Awesome Gun Drop

If you're a Muskateer or a fan of Shooty weapons, when you get to Johnny Ringo in Cooper's Roost, take the time to farm him for his guns. They're no trade / no auction so you'll need to get your own set. I wish I could give these to my own little shooter. (They're in my Privateer's backpack.)

I've heard he also drops a couple of pets, a skysnake and an armadillo.

Too Many Monkeys

I've been playing my Privateer a lot lately, working my way through Monquista's religious and political turmoil. I spent yesterday cleaning up on side quests, including one which recruited a Monquisitor companion to my crew. He's not too fond of witchcraft - Witch Hunter lets him interrupt spells cast nearby - but he's been leaving Old Scratch and Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah alone. (Not that anybody speaks Troggy anyway.)

We ran into problems hunting Monquistan vessels for sugar (to make lemonade) and for Holy Water. I thought at first I could double up and hit the same ships for both, but when I got a "did not collect" for one and not the other I realized they were slightly different boats - Monquistan Navy had the sugar, while the Holy Water was on Monquisition ships (not Monquistan ones as I'd first read it).

I finally found the Holy Monquisition hanging out between La Mancha and Diablo Cut. Unfortunately their red robes were virtually identical to my new crewmate's red with black trim, and several times we mistook him for one of them and caught him in area blasts. He seems to have forgiven us.

The Navy ships were much harder to locate, as none of the fleets up and down the length of Monquista mentioned the word Navy in their call letters. I finally found them by accident when I got caught by the Royal Squadron just east of the Summer Palace and found the first of the sugar I needed.

Um... Whoops

As Brody puts it, I think he could use a bigger boat. Not sure what glitch happened here but somehow our raft ended up docked to an invisible ship. It was still on the battle board so we managed to kill off the sharks and rescue him.

Unfortunately I was on Brody's ship when the last shark fell - and found myself stuck floating in space, unable to move or go claim any of the loot chests. I finally got unstuck by heading back to the life fountain, and fortunately Brody hitched a ride back with me so at least I'd rescued him & completed the quest.

Those sharks owe me a reckoning of treasure some day though.

Smooth Sailing,
Black Angus Armstrong, Buccaneer

Paying the Piper

Day 3: I finished the Presidio tonight, my first dungeon at level 7. I rescued an undead Buccaneer, Dead Mike, who died trying to save my parents when their crew mutinied. Kan Po doesn't seem to trust him but Mike's sworn to protect my family forever - and that didn't end at the grave.

I took Mike and the cargo back to the Frogfather, and he had a nice little surprise for me - the Lonely Pearl, my parents' old ship, repaired and ready to fly. So I ran over to his private drydock to pick her up - and ran smack into my first pay gate. Ouch! She was so close I could hear the wind in her rigging, but Boochbeard wouldn't let me go bottle her up until I paid his 749C docking fee to start Chapter 2. Rather than unlocking the game zone by zone as the Wizards do, we Pirates follow our story a Chapter at a time. Of course - what better way for a Captain to keep her log?


Smooth sailing!
Wicked Ginelle Vaughn, Witchdoctor

Set Sail!

Pirate 101 launched their Headstart Week today, for Beta players and those who pre-ordered game bundles. I had a few fights, did some fishing and sailing, and made my way to Jonah Town at level 6 so far.

Thanks to gifts from a very generous friend, I've already got a huge Volcano Island home of my very own. I think my decorator might be dyslexic though.

My raft The Brown Fool (on the left) has my correct flag, an autumn tree over an orange V on a blue background. The one on the right, flying from my home's observation deck, got my tree right but has the background upside down! Hopefully they can get me a new flag up there pronto.

Smooth Sailing!
Wicked Ginelle Vaughn, Witchdoctor

Tail of Two Foxes

Not only do we get to design our own pirate flags, but our crews of Companions all get dressed up in matching team colors! Here's Bonnie Anne, one of the "standard" Companions everyone hires, wearing two different pirates' colors.

The first Anne sails under a two-tone green flag, the second's flag is orange with a blue border.

