Pirate101 Monthly Newsletter

November came and went in a flash and now the countdown to Christmas is getting much closer. We hope the Santa Frog brings you lots of presents, Pirate101 gift cards, and joy! There are sure to be surprises on their way from KingsIsle as we count the days to Christmas!

December is going to be a great month, and we certainly hope you enjoy the offerings of the season. Now grab some egg nog and read on, Pirates! Thanks for playing Pirate101.

We’ve spotlighted every class trainer in the Rogue’s Gallery, save one! Last but not least, please enjoy this closer look at the Privateer Class Trainer, The Commodore

"Welcome to the Pirate101 Rogue’s Gallery. Subject, The Commodore.

Little is known about this old sheep dog, not even his name! The old salt angrily insists that he of course knows his name, but somehow always avoids saying it. These days, the chief Privateer of Avery's Court is known only by his rank: Commodore.

The Commodore's early career is almost completely unknown, though to hear him tell it, he started as a young pup swabbing the decks, and worked his way up to the post of officer, captain, and beyond! What is known for certain is that the Commodore was posted to Skull Island Colony late in his career, on the verge of retirement. One of the few residents of Skull Island to remain after Avery took possession, the Commodore settled right in to the new order. Indeed, some wonder if he's even noticed the transition.

He is the very model of a Marleybonian admiral - a commander's commander, with countless stories and anecdotes about captains and battles long gone by. The Commodore has forgotten more about tactics and naval strategy than most people will ever learn. He may also have forgotten his name...

These pirates and more await you when you play for free at Pirate101.com.”

Hello Pirates, I’ve again been peering into my crystal ball this month, and I see many sidequests that have either been declined or left unfinished by Pirates of all walks.

First things first, Pirates. I see Zeke’s Collection quests. Yes, few Pirates explore the vast expanses to discover all of Zeke’s amazing oddities; however, the reward for doing so would allow you to delve deeper into other fighting disciplines taught by my fellow trainers in Avery’s Court. Every Zeke quest completed provides an additional training point to round out your combat skills.

Ahh! I see a vision of many worlds and many friends in need of assistance!

Aquila

“Caduceus, You Say!” is completed by less than half of those that encounter the quest. This is a quest that provides the much needed Nautical XP and a highly coveted Companion Training Tome, but it does require defeating many Sky Snakes which can be fierce foes.

“Faun Baby, Faun” doesn’t seem to be very compelling as it has the highest rate of Pirates declining to even attempt to defeat Axwar. Maybe Silvanus should raise the bounty?

Cooper's Roost

“The Wind’s Whisper” has Pirates defeating countless ships in Big Sky, leaving almost half of the Pirates sailing the other direction without completing the objectives or flat out declining to even engage the enemy ships. Perhaps Whisper Moon could feel less threatened by the terrorizing gangs and reduce the number of ships required to return the skies to safety?

Marleybone

“Covering Tracks” finds only half of the Pirates willing to trek back to Cooper’s Roost in order to take on the Lovejoy Gang. While this is quite the hike, it provides a nice amount of Nautical XP as well as leading to an additional quest, “Breaking the Lie” which provides even a greater amount of Nautical XP and is required for the Side Quest Completion badge.

“Stop and Render Aid!” is declined by almost a third of the Pirates that speak with Piers McLoughlin. Rest assured, The Spiral has no liability issues when it comes to being a good citizen, and this is a simple collection quest that provides almost 3,000 gold pieces.

MooShu

“Save Your Local Samoorai” again has less than half of the Pirates who encounter the quest that also finish the quest, as well as a third that simply refuse to even begin the adventure. This quest is extensive with a long list of goals required for completion including challenging the boss Zukoichi in battle. Could it be the arduous task of collecting 8 swords (which are not guaranteed to be carried by every Possessed Bushi) and not the boss battle that is the real hurdle here?

Skull Island

“Message in a Bottle” is completed by only a third of the Pirates that begin the undertaking. While the quest has many goals including three sets of collections required from three different foes, it does provide two Companion Training Tomes. It would seem worthy of revisiting Skull Island Skyway and completing this quest if it still lingers in your log.

“An Eye for an Eye” in Port Regal is often declined. Through the haze of the crystal ball, I see many Pirates who believe this quest requires defeating an endless number of Water Moles to collect three sets of items. These items are not only available through hard fought combats but can be found scattered about on the beaches of Parrot Island for collection without confrontation.

Boochbeard: "I came in like a wrecking ball..." Gandry: "Captain, this is not the time NOR place for that kind of song!" - Sincere Shawna Everhart

Who will caption the next Puppet Pirates? Stay tuned to our Facebook page to enter your caption on the next Puppet Pirates.

Just in case you missed it last month, we released a fun new video detailing all the particulars of the Empire Bundle and the Battle Standard. If you still have questions on the Battle Standard, you may want to check out our latest player guide page about how to use them.

“Build yer mighty Pirate Empire today with the Empire Bundle and All-New Combat Battle Standards - only in Pirate101!

Lookin' fer an edge in yer boss fight or PvP? Itchin' fer a combat bonus? Well, matey, you need a Battle Standard without delay.

Combat Battle Standards are all-new in Pirate101. They be grantin' a combat bonus to one type of Companion, and ye'll get a second bonus if ye manage ta' plant yer standard in enemy territory. This one here be the glorious Imperator's Standard! And ye kin' ONLY get it in the exclusive Empire Bundle!

