I have completed what I perceive to be most of the Isle of Dogs content. I just finished destroying the Beachhead last night and am now being sent to the Isle of Fetch. This post will contain spoilers for the content I've completed, obviously, so if that matters to you, don't read it!
I was still upset about the slog of the Tea house instance when I arrived at Marleybone. I immediately preferred this version to the Wizard101 Marleybone: the city felt more alive and rich in detail (as most things in Pirate101 do when compared to W101). Sailing into port will always feel superior to just stepping through a portal. You get a much better feel for the world you are entering allowing for a greater sense of awe.
One of my fears when I finally got to MB was that all the dungeons would be of the 2.5 hour length variety, a bad fit for my playing time which tends to be erratic at best. Fortunately, I haven't yet run into a dungeon that was marked at over an hour. To me, the hour long dungeon is the longest I really want to spend there.
So far, the new content has done a very good job of making sure that all of the boss/mini-boss fights feel different and there is a great deal of variety to both the environments you find yourself in and the tactics you need to use to succeed. This is how combat should be and the fights have a greater difficulty because of it. Doing the same thing you do every time won't always work and many of the bosses have abilities never seen before that effect the board in unique ways. For example, the fight with Bishop was the first time I'd really seen Witchhunter work. Quite unfortunate for my Witchdoctor.
The Beachhead itself in how larger set pieces in the story should be addressed. I wonder if at some point the developers had imagined the entire place as one long instance (would have been around 3 hours, if so). Wisely, they broke it into 4 different instances you do insequence: three 30 min's and one hour long. It felt right.
I like the new crew member Gracie Conrad. Pirate101 is a little shy on female companions and she's a good one: smart, capable, driven, patriotic, self-sacrificing . . . and she doesn't have the annoyingly high pitched voice I had expected based on her character design (she looks like a yappy little dog to me).
Lastly, the story is great so far. I like the character of Bishop, one of the clockwork elite, and was surprised in took this long for us to see one of the clockworks in a creepy black plague mask. They seem like a natural fit, given the design of the Armada. Also, Catbeard was one of my favorite characters from the first 12 books and I'm glad to see him reappear in the story. I actually laughed out loud (something I rarely do when playing) when I saw in what state Catbeard's imprisonment had left him.
All around, it's been a good time (with the exception of one issue, which I'll discuss in another post) and I look forward to seeing what the Isle of Fetch has in store for me. The stakes have been set pretty high! I hope hope Dark Tatiana is up to the task!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Pirate101: First day in the new expansion
I started out my play session by following my own advice as seen in today's episode of Talkin' the Plank: Start with the Bazaar, then update your crew, then off on adventure!
Step one at the Bazaar was to finish selling anything that wasn't tied down. I noticed that already since earlier that same day, the price demanded for ship equipment had drastically reduced, likely due to everyone using the Bazaar all day to sell their surplus. Makes sense but was kind of a bummer. Still, I was able to get a few really good pieces for my Marleybone heavy galleon (which was switched to level 54 as the notes suggested). Then, much to my joy and surprise, I was able to get a new weapon for my Witchdoctor: shooty/staffy! It looks pretty sweet. The wand is a triceratops skull and the gun is a three-barreled pistol. I got that one, not because I wanted to spend all of my training points as musketeer, but just because I liked the look of it.
As a side note, I'm very anxious to see what the lvl 65 Witchdoctor talent looks like. From the tool tip, it looks like you summon three undead minions at once. Will they all occupy one tile? Will they summon to separate tiles? Time will tell! Additionally, I tried out the new Ocuboros spell and it seemed to be much stronger than before, so I'll work it into my regular rotation.
Once I had finished with the Bazaar, I checked out my crew to see what improvements I could make. Firstly, it seems I was mistaken about one of the changes: I thought that there would be no set Epics, when what they said was no set talents. That being the case, I go to add all the talents to all of my crew members that had changed. It took a little while but wasn't a biggie.
