Forum discussions are now taking place on Discord. For all account questions and concerns, please continue to contact Customer Support directly.

Keep updated on Pirate101 on Twitter @Pirate101, Facebook, Discord, and @KI_Alerts!

 Search  Updated Topics  Hottest Topics  Rules

Too many companions

2Go to Last Post
AuthorMessage
Ensign
Mar 28, 2009
4
Darth JT on Dec 10, 2012 wrote:
Your explanation is exactly why this should not happen. Battles in Wizard101 get very repeatative, the same mobs, the same spells, the same fights over and over again.

In Pirate101, every battle is different. You dont know what talents or cards you will start with, you dont know usually what companions you will get or how many, you dont know if you will get your pet.

The randomness of the battles is what keeps it from being monotonous and repeatative. It keeps the game fun and interesting, give you something to strive for, keeping your companions promoted, trained, and getting to know each and everyone that is on your crew. Learn their strengths and their weaknesses, as a true captain should.
Your missing the big point. We don't get enough points to train all of them and buying a lot of points cost a lot. This randomness would work IF we got the right amount of points to train all of them and keep them at a good level to fight. We all want to keep our favorite companions at the same level as our pirates because we want them to fight with our pirates. But when we do that, we start to run out of points and a lot of companions will not get any. I agree with being able to pick our companions for all fight because I am a Privateer. Privateer get the most companions (Or what Kingslsle said) and we have the hardest time keeping all of them at a good level. Another thing is that we ALL have different play styles and Kingslsle is sorta forcing us to play one way. In Wizard 101 we could play any style we want in our class and fight our way. In Pirate 101. We are forced to play 2 way because of the companions that get picked for the fight. The 2 ways are keep all our weak companions back and let the strong one do the fighting or sent the weak ones to try to fight and then have them die. Another thing is that I don't think Kingslsle was going for the combat you were talking about. It being random. I went and reread the stuff in "See The Game" and I did not fine anything about it being random. The closes thing I found was "You can order your Companions to pick who is most likely to help you during combat". ( https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/companions ).
Ensign
Dec 28, 2012
12
While I am a fan of the randomness of companions, I also feel that it is very difficult to keep them all trained up. At the moment I have 14 companions, and wait until they are at 5 levels below me to use a book (which gives them two levels per book). Even having done all of the side quests up to the Haunted Skyway, (and having bought a LOT of books) I am just barely able to keep them in that position.

The solution to me seems clear: reward companions with experience after battles. The experience should be enough to keep a consistent first mate at or just below the player's level, while the other companions would still be supplemented with books.
Another possible change would be to make the experience granted by the books based on the level of the character applying it, not the companion receiving it. Therefore companions greater then 5 levels below the player would receive more then two levels, making it easier to play catch-up later in the game. I think that would lessen the "I hate it when so-and-so shows up" due to them being 20 levels behind the player.

Finally, to help with the "books or ships" dilemma, have it so a group of higher level companions will run a ship more efficiently then a group of lower ones. This shouldn't mean a level 50 in a raft can take out ships with ease, but improve your accuracy, repair rate, speed and perhaps even ability cool downs. After all, the better skilled a ship's crew is, the smoother and more efficiently it should run.
Ensign
Dec 31, 2012
30
The companion system and how it works are one of the biggest issues with the game at the moment. The best description of the way it currently works is anti-fun. A good example of how bad it works is you can have Old Scratch at under 1% per the management page and he'll show up twice even three times in a row. The way it currently works isn't fun or enjoyable at all. The excuse given about making people try different companions out is a weak one. If people aren't using certain companions it's for a reason and they should be changed and made more usable. A big negative to most companions especially crown shop copies are the lack of useful epic choices and skills. There also seems to be a lack of detail and attention to certain animations and models which again isn't the players problem but the developers. El Toro for example is a well animated and usually exciting companion (besides the weird eyelid glitch on certain animations).