Missing Pointer

Pirate 101 launched a new Beta update tonight, adding the final voiceovers and fixing a couple of bugs. With every update so far, all the graphic settings have been reset to defaults - and my mouse pointer vanishes. Here's the fix that works for me.

Go into Settings on the game launcher - that's the blue button at the lower left - before you hit the Login button to start playing. Go to the Video tab and un-check the box next to Hardware Cursor, turning it off (the default setting is On), then Apply the changes & hit OK to close the box. You should then be able to Login and play as normal.

This may not work for everyone, of course, but it fixed my problem and it just might work for you.

Smooth Sailing!

Saying Goodbye

When I first entered the drawings to get a Pirate 101 Beta key, I knew that sooner or later this day would come. With the new pre-sale bundles coming out tomorrow - for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, no less - word has come down from One-Eyed Jack that today's major build release will come with the dreaded character wipe.

All the pirates in the Spiral are getting deleted today, so we can start fresh and focus on testing the new player experience. This also gives KI a chance to load-test the system, to see how it deals with the massive tide of a simulated Launch Day.

So it's with a heavy heart I say goodbye to Silent Sydney Lewis, a Privateer with a Witch Doctor's heart, sailing off into the Mooshu sunset for the final time. I don't know yet what I'll be on the other side, but I'm grateful for the battle lessons she's taught me.

This is the way I'll remember her, hiding on a beach at Fort Elena, spying on the Armada fleet.

Smooth Sailing!

Color Negatives

Back in ancient times before digital cameras, color pictures were taken on film. This film was then developed into color negatives, which were then used to print the pictures onto light-sensitive paper. The Haunted Skyway of Pirate 101 feels like I'm flying through a color negative of Cool Ranch's Big Sky country. Cool Ranch is the oranges and pinks of the painted desert and southwestern sunsets. Its Haunted counterpart, home to abandoned forts and ghost towns, is a gloomy blue-green world over sickly yellow clouds. In short - well done yet again, KingsIsle. A+ for atmosphere!

Eatin' Yer Veggies

When it comes to questing I'm usually a completist. I'd rather finish every quest I can in one area before moving on to the next. I've even gotten a couple of badges so far for completing areas, so I know I've missed a couple somewhere. When I started Cool Ranch, though, I was so eager to see where the story led that I decided to skip all the sides for once and go straight up the story line. I did accept random quests as I found them, but I consistently went back to the main path time after time.

By the time I'd gone up through Port Regal and back to Cool Ranch again I'd built up about seven pages in my quest log, but Pirate 101 makes it easier to stay on track by reminding you of your current story quest every time you log in. On the good side, story quests usually offer the biggest experience rewards, so I was getting a new level or two every day. I started Cool Ranch at 18th level a week or two ago and just hit 33 night before last. I was beginning to wonder, though, if what they'd said about Privateers was wrong, that we get more Companions than any other class. I seemed stalled at a crew of a dozen, including a "mercenary" I'd hired from a Troggy Horde pack, when other folks at lower levels seemed to captain a lot more.

Last night I finally got tired of a steady diet of entrees and went back to clean up some of those tasty veggie side dish quests - and gained three new Companions in one night, including my very first Swashbuckler (a Unicorn). Apparently I'd picked just the wrong time to stick to the main dishes, leaving a lot of crew potential hidden out there in those sides.

This morning on the way to work, I was telling my son about one of my new Companions, a giant Buccaneer chicken:

"What kind of weapons does he have, Mom?"

"Well, he's a boxer or something, he just punches the bad guys with his fists."

"How'd you get him?"

"I rescued him from the Frogerales' jail."

"Whoa. They must've arrested him for cock fighting."

*groan*

Before & After

One of my Companions had their second promotion quest tonight, gaining some stat boosts and a couple of nice Epic Talents along with a new wardrobe.

The left side is how he looked after his first promo, the right was after tonight's update. Visually it doesn't look like much of an "upgrade" to me. Yes, he's got a fancier sword now, and his peg leg's a touch more polished, but the feather & gold trim looks a lot richer than the supposedly improved outfit he's got now.
Ignore the Water Mole in the background - he's just jealous because they're almost the same level and he hasn't even had his first promotion yet.
- Smooth Sailing!

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!