I am a level 16 in Valencia and I just want to say that the game has been way too easy so far. I can win almost any battle in less than five turns by just cloaking myself and Sarah Steele and having the rest of my companions go for an enemy. Use my strike from the shadows, Sarah's guaranteed crit, and have the rest of my crew take out the aforementioned enemy and that is 3 down on the second turn. Have the crew use their crits (except Sarah), cloak myself and use another strike from the shadows (I don't know if I'm just really lucky or what, but I have gear that gets me two extra shadow strikes). Cloaking needs to have some sort of disadvantage, like maybe you can't go as far or something.

The companions that get also make the storyline too easy. First you get the horse guy (I forget his name) who is like those other companions that other classes get, only without the low health. Then Bonnie Anne, who works really well with the frog guy's agility boost. After Sarah Steele, who is a boss with her cloaking, you do have to wait a while before the next companion, but after that, companions come almost EVERY QUEST! First you get Old Scratch. Then you get Ratbeard. Then you get that monkey crossbow guy. Then you get the monkey explorer. If you do a small side quest, you can get a frog from Frogfather. There are just too many companions for !

Additionally, Gallant Defense seems out of place. It should be a power, it seems to fit in more with their theme.

The dodge seems OP too. The one main defect of characters is their low health, and dodge seems to just eliminate that disadvantage.

I don't think that should be the class with the most damage. It seems to me that is the class that is meant to take and deal the most damage.

All of this adds up to mean that my level 16 is in Valencia, has never been defeated, and can complete almost every battle in less than 5 turns.

- Strong Rogan Tiller, Level 32
- Brave Rogan Tiller, Level 16

I'm not trying to sounds mean but i'm pretty sure swashbuckler deals the most damage, yes buccaneer weapons have a little more base damage but swashbuckler is the class that gets damage increase talents, and gets stronger powers than buccaneers. The Pirate website states, They are deadly with a blade, but not nearly as tough as a Buccaneer, sacrificing toughness for damage. Buccaneers are more defensive while Swashbucklers deal more.

The Loyal Swashbuckler.

anecorbie on Mar 25, 2015 wrote:

Perhaps you should wait until you've progressed further in the game as a swashbuckler, before you make snap judgments. Yes, Hides are a very useful tool especially going up against musketeers with Overwatch, but they only last until you make an attack. Then your Dodge comes into play and hopefully saves you from some damage.
We don't deal the most damage, buccaneers do, if you had played one, you would know. Gallant Defense can save your vulnerable companions like Sarah and Bonnie Anne from attacks, of course this leaves you open to attacks where your Dodge can save you.
How could a Privateer use GD when they are often in the background directing the battle? GD is best used by someone in the thick of the action.
Privys get the most companions, followed by Swashbucklers. This is for game mechanics and balance.
The Horse's name is Subodai, he is a buccaneer, therefore has a higher health. He is one of my top tier companions.
P.S. Just you wait until you recruit Nurse Quinn :)

swashbucklers actually deal the most damage buccaneers just have access to the most powerful weapons in game Quick Harry Abbott

If you are still undefeated after you've been through Cool Ranch and MooShu, then you can crow all you want. My experience has been that Cool Ranch is on a whole different level (higher) than any area before. Good Luck. We're cheering for you.

Ok, I'm confused here. Your winning and your unhappy? That is so weird. If you want to make it harder you can use the random companion selection or some of the other techniques from the collective here. Are you undercover? A secret disgruntled other class main character player out to lower the powers of another class? I'm on to you Mr. Smith! (Special Agent 005)

Virtuous Dante Ramsey

balance758 on Mar 25, 2015 wrote:

I am a level 16 in Valencia and I just want to say that the game has been way too easy so far. I can win almost any battle in less than five turns by just cloaking myself and Sarah Steele and having the rest of my companions go for an enemy. Use my strike from the shadows, Sarah's guaranteed crit, and have the rest of my crew take out the aforementioned enemy and that is 3 down on the second turn. Have the crew use their crits (except Sarah), cloak myself and use another strike from the shadows (I don't know if I'm just really lucky or what, but I have gear that gets me two extra shadow strikes). Cloaking needs to have some sort of disadvantage, like maybe you can't go as far or something.

The companions that get also make the storyline too easy. First you get the horse guy (I forget his name) who is like those other companions that other classes get, only without the low health. Then Bonnie Anne, who works really well with the frog guy's agility boost. After Sarah Steele, who is a boss with her cloaking, you do have to wait a while before the next companion, but after that, companions come almost EVERY QUEST! First you get Old Scratch. Then you get Ratbeard. Then you get that monkey crossbow guy. Then you get the monkey explorer. If you do a small side quest, you can get a frog from Frogfather. There are just too many companions for !

Additionally, Gallant Defense seems out of place. It should be a power, it seems to fit in more with their theme.

The dodge seems OP too. The one main defect of characters is their low health, and dodge seems to just eliminate that disadvantage.

I don't think that should be the class with the most damage. It seems to me that is the class that is meant to take and deal the most damage.

All of this adds up to mean that my level 16 is in Valencia, has never been defeated, and can complete almost every battle in less than 5 turns.

- Strong Rogan Tiller, Level 32
- Brave Rogan Tiller, Level 16

I congratulate you on your undefeated status. My first pirate was and is a Swashbuckler, and it remains my favorite class. Yes, we do have a slight advantage in PvE because enemies are unable to target us while we are hidden. Strikes do a nice amount of damage, especially when hidden, giving us another edge. Being able to finish a battle quickly is good for us due to our lower health.

I'll address your points one by one...