I've personally tried different companions as I've received them due to level. They get moved to the bottom for a reason and it's usually because they're not that useful in a fight or are boring all around. I'd like to see a more robust system put into place where each row of four are your lineups in order. My first and second lineups of four are my go to always. I'm not quite sure why I have to rely on luck to get the companions I want out or at least one of them in almost every fight. Order in each lineup of four also designates who goes after who as well. Promoting strategy and critical thinking this way gives the player control and rewards them for winning combinations.

Lastly the other part of this problem is the insane cost of training tomes or required amount of them to train a companion. I can't help but think that gold drops are a larger part considering that jade fleet ships can drop only 40 gold or so which is unacceptable at 45+. Why are players being punished with certain mechanics and systems in this game? We're customers...
Ensign
Sep 03, 2011
3
To me, it's to risky, i agree that it would be better if you could "withdraw" your companians. Like i have said in my other post: there's several companians that i get and that are just to weak to be in any battle with me. But heres the thing is that because of those weak companians, we will all lose and then get upset and blah blah blah! It would be better if they could make the game just a bit more easy.
Petty Officer
Feb 10, 2011
97
Baconnaise on Jan 25, 2013 wrote:
The companion system and how it works are one of the biggest issues with the game at the moment. The best description of the way it currently works is anti-fun. A good example of how bad it works is you can have Old Scratch at under 1% per the management page and he'll show up twice even three times in a row. The way it currently works isn't fun or enjoyable at all. The excuse given about making people try different companions out is a weak one. If people aren't using certain companions it's for a reason and they should be changed and made more usable. A big negative to most companions especially crown shop copies are the lack of useful epic choices and skills. There also seems to be a lack of detail and attention to certain animations and models which again isn't the players problem but the developers. El Toro for example is a well animated and usually exciting companion (besides the weird eyelid glitch on certain animations).

I've personally tried different companions as I've received them due to level. They get moved to the bottom for a reason and it's usually because they're not that useful in a fight or are boring all around. I'd like to see a more robust system put into place where each row of four are your lineups in order. My first and second lineups of four are my go to always. I'm not quite sure why I have to rely on luck to get the companions I want out or at least one of them in almost every fight. Order in each lineup of four also designates who goes after who as well. Promoting strategy and critical thinking this way gives the player control and rewards them for winning combinations.

Lastly the other part of this problem is the insane cost of training tomes or required amount of them to train a companion. I can't help but think that gold drops are a larger part considering that jade fleet ships can drop only 40 gold or so which is unacceptable at 45+. Why are players being punished with certain mechanics and systems in this game? We're customers...
I don't know how to say in more clearly than this. And I will keep riding this horse until somebody at KI says more than "it's under consideration."

The holidays have come and gone, we're cruising into the end of January and no communication about what to expect to rectify this situation.

I've already reached level 50, level 50 nautical AND completed the final quest, thereby completing the game as it stands now.

Why are players being forced to use the companion game mechanics when we are customers not children to be told "because we said so."?

In the next update this should be the first thing addressed. There is no reason a different system of real companion management can't take place.

I've made suggestions, others have made suggestions. I'd even go along with the alleged "randomness" (which isn't random when a companion that has < 1% chance of showing up shows up bypassing all the others that have a higher percentage) if it were random say from a pool of 6 or even 8 instead of all of them.

Did anyone think of what is going to happen when you have dozens and dozens of companions for page after page with the vast majority having a <1% chance of showing up? What would be the point in that?
Ensign
Jun 11, 2011
9
gordon2020123 on Dec 11, 2012 wrote:
I agree!

