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Featuring Water Moles!
This is the second “feature” post on this blog! Hooray! My feature posts will almost always be totally random, :D, and just something I want to focus on. As I’ve said already, this time, it’s Water Moles!
Water Moles are my personal favorite species in the Spiral! In my pre-beta Factions (and classes) post, I thought that in Pirate101 you would play as those creatures. I was definitely sold for the Water Moles, but it’s ok that we’re humans. 😉
As I said in the Factions post, Water Moles are divided into two main tribes, the Nui and Waponi Water Moles. The Nui are usually friendly, and are free to trade with most everyone. You meet the Nui Water Moles in your Skull Island quests.
Next you go to the Waponi in a search for Ratbeard, on the island Waponi Wu. You also run into the Water Moles in Port Regal Skyway. The Water Moles were also seen in The Floating Land of Celestia where they made their first appearance.
Ye Factions and Classes
In Pirate101, there have been 7 factions and 5 classes released. The Faction determines your character’s species, and the class is your style of fighting. Each of the factions and classes have unique traits and abilities. In this post I will explain each of the factions and classes. Keep an eye out for my next post, Gameplay! It will include the *rough* style of fighting, the world layouts, and the way(s) you can play the game. Enjoy!
I will start with factions, in ye alphabetical ord’a.
To start ye off, the Cutthroats aren’t a nice crew. Being sharks and all, they weren’t very happy when the Moniquistans invaded their home of Skull Island. After years o’ battles, all of the shark clans died off except the Cutthroats. “Though they no longer have the numbers to raid other realms, the Cutthroats remain a threat in Skull Island, where Monquista and Marleybone remain unable to completely eradicate them.”
This secret organization of pirates export Yum fruit from MooShu, and is lead by the Frogfather. His entire crew is infamous and specializes in rare spices, Yum, and other delicacies. The Frogfather’s home is the Gullet, and controls almost all of the smuggling in Skull Island, and across the Spiral.
Marleybone ships are stout and tough, and the Dogs are masters of tactics and gunnery.
With colonies in Skull Island, Darkmoor, and Krokotopia and trade agreements nearly everywhere else, protecting the flow of ships between colonies and especially through Stormgates is Marleybone’s highest priority. Marleybone may not have the biggest fleet in the Spiral, but the Royal Navy is blessed with brilliant officers like Captain Gordon, The Commodore, and Admiral Nelson – their military genius more than makes up for any numerical disadvantage.
The Monquistadors are still relatively small in size, but the Monquistan Navy is growing steadily. Their ships can go very far, but are hard to find in large numbers. They are very high quality, but the army lacks the experience of other realms. Find more information on Monquista here.
Not much is known about this band of crabs. They were once feared by merchants from Valencia all the way to MooShu, but they have faced hard times. Their largest ship was destroyed by the Marleybonians. Now they’re stuck on Skull Island, where they have taken up a life as bandits.
The Water Moles were seen in Wizard101- in Celestia’s Floating Land and the Rain of Fire spell. They have divided into two tribes, the Nui (Floating Land) and the Waponi (Rain of Fire). The Nui are friendly and peaceful, and trade with everyone. They are friends with merchants as well as pirates. The Waponi are a lot more fierce than the Nui, they worship a fire god and have turned against everyone that they think is an intruder. They are silver-haired and are hostile to almost everyone.
The Isle of Scrimshaw is home to the Wharf Rats, a loose affiliation of criminal gangs and crews including such infamous villains as the Bilge Rats, the Rats of Nim, and the Rat Pack.
Bands of Rat Pirates roam the Skyways, raiding and stealing, but they rarely move in great numbers – the Rats are notoriously disorganized, and more likely to turn on each other than unite against a common foe. Every now and then a gang will make a power play, but for the most part the Wharf Rats remain an annoyance instead of a major threat, and have yet to wield much influence.
*EDIT 5/3/12: The colors of all of the classes have changed. I will leave both posted below. The old image will be posted first.*
The classes are the same for everyone, no matter what faction you are. They include Buccaneers, Musketeers, Privateers, Swashbucklers, and Witchdoctors.
Buccaneers are the strongest of the five classes, and they use a heavy sword and rely on brute strength. They do not have very much elegance, but make up for it with courage and power. As a buccaneer, you will be able to use Blade Storm, which gives your pirate an extra attack. They are led by the Hammerhead Shark Mordekai.
Musketeers are led by Ol’ Fish Eye, who is a master at creating traps that slow down enemies. They are experts at sniping their enemies, and damage their enemies at long range. Musketeer’s signature move is the Rain of Mortarshells which covers an large area with mines!
The leader of the Privateers is The Commodore. This is the only healing pirate class, and they are natural born leaders. Their Reinforce action can heal all of their allies. Privateers can get more Companions than any other class.
The cunning class of Swashbucklers is lead by the raccoon Morgan LaFitte. They rely on elegance and speed in combat, acting as assassins. Their most notable power is Dance of Steel, where they can attack every single enemy around them at the same time.
