Ahoy the Test Realm!

Avast me hearties! The Test Realm opened today! While none of the changes are truly game changing, many of them are pretty significant and many of them will be VERY, VERY WELCOME. Read on for more information!

(WALL OF TEXT INCOMING!)

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

While we’re preparing Pirate101 for a much larger update coming in the future, we still felt there were a few pressing items we could no longer wait to introduce . . . things like major bug fixes, Buccaneer class improvements, improved Kraken Skulls Tavern companions, simplification of ship combat, new holiday items and some all new Skull Island themed gear! Read on to get all the details of this latest update to Pirate101.

Gameplay Bug Fixes

Players will less frequently zone into wrong locations and be unable to move.
Players will less frequently experience wandering or floating NPCs outside of their normal locations.
Powers will more reliably retain their placement order when sorted by players.
Reduced occurrence where sometimes a player’s turn is skipped in both single player and PvP combat.
Battle Angels in the “Mission Improbable” instance will no longer trigger the Flanking epic talent when next to caltrop traps.
Traps will no longer be active but invisible when a player flees the battleboard in Multiplayer combat or PvP.
Players and Companions can now use their Jump ability to leap over obstacles in PVP combat.

Slightly improved each class’ main statistic. For example, Witchdoctors will now start the game with an improved Will statistic.
In the start of the game, players will only need to command the actions of one Companion up until the Troggie Shrine encounter for the quest “Into the Skull Cave.”
Reduced the health of the Troggy Warriors and Hunters in the initial Skull Mountain battles, up to Livsey’s cage.
Reduced the level of the crab enemies for “Up for Crabs.”
Reduced the level of Deadeye Deidre for “A Flask of Pure Gold.”
Removed those pesky crab crawlies from the entrance of Traitor’s Cave.
Reduced the level of the Batacudas in the Skull Island Skyway.

Buccaneers will now be seen as more of a threat to enemies and will now be targeted more often, as intended.
The Buccaneer’s Mighty Charge line of powers have been substantially tweaked. All powers gain a single, second swing called a “Glancing Blow.” In addition, we have removed the accuracy debuff from the low-level Mighty Charge to simplify the power for new players.

Other Gameplay Improvements

You may have noticed some odd mini-game high scores due to a few tricky pirates who should have known better! Yarr! Shall we be makin’ ye’ walk the plank, ye scurvy dogs?! To further discourage this behavior, we’ve made it a little more difficult for these kinds of tricks. Along with that change, we’ve also reset the mini-game high scores, so now’s a good time to claim your fame in your favorite mini-game!
We’ve replaced the old resistance icon. The new icon shows a purple “mojo burst” on a green shield, and indicates resistance to energy attacks– including the magical spells cast by witchdoctors and the lightning damage caused by most Musketeer’s weapons.

The Kraken Skulls Companions (Barnabus, Ensign Emmitt, Louis LeBisque, Mormo, and Sarah Steele) have been improved! Be sure to check out their newfound power.
The battleboard no longer appears at an angle after Catbeard makes a critical attack against Ettins.
Zeena’s Rain of Fire will no longer display several zeros during an Epic critical hit.
Companions defeated with a Damage Over Time effect will no longer appear to celebrate.

Ships

Damaging a ship in Broadside Combat now affects the starting health of enemies in any resulting battleboard combat with the ship. The lower the enemy ship’s health when deckside combat starts, the lower the enemies’ health.
We have simplified ship equipment by removing the “size” requirement from Armor, Figureheads, Rudders, and Sails.
Non-grouped passengers riding on ships will receive Nautical experience for successful broadside as well as grouped passengers.
Friendly player ship names will no longer appear red.

Gear

We frequently receive requests for new pirate-y looking apparel beyond the styles regularly received in Skull Island. Because of this we’ve added new, uncommon styles throughout the post-combat treasure chests of Skull Island for you to discover!

In addition, players may also find more powerful uncommon clothing in Skull Island with improved statistics. Be on the hunt for this new gear for your low level Pirates.

Powers

Increased the damage from the Powder Monkey Barrels for the Level 65 Musketeer Power.
*Removed the knockback effect from Tempest of Torpedoes.
Mojo Rising will now work with high level staves as intended.
Focus Fire will no longer provide a buff to the targeted enemy.
Buccaneers will no longer continue attacking with Reckless Frenzy after they have been defeated.

* NOTE: Fixing the knockback turns out to be trickier than expected, so rather than leave the power in a state that caused glitches and frustration in PVP, we’ve temporarily removed the knockback until we can implement a thorough fix.

Crowns Items

Players can now use up to six Crown Shop elixirs at one time, instead of 3.
A player’s current Crown Balance will be shown when using a Second Chance Chest.

Cosmetic

Fixed a bug that was allowing players to apply wallpaper in some rooms of player housing yet there was no change in appearance.
The experience rewards will now display correctly for the “It’s Sabotage!” encounters.
Characters and battleboard props will now remain slightly visible during the combat execution phase instead of fading out completely.
The Helm of Athena can now be dyed.
The camera will now show all the traps being cast from the Yakooza Crossbowman during the “Whacko Yak-o” Quest.