Future Companions Part III: New Ideas!

There’s plenty of great companions out there – whether they’re Musketeers, Swashbucklers, Buccaneers, or any other class, you can always find the perfect companion that you need! In this post, we’ll be taking a look at some ideas for future companions that could be added to the game!

Not Your Average Companion

Bonnie Anne is an excellent sharpshooter, El Toro is great for dodging attacks, and not many enemies can withstand the SON OF ZEUS! (err… Hawkules…) Then there are some other companions who are different. This trend began with Nausica, who can be built specifically to counter certain types of units. In her case, this was Musketeers – with several tiers of Burst Fire and True Grit as well as her automatically trained Quick Adjust, she can easily charge an opposing ranged unit with Quick Draw and take them down immediately. Against other classes, like Buccaneers and Witchdoctors, however, Nausica won’t fare as well. This is because her specific set of epics isn’t meant to combat powerful non-ranged units, so you may want to leave her out in these types of fights.

Nausica isn’t the only companion like this. In fact, there are plenty of them – Hoodoo Cornelius is another great counter for Musketeers as well as Witchdoctors – units with low dodge won’t be able to stand up against his Going Bananas power! Like Nausica, however, this unique strength only comes when he’s facing units weak to him . . . any type of melee opponent can end Cornelius’ chain of attacks, and for the rest of the fight he won’t be as powerful.

There are lots more, too! The new Grizzly Beast companions stand out because they have epics no other companion can access. Sneaky Sneaky is extremely powerful against any type of enemy, Feeding Frenzy can heal you to max health when you’re on the edge of defeat, and Merciless can take out that pesky enemy who hangs on by just a little health.

New Ideas

Companions like these add a lot to the game – using “all around” companions usually works well, but choosing companions specifically to counter a tough boss is even better. In PvP, too, using a more specialized setup based on your playstyle can make the difference between victory and defeat. Here are some of our new companion ideas . . .

• A Buccaneer with Highland Charge. This would be especially helpful by allowing you to get some strong attacks in and retreat with bonus movement before they can hit you. It can also let you rush the enemy after buffing your units when they wouldn’t expect it. Perhaps we could see a Cat Thug Brute from Marleybone come with this power!

• A wizard! It would be difficult to use mechanics from Wizard101 in Pirate101, but there’s no need to cross both systems over. A wizard would work like a summoner – having a plethora of spells from Wizard101 to choose from (Helephant, Cyclops, Vampire, etc.) which would be summoned as minions. These minions would always stay relatively close to the wizard companion and would disappear if the wizard is defeated. Perhaps wizard companions could even have schools and that would control the types of allies they can summon! Besides, we need some companions to recruit if we ever go to Wizard City . . .
  
  
• A knight from Avalon. What would make this companion special is armor – as it currently stands, even companions that can reach up to almost 100 armor don’t stand out very much because it’s purely random how much it actually does. Suppose a companion has almost 200 armor, however, and about 70% of the incoming damage would be blocked – THAT makes quite the difference! The weakness this companion has would be against non-melee units where armor wouldn’t be factored in, but, in close-up combat, a heavily armored companion would be extremely helpful.

• In Wizard101, the Maestro attempted to change the Spiral’s past . . . but what if he wanted redemption after his defeat? Aside from storyline purposes, having a time traveling companion would actually be quite interesting. He would know what will happen before it does – that means he could potentially teleport away before he’s attacked. A talent called “Foreseeing Future” specific to this companion could provide a 10-20% chance (depending on tier, upgraded by 5% per promotion) to teleport away when he’s selected for an attack. His damage would likely be a bit weak to compensate for this, but it opens up plenty of possibilities!

Conclusion

What do you think? Would you like more companions to fit specific purposes, and, if so, what kinds of companions would you like to see? Would it be an existing character, a creature from an unexplored world, or someone from a world we’ve already been to but just haven’t recruited? And what talents, powers, and stats would they have to make them stand out from the rest of the companions out there? Let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading our three-part segment on future companions!

The Companion Database Turns 1!

This week is the first birthday of our Companion Database! A year ago, we launched a huge project with the intentions of compiling information for every companion in the game into an interactive and easy-to-use site... and that's exactly what we did!

Over time, we recruited new staff, added strategies to help you build your companions to their fullest potential, used new coding to let you take a closer look at epic and talent choices, and much more! We even included promotion quests for those who have them, giving you the breakdown of what you'll have to do to bring them to their next tier - while these pages currently aren't available, they will be returning soon!

