Wizards vs. Pirates Opening Arguments

I’ve long stressed the fact that Wizards vs. Pirates is, in fact, Wizards vs. Pirates and not game versus game. So, while you all have been debating the topic, and it will be discussed, I’ll be focused on the people. You should also note that Wizards vs. Pirates runs during the March Madness season - March 18 through April 8th.

Pirates Open the Debate

Taywonowonpe started things off on Pirate101 Central, saying, “Pirate is a significant increase in almost every aspect, in my opinion. The graphics are visibly better, the game runs smoother, the enemies have [fewer] bugs. They haven't yet drowned us in crowns items, henchmen, packs (Oh, Cthulhu above, the card packs. Luckily what is in the card packs in P101 is useful), and mounts.”

The (Un)Expected?

Of course, it was bound to happen. A Wizard101 opinion on Pirate101 Central. “One of the most prominent things that attracted me to Wizard101 was the fantasy feel of it,” EmeraldRider101 noted. “Don't want to keep defeating the same monsters for those elusive objects for your quest? Why not decorate? Or train your pet? Or garden? Or PvP? Or craft? Wizard101 has so many more well-developed things to do besides questing than Pirate101.”

“With most pirates not getting any effective AoE [Area of Effect – implying that the power attacks more than one enemy] powers until the very high levels, battles tend to take forever and seem to be more of a grind. And the fantasy feel? Except for the stormgates and sailing through the ‘outer dark’ of the spiral it's practically non-existent,” she continued. But what came next was going to really fuel some fires. “I also find it quite difficult to get enough gold to buy better parts for my ships, and it's so hard to get gold that I don't even decorate on Pirate101.”

EmeraldRider101 made some good points here. I’ll step in and concur that Pirate101 doesn’t quite have the features that Wizard101 does. Sure, that’s to be expected, but could that make a difference in the debate? That might even be a positive for Pirate101

An Unseen Truth

Now, Faith503 brought up an interesting point: “I like Pirate101 a lot better. In my opinion there is a better community in Pirate101 than Wizard101, Also the game is a lot more fun and the 3 months I [have] been playing Pirate101 - it's been great.”

Upon first look, it would seem that that’s a statement without much to back it up, so I looked into it, and found that what she probably means is that Pirate101, and Pirate101 Central for that matter, isn’t cluttered with people begging for things, or complaining for hoard packs, etc. I found that to be true.

The "Beat This, Collect That" Theme Surfaces

“Pirate101 is a lot better - its graphics, game play, and music [are] amazing, [and] the battle system makes every battle different,” SpiritFire says. “Wizard101 has gotten so tedious - beat this, collect that, kill this boss, finish this dungeon. But Pirate101 has a lot more than what Wizard101 does.”

SpiritFire had a valid point. If I may interject, Avalon was done beautifully in that you only fought a specific type of creature wondering the area once. So if the Wyrd had four types of enemies, we only did four quests involving them.

"Repeatability"

Then Taywonowonpe made another good point involving the games ability to be repeated while still offering something new and original: “The game is much more fun to repeat than W101 (I am going through as my third Pirate now. My other 3 slots are in Monquista at least), and the game feels fresh and new every time, due to the much more vast differences between Pirate-class game-play compared to Wizard-class game-play.”

Pirate101 probably has this advantage because of their diverse powers and companions received for each class.

Morganthe vs. Kane

~Onion Knight~ favored Pirate101, saying, “The story. Oh my gosh, the story. Unlike Wizard101's generic ‘Save the Spiral,’ you're taking on a more anti-heroic roll. Sure, we do some good deeds, but we're also not afraid to break a few rules to get what we want. And in the end, all your good deeds are only helping you to either get closer to finding El Dorado and finding out what happened to your parents, or just to earn some quick gold. I love the subplots that dot the Spiral, like the devious Rat Pack and the evil schemes of Moo Manchu.”

Of course, not everyone felt the same. “I leveled up a Swashbuckler to 50 in a month, loved every moment of it (except those darned Buffaloons), and decided I would replay, this time as a Musketeer,” a user by the name of Scarec began. “However, it lost all its replay fun for me at that point. I just couldn't log in for very long without becoming bored, feeling that I had done everything already. I slowly stopped playing it, until now, when I get on every month to ‘check in.’ I enjoyed my time with Pirate, but I have switched back to Wizzy, and don't plan on going back to Pirate, at least until a new world comes out for my Swashbuckler.”

Difficulty Curve

One of the most powerful points for me, anyway, was flash33’s: “In Wizard101, the stories and the worlds are nice and the NPC's and areas are well done too, however in the later parts of the game it gives a feel that it's going over the top so-to-speak (in terms of how difficult the fights are at least). I know it's to try to encourage people to team up with one another, but those die-hard solo-ists out there (you know who you are) hate teaming up with other people for whatever reason (I like to solo too, but sometimes help is needed to clear an area, there's nothing wrong with that).”

To me, that was one thing I’d really recognized. See, I quest with a Death and Storm character, so stacking up Dark Pacts and using Sirens or building Feints and using Storm Owl usually presented few problems. However, when my Storm and Death were forced to separate for their Astral and Level 88 Spells, I did run into some problems.

Just the Beginning

Let me just say, there are countless replies, and for several good points, there are those who oppose them – stay tuned for those arguments in the next Wizards vs. Pirates. For now, log in to Wizard101 Central, the Wizard101 UK Board, or Pirate101 and search “Wizards vs. Pirates” to get in on the action! Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral!