Pirate101 Bundle/Pack
Companion Rankings

Nausica

• Swashbuckler, Privateer = S
• Musketeer, Witchdoctor, Buccaneer = A+

Nausica is far and away the most popular bundle companion, and possibly the most popular paid companion. This is for good reason, as she’s an incredibly powerful unit. She’s used across the board as an anti-musket unit, due to her high movement range + true grit. Her three guaranteed criticals and seven movement range make her a legitimate staple on swashbuckler, as she pairs very nicely with Black Fog (I use her in my main team against 3 or 4 out of the 5 classes). She is also often paired with the variety of strong buffs Privateers have, allowing them to both protect her and augment her offensive abilities at a distance.

Other classes won’t use her nearly as much as privateers and swashbucklers do outside of the musketeer matchup, but that doesn’t stop Nausica from being an amazingly powerful “beater” unit.

Handsome Dan

• All classes = D

To be completely transparent, Handsome Dan is the name of a rival university’s mascot. However, that didn’t impact the grade I gave him. His epics are pretty similar to what the Marchioness and Lucky Jack Russell can get (not identical, but you’ll see similar combinations), which are already pretty mediocre companions. However, Dan only gets a Rouse, a heal with a nasty tendency to low roll. He gets no guaranteed attacks or other utility powers, which is less than ideal

Cutthroat Pirate

• All classes = F

This guy is just getting included for completion’s sake. You choose 5 epic talents for him, plus his default Cheap Shot. He only has an epic strike. It should be obvious why there are many far, far better buccaneer units out there.

Hoodoo Cornelius

• Privy = C-
• Swashbuckler, Buccaneer, Musketeer, Witchdoctor = D

Hoodoo Cornelius is an interesting companion. He’s bad, but he at least provides some good points of discussion, unlike the Cutthroat Pirate. The first thing you’ll notice about him is his reskinned Reckless Frenzy ability. This is certainly a powerful ability, especially on an expendable unit like a companion. However, Cornelius is a melee witchdoctor unit. Thus, his accuracy is horrendous (20 points lower than other melee units), so he will rarely take good advantage of his primary ability. On top of this, he gets a full 4 fewer normal talents than most other companions, a very odd oversight by Kingsisle.

So, until witchdoctor companions receive some sort of permanent increase to their accuracy stat, Cornelius will be a non-viable unit. I’ve given him a slighter nicer grade for Privateers since they have Battle Zeal, and if they get lucky with it, Cornelius can get a good frenzy chain going. Still, they have better options and should basically never use him.

Chilam Bak

• All Classes = F
• Meme Value = S+

Those of you who know the Final Bastion Pirate team, know that we love our boy Chilam Bak and his giant hammer/mallet. However, he’s just atrocious in combat since he’s a near strict downgrade to the already bad Mormo, losing his two best abilities: Mojo Storm and Mojo Blade. Chilam does get buffed by the Undead Banner, but banners aren’t good, particularly the Undead’s Banner devastating punishment when it gets removed.

Kawil Doomclaw

• Privy = C
• Swash = D+
• Musket, Witch, Buck = D

Like most of the other units in the pack, Kawil is a slight downgrade on an existing unit. This time, he’s a worse Kobe Yojimbo, missing Kobe’s Swashbuckler Strike (guaranteed mega + strength and armor debuff for 3 turns). Kobe (and his crown shop counterpart) is a good unit, particularly on privy, where zeal makes the combination of First Strike 3 and Riposte 2 terrifying against melee units. However, being a strict downgrade of an easily obtainable unit hurts him a lot. He’s not objectively bad, but he’s just not worth your time when Kobe and Wagyu exist. I give him a somewhat ok grade on privy since there might be a world where you want Wagyu and Kawil for a match, although other Swash units like Contessa, El Toro, and the Battle Angel are probably better picks.

Itzen Kaan

• Buck = B-
• Swash, Privy, Witch = D
• Musket = D-

Itzen is Wu Tang without a Super Strike. As such, he’s best on a buccaneer (he becomes quite mediocre there though) and bad to useless everywhere else. Ninja has talked at length about Wu Tang on buck, so I won’t get into too much detail. Itzen’s grade on buck is as low as it is because missing a Super Strike is a serious downside and Wu Tang is just easier to get. If you happened to get him in a random giveaway from a KI Live code or something, you might be ok with using him. Otherwise, just get Wu Tang. On the other classes, Call to Arms is much less impactful than it is on Buck, so Itzen’s grade falls dramatically. Again, just get Wu Tang. Musket has Wing Chun and never uses him, so they definitely shouldn’t invest in a strict downgrade.

Lemba Moonskull

• Privateer = B+
• Swashbuckler, Buccaneer, Musketeer, Witchdoctor = B

Lemba is easily the best unit from this pack, not surprising since he’s the only one that isn’t a rehash of an existing unit. He is the only PvP-viable in game to be able to get multiple ranks of True Grit, Burst Fire, and Quick Draw, which makes him a good to great anti-musket unit. However, his poor range (4), poor mobility (4 movement), and lack of guaranteed critical attacks (only has a Big Guns) makes him useless against non-musketeer units and somewhat replaceable against muskets. I’d put him cleanly below both Bonnie Anne and Nausica as an anti-musket unit (so he doesn’t see play very often for me against muskets). If he gets close, he will give musketeer units a harder time than almost any other unit in the game, so he will receive a fairly generous grade.

