Companion Spotlight: Nausica!

Nausica is the newest companion to hit Pirate101, and she’s taking the Spiral by storm. She is arguably the best companion currently in the entire game, and should be a staple in any PvP team. For her alone, it’s definitely worth purchasing the Empire Bundle!

Her Epic Abilities

Nausica starts with Quick Adjust, but don’t let that make you draw a negative opinion about her. While she could have a better starting Epic, her additional ones make up for it; she can train FIVE additional epics – three immediately when she is recruited, and two more among her two promotions.

Among these Epics are Burst Fire and True Grit. While she cannot train Burst Fire 3 (Zeena is the only companion that currently can – check out her page here and last month’s spotlight on her here!), she can train True Grit 3. This is an especially great Epic for Musketeers due to it being able to stun the attacking enemy. It also counts as a “sneak attack”; this means that, if the enemy is hitting with a Burst Fire chain, True Grit will interrupt and have a chance to stun the enemy, ending the chain.

Some may prefer to train Double Tap on her, but the likelihood of it activating multiple times per fight is relatively low. Therefore, giving her that final tier of Burst Fire can make her a much better companion – it makes her more of an “anti-Musketeer”, allowing her to combat other Musketeers effectively in PvP (and maybe in PvE, too, if you’re up against a tough one!) While Bonnie Anne, Zeena, and the Magnificent Seven companions may seem like formidable opponents, Nausica can help you take down even the toughest of enemy Musketeers.

Nausica works best against enemies with Quick Draw, True Grit, Overwatch, or possibly even Parting Shot. With Quick Draw and True Grit, her True Grit will activate in response. Nausica’s Burst Fire can then activate, or, if the enemy activates Burst Fire, further True Grit attacks will. Her normal attack, too, will also be used, which can trigger more Burst Fires! Regarding Overwatch and Parting Shot, these are directly related to her powers. She has the unique ability to move and shoot when using a power, so enemy epics that activate in response to movement will trigger on her, resulting in True Grit and possibly several Burst Fires.

Your ultimate goal with Nausica is to get Musketeer enemy epics to activate on her. Her True Grit and Burst Fire will severely wound the attacking enemy if one does happen to activate, giving you a large advantage in the fight.

Her Powers

Nausica has four powers total at her final tier, and they are certainly worth recognizing! She has three Point Blank Shots (all of different tiers – one Super, one Mega, and one Epic) and one Centaur’s Charge. Centaur’s Charge allows her to move double her normal movement range – as she already has increased movement, it’s unlikely you’ll find a spot on the battleboard where she can’t move to!

It’s always helpful to use her Epic Point Blank Shot first, then the Mega one, then the Super one. This will help drop enemies quicker, as you’re dealing more damage sooner; the less enemies attacking you, the better!

Centaur’s Charge is an interesting way to start off a PvP match – you can send Nausica into the fight immediately, but she’s likely to be defeated in a round or two. However, there certainly are benefits of doing this. Musketeer Pirates have Quick Draw 2 trained at higher levels – this will automatically activate three True Grits from Nausica, and three Burst Fires are likely to activate as well, with so many possible triggers. Combine that with her normal hit, and that’s seven attacks. Estimating that each one does around 320 damage, she’d deal approximately 2,240 damage on the first turn. Therefore, if you’re up against a Musketeer, you might want to break out Nausica…

Note: To expand on this strategy, try using Gornoado! He’s available in the Crown Shop after defeating Gortez 25 times. He’s an exceptional companion by himself, but he also has Vicious Strike; this allows him to charge across the battleboard just like Nausica, and, if Relentless activates a couple of times, you’ll be able to drop a Musketeer Pirate on the first round. The actual Pirates are always the largest threats in the fight, so taking one out before they can even use a single power is an extreme advantage.

Even if you aren’t going to take such an extreme approach, Nausica’s move and shoot powers work great with her assortment of epic abilities. By the time she runs out of powers, it will be very difficult for the enemy to be able to make a recovery.

Conclusion

There are very few faults about Nausica – although she cannot train Burst Fire 3, True Grit 3 certainly makes up for it. We certainly recommend that you look around for the Empire Bundle, even if you don’t PvP frequently. She will be a great asset to your crew, breaking through enemy lines and shooting down the tough foes!

What are your thoughts on Nausica? Do you think that it’s great that an especially powerful companion has been added to the game, or do you think she is overpowered?  Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for reading this addition of Companion Spotlight! Next month, we’ll be taking a closer look at the Magnificent Seven companions – yes, all of them! – and why most of them are perfect for just about any PvP team as well as your journeys throughout the Spiral.