If you haven't already, be sure to browse through our newly-added list of epic talents, companion-accessible powers, and talents. Use the buttons at the top of the page to find class-specific, universal, and even Crown Shop, promotional, and retired companions! Can you believe it has already been a year since we first launched?

To celebrate, we're hosting a Twitter raffle with companion-related prizes! If you need more training points for your companions or aren't having much success with the Tribal Crew Packs in the Crown Shop, this is your chance to win cool prizes for your Pirate! We have the contest details listed here, so be sure to retweet this tweet for a chance to win - multiple entrants will take home these awesome prizes! (Please have your parents' permission before signing up for Twitter if you do not already have an account!)

Thank you all for a great year, and we can't wait to continue updating and improving the Companion Database!!!

Future Companions: What Can We Expect? Part 2

Last week we discussed the Starter, Kraken Skulls, and Presidio 5 blocks of companions. In this week’s post, we’ll take a closer look at Old Scratch, Ratbeard, Monkey King, Gracie Conrad, Catbeard, and Hawkules… how can they be improved and what can we expect from them in the future?

What About Bonnie Anne and El Toro?

Bonnie and Toro are already excellent companions – they’re practically considered the best Musketeer and Swashbuckler units in the game! Bonnie can continuously fire away at an enemy, attack approaching ones, and hit before other Musketeers get the chance to, plus she can lower the dodge of enemies, heal, and get a free attack in whenever she dodges a melee hit!

El Toro is not only the ideal Swashbuckler, being able to train multiple tiers of Relentless and/or Riposte, but his buff helps to support your entire team! In Marleybone/Aquila especially, where you may find it a bit more difficult to land hits or dodge attacks, having an extra Espirit de Corps can be game changing. He may not have a Guaranteed Critical Hit or any other attack powers yet… but that could definitely change in the future!

As for the other universal companions, they could all use some improvements in their next promotions. Let’s break down how useful they currently are and what the future could hold!

Old Scratch and Ratbeard

We recruit these two companions early into the storyline – all the way back in Skull Island! We don’t recruit many other Witchdoctors, so Old Scratch works great as a universal companion. Using Witchdoctors seems to be a matter of personal playstyle; for some, having such fragile units with low health, accuracy, and dodge might not be the best option. However, if properly protected, Old Scratch (and other WDs!) can be a great damage dealer. Upgrading his minion spell might be a good idea, but the Bone Drake might not necessarily be better than the Skeleton Corsair. A simple solution would be granting him both, and perhaps bringing back the Skeleton Pirate, so that he works as a “minion summoner” to help give you an advantage early on in the fight.

Ratbeard just promoted back in Marleybone, so he already has some cool improvements – he can reduce the accuracy of enemies, protect himself, AND knock them back (if you’re a Musketeer, that’s a great way to make use of your bomb powers!) Simply upgrading his protection power to the next rank would be a great way to improve him, along with upgrading his accuracy reduction power so that it grants increased movement as well. Ratbeard’s a great example of a melee companion who doesn’t need Relentless to be great. Perhaps he could even train a “Team Epic!” power that gives First Strike or Vengeance Strike for 3 rounds!

Monkey King and Hawkules

Both Monkey King and Hawkules are completely different than other mainline companions of their same class, namely El Toro and Ratbeard. Monkey King doesn’t have Relentless in his epic pool at all, while it’s likely Hawkules’ greatest asset. We’re generally used to Swashbucklers with Relentless – First Strike, Riposte, and more can only trigger against other melee units, while Relentless can trigger against anyone. While Monkey King can train Second Chance, it’s not giving him much of an advantage against Musketeers and Witchdoctors. Second Chance isn’t necessarily an extra hit in general – just making up for a missed one, and, while this is helpful on a Swashbuckler, it does make him fall behind a bit. Hidden powers are being improved in the Test Realm, and they do seem to work well with Monkey King’s theme – a trickster, and what better way to trick the enemies than to hide your entire team? Black Fog may seem a bit scary at first, especially with the lack of counters to it, but keep in mind that he likely won’t be promoting until Book 16 or 17 – that gives plenty of time for new strategies to arise against hidden while Monkey King will be able to give your team a huge boost against unexpecting enemies!

