarily need to cast the same skill twice in one turn. You can always go for Flame Sword followed by Deadly Strike for better damage output rather than a double Flame Sword ^^

This knowledge is useful in PvP. Double Lightning Spear, double Holy Guard, double Healing, Flame Sword followed by Deadly Strike in 1 turn are useful when used wisely and correctly in PvP.

I wont be explaining about AP usage for those cases here. maybe in some other guide..maybe =P

Edit : Double casting is usually possible when that particular character has 3 or 4 counters. Seems like Awakening is the only spammable GG skill in the game by far :p (1 counter consumption i.e. 1 turn cooldown, and AP cost of ONLY 75!)

Edit :One more thing. If possible, make your mercs learn skills that have different cooldowns. This is helpful in checking how many counters the merc have at that moment. Heck, I dont play DoT builds but my Swordman has lvl 1 Dark Seed. Since Dark Seed has cooldown of 3 turns, Deadly Strike of 1 turn, and Flame Sword of 2 turns, therefore :

when it says Dark Seed can be casted, I know I can cast Flame Sword and Deadly Strike (3 counters total) in one turn. Go figure how is this useful in PvP =P
Basically, the Dark Seed skill serves as a 'counter checker'.

My witch has all skills learnt, with Mana Trap only at lvl 1. I can keep track of her remaining counters easily ;)

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*EXCEPTION*

I noticed that when a battle starts, the side which moves second has 2 counters on that turn, instead of just 1.
Always happened to me when I fight a match in Free League ; my team moved first, followed by the opponent. Eventhough it's the opponent's first turn, his Swordman can use Flame Sword (2 turns cooldown). Pretty lame move, but i kept wondering why that guy can use Flame Sword on his first turn.

Thus, this leads to one hypothesis - the side which moves second in a battle, naturally gain 1 more counter on the first turn to make up for the fact that they moved second. Moving first and moving second does bring difference in Free League (^_^)

p/s: although that being said, i still need to confirm this. I will post future results here.

Edit: Till now, there has been no observation of freeze, stun and silence interrupting the accumulation of Counters. However, mercs that are in the Mercenary Room do not accumulate counters. Mercenaries who just entered the battle later on (via the in-battle Mercenary Room swapping system) will have his/her counter start at 1.

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

Feedbacks, opinions, comments and corrections are much welcomed =)

Edit: I'm currently working on a guide corcerning AP management in battles. I will post it up when it's done =)