It would be cool with companions around your house. !
SOOOO true. It can really get overwhelming after a while. Plus, There may be some cases where you have some low level companions because you're focusing on specific companions and then the low levels are sent into battle and then you lose in a really hard-to-get-to place, or maybe you are really far into a tough dungeon. It can get annoying. I'm having to train my low levels and waste my training points just to make it so that I won't die so easily because of some low level companions.
Ensign
Jun 11, 2011
9
barkadat3p on Dec 11, 2012 wrote:
While that's one solution it is not the option that I would pick. As I see it, what's giving people headaches are the combination of:

random companions in battle + scarce/expensive training points + large numbers of companions

Take one out of the equation and things will get easier. As a person who was drawn to the game because the player can essentially build a pirate crew of his own with as many members as possible, I would prefer that there's no limit to the amount of companions we can recruit so taking out the third option is out for me. As it stands now, the game mechanics feels like it's punishing the players who have a lot of companions.

I would also prefer to keep the random companion picks that we get in battle because like the others have said, it prevents the game from being monotonous and repetitive and keeps it fresh and challenging. It will be tedious if people like me would have to go the the companion page everytime to switch out characters just because we want to at least try to use every companion in battle as much as possible. People will "shelve" their weaker characters in favor of their stronger ones, heck I would probably do the same thing if KI does implement this. In addition, it also makes sure that the hard work that KI put into designing these companions will not go to waste and guarantees that every companion is utilized.

So I would rather KI fix the scarceness/expensiveness of the training points. I realize that training points were probably designed so that people will use crown points to get gold in order to buy the training points but...man it's really hard for people like me who wants a large crew!!!!
Plus, if you put a certain companion at home, she/he MAY be a big part of the story, like if you put Bonnie Anne in your home, the story would pretty much be broken.
Lieutenant
Jul 09, 2009
151
I'd like to be able to take out some companions. They should add a "Walk the Plank," option on side quest companions. You'd be able to leave a certain amount home (side quest companions only). Say like about 5-7.
I'm not exactly happy with having to farm Friar Sand all the time to get all my companions, even the bad ones, to max level for a garunteed even fight.
Petty Officer
Oct 04, 2012
67
With my second character I have avoided all companion quests other than those on the main storyline. At 50 I will only undertake those quests for worthwhile companions.
Petty Officer
Feb 10, 2011
97
blazey11 on Jan 26, 2013 wrote:
Plus, if you put a certain companion at home, she/he MAY be a big part of the story, like if you put Bonnie Anne in your home, the story would pretty much be broken.
No it wouldn't. The game is the game.

It seems the character pop-ups for the story line are cooked right into the story so far, they pop up regardless. There is nothing that says that has to change. Or maybe it will change in future expansions with new story line companions introduced anyway.

I still advocate for the happy medium of being able to unequip companions to your house or below deck and having an "Away Team" companion crew roster that is no more than 8.

That way the game can still do it's so-called "random" thing, companion collectors can collect every companion they can find, but those of us attracted to the game to build our own crew (like the ad for the game says) can do that with a minimum of hassle.

Why does it only have to be "our way or the highway"?

Why can't there be a compromise?
Ensign
Oct 16, 2012
1
One thing everyone seems to be overlooking, is that every time a new companion offers to join your crew, you have the option to say "nar". With your first pirate, it's understandable that you don't know the consequeces of saying "yar" to every new companion, but, for every pirate you create after that, your experiences with your crews, should tell you there are times when you could say "nar". Even knowing that, I don't see that there is much chance of keeping crews very small. There are too many good companions, to turn many down. The key, I believe, is in learning how to use your training points to the best effect, which keeps all your companions trained to adequate levels, so that none of them let you down in a fight. I have learned to save my training points while I level up, so that when I do train one, they gain two, or more, levels at a time. I admit, I picked up this tip online, somewhere. I rarely buy training points, using that system. It's not necessary to keep your companions to the same level as your pirate. I've found that keeping them all within two to three levels of my pirate, is adequate. At the higher levels, everyone gets the companions they need in the form of the Monkey King, and the Cat Ninja, so that every fight becomes very winnable, and fun! I'm sure KI will take everyone's concerns, and recommendations, under consideration, but, I always keep in mind that truism, you can't please all of the people, all of the time.
Community Leader
I for one, find the companion system to work well.

