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Side Quests and Main Quests

AuthorMessage
Ensign
Nov 04, 2010
26
I have a concern about side quests and main quests. I want to know if not doing side quests affects your game. The reason I say this is because I'm kind of getting tired of doing side quests all the time and getting
almost nothing for it. Could anyone tell me if I should or shouldn't do them, and how it will affect my game?
Clever Cole,
Level 13 Privateer.
Gunner's Mate
Oct 22, 2011
210
For my first pirate, I did all of the quests - side and main, just to say I completed everything on a pirate.

On my other pirates, I'm being a bit choosy in doing side quests. I pick ones that I enjoy doing, and/or ones that have good XP/training tomes/gold.

Early on in the game, it's best to do all or nearly all the side quests so you can be as close to level 18 as possible when you hit Cool Ranch. Why? Because things get quite a bit tougher in the wild west, and it's best to keep your level up as much as possible there.

But, you can still be choosy in what you want to do for side quests. Side quests won't really affect your gameplay if you don't do them, but some do give training tomes for your companions, and that really helps!
Community Leader
KI VP J Todd Coleman posted on here a little while ago that the game is designed so that you can get all the way through the main story line (albeit with an increased challenge) without doing any sidequest whatsoever. The drawback to skipping the sidequests are as follows:
-You will face challanges later in the game at a lower level than if you had completed them, as you missed out on the extra xp
-You will miss out on training tomes, so training your companions could be more expensive, however . . .
-You will have fewer companions as some of them are rewards for completion of sidequests

Upside:
-You will get through the game faster, if that is your goal
-You will have fewer companions to manage. An upside if you are seasnake
-You can always go back an do the sidequests later once you have gained a few levels and they will go much faster.

That last point is how I'm tackling Cool Ranch right now, as the sidequests there are pretty tough when you first arrive.
Host of the Talkin' the Plank Podcast, where we talk about Pirate 101 every Friday!
Ensign
Jun 01, 2012
4
it fun to do all u can. don't rush the game, it just came out

Witchdoctor 42
Ensign
Nov 04, 2010
26
iceie35 on Nov 7, 2012 wrote:
it fun to do all u can. don't rush the game, it just came out

Witchdoctor 42
You know many people are already done with the game right? I just don't want to be under leveled. i'm not that worried about finishing at a certain time.

Clever Cole
Ensign
Sep 16, 2010
16
I am not far in the game only to Monquista, but i made every Quest i saw.
Some of the Sidequests are a really Timesink and if you go back to receive your reward you get 25xp.
Thats not really satisfying. Maybe the KI Team should think about giving Sidequests a bit more xp and Mainquests if necessary a little lesser. Than maybe more People would enjoy Sidequest (some of them have really nice stories) and not sailing around Monquista with level 11 and screaming for help every 10secs .

LG
Lux

P.S: Excuse my English i dont speak it very well.
Community Leader
cps2001 on Nov 9, 2012 wrote:
You know many people are already done with the game right? I just don't want to be under leveled. i'm not that worried about finishing at a certain time.

Clever Cole
The farther you get in the game, the more rewarding the sidequests become. Just look at the rewards, look what will be required of you, figure out how long it might take and decide if it's worth it to you. If you are short on cash, do the sidequests you've collected that offer the highest reward. If you need training points, the next step is obvious. The same goes for experience and leveling. If you feel the battles are becoming too difficult, or are taking too much time (or you feel you're taking too much damage for your damage output), go back and do some sidequests. Whereas the game is balanced so you could complete it without ever touching a sidequest, they sidequests are there, not only to give you more to do, but so that you can tailor your gameplay experience to your taste. Like steep difficulty and fewer companions? Avoid sidequests! Gotta catch em all? Knock yourself out! Somewhere in the middle? Do them as you need/see fit. Gear and abilities aren't the only way you can customize your pirate.
Host of the Talkin' the Plank Podcast, where we talk about Pirate 101 every Friday!
Gunner's Mate
Jan 06, 2011
228
Even if you don't go out of your way to do the side quests, pick them up. You may find that at a later time in the main story you will have to fight the same things and you end up finishing a side quest without trying. A good example of this is the buffaloons in Cool Ranch. There are a few side quests involving them that you can get before you do a certain main quest.

Also, don't always ignore the low reward side quests. They can sometimes lead on to other quests.
Bosun
Aug 21, 2009
358
Talkin The Plank on Nov 7, 2012 wrote:
KI VP J Todd Coleman posted on here a little while ago that the game is designed so that you can get all the way through the main story line (albeit with an increased challenge) without doing any sidequest whatsoever. The drawback to skipping the sidequests are as follows:
-You will face challanges later in the game at a lower level than if you had completed them, as you missed out on the extra xp
-You will miss out on training tomes, so training your companions could be more expensive, however . . .
-You will have fewer companions as some of them are rewards for completion of sidequests

Upside:
-You will get through the game faster, if that is your goal
-You will have fewer companions to manage. An upside if you are seasnake
-You can always go back an do the sidequests later once you have gained a few levels and they will go much faster.

