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What a joke, honestly

2
AuthorMessage
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Lesath on Jun 19, 2016 wrote:
Maybe I'm just not seeing things right, but I agree with the OP. I had problems with certain enemies in Aquila, but I gritted my teeth and got through it. Without doubloons and without hiring henchmen.

In Valencia II? I'm using doubloons like crazy mad (assuming I even have any, and for that matter, why am I seeing egg timer ones in PvE?) and actually teaming up with people, because in some of these storyline battles I'm seeing every companion shredded on the first turn.

I've always enjoyed being able to leave it on random (who shows up as a companion) and still figure out a way to get through by working with what was given to me. So now I have to actually force who shows up and plan a strategy around that, which goes against everything so far.

I feel like I'm being forced to team up, both to have additional help, and for the chance to get doubloons so I have an extra option each turn. Half the time I don't even get the option to look for a team. Is this the way it's supposed to be, or a bug?

I feel like I have to reset my companions, again, to redo their epics to stand a chance here. When I walk away for the day with fifteen plus companions on bedrest, of all different classes, well...

The Contessa seems glitched with not doing things that are popping up (Riposte, for example), I see an enemy hit someone wearing a shield (I see the Absorb message), and yet they get a Second Chance, which makes no sense to me given that the attack did hit (the damage was just absorbed). Or, they get Second Chance multiple times in a row (when my people certainly never get that kind of luck).

It's depressing and it makes me want to walk away. I'll run out my subscription, but... If the game isn't fun, then I guess I wait until I've cooled down and then some time down the road I sub up again so I can give it another shot.
It's true that Valencia 2 has been a complete shock to many players - but think back to your experiences throughout this game.
Remember entering MooShu for the first time? How many posts have I seen on these boards from players begging for help against the "OP" samoorai who got crits on all companions? Or Marleybone and those Fox Radical musketeers with burst fire and ( good lord ) "covering fire"? How many companions did I lose to Harpies and Satyrs in Aquila?
Every new world brings new challenges and difficulties, we learn and grow with experience; then we reach the pinnacle and complain that everything is "too easy" and that we want a challenge, then when we get it, we hate it!
Stop trying the same old strategy and try thinking and innovating! I haven't needed to reset any companion for Valencia, many handle the battle quite well. Only a few take bed rest, but others are waiting to fill in.
Lately, I don't feel the need for henchmen, either. And before you say: "well you're max level now." I have several other pirate classes just starting in Valencia and they are handling it just fine!

Bosun
Apr 28, 2014
398
It's easy to tell someone to change their strategy. What you dont seem to understand is no matter what strategy, the fact is enemies do 1500 damage with a crit, and crit more often than you.

What's more, they have more hp than you too.

No strategy can change that fact.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Silver Angel on Jun 21, 2016 wrote:
It's easy to tell someone to change their strategy. What you dont seem to understand is no matter what strategy, the fact is enemies do 1500 damage with a crit, and crit more often than you.

What's more, they have more hp than you too.

No strategy can change that fact.
Yes, it's easy to say "change your strategy", because those of us who are going through Valencia 2 have changed our strategies, we are going through changes and growing/adapting.
The enemy doesn't crit any more than we do if we've taken care to buff, they don't do major damage if you've remembered to shield instead of just charging blindly at them.
Which enemies, besides Kane and his Court, have more HP than us?
All these dungeons are solo-able ( exception is Kane ) with a little preparation and thinking ahead. If you get defeated, change up companions - all melee team didn't work? Use musketeers and vice versa.
Shoot, use doubloons, what are you saving them for anyway? Even a level 25 Call of Death is useful as it attracts their attention and they're more likely to beat up on the "weakling".

