Juggler

Madame Vadima, the Witch Doctor trainer, must have been a big Labyrinth fan. If you watch her long enough, every once in awhile she starts juggling her crystal ball with moves that look a lot like Jareth's.

- Smooth Sailing!

Making Progress

I finally got my First Mate, Bonnie Anne, to quit fooling around and take a decent pic of me at the Sevilla docks in Valencia a couple of nights ago. Our ship's armor - that's those shields along her hull - have the same bird logo that's on her red sails. (Too bad you can't see that too well here.) Even my crew's all decked out in my colors. She's a Skull Island Frigate out of Puerto Mico. Y'know, for such tiny little guys, those Monquistans sure know how to build big ships!

I usually prefer not to leave any jobs undone, but tonight I thought I'd try sticking to the main questline instead - and I gained three whole levels in one evening! I'm a rank 23 Privateer now, with a good bit of Witchdoctor training on the side. So far it's served me pretty well.

- Smooth Sailing!

Blogroll

Now that the NDA has dropped and we can start talking openly about Pirate 101, I've added a sidebar for blog & fansite links. If you would like me to add you, please leave a link to your site in the comments below.

Smooth sailing!

Stranded

Had a rough night, mates. The Gunner's Daughter was stranded on a sandbar - a cut fiber optic cable left me high and dry without internet access at home.

I've definitely been in withdrawal, feeling the call to adventure. I worry for the safety of my Companions sailing the Skyways without me. I don't yet trust our newest recruit. I suspect he's a little spy, I just haven't figured out yet who he's really working for.

Stand By to Repel Boarders!

Over the past few days KingsIsle has given permission to a couple of reviews of Pirate 101's Companions and its Combat System. If you haven't seen them yet, go take a look at these great articles:

• Ditto Monster (our favorite Fabricated American)
• Jester (co-host of Pirate 101 Central and Wizard 101 Central)

 I only wish I could share my own take on P101 battles, but the NDA has me sworn to secrecy. All I can say for now is that I'm having a blast. (I've named her The Gunner's Daughter for a reason, folks!) I'm learning something new from every fight, trying different combos and developing a strategy that works for me.

On a side note, a big thanks goes to Christina Icedreamer and Stephen Spiritcaller over at Ravenwood Radio for asking me to intern with John Lifeglen as a chatroom moderator during their live show last night. They were giving away Pirate 101 Beta keys! Watch for show #69 in the next day or two, listen for the three secret words, and enter to win.

Beta Keys Ahoy!

If you're still trying to snag one of those elusive Pirate101 Closed Beta keys, Capt. Avery has dropped a ton of loot off for the official fansites to give away! Check out Petnome Project, Ravenwood Radio and Pieces of Eight Radio and the other great pages here and here.

Good luck hunting your own Beta treasure, mateys!

~ Smooth Sailing ~

Drydocked

Feels odd to be back on dry land again after sailing the Pirate 101 Beta spiral this past week. It took a little practice to find my sea legs at first, but now I'm loving the sailing life.

How much fun is it? I've averaged three hours' sleep a night ever since I got in because I don't want to stop! The story's totally engrossing, and the great music and incredible scenery make it really easy to get drawn completely into the game world. It's like a great page-turner I can't stop reading because I just have to find out what happens next. The whole day at work I'm thinking about my latest adventures, looking forward to getting home so I can get a look at the next boss, and next thing I know I catch myself falling asleep mid-fight and it's 3am already!

Smooth sailing!

KingsIsle Family Pricing

Fred Howard announced in a new Massively article today that KingsIsle's Family Pricing of $6.95/month for those with multiple subscriptions will apply across both games. One person will be able to subscribe to both Wizard 101 and Pirate 101 for a combined $13.90 monthly rate!

On a side note, I'm so looking forward to sailing the Spiral that I went out and splurged on a new laptop.

Smooth Sailing indeed!

All hands on deck!

Well, it appears we'll soon be headin' out to sea, folks. Kingsisle announced today that the Pirate 101 Beta keys are starting to go out!

I wonder what mysteries are waiting for us to discover?

Smooth Sailing!