Hawkules is definitely in his starting stages, and he’s bound to get much better – he already started off with the ability to train Relentless 3, and is likely one of the toughest companions on your crew. He could use some more armor to reinforce this, like Subodai. An epic that we’re seeing on Test Realm (and one that’s already available on pets) is Merciless – this works similarly to Relentless, but it will only trigger on severely wounded enemies and is intended to deal the finishing blow. It’s never any fun when an enemy is left with just a few hundred health left at the end of the round… a creative epic like this on Hawkules could easily fix this!

Gracie Conrad and Catbeard

Both are Privateers, yet complete opposites of one another – Gracie’s strength comes within her War Golem, Mine power, and Vengeance Strike, while Catbeard shines through his Relentless and the occasional Riposte. After using both her powers, Gracie won’t be able to deal damage so easily – she will have to rely on taking hits, which can be a very dangerous risk. Since Vengeance Strike will likely be her main way of attacking aside from her normal hit, protection is crucial, as she isn’t as armored as a Buccaneer or as dodgy as a Swashbuckler. A simple protection power will fix this… maybe even Valor’s Fortress! Clearly, using it on her is a safe bet, though you could also use it to protect another fragile unit.

Catbeard could easily become a Privateer version of El Toro. By training Espirit de Corps, it would give your team yet another buff. Tough melee enemies could easily break through Swashbucklers’ dodge back in Marleybone and Aquila, so this will definitely help even up the odds. Furthermore, it will make Catbeard’s Riposte activate more often, which will deal more damage than his average hit or Relentless attack would. Privateers are meant to support the rest of your team, so that’s exactly what Gracie and Catbeard could do when they promote again!

Conclusion

There are plenty of more companions besides these universal ones (and the blocks of five that we discussed in our last post), but these ones are meant to be the top tier companions that we recruit in the game. Some of their promotions are coming soon, while some we may have to wait a little longer for… but, without a doubt, they’re sure to improve!

What ideas do you have? Do you have any favorite companions that we didn’t list here and have ideas for how they can be upgraded in the future? We want to hear!

In our final post of this segment coming up, we’ll discuss completely new ideas for companions that we haven’t yet seen in the game… be sure to check it out!

Future Companions: What Can We Expect?

There are plenty of great companions already in the game. Bonnie Anne is the ideal sharpshooter, El Toro can buff and dodge hits effectively, and Zeena is a great choice for a Musketeer for any pirate. But what about the other main companions that you recruit? Whether it be the blocks of five or ones that everyone recruit, the possibility of improvement is limitless. And, what other companions could come in the future that may add variety to your crew? Read on in this three-post segment!

The Starter 5

The five starter companions have always been great – Kobe Yojimbo and Kan Po, for example, are ideal Swashbucklers and purchasing their Crown Shop counterparts (Wagyu Sanjuro and Keisuke Yagi) would be a great buy. These two in particular don’t need much improvement, as they can train multiple tiers of Relentless and Riposte along having guaranteed Super and Mega critical powers. Bring either of them with you into a fight, and watch how quickly you can take down another melee enemy! A talent like Alert as well as a Hurl Knife or Hurl Blades power would improve them while letting the other starter companions catch up.

As for Subodai and Egg Shen, the two Buccaneers of the group, they are great sources of damage with the ability to train Relentless 3, but could definitely be improved by giving them more Buccaneer qualities. Although Subodai already has great armor, it’s difficult to rely just on that to keep him from being defeated – after all, it’s quite possible for only a fraction of your armor value to be taken into account during damage calculation. Kraken’s Lament would be a good solution, as Triton’s Song is great on Ratbeard. With more protection, they can deal out damage while taking less themselves – just like a Buccaneer player would.

Wing Chun can be called the outlier of this group. He’s a Privateer and can only learn up to Relentless 2, and Riposte isn’t as effective on him as it would be on a Swashbuckler. This means you’ll have to give him something like Repel Boarders or Flanking, which are good epics, but, combined with his low damage, do cause him to fall behind a bit. That being said, he’s an exceptional Privateer – he can buff the accuracy of your units, heal wounded ones, and can land a critical on an enemy whenever you need him to with his Guaranteed Critical Strike power.

Privateer companions in general do need some improvement, as they’re frequently overshadowed by Buccaneers and Swashbucklers. Looking generally at their stats, nothing really makes them stand out. Of course, this is understandable, as the same is true for Privateer pirates – except they receive plenty of powers that make their low stats irrelevant to their strategy. This could be reflected with Privateer companions, making them more useful: give them more powers! By enabling them to buff, protect, and heal more efficiently, Privateers would become much more useful. And, when you think about it, that is the purpose of the class, isn’t it? Giving Wing Chun something like Focus Fire would put him more in line with the other starter 5 companions.