Gunner's Mate
May 08, 2010
270
I liked the new epics on them, It's not as big as a pushover as cool ranch is.
The one thing I didn't understand was giving those royal guards assassins strike, That took out El toro, Me, Scratch, and Zeena in 1 hit.
You just have to figure out which Epics can Counter others,
For EXAMPLE
(First Strike, can easily counter vengeance strike with Riposte and Relentless, Especially when Riposte 3 triggers.)
(Relentless can be countered by Riposte. )
Just Figure out which Epics can counter others, that's the main key I've seen to this.
My Witchdoctor has soloed up to The clock works (I lagged out of the final battle) I will most likely have to get a group of 4, buy crowns for kane, as I've watched the video. It's hard.

I see it as a stepping stone of Wizard101, They increased the difficulty, but didn't make it as hard as it's in wizard101 where it takes 5 levels to adjust.

Honestly, my old strategy was a 3 swash and I usually buff, let them kill.
Now I have Myself, Scratch (To buff) Anne (To decrease accuracy and hit them before they come, Overwatch 3, burst 2, Double Tap 2.) and Toro (Someone who can trigger off those epics like Vengeance block and start a chain)
Just figure out what's best for YOU.

Gunner's Mate
May 08, 2010
270
Honestly, nobody would be complaining if the companion system was reverting to normal, where all you need is a mojo potion and they're fixed. The problem with the new system is, Either wait an entire day, or pay 50% of your gold to heal a guy, Heck, even my level 20 companions cost 4000 gold to heal. 4000! I can understand 1000 or 2000, but 4k? That's an entire dungeons worth of gold!

Bosun
Apr 28, 2014
398
anecorbie on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:
Yes, it's easy to say "change your strategy", because those of us who are going through Valencia 2 have changed our strategies, we are going through changes and growing/adapting.
The enemy doesn't crit any more than we do if we've taken care to buff, they don't do major damage if you've remembered to shield instead of just charging blindly at them.
Which enemies, besides Kane and his Court, have more HP than us?
All these dungeons are solo-able ( exception is Kane ) with a little preparation and thinking ahead. If you get defeated, change up companions - all melee team didn't work? Use musketeers and vice versa.
Shoot, use doubloons, what are you saving them for anyway? Even a level 25 Call of Death is useful as it attracts their attention and they're more likely to beat up on the "weakling".
Not everyone has shields or buffs for any stat you want.

Basically any enemy has more hp? My witch lvl 69 has around 3k, even stilletto fish have more.

Yes yes I know "just go farm" with drop rate close to 0.1% it takes forever.

I didnt say it was not manageable, was just mentioning facts.

Gunner's Mate
Nov 27, 2009
221
ill throw my 2 cents out there as well

as for Critical strikes, they work the exact same way as ours do
"if you have a higher X (will/agility/strength) then your opponent, it is easier to critically strike against them"
my guess is that most of the people who get criticaled on, is all the classes that have low strength or agility.
ill give you an example: Lefty my musketeer companion has 93 agility, 55 will, and only 37 strength. He will get easily beaten up with critical strikes since the crabs are all Bucks who main strength. The crabs pack a punch because they abuse that difference, 25% chance to critical each hit? no thank you . As for the agility part, the battle angels are the same way, (with the exception of their new power Assassins strike, that one seems to ALWAYS critical)

in order to reduce their critical strike on your team, buff your companions with their lowest stat
lowest stats on classes
(when i say weak to, I mean they have an easier chance to be criticaled when an enemy is attacking them)
Swashbuckler: WIll (weak to Witchdoctors and Privateers)
Buccaneer: Will (weak to Witchdoctors and Privateers
Musketeer: Strength (weak to Buccaneers)
Witchdoctor: Strength (weak to Buccaneers)
Privateer: Agility (weak to Musketeers)

but as for US using criticals on them, its pretty clear that their stats are buffed as well. Just guessing here, but a crab could have 100 strength, 80 agility and 60 will. thats a large difference compared to Lefty (see above)

Hope this helps explain the insane criticals lately in Valencia part II and good luck as you continue on!

Admiral
May 30, 2010
1221
witchdoctor of awe... on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:
Honestly, nobody would be complaining if the companion system was reverting to normal, where all you need is a mojo potion and they're fixed. The problem with the new system is, Either wait an entire day, or pay 50% of your gold to heal a guy, Heck, even my level 20 companions cost 4000 gold to heal. 4000! I can understand 1000 or 2000, but 4k? That's an entire dungeons worth of gold!
Yes, they would. And companions on bed rest is "normal" now. That's how the game is played. Protect your crew or pay the consequences.