After that I was ready to go to Marleybone . . . oh, wait, the quest says to go to Port Regal. Okay, I'll confirm that Catbeard isn't on his ship. It was at this point I got a cry for help from someone on my friends list who was desperately trying to finish up MooShu and needed some help with a little Nautical combat. My fully upgraded ship rushed to assist. After downing a few ships (while becoming more and more annoyed by how long it was taking), I was back on my way again. This was my only experience with the new speed of ship combat last night, but it didn't feel that much faster. Logically, I could see that it was, but it felt about the same. I'll have to test this further in Marleybone when I get there.
So I went through the Port Regal quests, laughed at Captain Kid being a goat (it's so obvious, but still funny), and was on the cusp of storming the dungeon for the new windstone to get to Marleybone when I had to stop, edit the podcast and go to bed. I hope you all enjoy the show, by the way, but last night I really wished I didn't have to make it!
Ah well, there's always tonight. Happy new content to all and I'll see you in game this evening when I try once again to get to Marleybone!
Step one at the Bazaar was to finish selling anything that wasn't tied down. I noticed that already since earlier that same day, the price demanded for ship equipment had drastically reduced, likely due to everyone using the Bazaar all day to sell their surplus. Makes sense but was kind of a bummer. Still, I was able to get a few really good pieces for my Marleybone heavy galleon (which was switched to level 54 as the notes suggested). Then, much to my joy and surprise, I was able to get a new weapon for my Witchdoctor: shooty/staffy! It looks pretty sweet. The wand is a triceratops skull and the gun is a three-barreled pistol. I got that one, not because I wanted to spend all of my training points as musketeer, but just because I liked the look of it.
As a side note, I'm very anxious to see what the lvl 65 Witchdoctor talent looks like. From the tool tip, it looks like you summon three undead minions at once. Will they all occupy one tile? Will they summon to separate tiles? Time will tell! Additionally, I tried out the new Ocuboros spell and it seemed to be much stronger than before, so I'll work it into my regular rotation.
Once I had finished with the Bazaar, I checked out my crew to see what improvements I could make. Firstly, it seems I was mistaken about one of the changes: I thought that there would be no set Epics, when what they said was no set talents. That being the case, I go to add all the talents to all of my crew members that had changed. It took a little while but wasn't a biggie.
After that I was ready to go to Marleybone . . . oh, wait, the quest says to go to Port Regal. Okay, I'll confirm that Catbeard isn't on his ship. It was at this point I got a cry for help from someone on my friends list who was desperately trying to finish up MooShu and needed some help with a little Nautical combat. My fully upgraded ship rushed to assist. After downing a few ships (while becoming more and more annoyed by how long it was taking), I was back on my way again. This was my only experience with the new speed of ship combat last night, but it didn't feel that much faster. Logically, I could see that it was, but it felt about the same. I'll have to test this further in Marleybone when I get there.
So I went through the Port Regal quests, laughed at Captain Kid being a goat (it's so obvious, but still funny), and was on the cusp of storming the dungeon for the new windstone to get to Marleybone when I had to stop, edit the podcast and go to bed. I hope you all enjoy the show, by the way, but last night I really wished I didn't have to make it!
Ah well, there's always tonight. Happy new content to all and I'll see you in game this evening when I try once again to get to Marleybone!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Pirate101: New Content is Up!
With last night's maintenance, the new content has been released! I played right up until the servers went down (1 AM my time) trying to finish my Nautical XP goals . . . and did, more or less. Thankfully, when I started fighting the Jade ships, I was quickly joined by 3 other Marleybone Heavy Galleons, presumably trying to get those last few Nautical levels before diving into the new content. Since I have to sleep sometime (and work the rest of the time) I wasn't able to check much out this morning when I logged in. Basically, I was able to get the new quest from Avery, the checked out the Bazaar on my way to the docks to see what that's like.