That last point is how I'm tackling Cool Ranch right now, as the sidequests there are pretty tough when you first arrive.
Challenges later in the game from missing out on extra xp??? What a joke that is. As soon as you get to Mooshu simply pick up all the quests on the first island and avoid all fights, just do the go to and pick up quests and you will go from level 40 to 50 in a few hours time without a single battle (my first pirate did that, one turn in alone in 3 minutes time jumped my pirate an entire level).

Fewer companions is why many have started skipping side quests, more companions you have the more you have to train and the more gold you need and the side quest companions you get are mostly useless and weak with few talents that you wish you could trash and be done with them.

What were the downsides again.... ahhhh fewer training tomes, but with fewer companions you come out way ahead on that trade off.
Ensign
Nov 04, 2010
26
seasnake on Nov 10, 2012 wrote:
Challenges later in the game from missing out on extra xp??? What a joke that is. As soon as you get to Mooshu simply pick up all the quests on the first island and avoid all fights, just do the go to and pick up quests and you will go from level 40 to 50 in a few hours time without a single battle (my first pirate did that, one turn in alone in 3 minutes time jumped my pirate an entire level).

Fewer companions is why many have started skipping side quests, more companions you have the more you have to train and the more gold you need and the side quest companions you get are mostly useless and weak with few talents that you wish you could trash and be done with them.

What were the downsides again.... ahhhh fewer training tomes, but with fewer companions you come out way ahead on that trade off.
It's doesn't really have anything to do with companions. It's not that hard to manage them, you just have to be smart about it. What I did was wait until my companions are a complete 4 levels lower than me, then level them up with one tome. It works because atm I have 11 tomes in my pocket and good companions. I don't think gaveing fewer companions have to do with side quests. Like I said, it's not that hard to manage them. Even in higher levels, just put you good companions (or favorites) in the top 2-3 rows. It's that simple.
Clever Cole,"The Perfectionist."
Community Leader
seasnake on Nov 10, 2012 wrote:
Challenges later in the game from missing out on extra xp??? What a joke that is. As soon as you get to Mooshu simply pick up all the quests on the first island and avoid all fights, just do the go to and pick up quests and you will go from level 40 to 50 in a few hours time without a single battle (my first pirate did that, one turn in alone in 3 minutes time jumped my pirate an entire level).

Fewer companions is why many have started skipping side quests, more companions you have the more you have to train and the more gold you need and the side quest companions you get are mostly useless and weak with few talents that you wish you could trash and be done with them.

What were the downsides again.... ahhhh fewer training tomes, but with fewer companions you come out way ahead on that trade off.
I was wondering, seasnake, if you had actually leveled any Pirates without taking any sidequests? No being snarky or anything, but genuinely curious. I'm starting a few new pirates to test out different theories about leveling and companions and such (as well as to try the different classes, of course) and on one, I'm trying to figure out what the fastest, most efficient way to level is. Skipping ALL sidequests, without exception, seems as though it would be the way to go, since those quests grant the most xp anyway, but I wondered if you had tried it and, if so, how far you got. Just curious!
Host of the Talkin' the Plank Podcast, where we talk about Pirate 101 every Friday!
Ensign
Jul 21, 2011
13
Seeing as how with side quests I got to 50 before starting the turtle ball part of the storyline. I don't doubt that you could get to 50 just on the main storyline.
Community Leader
Degru on Nov 14, 2012 wrote:
Seeing as how with side quests I got to 50 before starting the turtle ball part of the storyline. I don't doubt that you could get to 50 just on the main storyline.
I certainly don't doubt that it can be done, since the developers have stated on this very message board that it was designed to be possbile. I was just wondering how much, if at all, the challenge is increased by tackling the game this way. I'm facinated with the way MMO's are designed, and I can't recall playing one where you could go from lvl 1 to lvl cap only following the main story without a ridiculous amount of grinding.
Host of the Talkin' the Plank Podcast, where we talk about Pirate 101 every Friday!
Gunner's Mate
Oct 22, 2011
210
I do have one pirate that has not done any sidequests (including side companions), and just followed the main storyline.

When you finish the game, you will be level 49 (plus a little extra on the green bar). I found that battles were harder, because I wasn't a level or two above my enemies, like I would be from completing sidequests.

Since I did not collect every companion, managing them was easier, however, I missed out on getting a lot of tome rewards from the side quests.

It all depends on what people want to do. I enjoy the side quests for the most part, because it ultimately made my gameplay easier and I received lots of rewards. But, if someone wants to fly through the content and get to the end of the game quickly, then just follow the main quests. You can always pick up a few sidequests to get yourself to level 50, plus a few extra tomes.