Lesath on Jun 19, 2016 wrote:

Maybe I'm just not seeing things right, but I agree with the OP. I had problems with certain enemies in Aquila, but I gritted my teeth and got through it. Without doubloons and without hiring henchmen.

In Valencia II? I'm using doubloons like crazy mad (assuming I even have any, and for that matter, why am I seeing egg timer ones in PvE?) and actually teaming up with people, because in some of these storyline battles I'm seeing every companion shredded on the first turn.

I've always enjoyed being able to leave it on random (who shows up as a companion) and still figure out a way to get through by working with what was given to me. So now I have to actually force who shows up and plan a strategy around that, which goes against everything so far.

I feel like I'm being forced to team up, both to have additional help, and for the chance to get doubloons so I have an extra option each turn. Half the time I don't even get the option to look for a team. Is this the way it's supposed to be, or a bug?

I feel like I have to reset my companions, again, to redo their epics to stand a chance here. When I walk away for the day with fifteen plus companions on bedrest, of all different classes, well...

The Contessa seems glitched with not doing things that are popping up (Riposte, for example), I see an enemy hit someone wearing a shield (I see the Absorb message), and yet they get a Second Chance, which makes no sense to me given that the attack did hit (the damage was just absorbed). Or, they get Second Chance multiple times in a row (when my people certainly never get that kind of luck).

It's depressing and it makes me want to walk away. I'll run out my subscription, but... If the game isn't fun, then I guess I wait until I've cooled down and then some time down the road I sub up again so I can give it another shot.

It's true that Valencia 2 has been a complete shock to many players - but think back to your experiences throughout this game.
Remember entering MooShu for the first time? How many posts have I seen on these boards from players begging for help against the "OP" samoorai who got crits on all companions? Or Marleybone and those Fox Radical musketeers with burst fire and ( good lord ) "covering fire"? How many companions did I lose to Harpies and Satyrs in Aquila?
Every new world brings new challenges and difficulties, we learn and grow with experience; then we reach the pinnacle and complain that everything is "too easy" and that we want a challenge, then when we get it, we hate it!
Stop trying the same old strategy and try thinking and innovating! I haven't needed to reset any companion for Valencia, many handle the battle quite well. Only a few take bed rest, but others are waiting to fill in.
Lately, I don't feel the need for henchmen, either. And before you say: "well you're max level now." I have several other pirate classes just starting in Valencia and they are handling it just fine!

Silver Angel on Jun 21, 2016 wrote:

It's easy to tell someone to change their strategy. What you dont seem to understand is no matter what strategy, the fact is enemies do 1500 damage with a crit, and crit more often than you.

What's more, they have more hp than you too.

No strategy can change that fact.

Yes, it's easy to say "change your strategy", because those of us who are going through Valencia 2 have changed our strategies, we are going through changes and growing/adapting.
The enemy doesn't crit any more than we do if we've taken care to buff, they don't do major damage if you've remembered to shield instead of just charging blindly at them.
Which enemies, besides Kane and his Court, have more HP than us?
All these dungeons are solo-able ( exception is Kane ) with a little preparation and thinking ahead. If you get defeated, change up companions - all melee team didn't work? Use musketeers and vice versa.
Shoot, use doubloons, what are you saving them for anyway? Even a level 25 Call of Death is useful as it attracts their attention and they're more likely to beat up on the "weakling".

Honestly, nobody would be complaining if the companion system was reverting to normal, where all you need is a mojo potion and they're fixed. The problem with the new system is, Either wait an entire day, or pay 50% of your gold to heal a guy, Heck, even my level 20 companions cost 4000 gold to heal. 4000! I can understand 1000 or 2000, but 4k? That's an entire dungeons worth of gold!

ill throw my 2 cents out there as well

as for Critical strikes, they work the exact same way as ours do
"if you have a higher X (will/agility/strength) then your opponent, it is easier to critically strike against them"
my guess is that most of the people who get criticaled on, is all the classes that have low strength or agility.
ill give you an example: Lefty my musketeer companion has 93 agility, 55 will, and only 37 strength. He will get easily beaten up with critical strikes since the crabs are all Bucks who main strength. The crabs pack a punch because they abuse that difference, 25% chance to critical each hit? no thank you . As for the agility part, the battle angels are the same way, (with the exception of their new power Assassins strike, that one seems to ALWAYS critical)

in order to reduce their critical strike on your team, buff your companions with their lowest stat
lowest stats on classes
(when i say weak to, I mean they have an easier chance to be criticaled when an enemy is attacking them)
Swashbuckler: WIll (weak to Witchdoctors and Privateers)
Buccaneer: Will (weak to Witchdoctors and Privateers
Musketeer: Strength (weak to Buccaneers)
Witchdoctor: Strength (weak to Buccaneers)
Privateer: Agility (weak to Musketeers)

but as for US using criticals on them, its pretty clear that their stats are buffed as well. Just guessing here, but a crab could have 100 strength, 80 agility and 60 will. thats a large difference compared to Lefty (see above)

Hope this helps explain the insane criticals lately in Valencia part II and good luck as you continue on!

Silver Angel on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:

Not everyone has shields or buffs for any stat you want.