I thoroughly enjoy the random companion choices, how the game mixes things up for each battle.
The companion system as is, is one of the reasons i ENJOY pirate 101.

Those complaining about not having enough training tomes, need to work on thier game play strategy.

I have taken a pirate all the way through to level 50, and only had to buy 12 additional tomes to get ALL my companions to level 50.

The way I am seeing this, is that players want KI to adjust the game instead of the players adjusting their strategies. Who's playing the game anyways?
Dr Zeppers (aka Silent Sam Stern)
Piratey parodies I like to make.
I be a crazy pirate for goodness sake!
Artist & Admin of Skull Island TV
Community Leader
VonThom on Jan 30, 2013 wrote:
One thing everyone seems to be overlooking, is that every time a new companion offers to join your crew, you have the option to say "nar". With your first pirate, it's understandable that you don't know the consequeces of saying "yar" to every new companion, but, for every pirate you create after that, your experiences with your crews, should tell you there are times when you could say "nar". Even knowing that, I don't see that there is much chance of keeping crews very small. There are too many good companions, to turn many down. The key, I believe, is in learning how to use your training points to the best effect, which keeps all your companions trained to adequate levels, so that none of them let you down in a fight. I have learned to save my training points while I level up, so that when I do train one, they gain two, or more, levels at a time. I admit, I picked up this tip online, somewhere. I rarely buy training points, using that system. It's not necessary to keep your companions to the same level as your pirate. I've found that keeping them all within two to three levels of my pirate, is adequate. At the higher levels, everyone gets the companions they need in the form of the Monkey King, and the Cat Ninja, so that every fight becomes very winnable, and fun! I'm sure KI will take everyone's concerns, and recommendations, under consideration, but, I always keep in mind that truism, you can't please all of the people, all of the time.
I dont know about us overlooking it, seems like you apparently have a feature noone else does.
I can guarantee you there is no "Nar" button.
When you see that image pop up, the companion is yours, there is no "Nar" button to refuse them. Im staring at one right now as I play (actually did it on 2 companions I was ready to receive), that "Yar" button is dead center, no "Nar" in sight. My beta testing friends having played many pirates since "Closed Beta", and now avoid companion quests, if it were as simple as clicking "Nar" we wouldnt skip them.

The key IS absolutely in how you manage your training tomes. I personally do not train my companions until they are 9 levels or more below my pirate. I've had a few tough battles, but nothing I couldnt get through although I am sure my experience with the game (ive played since they started closed beta) makes up for some of it. Doing this on my buccaneer only required me to buy a total of 12 training tomes total to get all my companions up to level 50, which didnt take me but a few minutes because I was always at max gold not having had to buy training tomes.
Dr Zeppers (aka Silent Sam Stern)
Piratey parodies I like to make.
I be a crazy pirate for goodness sake!
Artist & Admin of Skull Island TV
Ensign
Dec 31, 2012
30
VonThom on Jan 30, 2013 wrote:
One thing everyone seems to be overlooking, is that every time a new companion offers to join your crew, you have the option to say "nar". With your first pirate, it's understandable that you don't know the consequeces of saying "yar" to every new companion, but, for every pirate you create after that, your experiences with your crews, should tell you there are times when you could say "nar". Even knowing that, I don't see that there is much chance of keeping crews very small. There are too many good companions, to turn many down. The key, I believe, is in learning how to use your training points to the best effect, which keeps all your companions trained to adequate levels, so that none of them let you down in a fight. I have learned to save my training points while I level up, so that when I do train one, they gain two, or more, levels at a time. I admit, I picked up this tip online, somewhere. I rarely buy training points, using that system. It's not necessary to keep your companions to the same level as your pirate. I've found that keeping them all within two to three levels of my pirate, is adequate. At the higher levels, everyone gets the companions they need in the form of the Monkey King, and the Cat Ninja, so that every fight becomes very winnable, and fun! I'm sure KI will take everyone's concerns, and recommendations, under consideration, but, I always keep in mind that truism, you can't please all of the people, all of the time.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or joking around. You can turn down all side quest companions but the core (bonnie/ratbeard/parents/starter) and nab el toro when possible and you'll have the best companions in the game. All others pale in comparison except the carbon copies in the crown shop.