The Kraken Skulls 5

The Kraken Skulls 5 are a great set of companions, and they should be promoting again within the next two books! Considering that Louis le Bisque is from Valencia, as soon as we have access to there for the second time around, we may see another promotion in order for the entire group.

As with the Starter 5, some of these companions are better than others. On top of them all is definitely Louis le Bisque – that bomb power alone adds yet another to a Musketeer’s arsenal, and, with Buck’s Brim and the new Level 60+ Crown Shop weapon, he can supply your SIXTH bomb power! To improve him a bit more, upgrading his Bear Trap power to Scatter Spike would be fair and not too overpowered – even giving him Hall of Cannonballs instead of Rain of Mortarshells would be great.

Mormo, too, is already great, mostly due to his plethora of powers. Simply upgrading these, like with Louis, would greatly improve him – Davy Jones’ Reach would cause enemies to critical much less, and Raven’s Cry would give your weaker companions more epic ability bonuses than they would get with Crow’s Song.

Sarah Steele’s hidden power can be upgraded to Black Fog, essentially giving your pirate another chance to be hidden. That may not seem like much, but a second Assassin’s Strike with increased damage combined with Sarah following up with Guaranteed Critical Strike would improve not only Sarah, but Swashbucklers too!

Barnabus has become much better with his ability to reduce the enemy’s accuracy. With this and Triton’s Song, there isn’t much more he needs – perhaps upgrading Triton’s Song to Kraken’s Lament and giving him an AoE power (like Goronado’s Gorrila Warfare) would make up for the absence of Relentless from his epic pool.

Finally, Emmett probably needs the most improvement. His class was changed recently from a Musketeer to a Privateer, which doesn’t have any major advantages – in fact, his range was lowered, which can mean a lot for a ranged unit. Perhaps he could get a protection power at his next promotion – not necessarily Valor’s Armor yet, but starting out with Valor’s Shield would be great. At his next promotion, Valor’s Armor would be much more plausible; he could even learn Tower of Iron Will or The Big Guns now to make him even better.

The Presidio 5

Finally, we have the Presidio 5. Most of these companions aren’t top tier, but they all certainly play major roles in the story. They could all use a bit of improvement at their next promotion, so let’s take a closer look at their potential.

The three Buccaneers, Mike, Gaspard, and Birgus, don’t really have anything special about them. They can be fairly tough in a fight, but they don’t stand out like other Buccaneers may. The simple answer would be giving them a protection or a charge power, but customized ones could work too – Mike is good at taking hits, for example, so perhaps he could learn a self-only power that absorbs 50% of melee damage for 3 rounds and has a chance of stunning an attacking enemy. For Gaspard, who works well with a melee pirate due to his ability to train Flanking, could receive something to reflect that. A power that reads “Flanked enemies must select self for attacks for 5 rounds” – that would shift the focus onto him, a Buccaneer in the fight, accomplishing their roles in battles. Additionally, it would encourage pirates to train Flanking on him. Birgus could have a way of amplifying his damage output, such as having a power that increases his damage by 25% for 5 rounds but increases how much he takes by 35%, similar to Berserk in Wizard101.

To make up for his lack of Riposte, Milo could use Assassin’s Gloom – he can’t hit back after dodging, but he would be able to wound enemies for five turns, regardless of if they hit him or not. Even better, if he is defeated after using it, the power’s effect would still play out normally, giving him an extra advantage over other Swashbucklers. Eventually, this could even be upgraded to Assassin’s Shroud, prohibiting enemies from healing and making him a more viable choice in player verses player combat.

Finally, we have Jack Russell. He’s not bad at all, but, as a melee Privateer, he could have some problems landing a hit and dealing major damage. Jack seems to be a rather offensive Privateer – he doesn’t have a healing power like Wing Chun and Emmett do, but only a Guaranteed Critical Strike power instead. Fighting Fervor, then, could work quite well on him, as it would make your entire team stronger, as well as Dress the Line to add Repel Boarders, or another tier of it, to all of your units.

Conclusion

This post segment is made while having in mind that you can now choose which companions you want to bring with you into a fight. That allows for giving them defined roles like you see above – Gaspard to stay by other melee units and flank with them, Sarah to give your team another chance at being hidden and hit enemies harder, Wing Chun sacrificing his natural attack to make a certain enemy easier to defeat, etc.

