Pirate101 Classes Reviewed

Pirate101 class reviews. P101 is fast approaching and the question is....Who do you want to be?
             
#5- The Musketeer Class

                        Difficulty: 5   Versatility:4   Power:3

The musketeers are supposed to be the snipers of the game. They use long ranged weapons and have the ability to set 'traps'. What this means is that they can place obstacle to hinder opponents. In essence,the Musketeers are a utility school and will be played with a tower-defense mindset. Comparable to Myth or Balance in Wizard101. The problem is their pathetic health and swordplay options. I predict this will be a much harder sect to master but due to the uniqueness of play it probably has the greatest potential of all the schools. Masterable by the few, annoying to most.


Special Power: Trap Setting




#4- The WitchDoctor Class

                                   Difficulty: 4   Versatility:5   Power:4

Witch doctors are the magic element in Pirate101. This class will be seized by folks who haven't quite had their fill of Wizard. This is another aide/utility school using indirect approaches in combat. They summon like myth, they weaken like balance and they drain health like death. This class is even less straight forward then the musketeers. However, it has the widest array of uses and possibilities. There are many ways to use this class. 

Special Power: Summoning

                   


#3- The Privateer Class

                   Difficulty: 3   Versatility:2   Power:3

Our last indirect approach class is the Privateer class. Privateers are mostly suited for......supervising. They can have larger numbers of crew and companions then any other class and they are the only principal healing group in the game. This will be instantly popular because of its simplicity and the fact that this class is in-charge by default. There is something appealing about being in control. 


Special Power: Healing

#2- The Buccaneer Class

                                      Difficulty: 1   Versatility:1   Power:5

The Buccaneers lack the beat-around-the-bush mentalities of the other classes. It's a very simple swing and ask questions later mindset. This is the easiest class in the game to master. The pro's are as follows: Largest weapons, toughest armor and blade storm. this means that your character will get extra attack moves for each defeated opponent. This means your player has the ability to move unlimited amounts per turn as long as he keeps killing something. Not a bad skill in my opinion. 

Special Power: Beserk Mode-"Blade Storm"






#2- The Swashbuckler Class

                                     Difficulty: 2   Versatility:5   Power:4

This is the best class in the game. They overcome were others fail. They are the fast melee users in the game. They swoop in like birds of prey, dispatch of their opponents with swords and are merrily along their way. They also have the only confirmed Area of Effect attack spell. (For you non-gamers out there this means they can hit several bad guys at the same time). So far, this is the closest to a rouge class as seen in other popular mmo's. It is the rapid timing, and overall image behind this class, that has convinced me to join it upon official release. Stay tuned for more details.

Special Power: AoE-"Dance of Steel"      

What would a pirate game be without ships? Each player can become a captain of their own ship and command a crew. According to KingsIsle, players will be able to upgrade ships, earn new ships, display their own personal flags, customize cannons, anchors, sails and fight enemies whilst aboard the ship.

Which brings up the new combat system. Combat will be map and turn based. Battles will begin with a planning stage where the player chooses what his minions and pirates will do. Before executing the move, the player can review combat information and character location.

Also, some units can use special abilities. Some of these powers have beneficial effects on friendly targets, and other Powers have negative effects on hostile targets. If your selected unit has powers, they will show up at the bottom of the screen. You can review them by moving your mouse over them, at which point an informational pop-up will appear. A beneficial power shows a green selector over allies the Power can reach (if it’s ranged) and a red target selector for enemies the power can affect. 




The power may also be able to affect an area, rather than a single unit – in that case you see green or red colored squares that move around as you move your cursor. Click on a target to use it. Something else to consider: Some Powers are auto-casting. They don’t rely on you to tell them where to be used. 

Ways to Win: 

To change up the game a little bit, there will different objectives in combat.

Defeat All Enemies
Use Objects
Protect an Ally
Survive for X Rounds
Defeat the King
Complete in X Rounds

If you win combat, your enemies may drop treasure for loot. Run around the area and press “X” to open each of the treasure chests. If you want to see more treasure, consider grouping with another player. Bigger combats will have more enemies to fight and you’ll earn treasure faster. Just as in wizard.

Now, what happens if you lose? When defeated in combat, the player will be returned to the last respawn point visited. No auto saves in pirate101– but just like in wizard101, your player will remain in the battle until ALL live players are dead.

Now for the bad news. Movement in Pirate101 is closer to Peter Pan than Pirates of the Caribbean. The ships move across the sky, not through the water, which isn’t bad at all, the problem is that the ships are not free movement, each one in locked to a “Skyway.” So the player is restricted to a predefined path. According to KI, there will be enemies, ships and creatures, that troll the Skyways. 


Quote: “One way to avoid enemies and travel quickly through the Skyway is to hop into a Windlane with your ship! Each Windlane winds a different path through the Skyway, and automatically steers your Ship in the direction that it's traveling. Ships traveling in Windlanes can't be attacked by enemy ships and dangerous wildlife!”


And last but not least, Ki has included Whirlpools (called Storm Gates) for players to hop from world to world. Like the World Doors in wizard101.

Ki Free Games has created a new game after a highly successful campaign with Wizard101. The new game, called Pirate101, is obviously pirate themed and is supposed to draw in customers who have outgrown or outplayed Wizard101. So far they have only revealed that the game will be released this year, and they are going to be allowing a few lucky individuals to beta test the game soon. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

 

Also, check out the trailer video if you haven't already. Be sure to stay tuned for more details.