Witchdoctors are known for their arcane magic powers, and using hoodoo to predict change the outcome of combat. They master dark arts and are lead by Madame Vadima.
I hope you liked this post, and be sure to check out my next post, “Gameplay!”
Pirate101 Announced!
Today, Pirate101 was announced to the public, and you can sign up for a raffle-type entry to the closed beta. The website Pirate101.com has been opened, with a beautiful release video. Sections of the site explain the different parts of the game, and I will try to explain as much as I can (without quoting too much) in the first post.
One of the first things you notice when you enter the site is the BLAM! BIG SIGN UP BUTTON! (Or “get info” for that matter.) But if you venture into the website more, you can find out just what this game is about. The story that’s already been listed is magnificent.
It is a wondrous time of exploration and adventure, when tall ships fly the endless skies and brave the Stormgates of the Spiral. Not long ago, a generation of explorers led by the great Marco Pollo opened and mapped dozens of connections between the various realms. Trade and commerce sprang up all over the Spiral, and many nations learned that the size and strength of their fleets were the key to their destiny. Marleybone, Valencia, Monquista, and Polaris emerged as the dominant powers of the era, forming colonies and forging trade routes that made them wealthy and powerful. Grizzleheim and many other realms, tried to stay neutral, trading with all and claiming no empire.
The next parts of the “Background Story” article are about how pirates and piracy arose from conflict that was created. They took their ride on ships and rode about the Spiral thick with theft. The pirates took control of Skyways, which led them the path to all of the worlds. This happened after a great war between all of the factions. The different species will battle once more, as many more Skyways are being tamed.
The Armada, one of the growing races, sent a classified letter that was soon intercepted. It looked exactly like this: (Click image to enlarge)
That letter clearly indicates that they aren’t gonna be doing any funny buisness… Hehehe…
The 8 main characters are next.
First, in the top left, Boochbeard. Ah, poor Boochbeard. He’s a well-known pirate that has done everything, been everywhere, done everything a man can do, except win. Boochbeard hasn’t missed a single pirate-related activity, just the only problem is when he’s just a hair away from victory, he is thwarted once again. Even though he can’t succeed, he tries and tries again, and is still feared by many in the Spiral. Stories in Marleybone are told about “Old Whitebeard.” After you’re in the Spiral, after not too long you’ll be hearing stories about him too.
The person… er… monkey… to Boochbeard’s left (our right) is Mr. Gandry. He has served as a captain the Monquistan Navy, and he left after a conflict with the Polarians and joined the Marleybone Royal Navy. This ended quickly with a mutiny and he was independent for a while before joining forces with Boochbeard. He is very revered by pirates all-around, and is often thought to be the brains behind Boochbeard’s operations.
On Gandry’s right is Captain Avery. His full name is Horace Avery. He is one of the only pirates able to successfully retire with both his life and fortune in tact. He gained most of his loot from the Polarian Wars, raising enemy ships. After he retired, he took control of Skull Island from the Marleybonians and turned it into the greatest pirate haven. Ever. There isn’t much else to say about Avery, other than he has a parrot. 🙂
To Avery’s right, (not the shark) is “…the very model of a Marleybonian admiral – a commander’s commander, who has forgotten more about tactics and naval strategy than most people will ever learn.” He is normally referred to as ‘The Commodore’ though. (No one knows his real name).
On the bottom left is Ol’ Fish Eye. When he was young, the pelican ran away from Skull Island and set out to be a musketeer in the Marleybonian army and trained himself. During the Polarian Wars, however, he left and manned a ship of his own. “He sailed with a number of infamous pirates, including Catbeard, Erica the Red, and Captain Avery” before settling down on Skull Island as Musketeer trainer.
Morgan LaFitte is next to Fish Eye. Some believe that she was born into royalty, but ran away to Valencia. There she lived a double life as a burglar and Countess. “Trained by some of the finest fencers in Valenica, Morgan’s skill with a blade has few equals. Morgan fled Valencia when her secret was finally uncovered, keeping a step ahead of the Armada and finally settling in Skull Island.”
The Hammerhead Shark next to Morgan is Mordekai. Ring a bell? Baron Mordecai was the boss of the Master Hallowe’en tower. Back to Mordekai- he is a master of the sword, one of the most feared in the Spiral. After Captain Avery feed him from a Moniquistan prison, he has served as Avery’s chief bodyguard since.
The last main character in Pirate101 is Madame Vadima the Witchdoctor leader. She came to Skull Island from a very far away island called Darkmoor. One of the tales about her is that she went to Pigswick Academy, but was expelled for using dark magic. Vadima is a master of fortune telling, her fortunes are almost always correct- although sometimes they are confusing.
All of these characters are the head of classes that you will be able to play in in Pirate101. I will explain factions and classes in the next post.
Pirates in the Sky 
