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Epic Talents / Promotions

AuthorMessage
Bosun
Aug 21, 2009
358
I'm a bit upset over epic talents, or namely when you are given the option to choose epic talents on a companion if you decide to train first or select a talent first you no longer are allowed to have or choose the epic talent. I've had two companions now that have lost the opportunity to have epic talents cause I didn't select that first and I feel a bit gimped cause of it. I don't understand when companions are supposed to obtain the option to promote them, and if you promote one does that mean you could have promoted a different one later on instead. I don't understand why if you don't promote immediately you lose the option to promote that companion. It seems very flawed, but there hasn't been anything to read concerning it. So far all my companions are at level 12 and I've only promoted one and have gotten epic talents upon one of them. If that is below norm I'll likely be hurt in comparison to everyone else later on as this losing the oportunity to promote thing seems bugged.
Gunner's Mate
Oct 22, 2011
210
Each time a companion promotes, it does not mean they get an epic talent each time. Some promotions are so your companion can train a new talent like accuracy, dodgy, tough, etc.

Then there are the more rare promotions. These are the ones where your companion lets you know they need to talk to you in any tavern, (some of the non-main companions promote by paying gold). Not every companion will get epic talents at the same level.

For example, my Ratbeard had his second (major) promotion at level 28. Bonnie Anne's second (major) promotion is at level 31.

Hope this helps!
Petty Officer
Mar 18, 2009
81
seasnake on Oct 16, 2012 wrote:
I'm a bit upset over epic talents, or namely when you are given the option to choose epic talents on a companion if you decide to train first or select a talent first you no longer are allowed to have or choose the epic talent. I've had two companions now that have lost the opportunity to have epic talents cause I didn't select that first and I feel a bit gimped cause of it. I don't understand when companions are supposed to obtain the option to promote them, and if you promote one does that mean you could have promoted a different one later on instead. I don't understand why if you don't promote immediately you lose the option to promote that companion. It seems very flawed, but there hasn't been anything to read concerning it. So far all my companions are at level 12 and I've only promoted one and have gotten epic talents upon one of them. If that is below norm I'll likely be hurt in comparison to everyone else later on as this losing the oportunity to promote thing seems bugged.
Not all companions promote at the same level. By level 12 only about two companions actually promote by then....Bonnie Anne and Ratbeard.
Commodore
Apr 28, 2012
962
From what I have seen so far, companions only get Epic Talents at 2 different times. One is when you first get them if they are high enough level (above either 4 or 8 - not sure which) and maybe at certain levels. Most of the time all you get is an increase in statistics at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, etc (shown by the Lightning Bolt in the upper right of the icon in the Companion Management Interface - 'u' key). The only other time I have seen them get Epic Talents is when they go on a Promotion Quest of their own which they will request that you go into a tavern (actually any tavern's cellar) and talk to them. This is indicated by the Exclamation Point in the upper left of the icon in the Companion Management Interface. Since the Interface only allows you to Train or get an Epic Talent, I don't know how you could "lose" the chance to get an Epic Talent (you don't have an either or choice).

The only way to train them is to use the Training Points you have accumulated. Here, you do have the choice as to which to train first and how often you want to train them. My personal plan is to train them only when I can get them up at least one level (preferably two) per Training Point. This means that they are never the same level as I, but, as long as they and I survive, that is fine with me.

Usually when the Companion reaches a certain level, they request to go on their Promotion Quest. Since I've never declined a quest, I don't know what happens if you do decline (especially a Promotion Quest).

Not sure what you mean by "if you don't promote immediately, you lose the option to promote that companion". The only way I could see that you might lose the option to promote is if you declined the request to go on the Promotion Quest. So far, 4 companions have requested Promotion Quests and they were at different levels: 8, 11, 13, 15. Of course it depends on who your Companions are. I am a Level 22, Privateer. Companions - level 19, mostly.
Ensign
Apr 21, 2010
1
I'm not sure I understand what you are experiencing.
Companions are promoted at different levels. You may indeed have only one that gets promoted by level 12. Others may not be up for promotion til level 18.