The Bazaar is a welcome addition to the game, for sure. This is one that affects all players whether you're on your way to Marleybone or are a fresh faced person o' fortune just walking out of Avery's office, blinking in the bright Skull Island sun. The Bazaar essentially solves one of the biggest issues many folks had with the early game: not enough gold. Now, you can get roughly twice what the vendors will pay for any given item. Since the fastest way to grind gold is ship battles and the equipment that will be the most sought after is ship equipment, I imagine that portion of the Bazaar will be the busiest and the most lucrative/helpful. I was able to sell most of the extra ship equipment I had on had for roughly 2-3 times what a vendor would have paid for it, so I was getting 1,700-2,500g per piece as opposed to 500-900g: a significant increase.
That was all I had time for, but I'll start updating my blog again now that there is something to talk about! Stay tuned!
Also, be sure to check out the discussion that Brandon and I will have about the new content on Talkin' the Plank. The new episode will post tomorrow at connectthedotspod.com and also talkintheplank.blogspot.com
The Bazaar is a welcome addition to the game, for sure. This is one that affects all players whether you're on your way to Marleybone or are a fresh faced person o' fortune just walking out of Avery's office, blinking in the bright Skull Island sun. The Bazaar essentially solves one of the biggest issues many folks had with the early game: not enough gold. Now, you can get roughly twice what the vendors will pay for any given item. Since the fastest way to grind gold is ship battles and the equipment that will be the most sought after is ship equipment, I imagine that portion of the Bazaar will be the busiest and the most lucrative/helpful. I was able to sell most of the extra ship equipment I had on had for roughly 2-3 times what a vendor would have paid for it, so I was getting 1,700-2,500g per piece as opposed to 500-900g: a significant increase.
That was all I had time for, but I'll start updating my blog again now that there is something to talk about! Stay tuned!
Also, be sure to check out the discussion that Brandon and I will have about the new content on Talkin' the Plank. The new episode will post tomorrow at connectthedotspod.com and also talkintheplank.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Pirate101: Test Realm Notes Highlights and thoughts
I'll go over all of this with Brandon in this weeks episode of Talkin' the Plank, but here are some of my initial thoughts about all the exciting new changes coming up with the next major patch. Abbreviated notes in white, my thoughts in blue:
Level 65, new area starts when you
finish Mooshu Glad I encouraged folks to finish Mooshu in a previous episode. I'll have to get my WD to 50 and complete all the quests if I want to use her. I imagine that this will go live in less than a week!
Bazaar! Same as Wizard, all realms,
located on Skull Island, NPC Harvey Deuce Many players have been waiting patiently for a bazaar to be added to the game and here it is. Items will be more readily availabe and everyone will be slightly wealthier. No downside to this!
Changes made to staring experience
including new enemies and quests, initial battles with Troggies are single
player only A beefed up, more forgiving starting area can only be a good thing. The more people who play the game, the more resources KI can afford to put back into the game!
Rental Mounts Added I never used them in Wizard and didn't miss them in Pirate, so no thoughts on this, really.
Turret Bosses added to Skyways, can
attack up to 4 ships at a time This sounds pretty awesome. Having a large battle and something more exciting for NXP parties is a great idea.
Transportalators transport you for a
fee (gold for members, crowns for non-members, transportation to Skull Island
is always free) if you have already entered that world on a ship. Woohoo! Finally a quick transport. One more reason to subscribe!
2nd chance chests added
(for crowns) I never really used these in Wizard, but then again, I never farmed for gear in either game (it didn't really feel necessary in Pirate and I didn't get far enough in Wizard). Still, for those trying to get a specific piece that have crowns to burn, this can only be positive.
Combat Changes:
Once a battle board has been filled by
four players, no additional “different” players may join the combat if one of
the original four players flees.
(Multiplayer only) If a player doesn’t
issue any orders for a planning phase, in the next planning phase they will be
presented with a dialog that says “Are you still playing?” If “Yes” isn't clicked
within 10 seconds, then the absent player is forced to Flee. Good. As it should be.
Combat tougher after lvl 25 How tough? I won't know if this is positive or not until I've tried it.
Companions:
New promotions for Bonnie Anne,
Ratbeard and the Mag 7 Good. Expected, of course, but good.
Companions who share the same class as
your PC gain extra xp from Training tomes This makes a lot of sense from a game world perspective
We have reduced the variation in
companion quality in an effort to make all companions more worthwhile.
