Pirate101 Monthly Newsletter

June 2013 was an exciting month for KingsIsle and Pirate101! We had an amazing ship promotion, released several new items in the Crown shop, showcased a brand new commercial, and even joined in the launch of the new KingsIsle blog. July 2013 looks to have even more surprises for Pirate101 players. There’s a surprise in store this month, and we think you’re going to love it! Be watching for announcements this month.

Here’s the sixth video in our Rogue’s Gallery video series with a closer look at Morgan LaFitte, the Swashbuckler trainer!

“Welcome to the Pirate101 Rogue's Gallery. Subject, Morgan LaFitte. Trained by some of the finest fencers in Valencia, Morgan’s skill with a blade has few equals. Rumor has it that Morgan Lafitte was born into nobility on some far corner of The Spiral. She abandoned her life of wealth and privilege to escape an arranged marriage. Morgan went to Valencia where she lived a double life as a renowned countess and a legendary cat burglar. She served as a spy during the Polarian wars, selling critical information about Valencian strategy to Polaris. The rise of the Armada saw an end to her espionage when Deacon discovered her deception. Morgan fled Valencia when her secret was uncovered, keeping a step ahead of the Armada and finally settling in Skull Island. You’ll meet many pirates like these when you play for free at Pirate101.com.”

“Choose your pirate wisely: Buccaneer, Witchdoctor, Musketeer, Privateer, or Swashbuckler. Your choice determines your fate! Pirate101 is a world of epic adventure that's full of strategic challenges, flying ships, wondrous treasure, and fantastic battles! You can play for free at Pirate101.com with a parent's permission. Rated E for Everyone 10 and up.”

Don’t miss the most recent Producer’s letter from Jay Gordon, aka The Frogfather! He talks a bit about the release of Marleybone and Aquila as well as hints to future updates in Pirate101.

Also the Frogfather’s has asked players a new question on the Message Boards this past week: “. . . If you could change one thing in each of Marleybone and Aquila, what would it be?”

"Please tell me this thing has rapid fire..." -Brave Brianna Noble

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

All of our wonderful fan sites provide quality information every day. Some months like June, there are just so many great highlights, that it’s hard not to list them all, but here are a few really outstanding highlights (and discussion points) from last month . . . just in case you missed them:

• Message Board poster “Synakul” had some very positive words to say for the new Ettins in Aquila. Read More »
• Developer Johnny Ringo requested a bit of feedback on the new world ambiance that was added to Marleybone and Aquila. Read More »
• Developer Sarah Steele passed along answers to a Q&A from the Talkin’ the Plank podcast. Don’t miss the 16:30 – 26:30 Mark where this interview takes place (with dramatic reading ;))!
• Players at Pirate101 Central started a very interesting poll . . . who is the Best Bundle Companion? Sign up for Central and weigh in!
• Also on Pirate101 Central, forum poster “Adrian Silver” constructed a battle to end all battles. Looks pretty tough, what do you think?
• Pirate101 Central forum poster “meetredmeat” was on a creative splurge this past month, not only showcasing how to create an amazing Pirate101 Dread Pirate’s Hat fit for a comicon, but also a recreated Pirate101 Marleybone Galleon in Minecraft.
• Many players of both Wizard101 and Pirate101 know and love super-fan Paige Moonshade, who celebrated her birthday this past month.
• We added another official fan site this past month, please take time to welcome the Secrets of the Spiral blog into the fold.
• Duelist101 had an epic month in June and posted a lot of great information, don’t miss these:
  • Spotlight on the Dragoon Autocannon’s Megablast Power
  • Top 10 reasons to play Pirate101 now!
  • Winners of their Pirate Postcard Contest
  • Review of the Reckless Frenzy power
• This Wizard101 player went through a ton of work to make this Pirate101 Pirate ship in his house. Read More »

Congratulations to Captain Luke Andreen of the Talkin' the Plank podcast. A new pirate the size of 22.5 inches long, 8 lbs, joined his crew earlier this morning (07/02/2013)! Be sure to send your congratulations to @TalkinthePlank on Twitter or through the Talkin’ the Plank website.

Ahoy my Pirate Friends! I, Librarian Adelmo, have found for you another book that I would like to share with you. This recommendation comes directly from one of the KingsIsle employees (a special friend of mine who works on Wizard101 as a programmer).

This young-adult book (for the older readers who visit Pirate101.com) is titled, “True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” by Avi. This story is about a thirteen-year-old girl who boards a ship to cross the sea to return home to her family. When the two families she was supposed to travel with mysteriously cancel their trips, she finds herself the lone passenger on a long sea voyage with a cruel captain and a mutinous crew. It’s a tale that’s both suspenseful and entertaining that’s sure to fascinate the reader.

There was a time in Pirate101’s history when a Witchdoctor’s skeletal minion stayed in its lowly 10th level state no matter whom or what was doing the summoning. However, a very important change was made near the end of Feburary 2013 (from the update notes): “Many Summoned allies (like the Witchdoctor's Skeletal Minion) will scale in power based on the level, class, and talents of the player that used the power.”

I’ve listened to a player or two lamenting their Hermit Crab companion’s “weak” summoned crustacean, who upon first glance was only summoning a level 49 crab when the companion himself was above level 65! This is definitely lamentable, but what the players might have missed is something Developer Ratbeard had told us in a thread on the Message boards: the Will Score of a companion affects the level of the summoned creature!

It is true that the level 67 Crab Hermit companion's summon without any talent points in Will is level 49; however, (in my experimentation) with five talent points invested in Will and a couple JuJu buffs and a Calm the Troops buff on the Crab Hermit, his summoned Crustacean was 57th level. And (just for fun) I stacked 2 Great JuJu, 1 Big JuJu, 1 regular JuJu, and 1 Calm the Troops buffs just to see the effect: my Crab Hermit's summoned crustacean was level 62!

If part of your strategy uses summoned minions, you might want to try casting a buff or two before they are summoned—Patience is the key! (Then again, sometimes a well-placed Stygian Chorus at the beginning of a fight just to hold and confuse a few mobs might be all that you’re looking for, but that’s a discussion for another time, pirates.)