When we hit V2, Indigo and I did experience that big jump in difficulty, but it's the same jump from CR to MS or MS to MB. What makes it seem so incredibly fierce is the fact that we've had three years being the top dog as we saunter through Moo's tower for the Nth time, or slap around some snakes a bit. We've forgotten how startling that big jump in difficulty was the first time we hit those worlds.

I do the full random crew thing, and I don't intend to change it just because V2 is harder than Aquila was. I pay to raise my crew if I desperately want that one, but with full random on having a particular member needing a bit of a lie down isn't that big a deal.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Silver Angel on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:
Not everyone has shields or buffs for any stat you want.

Basically any enemy has more hp? My witch lvl 69 has around 3k, even stilletto fish have more.

Yes yes I know "just go farm" with drop rate close to 0.1% it takes forever.

I didnt say it was not manageable, was just mentioning facts.
"Not everyone has shields or buffs for any stat you want."
Really, you're telling me, a swashbuckler, this? But I can use Grand Shadowdance & I do have a Kraken's Lament ( from pet ) and I can jolly well use that ( even if Black Fog doesn't show ). I can use El Toro and Fan, both are still useful which is why they get the majority of tomes.
But I also use Ratbeard with his own buck charge, shield & knockback. Or Subodai or even Birgus, when many companions go down.
Witches get the short end of the stick when it comes to health ( so do a few other classes ).
You don't need to farm to look for stat boosting drops, I've gotten a necklace and ring as well as boots that boost my dodge - you just need to prioritize what's important to you.
Sure carded gear is great, but I always advise my friends to go for the stat-boosting gear. Multiple use vs one time use.
BTW, Kane has a very generous drop rate, there isn't a fight that I don't walk away with at least two very good items ( if not more ). It's also a gold mine.

Captain
Mar 24, 2013
732
Even as Valencia 2 is really challenging, remember this world is 5 times harder and take at least a month,at least in my experience as a pirate 101 player. This world believe it or not,will test your limits in combat. It need a more guile approach, not just raw power. Unfortunately in my opinion, as this class is not good in tactical combat ( attack from a far ) and relay on raw physical power close blank range. Valencia 2 dose make it harder for me, as a .

As a the experience is a lot easier, just use stealth and bleed ability that's going some serious damage, if done right and with relentless talent from the skeleton trainer, that might cause even more serious damage if it connects. If you have the nefarious 5 dagger,even better it got a powerful stats in it.Unfortunately it's very hard to acquire it, and requires team work.

As a , both 's and characters are yet to debut in Valencia 2.

Developer
witchdoctor of awe... on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:
Honestly, nobody would be complaining if the companion system was reverting to normal, where all you need is a mojo potion and they're fixed. The problem with the new system is, Either wait an entire day, or pay 50% of your gold to heal a guy, Heck, even my level 20 companions cost 4000 gold to heal. 4000! I can understand 1000 or 2000, but 4k? That's an entire dungeons worth of gold!
... or use some of your dozens of other companions.

Bosun
Apr 28, 2014
398
Ratbeard on Jun 28, 2016 wrote:
... or use some of your dozens of other companions.
Except half of one's crew dont compare to the top notch companions.

Look at Ratbeard and Bonnie for example, they get like 6 or 7 epics each... In Aquila I got the eagle mercenary recently, and he learns a whooping total of 3 epics, at lvl 69.
It's just one example among many, the list is long, honestly.

Are we supposed to use that kind of low tier companions? I'd rather wait the good ones are ready to battle again.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Silver Angel on Jun 29, 2016 wrote:
Except half of one's crew dont compare to the top notch companions.

Look at Ratbeard and Bonnie for example, they get like 6 or 7 epics each... In Aquila I got the eagle mercenary recently, and he learns a whooping total of 3 epics, at lvl 69.
It's just one example among many, the list is long, honestly.