Companions who were previously "third string" have been boosted up to
"second-string" status. They will have more non-epic talent slots to
purchase simple upgrades like Accuracy, Armor, etc. Thank you, KI. I was always bummed out that certain companions were essentially albatrosses (not animorph sea birds but dead weight) even though I really wanted to revel in the variety having so many could bring. I'd much rather adjust my strategy to figure out which way to use my useful crew than trying to make up the slack if a useless one shows up. This also makes buying training tomes feel like much less of a burden.
No more fixed talent slots for
companions. The more I think about this, the less I like it. Having a fixed slot would sometimes force me to learn an ability I wouldn't have otherwise picked, which in turn introduced me to the joys of flanking.
Ship Combat:
20% reduction in cd for ship powers Boom. Awesome.
Nautical XP increased by 25% Double boom.
Players onboard your ship earn NXP at
50% of the captain’s rate but only from mobs less than 10 levels higher than the
players nautical level Boom? I dunno, I never had anyone on deck for more than a few minutes. This is good in that it could encourage that underused game play and could give characters a boost that were having trouble with their NXP gain.
Fuel efficiency increased x2 Never really used this, but maybe they'll give us a reason to in the new content?
Many high level ships will target
multiple enemies Player ships or enemy ships? Hmmmm . . . .
Quest Changes
Quest Sharing added
for some book 1 side quests
Quests will sort themselves by
Mainline, Trainer, Promotions & Sideline Finally. This should have always been there, but I'm glad they added it.
Go Go Stormzilla: certain companion
powers will be available during the fight, added life fountain near the
entrance, adjusted stats and health of Stupendor-x and stormzilla Being able to use crew powers as well as having a life fountain right outside will greatly reduce the frustration of this encounter. Well done.
Crown Shop:
Housing space increase available,
Aquilan Pegasus mount eh. I like mounts but I don't really get too excited about player housing. Not until there's something to do there besides decorate.
General & UI:
More secret chests added Yarrrr!
Experience bars now hide a level cap Might reduce confusion for those not familiar with the concept of a level cap.
Badges listed in Alphabetical order Good.
Well, there you have it. More news and thoughts as more is revealed!
Pirate101: Test Realm Notes
Here they are, with thoughts in another post after I have digested the notes!
Yarr! Adventures await ye in the highly anticipated release of Books 13 and 14 in Pirate101! With the introduction of both the war-torn skyway of Marleybone and the legendary beauty and danger found throughout Aquila, high-level pirates will now continue their rebel journey against the evil Armada! All characters who have finished the quest "The Great and Powerful Turtle" in MooShu must now visit Avery in his office to continue their adventures with the quest "That Darn Cat" (You'll know you have completed this if you own the "Enlightened One" Badge in your list of badges).
We hope you’re impressed as the amount of content being released is almost double what would normally be released in an expansion, and as such, players will now be able to level their characters from 50 to 65 (both regular and nautical level)!
With new levels comes increased power for players: Remember to visit your trainers often, since beginning at level 52 and every 2 to 3 levels afterwards, you’ll unlock new talents or powers for your character. Speaking of power, tons of new weapons and gear await you in both worlds, and even the mini-games will return better rewards for higher level players. There’s new ship equipment waiting for you as well—TIME TO SUMMON THE KRAKEN! Worried about the cost of these new power ups? Don’t be! Your available gold cap has been increased to 200,000 gold.
New Companions abound--additional companions await your discovery, Pirates, and many of your old companions will discover new powers and tiers of promotion available to them.
You’ll need the additional power since your journey won’t be without danger—with greater reward comes greater challenges! Prepare yourself to battle with and against a host of new faces: Kurghas, Grenadiers, Anarchists, War Golems, Vultures, Manticores, Ophidians, Eagle Centurions, Ettins, Trolls, Sirens, Minotaurs, Krakens, Crokagators, and Gorgons await you!
