Power Management in Pirate101!
So You Want To Be a Champion? #3

In the previous part of this series we talked about the simple mistakes that could mess you up in the long run of things while on your journey to that juicy Champion weapon! If you’re scared you might’ve fallen into one of these minor mistakes, stop right now and check out part one and part two!

This time around I’ll be breaking down tips and tricks on managing your Power set-up. The “deck” of Pirate101. Hopefully after this short guide you’ll find your key powers appearing just on time!

 

 

Power Management

Managing your powers is extremely important. However, in Spar Chamber matches you can adjust them depending on your opponents class and gear. In ranked you have to set up to have the most important powers show up for every match up as well as be flexible.

The Rules to Powers

1. “The Stairs”

This rule is quiet simple: keep your protections spread out. Having protection available to you when required is important. However, having 2-3 Valor’s Fortress up at the same time creates a cloggy hand. Discarding a Fort never feels good, so using this method it should reduce the likely hood of this happening.

 2. “Ranged Pressure First – Defense Last”

Secondly, here’s another rule that many people tend not to know even exists. You should put up your ranged pressure hits first over your protection. While protection is definitely important so is having immediate tempo of the match. Bombs and Mournsongs are definitely key powers for that.  

As shown in the picture, I moved up my 2 Mournsongs (1 trained, 1 from my hat) up to my 2nd and 3rd power. Alongside my slow I can limit the enemies main threats movement then begin to Mournsong down enemies. Mojo burn acts as a mournsong itself damage wise on normal companions. Versus Old Scratch it’s an insane punish.

My defense is mostly in the middle/end of my first page. This is because most of the time you’re throwing out many of your long ranged attacks and setting up summons and banners. You normally don’t need to use any of your protection until very later on in the game when you’re forced to do so. However, if you’re against a Swashbuckler in the sparring chamber you should most definitely move the Valor’s Fortress up!

 3. “Key Powers”

Having your key powers up in your first row is extremely important. Every class has those key powers and learning them just comes down to experience and practice. I personally put my key power at #5 or #1 depending on the class. You can try finding the sweet spot for yourself. Sometimes these powers are more late game or situational. Regardless, it’s OK for them to be cloggy in your hand, because these key powers are well… key! For a very good reason as well.

My Buccaneer has Reckless Frenzy at #5. Reckless Frenzy is a card most consider a game finisher or a wild card. However, there are some matches or situations where you just want to Frenzy for a weird reason.

This is Buccaneers’ key power. Having it always in my starting hand is the goal. Some matches I use it to just completely kill teams with just my Pirate. In other matches I don’t play it until after I’ve killed key units so I can just OHKO my opponent’s Pirate. Alternatively, in some matches, I simply use it to kill a key companion (eg. Nausica) so I completely out-tempo them.

Key cards like this, Widow’s Touch as seen in my previous example, and even Discipline or any summons are definitely big contenders. Having these cards is your top priority. Even if you just plan to hold onto them, having them when you need them is extremely important. As such make sure to learn the key cards for your class. Find a good spot in your powers where you always have it when you need it.

And finally…

The final bit of advice I can give too you future champions is: mess around with your powers! Try different stuff out! Some people like certain powers in certain spots because to them it seems that slot shows up more than normal. I love my main summons being at 5, as I just often find my 5 slot power showing up in my hand consistently on round 1 of every match I play. However, this is just a personal thing.

If you always find yourself getting powers at slot 8 or 9, try moving a key power there. Is a power normally useless early on in the game for you? Try moving it back! Don’t feel afraid to move weaker attack powers up early on as well. This way you can use those before using the big hits. I have a backstab before my 2nd assassin on my Swashbuckler because I normally use my first Assassin when under Black Fog for pressure. I then save my last 2 Assassins for the late game, after timing out my opponents buffs. However sometimes I like to use my hidden to attack with a backstab early on.

Experimenting with your powers and finding out new ways to improve the efficiency of your draws is key to improving your gameplay. Everyone plays differently so find what works for you. Never stop trying something new!

 

Have any weird way you set up your powers?
Let us know in the comments below!

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