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

I'm a noob, found a ranged class I like, but does it last?

AuthorMessage
Ensign
Jul 20, 2014
2
So I've played each of the 'ranged' classes up to level 18, that is witchdoctor, musketeer, and privateer (played as a witchdoctor secondary class), and both the witchdoctor and privateer up to lvl 20.

What I did:
Used bonnie anne always, but used the same class for the other companions to get a feel for what they could do.

lvl 20 Musketeer - this one was surprisingly the weakest IMHO, all musketeers just didn't seem to do much damage. Chantal is is no Bonnie Anne, not by a long shot. I think I was expecting a party of Bonne Anne's that would devastate anything that got near them and it didn't happen. I think one of the greatest disappointments of the musketeer is that Bonnie Anne was consistently way more powerful than the main character musketeer and all the other musketeer companions too. She could do wonderful chains and it was clear that the main character would not do that until much higher levels.

lvl 20 Witch Doctor - this one did lots of damage - and had huge range which I loved - but seemed a bit frail. So I got to thinking that a privateer with a witchdoctor secondary class might be the thing for me, since they both use will as their primary attribute.
lvl 20 Privateer - Bought Uga Buga to replace Mormo, so Uga Buga, Bonnie Anne, and Old Scratch is the team. I find switching out Uga Buga for the Marchioness is lots of fun, she does less damage to multiple targets unlike Uga Buga with his improved mojo blast, but she is fun. I have all the witchdoctor skills plus the gunnery/artillery skills for my primary attacks, I love the unlimited range on most of them. The party feels the most overpowered of the three I tried, and I like it that way. With every character able to deliver AOE attacks (most of them close range only however - improved mojo blast), makes it impossible to be overwhelmed at this level. The improved healing is also a big plus over the witchdoctor.

So the Privateer scratches my desire for ranged domination best, but seems to be designed to allow any kind of companions. I prefer to use the witchdoctor juju buff (and Scratch's) both of which will buff any class.

So while the Privateer is sailing through Cool Ranch without any troubles, my question is will this last? As the game gets harder is the privateer going to peter out? I admit I am already thinking that for close in battles bringing melee companions might be more interesting, and like that I can switch them out on the privateer pretty easily.

I also notice that companions vary wildly, the marchioness gets 6 epic powers at lvl 20, and another privateer companion (the monkistador privateer monk) gets only two and is thus weak as a kitten by comparison. Does that change? Or are some companions just wildly better than others. I still miss mormo, but no witchdoctor companion seems to get anywhere close to what a real witchdoctor can do, unlike Bonnie Anne who seems to be a full blown musketeer on steroids.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Jesse LifeMancer on Nov 28, 2021 wrote:
So I've played each of the 'ranged' classes up to level 18, that is witchdoctor, musketeer, and privateer (played as a witchdoctor secondary class), and both the witchdoctor and privateer up to lvl 20.

What I did:
Used bonnie anne always, but used the same class for the other companions to get a feel for what they could do.

lvl 20 Musketeer - this one was surprisingly the weakest IMHO, all musketeers just didn't seem to do much damage. Chantal is is no Bonnie Anne, not by a long shot. I think I was expecting a party of Bonne Anne's that would devastate anything that got near them and it didn't happen. I think one of the greatest disappointments of the musketeer is that Bonnie Anne was consistently way more powerful than the main character musketeer and all the other musketeer companions too. She could do wonderful chains and it was clear that the main character would not do that until much higher levels.

lvl 20 Witch Doctor - this one did lots of damage - and had huge range which I loved - but seemed a bit frail. So I got to thinking that a privateer with a witchdoctor secondary class might be the thing for me, since they both use will as their primary attribute.
lvl 20 Privateer - Bought Uga Buga to replace Mormo, so Uga Buga, Bonnie Anne, and Old Scratch is the team. I find switching out Uga Buga for the Marchioness is lots of fun, she does less damage to multiple targets unlike Uga Buga with his improved mojo blast, but she is fun. I have all the witchdoctor skills plus the gunnery/artillery skills for my primary attacks, I love the unlimited range on most of them. The party feels the most overpowered of the three I tried, and I like it that way. With every character able to deliver AOE attacks (most of them close range only however - improved mojo blast), makes it impossible to be overwhelmed at this level. The improved healing is also a big plus over the witchdoctor.

So the Privateer scratches my desire for ranged domination best, but seems to be designed to allow any kind of companions. I prefer to use the witchdoctor juju buff (and Scratch's) both of which will buff any class.

So while the Privateer is sailing through Cool Ranch without any troubles, my question is will this last? As the game gets harder is the privateer going to peter out? I admit I am already thinking that for close in battles bringing melee companions might be more interesting, and like that I can switch them out on the privateer pretty easily.

I also notice that companions vary wildly, the marchioness gets 6 epic powers at lvl 20, and another privateer companion (the monkistador privateer monk) gets only two and is thus weak as a kitten by comparison. Does that change? Or are some companions just wildly better than others. I still miss mormo, but no witchdoctor companion seems to get anywhere close to what a real witchdoctor can do, unlike Bonnie Anne who seems to be a full blown musketeer on steroids.
I would suggest that you play beyond level 20 for the Witchdoctor and Musketeer classes before you make judgements on how the companions work.
For Musketeers, Chantal is often the top choice for first mate. She eventually receives an agility boost and 2 sniper shots allowing her to hit anywhere on the board. She is every bit as good as Bonnie Anne.
For Privateers, once they get to higher levels, their buffs can make any companion very good. The Marchioness has a will buff and a spell de-buff which very useful. In the upper levels she is quite the powerhouse when hitting.
Yes, WD have a lower health but this balanced by the Jobu health drain, enabling you to heal yourself. I do recommend that you try using some melee or musketeer companions (with overwatch) for those enemies that charge you.
Try experimenting before deciding on a top 3 team.
Ensign
Jul 20, 2014
2
Thanks for the reply.

I already had to switch teams, got the privateer to lvl 30, and find he does better with privateer companions than WD ones. With their mega hits and proper epics they do massive damage. The Marchioness has become my first mate so her buff can get off early in the first round. I learned that her will buff plus the two will buffs the main char has synergize nicely and work on privateer melee companions. I also started using a will-based ostrich in a pear tree pet (as they just came on sale).

So it's no longer a ranged team, too bad, but it works well enough...