What do you think? How can we expect companions to be improved in the future, existing ones and new ones? In the next post of this segment, we’ll discuss universal companions and their potential in the future.

Companion Spotlight: Chantal Livingstone

The Spring update is still new to Pirate101, and it’s brought plenty of great things – new companions included! All of the class companions are great assets to any Pirate’s crew, so we’ll be dedicating some companion spotlights for them, starting with Chantal Livingstone. As the new Musketeer class-specific companion, Chantal brings a great deal of potential to both traditional combat and player verses player matches.

Powers - Sniper Shot!

Musketeers have seen this power before; it originated from the Ol’Quigley weapon after completing Cool Ranch and now it’s available through other means. It can be obtained from the new Skull Island bosses, but it’s also one of the key aspects of Chantal!

What’s interesting about these powers is that they’ll always land a super critical. Combined with her receiving two of them, that’s approximately 1,400 damage. Keep in mind that these powers also have infinite range, so, as long as the enemy is within Chantal’s line of sight, you can use them from the complete other end of the battleboard.

This alone makes Chantal Livingstone a unique companion, set apart from other Musketeers. Zeena is still a great companion, for instance, but she only has one set of fires now and they will only damage an enemy if they walk over them. Additionally, she can’t Burst Fire anymore after the initial hit of the fires, so you might find her falling slightly on your companion roster. In the case of Chantal, however, she’s a great alternative to using Bonnie and Zeena consistently, so it’s quite possible for her to be one of your top three companions, mainly because of those Sniper Shots making her unique.

Epics

Unique powers aside, Chantal’s epics are also great. She can train Burst Fire 2, Overwatch, and Quick Draw, making her very similar to Bonnie Anne. Having high Agility allows her to Burst Fire more often, boosting the base 35% chance. There are multiple ways to raise her Agility in order to increase the effectiveness of Burst Fire; one of the easiest would be to use her own Agility power. It lasts longer than Sky Spirit would, so you can go ahead and use it at the start of the battle before the enemies approach. When they do, your entire lineup of Musketeer and Swashbuckler units will be ready.

Furthermore, keep in mind that Chantal is Musketeer-exclusive, so you can use your own Sky Spirit and other Agility buffs to increase her rate of activating Burst Fire. Remember that Sky Spirit now only lasts for three rounds, though, so you’ll want to use it when your companions are into the action. And, of course, remember to give her multiple ranks of the Agile talent! It’s essentially the easiest way to increase her Agility and it will last for the entirety of every fight.

Overwatch and Quick Draw are fairly straightforward. If you’d like, you can even use your Pirate’s power that gives all units an extra rank of Overwatch – that will increase Chantal’s to rank two, letting it activate up to three times per turn. Or, if you’d like, you can even train Overwatch 2 for her, so that power will give her Overwatch 3, decreasing the Accuracy of approaching enemies. That’s certainly an interesting strategy if you’re willing to try it out.

As for Quick Draw, it’s a great counter against other ranged units. Considering that it could Burst Fire, it’ll put Chantal at an advantage against Musketeers who would generally be some of the greatest threats in the fight.

Strategy

As a Musketeer, Chantal can effectively hit Swashbucklers with naturally high dodge due to her naturally high accuracy. Taking advantage of this, be sure to aim for tough melee units who would be able to severely weaken your own Musketeers with their own Relentless.

Be sure to avoid anti-Musketeer units like Nausica – if Chantal has Quick Draw trained, True Grit would activate in response, followed by consecutive Burst Fire attacks. Also, if Quick Draw causes Chantal’s own Burst Fire to activate, that would result in even more activations of True Grit. Be sure to keep fragile Musketeers like Chantal out of anti-Musketeers’ range or use a protection power on her first; for instance, Valor’s Fortress is a great resource for all Musketeers to have and would work very well on a powerful Musketeer like Chantal Livingstone.

Make use of her Guaranteed Critical Strike power, too – that combined with her Sniper Shot powers will put any enemy at a huge disadvantage. Essentially, you can deal 1,400 damage at the very beginning of the fight and 700 more when the enemy approaches, combined with her Overwatch and Burst Fire attacks. Few enemies will be able to withstand that!

Farming

Chantal Livingstone is great for farming – on larger battleboards, it’ll take a long time to reach the enemy. The main goal of farming is to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible, so Chantal’s Sniper Shots are very useful here. As long as the enemy is within her line of sight, she can hit them immediately. For lower level bosses especially, fights can be over within one turn, and, for higher level ones, she’ll be able to weaken them so that your other units can move in and finish up.

