Golden Guardian on Mar 16, 2014 wrote:

They should just stop stacking of all similar spells together. A privateer should definitely not stack accuracy and dodge buffs. And it won't even bother those who don't PvP. The truth is you can easily survive with just a battle zeal. Stacking 100% acc and dodge makes the game way too easy and unchallenging, and yeah the rest of just survive with a meek El toro buff, and we still find it normal and not too hard.

The next issue is defence buffs. I say Levi's should stack so buccaneers have a chance, but not valors armour or fortresses.

Experienced Privateers do stack all their buffs at once. If they do, melee units like you with Purge Magic will just ruin their entire strategy.

Either all defensive buffs stack or none of them do. That's not how the game works.

Can I lastly say that I've grown tired of people complaining about classes being weak in PvP. Swashbucklers and Buccaneers require work to use just like any other class. The reason why Musketeers, Privateers, and Witchdoctors seem so threatening to you is because you're aware of what they can do, but refuse to think of ways to counter it.

"Woe is me, Musketeers have traps that will prevent me for hitting them easily. Woe is me, because I don't think of using protection buffs or making false charges, etc."

"Woe is me, Privateers out-buff me because that's what they're built to do. Woe is me,because I'm not taking advantage of debuffs, stalling, or using Purge Magic efficiently."

"Woe is me, Witchdoctor's have the high range Mojo Storm to hit from afar and Mojo Reaver to hit melee units. Woe is me, because I didn't think of pressuring the foe and using Hidden/charge combos."

These are some of the most obvious strategies to use, and there are certainly many, many more. Those are for you to find and figure out yourself.

Instead of hijacking this thread and turning it into a "My favorite class is underpowered because I lost some battles" thread, stay on the topic at hand. Any class can be overpowered if used correctly. Just think, instead of complaining or waiting for KI to take action. If you can't do this now, when/if Ranked PvP arrives you're in for a rough ride. Along with Ranked PvP comes cheap strategies and more...

Lucas Walker on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:

I know how the Swashbuckler class works, but excuse me for making a mistake on a class that I don't use often.

Like I said before, Hidden does work in PvP, you just don't know how to use it. Black Fog takes one round to execute, you use it when the effected allies can attack that same round. LEARN HOW TO STAY OUT OF RANGE, AND YOU WON'T LOSE YOUR HIDDEN. Yeah, Privateers have an infinite range artillery series, but more often than not they only use the first two and that's early on in the match. The weakest one is usually near the end of their Power line-up. Zeena's flames aren't hard to counter either, if your opponent is hiding behind flames or other floor hazards, that's a signal that they can't play offensively at that moment. Use that to your advantage and dish out damage, with or without hidden. Critical buffs are still very useful.

A friend of mine has this amazing hidden hit-and-run tactic he uses against Witchdoctors and Privateers. Works like magic.

I never compared Swashbuckler Critical buffs to Privateer ones, you're doing that now.

Again with criticals going through defensive buffs, that's not true. If you're going into PvP matches without things like Leviathan's Call or Valor's Fortress, then you deserve to get pummeled. Criticals will not break through a protection, they'll deal a bit more damage, but not break through the protection. Learn how criticals works before spewing nonsense.

Swashbucklers can get 3 more Assassin's Strike outside of the trained one, each of which are obviously very useful. Privateers have no weakness you say? Low base Agility Vs. a high-damaging High base Agility Swashbuckler. Companions with Burst Fire. But wait, "there's Battle Zeal and Espirit De Corps," there's also Bonnie Anne's Scatterblast, Subodai's debuff, Goronado's Debuff, if you really wanna lower their dodge, Musketeer strafes are available to Swashbucklers so use a Shooty/Stabby weapon.

I'm sure a lot of you guys complaining about how Privateers are overpowered are the ones running around with lousy Epics and talents on their companions, and likely aren't running the necessary gear to survive in PvP. Everyone wants to be a Swashbuckler, but very few of you actually know how to use the class effectively.

Privateers can be overpowering, very true. If you're prepared, you keep calm, and take advantage of clear weak points then you'll be fine.