No, hides should not have any penalty. They are a Swashbuckler's signature ability, so to speak, and therefore make the class unique. Penalizing the ability would unbalance both PvE and PvP, which would raise numerous complaints.

Subodai (the horse guy) is meant to be awesome. He's going to be one of your most useful companions throughout the story. Of course Bonnie Anne is amazing, especially when you use Fan's agility boost. A higher agility raises critical chance and damage, making you and your units more effective. Yes, Swashbucklers get quite a few companions. That is not a bad thing; in fact, it is an advantage! Set the companions you do not use regularly to tasks to collect nautical experience or the like.

Gallant Defense is perfect for Swashbucklers since our abilities (first strike & riposte) allow us to deal additional damage, and we generally end up in the middle of a mob of attackers. Putting it on Privateer makes no sense since they are not usually in the thick of things.

Swashbucklers have high dodge to compensate for their lower health. This is not "OP"; it allows us to work around our lack of health and be effective in a fight.

Why would you not want to have a high damage output? It allows, as you have obviously so far seen, us to finish battles quickly with minimal loss. Buccaneers are meant to be tanks; they are the ones to take the damage, and have the ability to dish it out, too.

In short, Swashbucklers are not "OP" but have their own strengths, just as every other class does.

Thus far, you have seen many of the strengths a Swashbuckler has. I extend a word of warning to you: the game will get harder. Cool Ranch is not easy with all of the enemies that have Overwatch, and MooShu will be an even greater challenge.

I hope you find the right balance to make playing a Swashbuckler as fun as it should be!

~Misty

anecorbie on Mar 25, 2015 wrote:

Perhaps you should wait until you've progressed further in the game as a swashbuckler, before you make snap judgments. Yes, Hides are a very useful tool especially going up against musketeers with Overwatch, but they only last until you make an attack. Then your Dodge comes into play and hopefully saves you from some damage.
We don't deal the most damage, buccaneers do, if you had played one, you would know. Gallant Defense can save your vulnerable companions like Sarah and Bonnie Anne from attacks, of course this leaves you open to attacks where your Dodge can save you.
How could a Privateer use GD when they are often in the background directing the battle? GD is best used by someone in the thick of the action.
Privys get the most companions, followed by Swashbucklers. This is for game mechanics and balance.
The Horse's name is Subodai, he is a buccaneer, therefore has a higher health. He is one of my top tier companions.
P.S. Just you wait until you recruit Nurse Quinn :)

I have now recruited Nurse Quinn, and I really don't like her. The only thing that I would want her for is her healing spell, and I really don't want a companion who is only useful for healing.

DuranteRamses87 on Mar 26, 2015 wrote:

Ok, I'm confused here. Your winning and your unhappy? That is so weird. If you want to make it harder you can use the random companion selection or some of the other techniques from the collective here. Are you undercover? A secret disgruntled other class main character player out to lower the powers of another class? I'm on to you Mr. Smith! (Special Agent 005)

Virtuous Dante Ramsey

I'm unhappy because it isn't really fun when all of the battles are too easy.

balance758 on Mar 25, 2015 wrote:

I am a level 16 in Valencia and I just want to say that the game has been way too easy so far. I can win almost any battle in less than five turns by just cloaking myself and Sarah Steele and having the rest of my companions go for an enemy. Use my strike from the shadows, Sarah's guaranteed crit, and have the rest of my crew take out the aforementioned enemy and that is 3 down on the second turn. Have the crew use their crits (except Sarah), cloak myself and use another strike from the shadows (I don't know if I'm just really lucky or what, but I have gear that gets me two extra shadow strikes). Cloaking needs to have some sort of disadvantage, like maybe you can't go as far or something.

The companions that get also make the storyline too easy. First you get the horse guy (I forget his name) who is like those other companions that other classes get, only without the low health. Then Bonnie Anne, who works really well with the frog guy's agility boost. After Sarah Steele, who is a boss with her cloaking, you do have to wait a while before the next companion, but after that, companions come almost EVERY QUEST! First you get Old Scratch. Then you get Ratbeard. Then you get that monkey crossbow guy. Then you get the monkey explorer. If you do a small side quest, you can get a frog from Frogfather. There are just too many companions for !

Additionally, Gallant Defense seems out of place. It should be a power, it seems to fit in more with their theme.

The dodge seems OP too. The one main defect of characters is their low health, and dodge seems to just eliminate that disadvantage.

I don't think that should be the class with the most damage. It seems to me that is the class that is meant to take and deal the most damage.

All of this adds up to mean that my level 16 is in Valencia, has never been defeated, and can complete almost every battle in less than 5 turns.

- Strong Rogan Tiller, Level 32
- Brave Rogan Tiller, Level 16

Well, that's an interesting take on things. I can assure you, however, that things get more difficult and there will be parts of the game that offer quite a bit of difficulty for the Swashbuckler class. I disagree with your view of how the Buccaneer class should be, though. This game pretty much follows the same model as most games when it comes to battling. You have your melee units (Swashbucklers) that have low health but deal massive damage. Then you have your ranged units (Musketeers and Witchdoctors) that can strike safely from a distance. Then come the healers (Privateers) that heal and buff teams. Then you have the tanks. Units that wade into battle and draw fire and absorb punishment. These are the Buccaneers. Each class has its pros and cons. If you made the tanks able to also deal the most damage...who would want to play any other class? That would make the Buccaneers almost invincible.

balance758 on Mar 29, 2015 wrote:

I have now recruited Nurse Quinn, and I really don't like her. The only thing that I would want her for is her healing spell, and I really don't want a companion who is only useful for healing.

Your breaking my heart there it goes.

Virtuous Dante Ramsey