Goronado and Nausica are also very useful here, as they can generally attack within the first round, too. They both have powers that let them move twice as far as they normally could, creating the possibility of finishing a fight within a single round even for upper level bosses. In case they don’t end up finishing the fight, however, Chantal Livingstone can stay back and shoot away at the enemy’s health.

There are countless ways to use Chantal, and it’s up to you to create your own unique and diverse strategy with her. Just remember to keep her leveled and promoted throughout your journeys across the Spiral… she’s certainly worth it!

Companion Spotlight: Hoodoo Cornelius!

With the addition of the Hoodoo Bundle, a new companion has made its way to the game: Hoodoo Cornelius. This companion is very different than any others we have seen thus far, due to a certain power that makes him a great asset to any team.

A Melee Witchdoctor?

Although it may not be very common, Hoodoo Cornelius is a melee Witchodoctor. Companions like these have been seen before (such as in the case of Nurse Quinn and Doctor Noh), though other melee Witchdoctors up to this point haven’t been so useful. Hoodoo Cornelius, however, changes that. Although he has several similarities to other melee Witchdoctor companions, most notable of which being his low stats, he has some original additions that make him quite a large threat in combat.

Epics

Hoodoo Cornelius starts with Relentless and can train three more Epics. Relentless 2 is clearly a very good choice on him, and, although he cannot train Relentless 3, he has other useful Epics in his pool. One tier of both Repel Boarders and Second Chance work very well; Repel Boarders will allow him to attack enemies who approach him and possibly follow through with several more Relentless hits, while Second Chance can give him another opportunity to hit an enemy that he misses. With his very low accuracy, Second Chance is a crucial Epic to have on him.

Unlike most companions, Hoodoo Cornelius can only learn four possible Epics, and, due to the other one being Witch Hunter (which is not so useful under normal circumstances), there isn’t a lot of room for variety on him. The Relentless 2, Repel Boarders, and Second Chance build seems to be very popular on him, and it definitely works rather well. An attack on a Musketeer enemy with low dodge can successfully trigger several Relentless Hits, and, if he does end up missing, Second Chance will let him keep attacking.

The Game-Changing Power

Although his power has an original name that hasn’t been seen before, the effect is exactly the same as an existing one: Reckless Frenzy. However, due to Hoodoo Cornelius being a companion as opposed to a pirate, as well as him being a Witchdoctor instead of a Buccaneer, you may find its use to be slightly different.

As Hoodoo Cornelius has very low accuracy, using his Reckless Frenzy power with a Swashbuckler in range is not such a good idea; it is likely that they will dodge early on, ending the series of attacks. Therefore, try to either increase his accuracy or lower the dodge of enemies before using his power. Bonnie Anne’s Scatterblast or El Toro’s buff are great examples of what you can use beforehand. Additionally, if you are a Privateer yourself, you can use even more buffs first so that it is very likely for none of the enemies to dodge a Reckless Frenzy attack.

Health is also something to consider when using this power. Unlike a Buccaneer, Hoodoo Cornelius does not have high health and cannot use Leviathan’s Call to protect himself against the incoming damage from each successive hit. At his highest level, you’ll find him taking roughly 100 damage per hit, which, clearly, adds up after several attacks. Even if he isn’t defeated by the time he finishes using Reckless Frenzy, enemies could finish him off very quickly due to his low dodge.

An effective way to deal with his low health is by using Valor’s Fortress on him before Reckless Frenzy. Doing so will half the amount of damage he takes from each attack - making it around 50 - so that he could theoretically attack twice as much as he normally could. He will also have much more health left afterwards, so that enemies would not be able to defeat him so easily, despite his lack of defenses. Even if you are not a Privateer, Valor’s Fortress can be found on many pieces of unauctionable boss gear. At least one item with that power is definitely worth farming for to maximize the potential of Hoodoo Cornelius.

Usability

In higher level worlds, Hoodoo Cornelius is a viable choice, though sending him out into the fight right away may not be such a good idea. Using some buffs first will help him to not be defeated until he can severely damage opposing enemies with his Reckless Frenzy.

However, his uses are not limited to questing - in fact, he becomes especially useful for farming. With so much unique looking gear dropping from lower level bosses, Hoodoo Cornelius is a great choice for speeding up these fights. Higher level Musketeer or Witchdoctor bosses are also great for him, as you will not even have to buff him much, if at all, in order for his Reckless Frenzy to take them out.