My point is that Privy have everything that the other classes have ON STEROIDS. The accuracy of a Musket (for the whole team) the defense of a Buck (for anyone he chooses to protect, not just himself) The dodge AND damage of a Swash (for the whole team) The will of a Witch (for anyone happening to be next to them)
And as of lousy talents and not having good gear? I have a helm with Levy's call boots with Juju (or valor fort if I choose) my outfit I admit is lousy I can't find anything with very advanced powers so I have 1 of 3 options my battle angels array with advanced dodge and armor, an outfit with an owl heal (can't recall the actual name at the moment) or one with back stab. I have a ring with assassin's strike, a charm with Juju, and a token with either Levy's call, another Juju, or valor's fort.
My companions epics are far from lousy, I most have relentless and burst fire which I make good with my many Jujus (which a Privy's defense powers still manage to delude) in addition to burst fire my Bonnie has quickdraw2. (Note: all companions I list ARE at max level) Hawkules has relentless3 and vengeance2. Zeena has burstfire3 and overwatch. My Toro has relentless2 and riposte2. and the rest have relatively the same epics.
As of the debuffs of my companions, lets face it, even with bonnies scatterblast (which usually isn't able to hit much more than 2 opponents) they still have almost 2x regular dodge. With Subodai's debuff, it only lasts 3 rounds, and they still have plenty of EXTRA accuracy. If I switch my buffing gear to debuffing gear, it's still completely useless seeing as unless I use brutal charge or vicious strike TWICE on the SAME opponent, they still have MORE than usual accuracy. Same with the musketeer dodge debuff.
As for being out of range, that's impossible. any smart Privy (which most that PvP are) would save one air strike (I can't recall that power's actual name right now either) specifically for that reason, and they can unhide you before you even have the CHANCE to attack.
And you missunderstood me when I was talking about epic negating a Levy's call or valor fort. I meant that because an epic is 2x regular damage, it does the same damage as a regular attack would do, combine that with a swashes naturally low health and your swash is done for in just a few rounds. and lets face it, when a Privy has all their buffs stacked up IN COMBAT with the opposing side, there's no escape and there's no hope.

Lucas Walker on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:

Experienced Privateers do stack all their buffs at once. If they do, melee units like you with Purge Magic will just ruin their entire strategy.

Either all defensive buffs stack or none of them do. That's not how the game works.

Purge is a great asset, but incredibly hard to get. I usually see 1 in every 100-1000 (depending on how the week was) possessing sprockets key or the technomage's glasses. Most of the best PvP players don't have it since it is tremendously hard to obtain. And just saying, purge should not be the most solid way to kill a privateer.

As of now I think PvP is buff-orientated and defence orientated, and even range orientated. Considering that it's usually privateers, musketeers and witchdoctors that specialise in these fields, melee classes (Bucks and Swashes) are behind since they tend to focus on themselves. A buccaneer can only stack Levi's to themselves, and several people have wished they could give it to a team mate. Swashes on the other hand have amazing poisons which are an excellent last resort, but still don't possess a decent team buff. The "team hide and send your companions charging" is effective if executed properly, but getting into that position and trying to avoid fires and traps, as well as suffering from AoE damage makes this spell hard to use. Hidden in general is our arguably greatest strength, but it is impossible to use properly unless you're against another swashbuckler or buccaneer. Against musketeers and privateers, and occasionaly witchdoctors, hidden is a spell so pointless.

The any class can defeat another class excuse is not always right if everyone possesses great gear. To be honest, we need to see a how a good a class is before they get thier gear. Just imagine some casual players with no good gear on fighting... In my opinion it goes like this (3-5 can alternate depending on skill):

1.) Privateer P1
2.) Musketeer M1
3.) Swashbuckler S1
4.) Buccaneer B1
5.) Witchdoctor W1

You have an extremely valid point about classes needing to farm to be better. If properly equipped classes are more equal and the new list will be:

1.) Privateers P2
2.) Musks and witches MW1
3.) Buccaneers and swashes BS1. Even though last on the list, they can destroy. If I gave P2 a 10/10 these guys would get a 9.

A complete list:

1.) P2 - Privy perfection. The best became ever better.
2,) MW1 - Guys with great gear
3.) P1- privy with no gear, or some good gear. Still not a joke to ever laugh about!
4.) BS1- however they can easily be better than P1 sometimes, and even deadly to MW1. Never underestimate
5.) Either B1, S1, W1. Very easy to win against if you have good gear.

Then again the best players tend to have:
-Valors Armor (but seriously swashes and bucks need more)
-Valors Fortress or Levi's
-Juju Series or even sky spirts
-A few damage spells depending on weapon, like assassin strike, mojo storm etc...

Depending on what you have, PvP will be harder or easier for you.

