Pirate101 Crown Shop
Companion Rankings
As you get more experienced in Pirate101 PvP, you may begin considering investing in a crown shop companion or two. I’m sure you know that there are certain staples that most people invest in at some point or another (Nausica being arguably the most notable example). On the other hand, there are some you should never buy (Nurse Quinn and the Chicken Miner come to mind). This guide will tell you which companion (s) is/are best for each of the five classes.
I’ll be organizing this list into 3 categories: Crown Shop Companions, Bundle Companions, and Pack Companions. This part will contain Crown Shop companions, while the second part will contain Bundle and Pack companions. Each notable companion in these categories will receive a letter grade for each class based on how viable they are, as well as some brief analysis
Rating System
Rating System
- S = Staple. If a companion receives this, it means that it should be a top priority if you decide to invest in bought units.
- A = Strong choice. Companions receiving this grade are generally a great choice to invest in. However, they’re not units that you’ll use or see all the time. They’ll have one or more noticeable downsides that prevent them from being staples. They’re still incredibly powerful in the right player’s hands.
- B = OK choice. A companion with this grade will be passable in certain matchups, but will be severely lacking in other matchups. They’re not a high priority to purchase, but if you already have one or more of them, you didn’t waste your money per se.
- C = Niche unit. Units in this category will have one or two narrow uses at most, and will be otherwise non-viable. They’re not a great purchase.
- D = Useless. If you bought one of these with the intention of doing serious PvP with it, you probably wasted your money.
- F = Horrendous. These units won’t be included on the list; they should be no-brainers.
Crown Shop Companions
These companions are broken down into 3 categories: Farmed Units, Clone Units, and Wildcards
Farmed Units
A farmed companion, like Goro here, is one that requires fighting a certain boss a predetermined amount of times. After completing this requirement, the companion will be unlocked. These units generally cost a bit more than normal crown shop units (>6000 crowns).
Goronado
- Swashbuckler, Buccaneer, Privateer = B+
- Musketeer, Witchdoctor = C
Goro is at his best when you can take advantage of his 2x haste Vicious Charge. Thus, in Ranked PvP he’s a great unit to pair with early fog rushes, highland rushes, and boon shenanigans. He’s even better when you add Time Warp into the mix.
However, he’s a good bit weaker in the much larger Spar Chamber. He’s still an ok choice if you want to be super aggressive, but he doesn’t have any other noteworthy powers after he uses his Vicious. Furthermore, he only has 6 epic talents.
Obsidian Bonnie Anne
Bonnie Anne is a great companion. Nausica is a great companion. Chantal is a great companion. However, when you combine Bonnie’s four square movement range with Nausica’s four square shooting range with Chantal’s inability to move and attack, you get a companion that’s pretty terrible. Everything Obsidian Bonnie can do, something else can just do better.
Original Bonnie has more range and more epic talents. Nausica has just as many attacks, can move and shoot, and also has the ability to train true grit. Chantal also has three attacks, more range, and just as much damage potential. Don’t use this companion for serious PvP.
Blightbeard
Blightbeard is also a pretty mediocre companion. Sure, he’s a big, dumb, beatstick with three attacks, Vengeance 3, Blade 2, and Relent 2 but there are lots and lots of big, dumb, buccaneer beatsticks with multiple attacks and those epics. Also, you’re unlikely to get all 3 attacks off.
Just like Obsidian Bonnie, everything Blightbeard is good for can be replicated elsewhere. Peter Quint has a Brutal Charge and a Whale’s Might, in addition to a super. Temujin and Subodai are basically strict upgrades to Blightbeard due to their reduce. Even units like Goro and Baar, which aren’t direct upgrades, are still probably better choices. So unless you desperately need another unit to fill the role of big, dumb, beatstick, stay away.
Clone Units
A clone companion, like Wagyu Sanjuro, Exeter, and Malik, are, as their name suggests, clones of storyline companions. These units are unlocked after unlocking your class’s version of these units during the storyline. They cost the standard 5995 crowns. Although most are carbon copies, the Kraken Skull clones are given one less power. I will not be rating these companions for the class that obtains them in the storyline. The Presidio clones are low C’s, D’s, or F’s. As such, I won’t devote any time to them.
Starter Clones
Wagyu Sanjuro
- Privateer = S
- Swashbuckler = B
- Musket, Witch = C
Wagyu is an excellent melee counter unit. He can get first strike 3, plus riposte 2 and relentless 2, which allow him to chain down melee units effectively when he has an accuracy/dodge buff active. This makes him amazing on a privateer’s team, particularly against swashbucklers. A zeal’ed Wagyu is a nightmare!
His lack of movement range, coupled with swash’s lack of buffs, make him a passable, if not ideal, unit on a swash’s team. As for musket and witch, they would just rather use a more defensive unit for their first strike 3 companion (Contessa/Ratbeard).