Whether you’re using him for farming, questing, or even for PvP, Hoodoo Cornelius is definitely a highlight of the Hoodoo Bundle. If you’re interested, be sure to check your local Walmart for a game card! More information on the Hoodoo Bundle and all of its contents can be found here.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out Duelist101's coverage on Hoodoo Cornelius - they have some great tips that are sure to help you out!

New Hoodoo Bundle!

A new Pirate101 Bundle has found it's way into the Spiral, and it's an awesome one, centred around the Hoodoo Theme.

The Hoodoo Bundle Comes with 6 Unique Items;

5000 Crowns or 1 Month Membership (To either Wizard101 or Pirate101)

Conqueroo's Outifit and Mojo Monkey Companion

The new Outift is very cool looking, and comes with some awesome looking stats;

The Monkey Companion is pretty epic, too, it's more of a Melee based Companion, like Doctor Noh and comes with "Go Bananas!".

Witchdoctor's Lab Add On and Baron Samedi's Standard

The new Housing Item add on is absolutely 100% Awesomesauce, it looks very much like a Witchdoctor works here, and even has some strange writing, further adding to the effectiveness.

Now, the battle standard is an interesting one this time, it will heal  Undead Companions, such as Old Scratch and Bat Masterson , every  round.

 

Ghostly Galleon Ship!

This ship is just too epic to describe, it's fog is dyeable and comes with it's own set of gear, that is probably some of the best in the game!

Please note these Ship Stats are of the Tier 6 form of this ship

And the awesome looking Ship!

Companion Spotlight: The Magnificent Seven!

These companions that you received back in Cool Ranch have far more potential than you may think – in fact, they were regularly used in PvP even at Level 65!

Prior to Nausica’s release, Musketeers ruled the arena; seeing three companions of this single class on a team wasn’t uncommon at all. At this phase of PvP, the standard team was Bonnie Anne, Zeena, and a Magnificent Seven companion, which was nearly an unstoppable force. However, faced with the possibility of going up against Nausica, choosing at least one melee companion may be a good idea – the Magnificent Seven are now frequently swapped out for Hawkules, El Toro, a Starter companion, etc.

However, are these companions still worthwhile? Are they still viable to have on your PvP team?

Bat Masterson

Bat Masterson seems to be the “odd one out” of this group of companions - he’s the only non-Musketeer, and his Epic pool is a bit underwhelming. As he is a Privateer, who aren’t as strong as Buccaneers or Swashbucklers in the arena, he might not be quite useful in PvP. In PvE, however, he is much more helpful.

A useful Epic Bat can train is Witch Hunter, allowing him to strike first against Witchdoctor enemies. This attack will have increased damage AND reduce the incoming damage of the attack that triggered it - therefore, it will severely hinder Witchdoctor enemies. Once again, in PvP, this may not be as useful - your opponent would simply not make their Witchdoctor units attack your units with Witch Hunter.

In PvE, however, enemies aren’t as smart. If you move Bat so that he is adjacent to several Witchdoctor enemies, Witch Hunter will be able to activate three times a round, as long as you have rank two trained on him. Pesky Satyrs and Ophidian Flame Dancers will become much easier for Witchdoctor Pirates, who would normally struggle against these enemies - just bring Bat into these battles, and you’ll find them much more straightforward.

Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane Canary

These two companions take anti-Musketeering to a whole new level - True Grit is what makes them shine. They do not, however, have Burst Fire to back it up, and the rest of their Epic pools are a bit lacking - abilities like Quick Adjust, Return Fire, and Parting Shot aren’t some of the best. They can, however, train True Grit 3, which can occasionally stun an enemy.

Say the opponent was using a unit such as Bonnie Anne, who has Quick Draw trained. If she would approach one of these two companions, their Overwatch ability would activate, triggering Bonnie’s Quick Draw. This has the opportunity to Burst Fire, so, when she is done attacking, Overwatch AND the three True Grits would activate, severely hindering the opposing unit. Bill or Jane would be down on health, however, but taking out the toughest unit in the fight would make it acceptable to sacrifice a unit of your own.

With Nausica out in play, however, Buffalo Bill and Jane Canary have been overshadowed. She is normally found with True Grit 3, just like these two companions, with the addition of Burst Fire 2. If their Overwatch activates against her, Nausica’s True Grit and Burst Fire abilities would almost completely take out Bill or Jane from the fight.