I actually have some level 47 trash companions higher up my list than monkey king with cat ninja at the bottom with old scratch and the rest of my privateers/witchdoctors (thankfully few). THey are both over level fifty and still very much useless.

Perhaps you don't or haven't used them as much as I have.
Ensign
Jun 26, 2012
7
I "solved" part of my having an excessive number of companions. I "killed off" the ones I feel are pretty much useless in terms of attack qualities and haven't revived them. I had them all at the bottom of the list but they regularly appeared at a higher rate than what was noted ON that list, so I put them out of commission. Unfortunately, now being at level 50, I get no more "perks" for quests so I have basically stopped playing. Without some ability to "upgrade" there are several quests I can't complete alone.
Petty Officer
Feb 10, 2011
97
Dr Zeppers on Jan 30, 2013 wrote:
I for one, find the companion system to work well.

I thoroughly enjoy the random companion choices, how the game mixes things up for each battle.
The companion system as is, is one of the reasons i ENJOY pirate 101.

Those complaining about not having enough training tomes, need to work on thier game play strategy.

I have taken a pirate all the way through to level 50, and only had to buy 12 additional tomes to get ALL my companions to level 50.

The way I am seeing this, is that players want KI to adjust the game instead of the players adjusting their strategies. Who's playing the game anyways?
What game are you playing? Please send me the link so I can play that one.

I don't think anyone is complaining about the randomness of the feature, but in the way it is implemented. There is no reason you should ever see a companion that has a less than 1% show up. Statistically, that's close to the odds of winning the super lottery. Yet they do. And all the ones that are at 1% as well.

And since there is no way to "Nar" a companion or "bottle" them, I think we do have a legitimate concern and ground to request change that goes beyond your thinking we don't understand "strategy."

Whenever there are just 3 against four, the game seems to go to great lengths to skip over every other single
companion that has a higher chance of appearing to give me the 1% or below companion. That doesn't seem like a feature to me, or anything to do with "great game design."

Again, no one seems to be willing to talk about why it has to be an "all or nothing" proposition. There is a large (huge, tremendous) window for compromise here.
Community Leader
aaronlightwalker on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
What game are you playing? Please send me the link so I can play that one.

I don't think anyone is complaining about the randomness of the feature, but in the way it is implemented. There is no reason you should ever see a companion that has a less than 1% show up. Statistically, that's close to the odds of winning the super lottery. Yet they do. And all the ones that are at 1% as well.

And since there is no way to "Nar" a companion or "bottle" them, I think we do have a legitimate concern and ground to request change that goes beyond your thinking we don't understand "strategy."

Whenever there are just 3 against four, the game seems to go to great lengths to skip over every other single
companion that has a higher chance of appearing to give me the 1% or below companion. That doesn't seem like a feature to me, or anything to do with "great game design."

Again, no one seems to be willing to talk about why it has to be an "all or nothing" proposition. There is a large (huge, tremendous) window for compromise here.
I have been playing this game... Pirate101 for 6 months. I have plenty of experience in how it works, and I have developed (and shared) excellent strategies to address most of the companion issues a small group of people complain about.

As for the percentage of chance of a companion joining your battle.
Consider the fact that its not a 1 to 1 decision, you generally get multiple companions in battle. This increases the likelihood of other companions even the 1%s joining your battle. If its not 0% there is a chance. Comparing to the lottery? You do realize that 1% is 1/100th, right? Thats far better odds than any lottery I have ever seen.