Empire Bundle, ye say? Sounds intriguing. Tell me more, I hear ye ask?

• It includes a Lady Centaur Companion.
• The aforementioned Imperator's Standard.
• An Imperial Galleon.
• A Gladiator Outfit.
• The Emperor's Villa,
• and 1 month or 5000 Crowns.

How much would ye pay fer such a bundle? Thousands! Millions of crowns? Nay - belay that.

The Empire bundle be yours for a mere $39 - US currency -- now at Gamestop.

Buy one today and establish your reign in Pirate101!”

November is a busy month for everyone, but our fan sites still provided a lot of fun information and coverage of the latest events. Here are a few fun posts that caught our eye this month here at KingsIsle:

• Two of our more musical fans remade a couple of “oldie but goodie” tunes with a touch of Pirate101 fun! Dr. Zeppers cleared up the answer to what you do with a Scurvy Pirate, erm, a transportalator, and Eliza Quincy redid Love Potion #9 as Battle Potion #9! Great jobs!
• Alura pitched in her two cents over what Bonnie Anne might say to the question, “What did the fox say?”
• Congratulations to Pirate101 Central for reaching 14,000 members! It seems like just yesterday when you opened your doors for business. Gratz!
• Secrets of the Spiral showed off her Veteran’s Day wreaths from this year’s special promotion.
• On the official Pirate101 forums, posters rated their top five critical moves . . . it seems like Catbeard and Subodai are very popular!
• Loktofeit made a funny entrance to the forums by declaring how annoyed he was at Pirate101 for making all of his other MMO experiences pale in comparison! Good to have you aboard, Loktofeit.
• There was a lot of interesting discussion at the Duelist101 site over the latest bundle in Pirate101’s artillery, the Empire Bundle. Join in! What do you think of the newest bundle?
• Players over at Central made a poll about how healing works in Pirate101. Since there was some confusion, Ratbeard offered us some assistance with the ins and outs of how healing powers work (see the third page of the discussion).
• Johnny made a fun discovery in the latest world of Wizard101 where he found some skyway maps of Pirate101. Help us stop the invasion, Wizards!

There's a player-written guide from November 2012 that continues to be a value to all players who read it, and that is Nesogra's Chain Theory Post on Pirate101 Central. If you've never read it or if you've ever been lost as to why you got a second attack or an enemy destroyed you with what appeared to be a set of extra attacks, do yourself a favor and check it out! This post really does a great job of discussing Epic Talents at a high level.

I also really enjoyed the discussion after this post as well! Some players enjoyed using chain attacks to their advantage to cut down on battle length, while others specifically arranged their companions to avoid chains of attack.

This really bears experimentation for you to see if you can come up with a winning combo or come up with a way of avoiding combos that might leave you defeated.

Here's a simple scenario question for you: If you're going up against a Buccaneer enemy with Second Chance epic talent (the enemy gets a second chance to attack if they miss you), what could be an epic that might serve you well in a chain? If you answered the second tier of Riposte on a companion with high dodge, like a Swashbuckler, then level 12 off to a great start! If your opponent misses both times, you'll get a couple of extra swings in. Now start stacking in other epic talents like Relentless, and you'll have the beginnings of a very important chain of events that might lead to a quick victory and . . . the stuff that all pirates love . . . TREASURE CHESTS! YARR!

On the other hand, if the enemy you're going against is a higher level boss with these talents, perhaps you may want to rethink embracing a chain of attacks! The best way to do this is to pair opposite types against each other. Here's another example for you, say you're a level 12 character with even lower leveled companions and you're facing a level 14 boss with Vengeance Strike? Sound challenging! Perhaps you'll want to bring those Ranged attackers a little higher in the order of your companion management screen so you won't have to face a punishing chain of events that might come about from pairing a Buccaneer vs. a Buccaneer in this instance.

. . . to chain attacks, or not to chain attacks still remains a very popular question in Pirate101! Best of luck and strategy to you, Pirates! See you in the skyways!

Ahoy pirates! It is I, Librarian Adelmo, and I’ve been thinking about the younger pirates out there . . . do you like reading books to a younger brother or sister? If yes, I think this book will be perfect to add to your collection. You may even learn a term or two that you’ve been wondering about!

Yes, please don’t be fooled by the title or the fact that it’s a picture book - A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade is a great story by James Preller, illustrated by Greg Ruth. The boy in the story narrates his first day of school entirely in pirate slang – when his dog wakes him up, it’s “Shiver me timbers, what a slobberin’ moist mornin’!” (Fortunately, there’s a glossary in the back in case you don’t know what things like “deadlights” or “choppers” are.) The pictures are great too, with a ghostly pirate band following the boy around all day – including riding on top of the school bus. What a fun book to behold!

We truly do appreciate all of our devoted fans! Make sure you take a moment to read this special blog post from Elie Akilian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KingsIsle Entertainment.

“What I want all you players to know is that we are so thankful for every picture, every letter, and every time you login to play one of our games. We love hearing about how Wizard and Pirate helped you do better in school in math and reading, or how it helped you connect with your family more. Those are the reasons why we make these games, but you are the reason we continue to do so.”