Lucas Walker on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:

Golden Guardian, if you don't farm for gear, then don't complain about losing in PvP. Want to know where to get all this amazing gear? A guide right here.

There are strategies to counter Privateers and all your complaints are coming from the fact that there are Privateers that are stacking their buffs. Force them to keep their units in a close enough range and use Purge Magic. I'm telling you right now, if Nausica is taking out you're Swashbuckler player, you need to revise your strategy.

You have a Pirate101 Central account, correct? Do you know Central hosts tournaments where a lot of veteran players take part in? We also have ladder matches if you don't want to enter tournaments, 2v2 ladders and tournaments, and much more. If you don't like the uncontrolled PvP, Central has it's own rules that makes the game fair for everyone. One of those rules include no stacking criticals on either Swashbucklers or Privateers. Try and find out when matches are being held, so you can watch the strategies used in them. Trust me the players you'll meet there are friendly, amazing strategists, and a lot of them are willing to help others get into PvP. My friend, Cunning-Justin Silver, was featured in this month's newsletter and had an interview with Duelist101. I'd also recommend reading the guides on Duelist101 (I recently made one for the companion Ratbeard and I'll let you know once it's posted).

Here are some Swashbuckler guides from Duelist101, they're a little old, but still valid today. Prioritizing Targets and a Swashbuckler build guide. These will help you guys make your own strategies, even from scratch.

I've also made a guide on Pirate101Central, it teaches you about stats and what they do. I made it mainly for beginner players to give them an edge while questing alone, but a lot of older and more experienced players do benefit from it. (I'm adding a section on the "Spooky" talent soon). The Guide is here.

P.S. Ratbeard says we'll be seeing less powers from outside classes on gear in the next update. We'll see more of our own powers and new powers on gear as well. Definitely something to look forward to.

(I forgot to put this in my previous post: ShadowStrikerV2, I'm not directly targeting you with my previous post. I'm talking in general to all players, so please do not be offended because sometimes if you really want people to listen, you do need to speak harshly).

Thx for the guides btw. I have read one of them before and it was nice to re-read. They did help considerably I guess, but one was based on central rules rather than the real world. Prioritising targets is a good guide and I will think about that. However these guides while effective include the occasional sacrifice and die, which I consider... Weird...

Lucas Walker on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:

Can I lastly say that I've grown tired of people complaining about classes being weak in PvP. Swashbucklers and Buccaneers require work to use just like any other class. The reason why Musketeers, Privateers, and Witchdoctors seem so threatening to you is because you're aware of what they can do, but refuse to think of ways to counter it.

"Woe is me, Musketeers have traps that will prevent me for hitting them easily. Woe is me, because I don't think of using protection buffs or making false charges, etc."

"Woe is me, Privateers out-buff me because that's what they're built to do. Woe is me,because I'm not taking advantage of debuffs, stalling, or using Purge Magic efficiently."

"Woe is me, Witchdoctor's have the high range Mojo Storm to hit from afar and Mojo Reaver to hit melee units. Woe is me, because I didn't think of pressuring the foe and using Hidden/charge combos."

These are some of the most obvious strategies to use, and there are certainly many, many more. Those are for you to find and figure out yourself.

Instead of hijacking this thread and turning it into a "My favorite class is underpowered because I lost some battles" thread, stay on the topic at hand. Any class can be overpowered if used correctly. Just think, instead of complaining or waiting for KI to take action. If you can't do this now, when/if Ranked PvP arrives you're in for a rough ride. Along with Ranked PvP comes cheap strategies and more...

I found this comment a little insulting:

1. I have no problems with anyone who gets gear from farming. you earned it ( that being said, I have farmed until I'm sick of it all and still have nothing to show for it, I have the luck of a dung beetle on a glacier in farming.)

2. How dare you say I haven't tried to find a strategy! Sir, such a sweeping statement annoys me! I'm always trying to find effective strategies in pvp and pve. No enters pvp without at least one.

3. I don't want to nerf anyone, all I'm asking is for my powers to be more effective. Example, the Hide powers could be made more effective by making the person using them "truly" invisible. That way, if you want to use an AoE you have to figure out where we are, would you waste that action on an empty square? I think not!

4. In return for making Hide that powerful, ( a favor for a favor ) I would propose that my Poison attacks be considered true attacks, so when I use them I will lose my Hide

seasnake on Dec 25, 2012 wrote:

I don't think the same type of buff should be able to stack, that would mean that having 4 privateers on a team wouldn't be that awesome as their boosts would stumble over each others. A 100% and 50% could stack, but not two 100%'s. As to the complaints about barrage, barrage can be gotten on other classes as cards on equipment so there is absolutely no justified reason to be complaining about what can be had by the other classes.