I also evenly train my companions, so even the 1%s have no problem in battle. Since I recognize the fact they can be in my battles I maintain my companions across the board.

The reason is because thats the games design. Overcoming and managing these companions was designed as part of the challenge. The current system a. promotes players to train all their companions. b. try various strategies in managing/training these companions, and c. makes the game ever dynamic by making nearly every battle a little different, even when repeating battles/dungeons in the game.

What I see here is people that dont want to play that part of the game. Again I say, adjust your strategies. I have a pretty large circle of friends that helped bring this game through beta, and we thoroughly in enjoy the dynamics the companion system has to offer, and have fun working on our strategies to improve our experience.
Dr Zeppers (aka Silent Sam Stern)
Piratey parodies I like to make.
I be a crazy pirate for goodness sake!
Artist & Admin of Skull Island TV
Developer
Helpful advice from Ratbeard:

1% means 1 in 100.

The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 175,000,000.

Which, although "less than 1%," it is not statistically comparable to the "less than 1%" that you see with 16 or more companions.

You are more than a million times more likely to see your most hated companion than you are to win the Powerball.

On the other hand if you do win the Powerball, ring me up and I am sure we can work out an arrangement for whatever you want me to do with your companions.
Captain
Feb 27, 2009
505
Ratbeard on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
Helpful advice from Ratbeard:

1% means 1 in 100.

The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 175,000,000.

Which, although "less than 1%," it is not statistically comparable to the "less than 1%" that you see with 16 or more companions.

You are more than a million times more likely to see your most hated companion than you are to win the Powerball.

On the other hand if you do win the Powerball, ring me up and I am sure we can work out an arrangement for whatever you want me to do with your companions.
Hey Ratbeard I won the lottery!

jk jk
Ensign
Dec 31, 2012
30
Dr Zeppers on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
I have been playing this game... Pirate101 for 6 months. I have plenty of experience in how it works, and I have developed (and shared) excellent strategies to address most of the companion issues a small group of people complain about.

As for the percentage of chance of a companion joining your battle.
Consider the fact that its not a 1 to 1 decision, you generally get multiple companions in battle. This increases the likelihood of other companions even the 1%s joining your battle. If its not 0% there is a chance. Comparing to the lottery? You do realize that 1% is 1/100th, right? Thats far better odds than any lottery I have ever seen.

I also evenly train my companions, so even the 1%s have no problem in battle. Since I recognize the fact they can be in my battles I maintain my companions across the board.

The reason is because thats the games design. Overcoming and managing these companions was designed as part of the challenge. The current system a. promotes players to train all their companions. b. try various strategies in managing/training these companions, and c. makes the game ever dynamic by making nearly every battle a little different, even when repeating battles/dungeons in the game.

What I see here is people that dont want to play that part of the game. Again I say, adjust your strategies. I have a pretty large circle of friends that helped bring this game through beta, and we thoroughly in enjoy the dynamics the companion system has to offer, and have fun working on our strategies to improve our experience.
It sounds like from your perspective a small minority that play tested the game prior to release are fine with everything. That's fine. I don't see a problem with allowing alternatives or more options such as a more reliable lineup. Having certain companions and epics with a reliable lineup lends itself to a certain play style around those epics and deeper strategy. You can have lineups for specific encounters or even ones that will best compliment your character.

The experience leveling up a buccaneer (least companions gained I believe of any of the classes besides WD's) seems a little disingenuous. You're talking about your experience after months of play and experiencing how arguably arbitrary and bad or strategic by your reckoning the system is. I leveled one character to 50 (musketeer) and had over five pages of quests left. My second character to fifty (swashbuckler) I did pretty the same leaving companions five levels or more behind prior to training and not doing side quests. Swashbucklers unfortunately I think are the second most companion heavy class out there next to privateers. That strategy works fine and keeps your worthwhile companions relatively on par with what content you're doing.