Temujin
- Privy, Buck = S
- Musket, Witch = B-
Temujin is essentially a mini Peter Quint. He has no strength buff and his reduce has 1x haste and lasts 3 rounds (rather than 5). This doesn’t prevent Temujin from being terrifying, however. He provides privateers with a sorely needed vengeance strike 3 offensive buccaneer companion (they get none from the story). On a buck, he can team up with an Accuracy buffing companion and Pete to form a deadly offensive crew. Musket and Witch don’t really get much use out of him; there are more valuable things they need to do with their companions.
Zang Cha
Zang struggles to find an identity. He lacks the 3rd rank of first strike and he can’t train vengeance strike at all. He can access chaining-friendly epics like relent 3, blade 3, and second chance, but most companions need something else besides pure offense to make them worthwhile (such as venge 3, fs 3, or a 2x haste power). Since companions like Temujin, Goro, and Baar exist, Zang is the odd man out. However, he would skyrocket if he was able to learn first strike 3 after a future promotion.
Wu Tang
- Buck = S-
- Buckler, Witch, Privy = C
Ninjapikmin has a lot to say about Wu Tang, so I’ll let his guide do most of the talking. However, I’ll give the basics here. On buck, Wu Tang is great. He has a 10-round accuracy buff to allow for an extended attack (as opposed to the more predictable 5 round Toro buff). His heal is a great way of healing off early chip damage. Finally, he has some interesting offensive utility. Overall, if you prefer a grindier game, check out Wu Tang! For the other classes, Wu Tang isn’t that great. Swash need’s Espirit’s dodge, Privy trains accuracy/dodge buffs galore, and witch, is well, witch.
Keisuke Yagi
- Buckler, Privy = B
- Musket, Buck = C
Keisuke doesn’t have first strike 3. This is his only real problem (being able to time out his 3 round hide with ease isn’t a huge dealbreaker). He’s a passable choice on buckler if you don’t mind using a slightly less tuned team. He hits hard and can play defense with his heal. Privy already has Wagyu to function as their anti-melee unit, but Keisuke can hit like a truck when coming out of his hide, especially if he has an accuracy/dodge buff.
Kraken Skull Clones
Gerard
Gerard is a companion that faces some stiff competition. Since he generally can’t be effectively strength-buffed by these 4 classes, he is relegated to a defensive companion. As a defensive companion, he competes directly with Ratbeard, who gets more and better epics and powers. High armor, Vengeance Strike 3, and Hold the Line 3 make him a good tank still. If he ever gets promotions that upgrade his shield (and/or receives a brutal like Barnabus), he’ll be much better.
Lucy Sterling
KI played it very conservatively with Lucy’s power level, as she is given neither the Shadowdance nor the Walk in Darkness that Sarah has. This, coupled with the fact she lacks relentless and has a bad starting epic, makes her quite bad across the board.
Exeter
- Witch, Musket = S
- Buck, Buckler = C
For Witch and Musket, Exeter is one of the best units out there! He allows you to slow opposing melee teams, which serves two purposes. First, it prevents you from being run over by an early rush. Second, it allows you to safely advance and claim space in the center of the board, helping you to pressure your opponent. He also helps with close-range defense with True Grit and/or Overwatch 3 as epics, and a damage reducing critical attack as a power.
Pepe deTorteau
- All Classes = C- (1v1-focused, higher grade in group PvP)
Pepe’s main draw is that he has bombs (and is the only companion besides Louis with them). They can be coupled with a scratch buff to hit multiple units very hard from a distance, or to provide a decent rush deterrent. However, they’re the lowest tier of bombs, so there are better ways to accomplish the above goals. His epics aren’t great either.
Uga Buga
Mormo is a pretty bad companion on his own. What happens when you remove his Mojo Blade and Mojo Storm, leaving him only with Mutineer’s Grasp and Vulture’s Gift? You get this disgrace of a unit. He’s only in the article because the other four units are.
Wildcards
These units are unlocked from storyline questing, but unlike the clones, you don’t receive one of them on each class. Only a few of these units do anything notable.
Bosun Budd
- Witch = B-
- Musket, Privy, Swash, Buck = F
Bosun Budd is obnoxious the first time you run into him. You’ll get caught by surprise and frustrated by the fact that you can’t hit your opponent with melee units. However, you’ll quickly realize that by sitting in the corner, your opponent isn’t doing anything either, giving you a huge positional advantage.
Martin Valvida
Valvida unfortunately cannot get a 2nd rank of relentless, despite starting with relentless 1. However, he still has some niche uses. He has 2 witchdoctor aoe’s: Evil Eye and Jobu’s Kiss. Evil Eye reduces mojo by 50% temporarily, effectively functioning as a weak, short duration assassin’s shroud that reduces the damage of some attacks. Both Evil Eye and Jobu’s Kiss can be used to break hides as well. Valvida is a gimmicky companion, so he’s rated accordingly.
Planning on buying one of these units?
Think my ratings were wrong?
Tell us in the comments below, and stay tuned for Part 2