In order of current PvP strength I'd have to order the classes as follows:
1. Privateer
2. Musketeer
3. Swashbuckler
4. Witchdoctor
5. Buckaneer

I'd almost place the Witchdoctor ahead of the Swashbuckler as I don't have a Witchdoctor and it has the chicken buffs and some nice multi strike companions but I've seen many Witchdoctors who appear totally afraid of Swashbucklers so I'm giving the edge to Swashbucklers over them. Although Buckaneers are at the bottom of my list the well geared Buckaneers with have two Valor Shield cards upon equipment and with their ability to tank damage are much stronger than how we typically see their characters in PvP without such equipment.

Now seasnake I think you got it all wrong.

1. Buccaneer, Because of their strength and reckless frenzy and armor.
2. Privateer, Because of their increased criticals (sadly won't work as epic hits for super strikes anymore because of update) and their other buffs and also who could forget their healing.
3. Swashbuckler, Because of the awesome damage they can do and even decrease armor with some of there weapons and there 3x's attacks and their dodgyness and their increased criticals.
4. Musketeer, Because of their traps and their extreme attack almost everyone power.
5. Witchdoctor, Because of there curses (don't really last long against resistence) and who could forget their juju powers.

These are my reasons why I think you have them wrong.

Even if I'm a privateer I would rate second because buccaneers are good and all other classes no mater what powers we have we all have different talents I was just rating no offence to who think rates are wrong just trying to make them a bit better so tecnicly we all are 1.

Blixet on Apr 3, 2014 wrote:

wouldn't it be nice f that were true? its a shame it isn't.

the fact that you insist on that is quite strange, because you do not seem to be new to p101.

purge magic is so laughably hard to get, there is almost no point. as for just regular gameplay outside of pvp, my first pirate, which i have maxed out, was a swash. I have played him in a ton of pvp, and have had ALMOST unlimited success against ALL BUT PRIVATEERS. so, i started a new pirate, a privateer this time. every single fight is laughably easy. i bet i could take on the hydra at level 55 and not lose a single companion, thats how pointlessly easy this is. if the game is this easy as a privateer, it is obvious that they need to be nerfed. i am not even a quarter done with aquila, and am at level 62, i can beat any class in pvp excluding other privateers. you cant tell me privateers are not op because i am one, and it is so easy it is almost not fun anymore.

Sly Sloan Silver 62
Matthew Walker 65

Purge Magic, hard to obtain? The fact that it's a boss-exclusive item and the fact that so many people do have it and multiple versions of it is something you should be happy about. Keep farming.

Oh yes, I forgot that one person with a very bias opinion speaks for the entire class. The class isn't and wasn't overpowered, and the fact that you think they should be nerfed says that your strategy needs to be revised. The class does it's job properly and is meant to outbuff and make their units powerful. Mission accomplished. The fact that buffs were so powerful was the only thing that made it seems like they're overpowered.

If you're trying to outbuff the buffing class, you'll fall flat and you shouldn't be surprised. Instead of trying to make your clear hatred for the class seem like facts, try and look at the game's systems and understand that things weren't working as intended. A huge problem lied in the buffs and the series of many powers, but that's now been fixed in this upcoming update.

Lucas Walker, my point still stands and I've noticed you've said nothing about it. The problem with the "buffing class" isn't necessarily the power of the buffs but the length at which most of them last. 3 of your most powerful buffs lasting for 10 rounds is pretty op in it's self, but because of the lengths it is completely possible (and somewhat likely depending on who you're fighting) that you can have all your team buffs stacked at the same time. And with that kind of power your team has:
1. More accuracy than a Musketeer.
2. More dodge and damage than a Swashbuckler.
3. More armor than a Buccaneer.
Don't say to use purge magic because the fact is, it is an ultra rare drop. One dropped in arguably the longest dungeon in the whole game. And it's not even that useful! Seriously, you have to be right next to the enemy to be able to use it. Lets say you, against all odds, are able to get in the middle of your enemies units and use purge. It will not only take away your enemies buffs but also your own. And lets face it, You wouldn't be able to get there without a Levy's call or two. But after you use it, You're as good as dead. You're buffs are all gone and your pirate is completely open to attacks. Purge magic is more defensive than offensive. From what I can tell it was meant to debuff melee attackers that get too close to the Witch. It's not offensive. And I didn't even mention the fact that you're NOT going to be able to catch all your enemies units in one place where you can debuff them all with it. Purge magic, when used offensively, is a suicide power. My point is that Privy have all the aspects of the other classes (except Witch) all rapped up in their buffs. But It's only possible to have all that because of the length of the powers. In the coming update, however, that will be fixed. The Privateer will no longer be "King of the Classes" (No offense meant towards anyone. Just what my data has gathered.)