I can't stress enough that this shines an eery light on how bad most of the companions are in this game except your default beginner choices. El Toro is the exception here but comes so far into the game it's pointless to bring up. If companions were more equally matched and distributed the argument about how wonderful the random system is all about strategy might hold some more weight. That's not the reality though. I dislike having to bring Riot or League of Legends up but a popular phrase they use as a reason for change is anti fun and this is a great example of it. People will spend the time choosing certain epics to compliment others on another companion only to have this system throw out something beyond your control. This is why certain epics are extremely more powerful than others because you lack the choice to make half the epics even useful. Why bother putting in more situational epics if you can't use them? Let's all have the same epics on the same companions and enjoy our stale game play and lack of strategy!

Please keep in mind that many people are fine with the game and enjoy it. They're voicing an opinion on something about the game they enjoy and think should be improved. I have yet to play game where everything is perfect for everyone or couldn't be improved. Second thought I take that last sentence back as there were some games that clearly shouldn't have been made and hurt humanity and gamers everywhere.
Ensign
Jan 04, 2013
19
Our companions should just be placed in our houses. NOT bunk house.

they should walk around like pets do in wizard101.

Oh and speaking of pets we should be able to place them down in our houses. (also like in wizard101)

Sincerely,
Kai
Community Leader
Ratbeard on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
Helpful advice from Ratbeard:

1% means 1 in 100.

The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 175,000,000.

Which, although "less than 1%," it is not statistically comparable to the "less than 1%" that you see with 16 or more companions.

You are more than a million times more likely to see your most hated companion than you are to win the Powerball.

On the other hand if you do win the Powerball, ring me up and I am sure we can work out an arrangement for whatever you want me to do with your companions.
LOL!
Johnny - Pirate101 Community Leader
Petty Officer
Feb 10, 2011
97
Dr Zeppers on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
I have been playing this game... Pirate101 for 6 months. I have plenty of experience in how it works, and I have developed (and shared) excellent strategies to address most of the companion issues a small group of people complain about.

As for the percentage of chance of a companion joining your battle.
Consider the fact that its not a 1 to 1 decision, you generally get multiple companions in battle. This increases the likelihood of other companions even the 1%s joining your battle. If its not 0% there is a chance. Comparing to the lottery? You do realize that 1% is 1/100th, right? Thats far better odds than any lottery I have ever seen.

I also evenly train my companions, so even the 1%s have no problem in battle. Since I recognize the fact they can be in my battles I maintain my companions across the board.

The reason is because thats the games design. Overcoming and managing these companions was designed as part of the challenge. The current system a. promotes players to train all their companions. b. try various strategies in managing/training these companions, and c. makes the game ever dynamic by making nearly every battle a little different, even when repeating battles/dungeons in the game.

What I see here is people that dont want to play that part of the game. Again I say, adjust your strategies. I have a pretty large circle of friends that helped bring this game through beta, and we thoroughly in enjoy the dynamics the companion system has to offer, and have fun working on our strategies to improve our experience.
So, I guess you never heard of hyperbole (Hyperbole:the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally) while you and your vast network of friends were busy playing the game during beta?

I simply meant that less than a 1 % chance in a hundred should be dang near impossible, and certainly not a regular occurrence.

But the main point is, once again, there should be room for compromise in the system.

The reason I started playing P101 was because I enjoyed the idea of having a "crew" that I could use in the same way I would use my team in Pokemon. I would get my favorites and level them up as I played the game, I didn't have to spend in game resources to do so. There are other games where you have a "crew" and they gain experience along with you or during battles or other in game mechanisms that don't involve you having to spend in game resources to level them up.

Why is it anathema for people to understand I am not saying to do away with the companion system, but to change the way it is done so that companions level with you, level by receiving xp just as you do upon completing a battle/quest or significantly lowering the cost of training points? Why can't we unequip some after you have collected more than 6 or 8?