When you see the Epic Talent button - hit it. I'm not sure why you would wait.
I'm also not sure what happens if you choose to ignore it, since I've never done that.
Might be a good bug you should report.
Petty Officer
Mar 18, 2009
81
Just for proper referencing, regarding promotions:

"When they gain a new level, Companions may also be offered a list of new Attribute Talents to choose from, making them more powerful in combat. An Attribute Talent usually improves one or more of the Companion’s stats. They are applied automatically; there’s nothing you need to do to use a normal Talent, once you’ve given it to your Unit. Whenever your Companions are ready to learn something new, you’ll see a lightning bolt in the upper right corner of their portrait."

https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/players_guide/companions/talents

"If a Companion can be promoted – which usually happens when they reach certain levels—you’ll see a yellow exclamation mark in the upper left corner of their portrait in Companion Management, indicating that they want to talk to you. When you see that a Companion is ready to talk to you about a Promotion, head to the nearest tavern and go down to the cellar where you can see all your Companions standing around. Speak to your Companion to begin their promotion quest. Once you complete the quest, return to any tavern cellar to talk to the Companion again and they’ll be promoted. Upon promotion, they’ll look different, and they may also be eligible to learn new Epic Powers or Talents. An Epic Talent is a talent that does more than just increase a stat. But they are still used automatically by the Companion."

https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/players_guide/companions/promotion
Commodore
Apr 28, 2012
962
Oran of Urz on Oct 18, 2012 wrote:
Just for proper referencing, regarding promotions:

"When they gain a new level, Companions may also be offered a list of new Attribute Talents to choose from, making them more powerful in combat. An Attribute Talent usually improves one or more of the Companion’s stats. They are applied automatically; there’s nothing you need to do to use a normal Talent, once you’ve given it to your Unit. Whenever your Companions are ready to learn something new, you’ll see a lightning bolt in the upper right corner of their portrait."

https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/players_guide/companions/talents

"If a Companion can be promoted – which usually happens when they reach certain levels—you’ll see a yellow exclamation mark in the upper left corner of their portrait in Companion Management, indicating that they want to talk to you. When you see that a Companion is ready to talk to you about a Promotion, head to the nearest tavern and go down to the cellar where you can see all your Companions standing around. Speak to your Companion to begin their promotion quest. Once you complete the quest, return to any tavern cellar to talk to the Companion again and they’ll be promoted. Upon promotion, they’ll look different, and they may also be eligible to learn new Epic Powers or Talents. An Epic Talent is a talent that does more than just increase a stat. But they are still used automatically by the Companion."

https://www.pirate101.com/free_game/players_guide/companions/promotion
The first part is correct. As of yesterday however, it is a GREY exclamation mark, not a yellow, to indicate that a Companion either wants to talk to you or has a Promotion Quest. This exclamation mark stays on until the Promotion Quest is done.
Bosun
Aug 21, 2009
358
One of my rat beards went on a training quest I believe and it had two options available, one was to train it and the other was for an epic talent. I chose to use a training point on it thinking that I would do that first and then choose its new epic talents after. When I trained it before choosing to give it an epic talent first it lost its ability to get the epic talent. I've had another companion that also had the epic talent selection available and then lost cause I trained it first. I train all my pets at the same time, so it was an easy thing to mess up since I train them all to the same level at the same time and and training to the next level is typically upon my mind when I train.
Bosun
Aug 21, 2009
358
I just wrote support to ask them to look at my companions. I still think two of them, one being Ratbeard, lost their epic promotion points. I'll see what they say, but I've seen at least two of my companions have the epic talent button available and then not available as I trained them with a book first (this has got to be a bug).
Community Leader
The Helpful Pirate on Oct 20, 2012 wrote:
The first part is correct. As of yesterday however, it is a GREY exclamation mark, not a yellow, to indicate that a Companion either wants to talk to you or has a Promotion Quest. This exclamation mark stays on until the Promotion Quest is done.
Like other quest givers it's yellow before you talk to them (or before they talk to you, as is more likely) then it turns grey after they ask you to go to a tavern. Major companions will tell you when they want to promote so it's often grey by the time you see it; minor companions - ones that promote with gold rather than through a quest - will have a yellow exclamation mark until you ask them what they need.
Chatroom Moderator - Pieces of Eight Radio
Ensign
Jan 05, 2009
37
Not all Companions have Promotion Quests. Nat Drake 'promotes' in the early 20s (I leveled him several levels to 22) and all I had to do was visit in a Tavern and pay 2000 coin. He is the only one so far for me to do this. Nat got 1 Epic.
Ensign
May 21, 2008
12
seasnake on Oct 20, 2012 wrote:
One of my rat beards went on a training quest I believe and it had two options available, one was to train it and the other was for an epic talent. I chose to use a training point on it thinking that I would do that first and then choose its new epic talents after. When I trained it before choosing to give it an epic talent first it lost its ability to get the epic talent. I've had another companion that also had the epic talent selection available and then lost cause I trained it first. I train all my pets at the same time, so it was an easy thing to mess up since I train them all to the same level at the same time and and training to the next level is typically upon my mind when I train.
that isn't possible, there is only one button. That buttons will allow you to select a Talent, Epic Talent, or Train. You can't "accidently miss" the opportunity to learn a Talent, and you can't continue to train the companion if you have a Talent or Epic Talent slot that needs to be filled.