Basically any enemy has more hp? My witch lvl 69 has around 3k, even stilletto fish have more.

Yes yes I know "just go farm" with drop rate close to 0.1% it takes forever.

I didnt say it was not manageable, was just mentioning facts.

"Not everyone has shields or buffs for any stat you want."
Really, you're telling me, a swashbuckler, this? But I can use Grand Shadowdance & I do have a Kraken's Lament ( from pet ) and I can jolly well use that ( even if Black Fog doesn't show ). I can use El Toro and Fan, both are still useful which is why they get the majority of tomes.
But I also use Ratbeard with his own buck charge, shield & knockback. Or Subodai or even Birgus, when many companions go down.
Witches get the short end of the stick when it comes to health ( so do a few other classes ).
You don't need to farm to look for stat boosting drops, I've gotten a necklace and ring as well as boots that boost my dodge - you just need to prioritize what's important to you.
Sure carded gear is great, but I always advise my friends to go for the stat-boosting gear. Multiple use vs one time use.
BTW, Kane has a very generous drop rate, there isn't a fight that I don't walk away with at least two very good items ( if not more ). It's also a gold mine.

witchdoctor of awe... on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:

Honestly, nobody would be complaining if the companion system was reverting to normal, where all you need is a mojo potion and they're fixed. The problem with the new system is, Either wait an entire day, or pay 50% of your gold to heal a guy, Heck, even my level 20 companions cost 4000 gold to heal. 4000! I can understand 1000 or 2000, but 4k? That's an entire dungeons worth of gold!

... or use some of your dozens of other companions.

Silver Angel on Jun 29, 2016 wrote:

Except half of one's crew dont compare to the top notch companions.

Look at Ratbeard and Bonnie for example, they get like 6 or 7 epics each... In Aquila I got the eagle mercenary recently, and he learns a whooping total of 3 epics, at lvl 69.
It's just one example among many, the list is long, honestly.

Are we supposed to use that kind of low tier companions? I'd rather wait the good ones are ready to battle again.

If you train them well, then, while they're not spectacular, they do make it through the fight ( sometimes ). 3 epics is much better than none.
If you'd rather wait for "the best", then stop complaining - it's plain the change is permanent. It's been 2 years, you should have adjusted your play style and companion management by now.

Ijjob on Jun 16, 2016 wrote:

I don't entirely understand why this Book feels rushed. Especially considering the timeframe it was done in (3 years).

I'm also a loner who enjoys solo play.

If I'm forced to buy henchmen just to further myself in the game, then it's time for me to part ways with it.

I'm taking a wild guess here, since I don't know the inner workings of KI, however, I'm willing to bet that the re-write started a year ago when Frogfather was replaced with Dalia Falmea. That would explain many, many things and especially why the Book feels rushed. Because it was.

anecorbie on Jun 29, 2016 wrote:

If you train them well, then, while they're not spectacular, they do make it through the fight ( sometimes ). 3 epics is much better than none.
If you'd rather wait for "the best", then stop complaining - it's plain the change is permanent. It's been 2 years, you should have adjusted your play style and companion management by now.

Where am I complaining exactly? Did I talk about myself? Just giving a neutral opinion.

I have 2 pages of "good" companions and I barely use 1/4 of that. Just saying there are still 2 pages of "useless" ones.

But yes, I have bought many to reach that point.

Here is a hint have your crews split into two groups, and use traps like blood's flame if you have it or the best trap you got. Then go for the attack, have i mention use at least one companion, that will be handy for that long range attack.

Oi! Ye don't play many NES games, do ye?

Back in not-my-day (I'm a teen), The games were hard and short, like castlevania. A hard game means you get more playtime from a short game. Now games are easy. Very easy. Why? Cause they are. It is wut it is. Now, I'm off. *Poof*

For a species that's supposed to be resilient and adaptive we sure do see a lot of complaints about how things ain't what they used to be. Isn't that the whole idea!? If the new content came out as easy as everything before it the cries of dismay would be deafening! "How can you call this new content when it's just like it was before?"
It's seems to be a no-win whatever way KI goes.
It's a new world... or at least a harder part of an older world, and as such it needs to be harder. And not just a little bit because that would be a joke. I'm enjoying the fact that whenever I get into a battle it's not a given that I'm going to walk out of it fully intact. Take the Crab Tunnels as an example... soloing those crabs was tough. And I lost El Toro and Scratch in the first of the battles. I made it through but came out of there with less than 200 health and three companions on bed-rest. And it was wonderful! What a welcome, satisfying experience for a change. No more ho-hum walk in, clean house, collect the spoils and walk out.
This is the first update I've experienced with Pirate101 but I went through a couple with Wiz101. If the W101 updates had been simple retreads of what we'd previously had then I would have felt cheated. For the most part they were tougher. Maybe not overall as tough as Valencia2 by comparison, but tougher nonetheless.
Anyway, back to the resilient and adaptive thing... that's what it takes to be successful in this update. Change the way you do things here and there. Learn from your defeats... and oh yeah, expect some defeats! But if you know from experience that a particular group of enemies is going to hit you with a seemingly endless stream of retaliatory attacks then use a different tact. Nothing is insurmountable.