Nevertheless, Bill and Jane are still great anti-Musketeers in the arena. However, be sure to keep in mind that they are better used against Bonnie, Zeena, and other Magnificent 7 companions than against Nausica.

Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid is a bit different from the other Musketeers, mainly due to his absence of True Grit in his Epic pool. He can, however, train Burst Fire 2, which makes him into a fairly offensive Musketeer. Considering Nausica’s use in the arena, choosing his last Epic is a bit more difficult than it would seem.

Billy could train Quick Draw 2, but doing so is practically asking for him to be shot down by Nausica. It does minimal damage to her, yet allows her to strike back with three True Grit attacks, as well as up to three Burst Fires. He can train Double Tap or Parting Shot, but the question arises… are those Epics really worthwhile? It may be best to give him Double Tap, allowing him to finish off weakened units.

Keep in mind that the main decision to use a Magnificent 7 companion would be to take advantage of their ability to be anti-Musketeers. Billy the Kid, unfortunately, isn’t made to be a strict anti-Musketeer, but more like a slightly weaker version of Bonnie Anne. He may not be able to fit on a PvP team, then, especially with the risk of the opponent choosing Nausica. However, at lower level matches, he certainly isn’t a bad choice at all.

Duck Holliday and Wild Bill Peacock

After reading through the previous four companions, the Magnificent 7 may not seem worthwhile. However, we hope you agree with us when we say that we’re saving the best two for last - Duck Holliday and Wild Bill Peacock.

Wild Bill is arguably the best of the entire group, since he has both Burst Fire and True Grit in his Epic pool. As he starts with Burst Fire, he can train Burst Fire 2 and True Grit 2 by his final tier. Think about Nausica for a moment - the common build for her is Burst Fire 2 and True Grit 3. Disregarding her powers for a moment, aren’t they nearly the same companion, Epic-wise?

Duck Holliday has practically the same Epic pool, but what makes Bill slide ahead of him are their starting Epics. Duck starts with Quick Draw, which normally wouldn’t be chosen as an Epic for him - sadly, starting Epics can’t be removed, so we have to work with what he has. The best builds for him seem to be Quick Draw 1, Burst Fire 2, and True Grit 1, or Quick Draw 1, Burst Fire 1, and True Grit 2. Giving him the second one, with a second rank of True Grit, may be the better approach, as it makes him anti-Musketeer functional as well as slightly offensive.

Is there space for them in PvP?

This is the overall question here, and the most definite answer to it is “it depends on the companion”. Not all of them are cut out for PvP - Bat Masterson certainly isn’t, Billy the Kid isn’t quite up there, and Buffalo Bill as well as Jane Canary can easily get themselves defeated against Nausica. Duck Holliday and Wild Bill Peacock, however? If you don’t have Crown Shop companions (such as Goronado) or Bundle companions (specifically Nausica) available to you, these two are definitely worth considering to use in the arena.

You can try to swap out Bonnie Anne for Wild Bill (or possibly Duck Holiday), since having Quick Draw 2 and Burst Fire 2 trained on her is no longer such a good choice. Duck and Bill could surpass her at this phase, so having a team of Bill or Duck, Zeena, and a strong Buccaneer is worth trying out. If you know that your opponent isn’t going to use Nausica, using Bonnie, Zeena, and a Magnificent 7 companion is definitely your best bet.

For Wild Bill, especially, play him as you would Nausica, without rushing him in - use him to trigger enemy Quick Draw attacks, and watch him counter with three True Grits and up to three Burst Fires. He will easily drop an unsuspecting Bonnie Anne with Quick Draw 2, and, if you can get him close enough, he will severely weaken an opposing Musketeer pirate. He’s basically a second Nausica without Centaur’s Charge, so be sure to keep him protected so that he lasts for most of the fight - Privateers recruit him, after all!

Conclusion

If you’re looking to invest in a Crown Shop companion, you may be interested in purchasing Wild Bill to substitute in for Bonnie Anne - his True Grit 2 seems to work much more efficiently than Bonnie Anne’s Double Tap, Quick Draw, and Overwatch.

If you’re PvPing against a friend, simply asking “Are you using Nausica?” makes practically any of the five Musketeers viable choices, but, with the threat of that Centaur Queen, you shouldn’t risk using just any of them if you’re not sure what companions your opponent is going to play. Duck Holliday and Wild Bill Peacock are likely your best two choices out of the group, and don’t be afraid to use them! You may be surprised with how well they work in the arena.