J Todd Coleman
Ensign
May 20, 2009
4
jtoddcoleman on Oct 24, 2012 wrote:
that isn't possible, there is only one button. That buttons will allow you to select a Talent, Epic Talent, or Train. You can't "accidently miss" the opportunity to learn a Talent, and you can't continue to train the companion if you have a Talent or Epic Talent slot that needs to be filled.

J Todd Coleman
Not true !!

It is possible to miss the opportunity to learn an EPIC talent.

Here are the steps I did:

I get a companion (Bison Scout) as part of a quest.
  • I notice I get to pick EPIC talents. Yay!
  • I pick one EPIC talent.
  • And I get a choice for a second EPIC talent. And I can’t immediately decide which one, so I continue playing for a bit without picking it.
  • When I later look at him, I no longer get to chose a second EPIC talent! Do I lose that choice because of my indecision?
  • The EPIC TALENT button has changed to just NEW TALENT.
  • I did get a choice to pick two REGULAR talents, which I did.
  • But I still don’t get to chose the second EPIC talent. The button never says EPIC TALENT again!!

What did I do wrong?
I don’t want to lose EPIC talents on my future companions.
So help me understand what I was suppose to do.
Thanks!
Community Leader
McJalapeno on Oct 30, 2012 wrote:
Not true !!

It is possible to miss the opportunity to learn an EPIC talent.

Here are the steps I did:

I get a companion (Bison Scout) as part of a quest.
  • I notice I get to pick EPIC talents. Yay!
  • I pick one EPIC talent.
  • And I get a choice for a second EPIC talent. And I can’t immediately decide which one, so I continue playing for a bit without picking it.
  • When I later look at him, I no longer get to chose a second EPIC talent! Do I lose that choice because of my indecision?
  • The EPIC TALENT button has changed to just NEW TALENT.
  • I did get a choice to pick two REGULAR talents, which I did.
  • But I still don’t get to chose the second EPIC talent. The button never says EPIC TALENT again!!

What did I do wrong?
I don’t want to lose EPIC talents on my future companions.
So help me understand what I was suppose to do.
Thanks!
Unless I am greatly mistaken, you should be able to reset all of the allocated points and talents and re-enter them in. I would imagine if you did this, you would be given the choice to assign the 2nd epic talent.
Host of the Talkin' the Plank Podcast, where we talk about Pirate 101 every Friday!
Commodore
Apr 28, 2012
962
magicjalapeno: I'd tell Support about this problem of disappearing Epic Talent choice. Sounds like a bug to me. Use the Help menu above (the Orange Question Mark) and fill out a support request. After clicking on Contact Support, click on the Contact Us tab and fill out the form. I suggest you use Internet Explorer because whenever I've tried Firefox or Chrome, it doesn't want to work correctly.