Introducing Marleybone and Aquila
Yarr! Adventures await ye in the highly anticipated release of Books 13 and 14 in Pirate101! With the introduction of both the war-torn skyway of Marleybone and the legendary beauty and danger found throughout Aquila, high-level pirates will now continue their rebel journey against the evil Armada! All characters who have finished the quest "The Great and Powerful Turtle" in MooShu must now visit Avery in his office to continue their adventures with the quest "That Darn Cat" (You'll know you have completed this if you own the "Enlightened One" Badge in your list of badges).
We hope you’re impressed as the amount of content being released is almost double what would normally be released in an expansion, and as such, players will now be able to level their characters from 50 to 65 (both regular and nautical level)!
With new levels comes increased power for players: Remember to visit your trainers often, since beginning at level 52 and every 2 to 3 levels afterwards, you’ll unlock new talents or powers for your character. Speaking of power, tons of new weapons and gear await you in both worlds, and even the mini-games will return better rewards for higher level players. There’s new ship equipment waiting for you as well—TIME TO SUMMON THE KRAKEN! Worried about the cost of these new power ups? Don’t be! Your available gold cap has been increased to 200,000 gold.
New Companions abound--additional companions await your discovery, Pirates, and many of your old companions will discover new powers and tiers of promotion available to them.
You’ll need the additional power since your journey won’t be without danger—with greater reward comes greater challenges! Prepare yourself to battle with and against a host of new faces: Kurghas, Grenadiers, Anarchists, War Golems, Vultures, Manticores, Ophidians, Eagle Centurions, Ettins, Trolls, Sirens, Minotaurs, Krakens, Crokagators, and Gorgons await you!
The fun definitely doesn’t stop there as a lot of effort has been done to bring our players everything from new ambient creatures, NPCs performing daily activities in several towns and battle props to additional treasure chests and training tomes in hidden locations. And if that isn’t enough, Zeke is back with new exploration quests!
We’re excited to invite you to Marleybone and Aquila, and hope you enjoy this new journey as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it for you.
NOTE: Because of the amount of changes and new content, the download for this update is larger than usual. Please be patient and allow the game to load—it’ll be worth it!
We’re excited to invite you to Marleybone and Aquila, and hope you enjoy this new journey as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it for you.
NOTE: Because of the amount of changes and new content, the download for this update is larger than usual. Please be patient and allow the game to load—it’ll be worth it!
Time to Shop with the new Bazaar!
A new Bazaar has opened shop on Skull Island, and it’ll give pirates access to tons of items found by other pirates.
Be sure to visit Harvey Deuce in the building directly to the right as you exit Avery's Court (on the same side and
right before Kraken Skulls Tavern).
Sell your extra items to Harvey, and he’ll pay you the value in gold for your items based on supply and
demand. If Harvey already has lots of the item you are selling, he pays you less gold for yours. If he’s
low or out of stock of an item you are selling, he’ll pay you more! No matter what, Harvey always offers
a better price than other shopkeepers. While Harvey is good at what he does, there are some unique and
rare items that Harvey just simply can’t purchase, and those items are marked “No Auction” in the item’s
description.
Buying items is easy too! The more of an item Harvey has, the cheaper it will be, and the fewer of an item
he has, the more expensive it will be. If you see an item you like, buy it, it may not be there next time you visit.
All prices are based on Harvey’s current haul of treasure, so shop often to find the best price, Pirates! And
don't worry, if someone sells an item on the Boochbeard Realm, and you're on the One-Eyed Jack Realm,
you'll see it in Harvey’s inventory.
New Tutorial and Early Game Changes | |||
We’ve created a new tutorial that’s tons more exciting! There will be more interesting enemies to confront, more visually impressive effects and critical moves, a more cinematic approach, and a quick peek at broadside combat. We’ve also made it so you can skip past that initial “Somewhere in the Spiral” text if you’d like, but definitely don’t skip the new tutorial if you haven’t seen it before. Make a new character today!
In addition to the new tutorial change, we’ve made several other changes to the early part of the game that players are sure to enjoy:
The following early side quests can be more easily obtained and completed in the Free-to-play areas of Skull Island:
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