He’s slightly better on a privy in my opinion, as their buffs allow him to survive longer and harass the musketeer pirate with his powerful chains, as opposed to simply getting off a turn or two of attacks and dying.

It’s also worth noting his Big Guns ability becomes much more powerful in an environment with no rules, as you can combo his Scratch buffed bombs with explosive  barrels from a musketeer pirate and Gracie Conrad’s mine to devastating effect. This is just a cool/cutesy combo. It’s not very good, objectively speaking. There are a lot of moving parts to this combo and a lot more busted stuff to be doing when there are no rules.

Holkun Doomhorn

• Buck = C-
• Swash, Musket, Witch, Privy = D

There are a bunch of buccaneer units that can get Vengeance Strike 3, Bladestorm 2, and Relentless 2. Holkun is one of them, which is the nicest thing I can say about him. He receives this poor a grade not because he is objectively awful, he’s not. His epics + a super strike make him a powerful beater. However, there are many, many units that are strictly better (Temujin, Subodai, Peter Quint, and Blightbeard to name the major ones), or arguably better (Baar) that receive the same or better epics and stronger powers. There’s just no reason to use Doomhorn.

Baar

• Swashbuckler, Privy = A-
• Buccaneer, Witchdoctor (no rules) = B
• Musketeer, Witchdoctor (rules) = C+

Baar is great. As a swashbuckler, I have a huge soft spot for the big guy. He forms a cornerstone of the anti-buck build I largely pioneered, discussed here.

His summons are great at doing chip damage. Furthermore, his reduces can hit from a long range, ignore buccaneer shields (great way to apply pressure when complemented with poisons), and negate the buccaneer’s early game accuracy and/or dodge buffs. Additionaly, he’s great at 1 on 1 combat, despite lacking a Super Strike, because of his trained epics (Vengeance 3, Blade 2, Relent 2) and Tide 3 making him a monster below half health. Basically, he’s a giant beatstick that’s difficult to efficiently kill and will contribute solid chip damage before becoming a nightmare in melee combat.

I give him a generous grade on Privateer for similar reasons. Furthermore, buccaneer units with his epic suite and Battle Zeal are absolutely terrifying to deal with. While Temujin might be better offensively, Baar has some great utility + can be effectively protected, letting you use all his powers. Maybe my grade for him on Buck is too nice, but being a powerful strength based unit has to mean something. Most bucks won’t have him on their main team, but he is objectively powerful and difficult to kill, particularly when paired with other high threat units like Peter Quint.

Summon-based witches in a no rules environment use Baar very effectively. His summons are great on a clogged board, and he’s a major threat when a pirate inevitably wades through the mass of scorpions or trees. When summon strategies are banned however, or you’re on musket, Baar just doesn’t shine. I think you’d almost always rather have a different unit.

Atohr

• All Classes = F

I’ve made this joke before, but Atohr is Atohr-ible. He gets fewer epics than units like Peter Quint, Temujin, or Baar, has no powers, and his special Merciless 2 ability just isn’t that good.

Yohr

• Privy = C-
• Buck, Swash, Musket, Witch = D

The only reason Yohr’s grade is this nice is his FaunFaun summon. That thing is a menace. It hits like an absolute truck and has very good stats, including a sizeable health pool. Unlike the other summons from this pack, FaunFaun is a serious damage threat, not just a chip damage threat. Privy gets a slightly better grade since it can protect Yohr for a bit longer and allow his summon to spawn in and do its (incredibly annoying) thing. You ever see a FaunFaun with battle zeal? Be. Afraid. (Seriously). Yohr without the summon would just be trash. Sneaky Sneaky is only useful on units that are threatening.

Laarn

• All Classes = F

Like the other class bears in this pack, the viability of the unit is solely dependent on his special passive ability and his summon. Since the hedgehog summon isn’t very good and Feeding Frenzy is terrible (maybe it gets some mileage against summon spam), Laarn is useless. Not to mention his epics are lackluster, since the class bears only get 5 each.

Ghor

• Musket, Witch = C
• Privy = D
• Swash, Buck = F

For once, the passive ability on this companion isn’t awful. Eagle Eyes is quite powerful, despite it being difficult to keep “on” since you will probably need to spread out at some point (or, he’ll just die like companions do). Furthermore, there’s this nasty glitch where if Ghor dies to a critical basic attack (not from a power), his Eagle Eyes ability will stick around permanently, “active” on the square where he died. Thus, he gets an ok grade on the two ranged classes, and a bad grade on the others.

Khord

• All Classes = F

Khord is atrocious. He has no powers, his bloodsucker ability is kind of irrelevant since he’s just such a non-threat offensively, and his summon is nothing special.

