In an effort to increase security and lower account hacking, Atlantica Online is implementing some new extra security measures. First, there will be a new password policy where player passwords must be at least eight characters in length, and these passwords must include at least one number and one capital letter. In addition to this, users are asked to change their passwords before April 20th, 5:30 PM PDT, or else NDOORs will be enforcing automatic password changes. On April 20th, during the regularly scheduled server maintenance, all passwords that have not been changed will be reset and new temporary passwords will be sent via email. So if you all have five days to change your passwords if you don't want one being forced on you!

You all have 6 days left to snag yourself a Talos' Gearbox, and NDOORs is helping you out by offering this cash shop item for 10% off! For players who have always wanted a Griffin Mount, the team at Atlantica Online is planning to discontinue the Talos' Gearbox on April 19th, at 1 PM, so your time may be limited. As well, if you should miss out on this opportunity, then you may find yourself paying a ton of money to get your hands on the few remaining.

Remember, however, that the reward given from these boxes is selected randomly from 17 potential items, but good luck to everyone who wants to get their Griffin before the week is out!

Every two months, Atlanticans get a brand new mount to buy in the item store, and this month is no different. Today the Atlantica Online team has introduced the awesome Chopper Mount! This mount grants a whopping 380-480 attack power, +180 STR, +180 DEX, +240 VIT, +5400 DEF and +20% Movement Speed. Unfortunately, unlike the Spinning Ninja Star Mount, the Chopper Mount will not feature the additional +10 Crit that made the Ninja Star so good. Thus, melee should consider staying with their Ninja Star as, while the Chopper does boast superior all-around stats, that +10 Crit may make a much bigger difference.

You can also check out the other potential rewards from the Engineer's Cache at the Atlantica Online website!

The developers at Ndoors, the creators of Atlantica Online, have once again provided the ZAM staff with a fairly in-depth dev journal on one of their game's playable mercenaries, the Prophet. Besides being quite striking, this Elven lass packs quite the punch with her bow as well. She's a perfect complement to any melee-based front line, so if you're a fan of Atlantica Online, or just want to get a glimpse of the gameplay in the MMO, make sure you keep on reading!

And if you've missed any of our Atlantica dev journals, you can read the entire assortment by clicking here!

It seems as though February will be the month for Atlantica Online fans, as the team is planning to host some neat events for every weekend in the month of February. First, there will be a bonus 150% experience every Saturday and Sunday in February, and on every Sunday of the month, there will be monster invasions, with valuable rewards!

For the weekend of February 6th, there will be the "Moving Day Event," a competition for all guilds who own a Town in Atlantica Online. Whoever gets the most residents to move in on Saturday, February 6th, from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. PST will earn 100 Prison Officer's Safes and 2 Alcatraz Keys (that's good!).

On February 13th, the GMs of the server will be hosting a Quiz Room Challenge, and users who answer any question correctly will win 2 Ancient Skill Books and 8 (Merc. Only) Ancient Skill Books.

On February 20th, there will be the great Atlantica Online Crafting Race! The GMs will announce, at specific times, what items they want players to craft, and whoever finds the materials and crafts the item will win 3, 2, or 1 Heavenly Crystals, for first, second and third place, respectively. The announcements will take place at 2:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Finally, on February 27th, the Atlantica Online team will be holding a "GM Hide and Seek" event, where GMs will randomly hide around the world of Atlantica Online, broadcasting riddles on their locations. Players who find the GMs will be awarded 1 Heavenly Crystal.

Atlantica Online fans may be happy to know that, until the end of the month, the Atlantica Online team is offering a Sabertooth Guardian Stone and 10 (+1) Shinobi's Treasure for only 1899 GCoins. With the Sabertooth Guardian Stone, players have the opportunity to snag a Majestic Sabertooth Mount, and the Shinobi's Treasures all contain a shot at getting the new Ninja Costume pieces.

But hurry up and make your decision! The sale is ending on January 31st, 2010, and you can check out the deal over at the Atlantica Online website.

The Atlantica Online developers continue their weekly dev journals with ZAM readers, and this time they're presenting all of the information players need to recruit the sword-wielding Exorcist. Their newest journal takes a close look at the mercenary's spells and explains why the Exorcist is so versatile in PvP.

Keep reading after the jump to find out more about the Exorcist straight from the developers!

With the New Year always comes lots of new stuff! Although Atlantica Online's latest content update may have occurred more in the middle of the month than later, content updates are always cool! With their January update, the team has made some pretty significant changes to their PvP balancing and Colosseum League. In particular, they have increased the HP of main characters and mercenaries, and they've also increased the chances for a double-hit attack to land. Spear Main users may also be overjoyed to learn that their attack power has been increased, and for many Sword Mercenary users, most of their abilities' damage has also been increased.

In addition to these PvP balance changes, the team has also decided that players can have up to two Lady Knight and Cannoneer mercenaries. As well, they have decided to unify Mana Stones in Atlantica Online, and now there will only be three stones, the Repair Stones, the Enchant Stones and the Enhance Stones, as opposed to having specific stones for Armor, Accessories and Weapons.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! You can check out the full patch notes below, and you can also download out the game at the Atlantica Online website!

The Atlantica Online developers continue their weekly dev journals with the ZAM readers, and they're presenting all of the information players need to recruit the Beast Trainer. Their developer journal talks about the steps required to obtain the axe-wielding mercenary and explains how the Beast Trainer calls upon a variety of powerful beasts to attack all enemies.

Keep reading to find out more about the Beast Trainer straight from the developers!

NDOORS Interactive is hosting all sorts of events in Atlantica Online this month to kick off 2010 with a bang. Three in-game events are being held every weekend in January to help players gain items and level up their characters. You can read all about the events after the jump.

In addition, NDOORS is hosting a screenshot scavenger hunt throughout the month. Players must take screenshots of their character next to the NPC Angakok, any winter-themed monster in Atlantica, and their avatar with Santa Villa in the background by Jan. 31 for the chance to win 2,000 bonus Gcoins.