Are we supposed to use that kind of low tier companions? I'd rather wait the good ones are ready to battle again.
If you train them well, then, while they're not spectacular, they do make it through the fight ( sometimes ). 3 epics is much better than none.
If you'd rather wait for "the best", then stop complaining - it's plain the change is permanent. It's been 2 years, you should have adjusted your play style and companion management by now.

Admiral
Nov 23, 2011
1407
At this point, after some previous revisions, I think all of the companions seem to have the same number of talent choices (accuracy, dodge, armor, etc.) although they do vary a lot with the number of epic talents they have. But the equality in talents makes the gap less than you might think if you are focused only on epics. I generally run with all of the best companions available but a decent number of the others active as well. It works pretty well for me, even in Valencia. I use the "first mate" option so my selection is weighted toward the best companions since one of the three is not random.

-Indigo

Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
Ijjob on Jun 16, 2016 wrote:
I don't entirely understand why this Book feels rushed. Especially considering the timeframe it was done in (3 years).

I'm also a loner who enjoys solo play.

If I'm forced to buy henchmen just to further myself in the game, then it's time for me to part ways with it.

I'm taking a wild guess here, since I don't know the inner workings of KI, however, I'm willing to bet that the re-write started a year ago when Frogfather was replaced with Dalia Falmea. That would explain many, many things and especially why the Book feels rushed. Because it was.

Gunner's Mate
May 08, 2010
270
Eelarc on Jun 16, 2016 wrote:
Said joke being the insane and unexpected difficulty increase in Valencia part 2
I'll point out all the reasons of anger

-Amount of epic talents every enemy has
-VICIOUS CHARGE
-All enemies (that you actually need to fight in the story) except for Armada musketeers are melee
-Along with the epic talents, basically all of them are rank 2
-It eventually becomes more and more required(?) to buy Henchmen, or play with others (I'm a solo person :c)
-Basically, all that causes you to be unable to do most battles without losing atleast 1 companion

Comparing to Aquila

-Aquila enemies had around 3 epics, ~5 at most
-There was alot more ship combat (if memory serves me right, we only did 1 ship defeat and collect in the storyline)
-No more unique battles or dungeons, like the Hydra and the Labyrinth for examples, only special one is the final one
-Didn't feel as rushed, the storyline in Val 2 is way too short (only 2 chapters)

Along with a bug
-Contessa still sometimes refuses to attack, and that bug has been in ever since Test came up

Facts stay until changes.
-VICIOUS CHARGE.
enemies in Mooshu have this.
Epics? It goes up every world, it would be easy as heck if the enemy had no riposte, just bladestorm and hold the line.
I've soloed up to the clock works without henchmen, I've used the same strategy, buff; attack, I've even switched up my strategy as a witchdoctor (mormo scratch, the shark guy) to 2 round win with ease.

The Clock Works is special! It's the place that's holding the creator of Kane! How is that not special!

Bosun
Apr 28, 2014
398
anecorbie on Jun 29, 2016 wrote:
If you train them well, then, while they're not spectacular, they do make it through the fight ( sometimes ). 3 epics is much better than none.
If you'd rather wait for "the best", then stop complaining - it's plain the change is permanent. It's been 2 years, you should have adjusted your play style and companion management by now.
Where am I complaining exactly? Did I talk about myself? Just giving a neutral opinion.

I have 2 pages of "good" companions and I barely use 1/4 of that. Just saying there are still 2 pages of "useless" ones.

But yes, I have bought many to reach that point.

Petty Officer
Jan 09, 2010
67
I haven't gone to the new zone yet, just hit level 70 still completing the last lot of quests before then. But I find it strange that the common answer to these type complains is to build your team and select your best companions etc. Haven't KI spent most of the last year trying to get us to use all of companions and not just the best ones?

Like someone else said above, I always leave my companions on Random as I like that random element to all fights and actually get to see all the companions being used. But from what hearing I won't be able to do this in the latest zones, which is quite sad.