I'm happy that you were able to work out your system, but I look at it and ask "why does the system have to be this way (and this way only) in the first place?" There are other viable routes to take for a compromise with this issue.
Ensign
Jun 13, 2009
28
Ratbeard on Feb 1, 2013 wrote:
Helpful advice from Ratbeard:

1% means 1 in 100.

The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 175,000,000.

Which, although "less than 1%," it is not statistically comparable to the "less than 1%" that you see with 16 or more companions.

You are more than a million times more likely to see your most hated companion than you are to win the Powerball.

On the other hand if you do win the Powerball, ring me up and I am sure we can work out an arrangement for whatever you want me to do with your companions.
The bottom paragraph says it all as to the devs motivation behind keeping the companion system as it is:

It's the almighty buck. So long as our least trained most annoying and hated companions have a chance to show up at the most inopportune times, many people will at least feel compelled to spend the gold to train them so they can be somewhat competent in battle. And to get that gold which doesn't drop in nearly large enough amounts to train these less than stellar companions, people will buy crowns and cash them in game.

The bottom line is the bottom line = $$$
Community Leader
aaronlightwalker on Feb 2, 2013 wrote:
So, I guess you never heard of hyperbole (Hyperbole:the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally) while you and your vast network of friends were busy playing the game during beta?

I simply meant that less than a 1 % chance in a hundred should be dang near impossible, and certainly not a regular occurrence.

But the main point is, once again, there should be room for compromise in the system.

The reason I started playing P101 was because I enjoyed the idea of having a "crew" that I could use in the same way I would use my team in Pokemon. I would get my favorites and level them up as I played the game, I didn't have to spend in game resources to do so. There are other games where you have a "crew" and they gain experience along with you or during battles or other in game mechanisms that don't involve you having to spend in game resources to level them up.

Why is it anathema for people to understand I am not saying to do away with the companion system, but to change the way it is done so that companions level with you, level by receiving xp just as you do upon completing a battle/quest or significantly lowering the cost of training points? Why can't we unequip some after you have collected more than 6 or 8?

I'm happy that you were able to work out your system, but I look at it and ask "why does the system have to be this way (and this way only) in the first place?" There are other viable routes to take for a compromise with this issue.
An exaggeration to try to support your point? Facts are by far more supportive.
Sorry, this is not pokemon (if it were I wouldnt have any interest in it whatsoever). The reason I started playing Pirate101 was because I loved the genre/style of KingsIsle games having played Wizard101, and I love the twists and change on game play they have made with their newest product Pirate101. If it were to emulate or mimic any gaming system at all, I would think it would mimic Wizard101, not a game like Pokemon.

What I think some folks here are failing to understand is that the changes being proposed would break the system as designed, the hurdles most are complaining about, are part of the games design, not a flaw. It presents further challenges to the game. These proposals removes this process, removes the challenge, Controlling what characters are in each battle simplifies the game, equates to making every battle an "epic battle", which is supposed to be something to look forward to. What these proposals actually do is remove challenges from the game. Challenges that are part of the game by design. From my perspective they eliminate some of the challenges that make the game fun.

As for the person making my statements about my project being disingenuous. They should not make statements without any basis of fact, at least not those that accuse others of wrong doing. By making such an accusation in itself doesnt seem disingenuous, it definately is.

http://pirate101.centralforums.com/forums/showthread.php?19668-Zeps-Companion-Training-Tome-experiment

As for my small group of beta testers, and it is about equal to the number of people I see complaining about the companion system as it is. Not to mention the numbers that are working with the system in other social forums. All I see is a handful of people complaining because they either havent figured out a viable strategy or just arent willing to work on one. People wanting Pirate101 to be something more like other mmo offerings instead of a KI style game.
Dr Zeppers (aka Silent Sam Stern)
Piratey parodies I like to make.
I be a crazy pirate for goodness sake!
Artist & Admin of Skull Island TV
2Go to Last Post