Lucas Walker on May 5, 2014 wrote:

The way buffs work on the current Live realm was unintended as Ratbeard said, but that doesn't just go for the Privateer ones. It goes for all the classes with buffs that increased in both magnitude and duration. The way the power series worked was overpowering, the class was not. The class was --and still is-- working as intended. Privateers are meant to make their units very powerful meaning that to some extent they'll be able to surpass the accuracy of a Musketeer, the dodge of a Swashbuckler, and maybe even the armor of a Buccaneer, but again that's why we have debuffs to counter.

The only problem that was present aside from the fact that buffs as a whole were broken was the fact that debuffs couldn't be used to their full potential and purpose. How many Musketeers use the dodge reduction shots? Very few, the fact that we're forced to align with the units we're aiming to hit is such a major turn-off that these powers are rarely used. The charge series was somewhat lacking in terms of damage, but now has the potential to deal more damage thanks to Glancing-blows, even though it may not be a devastating amount.

KI has given you such a clear opportunity to obtain Purge Magic via Bishop by just farming his first fight because he does in fact drop it as that's where I've gotten the five Sprocket Keys (now one, since they aren't tradeable and I sold the others) I owned. If you're going to the Privateer and have Purge Magic, that's what they want. They won't buff and stall guaranteed. If you bluff, they'll buff. Retreat your bluffed charge and they'll be forced to come to you unless they want to waste those buffs. As gimmicky as this sounds, it does work.

Your point isn't contradicting mine in many ways as the fact that buffs were broken didn't only apply to Privateers. It's not the magnitude or the fact that Privateers are the buffing class that put them on top. It was duration, which again was unintended.

That's new information to me. I didn't know the duration for the high level powers was unintended. Either way, I'm pretty sure the argument of Privateers being over powered will (or at least should) die down now that it has been corrected. I do realize that the Privateer class was made to buff to those points, I was just saying that because of their previous duration they could keep those stats for the entire match. (making them "OP")
And I think some Privateers need to hear that. I've seen a couple whining that it's not fair that their powers were reduced. Completely ignoring the fact that all high lvl buffs have been reduced and that their own lower lvl buffs have been upgraded.
Anyways, I enjoyed the debate. Look forward to seeing you in the Spar Chamber!

zuto4011a on May 23, 2014 wrote:

we privateers were complaining because 2 of our top buffs and their 2 slightly weaker forms were nerfed, kinda ruining the whole buff class thing, we have to spam shields now to win PvP, and I cannot detect any change of difficulty in beating mobs so I have to assume that ratbeard did change it because of pvp

Of course they were nerfed. First of all, like Lucas Walker said, it was un intended for the buffs to get increasingly long and powerful. All of the 10 round buffs were reduced to 3. (E.G. Sky Spirit, Zeal, Whale's Might, Great Juju, and the will increase (Forgive me I can't remember the name of that one.)) and I can see why the criticals were decreased. They were just as powerful as the Swashbuckler ones AND were for the entire team. The only way to make that fair was to either increase the Swash criticals or decrease the Privy. They chose to decrease the Privy. and you seem to be forgetting that your lower lvl powers have had their time increased. Your 50% will was increased to 10 rounds, as was your Valor's Shield. I myself find this new way of increasing power = decreasing duration more logical. I realize you and your class of pirates can't be happy about the change but you don't have any reason to complain. The previous duration of your powers made you completely indomitable. This way you're no longer the god of PvP.

zuto4011a on May 30, 2014 wrote:

valors shield wasn't changed except for set amount of damage block

Valor's Shield is a Privateer's "Block 25% incoming damage" and yes it was changed. It now lasts for 10 rounds. You're thinking of Valor's Armor.

ShadowStrikerV2 on May 31, 2014 wrote:

Valor's Shield is a Privateer's "Block 25% incoming damage" and yes it was changed. It now lasts for 10 rounds. You're thinking of Valor's Armor.

Ah yes my bad