As far as mobs getting crits no more then pirates, I'm not convince this is the case, the only quest I'm currently doing from the latest update is Bob's your Uncle and almost every fight in that quest the mobs are getting crits 90% of the turns with multiple chains. On the latest fight I took note of the number of random crits happening. Not counting guarantee crits because of Epics (both mobs and companions) the totals was: Pirate 1 vs Mobs 12. Two companions defeated in each of the first two rounds with the third lasting to the fourth round, although the fight actually lasted another 3 rounds it was pretty one sided. I should also note here that that although my companions where still set to random, 3 of my stronger companions where selected by luck.

I can only hope this isn't normal for the rest of the latest update.

Captain
Mar 24, 2013
732
Here is a hint have your crews split into two groups, and use traps like blood's flame if you have it or the best trap you got. Then go for the attack, have i mention use at least one companion, that will be handy for that long range attack.

Ensign
May 30, 2010
49
This post is intended to address two things:
1. Difficulty: Yea tbh it's hard, but it kind of makes power ups seem way more viable, I used to just use an attack only strat now I have to play smart. IMO it should have been only slightly less difficult in Aquila, and boss fights should have been only a small bit easier than the fights against bosses like Commander Typhon (Noted: I fully admit that the Hydra is insanely hard.) Also I think making it hard helps us take more time in the storyline.

2. Storyline: I think we are all sad to see the lack of content in V2, but I think it's also worthy to note that hey hadn't seemed to make any effort on adding to the story until 8 months ago, so the 3 year timeline you all keep talking about is completely out of the picture. If they would vow to come out with as much content per year as they do for Wizard, then I think we would be in tremendous shape.

Ensign
Jun 12, 2016
44
Oi! Ye don't play many NES games, do ye?

Back in not-my-day (I'm a teen), The games were hard and short, like castlevania. A hard game means you get more playtime from a short game. Now games are easy. Very easy. Why? Cause they are. It is wut it is. Now, I'm off. *Poof*

Developer
Silver Angel on Jun 29, 2016 wrote:
Except half of one's crew dont compare to the top notch companions.

Look at Ratbeard and Bonnie for example, they get like 6 or 7 epics each... In Aquila I got the eagle mercenary recently, and he learns a whooping total of 3 epics, at lvl 69.
It's just one example among many, the list is long, honestly.

Are we supposed to use that kind of low tier companions? I'd rather wait the good ones are ready to battle again.
It's been a while since I've done a head count, but every class has access to probably 12 or more "A-class" companions.

Gunner's Mate
Dec 26, 2013
214
For a species that's supposed to be resilient and adaptive we sure do see a lot of complaints about how things ain't what they used to be. Isn't that the whole idea!? If the new content came out as easy as everything before it the cries of dismay would be deafening! "How can you call this new content when it's just like it was before?"
It's seems to be a no-win whatever way KI goes.
It's a new world... or at least a harder part of an older world, and as such it needs to be harder. And not just a little bit because that would be a joke. I'm enjoying the fact that whenever I get into a battle it's not a given that I'm going to walk out of it fully intact. Take the Crab Tunnels as an example... soloing those crabs was tough. And I lost El Toro and Scratch in the first of the battles. I made it through but came out of there with less than 200 health and three companions on bed-rest. And it was wonderful! What a welcome, satisfying experience for a change. No more ho-hum walk in, clean house, collect the spoils and walk out.
This is the first update I've experienced with Pirate101 but I went through a couple with Wiz101. If the W101 updates had been simple retreads of what we'd previously had then I would have felt cheated. For the most part they were tougher. Maybe not overall as tough as Valencia2 by comparison, but tougher nonetheless.
Anyway, back to the resilient and adaptive thing... that's what it takes to be successful in this update. Change the way you do things here and there. Learn from your defeats... and oh yeah, expect some defeats! But if you know from experience that a particular group of enemies is going to hit you with a seemingly endless stream of retaliatory attacks then use a different tact. Nothing is insurmountable.

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