Haywire Battle Angel

• Swashbuckler = S
• Privateer = A
• Buccaneer, Musketeer, Witchdoctor = B+

I’ve written at length on the Battle Angel, so if you want more details, check them out here. On swashbuckler, she is an excellent unit, and is at the very least passable in all matchups (she’s at her worst against musketeers and witches). Haywire shot + Black fog is incredibly powerful, one-shotting most companions. Furthermore, Surge of Technomancy is one of the most versatile and powerful abilities in the game, and stripping off a key buff (or dealing damage through hide) can be key in a match. 800-1000 damage out of Black Fog on a hidden unit is no joke! In addition, Haywire Strike has the potential to do excellent damage.

Even without her synergies with Black Fog, she remains powerful. Privateer loves having powerful First Strike 3 units to harass swashbucklers and other melee units, and their buffs will let her live long enough to get off all of her abilities. The other classes don’t have as many synergies, but her abilities are generically powerful, and she does a great job at being both a utility/defensive unit with her epics and Surge, and an offensive one with her Haywire hits. Her main weakness is her relatively poor 4 movement range and only having 5 epics + flanking, but she’s worth it.

Haywire Dragoon

• Swashbuckler = B+
• Privateer, Buccaneer = B-
• Musketeer, Witchdoctor = C+

For the most part, the Dragoon is just a lower damage version of the Battle Angel. Sure, he’s a buck with Vengeance Strike 3 instead of a swash with First Strike 3, but his powers are the same, and his use is largely the same. His grades are on aggregate worse because First Strike 3 is valuable by itself, and he has worse damage. Being tankier is a slight upside, but his epic suite is worse than most Vengeance Strike 3 buck units and he only has Turn the Tide 1, making him much easier to ignore when he’s below half health.

He receives a higher grade on Swash than the other classes largely out of personal biases. I’ve found him to be excellent as part of the anti-buccaneer build I mentioned while discussing Baar. Surge hitting through buccaneer shields is particularly nice in this matchup. Furthermore, he is more durable than the Battle Angel, which is very valuable in this exact matchup. I give him a worse grade on Musket and Witch since, while objectively powerful, I struggle to imagine not wanting another companion instead most of the time.

Haywire Musketeer

• Privateer = B-
• Buccaneer, Swashbuckler, Musketeer, Witchdoctor = C

This guy is hard to grade. On the one hand, he has a solid selection of offensive epics, 3 very powerful guaranteed attacks in Haywire Shot, and the ability to get Overwatch 5. On the other hand, he’s about 1 epic short of being a really great attacker if you use an offensive build, his Haywire shots only have 3 range, and Overwatch 5 isn’t all that great. I think he does a lot of things kind of well, and is capable of doing lots of damage with generically good and powerful epics and abilities, but he’s excellent at almost nothing. Maybe that means I’ve given him a third of a letter grade or so too harsh of a rating, but I think my current grade reflects how people view him.

As is the trend, I give him a higher grade on Privy since they can keep him alive longer than other classes, allowing you to take advantage of his additional haywire attacks.

Haywire Marine

• All Classes = C-

The Haywire Marine is unfortunately kind of underwhelming. Haywire Strike, although potentially powerful, is the worst of the Armada Companion attacks (he has 3 of them). Furthermore, his selection of epics are almost entirely defensive (things like Hold the Line and Vengeance Strike, with no Relentless), despite having no defensive powers (nothing like a reduce or a Triton’s Song). I think he might be a somewhat cool, although sub-optimal choice to complement Baar and the Dragoon as a swash against buccaneers, but that’s not enough to improve his grade.

Bartholemew Crispe

• All Classes = F

I’ve been highly critical of buck units with good epics, a super strike, and Turn the Tide 2 (Doomhorn). This pathetic excuse for a companion has none of those, instead sporting an epic strike, a small number of epics, and Tide 1. He is a semi-reskin of Dead Mike, and is somehow worse than the already awful Dead Mike. You can also waste your epic slots on Merciless if you want???

Barnaby Crispe

• All Classes = F

Another semi-reskin of Dead Mike that’s way worse than the original, yay! This one has no powers, starts out with the aggressively mediocre Flanking and Sneaky Sneaky, and can only get 5 more.

Charred Privateer

• All Classes = F

Like every other unit from this pack, the Charred Privateer (who apparently can get a random name) answers the question: what would happen if we took the class bears from the Grizzly Beast pack, made you train their special passive (in this case, Feeding Frenzy), and removed their summons? The answer is that you get five companions that are worse than most random side quest companions by a sizeable margin. It floors me that anyone would consider going after these units, when not a single one of them is even good for PvE.

Mister Scorch

• All Classes = F

This is Ghor, but you have to train Eagle Eyes, he has a worse starting epic, and he has no Eagle Eyes glitch. Completely and utterly useless. Next!

Khord

• All Classes = F

Yes, this companion’s name is Khord. Don’t know if this was on purpose, or if KI just forgot to rename him after making him a worse rehash of the worst companion in the Grizzly Beast pack. If there was a grade worse than F, Khord the Second would get it.