Pirate101: The Storyline, Your Character, and Companions (And New Concept!)

We can already make a number of assumptions about Pirate101 - combat, companions, etc. It's time, however, for an in-depth post about a few things we're sure of in this "other side" of the Spiral.

J. Todd Coleman released a few scenes from Pirate101 that look to be Boochbeard and Mr. Gandry breaking you out of prison. As it turns out, this is an Armada prison, and is the first step in changing your storyline. As they open the gate, you'll probably be given your character appearance choices. More importantly, however, you'll be asked three questions that determine your Pirate101 class and many details of your storyline from then on out.

"Our game begins with the character being rescued from the brig of an Armada prison barge. His or her rescuer asks three questions: what happened to your parents, where were you raised, and what crime did the Armada lock you up for? These answers ultimately determine a player's class and influence which Companions he or she will acquire down the line."

We already know that one of the options for "What happened to your parents?" is "They were eaten by a sky squid." Well, guides just got a lot harder for Pirate101 quests, because you now have FIVE possible classes. Now, let's say there are three possible answers to each of the questions - that means there'd be 135 possible different quest combinations. Wait a minute, we forgot the 300+ companions and the individual storylines that many of them have...

You've probably also seen that question about what happened to your parents. It left many players wondering, "Is this how Pirate101 looks?" The answer is no.

"Simian 'Monquistadors' and characters with names like 'Donkey Hotey' are part of a quest that included a humorous puppet show as an introduction to that chapter’s storyline."

"Pirate101 is built around one core storyline; all players will be taking part in the same "main quest." That said, there is a lot of class-specific content in Pirate101. Taking a page from Wizard101, we have trainer quests and special missions that only members of a given class can undertake. The other class-based content arises from Companions. Just as Companions are central to Pirate101's combat system, they also drive a lot of stories. We divide the Companions into tiers or grades: There's a group of "A list" companions, ones that get lots of dialogue during play. Like all Companions, these can be upgraded, but players can only upgrade A List Companions through quests. These "promotion quests" are some of the longest, richest, and most involved in the entire game."

"There are plenty of shady characters you can collect for your crew. Each has a different function in combat. Some are ranged, some heal, and some are masters with swords. All perform different roles on the combat field. "

It sounds like the companion quests will be promising! Companions are usually quest rewards, but can be granted a number of other ways. I would imagine that you can buy basic companions, just like you can buy basic pets from the WC pet shop, while the more intricate and skilled pets come as quest and combat rewards.

Many of the interviews that various gaming sites have done describe Companions as the deck-building portion of Pirate101; that is, you gather and train companions, and order them/add them on your crew list. You don't see 50 companions fighting in one battle, though. You might have only two or three companions in a battle at a time, randomly selected from your list. While companions higher on the list have a better chance of getting picked, you could still get the short end of the stick, and end up with your newest, untrained companion. Whether or not you can fully remove companions from having a chance to be a part of your fighting crew is still yet to be determined.

Companions, like pets, will be upgraded; both in tier and in level. Most companions are upgradable, which means new abilities and a new look. Take a look at this Ratbeard concept here. As Johnny pointed out, it's probably a companion. Look at the distinct difference in appearances. Either Ratbeard makes a clean getaway with some real treasure, or this is one of our companions!

One of the most interesting parts of one of the interviews was describing HOW companions were leveled. You use the equivalent of Training Points - Command Points. These are gained by doing side-quests. However, in the world of Pirate101, side-quests are called Jobs. You'll do Jobs for command points. Take a look at Wizard City and you'll learn why.

Some of the most common questions involve "How can I travel to other worlds?" The reason it's difficult is because you've got to accept and complete three storylines, all given at the same time from the same person. Wizard101 later changed these quests so that they could not be declined.

"We also learned that "side quest" content must be clearly distinguishable from the Main Story; players must always be able to easily tell what they have to do next and not fear that every little quest they find is required to finish the big story."

Interesting! Naming all side-quests as Jobs will definitely make things easier!

When the official Pirate101 website was released to the public, they gave us a letter from the Armada, intercepted by our fellow pirates.

This letter mentions what could possibly be a big part of the storyline - the robot Armada's Grand Design. somehow I don't think a world of Pirates and ships is part of the Armada's plan. Besides battling the evil Armada, we'll also be searching for valuable treasure and gold - namely, El Dorado!

"This Armada is creating a huge mechanical machine, I guess kind of like a Death Star now I come to think of it, that's eating up the world and trying to homogenize everything. The ultimate theme of Pirate101 is freedom and trying to keep individuality alive."

We start the game out after the Polarian Wars, between Marleybone, Valencia, Monquista, and Polaris. At this point, many of the armies wish to remain peaceful, but the good connections between them are slowly disappearing. One of the most exciting parts of Pirate101 is that we're thrown right in. Considering the fact that we're in an Armada prison, it's fairly certain that we've had a run-in with these robots before. The question is - who do we know, who don't we know? What did we do before our current life? Will there be characters who remember us, though we won't know them? It'll be as interesting to learn about ourselves as the it will the current troubles of the worlds.

"Marleybone may not have the biggest fleet in the Spiral, but the Royal Navy is blessed with brilliant officers like Captain Gordon, The Commodore, and Admiral Nelson - their military genius more than makes up for any numerical disadvantage. Marleybone was eager to maintain her alliance with Monquista and Valencia, but both those friendships seem to be quickly unraveling."

Besides the Armada and El Dorado, there's also Captain Blood. Though many say he met his match years ago, rumor has it that he still lives today. Those rumors come out of Cool Ranch, and they describe his Stronghold hidden on Skull Island! Sounds like a fitting final instance for the first world to me!

In searching for lost treasure, and battling your way to victory, the choices that affect the story outcome exist even in individual situations while questing.

"Pirate 101 is all about the choices that players make. Unlike Wizard 101 where they were part of the schools and had infinite potential, Pirate 101 takes a much more 'choice based' story approach. Pirate 101 gives players options when choosing what to do in the different scenarios you uncover."

Pirate101 sounds like it'll be quite an interesting game! 

"At first the combat takes some getting used to, but once you understand it there are so many possibilities in this system it boggles the mind. The best part is that there is a lot of strategy involved. Once you get a good number of crew members under your banner the battles become a lot like a turn-based strategy game. The system gets bigger and bigger as the battles grow. The early boss fights were pretty complex and will appeal to both younger and older players."

"Players will experience all kinds of backstabs and skullduggery which they should expect being a pirate and all."

To conclude, here are some girls' and boys' Swashbuckler outfits that J. Todd Coleman posted!

What are your thoughts? Thanks for reading, and see you in the Spiral!